I do not own TVD or TO.

I did promise a failed spell, a reunion, and an angry hybrid. This chapter got really long. I hope you all enjoy reading it.

He was no fool; he knew something had transpired between his brother and Elena. Elijah had emerged from her bedroom with a forlorn look in his eyes; he had only ever seen that look once when Elijah had caught him sharing a kiss with Tatia.

He was no fool.

He knew Elijah had been hurt by whatever conversation they had and that he was angry, but he was not indifferent. If anyone had noticed her return to the compound it would have been him.

Raising his hand he rapped the doorframe lightly and cocked an eyebrow.

"What is it Niklaus?" Elijah didn't bother looking up from his desk and the book he had turned to. It was one of his favorites; an obscure seventeenth century novel that had been all but lost to the passage of time. The book was his security blanket; it was his valium.

Klaus paused when he realized what book his brother was reading; it was the one he pulled out when he was experiencing an intense negative emotion of some sort. Time had taught Klaus to avoid any and all touchy subjects when that novel had been lifted from the shelf, and he knew Elena was a sensitive subject. He also knew that Elena was fragile, both emotionally and physically, and that she had been gone longer than she should have; unless she had returned without his notice.

"I was just wondering if you had seen our Petrova in residence," Klaus leaned in the frame of the door.

Elijah's shoulders stiffened; his reply was short.

"Have you tried her room?"

"She went for a walk several hours ago," Klaus crossed his arms, "and had not returned."

Elijah's head snapped up. He'd had one ear on her bedroom since he had left it and had heard no sound coming from inside; he assumed Klaus had gotten a witch to spell the rooms after he had left the city. Elijah had heard neither Elena nor Caroline leave.

"Have you asked Miss Forbes?"

"Caroline is not answering her phone."

"Perhaps she has invested in caller ID," Elijah turned the page and reveled in the drop in his younger brother's expression; he really wasn't fit to be around people at the moment. "You might try asking whatever minion you had following her when she left."

"Joshua claims to have left her a few feet from the gate."

"It would appear that your little pet lied."

"Or," Hayley came into the room and spun on her heel to face Klaus, "maybe she got what she really wanted and ran." She scoffed at Elijah's confused look. "Come on, Elijah, that's what doppelgangers do. You might see her through blinders but Elena is just like Katherine."

No, his eyes narrowed, Katerina would not have apologized. He might have been angry but he knew given enough time his relationship with Elena would mend.

"Elena is not Katerina, Hayley," Klaus snapped.

Hayley rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Think whatever you want, but I'll bet you anything you won't find her."

Caroline lifted the phone from the dash and quickly read the caller ID. She turned the screen towards Alenka and moved into the left lane to pass a particularly slow driver.

"Ignore it," Alenka relaxed her mind enough to read his name.

"Do you think he'll ever forgive you?" Caroline's eyes darted from the road to her friend.

"I was using him because I thought he was my soulmate so I could break my curse," Alenka pushed her hair back from her face. "I did this knowing I was falling for his dead brother, who is my actual soulmate, and I who I slept with three days later effectively breaking my curse." She spun in her seat and met Caroline's eyes. "Could you forgive someone for that?"

"I'm gonna be honest here, Ellie," she tilted her head and frowned, "I can't even wrap my mind around that." She fell silent for several moments before biting her lip. "Have you figured out why he looks like your husband yet?"

"No."

One of these days she would find a way to anticipate vampire visits. She was getting rather tired of jumping out of her skin.

"What do you want, Klaus?" Davina picked up the candle she had knocked over.

"I was wondering if either of you lovely ladies has seen young Joshua," his eyes darted from Davina to his sister. "Elena appears to have gone missing and he was the last to see her."

"We've been a little busy, Nik," Rebekah looked at the symbols drawn on the floor of the crypt and the crystal urn full of ashes.

Davina was marginally more civil than Rebekah had been. "I haven't seen Josh since yesterday."

