A/N: I can't believe we reached 200 reviews! Thanks to everyone that has been reading this story and/or leaving reviews. I appreciate the support!

Klaus grabbing Lucy and speeding her off into the night had been a split second decision. Frankly, categorizing what he did as a 'decision' was probably overly generous. His original plan had been to banter with Lucy for a few minutes. He had always enjoyed matching wits with the brazen witch. Klaus thought Lucy might lower her guard if he reminded her of the happier times they shared. He hadn't always behaved as a temperamental tyrant with her. There had been moments when Klaus showed her genuine affection that she eagerly accepted. However, the original hybrid's hastily formulated plan became obsolete the moment he was in her presence.

The moment Lucy stepped out of the house, his mind lurched back to the last time he saw her. Yet even from a distance, he could tell that something was different about the witch. Klaus had been unable to pinpoint the change until Lucy approached him ready for war. He could practically taste her magic crackling in the air around them like electricity. Klaus fully expected Lucy to set him ablaze. The witch was particularly fond of setting things on fire. However, a scent more potent than even wild Bennett magic caught his attention. The aroma reminded him of the days before humanity had tainted the air, soil, and water with their innovations. She smelled like the old world.

All rational thought faded away and his primal instincts demanded action. Klaus was ashamed to admit it but the beast hijacked the situation. His wolf side had grown increasingly powerful in the last several weeks. Furthermore, the looming full moon behaved as a sort of signal boost. His wolf was stronger than ever before and seemed to be actively suppressing the vampire side. When Klaus grabbed Lucy, he didn't know where he was going at first. Normally, he would have wrestled the beast and forced it into submission. However, he heard Cary's voice in the back of his head. His kin had told him to trust the wolf's instincts implicitly. The wolf would never steer him wrong. When they finally came to a stop, Klaus had taken them to the cave system surrounding the waterfall. The secluded location would ensure their privacy. Furthermore, swiftly moving water would help obscure their scents.

Klaus resembled a werewolf as much as he could without finishing the transformation. His gold and black eyes were wild and unseeing. His fingers had elongated into razor sharp claws. He was digging those claws into Lucy's side and drawing copious amounts of blood. However, his face was the most startling difference. His mouth and teeth had transformed into more of a wolf-like snout. With lightning quick reflexes, he savagely tore into Lucy's shoulder. The wolf wanted to mark its mate, but the vampire wanted to gorge on the magic rich blood gushing into his mouth. The result was the hybrid being latched onto Lucy with all of his estimable strength. When the witch began to struggle, he slammed Lucy against the rock wall to stop her from running.

Lucy had no intention of running from him. She was single-minded in her desire to protect Mari from Klaus. Her daughter deserved better than any life he could give her. Klaus made enemies as easily as rain made puddles. His enemies would see Mari as a means to an end. That was only until they learned just how special she was. Even at ten months old Mari's magic was powerful. She required careful supervision and a power dampening charm. The charm prevented her daughter from using large amounts of magic or causing harm to anyone. Lucy knew from the moment she felt the first stirrings of life from within her womb that she would protect the child at all costs—even her own happiness. During her pregnancy, Lucy had scoured the world for a way to end Klaus or at least incapacitate him. Fortunately, her mother had offered a suggestion that changed everything.

She threw both of her hands outward and released a wave of magic. The sudden burst dislodged the hybrid and sent him flying across the cave as if he were weightless.

Klaus' body collided with the wall hard enough to create several prominent fissures. However, the sudden impact was just what he needed to snap out of the almost hypnotic state. Slowly his features melted into something resembling a human once more. Klaus was immediately awash with guilt when he saw the state of Lucy.

The brunette witch pressed a hand to her shoulder as she tried to slow the bleeding.

Klaus bit into his wrist and offered the bleeding appendage as an olive branch. He swore, "I don't know what came over me, love."

She gave a melodic laugh. "I think exchanging blood is one of the reasons that we are in this predicament. I don't think we should repeat our mistakes, Nik."

He growled. "Is Mari a mistake?"

"Don't you dare speak her name. You will never know her," she snapped.

"Is she my daughter?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and didn't dignify his question with an answer.

"You knew that you were with child when you left me," he declared bitterly.

