Babette couldn't believe her eyes at first when she saw Hati stroll into the hall behind lord Harkon's daughter. His face was covered but she recognized his purple eyes and white hair, not to mention his distinctive smell. He was taller than the last time she'd seen him, she wondered if he'd grown in any other ways… She retreated into a darkened corner to watch the exchange between Harkon, Serana, and Hati from a safe distance, keeping her eyes exclusively trained on Hati during it.

"It is my decree that you shall become one of us, Halfdan." Without thinking of the consequences, Serana freed her thrall as soon as she heard those words. She wasn't strong enough to face her father, but at least she could give Halfdan a choice: accept Harkon's offer/command, or death. The alternative to vampirism wasn't very appealing, Serana would admit, but at least he had a choice, something that she was denied… He could at least die with his dignity intact. Without realizing it, she held her breath as she watched her father, transformed into his vampire lord form, approach Halfdan. She was impressed at how the boy had managed to keep his composure and hadn't revealed he was free, she was certain that all of the magical compulsion was gone. Perhaps he analyzed the situation and realized he didn't really have any other choice at the moment but to accept her father's embrace. Serana felt guilt as she realized the futility of her actions. Releasing him only gave the illusion of freedom, he didn't have a choice in what was about to happen: in fact, she may have made things worse, as now he would be completely aware as his freedom was fully taken away from him. For when someone becomes a vampire through normal means, they are magically tethered to their sire. Halfdan would merely pass from being her thrall to Harkon's slave. Serana closed her eyes just as Harkon went in for the bite.

Suddenly she heard a commotion, a howl of pain, then a loud explosion and a flash of light. She opened her eyes to find a sight that truly shocked her. Harkon clutched his throat with both hands as blood gushed out of a nasty slice across it while the rest of the vampires present clutch their eyes and howl in pain, some of them burning as if they were in sunlight. She spotted Halfdan leaping through a window across from her. She looked back to Harkon as he struggled to yell something, gurgling on his own blood. Something was wrong, normally he would've healed from a wound like that instantly, it would've been little more than an inconvenience. Yet here he was still bleeding and he even dropped to his knees.

"After him! Don't let the mortal escape!" Vingalmo was among the first to recover from whatever explosion just happened and he quickly mobilized night stalkers after Halfdan.

"S-ser… Ser-*GARGLE*-na!"

"Father!" Serana quickly fell to her father's side, concern on her face. Harkon, now back in his human form, reached out a hand which she grasped, then he weakly stuttered out: "B-blood, I-I n-need blo-ood-d." Serana looked around, spotting the nearest goblet filled with the red sustenance, and brought it over to him. He greedily grasped it and drank it up. His wound still didn't heal, but he seemed to regain some strength. He instantly stood up and pounced on the nearest thrall. He drained her almost instantly then, in his revelry, tore her head off. Serana flinched at the gruesome sight. Even though he was in his human form, Harkon looked feral at the moment, more beast than man. His wound, however, finally stopped bleeding.

"BRING ME THAT MORTAL!" Harkon had a cruel wicked smile on his face as he roared out his command.

Halfdan fell about two stories, rolling and tumbling out of a rough landing. Thankfully, his adrenaline was so high he barely processed the pain. He checked his bandolier and pouches for an invisibility potion, but most of his vials broke during the commotion, so he popped a stamina potion, which was all he had left, then kept running. He'd made it out of the keep but onto a different courtyard than the one he'd entered through. He heard movement coming from the left, so he bolted in the opposite direction.

He came upon another pair of double doors and, after a moment's hesitation and hearing the vampires' footsteps growing louder, he dashed inside. Immediately after entering, Halfdan's senses were once again overwhelmed by the scent of blood. Inside he found a crude kitchen of sorts where a vampire and two human thralls seemed to be preparing bloody meals for the inhabitants of the castle. The vampire initially surprised at the intrusion, noticed Halfdan's alert expression and hissed for the thralls to get him while lunging himself at Halfdan.

