Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognise.
Thank you for all the reviews, I'm sorry it's taken so long to update, mentally I'm just not in a good place, and haven't been for a while, it's been a struggle to write anything lately, but I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Blu3b3rryT3a: Yes, Klaus is definitely smarter that canon Damon, there's no way that he stayed a step ahead of Mikael for so long without being smarter than the rest of them.
AvidReader2425: Thank you, hope you like this next one.
sammyleann: If she stayed dead, it wouldn't be very interesting, more peaceful though.
guest: Maybe he will, or maybe she'll surprise you.
xotinkerbella: I feel like Marcel's original using of Davina really was to just protect her, but then he saw what he could do with her abilities and took advantage, but the one thing a I really love about Marcel is his love for Davina. Mason's got to prove his loyalty to Klaus and the pack, but I don't think he'd be stupid enough to use the kids.
firefist02: you're welcome.
Starhunter18: Hope you enjoy this next one.
madilyntayloroutlook. com: Thank you.
Careena1: She wasn't going to stay quiet forever.
RedSovereign88: Thank you.
Parsa Abbasi: Thank you, I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Guest: We'll see.
spirouFr: Thank you.
Jehovelb: Thank you, you're the second person to say this was on TikTok! I had no idea that people were recommending it! I'm glad you like the characters, I've been trying really hard to keep them in character, while removing the plot armour that the others have, which I think helps keep them more natural.
TheDaoist134: Thanks, this isn't canon compliant, so things will be different.
kittyrsocute: Thank you.
AngelElmarlienHenning: Thank you, hope you enjoy this next one.
Midas420: To be fair, the Originals, Klaus and Rebekah especially, shout all the time.
anime-luver.3: Here it is
Lauren In Action: Hope you enjoy.
Tom122000: I know its fast, there's one reference to how much distance Elijah can travel in one episode of Originals, I can't remember which, but I'm using that as a basis of reference. But I doubt the Originals can move at that speed for a continuous period of time, I imagine they would need to feed a lot in order to keep up that speed.
Jungkook666: Thank you!
Boneless Bigheart: Thanks.
Zephyr07: Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to review, I've been trying really hard to balance the characters canon characterisations, whilst giving them more depth, so I'm really glad you like it. Also, now that the curse is broken, at most Elena will only make the occasional cameo, probably in relation to Jeremy, so definitely no running to save her.
00esoteric00: Thank you.
Faery66: Please enjoy.
Present Day, Real World
Damon was in a foul mood, so was Enzo, but Damon was worse, it had been seven weeks since Klaus and Maya had been sent to the prison world, which meant that it was one week before his 170th birthday. A birthday that Maya had insisted on celebrating, but now neither she, nor his best friend were going to be there for him. Before he met Maya, he didn't have friends to celebrate his birthday with, and then because of her, he'd met Klaus, and suddenly he had friends to celebrate with, Stefan had Lexi and finally, he had people of his own. But now, they weren't here, and there was no way that they would be back in time for his birthday, and that really sucked.
He was at the Grill, sitting at the bar, drowning himself in drink, when Caroline parked herself next to him. "What are you doing?!" she demanded.
"What's it look like Barbie?"
"Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Like what?" Damon scoffed, "I'm not a Witch, I can't help bring them back! I'd just get in the way."
"Uh, hello! There's still plenty of things that you can do, the least of which is take your turn at watching the kids."
"Babysitting," Damon wrinkled his nose, "They have a whole pack to look after them!"
"The pack isn't their family Damon! Their family is currently trapped in a prison world, and we," she gestured to themselves, "Are their family's family, which makes us their family!"
Damon raised a brow "Okay, okay, I'll go watch them!" he made to leave but Caroline stopped him.
"Not now! Rebekah's with them!"
"Okay, then why are you bugging me?"
"We have a schedule and I'm letting you know that you're on it." Caroline replied.
"Ok, well when have I been scheduled?" Damon knew, just from the look on Caroline's face, that fighting her and the schedule was a bad idea.
"June 18th," Caroline replied.
"What? But-"
"But what?"
