Disclaimer: not mine, borrowed and nurtured. A/N: Thanks for R&R. Much love. Spent the beginning of this chapter researching Nordic lullabies. The song Hope is singing is The Wolf Song - Vargsången by Jonna Jinton which you can listen to on youtube.

YOUNGBLOOD

v

not all storms

come to disrupt

your life, some

come to clear your

path - anonymous


Josie lay with tears dripping down her cheeks, between her two best friends, and a nameless child. What would become of them? Acolytes to the darkest monster of them all, who fed on sacrifice and envy. The Hollow was no longer a myth, she was coming, and no one was safe.

"'Close your eyes and sing'," Marcel remembered.

Josie could see Kol's desperate attempts blocked by LaMarche's boundary spell.

Hope's haunting song, a cry for resistance, and pride.

Lizzie's hand fell by Josie's, and Josie wished she could squeeze it in comfort, but her arms were heavy, her body glued to the ground. The spell had paralysed their limbs, but not Hope's spirits.

Thunder and lightning scattered the black clouds, like spotlights on a stage.

Josie let Hope's lullaby guide her, adopting its words on her foreign tongue.

Hope sang to the heavens, her last battle cry, contesting LaMarche's ballad to the Hollow.

Howls echoed in the distance, as if the lullaby reawakened something deep in their souls.

A reminder, Hope was not alone.

Josie felt her voice crack, her song diminishing. It was getting harder to move her lips, a numbing sensation rippled through her body. Hope's song faded, and Lizzie protested with furious eyes. Nandi LaMarche shouted into the storm, and a crack of thunder answered.

Josie shut her eyes, tight, anxious for what was to come.

A gunshot. Screams. Running footsteps.

Josie opened her eyes to see the crowd had recoiled, most had dispersed. Wolves had reformed their lines. Some faithful to The Hollow, crowded around an injured LaMarche, others supported their matriarch, Mary Dumas, who lowered her rifle, face rife with disappointment. Josie felt as if her heart would burst from her body; this was the miracle she had wished for.

"Release them, the Hollow will be your downfall. She is not your ally, Richard. New Orleans needs peace, not another war. Think about what you will be doing to our home, our future."

Richard noticed the bundle of bones in Lenore Bennett's arms, and scoffed.

"You think the bones of my daughter will sway me? The Hollow will bring Andrea back to us, Mary. Join me, on the right side of history."

Lenore unravelled a scarf, laying Andrea's bones in the courtyard, for all to see.

Hushed whispers spread through the crowd.

Then a bloodcurdling scream, as Marcel sank his teeth into LaMarche's neck.

Josie felt her fingers twitch up and down, then she took both Hope and Lizzie's hands in hers.

Lizzie sprung from her spot, touching her head, as if she had only fainted.

Hope had been right; Marcel had not harmed them.

Josie saw tears in Kol's eyes, as the rain bore down on them. She watched the aftermath as if she were separated from her heart, body, and soul.

Marcel wiped LaMarche's blood from his mouth, stepping over the witch, without a second glance.

The crowd was still, LaRue and her coven stared at the loss of LaMarche, with a sadness unmatched by Richard Dumas. He beckoned for his followers to charge Marcel, many launched themselves forwards, but Marcel remained unharmed, his circle of vampires protecting him. Richard Dumas would not back down, not even for his wife, who knelt with Lenore by her child, hands in prayer.

Josie felt Kol's arms around her.

Words failed him, but his gesture was welcomed, and reciprocated. He was their only family in this time, and she had grown fond of him. He hugged Lizzie, whose usual tirade of insults remained hidden, she was sure her sister was still in shock, or perhaps her vocal cords had not been un-paralysed. Kol then hugged his niece, so tight, Josie wondered if Hope could breathe.

"I was so scared it was happening again, that I was minutes away from losing you, all of you."

Hope uttered only one sentiment, "This family sticks together, always and forever."

Kol, Josie, and Lizzie nodded, "So let's get out of this hell-hole, together," Lizzie said.

The nameless boy sat up, scared, crying for his mother.

Josie wrapped a protective arm around him, as if he were Pedro.

"It's okay, we'll find your mother," she scanned the crowd for someone who recognised him.

Josie's attention was drawn back to Hope.

