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Thank you so much for all the reviews, sorry it's taken so long for an update!
bpopa7110: Thank you!
Dark Angels and Light Angels: All of these new memories are definitely going to affect her, and maybe even her relationship with Klaus, because she didn't just see these things happening, she felt everything, physical and emotional. And yeah, all the Vampires in TVD are monsters, it doesn't matter how good of a person you are, eventually, you end up doing something that makes you monstrous, because Vampires are more than just predators. There is a chance that getting your heart ripped out would probably leave you alive for a second or two.
Guest: It's not that the Originals tend to kill her, its that she was put in their path, specifically in their path, and you'll find out why.
Pinklips90: :D
Athena-Spencer: All of them were one hundred percent real, sorry, but your right, Mother Nature is a bitch in this!
Guest: Can't kill Mother Nature, she's all part of the balance!
Osen-san: Thank you! You're not the first person to say that! I couldn't make this easy for them! But this is a serious trauma that she's going to have to figure out how work through.
KaterinaStark: It's not bullshit, Maya knows that Nik and Kol aren't going to hurt her now, but she didn't just see them kill her past selves, she felt every physical and emotional aspect of those lives, she felt the pain of being tortured, tormented, broken, she felt the fear, and all of that has been dumped on her, in one huge go. She's just been dealt a massive amount of trauma, and she can't control her trauma response. She just felt the man that she loves murder her, and she could see that the past version of him enjoyed it.
LifePrice1412: I don't know, it's possible that he was sired to her, but she abandoned him, he thought she was dead, so there was no way that it could be tested out, and when he turned of his emotions for the first time, it would have broken the sire bond, just like it did with Elena. You are right, that is a large part of Mother Nature's plan, the other part was just because it's a vicious punishment, she made Maya feel everything, emotional and physical, so technically, even though it was her past life, Maya has felt the ultimate betrayal, and she's felt it several times.
Blu3b3rryT3a: You are correct about that, it was all a part of Maya's punishment, and it's definitely going to set them back.
ArtemisLuna85: Maya's going need some serious comfort from the people that love her. Esther hasn't killed her, she's the only Mikaelson that hasn't. This is going to set Maya and Klaus back a serious way. Thanks for your kind words.
Guest: All of the Originals did kill Maya, Mother Nature released those memories, but they're all true, and there's a reason for it. Klaus and Kol are going to have to work to make sure that this doesn't separate them from Maya because this has caused her some serious hurt.
xotinkerbella: Kol really wasn't thinking, he was more concerned with the fact that others knew before him when he's her teacher, and he hates being left out of anything. Klaus and Maya were so cute, it's too bad it couldn't last. She does look different in every life, every time she's reborn, she's born to different parents, all over the world, this time round she's a red-head with a complexion similar to Jenna, and her features come from her father. In previous lives she was born in Sumeria, Greece, Japan, America, she's always looked different, so no one recognises her, it stops her from making any allies throughout her time in the living world.
Heroina: You're not the first person to say that! You're right, Maya's just been through a serious trauma and it's going to take her time to work through it. This was definitely Mother Nature getting some revenge on her brother, at Maya's expense. Esther and Mother Nature are similar in the way that they are punishing their children for the way they have reacted to something being done to them (or not done) by their mothers. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
FirePhoenixStar: It will definitely put a strain on their relationship, Maya's got a lot to deal with now, and she can't turn to Klaus and Kol for comfort because right now, all she can see is both of them murdering her. She knows that now they wouldn't hurt her, but she felt every excruciating second of those deaths and it's going to have an effect on her.
Redorlem: Thank you!
MarinaBee7462: Sorry for making you cry, Maya and Klaus are going to be suffering for a little bit now.
aandm20: Sorry!
Crafty Beth: Thank you!
Saiyanprincess1511: You had a feeling and you were right, Mother Nature was definitely up to something! Thank you for noticing the contrast, I wanted to make a point of how different things would be for them.
KEZZ 1: Thank you! Hope you enjoy!
WiseGirlDivergence46: Mother Nature is a life, and life can be a serious bitch!
twibe: She met them all for a reason, you'll find out soon enough!
Jamie Gemini: Maya definitely needs her Jenna now, her reaction is going to be visceral and she needs her family. I'm glad that you understand how this is going to affect her, because she's just gone through thousands of years' worth of pain and suffering.
Starhunter18: Thank you!
xrysatsan: I hurt Maya, she had a moment of happiness and content and then I tore it from her, just like Klaus tore her past life's heart out. It's going to take a lot of work on her part to be able to get back in a position where she can be around Klaus again.
voicesofmelodies: Thanks! Hope you enjoy!
lillen20: Maya just had her heart broken, more than once, and she didn't even think that it was possible.
Nikitta Mikaelson: Thank you!
