AN: I'm tying up a couple of loose ends with this chapter, and explaining a few things that need to be explained. It felt very satisfying. Thanks for all the positive reviews! And for over a hundred followers! Ahh I love you guys -Izzy x


Chapter Thirteen – The Originals 3x14

"I can try a locator spell, but Rebekah's probably cloaked," Freya said, trying to hide her anger in this situation. She knew very well that it hurt Elijah more than it hurt her, but the stress just seemed to be piling on.

"We could divide and conquer," Caroline suggested, sitting up straight. "Aya, Aurora and Lucien, the only people who would have taken her. We just need to split up, interrogate them all separately. We can offer Aurora her brother, Aya her leadership and Lucien… I don't know him."

"That's not entirely a bad plan," Elijah said, with an approving nod. He'd showered, shaved and sobered up, and was now back into his pristine suits. And all day, he hadn't been seen with a drink in his hand.

Caroline shrugged, proudly. "On the even brighter side, the family part of the prophecy is fulfilled. Now we just need to watch out for friends and foes. I realise that I am a friend but-"

"But since you came to New Orleans, you have saved both of my brothers' lives," Freya chimed in with a fond look. "I think we can trust you. However, you do have a lot of foes. Thankfully not many friends."

As if on cue, Klaus joined them, followed by someone very special. "Freya," Klaus grinned. "This is Stefan Salvatore – an old friend." He gestured to Stefan and grinned. "One of my trickle-down sirelings. Long story. Stefan, this is Freya. My brand new older sister. Also, a long story."

"Stefan!" Caroline exclaimed. She perked up at the sight of him and ran into his arms, kissing his quickly. "I missed you."

Stefan grinned at the sight of her and kissed her back. "I missed you, too," he told her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Also Caroline's boyfriend," Klaus added, as an afterthought, knowing full well that their relationship didn't really matter. "Anyway, he needs a favour."

Freya's eyes narrowed at the sight of Stefan, clearly mistrusting him instantly. "You're an old friend," she spat, sharply, "are you?"

Stefan paused, letting go of Caroline awkwardly. "Well that kind of depends on your definition," he told her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elijah and Caroline had completely taken over the study of the house, covering tables and chairs with maps and pictures, and a few diagrams. Fiora Petrova was under their microscope. They followed Katherine's leads, but couldn't find any trace of her after New Year's Eve, when she was passing through Mystic Falls. Elijah had told Caroline about Markos and Cade, purely for the purpose of expanding their investigation, and remaining on the same page.

They retreated to their little headquarters as Freya took Stefan into another room to examine his wound. He'd arrived the evening before and him and Klaus had shared a drink and quick reconcile before Rayna found them. Klaus had killed her easily, but she quickly resurrected.

"Niklaus has encountered the huntress before," Elijah mused, thoughtfully, as he collected some contact details from employees at a bar in New Delhi – one that Fiora supposedly worked at. "He wouldn't be helping Stefan right now, if you hadn't asked. She is quite dangerous, as far as I'm aware."

"Tell me about it," Caroline said with a huff. "She ran my boyfriend out of town."

"I wasn't aware of your relationship with you younger Salvatore brother," he said, without looking up at her. "I wouldn't flaunt it in front of mine, however, if I were you."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Please, Klaus and I are friends," she claimed, almost smugly, and quite amused. When Elijah didn't reply, she looked awkward. "Right? I thought Klaus fancied that Camille girl."

Now Elijah rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair, looking up at her with an exasperated expression. "Caroline, dear, his stalker kidnapped you to hurt him, and it worked. Klaus is now dealing with Rayna for you. I think it's safe to make an assumption."

Caroline blinked, looking lost. "He still likes me," she mused. "But he hasn't asked me on a date or gave me a gift, or told me how beautiful I am since I got here. It's not the same as Mystic Falls."

"Well perhaps his feelings aren't quite as they were," Elijah said, "and they are not as obsessive. He's not trying to impress you anymore, but rather, sink to the same page as you. But his feelings are still there."

Before she could reply, they stopped in their tracks at a new voice, which rang through the compound at a high volume.

