Circles of Magic
(A Crossover between The Secret Circle & The Originals)
Written & Adapted by Kai Michaels.

Chapter Eight:
"Rescue Me, If You Can"

Previously on Circles of Magic: -.

Finn was slowly coming too finally with his vision blurry at best. He had a thumping headache and was groaning incoherently. Once his vision began clearing up seeing the ground before him along with his feet. He carefully lifted his head up, groaning again.

"Owww…my head…" he managed to vocally string together. Finn looked around at his current surroundings, he looked like he was in a room of some kind, and what was worse he couldn't move his upper and lower bodies. He was strapped to a chair, bound by tight ropes.

"What the-?" Finn said, struggling to move around. Finn couldn't even concentrate properly due to his headache, and current groggy condition to even think about using his magic to release him from his makeshift prison. He would need a little time to find his bearings before trying anything.

"Well, well….so you're finally awake, are you? It's about time!" said a frustrated voice, which had just entered the room.

Finn turned his head instantly to the guilty party, "Frederic!? What is this?!" he growled a bit, trying to move again by he wasn't going anywhere fast. "Let me go!" Finn demanded, not impressed at all, and very confused.

"Sorry Finn, but that's not going to happen!" Frederic told him straight-up remaining firm in his expressions and began folded his muscular arms across his chest.

Finn narrowed his eyes, "What do you want, Freddie? This isn't my idea of a perfect date…kinky much?!" Finn stated in a slightly joking manner.

"HA! Mine neither…but you brought this on yourself…when you started meddling in my business!" Frederic informed him.

"Business?! What business! Is this about that girl, Cassie right…? From the other night?" he asked taking a wild guess here.

"Damn right it is! You threw me across the room! Like, I was nothing! I want to know how! No-one, I have met so far has your kind of power! Who are you, Finn?! And what are you doing here in Chance Harbor?!" he selfishly demanded from his prisoner.

"That's none of your business! And secondly, you were hurting an innocent girl! You would have killed her, I'm sure…if you had the chance…" Finn hit back at his captor.

"That's where you're wrong, Finn! Cassie is my half-sister, and she belongs to me…and the rest of my family!" Frederic informed him angrily.

"What!? Your sister?! Is that how you treat, your own family, Fred? That's disgusting…and I thought my family had issues!" he argued back aggressively.

"Hmph! I don't need your judgemental crap breathing down my neck…you have no idea about who I am or who my family are! Cassie was out of line, and she needed to be 'convinced' otherwise…then you came in and ruined everything including besting my three siblings all in the space of a few seconds…not cool." Frederic continued to grill and exchange words with his most recent person of romantic interest.

Finn just stared over at Frederic; this wasn't making any sense to him. But clearly, Finn was in his way, which meant his fate was to be determined right now.

"So they're your family too?! And you all decided to jump me, last night? I'm not impressed." Finn said narrowing his eyes once again at his next potential foe if they didn't reach some kind of common ground again. Why did Finn always end liking guys like Frederic? It always led to nothing but trouble. Now he was stuck in-between, what he could only deduce as a family feud of some sort, just great.

Frederic smirked a bit to himself, "On the contrary Finn…you had it coming." The eldest Balcoin fiendishly stated.

He growled quietly, "Do you even like me at all, Freddie? Or was that all just make-believe too?" he requested of Frederic, trying to find anything remotely salvageable about their relationship going forward, a redeeming quality even, just anything at all.

Freddie looked at Finn contemplating his answer, and despite everything, Frederic was a little torn. He had been alone for so long before meeting up with his other siblings, it had felt nice to feel wanted by someone. He never had much of a love life and had never been in love either. Then he met Finn that night…and now he's more confused than ever, and it made perfect sense why Frederic was so angry with Finn and their current situation right now than he really should be.

In his mind, Finn had betrayed him indirectly, before they even had a chance to possibly be something more. It hurt like hell, and that was something Frederic would never admit it too. He wasn't exactly the most social of people and his siblings' knew nothing of his closeted sexuality, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Frederic had sent his siblings away to track Cassie down and prepare to ambush Diana upon her return to Chance Harbor. So it was just him and Finn right now. Frederic couldn't look Finn in the eye anymore and turned away from him.

