"Well?" She prompted, tossing a piece of charcoal from hand to hand. "You've had the week you asked for, have you found what we need?"

I know what we need. The writing appeared, prompt and familiar as always. But I need something from you too.

Elena scoffed. "Of course you do. You wouldn't be a Mikaelson if you didn't want something back."

I can't help from over here. He wrote back, ignoring her quip completely. You need to bring me back to life.

She narrowed her eyes at the easel. "I can't do that. You know I can't."

Not you personally, but Davina is more than capable.

"You want me to convince Davina to resurrect a psychopathic Original?" She scoffed again, rolling her eyes this time. "Like that'll take."

Make it take.

"You can't be serious?"

"I wish I wasn't, but we have to deal with the Hollow, Davina. This is the only way."

Davina folded her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at Elena. She pursed her lips, holding eye contact with the vampire in front of her, unflinching and unblinking.

Elena huffed, rolling her eyes and breaking their stare first. "He's intelligent, Davina, he knows more about magic and witches than anyone we could ever find, and he knows how to kill the Hollow. We need him."

"You need revenge, you mean?"

"This has nothing to do with revenge. I know her mission; her goals. She will raze this city without blinking, without hesitation. And she won't stop with New Orleans, D, she will kill anyone and everyone on this planet who would stand in her way." Elena forced eye contact again, holding Davina's gaze with a startling intensity.

Davina broke their stare this time, glancing down in a quick movement, biting the inside of her bottom lip.

"I killed him to save my brother, D, and Jeremy died anyway. I killed him because Damon told me to, and I had no choice in the matter. Needing his help aside, I owe him his life back."

Sighing, Davina stood up, pacing to the other end of the room. "I've heard the stories, Elena, Kol Mikaelson is a straight up psychopath. You want me to bring that back into the world?"

Elena let out a soft laugh, shaking her head slightly. "Ironically, the world needs him now, despite his psychopathic tendencies."

Davina sighed again, turning to face Elena; her face more grave than seemed right for such a young girl. "What do I need to do?"

Languidly sipping at a bag of blood, Kol studied the scene before him curiously. The baby witch who had managed to drag him back from the depths of the other side, hovered near to him, her hand half twitching every so often with the urge to cast a spell to make him behave.

Marcellus hovered closely behind Davina, ready to pull her out of harms way should the need arise in any way, shape or form.

Niklaus and Caroline loitered closely together, the blonde whispering quick words to his brother, a frown on her face as she looked between Klaus, Kol, and Elena.

Elena looked at him curiously, a raised eyebrow indicating that she was getting impatient waiting for the answers he'd promised her.

"I know what you need, but we need to gather some resources before we can go after the Hollow." He shrugged, glancing from person to person in the room as they turned to look at him.

"What resources?" Elena probed instantly, eager to finally be getting the answers she wanted.

"Inadu was one of the originators of a specific bloodline, later known as the crescent bloodline; their blood can be used as a tool to kill her."

Elena frowned, stepping towards Kol slightly. "Why does that sound familiar? The Crescents?"

"It's Hayley's family." Klaus interjected, turning Elena's attention to him rather than Kol. "Was Hayley's family." He corrected. "She came to New Orleans to find them."

"Did she?" Elena asked, stepping back towards Klaus. "Did she find the crescents?" She prompted at his shifty look; his glance between Elena and Kol.

"No," Klaus replied eventually, meeting Elena's gaze, "she didn't. As far as I know, the crescent bloodline ended with Hayley."

Elena looked between Klaus and Kol, searching for any hint of deception or look that she might've missed. Finding nothing, she turned her attention back to Kol. "Then you found them? Or something better than the crescents?"

"No, Hayley was the last crescent."

"Hayley and the baby." Elena murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. "Of course."

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked, his head snapping in Elena's direction, though she was oblivious to it, biting on one of her nails as she looked in a different direction. "Elena?" He prompted, striding to her and taking hold of her arm to get her attention. "What do you mean?"

She took in a quick gasp of breath, turning to look at Klaus, suddenly much closer than he had been before. "The Hollow," she sighed, "there was so much in her head, but everything she did was on purpose. She wanted Hayley dead, but she wanted to kill the baby too, I couldn't figure out why. Why she wanted it dead too."

"She." Klaus corrected, the word falling from his mouth before he really thought about it. "The baby was a she."

Elena nodded, feeling his grip slacken on her arm. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Klaus let go of her arm, stepping away as she turned her attention back to Kol. "I can't say I'm understanding you, Kol, using her living descendants is the only way to kill her; I was in her head; I know that. But you're telling me that she has no living descendants. You said you had what we needed to kill the Hollow." She bit, turning on her heel and stalking towards Kol. "If there aren't any descendants and you haven't found what we need, then why are you here? Why did I get Davina to bring you back? What is the point of you?"

"Was that necessary?" Klaus asked, narrowing his eyes at his brother; at Elena's crumpled body at his feet.