"Hello?" The doppelganger called. "Anybody home?"

Elijah and Caroline exchanged a look of doubt and shock. "No," Caroline whispered. "No damn way."

The pair of them jogged out of the room and leaned over a nearby balcony that overlooked the courtyard. Katherine Pierce was strolling in, looking quite casual and comfortable, as if nothing had happened since she left. "I'm back," she mused. She looked up as Klaus, Freya and Stefan made it to the balcony to see her. "When did Barbie and Ken get here?" She asked. "Clearly I've missed a lot."

"Yes, indeed you have," Klaus growled, jumping off the balcony and flashing to her. "What the hell happened to you?!"

"I got my hair done while I was away," she answered with a smirk. "Thank you for noticing."

"You were dead," Freya snapped, following Klaus into the courtyard, but deciding to take the stairs. "You left that letter for Elijah. You had him chasing you around like a cat and a mouse. What the hell are you thinking, just showing up here?"

Katherine's face fell into slight concern. Caroline turned to Elijah, who just looked to be in some state of shock at the sight of her.

"What do you mean?" Katherine asked. She turned to Elijah. "I didn't die. What happened while I was away?"

The rest of the group dispersed so that Elijah and Katherine could talk properly.

"So," Katherine mused, sitting herself down in one of the couches and watching him. "Why did you think I was dead? Was it just my letter? To be honest, I wasn't even sure you got that. I paid a human to leave it for you. Talk about unreliable, huh?"

Elijah scowled, clearly fuming. Whether it was at her, or at the situation, she doubted even he knew. "Markos returned to the city," he informed her, keeping his voice steady. "He explained to me who Cade was. And then I met him."

Katherine paused, sucking her teeth for a moment. "Markos told me he was going back into hiding," she said, beginning to get mad herself, at Markos. "If I knew he was going to lead Cade back here, then I would have told you who he was. But I didn't think he was going to be stupid enough to come here. Where is he? I'd like to kick his ass myself."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Cade seemed to believe you were dead," he told her. "Him, and the letter you left for me, seemed like a reliable source. That, and the fact that he found and killed Markos."

Katherine's face fell and she sat up. "Markos is dead?" She clarified, noticeably upset by this. "I told him to go into hiding."

"Well, he failed, and now he's dead and I thought you were too," Elijah said, snappily. "So please explain to me, why I was lead to believe that, Katherine."

She rolled her eyes and got to her feet, trying to level with him. "I faked my death to trick Cade," she replied, with an angry, exaggerated shrug. "Obviously. It worked like a charm, and he stopped looking for me. But since I wasn't expecting Markos to come here, I didn't expect Cade to follow and share the news."

"And you're letter?" He asked. "How was I supposed to believe you were alive after that?"

She paused, taking a deep breath and shrugging. "After I left the city, I had an epiphany. I was literally up against the devil, and all of his bitches. I had just lied to you about how I feel about you. I wanted the chance to tell you the truth, in case I couldn't explain it all later."

There was a moment before Elijah reacted to that, and he simply nodded, unable to fault her on that half. "And how exactly did you fake your own death?" He asked. "Miss Forbes informed me of Fiora Petrova, the hidden doppelganger. I assume you used her. But Cade is psychic. He wouldn't have made that mistake."

"Fiora was an interesting case," Katherine claimed, tapping her foot. "As far as I know, her family – my ancestors – were travellors too. And they tried to use her for a spell. Naturally, it involved a sacrifice, and like me, she ran. She met vampires, wolves, witches, and learned all about what she was. She went into hiding to avoid this kind of supernatural drama. She became a vampire after that and lived a happy, drama-free life for eight hundred years. She was the first doppelganger I met, in 1554. Then I killed her to save myself." Katherine blinked, hiding a sheepish expression. "As for Cade… I compelled her to believe she was me, so when Cade entered her mind, he saw nothing of Fiora."

Elijah's face fell in confusion. "You can't compel vampires," he reminded her. "You can't even compel people. You're human. You're… a traveller. Katherine, please tell me it's not what I think."