"I don't know…maybe…" he said, he was not willing to admit to his feelings for Finn, a weakness that he did not want to be exploited.

Finn may be tied up right now, but he was not stupid, just from Frederic's reaction alone, Finn had hope that it was all true, and Frederic did have feelings for him…because he had feelings for him. He really did like him and was the first guy in ages Finn had that connection with. He wasn't ready to give that up without a fight first. Frederic was clearly a bad guy, but Finn did believe he could change him, save him from himself even with enough time.

But first, Finn had to convince Frederic to let him go, he did not want to have to use his magic to break free and hurt Freddie again. The man was already fragile enough as it is. Finn did not want to lose him before he even had a chance to get to know him or find out, where things might go for them. But then again, Finn had to remember why he was here, and that was to save his family…but at the cost of losing something that could be potentially amazing for the two of them, if they let it happen. Finn had a tough decision to make but he still had time, and that was determined to see how everything played out first before making that decision.

"…than let me go, Fred… and I'll stay out of whatever family affairs you may be dealing with right now…" he asked him, appealing to Frederic's feelings for him on some scale. "…don't you, Freddie? I like you just as much as you like me…we can work this out. I can forgive you for all this, you know? And I think we could be great together don't you? But first…you have to let go, so we can at least try here. We owe it to ourselves to see, where we might go…I know you want that too, Fred. I felt it the other night when we danced together…" Finn said continuing to take the passive approach to dealing with his situation, and getting through to Frederic.

Frederic felt himself swaying to the idea of finding any sort of happiness with Finn, the stranger from a faraway land, who just seemed to get him on some level…which was a first for him. But in his frustration and confusion, he shut down Finn's attempts to sway him any further.

"STOP TALKING, FINN! JUST STOP!" wailed an angry Frederic, who turned around instantly and turning his hand into an upright claw position, his handsome features intense and slightly contorted.

Finn began feeling his throat start to close up like the life was being choked out of him through magical means. Struggling to breathe, Finn began to turn a little red which would eventually lead to blue, if he didn't stop him soon.

"Just tell me…what I want to know, Finn! WHO ARE YOU?! AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY TOWN?!" he voiced furiously wanting answers.

That's when the door to the room blew open telekinetically, which took Frederic by surprise and interrupted his concentration releasing the invisible choke hold on Finn, who exhaled loudly and was now gasping for air.

"FINN!" a familiar voiced called out with Melissa storming into the room with Dean behind her.

"M-M-Melissa?" he coughed out but was more surprised than anything by her appearance.

Freddie looked over at the intruders, "Melissa?" he wondered, before realizing. "Cassie's friend?! Perfect!" he said with an evil smirk, and took his claw-like hand and used his power to throw Melissa across the room telekinetically, after twisting his hand to the left and moving his arm quickly through the air.

Melissa hit the nearest wall and was out cold, "MELISSA!" Dean and Finn yelled out in utter concern, with Dean rushing over to check on her.

"Not so fast, fool!" Frederic announced throwing his hand up and off to the left, sending Dean back first into the wall next to the doorframe.

"FREDERIC! STOP!" Finn said getting angry with him, gritting his teeth together.

"..OR WHAT, FINN?!" he said returning his attention to him. "You're inside a circle of ashwood, no magic can be used within its boundaries. So you're just as helpless as these two fools now! I am the one in control here…so sit tight, and enjoy the show! I'll get back to you in a minute…" Frederic promised.

"NO! STOP!" Finn shouted as began struggling more causing the chair to tilt sideways back and forth as he tried to break free from the ropes or loosen them at least. Frederic began making his way over to an unconscious Melissa, hell-bent on killing her for interrupting his fun.

Finn was about to let that happen, he stopped struggling and took a moment to calm down, and concentrate his power, and with an increasingly infuriating and desperate need to break-through the ropes and save his friend, an empowered Finn cries out and with that an aggressive flash of narrative of haziness, Finn's magic torches the ropes in a instant to complete ash, freeing him, and stands up right away.

Frederic immediately looks over, and is a complete disbelief: "WHAT?! That's impossible!" he shouted.

