Chapter 14: Taking Out the Trash
*****The Next Day*****
Klaus woke up with the sun shining on his face. His arms were around Cami as he had fallen asleep trying to convince her to keep living. He moved to see if she yet lived and felt relieved to discover that she had. Then he noticed an empty blood bag on the nightstand. She had made her choice, and he was filled with relief and happiness.
"Cami," he said, waking her up.
Cami opened her eyes, her senses flooded with so much. It was both startling and intoxicating. However, the strongest feeling was hunger, and the hunger was focused on Klaus almost exclusively. Without hesitating, she kissed him, pouring her feelings for the hybrid into the kiss as well as her passion.
Klaus returned the kiss with equal fervor, and then he broke it off. "Are you sure, Cami? Your feelings are being manipulated by your new senses. You might regret this," he said.
"I regret lots of things," Cami said. "But I'm not going to regret finally being with you. I know how screwed up you are and how much you piss me off and scare me. But I do love you, Klaus, and I know that you know that. I also know that you love me, too. If it's not a forever kind of love, that's okay. Forever suddenly means something very different to me now."
Her lips met his in a slow kiss as they each began to savor the other, and then they were lost in this moment.
*****An Hour Later Elsewhere*****
Vincent woke up, disorientated. Something happened to him late last night, and he knew it wasn't good. He got up to leave the tomb he was somehow in, and he couldn't cross the invisible barrier. When he tried a spell, nothing happened. This shouldn't be possible because he was now head of all the witches in New Orleans and was channeling their power. Whatever was keeping him here was stronger than all the magic in New Orleans. The only power that he could think of was Willow, but Vincent knew that it wasn't her. The slayer's best friend had no reason to punish him or trap him, and she was busy resurrecting Kol Mikaelson.
"Ah, I see that you're awake," a voice said.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Lucien stepped into the light. "I think you know," he said.
"What do you want?" Lucien asked.
"I had my remaining witches trap you here. My strongest witch is dead, so I need someone who can channel a lot of power to do a very special spell on me," Lucien said, stepping closer.
"Your witches shouldn't be able to contain me—not alone," Vincent said.
"Well, let's just say, they have a little help from others who wish to remain anonymous," Lucien said with a smirk. He handed Vincent a piece of paper.
Vincent looked at in and then glanced up in shock. "Where did you find this?" he asked.
"Haven't you figured it out yet, Vincent? Mommy Mikaelson is playing for my team and not her children's," Lucien said with a grin.
"You want me to make you an Original?" Vincent asked, looking down at the paper. It was a very ancient spell that Lucien should not have in his possession. The Bennett witches would never betray their vow to the Mikaelson matriarch. Maybe Lucien was telling the truth. Maybe the mother was working with New Orleans witches and Lucien. It was a disturbing implication.
"Not exactly. I want you to make me stronger than an Original—something that they can't defeat," Lucien said. He gave Vincent a vial of liquid. "This is werewolf venom that I've collected from all the various werewolf packs. I'm going to be bigger, stronger, and more lethal than any of them. I'll kill that bitch slayer, too. Nothing will be able to stop me."
"You're forgetting something," Vincent said. "Willow. She's stronger than any witch in this city—stronger than me."
"She's not stronger than all the witches that have come before her combined together against her," Lucien said. "I've got power backing me, and once I get this spell done, it won't matter—she won't be able to touch me."
"If you've got witches, why do you need me?" Vincent asked.
"My other witches aren't as strong as you are now that you're the head of the coven. The witches—your ancestors—will give you even more power," Lucien said. "Witches today are not as powerful as the ancients. This spell will take a lot of power. Only someone like yourself can channel it."
"What if I refuse?" Vincent asked.
"Well, then you're no good to me, and I'll kill you," he said with an easy smile.
"I'm not defenseless," Vincent said.
Two witches came up behind Lucien. "I bet they can keep you from doing your mojo before I snap your neck," Lucien said.
Vincent realized that Lucien had him at a disadvantage. He put his hand in his pocket, and he saw that he still had his phone. The man was so arrogant that it never occurred to him that he'd call for help. "Fine. I'll do the spell," he said.
"I knew you'd see things me way," Lucien said. "Release him, ladies."
Lucien turned to go, and the two women brought down the barrier. "Follow us," one of the witches said.