"Nothing," he frowned, so what if he had to look after the kids on his birthday? Some of the most important people in his life wouldn't be there to celebrate it with him, "It's fine."
"Good! Pick 'em up at 9!" Caroline said brightly, bouncing out of the Grill before he could protest anymore.
1994 Prison World
Kai groaned as he woke up in the middle of the street, they must have snapped his neck again when he followed them outside, pushing himself to his feet, his eyes landed on a sapphire the size of his fist, weighing a note down. He picked up the stone, and felt a good amount of magic thrumming inside of it, why would they leave him something filled with magic? He looked at the note next, 'Catch us if you can' it read, with the tiniest drop of blood in the bottom corner. Kai smirked; this would be fun.
/ / /
"Are you sure that you should have left him that note?" Klaus asked, not sure why she'd insisted on leaving Kai a way to find them.
Maya sighed as she stepped out of the car on Rue Saint-Dominique, in France, in 1994 Lucy Bennett and her mother were in Paris, and Jenna had given them the approximate area for where they had been staying. Lucy was ten in 1994 so hopefully they would find some of her blood and then they could get out of there, but Maya wasn't very hopeful. "We need to know how good he is," she said, "Especially if we're gonna let him out of here."
"Why would we let him out?" Klaus replied, he knew that Kai was there, in the visions that Maya had had about them, but he had no idea why, sure the man was handsome enough, but he was annoying, and chatty, and ate those terrible snacks, and had no personal boundaries, and all Klaus wanted to do was reach down his throat and pull out his insides...in fact, that was a good idea, maybe he would do that the next time he saw Kai.
Maya shot him a look, "Why do you think?"
"Oh, come on! You said yourself that you're meant to stop your visions."
"That was when I was pissed at you."
"Well, you can prevent this one," he replied.
Maya stopped, just before they walked inside an apartment building and turned to face him, "Even if those visions come true, it doesn't matter." She placed her hands on his chest, "He's not- no matter what happens, he's temporary, for me, for you, for us, he's temporary. If I die, when I come back, it's for you, you're my forever, no matter what. I'll say it as many times as I need to, as many times as you need me to, I love you."
Klaus fought back a smile and refocused on the problem, "I don't like him," he said.
Maya shrugged, "Neither do I, but there's a reason I had that vision."
Klaus rolled his eyes, "I hate that vision!"
Present Day, Real World
Enzo brought Liam and Luna over to the Sommers house, it had a pool, and a games room that Maya had set up when Klaus had told her that the kids had called him 'Daddy'. The house wasn't nearly as big as the mansion, but it was much quieter than the Mikaelson home, or the pack house. Kol and Freya were yelling at each other about magic problems, Noah, the Gemini, was stuck in the middle of the two of them and Enzo decided that it was best that he get them out of the mansion for a while.
"What do you think?" he asked the two, "Swimming or games room?"
"Games room," they said together, they ran off together and Enzo followed, he watched while they played for a while, before Luna moved on to the TV and put on a Disney movie, and Liam came over to him, while she was distracted.
"Are they ever coming back?" Liam asked, looking up at the Vampire.
"What?" Enzo asked startled, "Yes, of course they are."
"It's been two months," Liam replied sadly, "It was supposed to be days, but it's been months."
"Liam-"
"I need to know if we've lost another Dad…and another Mom."
Enzo sighed, and sat down next to the young Werewolf, "They're coming back, there's a way back, it might take some time, it…will take time, but they'll be back, I know it."
"How do you know it?" Liam pressed.
The Vampire paused, he didn't know how much to tell the kid, not really, but he had to come up with something, "Maya she- okay..." he pulled out a quarter and put in the palm of Liam's hand, "The universe is like a coin, on the one side, you have Humans, and Witches, and Werewolves, and on the other are Vampires, Old Souls and Siphons. Life," he pointed at Liam, and then gestured to himself, "And death."
"…Okay…" Liam looked unsure, but he was following, sort of.
"And the universe has two beings that are in charge of everything…"
"Nature and Death?" Liam asked.