Finn is pissed naturally as he turns around to face Frederic. He still couldn't believe that Frederic would stoop so low, and attempt to kill his friend, despite him telling him to stop over and over again and expect Finn to sit back and just let it all happen.

"Nothing's impossible! I don't wanna hurt you Freddie, but I will if you take one more step towards Melissa! I'm not playing around here…so make it easy on yourself, and just let us all go. Please, Freddie …don't be stupid." Finn pleaded with him in all seriousness.

Freddie looked at Finn, how could someone have so much power? He asked himself, and that ash was full-proof too. Did Finn scare, Frederic? No. But he was certainly more powerful than him right now, and he didn't plan on dying today. Plus could he truly hurt Finn? Choking him magically is one thing, but actually physically hurting him or killing him…that was the question.

"I can't just let you and your friends here, leave Finn…so I suggest you make it look good to my siblings, and just be warned this is far from over between us…understood!? We're not done!" Frederic said, deciding to let them go as long as it was convincing enough. He couldn't have his siblings questioning his authority or worse, because of how he felt about Finn.

Finn felt somewhat relieved by Frederic's surprising decision, but it also reaffirmed that fact that Frederic had feelings for him, and there was still hope for them down the line, if ever.

"I will, and I would hope not." Finn said as he raised his hand, and twisted his wrist creating a large-scale hazy narrative before everything suddenly faded to black.

Later that day, Finn was tending to Melissa on his boat back at the Marina. She was currently laying on top of his bed with a cold compress attached to her forehead, which Finn was just about to change. Finn had changed out of his earlier clothes into something more comfortable, which consisted of a pair of light grey sweatpants, and a tight-fitting dark green tank top, after cleaning himself up beforehand.

Melissa began to slowly stir and awaken from her 'nap'. Finn was there to greet her with a warm smile and a friendly energy.

"F-Finn?" she wondered, not sure if she was still dreaming or not.

"The one and only…" he replied, and the next thing he knew Melissa had instantly sat up and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, hugging him tightly.

"I'm so glad, you're okay! I am so sorry Finn! Please…please…don't hate me! Please! It wasn't my fault!" she began to break-down emotionally, her guilt coming full-circle now.

Finn could tell how genuine and sincere she was being, and she did kind of save him in a way. So he believed her when she said it wasn't her fault and how bad she felt about the whole situation. That was Melissa he had learned about her, she had the biggest heart out of anyone else he knew. She had earned his forgiveness.

Finn than closed his eyes, as he slipped his athletic arms around her, returning the hug. "it's okay, Melissa. I forgive you. I really do." he admitted truthfully to her.

"You do?!" she replied, her face buried in the side of his neck.

"I do." Finn reassured her, before she slowly pulled away from him, but kept her arms around him as they looked each other in the eyes.

Melissa smiled happily at him, as she was all embarrassed now as she stopped crying and began wiping her eyes, and nose with the side of her arm. Finn smiled down at her and handed her a tissue, which she thanked him for.

"Thanks…" she expressed.

"Your welcome." he replied, smiling at her still.

"If I knew you wanted to play Wonder Woman, Mel, I would have called you earlier…" he joked, looking to lighten the mood.

Melissa chuckled briefly after a few sniffs, "Well now you know eh?" she responded.

"Indeed, I do." he said.

"Where's Dean? Is he alright?" she asked Finn, concerned for him naturally.

"He's fine. A little banged up, but he'll survive. He decided to go home and heal up there after we had our introductions upon his awakening here on my boat. He told me to tell you to call him when you're awake. He's worried about you." Finn relayed to her.

"Okay, I will. I should be getting home too…my grandmother will be going mad with worry, I'm sure soon." Melissa stated.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll drive you home. You're still a little beat-up, so at least this way, I know you're okay." Finn decided.

"Thanks…Finn…I'd really like that." Melissa replied with a smile.

"No problem, and by the way Mel…" he paused momentarily.

"Yeah?" she wondered.

"Thanks. You're a true friend, coming to my rescue and all. It means a lot." Finn admitted freely.

Melissa was blushing now, "No…err…problem. What are friends for right?" she tried to sell while underlining the real reason, why she went to such lengths to find and rescue him. She ultimately decided to hide behind her gentle smile and her supportive nature for the moment.