Lucy felt unsteady on her feet but she stood her ground. She nodded. "I knew. We had only been together for a few days when I felt the first spark of Mari's magic from within my womb."

Klaus was awestruck by the thought that his daughter had magic. Certainly, she would be a true tribrid. He roared, "And you didn't tell me!"

"I thought about it, Nik. I thought about it for days before I left you. I thought things would be different because you finally broke the curse. But every time I made up my mind to tell you, there you were planning to raise your hybrid army. You traded one obsession for another! You will never be satisfied. You will always crave more. Worst yet, you will cut down any poor soul that gets in your way. Look at what you are doing in New Orleans. You could go anywhere and start a new life. Instead, you decided to settle in the one place that you would have to bathe in blood to conquer. That is not a life for my daughter," she hissed.

Niklaus said, "New Orleans is my home. I built it up and Marcellus stole it from me! When the city is in my control once more, it will be the safest place in the world for my children."

Lucy licked her lips but her tongue felt heavy. She argued, "Liar! Mystic Falls is your ancestral home. You could have chosen this place, Nik. You could be living a quiet life here. You crave chaos and you invite danger. It is fine because you are very hard to kill. Mari does not have the same luxury. I want her to have a normal life. I want her to go to school and have friends. She can't do any of those things if people learn you are her father. She would become a pawn in some sick game. I am asking you to lie to your siblings and leave us alone. Please, if you ever cared for me…go."

He watched Lucy's face become ashen. Klaus edged toward the witch as his desperation to give her his blood grew. "I cannot turn my back on my own blood. Elijah can be annoying but he has frequently drilled the same message into my head. I think that perhaps I finally believe him. Everything I am doing in New Orleans is for my family, that includes you and Mari now."

Lucy realized that Klaus wasn't going to bow out gracefully. She would have to continue with her original plan. She pressed the hand tighter to her shoulder and quietly chanted a healing spell to seal the wound. Lucy was disorientated for a moment because of the blood loss. However, being woozy didn't stop her from taking an antique dagger from her boot. She sent the dagger hurtling through the air faster than the human eye with just a flick of her fingers. The metal skewered the hybrid's heart with ease.

Klaus relaxed somewhat when Lucy healed her wound. The relief was quickly replaced with amusement. He lifted an eyebrow and asked, "A dagger to the heart, love? This is not the right dagger. It hasn't even been dipped into white oak ash. You disappoint me, Lucy. I thought I taught you better than to waste your power on a futile attack."

"Poor, Niklaus, always overestimating your importance in a situation. You thought yourself to be a masterful teacher. I think that somehow you have forgotten that Bennett blood runs through my veins. Even the arrogantly named 'Original Witch' was no match for my ancestor. Yet you believe that her magic-less son would somehow be a match for me. I worked for you because I needed money, protection from the Sisters, and freedom from my family's legacy. I also enjoyed having access to all of those wonderful grimoires you have stolen from witches for centuries. The sex was good, too. I will admit that I came to love you in our time together. However, I was not so in love that I was blind to your madness. I realized you would sacrifice everything, even me, to break Esther's curse. I am no one's sacrificial lamb and neither is my daughter."

Klaus should have been enraged but it was the furthest thing from his mind. Lucy had only been able to pull the wool over his eyes for a few weeks with her ingénue routine. He saw the fire that lived beneath her façade. Her fire drew him in like a helpless moth. Klaus had watched with equal parts awe and desire as Lucy slowly grew into her prodigious powers. He was even more drawn to her now because she was his mate. All he could think about was completing the bond. He could almost hear his wolf howling in his ears. However, the smug smile quickly slipped from his face when his body began to turn black from decay. It started with his foot and slowly crept upward.

He dropped onto his knees with wide eyes. He tried to pull the dagger from his chest but it burned his hands until the skin turned red and cracked. He growled, "What have you done?"

Lucy's heart broke when she saw the look of betrayal in his blue eyes. Yet she knew that staying the course was the only way to protect Mari. She said, "My mother and I came up with something new just for you, Nik. It is a mix of blood magic and hoodoo. It is surprising what is possible with a vial of Mari's blood. I didn't want to do this to you. I warned to steer clear of me for good. Even now, I gave you a chance to leave unharmed. You forced my hand."