Marcel, deaf to the slander, stood in front of them.

Hope hugged him, forgetting herself, and linked her hands across his back, like always.

"Thank you," she whispered against his shoulder. "Thank you, Marcel."

Hope peeled herself away, remembering he was a stranger in this time.

"That song, I learnt it when I was a boy… it was taught to me, by my sire, Klaus Mikaelson."

Diego and Thierry stepped over the bodies of wolves who had failed to escape the compound. Six or seven, Josie could see, remained, Richard was nowhere to be seen. The rebellion had been quashed, but it was far from over. LaMarche lay metres away in a pool of her own blood. The witches congregated around her, hesitant to pay their respects, should they be The Hollow's next victims.

Josie worried about the darkness inside herself, and of her destiny.

Would she be the witch left on the ground in the rain?

She hugged the frightened child, and watched Lizzie unafraid of The Hollow, drop beside LaMarche. Her sister sat, processing the events with a furrowed brow, then closed LaMarche's eyes out of respect. This prompted LaRue and Sinclair to say their goodbyes. Others, Agnes, Bastiana, watched with grim expressions, unmoving from the sidelines. Josie wondered what the consequences were for killing a witch, even a witch possessed by The Hollow.

"Vincent Griffith, praise the lord, you are safe."

Josie and Hope exchanged a look of surprise as Vincent's mother wept in her son's hold.

Her son, who would one day become The Regent of New Orleans.


Mary Dumas returned her daughter's bones to her scarf with care, cautious of the eclipse above.

Lenore Bennett paid her respects to LaMarche, despite their differences.

"You always respect the dead," Caroline ingrained into them, after years of visiting Stefan's grave, reminiscing about his life. It was what got Josie through losing her bio-mum. Reminding herself her parents had also seen death, and somehow survived it, multiple times. Their family had defied the laws of nature, and here they were again, survivors.

Hope gave them a defiant look, Josie was too familiar with, her part in all this was not over yet.

Hope, in her black sequined dress, waved for the crowd's attention.

Josie shivered in the mist, worried for Hope, their martyr, and Lizzie, forced to face her fears. Josie scanned those in the crowd for a flicker of blue, ready to act if need be. Kol stared at the glow of the lanterns hanging from the ivy-covered walls. Hope pointed to the eclipse, raising her voice over the cacophony of thunder, which made the compound reminiscent of fairytales, Josie thought.

"The Hollow is among us. She will raise an army of demons. LaMarche will not be the last. Dumas, grief stricken, and desperate, has lost his way, but please, we can fight this threat, if only we work as a team. Vampires, witches, and wolves, we can make a difference, together. Please join me in making New Orleans are better home; a safe one, for us all."

Hope returned to Josie with a shrug, "This is still my home, I have to protect it."

Kol wrapped an arm around Hope and kissed her forehead.

"That was some Viking speech, Hope Mikaelson."

"Mikaelson? Another Mikaelson?" LaRue entered their circle, flanked by her coven.

"I assume neither of you are who you say you are?" Mary Dumas asked, rifle still in hand.

"You know too much of this evil, it makes me wonder if you have seen it firsthand," Lenore guessed.

"-We're still Gemini twins," Lizzie shrugged.

"-Just not from around here," Josie admitted, speaking half-truths.

"How do we know who we can trust?" Marcel interrupted.

"-and who we can't?" Sinclair interjected.

Hope shrugged, "You can't, you just move forwards."


The rain did not stop, Josie heard it battering Rebekah's bedroom windows for hours, projecting a dreary mood around the compound, adding to growing fear The Hollow would soon find them. She and Lizzie had stayed for as long as they could during the Faction meeting, leaving only after Hope had told her terrifying tale of possession. The Hollow needed to be fed, it searched for her bones, protected by trusted few.

These bones were indestructible, kept away should they attract her spirit. The plan was to tighten security, to protect its citizens, to help each other. New Orleans was in the middle of two great wars, one human, and supernatural. If New Orleans were to survive both, they were the only key.

Lizzie wore Hope's forgotten blue beret, found in the bottom of Rebekah's wardrobe, when Josie and Lizzie changed into more comfortable clothes.

Lizzie picked up a mirror, staring at her reflection, "The Hollow's marks have faded, like the life in Nandi's eyes," she'd murmured. "Do you think mum and dad know we almost died tonight?"