She shot him an innocent smile. "Don't worry. Rebekah is exactly where you left her. I wasn't going to keep her forever, and she's perfectly sa-"

"YOU POSSESSED MY SISTER?"

Katherine flinched at his raised voice. "Calm down," she pleaded, rolling her eyes in frustration. "She's fine."

"Since you're so full of excuses this morning," he growled, "what excuse is there for you to possess Rebekah?"

She blinked. "Um, my excuse is that I needed to?" She suggested, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling. "And don't you even try to tell me that you would have helped, or compelled Fiora for me, because you would have just been mad that I led Cade to the city with your niece in it, if I'd explained things to you. And by the way, that's the whole reason I left in the first place, to protect your damn Hope. You're welcome?"

Elijah opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him.

"Look, I know it was a shitty move, but it needed to be done," she exclaimed. "But on the even brighter side, I managed to get poor Bekah a thank-you present, for letting me use the old model." She reached into her handbag and pulled out a collection of papers, shoving them into his hand and refusing to discard her scowl. "A spell to siphon her curse. Again – you're welcome."


Only a few minutes later, Aurora was found by the Crescent Wolves. Hayley called Elijah, and he and Klaus set off to find them. Caroline came along, eager to help in reward for them helping Stefan. The lead led them to some sort of trailer park, eerie in the night, with fog roaming around their ankles. They found a car nearby, with Aya and other members of the Strix piling Aurora into the trunk.

"Hello, gentlemen," Aya said, stepping forward. Then she turned to Caroline and narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"

"I'm Caroline," she answered, waving. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Aya!" Klaus greeted. "I was planning on taking a different head tonight, but yours will do just fine."

"Good luck with that," Aya mused.

A couple of witches came out from the shadows behind her, their hands raised and a spell being chanted. Elijah and Klaus fell to the floor and Caroline flashed forward to kill them, but Aya stopped her by snapping her neck.


Back at the compound, Hayley had bought Lucien to help them, and called Marcel over to explain the actions taken by the Strix. "I had no idea Aya was going to take both the Mikaelsons down," he exclaimed. "Regardless, why are we trusting this guy all of a sudden?" He gestured to Lucien, who was draining a blood bag dry. "He's the one who ran off with Aurora the first chance he got."

Lucien dropped the blood bag and looked up to him. "You can hardly fault a man for following his heart," he claimed, defensively. "But the moment she started rambling on about killing Klaus, well – words were said; hearts were broken; veins were drained."

"You're one to talk about trust," Hayley snapped, turning to Marcel. "Who was it that handed my dead husband's heart over to the people that murdered him?"

"I missed so much," Katherine said with a pout from the couch.

"I bought your life with that heart," Marcel reminded her, ignoring Katherine. "But hey, you called me here. So if you have another plan, then please. Let's hear it."

"It's simple," Hayley exclaimed. "We storm the coven house and stop the Strix from performing the de-siring spell. Period."

Marcel stepped forward, angrily. "Well that's easy for you to say," he claimed. "You're not sired by anyone, are you?"

"It's not just about the spell," Lucien perked up. "We have to stop an execution."

Marcel looked confused and stepped forward. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"A lovesick teenager is somehow going to break the sire-link?" Lucien asked, sarcastically. "Sorry, but your darling Davina is in over her head, and Aya knows this. She will allow Davina to perform the spell and then test it by firing a white-oak-bullet into Klaus's heart. And it's win-win for her. If you die Marcel, then she's won. If not, then at least she's eliminated the rival sireline."

Hayley shuffled on her feet, looking awkward. "Alexis did see Klaus die," she reminded them. "And if Klaus dies, then the two of you die as well."

"Actually," came a new voice, "make that the three of us."

Katherine got to her feet and allowed her face to fall at the sight of her ex. "Stefan," she said with a smile.

"Katherine," Stefan returned with a nod. "I'm assuming you, of all people, have a plan?"

She sat up and nodded, smiling slightly at the opportunity to be useful. She pulled a floorplan of the Strix's venue from her bag and pencil to make adjustments. "A few," she told them. "Everyone, this is Stefan Salvatore. One-hundred and fifty years old. Sired to Klaus." Introductions were brief and to the point considering the work they needed to get done. Katherine, Lucien and Stefan gathered around the map and discussed. "We could use the access tunnels to slip into a backroom."