Scarlet Nerd: Saw your review for chapter 44 and thought to myself, well they're going to hate me for Chapter 45! 44 was a delicious chapter, especially the ending. I wanted Klaus and Maya to get a lot closer before he came to Mystic Falls, and it was as close to a declaration of love as we are going to get from Klaus for a long time! Because we all know he doesn't handle his emotions well! I didn't want to have Katherine breeze into town and completely shock Stefan and Elena, so they needed to stay being busy bodies, and I kind of like the fact that together, they kind of make each other worse in that sense, they egg each other on, I thought it'd be funny. But I actually like Bonnie, so she was never going to stay as an antagonist, Elena on the other hand, I really don't like her, so I don't see a redemption arc for her in the future. Caroline got to be a badass, and got to get closer to Enzo and Damon without Maya, because I wanted the boys to have a strong connection with her to. Elena and Bonnie are questioning Caroline because they've just seen something that they didn't think was possible, and they want to know how. Don't forget, Elena has the main character energy, where she thinks that she has the right to know everything. But Bonnie is more curious about the magic, because Maya's using it in ways that her Grams doesn't. So now you made it to Chapter 45, and you're in pain, you are a little bit right though, it was a way for Mother Nature to try and turn Maya away from her current path. I know that Klaus basically told her that he loves her, and then literally ripped her heart out, which isn't going to be something that she's going to be able to just 'get over'.
Anna Paula Cozac: Thank you, hope you enjoy this next chapter.
NaRuKo-InuTaiSHo-XD: Thank you, please enjoy!
AngelColdHeart: Thank you! I've got pairings in mind for Elijah, Jeremy and Jenna, but I'm not letting anyone know what they are just yet!
Nicole Cullen Masen: Sorry!
Careena1: I know it was terrible, but she was shown for a reason.
Felinegreat: Cruel for leaving you all hanging, or cruel for doing that to Maya?
exostanns: Don't worry, those two will end up together, but there are going to be some twists and turns along the way!
Dominika Kowalska1: Thank you!
Hearteyesmf: Maya's not going to handle it well, lets not forget Kol only witnessed two of his own deaths and he didn't react well, and he's still working through it. But Maya didn't just see it all, she felt it all, as though she was those versions of herself all over again. The life, the love, the fear, the pain, the suffering and finally the death. She felt it all.
Starhunter18: It will go into Originals for a bit, definitely season 1 and 2, but by the time we get to season 3, so much will have changed in the story that there will be very few similarities between canon and my writing. I don't know about Legacies, for one there's not going to be a Klaus/Hayley baby, and I'm not going to put Alaric in charge of a supernatural school when he never should have been running it in the first place. I might go into aspects of it though, change a lot, and some of the characters may make an appearance, but I haven't decided on that. I could just as easily finish the story at the end of Originals, it really depends on what I'm feeling and what my readers want.
14: Enjoy.
Mariusz1988: Thanks!
redweathergirl: Please enjoy!
fire and flam: Stefan is going to try and talk to Damon, but he's so used to Damon being the bad guy, that it's going to take a lot to get him to believe Damon doesn't have an ulterior motive. But the fact is, Damon kinda does have an ulterior motive, he's Klaus's friend, he knows about the sacrifice, and that's going to be something that'll be difficult to navigate.
: Thank you, please enjoy!
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Maya shrieked, she accessed her talisman instinctively and blasted Klaus through the bedroom door.
His siblings, upon hearing the noise of the crash, rushed to the upper hallway, to see their brother pushing himself to his feet and brushing broken bits of wood from his person. "Nik!" Kol said, looking into the room and seeing Maya with her eyes squeezed shut, her hands over her ears, as though she was trying to block everything out, while items in the room were shaking with the force of the spell she was casting. Not thinking, Kol rushed inside, but as soon as he got within a foot of Maya, he too, was blasted out of the room.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Rebekah asked, peering into the room with a mixture of curiosity and just a touch of worry, the Witch had without a doubt saved her from agonising pain, and Klaus trusted her, but seeing this was definitely worrisome.
Elijah glanced at Klaus's destroyed room and then over at his brother, "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" Klaus snarled.
"She just threw me out of the room!" Kol said, standing up, "Why did she do that?!"
"Kol," Klaus's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out how to get close to Maya without being attacked.
"What's going on Nik?!" Kol stopped Klaus from moving. Klaus growled and placed his hand on Kol's temple, giving him an intense but compressed version of what had happened just prior. Kol pulled back with a gasp, had he really just seen what he thought he did? Had Maya truly re-lived her every life, and death? Was he really a cause of death for her? "That's impossible," he breathed.
"I don't have time for this," Klaus moved past his brother, towards his room.
Freya shuddered as she came close to her brother's bedroom, "This magic," she said quietly, "I've never felt this before," the feel of the magic being cast sent an icy chill down her spine, it felt distinctly different from the magic that Maya cast when they first met. Something about it reminded her of the cold, and the dark, something about it made her instinctively think of death, causing her to unconsciously pull away from the room. "What happened to her?" she asked Klaus.
