"Well, sadly, that was a lot easier than I had anticipated…" Kol huffed a painful breath out of his lungs as he pulled a couple of large zip ties out of his pocket, leaned over one of the spirit warriors, now lying unconscious on the ground in its human form, and bound his hands and feet.
When he straightened again, with some effort, he looked back over his shoulder to Bonnie, "Thanks for the help with the witchy force stuff…"
Bonnie shared a smirk with Kol before he winced in pain and leaned forward.
"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked, stepping forward, "You don't look well-"
"I'm fine," Kol interjected, holding up a hand to silence her, then looked around, "Where's Beka?"
Before Bonnie could open her mouth to answer, Rebekah appeared, walking out of the brush nearby and up the hill
"I'm here…" she wined as she stomped one foot on the grass as she went, trying to shake off the mud caked to her right shoe, seemingly unconcerned that her hair was wild, her right arm and left cheek were slashed or that she dirt all over the front of her blouse, "And of course, I've ruined another pair of shoes! These family escapades are really starting to cramp my style…literally."
"Where's our cuddly bear friend?" Kol teased, looking her up and down
Rebekah stopped and glared at him for a moment, then walking toward him again, said, "I left him in one of the lower caves near the bottom of the quarry. He'll be fine. Bastard was a complete pain in the ass to subdue! Too bad we couldn't kill him—after all he put me through it would have been cathartic."
"I think that is supposed to be my line—" Kol started to retort with a chuckle, then grimaced again, his eyes widening in pain and his hand immediately flying to his chest in agony and he groaned as he doubled over and started to fall forward, blood immediately starting to spurt from his mouth.
"Kol!?" Bonnie cried, confused, as she ran forward and caught him as he fell to the ground, Rebekah close behind.
"Oh…no…." Rebekah whispered, casting worried eyes to Kol's face in her hands, his eyes fluttering, "No…no…not yet…"
Kol suddenly let out a horrible gasp, heaving in Bonnie's arms as the blood continued to gurgle from his mouth.
Bonnie immediately put a hand to his chest and started a healing ritual.
"Shit..." Rebekah murmured took off into the woods with vampire speed.
# # # # # # #
"Here we go…" Caroline smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed with a cup of hot cocoa in her hands then teased, "98.6! Just the way you like it."
She smiled, but the truth was she was worried. Klaus didn't look good at all and had seemed down, distant and well, just off since the others had left.
"Thanks, Love." Klaus smiled back weakly as Caroline leaned forward, kissed his cheek then handed him the mug.
Caroline studied him for a long moment as he took a sip of the hot chocolate before she crawled over him to the other side of the bed and lay down next to him, wrapping his free arm around her as she cuddled into the crook of his shoulder.
Klaus closed his eyes at this action then whispered, "I can't do this. Nik, it isn't right. You should be here, not me. She deserves to know…"
"What?" Caroline asked, startled as she sat up and watched Klaus lean over and place the coffee cup on the bedside table before he turned back to Caroline.
"I want to tell you a story…." he said, his eyes turning sad, "About an idiotic brother and his attempts to keep his siblings safe, no matter what the cost to himself."
"So what else is new?" Caroline smirked, "We all know that Elijah can be a little over protective—"
"I'm not talking about Elijah-" Klaus started, suddenly stopped, closing his eyes tightly as he felt a terrible pain come over him, then he leaned forward and coughed blood into his hand.
"Klaus!?" Caroline cried, sitting up and scooting forward to help, then gasped when a glamour over Klaus' body suddenly disappeared and she sat face to face with Kol Mikaelson.
"This..." Kol said softly, staring at the blood in his hand, "This is not good."
# # # # # #
"Bonnie, Kol and Rebekah should be joining us any minute," Chogun said, walking back toward the camp, "I felt the ether. The Spirit animals have been contained."
"Good," Misha said as he continue to circle Elijah where he kneeled on the ground, setting up the binding circle that would allow him to channel the doppelganger's energy. He stopped for a moment at the end of the circle, waiting and watching as Elijah removed his suit jacket and handed it up to Elena, then closed it, "We are going to need Bonnie for the spell. And the wendigo?"
"I don't sense him," Chogun replied as he knelt down near his bag and started pulling out ingredients for his part of the ritual, then looked over his shoulder to Elena and Alec, "But keep a sharp eye."
They both nodded.
Suddenly, there was a whirlwind of movement and Rebekah appeared in the camp, her eyes sullen before she burst into tears.
"Bekah…" Elijah whispered as he quickly came to his feet and with vampire speed, broke the circle and rushed forward to embrace her.
# # # # # # #
Mikaelson Mansion, Two hours earlier…..
"This is insane…you're dying?" Rebekah whispered then looked over to Kol, "How is this even possible?"