"Did you really expect me to stay away from my daughter?" he growled as the pain grew worse. His entire left side had turned black. It resembled a shriveled and rotted fruit.

Lucy eased onto her knees in front of him. She gently carded her fingers through his curly hair. She whispered, "I love you, but all you can offer our daughter is death and danger. I will protect Mari from any threats that come her way—including the ones posed by her father."

Klaus was frozen in place by whatever the dagger was doing to him. He said, "She will ask about me one day."

She choked back a sob and said, "I know. She may never forgive me for this but being a parent means making the hard choices. If by some miracle our daughter survives until adulthood, then I will willingly accept her hatred."

"Elijah will find a way to reverse this," he replied.

Lucy shook her head. "This hex can only be removed by a Bennett witch that holds no anger for you in her heart. There isn't a Bennett witch alive that fits that bill because of your own actions."

The decay slowly consumed the entire left side of his face. He pressed his lips against Lucy's. He murmured, "I always find a way."

She blinked back tears and replied, "Maybe but Mari is long gone now. I made sure of that just in case I failed."

A sudden gust of wind whipped around them as Elijah and Rebekah arrived. The pair had searched Mystic Falls high and low for signs of their brother. Even while carrying Lucy, Klaus was at least twice as fast as they were.

Rebekah gasped when she saw her brother's decaying body. She was immediately bombarded with thoughts of Kol and even Finn. Rebekah couldn't stand the idea of losing another brother. She grabbed Lucy by the hair and vamped out. "Stop this, witch!"

"No," Lucy spat defiantly.

Elijah grabbed the dagger and tried to remove it from Klaus' chest but it burned him. He hissed in pain and removed his hand red hand.

Rebekah wrapped a hand around Lucy's neck and squeezed. "I will kill you."

Lucy had lost so much blood that she felt too weak to fight off Rebekah. Moreover, she had used a considerable amount of energy fending off Klaus and healing herself. She rasped out, "Do your worst, vampire."

Elijah took of his jacket and wrapped it around the dagger's hilt. He wrenched it from Klaus' chest with considerable effort. Using his bespoke jacket for protection had helped somewhat. However, the dagger had burned through the jacket and seared his flesh. "Niklaus…."

Klaus remained on his knees but the slow creep of decay had ceased. Unfortunately, it did not seem to be receding. The damage that had already been done remained. He said, "Put her down, Rebekah."

The blond original vampire looked over her shoulder in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

Klaus growled and his eyes turned gold and black again. "Now, Rebekah! I will not tell you again."

She unceremoniously dropped Lucy onto the cave floor and glared at her brother. "You want me to spare this witch after what she has done to you? I should be staining these walls with every drop of her blood."

Lucy curled into the fetal position and coughed violently. She struggled to breathe now that her airway was no longer constricted.

Rebekah slammed her foot into Lucy's head hard enough to render her unconscious.

Klaus roared like a caged animal. He warned, "Do not touch her again, Rebekah."

She stared at her older brother in disbelief. However, the color of Klaus' eyes suggested that it was the wolf half speaking to her.

Elijah studied his brother's appearance. He murmured, "What has she done to you, brother?"

Klaus ignored his brother in favor of staring at Lucy. The shoulder that he had bitten earlier was curved in his direction. Despite Lucy having closed the gaping wound, a prominent bite mark remained. Klaus was relatively new to being a werewolf but he knew very well what it meant. He had marked Lucy as his mate. It could only mean that the curse once preventing her from being a werewolf had been broken. Klaus couldn't begin to understand how that had happened. However, it did bring to mind a most interesting question. Had the curse broken for all Bennett witches?

Elijah tried to get his attention again. "Niklaus…"

Niklaus was jolted out of his thoughts. His blue eyes moved up to Elijah and he said, "Lucy told me that she used a mixture of blood magic and hoodoo to create this hex. Help me up."

The original vampire looked at his younger brother with a healthy dose of skepticism. Blood magic and hoodoo could not create such devastating results. Something else was at play, perhaps dark magic. However, he gingerly pulled Klaus to his feet.