Klaus ignored her and stood in the doorway, he reached out one hand, just past the entrance and yanked it back with a hiss, looking down, he watched the skin heal from an obvious burn. "Bloody hell."
"That's not good," Kol said, appearing at his brother's side.
Freya reached out with her magic for a moment before looking at Klaus, "Whatever she's doing, it's getting stronger."
Klaus saw things on his table explode, the windows in his room starting to crack under the pressure. Kol watched Maya with concern etched on his features, "Nik she can't keep this up!" her nose had started to bleed, and he could see blood streaking down her face from her eyes, "Nik it's going to kill her!"
"I can't get in!" Klaus shot back, he reached out his hand again and then pulled it back as his skin burned.
"I could try," Freya said, looking between her two youngest brothers.
Their attention snapped to her, "How?" Kol asked.
"I could try to cast a sleep spell," she said, "If she's unconscious then she'll stop casting, it'll give her body time to heal."
Klaus looked at his baby brother, who nodded in response, it was a good idea, and seemed to be their only option. "Do it," Klaus said.
Freya turned her gaze back to the red-head, "Gå og sov," she started quietly, "Gå og sov! Gå og sov!" she tried, but it wouldn't work.
"You're not doing anything!" Klaus snarled.
"I'm trying!" Freya shot back, "Whatever she's casting is powerful! I can't break through!"
"Aren't you supposed to be the first-born Mikaelson Witch? You're a thousand! You should be able to break through!"
"I CAN'T!" Freya yelled back, "I'm a Witch without an anchor! With nothing to ground me, I have limits! And I've never felt that magic before!" she gestured over at Maya.
Klaus growled, his Vampire creeping out, but Kol stopped him, "She's right Nik, a Witch needs an anchor to perform powerful magic, you could use one of us…to anchor to…couldn't you?"
Freya nodded hesitantly, "It would work."
Kol held out his hand for her to take, but Klaus pulled it back before it made contact with Freya's. "Nik!"
"If Freya uses one of us as an anchor, then she will have access to our minds, everything we know she will know, including Maya's secrets!" Klaus didn't want to stop his brother, but he knew that Maya would never want her secrets in the hands of someone she didn't trust.
"She'll die if we don't do something!" Kol protested, he didn't want to give away Maya's secrets either, but he'd always believed in apologising instead of asking permission, he was sure that Maya would forgive him.
Rebekah saw the genuine concern on both of her brother's faces and stepped forward, "Then use me," she said, causing Klaus to look at her in shock, "I don't know her secrets, use me."
"Are you sure?" Freya asked.
Rebekah hesitated, there were of course things that she'd rather keep to herself, but she did owe the girl, "She saved me," Rebekah finally said, "I owe her." She held out her hand and Freya took it, focusing on casting another sleep spell, "When this is over I expect some answers," she said to her brothers.
Freya closed her eyes, using Rebekah as an anchor she cast a new, more powerful spell, "Ånder bringer søvn, søvn dyp, søvn sant. Ånder bringer søvn, søvn dyp, søvn sant." Freya could feel power break through the shield of magic that the red-head had put up. Her spell enveloped the Siphon and Maya finally fell unconscious. "It should be safe now," Freya said, opening her eyes.
Klaus didn't even wait a second before he rushed inside, picked Maya up, and whooshed out of the Penthouse. "Where's he going?" Rebekah asked.
Kol eyed his siblings for a moment, before following after Klaus, he had an idea where his brother was headed, Elijah shot after Kol, unwilling to let him disappear, Rebekah looked like she was going to follow but Freya gripped her arm, "Not without me!" Rebekah grabbed her sister, and raced after the rest of her siblings.
"What do you know about Katherine?" Stefan asked, cornering his brother, yet again, unwilling to believe that Damon didn't know where she was, unwilling to believe that Damon wasn't out chasing her.
"Ugh," Damon rolled his eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you Stef? Nothing! I don't know where she is, what she's doing, who she's doing it with. It turns out, neither one of really knew who she was." Damon was in no mood to deal with his brother right now, he'd been feeling off for about an hour, which was weird, because Vampires didn't get sick, there was nothing wrong with him, and yet, something didn't feel right.
Stefan grabbed his arm before he could leave, "Damon-"
"What do you want me to say Stefan!" Damon exploded, shrugging off Stefan's hand, "She tricked me! She didn't love me! I was nothing but a toy for her, and I'll be damned if I waste one more second of my time on that selfish, conniving, bitch!" He whooshed out of the Boarding House before Stefan could stop him, he was halfway to the Sommers home when his phone rang, causing him to pause and answer.
"Hel-" Damon cut himself off as he was interrupted by the person on the other side, "Wait what?" Damon felt a chill at the words, "Call the others, I'm on my way." He hung up, and whooshed out of town.