Lucien grunted in distaste.

"What?" Stefan asked. "Afraid to get mud on your expensive shoes?"

"Actually I'll be doing most of the heavy lifting since the vampires we're facing are… what? Seven times your age?" Lucien retorted, condescendingly. "Is this really the best help we could get? Two toddler vampires, one baby hybrid, and Katherine, someone who used to be a very powerful bitch, but is now just a helpless human."

Katherine scowled and leaned forward on her elbows. "In the last few months alone, I escaped hell, tricked the literal devil, possessed an Original, and found a spell which nobody else could find. Call me helpless again. I dare you."

Marcel walked back over to the group, hanging up his phone. "It doesn't matter," he informed them. "We're not getting their bodies back. Strix from all over the world are flying in to make sure this spell goes off. They're guarding every entrance and exit."

Lucien looked bewildered. "Well you're their leader," he reminded Marcel. "Call a meeting. Schedule a retreat. Order them to stop."

"He can't do that," Katherine interrupted. "Jesus, Lucien, you may have age on your side, but you are the thickest body here. If Marcel calls them off, then they all know where his loyalties lie, and his power will be taken away from him."

"Marvellous," Lucien said. "I guess it's on me to come up with our grand plan, then?"

"No, no," Katherine said. "Last time you tried to think, you said something dumb."

Before he could retort, Hayley and Freya re-joined them. "Luckily," Hayley mused, "Freya figured out a way to get the boys out of there. She just needs a strong enough power source."

"I would channel Finn," Freya added, crossing her arms, "but he's all for letting our brothers perish. So, I'll channel Lucien." She turned to the aforementioned and smirked at his look of discomfort. "The older the vampire, the better the battery."

"You're going to buy some time to keep the Strix occupied," Hayley explained, looking around for objections. There were none.

"So you want me here, holding hands with the leftover sister," Lucien spat, "while you take the two toddlers and tackle the Strix?" He laughed at the idea. "You must be joking-"

Freya lifted her hand and snapped his neck, interrupting him. He fell to the couch in a heap, and Stefan looked very impressed. "That was cool," he said, admiringly.

"I work better with quiet," Freya claimed, with a proud smirk.

"So, wait," Marcel said. "The plan is that the four of us," he gestured to himself, Hayley, Stefan and Katherine, "are going to keep a hundred of the world's oldest vampires occupied?"

"The three of you," Katherine corrected. "While you play the distraction, I'm playing extraction."


When Caroline woke up, she didn't move. She didn't even breathe. She lay completely still and examined the situation she was in without even opening her eyes. She heard to voices, Marcel and Davina, and a couple more heartbeats, and the slight flow of water.

Davina spoke clearly and confidently, and although she couldn't see her, Caroline had a feeling she was smiling. "I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" Marcel asked, clearly concerned. "You can take your time, D."

Before the little witch replied, a collection of footsteps entered the room and Aya spoke. "If she's ready, she's ready," she said, surely. Her voice quietened however, when she continued. "We have waited long enough for this."

Caroline understood almost immediately what must have been happening. It must have been the de-siring spell.

Caroline tried not to cringe as she heard something squelch behind her. "The un-sired heart will bind the ancestor's magic to these waters," Davina explained. "Once the water's fully charged with Mikaelson blood, I can break the sire link." There was then a loud splash.

The vampires were too powerful for Caroline to even begin fighting. Going for them was a dangerous move. But if she could surprise them, jump up and knock Davina out, then maybe she could stop the spell. Of course, Aya would try to kill her, but maybe Marcel could order her to stand down? At least to give her a head start on running?

Crap. She should have made her move before the vampires arrived. Maybe when the spell actually began they would leave again?

She decided to wait until the very last minute to make her move, just in case the situation got better. Plus, it would give them a false sense of security.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Caroline heard chanting, a blade slicing along skin was short to follow. It was then that she jumped to her feet and flashed towards Davina. She was a blonde blur, moving to quickly and suddenly for any of the vampires to react. She pounced on Davina and slammed her head into the stone floor, knocking her out. She knew it would be better to kill her, but that would mean waging a war on Marcel and his guys, and she didn't want that.