The two witches smiled warmly at each other, as Finn helped her up off his bed. She was ready to go home now, and Finn couldn't blame her, it had been quite the day for both of them. Five minutes later, Finn and Melissa finished walking down the mini-wooden drawbridge that was connected to the deck of Finn's boat, before stepping off onto the dock.

The duo made their way towards Finn's car, "Hey Finn?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah?" he replied turning his head to face her.

"That was Frederic, right? The one who attacked Cassie before you stepped in, and saved her?" she wondered.

"It was, yeah." Finn confirmed.

"He's dangerous, Finn. We should watch our backs. I'm sure; he's not going to take any of what happened lying down right?" Melissa feared.

"Probably not. But as long as we stick together from now on…we can protect each other, moving forward, you know?" the Mikaelson twin figured with an optimistic outlook on things.

"Agreed. I'll talk to the others, and maybe we can all get on the same page again?" a hopeful Melissa expressed.

"Let's hope so. Frederic and his family are a threat to us all, and there is strength in numbers." he emphasised sagely.

"Exactly!" Melissa said opening the passenger side door to Finn's car upon arrival, before sliding inside with Finn following suit and entering the driver's side of his vehicle, as they both simultaneously closed the doors behind them.

A few hours later with the midnight hour fast approaching Finn was sitting up on his bed in the same clothes as before biting into a red apple, while reviewing the pages of the spell he was putting together to help his family, looking for any small miscalculation in his design and making sure this 'Crystal Skull' was truly the last ingredient, he needed with his laptop open on his nap, looking for any information at all that point him in the right direction.

He knew the Skull was an artefact of legend, but he knew it was here in this town…somewhere. He could feel the strong mystical energy resonating throughout the air here. But he had no way of tracking it down. It was very frustrating for the young warlock. There had to be a way to zone-in on its location, there just had to be, but what? It was something Finn just kept asking himself as he racked his brain constantly for a solution to his problem. He was desperate to get his family back…and he was so close too. He could do this, he knew he could.

Finn's brainstorming session was soon interrupted by the loud soundings of a motorcycle engine that was clearly speeding towards the Marina, it was messing with his concentration, and he just needed it to stop already. Annoying as hell, he was trying to work here.

"Who the bloody hell is that? Urgh…" he growled like an angry bear being rudely awoken from his hibernation period, and quickly made his way out of his room and through the boat's interior until he reached the deck, just the motorcycle and its rider skidded off to the side and reeled in the machine, until it came to a complete halt right outside Finn's temporary residence.

"OI! What's with all the frickin' racket mate!? Some of us are trying to work here...or thinking about at least calling it a night. What's your bloody problem?!" he growled again angrily.

The biker wore a full black helmet with the visor down. A blazing tail of fire was painted onto to both sides of its spherical structure. The biker was definitely male in origin though and was dressed in black protective leather. The mysterious rider just slowly turned his head to look over at Finn leaning over the railing of his boat, who had already addressed him previously. He remained silent though much to Finn's continued annoyance.

"Well, tough guy?! What's the matter can't speak? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Finn aggressively demanded of the male figure, who continued to ignore Finn's ire for the moment.

"On the contrary…" the male replied through his helmet that muffled the sound of his voice a little bit, before he turned off his Harley completely, killing the engine and its singular front light.

Finn raised his eyebrow as he watched the male lift himself off his bike by throwing over his left leg first and taking a few steps towards Finn's boat.

"I thought I'd wait for another second or two, just in case you had anything else you wanted to say to me, prior to my arrival.

"After all…" the male paused as he began to slowly pull his helmet half to reveal a particular face, familiar to us but not to Finn, the short-blonde haired witch from before to be exact, who helped Finn unknowingly aid the Mikaelson witch in his eventual escape by destroying the circle of ashwood's mystical properties that prevented Finn from using any of his magic at all, while inside it.

"I've waited long enough to finally meet you…little brother." the mysterious stranger claimed with a confident smile, leaving a stunned Finn Jr looking on.

...To Be Continued!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals, the Vampire Diaries or the Secret Circle.