Alistair Fale gently closed the door of his silver Mercedes then tucked the keys in his pants pocket. He then made his way toward the door of the Council building as a voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Alistair! Alistair, is that you?"
Alistair quickly turned to face the person who was calling his name…even though he didn't really want to. "Hello, Kol." He then continued on his way to the door.
"So how did it go?" Kol pressed. "Did you manage to invite everyone we needed to talk to?"
"That we wanted?" Alistair raised an eyebrow. "What's this 'we'? I don't recall you having any say in it?" He rolled his eyes. "And good morning to you, Mr. Mikaelson."
"I'm so sorry, where are my manners?" Kol heaved an exaggerated sigh.
"You don't have any, so why bother asking?" Alistair muttered under his breath.
"Pardon me?" Kol was trying not to smirk.
"Nothing," Alistair shook his head. "I said nothing."
"Right," Kol cleared his throat. "So will your lovely ex-wife be joining us, or will it be just me and my pal Alistair?" He paused and chuckled. "My Palistair!"
"Don't call me that, it's ridiculous!" Alistair scoffed. "I am not your pal! You're just someone I'm forced to associate with for business. Astrid won't be here, and not that it's any of your business, but she and I are still married for the moment."
"Naturally," Kol nodded. "Since it looks like you've resumed your husbandly duties. Don't want to let that go, I presume!" Then he put a hand on Alistair's shoulder, causing the other man to flinch. "You know, you're very lucky. Because I think that if she wanted to, she could do much better than you."
"I don't know what I'm going to say about that," Alistair stopped. "Or when I invited you to share opinions on my private life."
"What's that mean?" Kol put a hand over his heart. "I'm just trying to be your friend. I thought we were friends, Alistair."
Alistair narrowed his eyes. "Tell me something, Kol? Has Amy finally come to her senses and realized that she's too good for you?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "I mean she's so sophisticated and sensible, and you're…" He winced as he looked Kol over…"a slob masquerading as a cool young man."
"How kind of you to ask after my wife," Kol grinned. "And did you just compliment me? I'm so touched!" He tilted his head at Alistair. "And since you asked, Amy's never been more in love with me! She can't keep her hands off me! Even you can see I'm attractive. I eat well when I eat at all, I work out…she can't wait to be naked in my bed at night!"
Alistair gagged and turned away. "Spare me the details!" He quickly moved away. "You Mikaelsons are well known for being full of yourselves!"
"Well, it's not my fault or my brothers' that we're the most eligible men in this town," Kol told him as he tried not to laugh. "I mean, you're so lucky that Astrid fell in love with you."
Alistair turned to face him, bearing his teeth. "I promise you that I'm as sexy and well-built as you are, thank you very much!"
"I can't deny that you've improved in terms of sexiness," Kol conceded. "Is it because you box, Alistair? If you do, have you heard of a new sports complex and gym that's opening soon? It's supposed to be really good for boxing."
"I have, but what's the point?" Alistair growled.
"I just thought that maybe we could work together soon," Kol explained. "A nice way to build a friendship since we have to work together so much for the Council."
"No," Alistair said flatly, shaking his head as he finally reached the front door of the Council building and pulled the front door open.
But Kol wasn't done yet. "Good! I'm glad you agree it's such a good idea! I'll set up a date then?" He shouted from the bottom of the stairs, grinning widely.
"Only if it means I can rearrange your face!" Alistair yelled.
"What did you just say?" Kol chuckled.
"Nothing," Alistair shook his head. "Good day, Kol." Then he slammed the door without giving Kol the chance to have the last word.
Avery walked down a second floor hallway in the Council building, making her way to Alistair's office after a stop at the bathroom. He'd sent her an urgent text saying that he'd wanted to meet and she didn't want to interrupt something that sounded so important. Her eyes were on her feet and as she opened her clutch bag, she felt herself bump into a muscular chest.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She apologized, looking up. "I didn't pay attention to where I was going." She then struggled to regain her balance as two hands gripped her arms to stop her from falling on her face.
