Chapter 16- Josie Isn't the Only One Missing.

"What's so important about Alyssa that has you both so worried?" Lizzie asked Emma and Alaric.

Emma and Alaric just looked at each other, like they were silently trying to decide if they should actually admit what they have done. After a few minutes Alaric shook his head, took a deep breath and started to speak. "So, Alyssa has had a… chequered past, to say the least. When we found her, she was sat on the steps of her house. It had been blown up. We aren't exactly sure how it happened, but we knew it was magic-related. We get alerted to any supernatural uprising that involves children…"

"What Alaric is trying to say is Alyssa had the ability to perform black magic without any consequences, like Hope in some ways. But Alyssa didn't know when enough was enough and it infected her. We had a couple incidents with her. And we had to send her away. We, erm, we sent her to the Prison World." Emma spoke softly.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, they only spend a day there… But it's longer in there, so they feel like they have been in there a week. When we bring them back out, we erase their memories. I'm guessing that Josie's spell brought back her prison world memories as well." Alaric replied.

Lizzie and Hope stared at them both in disbelief. Hope was the first to speak. "How many people have you actually done this to?"

"In the past twelve years? Five people. But we only did it in extreme circumstances. And with Alyssa, we did it twice. The first time was when she kept causing fights, spreading rumours and turned you and your sister purple… Then the second time was when she set you on fire and you ended up in the hospital." Alaric took Lizzie's hands in his own. "We just wanted to protect you and the students. We tried to manage her, but we failed."

"Well we need to find her and if she has done something to the Ascendant then we need to deal with that as well." Hope stated.

Out of nowhere Freya appeared. "Hey guys, sorry to drop in like this."

"How did you get in here?" Alaric asked.

"She's not actually here. It's astral projection. Hey Aunt Freya." Hope smiled.

"How did she know where we were?" Lizzie frowned.

"Oh I didn't mean to drop in on all of you, I just focused on Hope. I can go if you're too busy now." Freya said.

"No, it's okay Freya, you could probably do with hearing this." Alaric stated.

"We were just talking about the Ascendant and how they decided to throw bad students into the Prison World." Hope shook her head.

"Ookay then. Well I have some information that might be useful in trying to locate your missing witch." Freya stated.

"It's actually two… missing witches." Emma said as she made a tight-lipped smile.

"Right. So I've had a look through some of the Grimoires and there is a way to uncloak someone. But it's a long and difficult process. It takes over 24 hours to prepare. So I'm going to get on the next flight out to you. Vincent, Davina and Keelin will be coming out as well. Kol is going to look after Nik for us. There are a few things that you will need to get in the meantime. I'm not sure how difficult it will be for you, but we need Bennett blood. Is there any chance you have some lying around the school somewhere?" Freya asked.

"That's shouldn't be a problem. Bonnie is actually on her way here now. She's concerned about the Ascendant being activated by black magic and if Kai is out, she will help us." Alaric stated.

"Okay, well I'll send Hope a text with everything else I need. I will bring as much as I can with me. But I'll see you all in a few hours." Freya replied.

"Do you need someone to pick you all up from the airport?" Emma asked.

"No it's okay, we will just rent a car." Freya replied. "I'll see you soon Hope. Bye guys." Freya disappeared soon after.

It wasn't long before Hope had a text with a list of instructions. "Lizzie can you help me?" Hope asked.

"No, I don't want to. I want to stay here with my Dad." Lizzie replied.

"Lizzie. Help Hope. The quicker you two get it done the quicker we can find Josie." Alaric stated.

"Ugh. Fine." Lizzie groaned as she stood up. "What do you need me to do?"

"I'll send you half the list." Hope replied as she headed out the door to start her tasks.

"Always so bossy." Lizzie groaned.

"Lizzie, behave." Alaric frowned. Lizzie just waved her hand as she headed out the door and started her tasks.

It was around 7pm when the girls had gathered everything they needed and left it in Alaric's office. There was still no news on Josie or Alyssa. Bonnie had arrived a few hours earlier and donated her blood, she hung around for a while, trying to get a read on the school and the students that remained. She took a walk through the Stefan Salvatore Memorial Library and reminisced with Alaric about the past. It wasn't long before Freya, Keelin, Davina and Vincent turned up.

Hope ran and hugged Freya as soon as she saw her, it was also the first time she allowed herself to cry all day. She couldn't hold it in anymore. In that moment, she needed to be vulnerable because the rest of the time she had to be stoic, she needed to focus on saving Josie and possibly killing Alyssa. Freya allowed her niece to be vulnerable, they stood there for about ten minutes before Davina joined in. "Awe it's like a little Hope sandwich." Keelin laughed, which in turn caused the other three girls to laugh as well. After another five minutes Davina and Freya stepped away from Hope.

