Story has come along really nicely if I do say so myself. And it's all thanks to you folks! Wanted to post this earlier but just had some minor setbacks and last minute edits to deal with.

Chasing An Outcome

Chapter 7: Turmoil in the French Quarter

"Why haven't they called yet!?" Hayley said to no one in particular.

There was only so much waiting the wolf turned hybrid could take. Plus she was in no mood anymore to hear any apologizing from either Freya or Elijah. God where was that idiot Klaus when she needed him?

Her eyes went over to where Freya was attempting to break Rebekah's curse. Good; she missed her and could use some girl talk. What would Rebekah say about this situation? No doubt she'd agree with Klaus in opting to look for another way. Rebekah had a soft spot for Davina due to both Kol and Marcel loving her, both in their own way of course.

Her phone ringing cut any further thinking. The sound also alerted the other two present.

"What the hell Klaus?" She purposely yelled into the phone. Who cares if it irritated him? It was his fault for making her worry so much. "You freaking wait this long to call me back!?"

"I believe you should save the lover's spat for Elijah."

"Shut up," She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Are you and Kol alright? Did you find Davina?"

"It's a very long story so sit back."

Thankfully she already was seated. When she noticed Freya stepped closer she put the phone on speaker. Not everyone was a vampire after all. "Spill."

"Davina was brought back by Vincent. The ancestors didn't kill her."

"Thank God," Hayley breathed out. "How did Davina manage to survive in there surrounded by all those witches?"

"Getting there love," He answered, not pleased about being cut off. "When Kol and I found her she'd been in the process of wrapping up a spell, with the help of Vincent. Apparently it was a spell used to bring someone back from that accursed place."

"What?"

"Yes, I shared your shock then too. But Kol recognized the spell. The man they brought back is called Nathan. He is the one whom kept Davina hidden while she was there, as well as the one that saved her. This is where it gets interesting. I hope you are still seated."

"Would you get on with it?"

"No need to be testy. I assure you you'll thank me after I tell you this next bit. This man, Nathan, seems to be Davina Claire's birth father."

Had Hayley not been seated she was sure she'd be doing a double take. "Her... Are you- Are you serious? How is that possible?"

"Once more, I too shared your shock. But it's apparently true."

"Where is she? Is she there? Put her on Klaus."

"If she were I would. But she's gone on some wondrous adventure to take down both that scum Lucien and those incessant ancestors."

"How could you just let her go!?" She snapped.

"Didn't have much of a choice with Marcellus breathing down my neck. He's under some stubborn agenda that only he can protect her and no one else."

Hayley scoffed. "Remind you of someone?"

He coughed awkwardly. "Getting back to the point, she isn't necessarily alone. Aside from Marcel, Vincent, and her newly acquired dad, are all tagging along with her."

"What exactly are they planning?"

"Conveniently I was able to overhear their entire plan. The idea is to rid New Orleans of the ancestors. Vincent has a dark object in his possession that can supposedly get the job done. Which will then make Lucien into the stable boy we all know and loathe, thus allowing him to be killed."

"Would it really work?"

"Vincent reckons it's worth a shot. A gamble like this comes with its risks though. In order to activate this dark object one needs to be in the ancestral plane."

Hayley stood upwards. "We have to stop them Klaus!"

"Believe me there is nothing I despise more than sitting around but, Lucien's bite is still a prominent threat to us. Only Marcel is immune to it making him the only one who can fight him."

Hayley could perfectly hear the displeased tone of his. He wanted to be out there, doing something. She did too. "Damn it all."

"They must be planning on linking themselves to someone," Freya spoke up. "That's what it takes in order to enter."

"That bastard!" A familiar voice yelled.

Klaus sighed. "It seems Kol is finally awake."

"What do you mean awake?" Hayley asked. "Was he really sleeping? Or did something happen?"

"Let's just say it took some convincing to ensure Kol didn't follow Davina."

"That smug bastard! Snapping my neck like that... Who does he thinks he is?" Kol ranted. "Who's he to make the decisions around here?"

Hayley was relieved to hear he was okay. True she had not had much time to get to know him but he was important to Davina, that was enough. "Kol?"

"Eh? Hayley? Why are you inside my head?"

"I have her on phone imbecile."

"Oh fuck off," He retorted in embarrassment. "How the hell was I supposed to know that? I just woke up from a not so pleasant nap."

Hayley couldn't help but chuckle. That was good ol' vampire hearing for you. "Glad you're alright Kol."

"I'm far from alright darling. I need to find Davina." He slammed his hand against the wall. "I bloody had her in my arms and that prick snaps my neck! Does he honestly think only he's allowed to protect her!? I swear all that serum did was make him even more intolerable than he previously was!"

"Kol," Hayley interrupted him. "They're attempting to enter the ancestral world by linking with someone. It seems like a solid plan if you ask me."

Klaus furrowed his brows. "What's on your mind?"

"I say, we go and provide some back up. I don't know about you two but I'm sick of waiting around."

"Music to my ears!" Kol stated, relieved that someone other than him wanted to take action. "I like the way you think. I can see why Nik knocked you up."

"Shut up before it is I who decides to snap your neck!"

Hayley was beyond mortified. "Just get your asses back here. And let's start this thing."

"It's not that simple." Freya murmured, but they were all able to hear.

"Who the bloody hell asked for your opinion!?" Kol had grabbed Klaus' arm to shout into the phone.

"Kol," Klaus calmed him with a hand to his shoulder before speaking. "What are you talking about Freya?"

"You can't just freely enter the ancestral world as you please. Davi—" She paused. "Only witches who have been consecrated or witches can enter."

"I can go there!" Kol said. "I was consecrated by Davina. And I was tormented daily by those bastards! I'm going."

"Kol you can't go alone." Klaus replied.

"The' hell I can't! I'm going Nik."

Freya bit her lip. "I can go with him."

Kol couldn't even believe what she'd just said. "You have some fucking nerve! I'd rip my own heart out before I let you anywhere near Davina!"

Freya expected the hostility. There was no doubting that he despised her. Her heart was partly shattered now. All she ever wanted was to have the family she'd been stripped away from. Ironically because of her own actions that was now impossible. Doing something for her family turned out to be her own undoing.

"I can do the spell to send us both there. If things don't go as planned I can easily pull us out, or anyone else. And you'll be there should anything happen Kol."

His eyes narrowed. "You mean if you dare try something again?"

When silence threatened to take over Hayley decided on speaking. "I think it's worth a shot. Get back to the compound. We don't have time to argue about it."

"Whoa no way! Oh no we are not doing this again!" Josh said, making an 'X' gesture with his arms. "You remember how much I said this whole thing sucked last time? Guess what? I kind of haven't changed my feelings on that."

"This is the only way Josh. And I'm not alone this time. I'll be with Nathan."

"Oh right, long lost dad..." He muttered before shaking his head. "No, the answer is no! Davina, you died. I can't go through that grief again. I won't!"

Davina rested her palm on his cheek. "I don't want to lose any more important people Josh, and you're one of those people. This is why I need to do this. And I can't do it without you. You've always been the person I run to when I need something. But helping each other out, it's what best friends do, isn't it?

He smiled weakly. "Not cool using the best friend code. I'll do it but I still think it sucks."

Davina returned the smile and wrapped her arms around him. "It really is nice to have you back Josh."

"Good to have you too." Josh replied while hugging her. "Let's do this. And you better come back to me."

"Count on it."

Nathan clasped his hands together. "Okay, I'll start the preparations while we wait for Vincent's cue."

"Hey D," Marcel pulled her to the hallway as Nathan prepared the spell. "Are you sure about this? You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"It needs to be done Marcel." Davina replied. This was it. All she needed to do was enter that place once again and end it. She could do it. She had to do it.

"You're scared aren't you?"

Davina should have guessed he'd see right through her. No point in lying now. So she nodded. "Yeah."

"Come here," He murmured and pulled her towards him. "I don't want you to do this. I hate that I won't be there with you."

"We'll lay low and be extra careful," Davina attempted reassuring him. "Once we do this it'll all be over. We can finally move on. I'll be able to be with you, and Nathan, Josh, and Kol too. Heck even Vincent."

"Davina," Nathan called. "Vincent's all set. It's time. Hey Marcel your phone is really sweet by the way."

Marcel smiled slightly and gently ushered Davina back in the room.

Josh handed the knife to her. "Ready? Because I so am not."

"I'm not either," Davina stated before making a cut on her palm, wincing in the process. "But let's give it a shot." Her gaze went back to Marcel. "I'll be careful."

He nodded weakly. "Yeah." His hand caressed her face before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Watch your back, okay D?"

Davina smiled. "I promise I will." With that she laid down on the floor. "Do me a favor and keep these roaches away from me, will you?"

Marcel laughed. "Deal."

... ... …. …. ... ... ... …. …. ... ... ... ….

"Davina?"

It was Nathan.

Davina's eyes shot open. "We're back here... It feels strange." Besides her were Josh and Marcel, but they were motionless.

"Yep, I don't exactly have positive feelings about this place either. The faster we fry this place the better. Although, it's hard to completely hate it. I mean, this is where we met. Part of me might miss this dump."

Davina smiled. "Guess we'll just have to make better memories then."

Nathan grinned. "Our first father-daughter bonding activity will be frying witches."

"Let's do this; we have to get to the cemetery and activate this thing."

The two stepped out the house and started the trek back to the cemetery.

"So, um," Nathan began with an uneasiness. "Well..."

"What?" Davina replied, annoyed by his beating around the bush.

"I just... look I noticed that you're pretty grown up. You are at the age where," He paused to think of the best way to phrase it. "Davina you're at a delicate age, for lack of a better explanation. Lots of decisions need to be made. Personal decisions."

Davina frowned. "Is there a question anywhere in there?"

"Not necessarily a question, more like some advice. Some fatherly advice. When I was your age I had already my fair share of these similar situations."

"God," She sighed in exasperation before stopping entirely to focus on him. "Nathan if you have something to say just say it."

He cleared his throat. "I'm sure you've thought about boys by now. Like that Kol you seemed so close to."

Davina raised a brow. She was starting to see what this was about.

"And there are the right kind of boys and the wrong kind of—"

"For God's sake we are not having this conversation!" She cut off, her face red from embarrassment. "And least of all here."

"Okay, okay, sheesh!" Nathan replied with his hands up in defeat. "Sorry, I'm kind of new to the dad thing. Not to mention I have no idea what stage we're on. Safe to say I was guessing we were at the point where we have 'the talk'."

"Why don't we just focus on the task at hand," She suggested. "This is a bit uncomfortable in all honesty."

"Fair enough. Let's keep moving."

The dark sky and clouds surrounding the area were definitely creepy. Plus it was still so eerily quiet; only the sound of the wind swishing could be heard. But so far the trek had been relatively easy.

"Doesn't this feel weird to you?" Davina asked. "I know we've been doing our best to be extra careful but, it feels, I don't know, too easy?"

"This place is definitely quieter than it normally is that's for sure. Stay on your toes Davina."

"Yeah."

Right as they reached a corner Davina felt hands grabbing her waist and pulling her. "Let go of me!"

"Don't take my head off now!"

It was déjà vu as she stared at the Original standing before her. "Kol? What are you doing here?"

Nathan appeared instantly and was about to send the attacker flying, only to stop when he realized who it was. "Huh? Kol?"

"I told you not to follow me!" Davina snapped. "Why don't you ever listen to me? I told you it was dangerous!"

"You must not know me well then, love," He angrily said. "Especially if you actually expected me to listen to you and your pals' advice."

"Damn it Kol this isn't a game! What's it going to take for you to realize? You can't fight Lucien or the ancestors! They'll kill you for sure this time! I don't want to lose you or anyone else!"

"I get that! Why do you think I'm here? Because I feel the same way! The last time I let you out of my sight I lost you. I don't care what you or anyone says. I'm not letting that happen again. And I'm not leaving."

"You're so unbelievable sometimes!"

He crossed his arms. "Oh please love. As if you don't go running off not listening to what others say."

Her face flushed. "That's- That's different!"

"Uh, Davina," Nathan spoke. "We're getting off track here. What's done is done. It can't be helped now."

Davina sighed in defeat. "Fine, whatever, you're here now so let's—" The words never finished as she finally saw who was standing behind Kol. It took everything in her to control her breathing. "What... What is she doing here!? How could you bring her?"

"No it isn't like that!" Kol quickly said.

"She was going to sacrifice me Kol!"

Nathan's gaze fell on the woman. It took only moments to recognize her. Hatred boiled inside him and he immediately stepped in front of Davina, shielding her from her vision. "Get the hell out. Now."

"Wait!" Kol cried desperately. "I'm not with her. I only used her to enter this hell hole so that I could find you. I knew you were coming to this place. So I needed to find you no matter what! That's when Hayley, who'd been on the phone with Niklaus, said that we should enter the ancestral world. I didn't know how much time I had and I couldn't waste time searching for a witch to do the spell. This was the quickest way!"

"There's no way in hell I'm letting her near Davina," Nathan stated with narrowed eyes. "We don't need or want your kind of help."

"Bloody hell I feel the same way!" Kol retorted. "If Freya even tries anything I'll be the first to snap her neck. I told you I'm only using her."

"Now look what we have here?"

The four all turned to see Lucien casually leaning against the wall.

He raised a brow at their shocked expressions. "I know I'm quite the sight but haven't you been taught not to stare? Although in your defense I don't think either of you had any proper guidance whatsoever."

"How...? How can you be here?" Davina muttered in disbelief. "This is impossible... we- we tracked you. You're supposed to be at Rousseau."

Lucien slowly shook his head mockingly. "Tsk tsk tsk. Did you honestly believe I could be so stupid as to allow you to catch me off guard? You're hurting me here. You see Davina, you have what? Two witches on your side? Or three if you want to count the lovely Freya." He chuckled. "Oh dear, that might have been too soon. I'll get to the point; see I'm not that cruel. You think you're clever but you're not. It's amazing how many steps you can plan ahead when you have an entire army of witches, what was that term I used- oh that's right, scratching your back. What you tracked down was merely a decoy."

Sweat was pooling on Davina's hands. "What are you talking about?"

"I know that pretend father of yours wouldn't leave you by yourself. Am I correct so far?" At their silence he continued smugly. "I'm sure he sent his Strix dogs to tail me. But these ancestors are quite handy. Did you know they can create an illusion; so as to make it seem like you are looking at a rather well crafted face when in reality it's just some poor compelled fool? Might take them a while to realize though. It's incredible what they can do isn't it? For I can even enter this place so easily as if I were invited. I was if you're wondering."

"We should've ended your filthy life the second we saw you." Kol sneered.

"Don't you just love good ol' hindsight?" Lucien replied in his usual tone. "Now, between you and me, the ancestors really want to get their paws on your little girlfriend. Persistent lot wouldn't you say? But, you've gone and caught me in a good mood so," He angled his gaze back to Davina. "Instead of them crushing your insignificant soul I'll just kill you myself. Don't worry I'll kill your little friends too. Then you can all frolic in the afterlife or whatever. Nice fellow aren't I? And all I ask in return is that little box in your hands, containing what I assume, is something I don't like."

Instinctively Davina clutched the box closer. "No! You can't have this!" Vincent had entrusted her with this.

"Such a shame. I guess I'll just take it and drag you to the ancestors. That is, if I don't rip out your pretty little head first."

At that moment Nathan sent Lucien backwards with his magic. "Run!"

But he reappeared before them looking livid. "That wasn't really nice."

"You won't kill us here," Freya said before glancing at the group. "We need to get out now. Otherwise we're done for."

"About that," He smirked darkly. "The connection between you and your bodies was severed the minute you stepped foot here. Like I said," He crossed his arms triumphantly. "I cannot be duped love. I am in control of your fates now. So I do hope you've gotten the chance to write your wills."

Author's Notes

The plan isn't working out the way the group had hoped. Now the ball is in Lucien's court. I'll be looking forward to your reviews! :)