"That's not a surprise," said a lovely voice. "You never look in front of you. Your eyes are always on the floor or your head is in the clouds."
Avery startled at the sound of the familiar voice, then looked up, eyes narrowed. "Oh, it's you, Malachai Fale," she said, her voice full of contempt.
"Nice to see you too," Malachai returned with a smirk. "It's been too long…or not."
"Now that we've exchanged pleasantries, you can let me go," Avery snapped, trying to squirm free and then hitting his chest when he wouldn't release her.
"Now now, that's not fair," Malachai chided and let her go. "I thought you were more sporting than to be insolent and hit me!"
"You're right, I am!" Avery replied perniciously. "You can be insolent and touchy feely enough for the both of us!"
"Really? Is this how it's gonna be, Avery?" Malachai asked, seriously now. "Can't we just…just be civil and respectful to each other?" He crossed his arms and waited for her answer.
"Of course, I can!" Avery nodded. "And let me prove it to you. How in the world is that slutty secretary…I mean, your lovely girlfriend?" She raised her chin as a smirk curved her lips.
"Are you asking cause you're curious?" He wanted to know. "Or because you're jealous?"
Avery scoffed and rolled her eyes as a blush colored her cheeks. She wanted to laugh at how funny she thought he was being, but she couldn't even pretend. "I couldn't care less who's in your bed?" She shrugged and stared at her nails that she'd painted dark red. "In fact, I feel sorry for her. I pity her. You're not even that good between the sheets. I have the experience."
Malachai and burst out laughing and shook his head. "Maybe, but at least I never faked an orgasm when I was having sex with you."
Avery startled. "How dare you! I never faked an orgasm with you or anyone else I've made love with! It's not my style."
"Got you!" He grinned and beeped her nose. "Did you say 'making love'? And did you just admit to my face that I made you have an orgasm?" He laughed. "If I was able to make that happen, I can't be that bad in bed, can I?"
"Oh, damn you!" Avery stomped her foot and growled. "Get out of my way, Malachai Fale!" She shoved him aside and marched down the corridor.
"Avery, wait for me, for your father's sake!" He called and ran after her.
"No!" Avery shook her head, her dark hair flying in her face. "I will not wait for you! You can join Lucifer and rot in hell for all I care! It might be good for him to have a genuinely annoying person to torture! Now stop delaying me. I have an appointment with Alistair and no more time to waste on you."
"I know," Malachai nodded and continued along with her. "I was invited to that meeting too."
Avery scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course," she scoffed. "That's just my luck that I'm stuck in this important meeting with you. I can't even run away!" Then she rolled her eyes.
"Avery!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, then grabbed her ass with his left hand.
"Malachai Fale, just what the hell are you doing?" She asked, her dark brown eyes wide with shock.
"Oh, don't be so prudish, Miss Hamilton," he replied, caressing her butt for a second or two both to make her squirm and because it felt nice, then gave her skirt fabric a tug. "Your skirt was stuck in your panties. I was just trying to keep you from embarrassing yourself in Alistair's office."
"Oh," she blushed again and nodded. "Thank you. I had no idea!"
"You're welcome," he told her and let her go and allowed her to precede him across the threshold. "Now it looks like we have a meeting to get to."
"Well look who's here?" Alistair announced as Avery and Malachai entered the room. "You look lovely, Avery. Hello, Malachai. Please take a seat, and we'll get things started."
"Thank you," Avery told him. "And I apologize for being late." She glared at Malachai. "Someone was holding me back."
Malachai didn't reply because he was too busy looking at Kol with surprise. "Well, I had no idea you would be here, Kol Mikaelson."
"I'll explain why he's here soon," Alistair reminded him.
"And it's always a pleasure to see you, Avery." Kol smiled at her.
"Nice to see you too," Avery returned. "How are Amy and your beautiful baby boy?"