Klaus gently laid Maya on her bed in Damon and Enzo's New York apartment, other than the two younger Vampires, he was the only one with an invite, she would be safe from harm inside. He brushed some hair behind her ear and trailed a finger down from her temple to her cheek, he wanted so badly to enter her mind, to find her and wake her up. But given how she reacted to his presence only moments ago, the brief flash of sheer terror he'd seen in her eyes, he felt that she wouldn't appreciate it. In fact, he didn't think that she'd want him anywhere near her, and truthfully, he didn't know what he would do if he saw that look in her eyes again.
Pulling away with a frown, Klaus headed out of the apartment, finding most of his family waiting outside, along with one of his compelled Vampires, ignoring his siblings for a moment, he turned to the Vampire, "Keep watch until her people get here," he said, and the Vampire nodded, positioning himself in front of the door.
"Nik, what is going on?" Rebekah asked, refusing to wait any longer.
Klaus felt his jaw clench, he was going to have to give them something, he knew that none of them would be willing to just ignore what had gone on, he looked at Kol, "Did you call them?" he asked.
"Damon's on his way."
"You called Damon?"
"If Enzo sees what happened, he'll try to kill you," Kol shrugged.
"That's true," Klaus conceded.
"Hello!" The youngest Original cut in, frustrated at her brother's lack of response, and their continuous need to leave everyone out of the loop, "What just happened?!"
"Fine! Follow me," Klaus said, whooshing to the apartment directly underneath, that way he was close enough to hear Maya if she needed him, but far enough away to not scare her.
The rest of the Mikaelsons followed him, Kol took up the space next to Klaus, knowing that his brother was not in a good place emotionally, seeing yourself kill the one that you are coming to love would drive anyone mad, and Klaus was already crazy, he could tell that his brother was reigning himself in, waiting until he was sure that Maya had someone that would take care of her, before he could unleash his fury.
"Niklaus, we've waited long enough," Elijah said, standing opposite his brothers, in between Rebekah and Freya. "What is going on?"
Klaus glanced at Kol, before saying something that would help to explain his actions, and Maya's, "Maya, my Witch, is an Old Soul."
Enzo was sat outside the coffee shop on main street, appreciating his ability to people watch, he'd spent so long locked away, with only his tormentors to talk to, it was nice to just sit back and watch the humans go about their normal day, knowing that if he wished, he could get up and join them. He was enjoying his coffee laced with blood (courtesy of the delicious barista), when Miranda Gilbert took a seat opposite him. Raising an eyebrow he eyed her in surprise, 'this should be interesting', he thought. "Mrs Gilbert," he drawled, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You've known my sister for a while now, right?"
"Years," he replied.
"How long have you known about Maya?"
"About Maya?"
"Don't play dumb with me, you know what I'm talking about."
"I'm sorry," Enzo shook his head, "I haven't the foggiest idea of what you're talking about, you're going to have to elaborate."
"You know that-" she cut herself off and conspicuously looked around to make sure that no one was listening in, "You know that she's a Witch," she hissed.
Enzo shot her a sceptical look, "What?" he almost laughed, "You're kidding right? Witches don't exist."
"Don't mess with me! I know you know!"
"Oh my God!" Enzo did laugh at that, wanting to make her feel foolish for saying it, because she had no real reason to suspect that he knew about Maya, and for all she knew, she could have just outed her niece. "You actually believe that!"
Miranda scowled, "Stop it! There's no way that you aren't aware of what she is! You live with her for god's sake! How long have you known?! Because I'm her aunt, and I only just found out."
Enzo narrowed his eyes and leant forward, "You know," he said quietly, "That is a question that I'd be asking Jenna, if what you're saying about Maya is true, why didn't they trust you with such a huge secret? What could possibly be the reason?" Enzo finished his drink, and set the mug down, standing he offered her a condescending smirk, "Perhaps you should be asking, what's wrong with you, that your own sister feels like you can't be trusted." He walked off, his smirk turning to a frown as he felt an uncomfortable tightness develop in his chest…what was that?
Miranda watched him go with a scowl, she picked up her bag and made to leave, by chance her eyes glanced down at the mug on the table and her scowl turned into a frown, what was that on the edge of the coffee cup? Was…was that blood?
/ / /
Caroline was going over cheer routines for the next time the squad would be needed, she knew what the girls were capable of, but with her new dexterity and reflexes, she was now capable of so much more, so she wanted to come up with something new. Football season had been cancelled, thanks to Damon and his need to prove himself to his brother, but the cheer team still had competitions to go to, and she was going to make sure that they won. She was figuring out what she and Maya could do, when she felt pain lance through her chest. "AAGH!"
/ / /
Jenna was working on her thesis, she'd been on edge for most of her night, but she thought that it was just the stress. Her paper was due in a week, and she'd fallen hopelessly behind, she wasn't sure how, but she'd been seriously tempted to get Damon or Enzo to compel her professors, so that she'd have extra time to finish. She was just putting the final touches on her paper, when she felt a searing pain rip through her heart. "AAGH!" she screamed, holding on to her chest.
Enzo whooshed into the room, he was already on the way to the house after receiving a phone call from Kol, but hearing her scream, he sped up. "Jenna!" he rushed to her side.
