I'm on vacation and decided to write a little, so after over one year the final chapter 'rolls eyes.

I have the next part planned already but now I have to write it, which may take a while. This chapter is not betaed so there will be mistakes because English is not my mother language.

Enjoy and tell me if you like it!

Chapter 2

Clint, Wanda and Elijah reached the quin-jet and Clint made an inviting gesture.

Elijah entered the quin-jet first and looked around curiously. When he had retrieved Clint's quiver from the quin-jet in New York, he hadn't had the chance to do so; he had neither had the time nor had it been the right moment for idle curiosity. It was clear; someone had designed it for combat purposes. "Nice! And it can fly in stealth modus? Can you also cloak it on the ground like T'Challa's plane?"

"Yes and yes", Clint answered and went into the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat. "Sit next to me." He flipped a switch. "We are now cloaked."

Elijah heard Wanda sit in the seat behind him. Clint turned the chair until he was half-facing Wanda and half-facing Elijah. Elijah followed Clint's suggestion to sit in the co-pilot seat and then he turned it like Clint to face the others.

Clint looked Elijah over. "I didn't want to say anything, while we were in the presence of your enemies but you look worn out."

Elijah smiled bitterly. "The last few weeks have been terrible, even by my standards."

Clint looked at Wanda and saw the clear concern in her eyes, before he turned back to Elijah. "Do you want to tell us about it?"

Elijah sighed. "Why not? It will be several hours before Freya and Finn can be back in New Orleans, we have time enough."

Elijah told them about the first vampires they had created, his discovery that they could compel people and what he had done to Aurora after he found out Niklaus had murdered his mother. He told them, how he had used the Trinity as decoy to throw Mikael off their trail. Next, he told them about the Strix, about Aya and the reason, why he had to leave them. Finally, he told them about the last few months, the return of the Trinity and the Strix, the prophecy and all the trouble it caused. It felt good to be able to present his point of view for once; somehow, it always got lost or never interested anyone.

"No wonder you saw our little adventure as a vacation", said Clint, startled.

Elijah chuckled reluctantly. "It was a vacation for me."

Wanda had listened patiently to Elijah but her brow was furrowed and she looked very thoughtful. "Tell me more about this prophecy."

Elijah turned to her and told her in more detail about the words of the prophecy and the blurred images he had seen while drinking the seer's blood.

"Would you allow me to see into your mind?" Wanda asked seriously.

Elijah hesitated visible. "This time it will be different than on the plane, I will not be in your mind, you will be in mine. You will see much more, things that will frighten and shock you. You will see everything I have ever done, the murders, the numerous atrocities. I am not an innocent, Wanda. When I say I am a monster, I mean it."

"Remember, I know the stories about your family", Wanda replied.

"Hearing stories and seeing them happen in my mind are two different things. You will hate me." Elijah looked unhappy; the idea of this happening visibly bothered him.

Wanda put her hand on his forearm. "I can't promise you that I won't see you with different eyes but I won't hate you. The first thing I will always remember about you is the man, who freed me from hell and who willingly subjected himself to my power. The man, who allowed himself to be killed in a barbaric manner to protect my friends, revealing his almost greatest secret and thereby made himself vulnerable to people who could well be a danger to him. Who saved all my friends and hid us from our pursuers."

Elijah swallowed and nodded. Wanda stood up and went beside Elijah, her hands closed around his head and red clouds enveloped it.

Clint watched as the two lingered in silence for several minutes. Elijah's skin was grey again as he had seen once before, while Wanda's face showed various emotions in rapid succession. There was sadness, shock, indignation, disgust, anger and many others that Clint could hardly identify.

Finally, Wanda let go and she looked deeply shaken.

Elijah looked at her sadly. "I told you that you would hate me."

Wanda had tears in her eyes. "I don't hate you. Somehow, you neglected to tell us about the heinous things that you have experienced at the hands of your family and others. I have seen many terrible deeds in your mind but I have never seen you commit them for fun. You have only ever wanted to protect or help your family and frankly, you have every right to do so. Most importantly, you have always granted that right to everyone else as well."