He too seemed shocked.
They both knew Klaus had had scarlet fever as a young boy, and by some miracle, had survived. They had no idea that as a teenager, he had started to feel the effects of the damage that the disease had wrought on his heart and his lungs. Only Ayanna and his mother knew how unwell he truly was and did nightly rituals for him, asking the spirits to aide in his recovery, but they weren't working. Soon, however, he turned into a werewolf, and after that, a vampire, and the crisis passed.
Klaus was strong and well again due to the accelerated healing abilities provided by his new immortality and no one else ever knew how sick he had truly been as a human...well, except for Liliya.
"Call it an unfortunate side effect of the curse that brought me back…" Klaus said, then grimaced as another pain passed through him, "You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else...not until it's necessary—until it's time."
"Not even Elijah?" Rebekah asked, sadly, narrowing her eyes, "Nik. He's so worried about you."
"And Misha thinks the only reason you're not healing is because you are human now," Kol chimed in, "They deserve to know. They'll be devastated."
"And what about Caroline?" Rebekah insisted
"No one is to know," Klaus replied, "They'll just blame themselves. I'm only telling you lot only because I need your bloody help to pull this off. Please? This is what I want. Could you please, just help me?"
"You mean, help you die?" Kol retorted, "Because, you know that this plan you are proposing, putting yourself out there in the line of fire, will only help kill you faster, right?!"
"I'm going to die anyway, brother," Klaus replied, "It's only a matter of time. But, this way, I don't die, useless and alone in a bed, I can actually help save my family…probably for the only time in my long life on this earth. I told Elijah I wanted to be the human sacrifice in the ritual before I knew I was ill again. He bulked at me then, but I think he will understand now."
"Understand?" Kol sucked in a breath before he turned to Rebekah, "Elijah is going to kill us when he finds out."
Rebekah sighed, then shrugged, "But, this is what he wants, Kol…"
Kol turned back to Klaus.
"All right!" he conceded, haughtily, "But, I do this on one condition. That we don't have to hold hands."
Klaus smirked then said, "We have to hold hands."
Kol grimaced then rolled his eyes, "Fine. Let's just get this over with."
Rebekah smiled as she watched Kol hold out his hands across the bed and Klaus grab them and close his eyes, willing his strength and magic forward.
There was a deep silence that fell over the room.
"Body of my body," Klaus suddenly whispered, "Marrow and mind…Soul of my soul to ours spirit bind…Blood of my heart, my kin from our mother's womb…Blood of my heart, my salvation, my doom…"
# # # # # # #
"Niklaus!" Elijah's voice cried out from nearby and Bonnie's figure suddenly moved to reveal the oldest original above him as he fell to Kol's side, his face crumbling as saw the glamour fade and Kol turn into Klaus.
May these words be the first,
to find your ears.
"Ejah…"Klaus whispered, his voice breaking as he struggled to breath, then his face fell, "I'm sorry…the ritual. It's too soon, I tried to—"
"You fool…" Elijah said, placing a gentle hand on his brother's chest as he tried to keep his composure, "The ritual doesn't matter—not right now. You are the only thing that matters right now… you should have told us the truth about what was happening. We could have helped you..."
The world is brighter than the sun
Now that you're here.
"You couldn't have helped me" Klaus replied weakly, "Not this time."
He gave a sad smile and Elijah smiled back the best he could as he said, "It's never too late…even for you."
Though your eyes will need some time to adjust…
Klaus chuckled, then coughed, "You're as bad as Caroline…She's like you, pushing the hope of my redemption like a boulder up an endless mountain."
To the overwhelming light surrounding us…
"Well, no mountain is endless, brother," Elijah replied, "And I think, if you look around, I think you'll see that we've already arrived at the top of the mountain."
I'll give you everything I have.
I'll teach you everything I know.
I promise I'll do better
Klaus smirked, then his eyes widened in pain and he struggled to breathe
"Elijah," he gasped and frantically grabbed for his brother's hand
"I'm here, brother…." Elijah said softly, his eyes worried and anxious as he watched Klaus struggle, "I'm here…"
"We all are!" Rebekah voice suddenly said nearby and Elijah looked over his shoulder to see Rebekah, Caroline and Kol hurrying to Klaus' side, falling to the ground next to Elijah.
Caroline took Klaus' head into her lap and kissed his forehead.
Misha, Chogun, Elena and Alec soon arrived stood nearby, watching.
I will always hold you close,
But I will learn to let you go.
I promise I'll do better.
They all watched anxiously as Klaus struggled to breathe for a few more moments, like an asthmatic looking for air, then suddenly his eyes flashed the gold of his werewolf and he went rigid then turned his head toward his siblings.