Vincent pulled out his phone as soon as their back was turned and sent a text to Faith. Luckily, he knew all the cemeteries in town, and he knew exactly where he was.
Now, he just had to stall for time.
*****Mikaelsons*****
Elijah woke up with Buffy's lips on his neck, and he smiled. "Someone woke up in a good mood," he said.
"Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and I'm feeling particularly thankful for my sexy and wonderful fiancée," she said. Then she kissed him.
Elijah happily returned her kiss, feeling more and more the darkness inside fade as he absorbed more of her light.
Their bedroom door was flung open. "Hey!" Buffy glared at Faith. "Don't you know how to knock?"
"Sorry, B, but get off the boy toy. We gotta go. My hot witch Vincent has been kidnapped," Faith said.
"What?" Buffy said moving off Elijah.
"Where is he?" Elijah asked.
"St. Louis Cemetery on Basin street," Faith said.
"Give us a minute," Buffy said.
"I'll go get Willow and Freya," Faith said, turning to leave.
Buffy jumped out of bed and grabbed her clothes. "We'll finish this later," she said, giving Elijah a lustful look as he stood naked before her.
Smiling, he grabbed his clothes and was dressed before Buffy put one leg in her pants. "That totally isn't fair!" she complained.
"This is even more unfair," Elijah said, kissing her. "I'll see you there." Then he blurred away.
"So not fair," Buffy grumbled as she threw on some clothes.
*****Cemetery*****
Vincent watched as Lucien's witches set everything up to do the spell. He was studying the spell, impressed with it despite what it meant. The spell would make Lucien every bit as powerful at Klaus even more so with the werewolf venom. Vincent knew that Buffy had sliced off the psycho vamp's arm, but it was whole now. This meant that Lucien was probably telling the truth, and he did have help from the ancestors. Vincent suspected that the Mikaelsons own mother was the main person behind it. There was no way the world needed a murderous and cunning vampire like Lucien to be even stronger. He was a serial killer, who enjoyed tormenting humans. At least Klaus killed out of anger and not sadism. However, after spending an evening with Faith, Vincent was convinced that the slayers would never ignore the bad things the Mikaelsons were capable of. In fact, he would be willing to bet that Elijah Mikaelson would become a demon hunter, aiding Buffy wherever she went. Most likely, all their basest instincts would be channeled to kill the things that Buffy and Faith normally dealt with. Buffy Summers was going to prove to be a more effective muzzle than Elijah had ever been.
Vincent was also not oblivious to the way Willow looked at Freya, so he knew that the slayer's biggest weapon would always side with the Mikaelsons. It was important that he find away to stay on her good side. Doing this spell would not be a good idea for him or the witches in his coven.
"It's ready," one of the women said to Lucien.
"Let's get started," Lucien said.
"So what is it that you think you're going to do?" Elijah said as he appeared behind Lucien.
Lucien turned and faced the formidable Original. "What I am doing is none of your business," Lucien said.
"I see that you managed to get your arm back. I didn't think body parts grew back so fast, so I'm guessing you have some magical help," Elijah said. He gave Vincent an inquisitive look.
Vincent held up his hands. "It wasn't me! I was just kidnapped and forced to do his bidding, but he had the arm already," he shared.
"This reeks of conspiracy," Elijah said. "Who are you plotting with?"
"So many people hate you and your family that the list is endless," Lucien said with a grin.
"Niklaus was very angry that you harmed our friend Camille," Elijah said.
"Yes, I was," Klaus said as he made his own appearance. "Thanks for the text, brother."
"You're welcome," Elijah said.
Vincent decided that he needed to step back and moved away from the action as Willow teleported into the space. She was holding hands with Freya and Buffy. Faith was on Freya's other side. Grinning, he waved at Faith, who waved back. "Are you okay?" Faith asked.
"He didn't hurt me," Vincent said.
"How did you guys all know what we were doing?" Lucien asked.
Vincent held up his phone. "You really aren't as smart as you think you are," he said with a smirk.
Lucien grew alarmed when Buffy pulled out her scythe and started toward him. He looked at his witches, and they nodded. They raised their hand and knocked Elijah and Klaus several yards back several feet. Willow murmured her own spell, trapping the witches in an invisible box.