"I love them both very much, of course," Kol nodded. "They are the pure joys of my life. Thank you so much for your part in bringing them into my life."
"Avery, always a pleasure," Kol greeted her with a smile and a gentle kiss on her hand.
"Likewise," she smiled as he gently released her hand. "How are Amy and your precious baby boy?"
"They are the loves of my life," Kol told her. "Thank you for bringing them to me."
"Oh, I would say 'You're welcome' but I have no idea what makes you think I have that kind of power," Avery blushed and sat down, making the mistake of catching Malachai's eye.
"Lie much?" He asked and then chuckled.
"Oh, shut up!" she hissed and pushed some dark hair out of her eyes before swatting Malachai on the arm.
"And one more question," Kol interrupted Malachai's fantasy of throttling Avery. "Do we call you Malachai? Or do you prefer Mr. Fale Number 2? Or even…" he winked as he caught Avery's eye. "Mr. Avery Hamilton?"
Malachai growled as his hand balled into a fist. "Malachai will be fine," he said, taking a deep breath and trying to relax, giving the young Original a grin before turning to Alistair. "It seems our young friend here has an interesting sense of humor."
"Who are you calling young?" Kol hissed, resenting being treated like a child. "I'm older than you!"
"Well, you have a strange sense of humor regardless," Alistair told him. "Anyone who has spent any amount of time with you can contest to that."
"Can we get back on topic and be told why we're here?" Avery asked him.
Alistair gave Kol a look and then turned back to Avery. "I know this might sound strange, but it concerns your father."
"Why?" Avery sat down heavily, looking dumbfounded. "I haven't seen my father for weeks!"
Alistair sighed and raised his head, welcoming someone else into the room. "Hello, Ms. Morningstar. We've been waiting for you." He gestured at the last chair and gave Angelica a warm smile. "Please have a seat."
Malachai and Avery stared at Angelica as she made her way into the room, surprise plastered on both their faces.
"Hello, Alistair," Angelica greeted him warmly. "And I hope you don't mind, but…given recent events, I've decided to change my name and not be Angelica Morningstar anymore. I'd rather be Angelica Mikaelson."
"I see," Alistair nodded, doing his best to hide a smile when he realized she was absolutely serious.
"So…has my brother made an honest woman out of you yet?" Kol had the gall to ask her.
"No, we haven't gotten married, Kol," she told him. "Your brother and I are living in a happy and loving relationship with our daughter Victoria." She blushed a little as she spoke, then turned to Malachai and her aunt, giving them a smile.
"Always a pleasure to see you, Malachai."
"Same for me, Angelica." Malachai returned the smile.
"Aunt Avery," She gave her aunt a kiss on each cheek.
"What are you doing here?" Avery questioned.
"Same as you, I guess," Angelica shrugged and sat down. "What is all this about, Mr. Fale? You didn't say much when you contacted me?"
"Feel free to call me Alistair, Ms. Mikaelson." Alistair gave her a wink. "Kol, would you please explain?"
"I'm here to explain what I encountered during my last trip to Africa," he began. "You know I've always been a big part of the magical world, and during the last of my many travels to that continent, I made friends with many wizards who were skilled in white magic.
"Yes, this is interesting," Malachai nodded. "But that still doesn't explain why we've been brought here." Malachai shrugged.
"Well, during my last trip," Kol continued, ignoring the other man, "one of my friends told me that there been a lot of weird supernatural stuff going on lately. Birds have been found dead in large numbers, rivers have turned red…things like that. And more people have been using dark magic."
"Kol met me after he returned and told me everything that he'd experienced, and after that, I began keeping an eye out for any strange things, so we knew something wasn't adding up," Alistair added.
"Are you saying that you think my father's absence is the cause of all this?" Avery wanted to know.
"So, my grandfather is making the world dark on purpose?" Angelica added, feeling shocked. Granted her grandfather and manipulated and used her to avoid accountability to her father, but that was definitely not the same thing as destroying the world with darkness.