"I don't think they know where we are, or why," Josie prodded the logs in the fire. "Do you want to talk about LaMarche, were you friends?" Josie added.

Lizzie sighed, "Not really, I only just met her… I can't believe I'm saying this, but I just want to get back home, even if it means facing the merge," Lizzie admitted. "I just worry, that we're never going to get home, and that this is what our life will be…"

Josie fingered her necklace, "Not without Hope, we owe it to her, to save her family."

Lizzie passed the mirror to Josie, running her fingers through Josie's wet hair.

"It will dry better in front of the fire," she whispered. "I thought the forties would be fun, but there's this smell of death, and high expectations from the covens, and I miss my own clothes, and MG rattling on about comics, and Sebastian, and Mystic Falls…"

Josie understood the feeling, she missed her parents, and the Salvatore Boarding House, her classes, the Stefan Salvatore Memorial library which housed so many of her favourite books and promises of new worlds she had yet to explore. She missed her bed, and simpler times, she was reminded of her summer with Landon, when she had no memories of Hope, and only a void in her heart.

"I'm sorry for not being there for you this summer when I should have been."

Lizzie hooked her arm beneath Josie's, resting her head against her twin's shoulder.

"It's okay, Jo, I forgive you. Besides, I'm glad I got to spend time with Sebastian, because I think this time away from him, only made me realize, I love him," she revealed. "How are we going to get back home? We can't stay here forever?"

Josie sighed. "I don't know, but I'm sure Hope has a plan."


"Richard Dumas is not fit to be Alpha, that obligation passed to you, Mary," Lenore began. "For this peace treaty to work, we must agree to protect not just our species, but each other. We will bury our dead, and tighten security across the French Quarter, this means, wolves will be given their freedom. Witches will report to LaRue, and the vampires, to Kol. Report anyone whose personalities changed overnight, who possess blue eyes, or markings of the Ouroboros, a snake consuming its own tail. Your signatures are required."

Thierry and Diego looked at Marcel in protest, he merely took the pen, and signed his name.

Hope wished she could join Josie and Lizzie in the next room, but there was still much to discuss, including how The Hollow would take what she desired, with whatever method she felt necessary.

"The way to kill Inadu, is to destroy her host," (using the blood of a Labonair). Kol shot Hope a warning look before she could utter this, since if the Hollow was killed in the past, she would not exist in the future, and neither would their present. Changing the future, was not their business, but surviving the present was. "as with what we saw tonight with LaMarche, may she rest in peace, the thing is, as a vengeful spirit, she can possess anyone, anywhere. So, I will make something to stop that from happening. It should be ready by morning."

Mary perused the titles in Marcel's library, the witches scattered about the room, LaRue the only one seated. Thierry and Diego stood, loyal soldiers to their former king. Kol remained by Hope.

"What was the prayer you said for Andrea?" Hope asked Lenore Bennett, whilst the rest of the party signed the treaty.

Lenore accepted her question, as per Mary's nod, "A cleansing, of sorts. To free the dark spirits from bones, and to protect them from The Hollow – should she wish to use Andrea against her family. Richard Dumas believes she could be brought back, well, I have made sure, with Mary's permission, that although she was consecrated, she would not reappear. Her spirit is at peace."

Mary thanked Lenore, and unwrapped her scarf again, much to the room's confusion.

"My husband forgets himself. Andrea alone protects us from harm, and she alone, holds a secret – passed down generations to four families, each pack instructed to hide four indestructible bones from their true host. Each bone belonged to Inadu, our creator, as we know her, The Hollow. She will return, and she will kill to find it, so, I beg you, take it, hide it, where nobody can find it."

Hope stared at part of the jaw belonging to The Hollow, one of her bones she had sought after for centuries, within reach. Marcel offered to bury it beneath The Garden. LaRue offered to bind it, to a weed growing in Lafayette cemetery. Bastiana Claire offered to hide it in her sister, Marie-Claire's empty crypt, her body remained elsewhere, here she threw Kol a daggered glare.

Kol stepped forward. "I might know a place, but I'll require Bastiana's blood."

"And what would you need my blood for?" she quipped.