"I'm sorry, I got tears and snot all over your shirt." Hope laughed wetly.

"Oh trust me, that's nothing compared to what Nik can do." Freya laughed. "Are you okay if you can show Keelin, Davina and Vincent to their rooms? I need to go and have a quick chat with Alaric and Bonnie."

"Yeah that's fine." Hope smiled. "This way guys." Hope walked around the school, giving the remaining three people a quick tour before she took them upstairs. She pointed out the key rooms that they would probably need to know while they are here. Hope took Vincent up to his room first. He was placed in a single room on the 'boys' floor. Then she took Davina and Keelin up to their room. "We are all going to be sharing one room. I hope that's okay? They don't really have spare rooms to hand out to people. Don't worry, each room has 2 double beds, so Aunt Davina you will be sharing with me and Aunt Freya and Aunt Keelin will be sharing a bed." Hope said as she opened the door to the room.

"That's okay sweetie, I don't mind. I know that wolves can get possessive if they have to share the ones they love with other people." Davina jested.

"What can I say? We don't like to share." Keelin laughed. "Have you experienced that yet?" She raised her eyebrow as she directed her question to Hope.

"I, erm… What do you mean?" Hope asked, trying to act dumb but she knew it didn't work when Keelin started laughing.

"Awe the little wolf is in love." Davina laughed.

"My girlfriend is missing and you're making jokes?!" Hope snarled. "Shit. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that… I don't know what came over me." Hope deflated on the bed.

"It's okay, it's understandable that you're upset. I don't blame you. That's why we are all here. We will find her. I promise." Davina said as she moved to sit down next to Hope and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

"How about after we have something to eat, me and you can go for a run?" Keelin said as she joined the other two girls, sitting on the opposite side of Davina. "It will be good to clear your head."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks Aunt Keelin." Hope smiled weakly.

The three girls sat in silence for a while before Lizzie walked in. "Oh god. Who died?" Lizzie was just as shocked by the words that fell out of her mouth as everyone else in the room. "I didn't mean to say that… I just came to tell you that my dad has dinner prepared for all of you. Oh don't worry, he didn't actually cook it." Lizzie smiled before she quickly turned on her heels and exited the room.

"Lizzie Saltzman… always a way with words. Thank God that Josie is nothing like her." Hope smiled as she shook her head, thinking about her girlfriend, then she felt sad again as all she wanted to do was hold her and kiss her and never let her go. Davina and Keelin saw all the emotions wash over their niece's face.

"Come on. I'm starving, and I can't wait to eat. Airplane food is horrible." Keelin laughed as she stood up, holding her hand out for Hope. Hope took it and stood up, giving Keelin a quick hug before the three of them headed downstairs.

Alaric, Bonnie, Emma, Freya, Lizzie and Vincent were already at the table waiting for the rest of them to join. The three of them sat down and engaged in small talk. No one wanted to talk about all the heavy stuff that was weighing on them. Hope was kind of relieved by it, but she also hated the fact that no one was willing to accept that there was someone missing from the table. Hope, Lizzie and Alaric felt that weight a bit too much. Hope just grinned and bared it and got through the dinner without smashing the table up in anger. Keelin could sense her distress.

"I'm going to take Hope on a run. I think she's not going to be able to last much longer at the table." Keelin whispered to Freya.

"Okay babe, take care of her." Freya smiled back.

"This was a lovely dinner Alaric, thank you for taking time out of your evening to do this for our family. But if you wouldn't mind excusing me and Hope, we are going to go on a run. Is it okay to use the back acres?" Keelin asked.

"It's fine. Erm, yeah all the students are still on lockdown so you shouldn't be disturbed out there." Alaric smiled.

"Thank you, Alaric." Keelin stood up and squeezed Hope's shoulder. "Come on sweetie."

"Thanks Doctor S." Hope smiled weakly.

Hope and Keelin walked to over to the Old Mill in silence. Keelin knew that Hope would talk when she's ready, and right now she wasn't. As soon as they reached their destination Hope stripped off and transitioned. When she was in her wolf form, she waited patiently for Keelin to do the same before they both took off running together.

They ran for about 2 hours before Keelin started to get tired, she gestured to Hope to head back but Hope wasn't ready. So Keelin padded back to the Old Mill and waited for Hope to wear herself out, she kept an eye on Hope from a distance. Even though she was tired, she didn't transition back until Hope had finished. She wanted to be on guard in case anything happened.