Buffy didn't waste any time and threw her scythe to Faith as she moved quickly to hit Lucien, keeping him in one place.
The magic of the ancestors, however, were with him, and he didn't feel much from her hit. Smirking, he said, "I think you'll have to do better than that."
"Okay," Buffy said, grinning as Faith swung the scythe.
Lucien held up his hand to grab it, but his sliced through his hand and then his neck. Not even the magic of the ancestors could withstand the ancient magics of the slayer's blade.
Klaus and Elijah moved to stand next to the slayers as Lucien's head rolled off his neck, hitting the ground with a hard thud.
"Man, that was fun!" Faith exclaimed.
"A bit anti-climactic, don't you think?" Klaus said. "I didn't get to rip out his heart."
"Sorry for taking away your fun," Faith said, slapping Klaus on the back. "But you can take out the trash."
"I can't believe your scythe worked against him," Vincent said. "He was empowered by the ancestors."
"It's more ancient and powerful than any weapon we've come across," Buffy said. "It's what Willow used to empower the slayer line."
"I'm going to go over to the Other Side and sever their link to the witches here," Willow said. "They're going to mind their own business. Watching over your family is one thing, but Freya's mother is actively seeking to end her family line. The other witches are going along with her. It's gotta stop!"
Freya felt sad that the mother she barely remembered still felt such distaste for her own children. She put her hand to the necklace she wore that contained Finn's spirit. At least she knew one witch wasn't trying to destroy them.
"Lucien had Esther's spell to make himself an original," Vincent shared. "He was also going to use werewolf venom he'd been collecting to make himself deadlier than Klaus."
"I wish he was alive, so I could kill him myself," Klaus said darkly.
"What else was Lucien planning on doing?" Freya asked the two witches.
"If we tell you, will you release us?" one of them asked. "Lucien enslaved us. We had no choice but to do his bidding."
"That's probably true," Klaus said. "Lucien loved preying on the weaker in a way I never did. It was because he was a servant when he was human."
"Tell us what you know, and we'll think about it," Willow said. She glanced at Freya, who nodded in agreement.
"He was going to kill your siblings with his bite, which should've been toxic to them," the witch said to Klaus. "And he was going to sever your line, so he would no longer be connected to you. All your enemies who were sired by you would be free to move against you. Without your siblings, you'd have no real allies."
Anger built in Klaus, and he pulled his leg back, kicking Lucien's head high in the sky.
"Brother, we can't leave that head for some tourist to find," Elijah said with a tsk. Klaus just glared at him.
"Lucien built a huge fortune," Buffy said. "Cami told me all about it. I think we should find a way to redistribute his wealth. Some of his victims' families deserve compensation."
"Cami is a victim, I'll give it to her. She can decide what to do with it," Klaus said with a shrug. "She can start a charity in her beloved twin's name. I bet she'll love that."
Willow grinned. "Trying to win some bonus points?" she asked.
"Trying to make her happy. It was hard to convince her to live," he shared.
"But she's alive? Drank blood?" Buffy asked.
Klaus nodded. "I'm going to return to her, and tell her the good news," he said.
"Are you sure Aurora is gone?" Buffy asked. "She is obsessed with you. Cami will seem like a major threat to you if she's around."
"Vincent and I will go look for her," Faith said, giving the witch a wink. "We'll make sure they're no Strix in town either."
"If you find any, give me a call," Elijah said.
Faith scoffed. "Yeah, right," she said. "If I find any, I'm going to kill them."
"Don't kill Aurora," Klaus said. "Leave her to me."
"Psycho vamp with a major hard-one for you? I don't think so," Buffy said, giving him a pointed look. "If she's in town, it's 'cause she's up to no good."
"Tristan will have gotten her out of town," Elijah said.
"He better have," Faith said. She handed Buffy her scythe. "You give the best gifts, B!"
"Thanks," Buffy said. "You making your Boston cream pie for the party?"
"Buy the ingredients, and I totally will," Faith said.
"Text them to me," Buffy said. She looked at Elijah. "We have to go shopping for the party."
"The food is already ordered," Elijah said.
"You're not getting out of taking me shopping," Buffy said, crossing her arms and giving him a look.
"Let's go, Vince, before she pulls out the lip," Faith said, smirking at her sister-slayer.