Kol shrugged, "To open a crypt which houses an assortment of dark objects, some of which I believe you already know of, judging by the rosary in your hand."

Bastiana spluttered, her nose upturned.

Hope did not need to remind Kol, he was speaking with his future mother-in-law.

He softened his features, "I did not know Klaus would trap Marie-Claire or her friend inside Fauline's Cottage, they offered to help me of their own free will."

Bastiana frowned, "You would say that. As a Mikaelson, you were not opposed to her naivety? You should have sought another's company, and not a witch you charmed; however, you did, and you did it for the sake of your own benefit."

Kol grimaced, "I am much wiser now, Miss Claire, and I apologise for any hurt I have caused you and your family, but for the sake of our current predicament, I have a crypt which only opens with the blood of a Claire witch, that leaves you. So, unless anyone has any better ideas, this is all we've got."

LaRue gave Bastiana a nod, to which she responded with pursed lips, and took Kol's arm, reluctantly.

As if to see if he kept by his word, Marcel took LaRue to witness the artefact's new home. Hope stayed with Lenore and Mary, in silence, watching the fire crackle in the hearth, a reminder of the warmth it gave her, despite being stuck in another time. She wished she could question Mary on Richard, on whether he would return to be the husband she knew - kind, caring, her protector, but it did not seem to be the right time.

Hope wondered the locations of the other bones and remembered Alaric had brought one to them years ago, but The Hollow had taken it before they could see it. Hope knew The Hollow was still out there, bidding her time. She would have spies, and Hope wished she could trust easily, but life had taught her, nobody, not even family could be trusted.

Paranoia skirted the shadows around her.

Mary seemed as wary, hiding her daughter's bones once more in her scarf. She was too young to have lost a child, too young to be here, sitting opposite Hope, with a grim smile, and tired eyes.

Agnes set three new cards on the table. "Judgement; Magician; High Priestess."

Sinclair sighed, "We get it Agnes, we're all doomed, that much is clear."

Hope peered at the Tarot cards, reminded of her aunts, Freya and Freelin.

"Hmm, The Judgement, could mean a reckoning or reflection; The Magician, could mean mastery or creation, and The High Priestess, usually means divine truth or inner voice. Of course, that is just one side to the story, the three could also be represented in a negative light, which, if I remember correctly, judging by years of home schooling and sharing a house with a coven of ancient witches, that would mean: in order of each card – doubt or self-loathing; trickery or deception; loss of self or hidden agendas…" Hope looked back to Agnes, who seemed both impressed and shocked.

Sinclair stared at her. "What coven did you say you were from?"

Hope raised her eyebrows, caught in the truth. "I'm a descendant of Esther Mikaelson," she caved.

Mary lifted her head, "I thought you said you were of Crescent descent," she asked.

Agnes' eyes bore into her soul, perhaps she had said too much, she thought.

The door opened in the wind, which blew in Marcel, LaRue, Kol and Bastiana. Hope noticed Bastiana's hand had been bandaged, and Marcel dropped a dagger on the table, where Bastiana bid them good morning, taking Agnes and Sinclair with her. Marcel released Theirry and Diego to warn their vampire community and educate them on their new laws. LaRue left with Lenore and Mary, keen to return Andrea's bones to the bayou cemetery.

Hope was left to dwell on her thoughts.

"I don't want to be King," Kol said, continuing a past conversation.

"Well, you are, so you better know what you're doing," Marcel grunted.

"Well, considering we're in this mess because of you, maybe I will stay a while."

"I'd say we're in this mess because of you, and your family."

Kol glared at him, "You were never a Mikaelson, stop trying so hard to be one!"

"Will you shut up!" Hope flicked her wrist out of annoyance, using Freya's silencing spell.

Marcel and Kol stood, tight-lipped, eyes darting around the room, rigid like boards.

"I was almost sacrificed by the Hollow, do me a favour, stop arguing so I can brew this potion."

Marcel and Kol nodded, and she flicked her wrist in the other direction lifting the spell.

Marcel massaged his jaw, sending anxious looks at Kol, who collapsed into a nearby armchair.

"I need some fresh turmeric and sage, get them for me, and try not to murder each other."