Hope ran for another 2 hours before she returned back to Keelin, but she didn't transition right away. She was too tired, so she padded her way up into the wooden structure and curled up into a ball in the corner. Keelin followed her and stretched out in front of her, protectively. Hope eventually fell to sleep.

Hope woke up about an hour later, still in her wolf form, she stretched out her paws and padded them against Keelin's fur. Hope growled slightly before she stood up and started to nip at Keelin's neck. Keelin growled at Hope before she lifted her own paw and swatted Hope's neck, knocking her head down to the floor. Hope whined slightly before she stood up and started jumping around the room. After about five minutes, Hope stopped jumping. She walked over to her pile of clothes and transitioned back to human then proceeded to get dressed.

Once Hope was dressed, Keelin transitioned back. "Thanks for staying with me." Hope smiled.

"It's okay little one. It's what I'm here for." Keelin smiled. "You know if you ever want to talk about anything. I'm here. You don't have to keep it all bottled up."

"I know. It's just hard… These past few months have been the hardest. It is probably on the same scale as loosing my parents. A part of me was relieved that they aren't alive, so they didn't forget me as well. And then me and Josie… I love her so much and I honestly don't know what I would do if she died. It's killing me… not knowing. A part of me knows she's not hurt, but a part of me knows she's not safe either and all of me just wants to find her and never let her go." Hope deflated onto the worn-out sofa.

"I know what you are going through is hard. But we will find her. I promise you. I don't ever want you to feel that way again. You shouldn't have to feel like you are losing a part of yourself. We are all here to support you. And we will do everything in our power to bring Josie back to you. Okay?" Keelin spoke softly.

"Yeah I know, I just feel so worthless right now." Hope sighed.

"I know sweetie." Keelin pulled Hope into a hug. "We should probably head back inside before Freya has an aneurism or something." Keelin chuckled slightly. "People say wolves are over-protective but the Mikaelson women are just as bad."

"Hey! That's not very nice." Hope laughed. "Oh god. If that's true, I feel sorry for Josie."

"I feel sorry for the poor bastard that has her." Keelin shook her head. "Actually, no I don't. That bastard deserves everything that is coming after them." Keelin stayed silent for a few minutes. "Come on then sweetie, let's go."

Hope nodded then stood up. Keelin followed her and they both headed back to the school. "Thanks for listening to me." Hope smiled as they entered the school. They tried to silently creep into their room, but Davina and Freya were sat up talking. They both smiled at Hope as she walked in.

"Glad to see you're both safe. I was just about to send out a search party." Freya laughed.

"Sorry Aunt Freya. I guess I was more pent up than I thought I was. I ran for about 4 hours. Aunt Keelin whimped out after 2 hours." Hope laughed as she playfully jabbed Keelin in the side.

"She literally ran me ragged. I am shattered. She fell asleep for an hour then she wanted to play fight! I don't know where she gets her energy from." Keelin smiled as she shook her head. "Get in your own bed. I want some alone time with my wife." Keelin laughed as she swatted Davina's arm.

"Just wait until Nik grows up. If you can't keep up with me now what are you going to be like in 15 years?" Hope laughed as she got changed into a pair of shorts and a vest.

"Well Hopefully, he won't have triggered his werewolf side… But if he has, then I'm sure you can teach him." Freya laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, you're just scared that you'll be too old, and he will break you." Hope laughed.

"Enough of your cheek young lady." Keelin laughed.

"Ooo, what you going to do about it?" Hope taunted from the middle of the room. Keelin looked at Davina and it was like they both had the same idea. Next thing Hope knows is that she is being tackled onto Freya and Keelin's bed by Davina. Hope let out a surprised scream at the attack. "Well that's just not fair." Hope laughed as the three other women started to pile on top of her, tickling her. After about five minutes Hope raised her hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay. I get it. You win. Can we go to bed now please?" Hope huffed.

"Yeah, yeah. Go to bed little one. You need the rest." Freya said as she kissed Hope's head.

"Goodnight sweetie." Keelin smiled.

"Goodnight you guys." Hope smiled as she slid off the bed and padded over to her own. Davina not long behind her. It didn't take long for Hope to fall asleep. Her dreams were filled with sweet memories of Josie. For the first time today, she felt at peace. Even though Josie wasn't here, a part of her knew that Josie wasn't hurt, so she found some comfort in that. Tomorrow was a new day with a new set of problems to tackle. Hopefully Hope would see her girlfriend again.