Enzo straightened at that, "Yeah, how did you know that?"
"I heard Aunt Bekah and Uncle 'Lijah talk about it once, I didn't know what it meant, I still don't."
"They're all-powerful beings that created everything and everyone, and Maya, she's connected to Death…but not like I'm connected to Death, and not like you're connected to Nature. Maya… Death picked her, he gave her this life, he has a lot of plans for her, and she can't do what he wants if she's trapped in a prison world. So, Maya will get out, and she'll never leave Nik behind. I promise you, your Dad…and your Mum, by the way I have to be there when you call her that, they'll come back. Before the end of the year, they'll come back."
Klaus and Maya were at the top of the Eiffel Tower, he'd wrapped his arms around her as they watched the sunset, "I miss them," he whispered, it had only been two months, he'd been without his family for far longer than that, but this was the first time since they were mortal, that his family was in a good place, they were happy. His siblings weren't the ones that he missed though, he knew they would be unchanged when they eventually returned, his children however, they were mortal, and the longer he was stuck in the prison world, the more chance he had that he was going to miss them growing up.
"I know," she replied, pressing her back to his chest, "I'm sorry it wasn't here."
He tightened his grip around her, "Do you really believe you can get us out of here?"
"It's like the answer is just out of reach, like I can see it, but can't reach it. But it is there."
"You just need the right trigger," he sighed, pressing a kiss to her neck, just above the scar.
The stress of being locked out of the real world was getting to them both, painting and stealing could only keep them relaxed for so long, Maya turned in Klaus's arms, so that she could face him, "You know, we'll be alone here, for at least another night."
"And what did you have in mind? To pass the time?"
"Well…" she started coyly, "It's a wonderful view…and sex on top of the Eiffel Tower…have you ever done that before?"
Klaus smirked, "I can't say that I have."
She raised a brow, "You wanna?"
Present Day, Real World
Rebekah was taking a walk through the park, she needed some time to herself, Kol and Freya were busy trying to find a way into the prison world, Elijah was in New Orleans, Jenna and Noah, the Gemini Witch were attempting to find every last trace of the Bennetts to pass on to Maya, and Enzo had the children today, which meant that she had nothing to do. There was nothing she could do, and she hated it, she wasn't used to just sitting idly by with no way to help, it was driving her crazy, and it's not like the small town had much to offer in the way of keeping her busy.
"Rebekah?"
The Original looked up at the voice, finding the Sheriff walking towards her, "Liz."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, "I thought you were busy trying to get Klaus and Maya back."
Rebekah sighed, "That particular problem is a magical one, and as has been pointed out by Kol several times, I can't help with it."
"Oh, well, where are your niece and nephew?"
"With Enzo."
"I get the feeling that you're at a bit of a loose end?"
"Yeah," the Original nodded.
Liz thought for a moment before shrugging, "Well I'm going to check out an 'animal attack' you can come with me if you want? It's probably nothing, but it could be a rogue Vampire."
Rebekah smiled at that, grateful that, at least for a moment, she had something to occupy her time, "I'd like that," it was nice being able to spend time with Liz, she'd seen the way that the Sheriff was with her daughter, with Maya, it was something that she'd longed for in her own mother.
1994 Prison World
"You were faster than I thought you'd be," Maya said, not looking away from the view of the Eiffel Tower that she could see from her place on the balcony.
"How'd you know I was here?" Kai asked, walking towards her, not taking the time to be cautious, not when he knew that no matter what happened to him he would just come back.
She shrugged, "Nik and I have a connection, I always know where he is. Plus no matter how hard you try, your steps aren't silent."
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you? You're not linked to this world, you die, you stay dead."
Maya huffed out a laugh, "In 6000 years, I've never stayed dead…"
Kai quirked an eyebrow at that, "What?"
Maya shook her head, ignoring the question, "In sixteen years, how have you never found any Bennett blood?"
"I've been all over the world, if there was a way to get out of here, I'd know it." Kai said,
"There's a way out," Maya said, finally glancing at him and gesturing for him to take a seat.
"And how are you so sure?"