Elijah swallowed and looked as if he could hardly believe what Wanda was telling him. So he did what he always did when he didn't want to face his feelings, he focused on protecting his family. "What do you think about the prophecy?"

"There isn't one", Wanda replied grimly. "You all saw the same things because you were supposed to see it. When you bit that so-called seer, she had direct access to your mind. She somehow built triggers in your mind, which nudge you in a certain direction and affect your normal reactions and logic. It is as if you can't think anymore and only react. And of course, all you can do in this case is to rely on your instincts and your first instinct is to protect those you love. We need to determine whether the others, who bit her and drank her blood, also have these triggers."

"But all the events, everything I did?" Elijah was shocked.

"There were external events, weren't there, that triggered everything? Which started them?" Wanda asked gentle.

Elijah thought for a while about everything before a certain anger appeared on his face. "The Trinity, they orchestrated everything."

"Not just them! I bet the witches of New Orleans are involved too." Wanda looked just as angry. "You were pushed in a certain direction and events kept escalating. Who knows where it would have ended."

"Can I see it too?" Clint asked hesitantly. He was reluctant to invade Elijah's privacy like this without asking.

Elijah thought for a moment, and then nodded. "A man with your training might be able to see things we missed." He looked at Wanda. "I agree. Show him what you think is necessary!"

Wanda nodded and stood beside Clint this time. This time only a few minutes passed.

Clint looked murderous. "From what I've seen, the Trinity has achieved almost all of its goals before you killed Lucien. What about the witches? What are their goals?"

"The death of all Originals", Elijah answered succinctly. "And perhaps as bonus the death of every vampire in existence."

"Who can kill you, the witches? Are they powerful enough?" Clint asked.

"No, not anymore, Marcel and we killed too many of their elders." Elijah shook his head. "If Lucien had drunk the elixir, things would be very different."

"Yes, the elixir. Please, can you give me a vial?" asked Wanda. Elijah granted her request. Wanda held the vial in her hand and concentrated for a while. "I can tell that it is a very powerful potion. Whoever takes it, will get some massive enhancements and a major power boost." Wanda looked surprised. "And they have to die so it can take its full effect."

Elijah looked disturbed. "So Lucien would have come back powerful enough to kill all of us. He was almost as old as we."

"I fear that even a young vampire would be more powerful than you as soon as he takes the elixir and gets killed." Wanda looked grimly.

"When the witches have their own goals than is Lucien perhaps not the end point of the conspiracy." Clint looked thoughtful. "There must be a way to stop him or take him out, so that the witches can achieve their goals."

"The only thing powerful enough would be something called a nexus, knots of power, these are either created by special natural events or exceptional circumstances. It is well-known by the witches of New Orleans that Freya is very experienced when it comes to nexuses and how to exploit them.

However, when I consider the normal tactics of witches, I tend towards the third option, namely the sacrifice or use of a powerful supernatural being, be it voluntarily or not." Elijah looked at Wanda and Clint. "Have you seen something like this?"

"I saw the death of a young girl at Freya's hands in the 'prophecy', you seemed to help her", Wanda said calmly and described the young girl.

Elijah looked shocked and not little disturbed. "That's Davina, the witches hate her as well. They would use any opportunity to get rid of her and to punish her. Kol would never forgive me if I killed her and neither would Marcel. He thinks of her as his daughter." Then he grimaced. "Well, if I think about how he used her to enslave and kill witches when she was sixteen, I don't know if I would consider him a good father. He is the reason, why the witches hate her this much."

Clint's face changed and he pressed his lips together. "So Marcel is another Tony Stark."

"Well, Marcel didn't make her a child soldier and forced her to fight for him but he used her abilities and made her an accomplice to murder. But yes, a very apt comparison. Marcel is hypocritical, self-righteous and convinced of his moral superiority over us." Elijah chuckled humourlessly. "Is there anything else what stands out to you?"

"Yes, you argue with a man, he provokes you in some way and then you kill him." Wanda described the man.

"That's Marcel." Elijah instinctively reached for his breast pocket. "If we killed Davina, his reaction would be predictable. There are two vials. I had assumed the other one was for Aurora."