"Perhaps I could coax you into taking a break," Klaus noted the weary set of their shoulders, "and perform a locator spell."

"For Josh?" Davina climbed to her feet and pulled a map of the city from her bag.

"For Elena," Klaus extracted her journal and a bag of blood from his pocket, "I fear something has happened to her."

"Let me guess," Hayley squared her shoulders, "you didn't find her." She even made a show of peeking behind him when Klaus returned to the compound empty handed. "I should've struck terms for that bet."

"Davina performed three separate locator spells of increasing strength," Klaus returned Elena's journal to her room. He glanced over his shoulder to find Hayley and Elijah in the door frame. "Each spell failed; there was no trace of her."

"Maybe she offed herself," Hayley smiled and cocked her head. She lifted the half-drunk mug from the nightstand. "She did have a habit of drinking poison."

"That's just tea," Klaus pulled the mug from her hands. "The far more likely scenario is that a powerful witch is cloaking her. She's the doppelganger; her blood is a potent ingredient for any spell."

Elijah did his best to ignore the ensuing argument and approached the small writing desk. His finger traced a line through the thin residue of sweet smelling powder. The combined smell of chamomile and aloe had his eyes narrowing. His breath caught in his throat when he picked up a folded slip of paper and recognized half of the writing as magic; a language used only by witches. The other half was covered in symbols that were at once both ancient and alien.

The bits he could read resembled his mother's spell for daylight rings, but something told him the purpose was not to trick the sun. From the corner of his eye he saw another paper peeking out of the slightly open drawer; it was covered in more foreign symbols and concealed a handful of dried flowers.

Elijah glanced up from the papers in his hands when Klaus and Hayley fell silent. He found them locked in a staring contest; it took a moment for Hayley's suggestion to sink in.

She clearly had little faith in Elena. It was obvious from the light in her eyes that she was glad Elena was missing; she was probably hoping Elena was lying dead in a ditch somewhere.

He knew he was partially to blame for the animosity Hayley had directed towards Elena. He had been kind to Hayley during her pregnancy and the werewolf-turned-hybrid had misinterpreted his intentions. He had withdrawn when he realized she was starting to feel something for him but had never verbally addressed the situation or tension between them. Things had certainly gotten worse after he had spent the night in Elena's arms.

Up until Elena had arrived Hayley had all of the attention of the brothers; she hadn't reacted well when she'd had to share their attention.

Caroline brought the car to a stop and climbed out with Alenka. She stretched her arms over her head and worked the kinks out of her back; fourteen hours in a car was a long time even for a vampire. She saw Alenka rolling her neck from side to side.

"Are you sure this is the right spot?" Caroline inhaled the mixture of salt and sewage that rose from under the docks. If she were hiding a mystical key she wouldn't have chosen a shipping yard in New Jersey; maybe that was what made it perfect.

Alenka closed her eyes and felt the very real presence of Amara. If had been over two thousand years. She had been reborn into a new body, but any witch worth her salt knew that power and bonds resided in the soul.

Amara was still her sister.

"I'm sure," she adjusted her bag and strode into the building. If not for the tether she might have deflated at the sheer size of the area in question.

"I still can't believe you agreed to this," Elijah nodded to the dead werewolf Hayley had called in from the Bayou. "There is hardly enough blood to make an army," he examined the bag and a half that had been harvested from Elena while wondering what scenario had led to only half of the second bag being filled, "even rationing the supply you've only enough for a dozen hybrids."

"It's a start," Klaus kept one ear on Oliver so he would hear when the wolf woke. "A dozen will be enough to bring Hope back to the compound, and with Hayley occupied and not being a hindrance we can put an actual effort into trying to find Elena."

"Assuming Hayley is wrong and Elena is not dead," Elijah portioned a shot of blood.