Josie was trying to scream and fight against her attacker, but she quickly wore herself out. Next thing she remembered is she woke up in a cold, dark room and her head was throbbing. Her eyes scanned the room, there was nothing but a mattress, a bottle of water and a door. Josie ran over to the door and started banging on it. The door flung open when her fists connected with it, causing her to fall on the floor.

"Oh good. You're awake." A voice called to her from the other side of the room. "I thought I might have killed you. You've been out for over 15 hours."

"Who are you and what am I doing here?" Josie groaned as she pulled herself up, her eyes ran across the room trying to locate where the voice came from.

"You'll find out in due time my dear. And for what you are doing here, well I needed you alone." The voice called, as he stepped out from the shadows, wiping the corners of his mouth.

"And you couldn't just talk to me like a normal person? You had to kidnap me, why?" Josie hesitated as the figure started walking towards her.

"Well you can thank your friend Alyssa for that." He gestured towards a tied-up Alyssa in the corner of the room he just left. "She said that there was no way to talk to you alone. Not with your hound tracking your every move."

"Alyssa isn't my friend. And I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't have a dog." Josie replied.

"Oh but you do. Her name's Hope, right? I'm sure that's what Alyssa told me. She's your little pet wolf. Follows you everywhere, tracks you. I bet you didn't know that she could track you for miles. It was definitely fun to watch her run around the woods looking for you. She got so confused trying to track your scent. I mean it only took her an hour to give up on you." He laughed.

"Don't you ever go near Hope or I swear to god I will kill you." Josie spat.

"Awe sweetie, I'd like to see you try… See I made sure this place was completely magic free before I brought you here. Because I know that you are a syphon, so you don't have access to your own magic. And I placed an anti-syphon barrier spell around Alyssa so you can't get to her. She should wake up soon, that's if I didn't drink too much." He laughed.

"What do you want?" Josie asked.

"I just told you. I wanted to talk to you." He replied as he sat down at the table in the middle of the room.

"Well talk then."

"Oh, you're no fun. I debated between taking you or your sister. But Lizzie seems… like she would be to much of a problem and a pain in the arse. Plus, you remind me so much of your mother when she was your age. It feels like I'm actually talking to her." He laughed.

"My mother? You know Caroline?" Josie frowned.

"No, not Caroline. I can't believe our coven have been so selfish and they actually transplanted you both into her. They couldn't just let me have this one thing." He shook his head. "No. I'm talking about my sister. Jo, Josette. Like you. Quite fitting, you look like her and you have her name. Oh it would be so sweet if I could kill you as well." He said smugly.

"You're Kai?" Josie voice broke slightly. "How did you get out of the Prison World?"

"Oh you have Alyssa to thank for that. You see, a few years ago she appeared in the Prison World out of nowhere. I thought it was the God's playing a trick on me. I hadn't fed for a while and I thought I was hallucinating; desiccation is not a fun thing to experience. Anyway, there she was, little Alyssa Chang at age 10. I fed off her and got some of my strength back. I could have snapped her head right then." Kai hummed as he replayed the memory over in his head. "But I didn't. Because I knew that every couple of years or so another person would show up. And I try not to kill little kids anymore, but I do feed from them. Then they disappear again. It's a strange occurrence, I could never figure out how it happened. Anyways, Alyssa turned up again, this time she was a little bit older, probably 12 or 13. She didn't remember me, which in hindsight was a good thing. So, this time I didn't drink from her. I actually spoke to her, which was like experiencing death all over again. Do you realise how insufferable kids can be? Oh I just wanted to kill her, but then she told me that she got sent here by Doctor Saltzman. I thought that was strange because I was pretty sure I killed my sister. So they never actually got married. Then she told me Doctor Saltzman was a man, and that he had twins! Twins!" Kai laughed dryly as he shook his head. "And that the reason she was here was because she set one of you on fire? I'm guessing it was Lizzie, right? Oh she absolutely hates that girl. And from what she told me; I'm surprised that anyone likes her." He laughed.

"Don't talk about my sister that way!" Josie shouted.

"Oh god, calm down woman. Are you going to sit down? This is a long story that I am telling you, I don't want you to get tired." Kai replied.

"No, I'm fine with standing thanks." Josie stared at him.

"It wasn't a request." Kai stated as he waved his hand and she was forced into a chair, chains wrapped around her wrists. "That's better. Coffee?" He asked, tilting his head.

"No." Josie struggled against the chains.