"Of course, that's not what he's saying." Malachai tried to be reassuring, but he had no idea how successful he was.
"We think that your grandfather and father have…" Alistair paused and hung his head.
"We think that he has given up being God," Kol finished. "Therefore, the protection he gave the Earth is gone and darkness is taking over."
"What if it's not my grandfather?" Angelica asked. "What if it's my father who's causing all the trouble?" She got to her feet. "I mean I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He wasn't too happy about what he went through at the trial."
"We thought about that," Alistair nodded. "But as powerful as your father is, he's not powerful enough to cause everything that's happening."
"It can't be Daddy," Avery put a hand on her chest. "Do you think I had something to do with it when I was using some of his same powers to match people up and make them happy?"
"No," Kol shook his head. "It has nothing to do with what you did. You can put your mind at ease."
"Do you have any idea where your father's gone?" Alistair asked. "Has he contacted you? Even a note with just a few lines?"
"Can't say he has," Avery shook her head. "He hasn't even said anything to my mother. He just left one day without a word to be by himself."
"And before you ask me, I haven't seen him either," Angelica added. "Not for ages. Not since I told him I never wanted to see him again."
"Okay so our two best leads don't know anything," Malachai said. "What do we do now."
"Well, we keep all this to ourselves," Alistair proposed. "No one outside this room will find out about the problem with Steve while we try and find out where in the heck he is."
"Can I tell Klaus?" Angelica asked. "He could help."
"Yes," Alistair nodded. "Because I figure you'll probably need to tell him anyway."
"I don't think there's any need to panic immediately," Kol tried to reassure the group. "It could be months or even years before the darkness reaches truly troublesome levels. We have plenty of time to find a solution."
"What are we going to do?" Avery asked and grabbed her niece's hand desperately.
"I don't know!" Angie shook her head in despair. That's what she said, but in her heart, she knew what needed to be done. She knew what needed to be done, and if she could just swallow all her nervousness and see her father, then it would all be worth it!
Klaus Mikaelson kissed his daughter on her stomach, making her giggle as she cupped his face with her tiny hands.
"Who's the most beautiful little girl in the world?" He cooed as he smiled down at her. "Who is it? You! It's you, Miss Victoria!" Then he raised his head as he heard the front door open and then slam shut.
"Angel, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," Angelica called back, appearing a few seconds later. "What are you doing with our daughter? Spoiling her so she'll like you? Is that your evil plan?" She bit her lip on a smile.
"Of course," Klaus winked back. "It's not like she's refusing my affection."
"Oh, if it would make you happy, you can kiss my stomach as much as you want to make me giggle," Angelica teased.
"You think I'd just stop at your stomach?" He asked with a smirk. "I like the idea of hearing you scream too."
Angie blushed and turned away. She'd been foolish to bait him and now her whole body felt hot. Then she sat down in a chair, her expression sober.
"What was the meeting at the Council about?" Klaus asked to change the subject. "If you can tell me, that is." He then grabbed Victoria, sitting her down in her mother's lap. "Have some toddler cuddles."
"Alistair said you were the one person outside the meeting I could tell since I'd probably tell you anyway," Angelica replied, a small smile curving her lips as she settled her squirming daughter. "Alaric wanted to se me about…about my grandfather."
Klaus nodded and squeezed her leg in an attempt to give her comfort. "I know."
"How do you know that?" She asked, dumbfounded.
"You think I could live so long in this world without noticing when we're being surrounded by darkness, love?" He winked. "Darkness used to be my middle name. I've felt it and lived through it."
"What do you mean 'used to be'?" She asked curiously, raising an eyebrow and blushing again.
"Well, I have a beautiful, bright light in my life now," he explained, locking eyes with her as he took her hand to kiss it gently.
Angelica laughed awkwardly and scoffed. "I can barely see two feet in front of me," she replied. "I'm no light."