"You don't really believe that?" Klaus crossed his arms. He was starting to believe that something truly terrible had happened; Caroline, Elena and Josh seemed to have vanished. If it had just been the girls he might have thought they had run but the disappearance of Josh made him fear the worst: that they had all been taken by witches.

"No I don't," Elijah fingered the folded paper in his pocket. He had taken it from Elena's room with the intention of translating the unknown language; so far he'd had no luck.

His head snapped around when Oliver saw up gasping for breath. He watched Klaus take the shot glass and press it into the transitioning hybrid's palm.

Her fingers traced the worn edge of the wooden crate. Nodding once to Caroline she stepped out of the way, so the vampire could tear the side of the box open. The wood clattered on the concrete.

The breath caught in Alenka's throat as her eyes ran over the woman inside from head to toe. If she hadn't known any better she would have said the being was nothing more than a statue, but she did know better. Reaching to Caroline she took the bag of blood and smeared a small amount on the calcified lips of her sister.

The change was instantaneous. Colour spread from her lips outwards over her face and down her body.

Alenka knew it wasn't enough when the skin that should have been a healthy olive remained pale and sickly.

Amara was startled by the sudden change. She didn't know how long she had spent under Qetsiyah's curse; only that it had been cold and that she was in constant pain whenever the spirits found her body. She had taken in very little information over what must have been years. Suddenly though things had changed; she was warm.

Her legs shook under the weight she could suddenly feel; she flinched away from the arms that wrapped around her and lowered her to the floor. She struggled against the hands waiting for the pain that should have come; when it didn't a line appeared between her brows. Her breath shook.

"Ellie?" She felt quite weightless.

"Hello, sister," Alenka's smile spread over her cheeks and lit her eyes with a distant light she had once thought lost. "It's been a long time."

"So it has," Amara gasped when a spirit touched her arm and pain bloomed through her chest with the heart attack.

"I need your help with something," Alenka pressed the blood bag into Amara's hands, "and it looks like you could probably use mine." It didn't take a genius to figure out what Qetsiyah had done; knowing she had killed her sister was not enough for the vindictive witch. "You feel it all don't you: every death?"

"Yes," Amara nodded. The more blood she consumed the better she felt. "I don't know what I could possibly help you with… please don't touch me…"

Caroline gave Alenka a look from the corner of her eyes; neither of them were anywhere near her when she winced in pain.

Alenka shook her head and mouthed 'later'.

"Do you know what Qetsiyah did?" Alenka tilted her head and met Amara's eyes; she would need her sister's consent for what she had to do.

"She…" Amara froze and inhaled sharply. Her eyes dropped to her sister's chest. "She carved out your heart," her voice was little more than a whisper. "How are you alive?"

"I was reincarnated," Alenka rocked back on her knees. "It's what she did with my blood that is important. She used me to turn you into a door of sorts."

Amara nodded; this she knew for she had a foot in both worlds.

"That door opens both ways," Alenka continued slowly. "You are the door and the key."

"The spirits pass through me," Amara shook her head. "They don't come back."

"They can," Alenka crossed her arms. "I have a spell that will let them, but you have to allow them through. Will you help me?" She stood and offered her hand.

Amara relished in the feeling of her warm palm that caused no pain and closed her eyes. It wasn't like Alenka to want to upset the balance of nature with such a spell; the person she wanted brought back must have been special indeed. She would have thought Elias if she hadn't been present in that garden.

"Who are you trying to see again?" She opened her eyes and followed the two women outside. Her brows lowered when she saw the contraption the blonde fiddled with.

"My soulmate," Alenka opened the door of the car. "Get in. I'm running out of time," her eyes rolled heavenward to the planets shifting into place. If she was going to do this it had to be before sunrise.

Hayley shook with anger. Every muscle in her body tensed and coiled ready to strike out at any moment against any who would dare provoke her.

"What happened?" Her blood boiled in her rage. She pointed to Oliver who was lying dead on the floor; tracks of blood ran from his eyes, nose and ears. "The whole point of making hybrids is to keep them alive."