"Enzo!" she gasped, "What-"
"It's Maya," he said. He'd felt something was wrong, even hundreds of miles away, he and Maya had a connection, but the one between Maya and her mother, it was infinitely stronger, and Jenna had just been overwhelmed by that connection. "We have to go."
/ / /
Liz stormed into her office, she didn't know why, but over the past couple of hours, her mood had turned foul, but there was no reason for it. As far as Mystic Falls was concerned, it had been a relatively quiet day, there were no emergencies, supernatural or otherwise, so she should have been feeling relaxed, but she wasn't. Sitting at her desk there was a build-up of tension in her head, something was wrong, she could feel it in her gut. The phone in her office rang, and she picked up, it was Jenna.
"Liz?"
"Jenna, what's wrong?"
"Something's happened to Maya." Jenna said.
Liz stiffened, she knew that something was wrong, "What happened?"
Jenna sniffed as Enzo zoomed around her room, packing her and Maya a bag, "I'm not-I'm not completely clear on it, but she went to help to a friend, and was attacked, whoever did it, they're gone, but she's hurt bad, I need to go and get her. She needs me."
"Of course, what can I do?"
"I uh- I need Caroline, her friends said that whatever happened, Maya's going to need support, she needs her sister."
Liz paused at that, she wanted to let Caroline go, but would she be safe? What about the attacker? "Is it safe now?"
"Yeah, we're going straight to an apartment that's been heavily protected, it's invite only, no one can get in without one. I would never put Caroline in harms way, please believe that."
"I do," Liz replied, she knew that Jenna wouldn't ask for Caroline to go unless she believed that it was absolutely necessary. "I believe you. You can take her. Call me the moment you get there."
"So you're telling me, that this girl, this Witch, was attacked with visions of her past lives?" Elijah asked.
"They weren't visions, she was made to relive it, each and every life, the pleasure, the joy, the inevitable pain and suffering, and of course violent death at the end of each life. She felt everything," Klaus replied.
"That still doesn't explain her sudden problem," Rebekah pointed out, "And it doesn't explain your reaction to her."
Klaus looked away and Kol cut in, "Well it appears that she's come across each and everyone of us in her past lives," the siblings looked surprised, "And each time, apart from with Freya, her death was particularly painful."
"What are you talking about Kol? We've never met her before, I think we would remember!" Rebekah protested.
Kol shook his head, "Old Souls are reincarnations, their souls are the same, but their bodies aren't, we wouldn't have recognised her, even if we'd wanted to."
"You're sure that we've come across her before?" Elijah asked.
Kol rolled his eyes, "In 1081, Finn killed her, drained her dry because she and Sage didn't get along. In 1291 it was me," he said, surprisingly solemn as he spoke about it, "I tore through her village, she was one of the last alive. I broke her arms, made her run, and then I gave chase." He looked at Rebekah, "In 1381, you were unbelievably jealous of her sister, she was marrying a man that you wanted for yourself, you lured her out of the safety of her home, under the guise of meeting her fiancé at midnight, and then you compelled her to drown herself in the lake." Rebekah startled at that, she remembered that night, but Kol couldn't possibly have known that, he had been daggered at the time, in fact, none of her brothers knew about that particular time and her paramour of choice.
Kol then turned his attention to Elijah, his most noble of brothers, "In 1492, she was guarding that wench Katerina, Trevor snapped her neck to help the doppel-whore escape, and you found her on the floor. She woke in chains, you tortured her, mercilessly, demanding answers that she couldn't give. And then finally you knocked her head from her shoulders." Elijah looked away from his brother's intense stare, Katerina's escape had been a low point for him in his life, for a short time after that, he was monstrous, in a way that he hadn't been since he'd first been turned.
"About a century after that, she bumped into you, Freya." He sighed, "It was the kindest of her deaths, you told her that you were sorry, but no one could know where you were, you snapped her neck. And then finally, Nik." Rebekah looked over at her Klaus, took in the clench of his jaw, his balled up fists, the tenseness of his shoulders, this was painful for him, she realised. The reminder of the Witch's deaths, the knowledge that he had been one of the causes, it was hurting him. "In 1863, she'd just pointed Katerina in the direction of a Bennett Witch, and Katherine ensured that her trail would end at Maya. Nik found her, frightened her, tormented her, hurt her, and then finally, when he received his answers, he tore her heart from her chest."
"ENOUGH!" Klaus yelled, he didn't want to be reminded of it.
/ / /
Damon had just arrived at his apartment building in New York, he'd run all the way there, had to stop off a few times in order to feed and replenish his energy, because travelling at top speed took a lot out of him. He rushed up to Klaus's apartment, and let himself in, just as Kol was explaining what Maya had been through. "Is that true?" he asked, causing all the attention to shift to him, but he ignored the rest of the Originals, focusing on the two that he knew. "Nik?" Damon walked over to his friend, "Is that true?"
Klaus looked at Damon, guilt, evident in his eyes, "I didn't know her then."