"Suit yourself." He laughed. "As I was saying… Finding out Ric had twins who were 12 years old was just… so fucking annoying. So I made a deal with Alyssa. She would help release me from this Prison World and I wouldn't kill her. I thought it would have happened sooner than this. But it turns out that when the kids leave the Prison World, they get their memories wiped. But now, thanks to you… She got her memories back and then she freed me from my own personal hell. So I thanked her by turning her. I don't think she will be a heretic though. She's not a syphon like us."

"Why did you turn her?" Josie asked.

"I don't know. I got bored waiting for you to wake up! I needed something to occupy my time. I mean she is a tasty little thing." Kai laughed.

"So why exactly am I here?"

"You are here, so I can teach your dear old dad a lesson. Ric knew not to get on the wrong side of me. Did you know he tried to kill me? Yeah, after I killed my sister, he hunted me down and tried to kill me, but he couldn't go through with it. He's a pathetic, weak man. Although, I am thankful for all the little kiddies he's sent my way over the years. I should send him a thankyou note! Oh that would just be sweet. Oh and I can write it in your blood. I'm sure that will get your little pet all riled up. Oh I'll send Alyssa with the note. This is brilliant! Thank you for your help Josette." Kai laughed as he stood up from his seat and left the building.

Josie struggled against the chains that kept her trapped on the chair, trying to break free. After about five minutes Josie finally accepted defeat. She wasn't going to be able to break these chains. Josie groaned as she dropped her head to the table. Josie was lost in her thoughts when she heard a loud banging coming from the other side of the room. As she bolted upright to investigate, Alyssa was inches from her face.

Alyssa dipped her head into Josie's neck and bit down and started drinking Josie's blood, after a few seconds she was thrown across the room, crashing into the brick wall before landing in a heap on the floor. Josie fought against the chains as she tried to cover her neck when Kai walked in, laughing. Josie spun her head in his direction. "I thought you said that there was a barrier spell around her!" She spat.

"Oh there is. But it's only one way. You see I didn't want you syphoning her. Alyssa told me all about the little 'black magic' spells you've done over the years with your pet. I don't want you getting any ideas." Kai laughed.

"Would you please stop calling Hope my 'pet'… She is her own person and I don't own her!"

"You really don't know anything about werewolves, do you?" Kai mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Whether you want it or not… your little pet is bonded to you."

"Fuck you Kai! You know nothing about me."

"Oh but I do. Alyssa told me everything I needed to know. And from what she told me about your pet's little display of sexual aggression towards you yesterday, in the bathroom… Well that's enough about you… It's time." Kai laughed.

Kai moved from his spot by the door and walked over to Josie. He dropped a card, a quill and ink pot on the table. He pulled out a pen knife and unchained Josie's left arm. He grabbed it and pulled it across the table then placed a deep three-inch cut on her wrist. He turned Josie's wrist and let the blood drip into the empty ink pot. After enough blood had been spilled Kai chained Josie's wrist back up.

"Do you like the card? I thought it would be very fitting. It says, 'Sorry for your loss.' Do you think he will like it?" Kai laughed.

"You're an arsehole Kai." Josie retorted.

"Well that's not very nice Josette. I was only trying to do something nice for your dad."

"He will kill you. You do realise that, right?"

"I'd like to see him try. Anyway, lets write this card, shall we?" Kai laughed. "Dearest Alaric. I'm so glad that I killed Jo on your wedding day. I can't wait to kill your daughter, Josette, as well. Best Wishes, your almost brother in-law, Kai. P.S. Your daughter is the spitting image of her. It will be fun to kill my sister all over again." Kai spoke as he wrote the card out, using Josie's blood.

"You are one sick bastard Kai." Josie spat.

"Oh boo-hoo. Josette, you need to toughen up. You will never win the merge with that attitude. Well, that's if you actually survive this. Which I don't think you will." Kai laughed.

Kai walked over to Alyssa, who was hunched over in the corner. "Get up now dear, you have an errand to run for me." Alyssa groaned slightly as she rubbed her head. "I SAID GET UP!" Kai's hand grabbed a fistful of Alyssa's hair and pulled her up to standing, threw her into the centre of the room. "Now Alyssa, I need you to deliver this to Alaric Saltzman. No one else but Alaric, do you understand?" Kai said as he gave Alyssa the card.

"You do realise that they will kill me, don't you?" Alyssa frowned.

"Oh, they won't kill you… not straight away. They'll want to know what you did to Josette and how you got me out of the prison world. But here's what you are going to do… When they start asking you those questions, you WILL kill yourself." Kai gave Alyssa a small wooden looking stake along with the card. "Now run along little girl, before the sun comes out."

Alyssa grunted as she shoved the stake into her back pocket and placed the card in her hand as she vamp-sped out of the warehouse.