"Your coven trapped Nik and I, tried to send me to a prison world of my own."
"But you're here now, guess dear old Dad screwed up."
"I redirected the spell, sent us here instead."
"Why?" Kai asked incredulously, "You said it's been sixteen years, why get stuck here?"
"Because I know there's a way out here," Maya sighed, leaning back in the lounger, "I just can't remember what it is."
"You can't remember?" Kai repeated, "As in, you knew before?! As in you forgot?!"
"I didn't forget," Maya protested, "All the information I need is right here," she tapped her temple, "It's just…not accessible."
"Because that's not crazy."
"I'm not crazy."
Kai looked around, noticing the distinct lack of the Vampire, "Where's Nigel?" he asked.
Maya rolled her eyes, ignoring the incorrect name, "Nik, is working on his art, in the park across from the tower, he'll never get another chance to see it lit up like this, without the people."
"What's the deal with that anyway?" He pulled out a snack, opened the packet and started munching away, "All that painting everyday, board games every night, he's boring. I thought Vampires would be more fun."
"Hah!" Maya couldn't help but laugh at that, "Nik, boring?!" she shook her head, "This is a world without people, he can't get us out of here, only I can, so he gets to relax for once. But out there, in the real world, Niklaus Mikaelson, Klaus, The Terror, The Butcher, The Abomination, he's the devil." She noticed the way he stiffened at the word, 'abomination', it meant something to him, and she knew exactly what.
"Abomination?" Kai had lost his playful demeanour, it was one of the few words that he truly hated, a word that made him feel like nothing.
"A little Werewolf, a little Vampire, life and death, he shouldn't be able to exist as both…" Kai was quiet, and she felt like for once, she'd truly gotten his attention, "My mother loves me, adores me, when she found out what I was, she wasn't disgusted, she learnt how to protect me, she threatened Sheila Bennett for me, when she knew just how powerful that woman was."
Kai scoffed, looking at her scornfully, "Lucky you."
"Nik's mother, is the one that turned him into a Vampire, I think she was hoping that doing so, would mean he'd never unleash his wolf. But he did," she finally looked over at Kai, "When a Werewolf makes their first kill, they trigger their curse…Nik's brothers and sisters aren't like him, he was the product of an affair, so when he triggered his curse, and became a Hybrid, to fix what she'd done, she cursed him, locked away the wolf, for a thousand years."
"It's not locked away now…"
"He broke the curse. He spent a thousand years treated as an abomination, with half of who he was locked away." Kai was silent at that, as a Siphon, who was part of a coven that hated them, he spent his entire life being the broken, defective, abomination. He was never allowed near magic, so it was like he'd lived his whole life as half of who he was.
"Is this supposed to make me feel something? Get me on your side?" Kai finally scoffed, refusing to let her know that she got to him.
"No," she shook her head, "I don't need you on my side, and I don't need you to feel anything," that wasn't true, ever since they'd arrived in the Prison World, Maya's dreams frequently brought the subject of her vision to the surface, a vision where she could see the warmth in Kai, a warmth that wasn't there now. It wasn't a drastic change in him, it was more like what Kol was like, the Original was still a violent maniac, but he cared about his family, about her family. She knew that Kai had it in him to be the same, but she didn't know how to get through to him. "Nik is more of a monster than you will ever be," she said, "And if you ever want out of here, then you need to make yourself useful, because if he wants to leave you here to rot for eternity, he will not hesitate, and I won't stop him."
"She's right about that," Klaus said from behind them, causing Kai to whirl around in surprise, the Original joined Maya on the lounger, and she ignored the wet paint on his shirt as he shifted her into his lap, "You want out of here, then I need a reason to let you out."
Present Day, Real World
Elijah frowned as he walked through the, as of now, abandoned apartment where the Claire family had been staying, the elder Claire was dead, and her daughter, Davina, the one that Maya had sent him to find, was missing. He thought about asking around the Quarter, but there were no Witches to be found, it was like they all went underground. Marcel was missing too, his men were still on the streets, they still held parties, and yet, his nephew was nowhere to be seen. So far the Original had remained out of sight from Marcel's followers, but he felt like he was going to have to tip his hand, he needed to find Davina, he'd made a promise, and he intended to keep it.