Damon looked at his friend, his best friend, he could feel the anger rising within him, and his fist met Klaus's face. Klaus, to his credit, just let it happen, "You stay away from her," Damon said, pointing at Klaus, and then Kol, "Both of you." He whooshed out of the apartment and went upstairs, he needed to see the Siphon.
/ / /
"Niklaus!"
"Klaus."
"Nik!"
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Klaus yelled, "OUT! GET OUT!" he snarled, his Vampire rocketing to the surface.
Elijah could tell that he wasn't going to get anywhere with his brother in the mood that he was in, and grabbed Freya, running them both back to the Penthouse. Kol left, because while he knew that Klaus wasn't handling the revelation of Maya's past lives well, neither was he. Kol had seen his own death twice, and it had caused him more pain than he thought possible, he'd seen himself be betrayed by his family. But he'd only seen it. Maya had lived it, all of it, and had been murdered by the very ones that she was meant to protect. He'd murdered her, and he'd enjoyed it. She was his student, the first person that he'd truly connected with over magic in a thousand years, and he'd killed her. He didn't know what to do, what to say, he didn't know how to feel, he didn't know how he could fix it, so he left, he needed time alone to process what he'd seen, and figure out how to make it up to his favourite student.
Rebekah didn't leave, after Klaus yelled, she chose to stay. He tried to hide it, but Rebekah could see real pain in his eyes, he truly cared for the Witch, in a way that she didn't think was possible. She never thought her brother would ever fall in love after Aurora, but it was clear to her that he had. Perhaps he hadn't realised it yet, but he had, and now he was terrified that he was going to lose his Witch because of his past actions. Ordinarily, she would have left him to his grief, believing that any pain he received, he deserved, after every terrible thing he'd done, turnabout was fair play after all. But seeing such raw agony in his eyes, it struck a cord within her. She couldn't leave him to suffer on his own. She just couldn't.
/ / /
Damon rushed into his apartment, and headed straight for Maya's room, where he found her curled up in her bed, her body shaking as she tried to hold in her sobs. "Maya," he spoke softly, and padded inside slowly so he didn't spook her. He crouched down in front of her, her eyes locked onto his and she launched herself at him, her arms thrown around his neck as she gripped him, like he was a lifeline.
"Hey," he whispered, standing and shifting her, so that he could crawl into the bed with her, and held her back tightly, "It's okay, I'm right here."
"I want mom," she cried, her face buried in his chest.
"I know Red, she's on her way."
Death paced his reading room, even though he was stuck outside of the living plain, he could still see everything that happened to anyone on the living side, he'd seen exactly what his sister had done to Maya, and he hated it. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence, compared to him, Maya was nothing, or at least, she should have been nothing to him, but she wasn't. He had no idea that from the moment he brought her into his embrace to spite his sister, that she would become more important to him than he could ever imagine, she was his daughter. And his sister had just tried to ruin her.
Stiffening he felt his sister's presence, he turned and there she was, "Hello brother." Because she was in his domain, she had instinctually taken her true form. A powerful woman, whose form consisted mostly of greenery, leaves, moss, tree branches. She was beautiful, but it was clear when looking upon her true form, who and what she was.
Death's gaze hardened, it had been millennia since he'd come face to face with her, unlike his sister, who'd ensured that he had no way to get to the living plain when she'd created it, his reading room was his own space, but he'd never put up a barrier prohibiting her from entering. "Sister, you have some nerve coming here, after what you did."
Nature offered him a soft smile, "It needed to be done, Vampires are destined for extinction, it is written. And your little 'daughter' was interfering."
He sneered, "You wrote it, and unfortunately for you, Vampires don't belong to you, nothing you write for them is set in stone. They belong to me, I will have the final say over them, not you."
"They live in my world," she shrugged.
"It won't be just yours for much longer," he replied, "If you think that a few dark visions of her infinite past lives are going to stop my daughter from completing her mission, you underestimate her, and me."
"But it wasn't just visions, brother," Nature walked towards him, it had been so long since she'd seen his face, it was a bittersweet moment for her. She loved her brother dearly, but he was threatening her creation, and she couldn't let it stand. "It was everything, everything that I prevented her from remembering, out of kindness, I gave it all back to her. If you had had your way, the Old Souls would have remembered everything that they had suffered through, I protected them from their painful pasts, I did that for you. And instead of thanking me for it, you created a race of beings that live off of mine, that kill and destroy without discrimination, you made monsters and unleashed them on my creation. So now they'll remember, every bit of pain, every hurt, every sorrow, they will feel. I infected your first, and from her it will spread. And you will lose them, they'll beg to come back to me."
The reading room began to quake, Death's form shifted, it burned away, until his true form was revealed, upon looking at him, you could see why the personification of death was so terrifying. His skin had melted away, to reveal a body of broken and twisted bones and sinew, resembling tree branches, he grew to three times his size, dwarfing his sister completely. Two protrusions grew from his skull, giving him the appearance of devilish horns, and a fire burned within him, the orange embers visible through every crack and opening in his body.