"She did kill me, more permanently than a snap of the neck." Kol shrugged, stepping over her body towards Klaus. "Besides, I'm assuming there's a reason she doesn't know that your daughter lives." He grinned at Klaus's bewildered expression. "There's really not much I don't see from the other side, Nik, of course I know about her."

"Then you know what's at stake, Kol."

"I'm very aware, but there's more at risk if we don't put a stop to the Hollow. For everyone in the world, but especially for Hope!"

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Klaus snapped, glaring at his little brother. "She thinks Hope is dead!"

Kol laughed, shaking his head. "You really think she'll believe that for long? She will find out about Hope, and when she does she will stop at nothing to kill her. We have to stop her first. Brother, you have to bring Hope back to New Orleans."

"We scarcely let others drink from us; many vampires use it as a symbol of status, to feed on another is to own them in some vampires' eyes."

What are you doing? Why are you talking to him about this? I know you can hear me! Elena screamed, hammering away at invisible ties holding her prisoner in her own mind. Stop this right the hell now!

"Elena, if this is something you want to explore, we can. As always, I am at your mercy."

Leave him alone! Inadu, leave him alone! She tugged at the bars furiously, getting more agitated with every passing second and every thinly veiled threat aimed at Elijah passing through her lips.

She could swear that Inadu smirked at her as she lengthened Elena's fangs, sinking them into Elijah's neck with unrivalled glee, ignoring all of Elena's screams and pleas.

"Elena, I think that's enough."

Inadu took her time removing Elena's fangs from his throat, a taunt passing through Elena's lips; her voice, her face, her body being used to hurt him. She was a doppelganger after all; a copy of others, more and less guilty than her. A copy – a copy of a voice, of a body, of face that was created to hurt. To hurt people, to hurt him.

"What do you mean?" His words were slurred, his voice weak and his face betrayed. Had she ever seen him so weak before? So hurt? So betrayed by her?

Stop it! Stop this! Get out of my head!

What use was she now? She'd always tried her best to not be what she was destined to be; to not hurt everyone around her; to keep them safe.

And now?

She couldn't even keep control of her own body to protect them. To protect him.

Had she done something to deserve this? Had she murdered countless people in a past life?

Or was she just cursed?

Cursed to never be happy, to never be able to protect the people she loved…the people who she'd never been able to tell she loved.

"Elena, you…you're scaring me."

Scaring him?

She was scaring him?

She was scaring him?

He really still thought that was her? That she would do this to him? That she could ever look into his face, so drawn and afraid of her, and continue to hurt him? That she would ever hurt him to begin with?

The thought rose to her, unbidden, was he wrong?

She wasn't in control of her body, but she was still here. Too weak, too feeble, too pathetic to take control of her own limbs and protect him.

Was he wrong?

Elena gasped, flying upright from where she'd slumped over, leaning on the arm of the couch. Blinking the sleep from her eyes she scanned the room around her, quickly assuring herself it wasn't real, this time at least.

He was dead.

She had failed him for the last time when she'd murdered him, unable to stop her body.

Standing from the couch, she looked around Elijah's condo, bittersweet memories filling her mind with every glance at every corner of every room. Walking to the kitchen in short, agitated steps, she paced around the room, putting on a pot of coffee, trying to reign in her anger enough not to break the fragile pot.

Her emotions were off.

They were off.

They' ' 'reoff.

Despite the repeated thoughts she was still so angry. Angry at the world. Angry at the Hollow. Angry at herself. Angry at Elijah.

She was furious, and she was sad, and she was cursed.

Cursed to relive her biggest weakness over again every time she slept. Every time she stopped to think. Every time she breathed.

If her emotions were so crippling with the switch off, how would she ever cope with it back on?

She poured herself a mug of coffee, launching a chair across the room when she bumped into it, watching with satisfaction as it shattered against the wall, leaving a sizeable dent behind.

Letting out a scream, she launched all of the chairs across the room, tearing the door from the wall when it blocked her way and smashing the television on the floor when she noticed the buzzing coming from it.

Sitting on the couch, half surrounded by wrecked furniture, she held her mug of coffee in her hands, blowing on the boiling liquid before taking a sip. Determined never to sleep again.

HisSecretLover18: Yasss girl! I've got Kol for you! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed!

wazman: It's such a tough situation for everyone, especially after everything I've put them all through already! Hope's on her way back to New Orleans at least! I can't wait to write the final showdown with Inadu! I've got so many ideas!

lauramorgenstern: Thank you! I've got another biggy coming in the next chapter so I hope that interaction doesn't let you down!

Guest: Better late than never! Oh the big showdown with the Hollow is coming, I'm super hyped for it and can't wait to write it up and get it out to you guys! Even more Kol coming now! Thank you so, so much! Love the chefs kisses :)

Ahh, guys I'm getting so excited about all these chapters! I really, really cannot wait for you all to meet what's happening in my head for this story!

I look forward to hearing back from you all, I really quite like this one!

Until next time

~ I x