/ / /
"Look I know that I can't go out there," Davina said, "But there are things in my apartment that I need!"
"D, if anyone goes near your apartment it'll set off the Witches, they could follow me, my guys, and then get back to you," Marcel said.
"Marcel-"
"If you need supplies, just make a list, and I'll send someone out to get it for you, but we can't go back to the apartment."
"There are things in my room, that I can't get out in the Quarter!"
"I'm sorry D," Marcel shook his head, he really was, he didn't want to keep her locked away, but he couldn't think of any other way to keep her safe. The Witches were gunning for her, all of the Witches, including Sophie, who had wanted to stop the Harvest in the first place, and he wasn't about to let them kill her.
Davina frowned, and dropped onto the bed, she couldn't have her phone, for fear that the Witches might actually use old school methods to track her down, and she didn't know Maya, or Caroline's number by heart. The only other way to contact them was the spell that Maya had taught her, using their hair to direct her messages, but that was stored safely in her room, she needed to convince Marcel to get it for her. "Marcel, I have my own grimoire in my room, I need it."
"I'm sorry Little D, we just can't risk going back there," Marcel sighed, he was going to say more, but a phone call interrupted him. "Yeah?" Marcel paused, his brow creasing in concentration, "What?!" he exclaimed, causing Davina to eye him curiously. She couldn't hear whoever was on the other end of the call, but Maya had taught her a nifty little spell for that. She stood, and walked away from Marcel, towards the window, mouthing the words for the spell. Immediately, she could hear both sides of Marcel's phone call, her eyes widening as she caught the word 'Original' there was an Original in town! She didn't know who, but they all had to know about her, she hoped, they could help, again…she hoped.
/ / /
Elijah was sat at a table outside of a coffee shop, not even fifty feet away from the place called the 'Abattoir', he'd resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust at that, his home, the place where he and his siblings had been the most at peace, referred to as the slaughterhouse. He sipped his coffee, as he waited for Marcel to turn up, he'd caught at least three Vampires making phone calls, and there was one stood on the roof of the building behind him, staring holes into the back of his head.
"Elijah Mikaelson," Marcel said, appearing in the seat opposite him, "What brings you to my little corner of the world?"
"Marcel Gerard," Elijah spoke, as stoic as ever, giving nothing away, "Shouldn't you be dead?"
Marcel gave Elijah a wide grin at that, "You're one to talk."
"The Abattoir, really Marcel? How gauche."
"It's apt," Marcel shrugged, the name was actually something the Witches had given the place, he'd just embraced it, "Now, how about you tell me what you're doing in my city."
That earned Marcel the slightest twitch of Elijah's right eye, "Your city? Have you forgotten? Those M's that you've scattered across this place, it's not Marcel, they stand for."
The younger Vampire's smile disappeared at that, "This city belongs to me! It burned to the ground and you and your siblings fled, leaving me to rebuild, you never came back!"
It took everything in Elijah not to reach across the table and tear out Marcel's heart, the boy may have been his nephew, but he was also partly responsible for Mikael finding them and destroying their peace. For years Elijah had blamed himself for Mikael's reappearance into their lives, and it was Marcel and Rebekah who'd ruined everything instead. He wanted to reveal the truth to him, but that was for Niklaus to do, "Your issues, of which there are many," Elijah began, "Are not my purpose here."
"Then what is?"
"I'm looking for someone, a Witch, but wouldn't you know it, all the Witches in town seem to have just disappeared."
"I can't help you," Marcel shrugged, tensing at Elijah's words, he couldn't have been looking for Davina? Could he? "The Witches don't answer to me."
The Original took another sip of his coffee, "And yet, you claim the city belongs to you."
"It does belong to me!"
"Then you'll help, or I could just give Niklaus a call and let him know that you're alive," Elijah gave his nephew a little smirk, when he noticed Marcel visibly pale at that. Marcel knew his father well enough to know that Niklaus would be furious with him, liable to do something drastic, like destroy the city again, and rebuild it in his image. "Well, nephew, what's it going to be?"