Vincent followed Faith out of the cemetery. "Thanks for showing up," he said.
"Glad you got word to me," Faith said, bumping her hip into his. "Are you coming to the party tomorrow?"
"You know I detest the entire Mikaelson family except for maybe Hayley and Freya," he said.
Faith shrugged. "So? They'll be free food and booze and me. What more do you need?" she asked, giving him a saucy grin.
"Nothing, I guess," he said, smiling at her.
"You know B isn't ever going to let the family cross any lines, right?" Faith said. "Buffy is a white hat—completely. I mean she's died twice saving the world. She doesn't know how to fail, so you can relax about her boy and his brother. And Willow might be more powerful. Did you hear that she brought Kol back as a human? He's not a vampire anymore but a witch."
"Really? How was that possible?" Vincent asked, impressed.
"Willow found a spell that brought him back and restored his life," she said. "Klaus was pissed, Buffy said, but Willow was thinking of Davina and babies."
Vincent looked bemused. "That woman shouldn't be able to do such a thing," he said.
"She formed her magical abilities on a hellmouth. It made her different than other witches, and she's super smart. Giles said the two things make her unique," Faith said. "Her mind looks for things others don't. If she's determined to shut down your ancestors, she probably will. Will you be all right?"
"I'm not power hungry," he said with a shrug. "I spent my time playing in the dark magic well, and I know what power can do. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Willow plays a dangerous game."
"She's not all-powerful—just very powerful. As long as she doesn't lose her temper, she's fine," Faith said. "So where do you think we can find Aurora?"
"Let's check out the nicest hotels in town. If she or her brother's men are in town, that's where they'll be," he said.
"So three hotels and then one club. Three more hotels and then another club," Faith suggested with a wink.
"All work makes for cranky slayer?" Vincent teased.
"You know it," she said, grinning.
The two headed for Faith's bike.
*****A Few Hours Later*****
Willow was determined to get to the Other Side and give those witches a beat down, making sure they stopped their meddling. She convinced Davina to help her and Freya since Davina was a New Orleans witch who knew how the ancestors and their powers worked.
"You know as the witches in New Orleans grow stronger, the witches who passed to the Other Side should be growing weaker," Davina said.
"But not all the witches on the Other Side are witches from this city," Willow pointed out. "Freya's mother isn't."
"The Other Side is still Earth," Freya said.
"We know from our experiences with death that heaven is real," Willow said. "We know that hell is real—in fact there are different hells. Angel was in one. He also has been to a dimension where people are in personal hells. Buffy went to a hell dimension once that people were like slaves for demons."
"Really?" Davina asked, fascinated.
"So what's the plan?" Kol asked.
"We'll work a spell that will put Davina and I into a temporary death—like a walking death," Willow said. "You and Freya will stay on this side to bring us back."
"What?" Kol asked, upset. "I'm not letting Davina die even if it's for pretend or a few minutes."
"You don't speak for me," Davina said, glaring. "The witches over there have gotten too power hungry. We have to do something. I can lead her."
Kol didn't look happy, so Willow assured him. "Don't worry, Kol. We'll be fine," she said. "I know you don't really know me, but I'm really powerful."
"Yeah, I guess you are since I'm standing here as a human and not a vampire because of you," Kol conceded.
"What are you going to do when you find the witches?" Freya wondered.
"I'm going to convince them to move on or drain their power," Willow said firmly. "Either way, their ability to meddle is going to be over."
"Being a witch shouldn't require young girls to be killed and resurrected," Davina said. "It's a barbaric practice."
"It's one that we can stop," Willow said. "I've already taught you a bit. Eventually, you'll have the power you need without the ancestor worship. It's possible even for witches who were born here. They just have to be willing to learn it."
Davina nodded. "I'm ready," she said. Kol kissed her and moved away. She and Willow laid in the circle they'd created.
Then they began the spell.
*****To Be Continued*****
Bringing Willow and Buffy into season 3 of The Originals really changes things. I couldn't see Willow and Buffy not stopping him. I also realized that by convincing Tristan to leave the chain of events went down very differently from the show. Cortes and other vampires that take up the second half of season 3 only happen because Lucien and Tristan succeeded in severing Klaus' line from him. Sorry if it's too anti-climactic, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