Halfdan, still gripping Mehrunes' Razor, slashed haphazardly at the blur that was the lunging vampire, successfully nicking him; then pulled out Baldr, his sword, with his free hand to deal with the thralls. One came at him with an axe in a downward slash. Haldan used his superiorly-crafted sword to slice straight through the haft of the axe and neck of the attacking thrall in a single swing. He spun meeting another thrall thrusting a dagger his way, which he deftly parried with Mehrunes' Razor then stuck Baldr through the poor sod's ribs. The vampire he'd nicked earlier weakly attempted another attack, unaware that the Razor's power meant he was already done for. Halfdan merely expedited the process by swiftly decapitating the cursed creature.

Immediately after finishing the vampire, Halfdan started running deeper into the castle, just as night stalkers barged into the kitchen pursuing him.

Down one Hallway.

Left.

Down some stairs.

Another Hallway.

Footsteps.

Turn back.

Right.

Dead end.

Shit.

Suddenly Halfdan felt a small prick in his neck and everything went black.

Sometime later.

Halfdan opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by corpses, bones, and rats. Not many worse places he'd woken up in, and that's saying something. He groaned as he pushed a foul-smelling-corpse off him and sat up, the adrenaline from earlier gone and his injuries making themselves known again.

Wait.

How did he get here?

The last thing he remembered was that he was trapped in a castle full of ancient vampires out to get him!

"Hello, Hati. It's been a while."

Halfdan jumped at the mention of his old name, and the voice that spoke it.

"Babette?!" The 300+-year-old vampire trapped in a child's body grinned charmingly at Halfdan. As expected from a vampire she looked exactly the way Halfdan remembered her, golden curls cascading her petite childish body. The only thing betraying her true nature was her cunning yellow eyes.

"I see you've grown into a handsome young man, little Hati. Oh, forgive me! It's Halfdan these days, isn't it? I have to say I liked Hati better; besides, apart from growing a little taller, it doesn't seem like you've changed much, have you? Still the same propensity for murder and trouble I see."

"But if you're here.. does that mean-!?" Adrenaline rushed back into Halfdan as he reached for his sword but it was missing.

"Relax, Hati. If I was going to kill you or give you to Harkon, you'd be dead already, trust me." Babette rolled her eyes. "And sorry about your sword, I had to throw it away along with your cloak to leave a false trail for the night stalkers and buy us some time while I hid you away. This is where they dispose of the thralls' bodies so your scent should be masked, for the time being, you can't stay here much longer though. Harkon's lackeys are sure to search this area sooner or later and besides, the ointments I've applied to your wounds won't stave off infection for long in this disgusting place." She gestures at the decaying corpses all around.

"Babette… It's… It is good to see you…" Halfdan wasn't sure how to feel. Growing up in the brotherhood, Babette was like an older sister to him. Despite him renouncing his past life when he joined the companions, he still thought of Nazir and Babette as his family, even though they likely resented him for ultimately destroying their family. After he destroyed the Night Mother, they all agreed it was better to move on and walk their own paths. Hati felt that they'd abandoned him but he was still a child at the time, a broken child. He didn't have the strength or conviction to express his desire for them to stay with him. And even if he did, they probably wouldn't have wanted to, given that ultimately it was his fault Astrid betrayed them, and by slaying the Night Mother, Hati destroyed any chance for the brotherhood to ever recover. If Kodlak had not found him when he did, Halfdan would've likely lost himself to despair. "But… Why are you helping me?"

She sighs and looks genuinely sympathetic for once. "Look Hati, I understand why you did… what you did. In the process, you lost your home, so did me and Nazir. That part of our lives is gone and we just have to accept it and move on. But we are still family and no matter where we are or what we do nothing will change that. Living as long as I have, I forget that sometimes it can be hard, especially for younger people like yourself, to pick yourself up after something like that. I should've looked out for you after what happened, but my own feelings about the situation made me want to run and leave those memories behind, as I'm sure Nazir did as well. For that, I am sorry."

Halfdan felt his eyes water. Without thinking he lunged at the immortal child in a bear-hug. "I thought you hated me for what I'd done. For all that I'd caused…"

Babette was stunned, she'd never seen Hati express so much joy or any emotion for that matter. In the brotherhood, he'd always maintained a stoic mask only ever breaking when he was forced to kill Astrid, and back then his sorrow lasted for mere moments before it was replaced by a cold fury and determination that lasted throughout his bloody path of revenge that culminated with the death of the Night Mother, after which his face returned to a permanent blank expression. Eventually, she settled into the embrace and hugged him back smiling contentedly. She couldn't help but giggle as they separated and she saw Hati with tear-stained laughing and grinning back at her: even though he was a young adult now, he looked more like a child now than he did back then.