"HOW DARE YOU!" he roared, "ALL OF THEIR SUFFERING WAS AT YOUR HANDS!" his domain shook even more violently, causing Nature to catch herself, to stop from falling. "I HAD NO CONTROL OVER THEIR LIVES! BECAUSE OF YOU! I CREATED VAMPIRES TO PUT AN END TO THEIR TORMENT! EVERYTHING YOUR CREATIONS SUFFER AT THE VAMPIRES' HANDS, EVERYTHING IS BECAUSE OF YOU!" The fire in his eyes grew, he wouldn't let her torture of his children stand, storming up to her he gripped her throat, keeping her in place, "Nothing you do will stop me, my children will live, and you, dear sister, will rue the day that you locked me out of your world." He tightened his grip on her, and threw her from his domain, fire exploding from him, burning away any trace of his sister that remained.
"Nik," Rebekah spoke softly, when the rest of their siblings left, she and Klaus had both been able to hear the Witch's sobs from upstairs, and as a result he had destroyed most of his apartment. She walked up to him cautiously, so much had changed with him, and it had happened without her. "Nik," she placed her hand on his shoulder, ignoring how he tensed at her touch, and turned him to face her, "You need to stop this."
He ripped his arm away from her, "Get out!" he growled, she didn't know, she didn't understand, she could never understand what he was feeling, and he didn't want her to.
"No!" Rebekah replied stubbornly.
"Rebekah I am not in the mood. Leave!"
"I said no Nik!"
"Reb-"
"You listen to me!" she cut him off, gripping his face between her hands, "After all these years, after everything we've been through, it's always been me at your side! Not Finn, nor Elijah, or Kol. Me! I loved you through everything! And I will not let you send me away now!" He was hurting and she could see it, the kind of pain that only she could understand, he needed her, even if he didn't want to admit it.
"You sent Mikael after me!" Klaus said incredulously.
"And I'm sorry for that!" she finally said, causing him to pause, Elijah hadn't apologised for the role he took with Aurora, Kol hadn't apologised for trying to create a dagger to put him down, and he similarly hadn't apologised for the numerous times that he had daggered his siblings, but here Rebekah was, apologising for the hurt that she'd caused him. "I'm sorry," she repeated, "If I could change it, I would, I was in love, and angry, and I made a terrible decision. But I can't change what I've done, and neither can you."
"Rebekah-"
"I'm not going anywhere Nik, you need me."
Klaus pulled himself away from his sister, "I am Klaus Mikaelson! I don't need anyone!"
"Yes you do," Rebekah insisted, stopping him from moving away from her, "You need me, just like you need that girl up there!"
"I-"
"You love her Nik!"
Klaus scowled, he didn't, he wouldn't, love was a weakness that he wouldn't allow himself to feel, "Don't be absurd."
"Don't take me for a fool Nik! I'm your sister, I have been with you through everything, and I know love when I see it! You love her! I can see it in your eyes, your actions," she gestured to the room, "Your pain. I know love, Nik, and I know what it's like to be the reason that the one you love dies." She looked deep into his eyes, attempting to convey her sincerity, "Destroying things, killing people, it won't stop what you're feeling, it can't. Let me help you, please."
It took a few hours before Enzo, Jenna and Caroline arrived in New York. Damon had explained to them as best he could what had happened to Maya, what she'd gone through, and Jenna and Caroline had immediately made their way to the red-head, curling around her, offering her words of comfort and support, taking her into their embrace the only way a mother and a sister could. Enzo had wanted to kill Klaus, and Kol, and the rest of the Originals for what they'd done, and Damon had to act like the responsible one, and prevent his lover from going off the deep end and attempting to do something that would end up with him killed. He'd rushed Enzo away from the apartment, so that he could let out his anger before going to Maya and left the two humans to take care of the Siphon.
Jenna had her arms wrapped around her daughter, stroking her hair, "Whatever it is that you need honey, I'm right here."
Maya had been very quiet since she'd arrived, for the most part, still stuck in her mind, on what she'd been reminded of, every life, every death, she didn't know how to cope. Whenever she died, and remembered her lives, she went back into Death's embrace, he was her comfort, her safety. But she hadn't died this time around, she was alive, unable to heal like she was used to, this time around, she had developed feelings for some of her killers. Kol was her teacher, her friend, she loved him, even if she hadn't told him. But Klaus, Klaus was more than a friend, he was the man that she saw herself spending the rest of her existence with, she was in love with him, and he'd killed her, even if they weren't together then, even if they didn't know each other, it still hurt her. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the look of delight on his face when his hand was buried in her chest. All she could feel was the terror that he'd instilled in her, and she didn't know what to do. How were they supposed to move forward from this? How could she even look at him after this?
She felt the ring on her finger, the ring that he'd given her as a declaration, she didn't want it, not now, not with this hanging over them, but giving it back to him, was that even an option? Sliding it off she placed it in her mother's hand, "I can't- I can't keep this," she whispered brokenly.