Klaus turned to her with a hard glare. His eyes flashed dangerously as he advanced on the mother of his child. "Do you really think I did this?" His voice bounced off the stone walls. "I did everything right! He rejected the transition and I don't understand why."

"Elena," Elijah tilted his head and picked up the bag of blood still on the table.

"What are you going on about?" Hayley snapped. She was sick of hearing the woman's name.

"She took the cure," Elijah said as if that answered any question. He sighed when they both looked confused. "She was a vampire and then she took the cure. It's possible that the cure is lingering in her blood."

"So it doesn't work for creating hybrids," Klaus realized with a quick look at Oliver.

"The bitch probably knew it too," Hayley muttered before kicking a chair with enough force to dent the far wall.

"I'll thank you not to use such language when speaking of her," Elijah brushed some dust from his suit.

"How could she have possibly known that?" Klaus crossed his arms. "We'll have to come up with another plan to bring…"

"We've already got one," Hayley snapped. "Or have you forgotten?"

She spun on her heel and stormed out of the compound before either brother could stop her.

"At least she's occupied," Klaus heard her create several new doorways on her way out of the building. "That'll make finding Elena easier."

"You're still going to find her?" Elijah's brows rose in surprise. Her blood was useless to Klaus now and his brother knew it. "You're not planning on killing her are you?"

"Of course not," Klaus shook his head. "She didn't know, and there is a good chance she's in trouble."

"I highly doubt it."

Klaus turned when he heard the voice and looked from the two vampires to Josh who was being flanked by them.

"Joshua," he grinned and held out his hands, "so nice to see you're safe. Now tell me: where is my doppelganger?"

Josh swallowed nervously. He was starting to regret his decision to stay in town, but he had people there now.

"I already told you on the phone," he met the hybrid's eyes, "I left her a few feet outside the gates." It wasn't a lie; he had left her outside the garden gates.

"And nobody has seen her since," Klaus waved off the vampires that had brought Josh to the compound. "Where did you really leave her Joshua?"

Josh swallowed nervously and shifted from foot to foot.

"I told you," his eyes darted between the Originals, "I left her outside the gates."

"And then disappeared for a couple days," Elijah cocked an eyebrow. "You can tell us the truth, or we can bleed the vervain from your system and compel you."

Josh looked between them again. He had been in hiding for nearly two days. She'd had more than enough time to get out of town, and somehow he doubted she would have wanted him being bled dry; she was not the type to let others suffer needlessly for her.

"She asked that I buy her enough time to get out of town," he cleared his throat, "she said she was going to come back."

Klaus stiffened. His eyes narrowed into a hard glare. He wasn't sure who he was angrier with: Hayley for being right, or Elena.

"Did she happen to say why she was leaving?" Elijah clapped Klaus on the shoulder.

"Something crazy," Josh shrugged; people did crazy things when they were in love. "She's completely crazy; said so herself." A crazy powerful witch. "Can I go now?" When neither Original moved to stop him he flashed from the compound.

"This is madness," Amara shook her head. Her eyes tracked the patterns Alenka was drawing in the ground with the black sand.

"Love is madness," Alenka drew in a deep breath and lit the small fire in the southern part of her circle with a wave of her hand. The light flickered over the bowl of water at the northern end. She pulled the bag of herbs from her purse and took a stance over the fire. "Does that mean you won't help me?"

"Of course I'll help you," Amara flinched and took small steps towards the bowl of water.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Caroline stood off to the side and watched the sisters with baited breath.

"No," Alenka shook her head. "I just need you to make sure we're not interrupted."

She took a deep breath and met Amara's eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip and cast her eyes to the sky. She could see light beginning to brighten the eastern horizon; it was now or never beneath the planets and the rising sun.

She glanced at the writing on the slip of paper to make sure it was right before dropping it and the herbs into the fire and closing her eyes.