Between her shallow breaths, Josie's light snores and the warmth of the dwindling fire, Lizzie fell into a stupor, letting images bombard her brain. She dreamt of retrieving her shoes, returning home, sneaking icecream from the kitchen, and having picnics with Sebastian, Pride, and Prejudice style. She heard voices in her mind, like a radio in the distance, she presumed she was hearing the Faction, and didn't make anything of it, lying on the rug.

Josie was fast asleep, her head against the bed frame. How that was comfortable Lizzie did not know. Lizzie drifted to sleep, returning her mind to peaceful serenity, and not opening the drawer to the trauma she had just witnessed. No, to LaMarche's final moments. No, to the Hollow possessing her family, no, to any other scenario her brain threw at her.

Peace; water touching her toes; a seagull flying into the sunrise…

Brynne Deveraux waded into the Mississippi, muttering a spell, sinking into the cold river. Amelia La Fleur stood, a silhouette, on the bridge, as dawn broke across the cloud-less sky. Deveraux sank beneath the dangerous currents, without a cry or splutter... Father Dominic's eyes cast blue as he hid a stake beneath his cloak, passing Jesus on a crucifix. Madeleine Grioux lay amongst roses, a bloodied knife forgotten beneath her outstretched wrists. Thierry and Diego's morose expressions, as LaRue entered Lafayette's cemetery, the witch's blood bleeding into puddles below their feet…

Lizzie opened her eyes – these were no dreams, they were real. She brought her forefinger to her line of sight, her cut still red and puffy, from Grioux's intended rose thorn. Their deaths flashed in her mind one after the other, LaMarche, Father Dominic, Deveraux, Grioux. Four deaths, four followers…. how could she be so ignorant? It was her blood; the Hollow was coming for her!

Lizzie went to Rebekah's writing desk, finding some paper and a quill. She sat staring at the parchment, wishing she could make sense of her mind. She had to write it before she forgot the events. Maybe one was a key to destroying the Hollow, or maybe it was a key to returning home?

May 1942,

Deveraux, Mississippi river, Dubois?

La Fleur? Bridge, dawn…

Father Dominic possessed by the Hollow?

Grioux, suicide, found by Thierry & Diego

My blood, the cause?

Lizzie scribbled notes, trying to make sense of it all, until doors slammed in the distance, and she yawned, resting her head on her arms, still seated at Rebekah's desk, as the sandman claimed her.


Hope entered Rebekah's room, finding Lizzie asleep at the desk, and Josie on the floor. The bed was free, and she was so tired, the potion was brewing, it was would be ready at dawn. She wanted to close her eyes, but was haunted by fragments of her mind, of when the Hollow resided inside her head and made her do terrible things. She looked through Inadu's eyes, at her mother's defiant face, 'I will not let you take my daughter!'

Hope reached for the photograph hidden beneath her bra, and stared at her family, missing the one person she needed most, her mother. She could still hear Rebekah's stories of the princess in her castle, and her parents arguing which forced Elijah to speak his two cents, and Kol, who would rant about Davina, because she would always be his family, "Always and Forever."

It had not come to her at once, but she had lifted Lizzie's note to read the scribbles with a confused brow. She put the pieces together, knowing Lizzie's true potential as a SEER, and realised not of the events to come, but the events as they were. They were in Rebekah's room, the same room her aunt would be in the present time.

With the photo still in her hand, and the quill, Hope scribbled Lizzie's premonition onto the back of the photo, including the date, and the Hollow's name – what it would do, she could not be sure, but an inkling of curiosity befell her, passed down by somebody in her family, surely it was worth a try.

Hope opened the drawer, rousing Lizzie with the squeak of the wood, and muttered about her to sleep. She layered the photograph on top of the writing pad, beside the ink bottle, and several quills: a message for the future. Maybe it could be some use to Freya or Davina. Rebekah would not give up on them and she prayed, this would be her reward, all she had to do was open her drawer.

Hope did one more thing to ensure her note would be found, stealing some charcoal from the fire, she blew on the wood, causing it to cool down, before scratching just one letter, a M for Mikaelson. In any case, an H would have been far too noticeable, whereas M, could be construed as M for Marcel, or M for Mikaelson. Both which nobody would second guess, being the writing desk of Rebekah Mikaelson, Marcel's sweetheart.