Klaus felt unstable as if he might topple over but it seemed the hex only affected the left half of his body. Elijah removing the dagger had prevented the hex from consuming him entirely.

Fortunately, Elijah was there to support the rest of his weight. He said, "We should get you home, Niklaus. Once there we can begin to unravel what Miss Bennett has done to you."

Klaus sagged against Elijah and declared, "Lucy comes with us."

Rebekah looked at Lucy with disdain. She was not pleased by the prospect of lugging the witch home. However, Lucy could be the only person capable of reversing whatever she had done to Niklaus. She rolled her eyes skyward and then hefted the witch over her shoulder. She sneered, "I like your other 'baby mama' better."

Niklaus glanced at Lucy's unconscious body and confessed, "She is my mate. I bit her."

Rebekah's jaw literally dropped. Her brother had unwittingly done all the things that he so often called her weak for desiring. A feeling of jealousy consumed her without warning. It had been hard enough befriending Hayley throughout her pregnancy.

Elijah's body went tense as the gravity of the situation came into focus. It did not matter what Lucy felt for Niklaus, if the mark took she would be bound to him forever. He couldn't help feeling a sense of great pity for the woman. Klaus held tight to those things that mattered most to him. He had no doubt that his brother's mate would fall into the category. He asked, "Shall we retrieve your daughter as well, Niklaus?"

"No, I am sure that she is no longer at the Bennett witch's house. Lucy planned for me learning of her presence here. She sent Mari away to protect her from me," he replied bitterly.

Klaus had underestimated the lengths to which Lucy would go to protect Mari from him. He was furious with her but he was self-aware enough to understand the decision. He couldn't stop thinking about how she had tried to appeal to him the last time they were together. Lucy had begged him to abandon his plan to create an army of hybrids.

Rebekah frowned when she realized that her niece had been whisked away to parts unknown. "We could have Cary and the wolves track the baby. Surely, Bonnie is the only person in Mystic Falls that Lucy would have trusted with her safety."

Elijah shook his head and said, "Going into the situation half-cocked is the reason that Niklaus is currently rotting. We need to regroup before anything else goes pear shaped, Rebekah."

Rebekah rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement. She tightened her hold on Lucy and sped out of the cave.

Elijah followed suit while supporting Klaus' mostly dead weight.

Stefan emerged from his hiding place once he was certain the Originals were gone. He had overheard much of their conversation and wisely decided not to intervene. It didn't seem likely that Klaus was going to kill Lucy. Moreover, Elijah and Rebekah's sudden arrival had stopped the witch from killing Klaus. If he had to evaluate the situation, it was a draw. However, Stefan felt guilty because he hadn't done anything to help Lucy. Now she had fallen into the hands of Klaus and his siblings. Stefan knew from personal experience it was the last place anyone would want to be.

Stefan blurred out of the forest and returned to Bonnie's house. He wasn't surprised to find that Damon's Camaro was the only remaining car. When he left the house, his brother had been in the process of kicking everyone out much to Elena's chagrin. She was more than a little miffed that Damon had a key to Bonnie's house and she did not.

The door opened as Stefan approached the porch. However, Damon's shocked expression suggested that he hadn't been expecting his brother when he opened the door. "Is everyone still alive—relatively speaking?"

Stefan nodded and said, "Yes. Lucy hexed Klaus with something that he had never seen before. Elijah and Rebekah showed up before it finished its final objective—whatever that might have been. They took Lucy home with them."

Damon whistled loudly.

A moment later, Russell swooped down from his perch in the rowan tree. He landed on Damon's outstretched arm with skill that came from many years of practice.

The vampire looked into the creature's eyes and said, "Go to the Mikaelson Mansion and keep watch until morning. Return here in the morning and wait for me."

Russell pecked at Damon's arm a bit before he took flight.

Damon beckoned his brother to follow him. He said, "You're coming with me."

"Where are we going?"

He said, "We're going to see a friend of mine. We could use her help."

Stefan frowned as he dutifully followed his brother. He climbed into the Camaro and replied, "You don't have friends."

Damon scowled at Stefan as he started the car. He said, "I do have friends."

Stefan lifted an eyebrow at his brother. "You have Bonnie and a crow."