It was actually rather bizarre, considering where their reunion took place, but then again neither of them were strangers to death.

Finally, Halfdan finished laughing and his expression became one of mild concern and curiosity. "But how did you end up here of all places, sister?"

"Really, Hati? I'm a vampire, you dimwit, and an assassin. A rather valuable commodity, of course. Unfortunately, I'm also a child to most eyes, so finding work by traditional means would raise too many questions, and wandering around alone as a little girl… Well, let's just say it attracts all sorts of unsavory characters. So I reached out to some of my undead contacts, and it wasn't long before I secured a cushy place with this lot. I will say I liked Astrid way more than Harkon, but oh well, beggars can't be choosers. The bigger surprise is how in oblivion did you end up here?"

Halfdan chuckled nervously and embarrassed. "Well, it's a long story but it seems I was magically charmed by that vampire woman I came here with." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Damn, she must be pretty damn old and powerful to have charmed you, I was never able to do so even when you were a little boy with no training. I guess it's to be expected, she is Harkon's long-lost daughter apparently"

Halfdan's face darkened as he reached for something in his chest. His amulet! The vampire took it from him. Damn it! And now he lost his sword as well. Kodlak was going to kill him... And that amulet was all he had of his mother. His fists clenched and shook.

Babette noticed his demeanor shift and decided to remind him of his precarious situation. "Listen, it's time you get going. Here, I prepared these two potions while you were unconscious. One will make you invisible for 30 seconds in case of an emergency, the other will keep you warm and allow you to breathe underwater. I'm afraid the only chance you have of leaving this Island alive is by swimming." She handed him two vials, one blue, one clear.

"Why DID you knock me out anyway? You could've just led me here, sister…" Halfdan grabbed the vials then lifted his gaze back at Babette.

"Are you kidding? You had that creepy frenzied grin you get whenever you stand a legitimate chance of dying." Whenever Hati found himself in a situation where he was fighting someone beyond his level, his adrenaline spiked and without realizing it, he'd break out into an excited grin. His instincts kicked into overdrive and usually, he'd somehow manage to kill whatever threat he was faced with. Yet it also made him dangerous to his allies as well if they got in his way. His uncle Arnbjorn said it might be a side-effect of being born to a werewolf mother. Hati didn't have the beast form itself in him, or at least it wouldn't awaken until he underwent the ritual at the underforge, but he had inherited a few animalistic traits, such as heightened senses and that frenzied bloodlust.

"Oh. I see…" Halfdan looked a bit downcast. During his years in the brotherhood, his uncle taught him to embrace the bloodlust. His grandfather Kodlak, however, was teaching him the value of restraint and how to better control his bloodlust. It was only now he realized he'd killed innocent, human thralls earlier with no hesitation or remorse. At that moment, because he let his bloodlust take control of him he was back to being Hati, the ruthless killer. He was disappointed in himself, but now was not the time to dwell on it. He could speak of it with Kodlak once he made it safely back to Jorrvaskr.

He turned and walked to the edge of the inlet where the remains of dead thralls were swept away by the sea. He looked back at Babette one last time.

"Will… Will I ever see you again?"

Babette smiled "Don't worry little Hati, I know where to find you. I promise to stop by if I'm ever in the area. "She winked and smirked before motioning him to get going. He smiled, reassured himself, and gulped down the contents of the blue vial before diving into the cold ocean and starting the long swim to safety.

A/N: SO just to clarify, in this story I made Arnbjorn be Kodlak's son and Halfdan/Hati's mother is his daughter / Arnbjorn's sister. She may or may not appear in this story or another one in the future, we'll see.

While on the subject of Halfdan/Hati, let me know wat you think of the usage of both names in the reviews please! I switch back and forth between the two names at times during the narration to kind of symbolize his identity crisis a bit and also depending on who's pov is the focus. Anyway let me know if you like it, or not, or if you have any tips to implement it better, thanks!