In the background, Chogun slowly walked up behind Caroline and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, seemingly whispering a silent prayer over Klaus as the hybrid gave a weak smile toward Kol, Rebekah and Elijah, as if seeing them all for the first time, his eyes shining bright as gold coins in the darkness, "My family…"
I will soften every edge,
I'll hold the world to its best,
And I'll do better.
Rebekah whimpered out a cry and Kol sweetly put an arm around her as tear began to form in both of their eyes.
Elijah could only hold Klaus' hand tighter.
"I—I hope you know how much I love you—all of you…" Klaus said softly, breathing in small difficult breaths between words. "For over a thousand years, I have been the worst sort of monster imaginable. But, you never gave up on me—you stayed with me… I can't tell you what it has meant to me. Who else can say that they've spent lifetimes with their siblings? Most humans only get a fourth of that time with those they love, if they are lucky."
With every heartbeat I have left
I will defend your every breath,
And I'll do better.
"Nik…" Rebekah whispered, immediately putting her hand forward over Elijah's on their brother's chest and Kol immediately followed suit, placing his on top of Rebekah's
"And I was lucky," Klaus smiled, his face suddenly growing more pale, "I was so very lucky. I have to admit that even through all the darkness, I have had a rather wonderful life and I owe that to you—to all six of you. And, I want to use my last moments on this earth to show you what you have meant to me…"
Suddenly, he trails off and his eyes glaze over and flutter as he whispers, "Always and forever…"
Elijah, Kol and Rebekah close their own eyes as Klaus' thoughts turned to chaotic flashing images through his and his sibling's minds…
'Сause you are loved.
You are loved more than you know.
Esther singing to them as they lay against each other near the fire in the hearth as young children
10 year-old Elijah teaching him how to play a Nordic drum
Lying in bed at night, laughing with Ioan when they were boys
And I hereby pledge all of my days to prove it so…
Mikael diligently and patiently showing him and Finn how to smith a sword
Baby Henrich taking his first steps across the dirt floor of their home toward his and Rebekah's open arms
Though your heart is far too young to realize…
Swimming in the quarry with Kol and splashing him before picking him up and tossing him as he screamed in delight, then doing the same to Henrik
Elijah presenting him and Ioan with the necklaces he made for their twelfth birthday
Finn playfully fighting with him with wooden swords as boys
The unimaginable light you hold inside…
Waking up in the woods after his first full moon and Elijah embracing him reassuringly
Watching Elijah, Rebekah and Liliya dance and laugh at the village festival in 1044 A.D
I'll give you everything I have.
I'll teach you everything I know.
I promise I'll do better.
Rebekah smiling at him in the cave when she promised him "Always and Forever"
Elijah and Rebekah both taking his hands as they stood around their mother's grave
Hugging Kol and Finn joyously when they were all reunited in Istanbul
I will always hold you close,
But I will learn to let you go.
I promise I'll do better.
Riding with Rebekah and Finn through the woods of Scotland near Sterling Castle in 1124 AD
All the siblings sitting around the dinner table in the garden of their home in Italy in the 1200s
Laying on the grass with Kol, Rebekah and Elijah behind their chateau in France and staring up at the stars in 1789
I will rearrange the stars,
Pull 'em down to where you are.
I promise, I'll do better.
Smiling in delight as he and Elijah watched Kol and Rebekah walk excitedly through the gate and into the courtyard of their new home in the French quarter of New Orleans in 1812
Rebekah twirling in a circle as she showed him and Elijah her new ball dress in 1825
Misha and Elijah drinking with him at his favorite tavern in New Orleans in 1850
Klaus teaching Kol to drive a motorized car in Dublin in 1889, Elijah, in the back seat, dying of laughter as he watches them yell at each other.
With every heartbeat I have left,
I'll defend your every breath.
I promise I'll do better.
Playing charades in the parlor of their home in London with Rebekah and Elijah—Rebekah putting her hand on her nose joyfully when her brother wins and Elijah winking at her as he takes a bite of pie
Finn giving him the Nordic salute of brotherhood, placing his hand on his own chest, then Klaus'
Elijah putting his arm around Klaus as they stood looking down from the top of the Eiffel Tower in France
Henrik smiling down at him from where he'd climbed up into a tree in Stephens Woods
Twirling Rebekah on the dance floor in New York in the 1920s
Kol embracing him at the Salvatore House
I will soften every edge,
Hold the world to its best.
I promise I'll do better.
Suddenly, the images broke off and Elijah, Rebekah and Kol opened their eyes to see that Klaus has gone still, his eyes fixed, their irises the dark shade of pale blue he had been born with.
He was gone.
Rebekah immediately fell forward onto his chest and sobbed as Kol looked away and Elijah, leaned forward, with tears streaming down his face, using his free hand to close Klaus' eyes.
With every heartbeat I have left,
I'll defend your every breath.