He huffed as he stepped on the gas. "Okay, maybe friend isn't the right word. I have known her for eighty years and she doesn't hate me. And occasionally we have sex to stave off boredom. The point is we need a witch and Elodie is the only one I know in the state that doesn't hate my guts."

The younger man nodded because that sounded more like the Damon that he knew. Stefan took out his phone and rapidly typed a message to Bonnie. He didn't relish updating her on the situation but delaying the inevitable wasn't any better.

Damon said, "Caroline showed up after you left."

Stefan looked at his brother with concern. He asked, "Was she okay?"

He nodded. "She was fine. Caroline doesn't think that she was compelled but agreed that there would be no way of knowing if she had been. She and Elena are headed over to Liz's house for the night. Matt is going to stay with them after he finds Jeremy."

"Staying together is probably a good idea right now. Did you know about Lucy and Klaus?" Stefan asked. He picked up his phone again and updated Bonnie on Caroline.

He figured that Bonnie might have shared the information with him.

The older brother shook his head. "No, but I am not surprised. Klaus has a thing for powerful witches. You get that in spades when talking about a Bennett witch."

Stefan's phone began ringing. He looked down and answered it as he said, "It's Bonnie."

Damon perked up hearing the witch's name. "Put it on speaker."

Stefan nodded and did as his brother asked. "Hello?"

"Hey. I got your message. Thank you for telling me what happened."

"I am sorry that I wasn't able to stop them from taking Lucy," he said sincerely.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Stefan. There isn't much you could have done to stop three originals. Getting yourself killed or captured wouldn't have helped the situation."

"What's our next move, witchy?" Damon asked.

"We continued as planned. Lucy understood that she might die or fail. There was a contingency in place. She left instructions for how to put together the hex bags for the Augustine Group. I just need the ingredients. Ty is still going to handle getting a personal item from each of the members' hotel rooms. I just need you to get the other stuff that was on Lucy's list."

Damon said, "I still have the list that Lucy gave me this morning. I am on the way to see my contact now. I'll get everything you need. Once I work my charm, we might have another ally."

The girl snorted and asked, "We're relying on your charm? We are already sunk..."

Stefan bit back a laugh when he saw the scowl on his brother's face.

"I have a way with witches...especially Bennett witches," Damon replied smugly.

"My grams hated you," Bonnie pointed out.

Stefan added, "Emily didn't like you very much either."

Damon huffed, "Emily liked me enough to trust me with her children. I made good on that promise, it is why you even exist, judgy."

"Yes, thank you for saving my ancestors from your racist neighbors," she snarked.

He exclaimed, "Hey! They killed me, too."

Bonnie giggled quietly.

Damon sobered somewhat. He was uncomfortable with Bonnie being out of reach. He had been doing everything in his power to protect the witch since Qetsiyah resurrected her. He said, "How am I going to get the ingredients to you if I can't know where you are going?"

"We can meet somewhere in the middle. We are staying in the area for a couple of days. I don't really have all of this thought out yet. Lucy and I thought we would have longer to establish a real plan. I am just sort of making it up as I go along. I just know that we have to take care of the Augustine Group first."

Stefan asked, "What about the other Bennett witches? Maybe they could help with rescuing Lucy from Klaus."

Bonnie said, "I don't really know how to get in touch with the other Bennett witches. They are supposed to be headed towards Mystic Falls in the next few days. We may have to wait until then. I just hope that Lucy can hold on for that long"

Damon said, "Well, my contact might be able to help with getting Lucy back."

"I doubt a random witch would want to stick her neck out with the originals to help someone she doesn't even know," Bonnie replied doubtfully.

"Perhaps but Bennett witches take care of their own." he replied.

Stefan's eyes widened in surprise at Damon's casual admission.

She asked, "Your contact is a Bennett witch? Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Because Elodie is complicated as fuck. But she is the one that told me Joshua Parker could help me free you from being the anchor," he replied.

The line went quiet as Bonnie thought about the name. She said, "I remember that name from my family tree. Elodie and my great-grandmother were sisters. You must be mistaken, Damon. Elodie died as a teenager."

Damon confessed, "Elodie isn't dead, Bonnie. She faked her death and I helped her."