Hope closed the drawer, and returned to the bed, where Lizzie had excused herself. Josie lifted her head as Hope passed, weary, "Is it morning?" Josie asked as Hope helped her stand.

"Not yet," Hope let her body drop beside Lizzie, eager for some shut eye.

Josie threw the quilt over them and buried her head into her pillow, "Goodnight, Hope."


A figure waiting on the balcony. Hope creeps up the stairs, wiping beignet sugar from her bottom lip, her footsteps soft against the floor. She hears her parents conversing. Elijah is seated nearby, a newspaper on his knee. Marcel's eyes catch her curious ones through the gap in the door. Her breath catches in her throat and she flees to the shadows, his sigh follows her, "Tell your daughter, she does not need to fear me."

The scene changes and repeats… but Klaus is alone, his back to her, alone with his thoughts. Hope takes a deep breath and pushes the door ajar, entering the room.

"Dad?" she ventures forward, confused by his silence.

He turns from the railing, his eyes pulsating neon blue…

Hope's childhood screams morph into her own, her heart weighted in her chest, as fear consumes her. She sat upright, confused by the bodies beside her. Josie muttered a spell, lighting the room with a controlled ball of fire, rotating in her palm. Whilst it warmed them and the room, Lizzie comforted Hope, and asked one question, on both their minds: "Is it The Hollow?"

Her answer was interrupted by Kol and Marcel's abrupt arrival, their gaze upon Hope's terrified face told them of their fears. Josie snuffed the flame from her hand, in her closed fist, as Marcel switched on the light. Lizzie sprang from the bed, determined to protect them, should he think of harming them for using magic, but Kol raised his arm against Marcel – who took a step back.

"Magic in the French Quarter is no longer my concern. My concern is protecting those who cannot protect themselves, children, who will suffer first and foremost, at the hands of The Hollow," Marcel admitted.

Hope exhaled, giving Lizzie and Josie smiles of thanks, and climbed from the bed.

She hugged Kol, comforting them both, "I had a dream, I saw The Hollow possess Klaus."

Kol nodded, pressing his lips against her forehead.

"I promise I won't let her anywhere near you this time."


Beignets, croissants, chocolat au chaud, everything they could possibly want for breakfast. A buffet of sweets reminded Hope of her childhood. Marcel truly was Klaus' son, his love for sweets had been passed down a generation, and Hope smiled, her nightmares pushed to the back of her mind, whilst she showed Josie and Lizzie her favourite sweets.

"A truce, if you will," Marcel began. "This is how I treat guests in my home."

Kol had icing on his upper lip, beignets were also his favourite, which Hope liked about him.

"I don't mind if I do," Lizzie murmured, plating up, whilst Kol poured them coffee.

"Too much sugar will rot your teeth," Josie warned them.

"Trust you to be the voice of reason," Lizzie hissed.

Marcel raised his goblet, which Hope presumed was filled with wine or blood, she turned a blind eye, ready to fill her stomach, then return to business.

"No parents, no rules, except to enjoy oneself, always and forever," Marcel uttered.

Footsteps alerted them to a new guest.

The long tables in the courtyard were filled with vampires, humans and witches, a sign of hospitality from Marcel, encouraged through Kol's offer of reconciliation, a new era. Heads swivelled to the eastern side of the courtyard. A gasp from the witches who knew his name, as did the rest of them. Hope's heart stopped as she was faced with someone she had wanted to see since their arrival.

Klaus Mikaelson was alive and well.

"Hello brother," he grinned, hands behind his back, eyes to blood orange skies.

He faced Marcel, "Hello son, have you turned my home into your own little fort?"

Kol held onto Hope, keeping her at bay, there was something off, and Hope felt it too.

It was as if the Necromancer had pulled some strings, knowing Hope's weakness was her father.

Kol had one stupid idea to tell if Klaus really was Klaus, or The Hollow in disguise. He lunged, punching his brother in the face, knocking out a few teeth, which would inevitably grow back.

Klaus rubbed his jaw, mildly annoyed.

"I must say, I'm surprised to see you, Kol. Who let you out? Was it, Elijah, or Rebekah?"

Kol grimaced, "You certainly sound like my brother," he punched Klaus again.

Klaus threw Kol against the wall, where he lay groaning before Klaus turned to Hope.