"Akoúste ta lógia mou, akoúste to pnévma kravgís mou apó tin álli plevrá. Eláte se ména sas kaléso. Stavróste tóra to megálo chásma."

She felt the pull deep in her body and heard Amara's surprised cry. Opening her eyes she saw a swirling mass of energy in the center of her circle. Her body grew weak under the strain of the magic. Her knees buckled under her weight.

Caroline's eyes widened as she saw the identical woman fall to their knees. It was a little eerie how they mirrored each other. The moment the sisters hit the ground was the moment the energy stopped moving and settled into the shape of a man.

He sat up with a gasp. His wide eyes darted from one brunette to the next, but when his gaze caught Amara's dress the scene surrounding him shifted in his vision.

He saw her purple dress from the corner of his eyes when he fell. Perhaps it was a strange thing to focus on with the blade that had pierced his skin still in place, but it was the little things that made the image whole.

He lifted his eyes and took in the swiftly fading sight of the table he had made for her. Chains wrapped around the stone holding her petite body still. The last thing he was able to see was the crimson staining her blue dress.

The pain had all but faded when something wet was pressed to his lips. He had gasped as the fire had flown through his body and gathered around the wound before dissipating. He'd opened his eyes to a blood soaked garden.

He tore himself from the images and shivered violently before turning to the south. Her lower lip trembled when he met her glittering eyes.

"Ellie?"

He caught only the briefest of smiles before she broke the circle and wrapped her arms securely around his neck.

Neither of them noticed Amara moving away from them.

"Hi," she pulled back and met his eyes.

"Hello darling," his hand cupped her cheek. His eyes widened when the sting hit his cheek. "What was that for?"

"You should have told me," Alenka glared.

"I know, darling," he rubbed his jaw that was still stinging. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to worry about me. I didn't want you to have to watch me die. It's a terrible thing watching somebody you love die." His eyes dropped to her chest where he knew her heart was beating.

"Just don't do it again," she pressed her lips together. "Next time you're in trouble tell me so I can help."

"I didn't know you could have helped," his thumb caught a tear dropping down her cheek.

"Neither did I," she held his hand against her cheek, "but evidently I could have. I did bring you back after all." She blinked tiredly.

"Your curse was broken then," he deflated slightly. "Must have taken a few days to kick in."

Her eyes widened when she realized what was going through his mind. "Don't tell me you're really that dense," she crossed her arms when he pulled back a bit. "It was you, you idiot."

"Idiot?" He gasped dramatically and held his hand to his chest. "And here I thought I was the clumsiest person you had ever met."

"Someone can be two things at…" She trailed off and met his twinkling eyes. She had never once called Kol clumsy; not once, but she had said it to somebody else. "Elias?"

"I've grown rather used to 'Kol', darling," he smirked, "I've gone by it much longer." He took her hand and blinked against the rising sun at the symbols surrounding them. "I don't know what you did, but it's as if the memories have molded together."

"And yet I only remember the one life," she shook her head and blinked back her tears.

"If you really want to remember, I'm sure you can find a way," he squeezed her hand gently. He met her eyes before leaning forward and brushing his lips over her brow.

"Ellie," Caroline came running back into the clearing, "people are starting to…. Hello?" She blushed as much as any vampire could when she saw Kol; the only thing concealing his body from her view was Alenka sitting alongside him. "Were you aware the spell was going to bring him back naked?"

"If I was I would have brought clothes," Alenka shook her head.

"What happened to your cheek?" Caroline nodded to Kol.

He lifted his hand to the red mark still clinging to his skin. He could barely feel the sting anymore, but he knew the mark should have faded by now.

"What did you do, Ellie?" He met her drooping eyes; he didn't need to hear the answer her small bright smile was answer enough.

First indirect mention of the Elijah issue; it will be address further in the next few chapters when Kol gets a chance to talk to Amara who is the only person alive who saw everything.