Caroline slammed open the door to the Boarding House, causing Stefan, Elena and Bonnie to all jump in surprise, "Caroline?" Elena asked in surprise.
"I know you're like over a hundred years old, but when I call you, you're supposed to answer!" Caroline said, glaring at Stefan.
"What?" he pulled out his phone, noticing multiple missed calls from the blonde, "How did you even get my phone number?" he asked in confusion.
"She's Caroline," Bonnie and Elena chorused, knowing that the young Vampire could get anything she wanted, and that was before she was turned.
"Right," Stefan said slowly, "Uh…what is it you want?"
"Seriously?" she put her hands on her hips and frowned, "It's the 18th in two days!" When Stefan still looked unsure of what was going on, her voice rose an octave, and she marched over, smacking him on the arm, "It's Damon's 170th birthday!"
"Oh, uh…okay…"
"Seriously?!" she exclaimed again, "He's your brother!"
"We haven't celebrated each other's birthdays since we were turned."
"Yeah because you hated each other! You should be past all your issues now! Katherine's dead, you got the girl, Damon's got the guy, you two haven't fought in ages!"
"Because he's never here!" Stefan replied, not willing to admit that he was feeling jealous of the fact that his brother had basically been ignoring him for months, for his new friends, and family.
"Well it's time to fix your relationship, and you can start with helping me throw him the best birthday party he'll ever have."
"I'm not-"
"Stefan," Elena said softly, thinking about her own previously strained relationship with Jeremy, "He's your brother."
Stefan sighed, trying not to look into Elena's doe eyes, knowing that if he did, he would give in, "…Fine…"
1994 Prison World
"So we're going to Greece next?" Kai asked, tossing popcorn in the air, and then expertly caching it in his mouth.
"That's not what I said," Maya replied, not looking up from one of the ancient historical texts she was looking through. After coming to an agreement, the three prisoners made their way to Rome next, and headed straight to the archives below the Vatican, finding all sorts of information relating to the Witches in Europe and North America, even some references to magics coming from the East, which Maya had put in a pile so that she could take them with her.
"Well what did you say?" Klaus asked, sifting through the artwork that had been kept hidden from the public, selecting pieces that he would be taking with him, his plan was to take them back to the real world, and then swap them out for the ones in the actual Vatican, no one would be the wiser, but he would have the truly original pieces.
"I said, there's something about Greece, I didn't say that we had to go," she replied annoyed.
"What about Greece?"
"I don't know!"
"So your visions are pretty much useless huh?" Kai said, unimpressed.
Maya scowled, and a small eight inch statue flew directly at the other Siphon's head, only to be caught by Klaus, "This is Michelangelo's David maquette!" Klaus exclaimed, when he received a dirty look from her, "Throw something else!"
"Don't tell her to throw things at me!" Kai protested, straightening in his seat.
"He's not the boss of me," Maya replied, using an old book as a projectile this time, causing Kai to dodge out of the way, he wasn't as used to just being able to use his magic on the fly like Maya, he needed to practice.
"Hey!"
"Children!" Klaus snapped, before they got completely off topic, "Love, what were you doing in Greece the last time you were there?"
Maya raised a brow, not believing that she'd forgotten about her last Christmas vacation, "What I was doing in Greece?"
"With Elijah?" Klaus clarified.
"I was taking care of the anchor."
"The anchor?" Kai repeated, the name sparking something in his memory.
"The anchor to the Other Side," Maya said.
"Wait…" Kai paused, looking thoughtful for a minute, vaguely recalling his history lessons with the coven, "…That's a Gemini thing…isn't it?"
"Yeah, she was supposed to be under their protection."
"She?" Klaus asked, "The anchor's a person?"
Maya nodded, "One of the first immortals, Amara…" Maya stopped, as she was hit with a flood of information at that, "Oh. My. God!"
"Love?"
Her eyes snapped to the Original, "We have to get to Nova Scotia…right now!"
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