"Maybe Lucien intended it for her but what would the witches do with it?" Clint asked thoughtfully, his analytical and trained brain starting to work. "The first, which comes to mind, is the following scenario; you help kill Davina for some reason and someone gives Marcel the second vial."

"Vincent immediately springs to my mind", said Elijah amused. "He would be the only one stupid enough to do something like this. He has a one-track-mind and only concentrates on the present; he is not particularly good at thinking ahead. He would completely forget everything what happened the last time Marcel was in power in New Orleans and give him the potion."

"So Marcel drinks the elixir and provokes you until you kill him." Clint speculated further. "He comes back as whatever and kills the Originals. Witches' mission accomplished."

"It sounds logical and plausible." Elijah was undecided. "But something is still missing. Marcel would never kill Rebekah or Niklaus. He would have no problems with me or Kol or Freya if he thinks her responsible for Davina's death. They don't like each other and she likes seeing Marcel in trouble and cutting down his ego a little."

"What about the vampires from Klaus's line? They're on their way to New Orleans too", Wanda suggested. "The Originals are weakened if you, Kol and the only witch on your side are eliminated. They kill Rebekah, Finn and Niklaus by somehow outsmarting Marcel. Depending on what kind these enhancements are, they may even be able to take it from him against his will and then use it to kill everyone."

"Marcel shares Niklaus's weaknesses." Elijah twisted his mouth. "Both are controlled and ruled by their emotions, they act rashly and are nowhere near as smart as they think they are. Both have a superiority complex and tend to terrorize everyone around them so they can feel better. But Marcel lacks the centuries of knowledge and experience that my brother has gathered. It doesn't happen often but every now and then Niklaus shows a certain wisdom. I've never seen it in Marcel."

"Wouldn't it be better to destroy the elixir?" Clint said quietly.

Elijah looked at Clint. "You're right." He reached into his breast pocket and pulled the vials out to crush them in his hand.

But before he could do so, Wanda stopped him. "No, wait."

Elijah looked at her questioningly. "Why? It's a danger to my family."

"I know. But I think it's unwise to do this before we know the whole plan", Wanda replied calmly.

Clint tilted his head. "She has a good point."

Elijah looked between the two of them, uncertain. "It's a big risk." He looked unhappy but then he straightened up and gave Wanda the vials. "Guard them for me!"

"I will." Wanda looked at the vials, took them out of Elijah's hand and put them in one of the pockets of her outfit. "No one will get them from me. I will protect them with everything I have."

"I believe you. Can you remove the triggers?" Elijah asked quietly. "When I commit atrocities, I prefer to do them of my own free will, so that I can take responsibility for them. Another quality that Niklaus and Marcel lack."

"I've already removed them as I was in your mind", Wanda said with a smile.

"Thank you. We must do the same for Freya in case they got to her in another way", Elijah said next. "And of course for Hayley and Niklaus."

"Are they back in New Orleans?" Clint asked curious.

"No, not yet, but they're on their way", Elijah replied. "How it looks, just in time for the climax of the conspiracy against us."

"Then let's make it go wrong." Clint grinned evilly. "And Natasha is in New Orleans. No one is better than she is at extracting information from unwilling people. Moreover, we shouldn't underestimate Steve, he's good at making plans. Together we'll find a way to outmanoeuvre your enemies so you come out on top."

"That sounds good to me." Elijah smiled nasty.

"For me too." Wanda's smile was no less evil than that of the two men.

"Okay, Elijah, do you know a good hiding place for the quin-jet?" Clint asked next.

"Yes, in the Bayou. Most of the wolves are dead or live in the city now. We'll park it on the grounds of our old mansion and cloak it there. Most locals avoid the area because the associate it with us, no one comes there unless they have to", Elijah explained. "While you wait there, I'll pick you up in a car. We should arrive at the same time as Freya and Finn. And then we all will hold a war council together."

"Sounds like a plan. Buckle up!" Clint turned around and began preparing the quin-jet for take-off.

Elijah and Wanda followed his example turning their seats and buckled up.