"Tell me more about the meeting," Klaus murmured, kissing the top of their little girl's head.
"Your brother Kol was at the meeting too," Angelica continued. "As Alistair's special guest."
"Makes sense that Alistair would bring him," Klaus replied. "Kol has been involved with the magical world for a long time."
"And Malachai and Aunt Avery."
Klaus nodded. "Of course. What did my brother say?"
Angelica cleared her throat. "According to him, there have been a lot of unusual things happening in Africa. Lots of dark forces waking up in ways never before seen. And apparently it's because my grandfather has…abandoned his post."
Klaus nodded, unsurprised. "I figured as much."
Angelica stood up and then set Victoria down before beginning to pace back and forth. "What's going to happen, Klaus?"
"Not much for the time being," Klaus tried to reassure her. "We don't have to worry yet. It will take time for things to get bad." Then he stood up himself, grabbing both her hands to try and stop her from pacing. "You really should calm down."
"Calm down?" She repeated, her brown eyes wide. "My grandfather can't be found, darkness is enveloping the world, and you want me to calm down?" Angie knew she was frantic, but she didn't care.
"And do you know what's even more troubling?" She continued.
"You think your father had something to do with this?" Klaus guessed with a wink.
"How did you know?" Angelica questioned, open mouthed.
"Because I know you," Klaus replied, caressing her cheeks. "And now, in that pretty head of yours, you think you need to go see your father to try and get him to help us locate Steve."
She blushed bright red. "I know it's a really bad idea." She gave him a hopeful look. "Wanna talk me out of it?"
"No," he shook his head. "I know you need to do it." He gave her an encouraging smile. "Do you need me to come with you? Because I will."
Angelica looked at him in shock. "You…you mean you won't try and stop me?"
"I would never forbid you to see your father, Angel." Klaus ran his fingers through her hair. "And I…I trust you. I know you're going to see him purely to help the Council and not because you want to be Daddy's Little Girl again and leave me and Victoria. I know it's not like that and I trust you to come back to us, even though I can't stand the man." He took her in his arms and gave her a hug.
Angelica took a deep breath and closed her eyes, holding him close, then opened them again, only to see an open envelope on the table. "What's in there?"
"Well," Klaus gently pushed her at arms' length and grabbed it. "It's an invitation to Selina's son's wedding."
"And which son would that be?" Angelica rolled her eyes and grinned.
"Oh, good one, Angel" Klaus chuckled. "Someone is finally picking up on my humor. It's Arthur Gray."
Surprised, she snatched the envelope out of his hands. "Elijah is allowing Arthur Gray to have his wedding at the farm? Considering the history between him and Arthur's father, I'm very surprised."
"Well, technically, it's Selina's farm," Klaus winced. "And Arthur will always be Selina's son, so…"
"In a few weeks we'll have to endure another Mikaelson family event," Angelica remarked with a sigh, making a note to ask her mother if she'd be willing to watch Victoria.
"Yes, that's right!" Klaus grinned from ear to ear. "It'll be fun!"
"Well, you know I love Aunt Selina and I would usually be more than happy to go to the farm and eat all her food and just take time to breathe in the fresh air, but…this time I would pass because of how awkward it all is. But we have to go, don't we?"
Klaus smiled and took her in his arms. "You know what you need? You need me to take you out on a date!"
Instead of smiling, she just looked at him suspiciously. "Why? What are you up to? What scheme are you cooking up?"
"Moi?" He shook his head, protesting his innocence. "No scheme. Just a nice romantic dinner at a restaurant. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I doubt that that will be all because there's always something else with you, but…I could also use a break, and it really has been a while since we went out so…I'll think about it." She moved away from him, then turned to make her way to the kitchen.
Once she was out of sight, Klaus knelt next to his daughter. "Mummy is right. It's never nothing with me, but it's a secret between us, okay? You got that, pretty girl?"
Victoria just giggled and clapped her hands together as he ruffled her blonde hair.