Jenna took the ring, it was beautiful, and expensive, "Sweetheart?"
"Nik- he- he gave it to me…I can't- I-" Maya could feel herself tear up.
"Hey," Caroline said, squeezing Maya as hard as she could, "It's okay, we'll deal with it," she nodded at Jenna, "You don't have to see it again."
"I can't see him," Maya shook her head, "Don't make see him."
"No one, is going to make you do anything," Jenna said, "If you don't want to see him, then you don't have to."
"He's been invited in," Maya whispered.
"I'll take care of it," Jenna said, "I promise."
Bonnie had just dropped Elena off at home, (it was getting really inconvenient for her, she couldn't wait for Elena to be able to get her license again) and was driving back to her own place, when she fell into an almost trance like state, and instead of going home, she found herself parked just outside the closed gates of the Sommers house. Instead of pressing the buzzer and waiting for an answer, automatically her magic rose up, trying to open the gates. She wasn't doing any of this by choice, she could feel something calling out to her, and everything in her had told her to try to get into the house. She was startled out of her trance by a knocking on her window. She jumped in surprise when she saw Stefan standing just outside of her car, "Stefan?" she said, after rolling her window down, "What-wher-what's going on?"
"What are you doing here Bonnie?"
Bonnie looked ahead of her and was baffled, what was she doing here? Wasn't she on her way home? "I-I don't know. I was driving home, but somehow I'm here. Why, why are you here?"
"Damon didn't come home last night, so I figured he'd be here, and I need some answers from him."
"He's not here." Bonnie said.
"What?"
"Maya left town a couple days ago, and Caroline, Damon, Enzo, Jenna, they all left last night, there's no one here." She looked back at the closed gates, what had she been doing there? "Damon didn't tell you he was leaving?"
Stefan shook his head, "No, how do you know they're gone?"
"Maya's not been in school for a couple days, I heard Caroline complaining about it, and now she's not in school, plus I heard Sheriff Forbes tell one of the teachers that Caroline was visiting her dad out of state. Caroline hasn't been to see her father since the divorce, Enzo wasn't at his usual spot at the coffee house, Damon wasn't at the Grill, plus Elena's mom has been complaining about the fact that Jenna was 'swanning off out of town whenever she felt like it'. So I just figured, they're all gone."
"Do you know why?"
Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Stefan, I'm not all knowing, why don't you try calling Damon, see if he'll tell you where he is."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going home."
Bonnie woke with a start in the middle of the night, looking around frantically, she started to panic, she wasn't in her bed, she wasn't in her room, she wasn't even in her house, she was standing outside of the empty Sommers house. She was in her thin tank top and shorts, barefoot, and bleeding, had she sleepwalked all the way there? What was happening to her? She needed to go home, she made to leave, but now that she was awake, the moment she put her foot on the gravel she nearly collapsed in pain, her feet had been cut open. "Aagh!" she gasped. She didn't have her phone with her, how was she supposed to get home if she couldn't walk?
As she was freaking out, she saw headlights appear in the driveway, and the Sheriff's police cruiser drove up next to her. Liz had seen the gates to the Sommers home wide open as she was going home, she knew that they hadn't come back yet, so had elected to check on the house, "Bonnie?" she asked suspiciously. Now that she knew about the differences between Sheila and Maya, she was very weary about Bonnie just appearing outside of the Sommers home, "What are you doing here?"
Bonnie looked up in confusion, "I don't know," she said, "I went to bed and I woke up here!"
Liz shone her flashlight at Bonnie, looking the young girl up and down, it certainly appeared as though she hadn't planned on being out at night. "Come on," Liz said, going up to her and helping her into the cruiser, "We need to take care of your feet, and then I'll take you home." As suspicious as she was, she wasn't about to leave a teenager out in the middle of the night on her own, especially when she was clearly unprepared for the weather.
/ / /
Liz had taken Bonnie back to her place, cleaned and bandaged her feet, and then driven her to her grandmother's house, because her father wasn't home. "Grams," Bonnie said, after Liz left, "What's happening to me?"
"I don't know," Sheila replied, "Do you remember anything before you ended up at that house?"
Bonnie shook her head, "I can't remember anything, it was just like after I dropped Elena off and then drove to Maya's house except worse."
"It sounds like something's drawing you over there"
"Do you think it's Emily's grimoire?" Bonnie asked, "Maybe Emily put a spell on it before she died so that her descendants could find it?"
Sheila looked thoughtful at that, "I don't know," she said, "Maybe," that wasn't something she'd thought of, it wasn't a spell she'd heard of before, but Emily was a powerful Witch, it was possible that she could have written a spell like that. She'd have to look into it, otherwise, she didn't know what was drawing Bonnie to Maya's house. Perhaps she should see if she could contact Emily, find out if her ancestor knew what the Sommers girl was up to, and find out how to stop her.
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