"I see I have interrupted another of my son's parties, do carry on, I only wish to see what I was missing, you see New Orleans was my home once, before this street urchin, claimed it for his own."

Marcel stepped in, much to Hope's dread, and raised his arms, his confidence and smirk back.

"By all mean, Klaus, my sire, join us, after all, you did raise me in your image."

Klaus Mikaelson grinned, a blue glow in his eyes.

It was a trick; she should have known the Hollow would not play fair.

Klaus cracked his neck from side to side, Marcel, stepped back, Thierry and Diego wary but on alert.

Klaus held something in his hand, a phial… the potion Hope had been brewing all night. He crushed it easily in his palm, the shards of glass in his hand only seemed to satisfy him.

"Nothing can stop me, Hope. I will find what belongs to me, whether you help me or not."

Hope released Josie and Lizzie's hands, giving them an 'I'll be fine' look, this was her fate.

"Klaus died for me, his daughter. I know your real name Inadu, and I'm not afraid of you."

Marcel stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time.

Hope stepped out in front of Marcel; courage made her his protector.

Kol picked himself up from the rubble, pushing Thierry and Diego aside in his fear to protect Hope.

"Hope, don't. We need you. I know sacrifice runs in our blood, but your parents would kill me if I let anything happen to you," he pleaded.

She could see the fear in his eyes, but it was her fate, and hers alone, as it always had been.

Hope sighed, wishing things could be different, but history was repeating. "I'm sorry, Kol."

Hope raised her arms into the air, pushing all her energy forward, into Death itself.


"HOPE, NO!"

Lizzie and Josie screamed, running forwards, refusing to let her be the martyr a second time.

It was Josie who threw herself in front of Hope, absorbing the tribrid's power.

She faced The Hollow in her Klaus mask, ready to face all her fears.

It was like she was shielded by a block of ice, separated from her family.

Lizzie and Hope's muffled screams echoed faintly in her ears.

It was Lizzie who had mentioned the merge, the merge which still haunted them both, a Gemini tradition which had already stripped them of their aunts and uncles. If she had known a few days ago, she would sacrifice herself, for the greater good, she would have laughed, but standing there, shielding Hope from the Hollow's darkness gave her strength – and maybe just a little tribrid magic could destroy the darkness within her.

Josie screamed, wrapping her arms around The Hollow, hoping it would be enough to destroy it.

She felt powerful, a bright blinding light exploded around her, and she heard her in her head.

"Your sacrifice will be not in vain, but if you expect to walk out of this yourself, you are mistaken. No, I am not Klaus Mikaelson, but I can change your fate. You are scared to merge with your sister, so merge with me, give me your full allegiance and I will grant you one wish, and one wish only."

Josie knew it was the only way. A lone tear rolled down her cheek as she accepted her destiny.

"My friends are stuck between times, send them back, and I will be your most faithful ally."

She could feel Lizzie's fingers digging into her arm.

"Josie, for the love of God, whatever you're thinking it's crazy! I need you!"

"It was Lizzie's blood that resurrected me, she will blame herself for your death?"

"She will be better off without me, she said so herself."

"My family brought me into this world, only to kill me when I became too much. You and I have a lot in common, Josie Saltzman, but still, I am unsure why, tell me why I should believe you?"

"Josie, I told you before, I am NEVER leaving you, do you hear me?"

Josie felt Hope grab onto her other hand, pleading for her to change her mind.

"Not Josie, take me instead, it was my blood you wanted!" Lizzie yelled.

"Because you and I are the same, darkness is our destiny, and we do not run from fate."

Josie felt like her body was going to be ripped apart as the Hollow's energy spread through her body.

Klaus was gone, and she only had seconds, before her plan was set in motion.

She looked at Lizzie, Hope and Kol, their fearful expressions matched Marcel's, but Josie was not afraid, not anymore, she knew what Hope had felt when she had entered Malivore. Josie could still feel human emotions, she was still partly herself. It was not the end; she would see them again.

She closed her eyes tight, "Remember your promise," she whispered to Inadu.

It is done.

Josie opened her eyes, a fluorescent blue, her family gone, and only Marcel left gaping in their wake.


A/N: How we feeling? I was slightly emotional writing this. Got some good twists coming up in chapter 6, stay tuned. Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews x