Reached 100 reviews! Wow, the reception I've gotten with this story has been unreal. Thanks so much guys. Apologies for the tardiness.
Chasing An Outcome
Chapter 9: Second Time's the Charm
"Vincent!" Nathan greeted him first. He gestured him to come inside. "The plan didn't work. They anticipated us and even managed to corner us. Thankfully we all managed to escape with our lives."
"What? How?"
"Long story," Marcel chimed in. "Get ready for an earful."
"Hey um, my bad but I broke a table. Just saying." Josh added. "So, yeah, sorry man."
"You broke my table?" Vincent replied, looking actually disheartened by the possibility.
"Erm, bigger things going on," Nathan said. "We need to discuss a game plan." He pushed a fist onto his palm confidently. "This time we'll set up our counterattack!"
"Let's do this," Marcel agreed before turning to face Davina. "D, hang up. We have business to handle."
"Uh, right."
"Damn it Davina don't you hang up on me!" Kol yelled.
"There's no use Kol. There's no convincing her." Klaus stated.
"You don't know that!" Kol retorted. But deep down he knew how stubborn Davina could be. "Please Davina, let me help you."
A tear escaped her. "I'm sorry..."
Marcel frowned and snatched the phone. "Look she isn't going to involve you no matter how much you whine. And you sure as hell aren't forcing her to do anything she doesn't want to."
"Oh please, do tell me your grand plan. What's the big plan you have? Huh? Since you apparently have all the damn answers!"
"The plan is for you to stay the hell out of our way! And this isn't a discussion. You're not coming along."
"Marcel," Hayley said, taking the phone from Kol. "I get it. You blame us for what happened to Davina. But, please, let us help you."
"No Hayley, you don't get it." He replied, doing his best to maintain his composure.
"You're right, I don't. And I really am sorry." She added softly. "But I know your pain. The fear that you feel when you're about to lose someone..." She bit her lip, recalling her last moment with Jackson. "It's something out of this world isn't it?"
This made him pause abruptly.
"Marcel, you're my friend. I never— would never, have allowed that to happen to Davina. I had no idea Freya and Elijah would do that. I told them to not do it. You know Davina is my friend as well."
"But Freya and Elijah are still your family; you would've forgiven them eventually," He growled. "Despite my attempts at holding back I still want to kill them. You'd never allow that either. And I can't fault you for being loyal to them. You got your family to think about and I got mine; there's no in between." There was no going back. "I'm sorry Hayley, but this is one broken bridge that just isn't fixable. To be brutally honest with you I really don't care that Lucien wants to kill your family. I'm doing this for Davina's sake and no one else's. I am never being separated from her ever again."
Hayley tightened her hold, a fleeting warning that she might crack the phone crossed her mind. "Davina is important to me, same as you are, Marcel... more than you even know."
"But your family is more important to you Hayley!" He shot back. "Nothing will ever change that and it's only to be expected. But I want to kill them. No matter how much I tell myself I don't, I still want to rip their hearts out! Things will never be the same Hayley; why can't you understand that!? I will always despise them and have an urge to kill them! You and I can't possibly be friends once all this is done. This isn't a fairytale. Don't waste your time trying to salvage shattered ties."
"It hurts to hear you say that. It truly does. I never wanted this to happen. Despite our differences I really did consider you my friend."
He nodded solemnly. "I know. And for what it's worth... I also considered you my friend."
That made her smile in regret. A sudden thought crept onto her head then. Hayley hesitated briefly at what she was about to say. "What about Rebekah?"
Marcel's eyes widened marginally. He thought to the only woman he'd come to fall in love with, smiling sadly at their tragic relationship. She was such a hopeless romantic.
When he was around her sometimes he was as well.
"I have my Strix working on a cure for her curse. They should know something about what Aya did."
But at the end of the day she was a Mikaelson.
And he wasn't.
He never was.
He never will be.
"You'll be in contact with them should something come up."
Deep down Rebekah would always have her family first. Always and forever.
"Once she's back nothing will change. I'm through with your family."
They were doomed to fail anyway.
From the corner of his eye he saw Davina shooting him a sympathetic glance. He could feel the guilt emanating from her. This only fueled his anger. It was them who did this to him. It was them who lit the match to the gasoline.
Hayley closed her eyes in defeat. Not even Rebekah would change his decision. This was truly it. His mind was made up. Beside her she knew the rest of the group had gotten the message. "I understand."
"At least allow Kol to be with her," Klaus spoke. "You can despise the rest of us for all eternity but," He was uncharacteristically pleading. "Don't let Kol be a victim to something he had no participation in."
Kol eyed his brother in shock. "Nik, you..."
"Kol loves Davina Claire," Klaus added. "He loves her more than he does anyone in this world. If you take her away from him he'll be devastated. I don't want my brother to lose the person he loves. I don't want him to go through the same pain I endured." He gripped the shirt above his heart. "All this hatred you hold, don't aim it at Kol. Instead direct it to me."
"I don't like him and I might never. But that's up to Davina." Marcel said, knowing full well he couldn't stop her from loving Kol. It was the only thing he couldn't do. "But right now she doesn't want to involve him."
"Damn it I can't accept that!" Kol argued. "If you were in my position you'd be as insistent as I am Marcel! And you know it!"
"What do you want from me? This is Davina's choice."
"I'll get my backstabbing excuse of a sister to track your ass down if that's what it takes." He warned.
"Go ahead. We'll be all done by then." He replied before hanging up and turning to the others. "I need a minute with Davina."
They nodded in understanding. Vincent led them to the other room.
Once they were gone Marcel groaned. "You sure know how to pick em' D."
Davina shrugged. "He's a lot like me." Her demeanor changed quickly after. "I feel terrible about what I'm doing to him, but... I was so scared. Lucien was toying with him. He could've killed him right then and there. Kol's too reckless to think of that. All he can think about is my safety."
"I know why you're so keen on not involving Kol. The thought of losing someone really is unbearable, isn't it?"
She lowered her gaze, nodding slowly.
"When you love someone so strongly you simply cannot fathom a life without them. The thought is too painful, even more so when it actually occurs. Listen," He murmured, getting her attention. "When you died everything inside me died with you. I didn't know how I'd go on. I was an empty shell. All I could feel was an overwhelming guilt and an unbearable grief. It was so unbelievably painful. I didn't want to feel it anymore. I was dead set on turning my emotions off the moment I'd killed the Mikaelsons."
Davina gasped at the confession.
Marcel placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're the reason I fight. You're the only one who's never, never been on any side but mine. I'm truly sorry I wasn't by your side the way you were on mine. Back when you were doing the spell to break the sire bond, you asked for my trust, and I betrayed you. That came crashing down on me so damn hard when I held your unmoving body." His hands squeezed her shoulders a bit; his despair was on full display. "I don't want to feel that ever again. I don't ever want to think 'I should have'. I never want to live in regrets. You are my family Davina. You're my only family. We do this the right way. Never being separated, right?"
Davina's eyes bristled with tears. She'd been dead for roughly a couple of hours but he'd undergone an enormous amount of pain. What would've happen if she'd stayed dead? He would've shut off his emotions and the man she knew, the hero who'd saved her, would have been lost forever. And God she would never wish that torment on him.
"That's right," She wiped her tears and nodded. "You and I are never being separated."
He smiled and held her tightly. There was no force in the world that would take her away from him. "We'll be putting an end to this."
"Alright," Vincent began once everyone was in the room. "So you guys said Lucien was in there with you, right?"
"Yeah," Nathan answered. "Apparently the ancestors helped him get in. He was boasting to us on how he'd trapped us, never met someone so full of himself."
"They're going to be expecting us now and with Lucien there we can't beat them." Davina added with crossed arms, frown decorating her face. "So what can we do? Damn it all..."
"If I could somehow get in there I'd tear him a new one," Marcel grumbled bitterly.
"What if you could..." Vincent muttered.
Josh raised a brow. "What? I'm sorry but did I just hear you say that? Or have I entered some parallel world where none of this is happening?"
"No, think about it," He urged. "Lucien was able to break through the border separating our world and theirs by using the ancestors. Well, what if we could do the same? What if we could send Marcel inside their world?"
"Is something like that possible?" Davina asked.
"If Lucien can do it I don't see why we can't." Vincent said. "Thing is that he has the ancestors, so I'm sure getting in is as simple as two plus two."
"Tell me you have something, because I need to get inside that place."
"And you will Marcel. Because we're going to force your way through."
"Right, not in a parallel world," Josh muttered. "This sounds so crazy. But you're the witch expert here and I'm just chopped liver. So what's the plan?"
"We could channel each other. We're pretty powerful ourselves. It's not that much of a stretch to think we could do it. I've already channeled Davina on more than one occasion, she's pretty tough."
The young witch could only smile in flattery. She was beginning to really trust Vincent, and she could see he was beginning to trust her.
"And I can tell Nathan's pretty strong himself. It'll take the three of us, but, I think we can do it. I think we can break through the boundary."
"How will it work exactly? I've never done anything quite like this." Nathan said. "But if you're willing to bet on this then I'm all in."
"Funny, you know I was never a gambling man," Vincent chuckled, a bit nervously. "Yet here I am."
"Vincent," Davina placed a hand on his shoulder. "If it weren't for you I would have never been able to come back; if it weren't for you Nathan would not be by my side." Her eyes narrowed fiercely. "I trust you."
He blinked, briefly stunned by her words, before smiling fondly. "Thank you. I'll do everything I can to make this work."
Nathan grinned. "They won't see it coming. We'll be the ones holding all the cards now. So let's boogie!"
He received blank stares.
"Huh? What? Is saying that not hip anymore?"
"Saying 'hip' isn't even hip anymore," Davina sighed and shook her head. "What will I do with you Nathan?"
"Alright, alright," Vincent calmed his chuckles. "Here's how it'll go down. They know we'll be going in again so they'll be expecting us. What they won't know is that Marcel will be there too. With our combined power we'll be sending him in. Once we do, it'll be us going in right after. Josh, we still need you as our link just to be on the safe side."
"Can do," Josh nodded. "I'm part of 'Operation Crazy' too after all."
"The dark object cannot fall in their hands," Vincent warned. "We'll be pretty much screwed if it does. It's the key to winning this war. Therefore we have to protect it with our lives and get it to the cemetery. I just wish there was a way to keep them from knowing which one of us had it. But no way would the ancestors be deceived by a simple concealing spell."
"About that," Nathan murmured, a thoughtful hand coming to rest on his chin. "I think I might have an idea. Listen up..."
... ... …. …. ... ... ... …. …. ... ... ... ….
"Forget finding her location. I know they're going back there," Kol said, turning to Freya. "Send me back! I need to be there."
Freya hesitated. "What will you do?"
"What?"
"What will you do when you're there?"
"The' hell is this about? Just do the bloody spell!"
She bit her lip. "Kol, we weren't able to do a thing to Lucien. Even with all our powers combined we still weren't able to do anything. His upgraded strength aside he's backed by the ancestors. We can't compete. I don't want—"
Kol roughly pulled her by her shirt. "Let's get some things clear here, sister, I wasn't asking. Do. The. Spell."
"I know, I know you hate me Kol, but," Freya hoped her eyes could display her regret and sorrow as intensely as she was feeling it. "I love you."
His eyes widened in disbelief. He shoved her back, fury welling inside him. "How dare you! Don't expect any sympathy from me! The rest of these people," He gestured towards the others. "They may forgive you and let you off the hook, but not me. The gall of you... Do you even hear yourself? Do the spell. Now."
Elijah eyed Freya's disheartened face before looking away guiltily. He knew Kol despised him as well. What they had done was irreparable damage. No amount of apologizing or explaining would change anything. Unlike Freya he'd long since stopped pleading his case. Kol was clearly not going to listen, rightly so. Guilt had consumed him entirely.
How could he have done this? In doing this he'd been so close to putting his family at the mercy of Marcel. In fact, they would have truly died had it not been for...
For Davina.
Klaus had explained everything to him.
"She stopped Marcel from killing all of us back when he attacked us. She even went to good effort to ensure not only Kol, but I, from being kicked out of the church by him and thrown into Lucien's territory. She's truly the only reason he has refrained from killing us."
Had he been a man with any less composure he was sure he'd empty his contents right then and there. Elijah had lost his little brother. Their relationship had been rocky at best, but despite their differences they were still brothers. But now... they were nothing. Kol had forsaken not only him and Freya but the entire family as well. And so had Marcel.
Hayley had lost her friend. Klaus had lost a son. The two had lost a brother. Hope had lost her two uncles. Rebekah... she would probably loathe him as well.
His shut his eyes as the weight of his actions finally came tumbling down on him.
"Kol," Klaus cut in, breaking Elijah's thoughts. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I can understand Freya's point."
Kol narrowed his eyes dangerously. "And would you stand idly by if it was your Camille in danger?" At his stunned silence he chuckled bitterly. "Didn't think so."
"Kol!" Hayley scolded him. "How could you say that?"
"I don't have the luxury of explaining my point nor do I care about your feelings. It's clear mines didn't mean a thing." Kol spat. He pulled Freya forward again. "Now do the damn spell before I kill you!"
Reluctantly Freya began casting the spell, hoping they didn't regret this. She couldn't handle anymore regret.
Hayley wanted to say more but her phone had begun ringing. The number was not one she recognized. Marcel's words echoed in her mind then before quickly answering. "Yes?"
"This is Hayley? Hayley Marshall, right?"
"Yeah, are you with the Strix?"
"Correct, Marcel asked me to look into your predicament. I may have something."
Finally, finally after hours of hell there was a small trace of light at the end of the tunnel. Hayley almost wanted to dance in joy.
Davina was breathing hard. "Did it... Did it work?"
Vincent stared at Marcel's motionless body before his attention returned to the other witches. "Only one way to find out."
"Well," Josh started to say, his voice slightly amused as he raised his only free hand. "My other hand is sorta taken so you'll have to all somehow hold this one."
"Hold your palm like this," Davina said as she adjusted his palm to face upwards. "Now we can just place our hands on top like so. That way it won't be too uncomfortable for you."
He released another small laugh for the sake of stemming his growing anxiety. "Never had this many people holding my hand, you know? Thing is, well, I don't have much friends. You guys... you're all I have left."
Davina smiled warmly. "I know Josh. And I'm sorry to put you through this. I'll do my absolute best to make sure we end this, for good."
Nathan placed his hand over Davina's. "Me too. I don't know you well Josh but, you're important to Davina. Because of meeting you she wasn't so lonely anymore. I can never thank you enough for that. Thank you for being a part of her life. I swear that I'll bring her back to you."
Josh nodded. "Thanks."
Vincent glanced momentarily at the group. In a brief moment of pause he regarded their expressions. He saw their determination to get the job done; the desire to protect one another; and he saw the undying belief they had for one another; the belief they had in him. All of them were trusting him, counting on him.
And he realized that he trusted them too, more than he had thought. He wanted to protect these people, Marcel included. This is what doing right meant to Camille. She wanted him to fight on.
"Okay," Vincent placed his hand above Nathan's. "It's up to the five of us to stop this war. And we'll get the job done no matter what."
Author's Notes
The final battle is about to commence. The team is set to pull off a successful counterattack.