Instead, she snapped the necks of the two closest witches for good measure.

The chanting ceased and Aya sped towards Caroline, grabbing her by the neck and slamming her against the nearby wall. "How dare you," she started. "You…" She trailed off and clutched her throat. She let Caroline drop and the vampires turned to face them, but the witches continued chanting.

Elijah's throat was cut right open and blood was pouring from her quickly. Caroline looked, around, confused, but when Katherine Pierce walked in to join them, she understood. Of course, she had a plan.

"I've never really practised magic before," she claimed, "but it took about an hour for Freya to teach me a linking spell." She pulled a stake out of nowhere, and hit the nearest vampire bodyguard to her. All the other vampires in the room turned grey, their veins becoming visible. Then they fell to the floor dead. Only Marcel and a handful of witches were left.

The coven was clearly struggling with the loss of Davina, and two of their other members. Their noses and eyes were bleeding, even their ears. Caroline flashed around them, banging head and snapping necks until the chanting ceased.

"Get them out of the water," Marcel ordered. He bent down and scooped up Davina. "More vampires will be here in a second, so move fast. Freya's going to wake them up."

Caroline grabbed a fistful of Klaus's shirt and pulled him out of the water in one swift movement, laying him down on the ground next to it. Katherine tried to do the same with Elijah, but struggled to get him very far with her pathetic human strength. Caroline had to help.

When the pair of them healed, and woke up only seconds later, they were panicked. The sat up and instantly tried to kill the people closest to them, but after a couple soothing words from the women, they relented and simply panted in shock.

"What happened here?" Elijah demanded, looking around the assortment of dead witches and vampires.

Caroline exchanged a look with Katherine before answering. "We kicked ass," she replied with a shrug. "What else?"

Klaus still looked unnerved and worried. "I felt them," he whispered. "I felt them leave." He looked between the three faces watching him and explained. "My sireline is broken."


The got back to the compound early in the morning, and Caroline went straight into Stefan's arms, kissing him on the cheek. He sighed in relief at the sight of her and held her close. He must have been worried.

"Hey, Caroline," Katherine mused, calling her back as Stefan went to go and find the spare bedroom. "I have a spare room at my place, if you don't want to intrude on the Mikaelsons."

Caroline smiled at the hospitality. "We're not staying," she told her. "We're heading back to Mystic Falls, where we're needed. Good luck with Elijah, though."

She wished everyone else a good night before following Stefan upstairs to the spare bedroom of the compound, and falling asleep almost instantly in his arms, grateful for the rest after a very long day.

It felt as though she had just fallen asleep when she woke up again. Stefan was hurriedly shaking her shoulder between throwing things into a suitcase by the door. "Care, come on," he whispered as he did so. "Come on, we have to go."

"Why?" She asked, sitting up and looking around, afraid. She couldn't hear anybody else in the house stirring or doing anything but sleep. "Did something happen back home?" She asked, jumping to her feet.

Stefan looked confused for a moment before continuing. "No, I just want to get there," he told her, pulling the handle of his suitcase up and gesturing to the door. "Come on. The first flight home leaves in two hours."

Caroline blinked, and sat back on the bed. "I'm not leaving yet, Stefan," she told him, shaking her head. "I want to make sure everything's okay here before we go."

He just rolled his eyes at her. "The first time you got to New Orleans, you were kidnapped. The second time you got here, what happened? Oh that's right: you got kidnapped again! And almost killed."

"Yeah, almost," she agreed. "But I can take care of myself. I saved Klaus tonight. That felt good. And I want to make sure he doesn't need me anymore." She scowled slightly as she spoke. "We're in no rush, Stefan. We're fine."

"No, we're not," he argued. "While you're in New Orleans, and while Klaus is on love with you, you're going to be in danger. I'm not going to let that happen."

Now she rolled her eyes. "Ooh, what are you going to do? Drag me home and keep me prisoner?"

Stefan flashed forward and snapped her neck, knocking her out. "Yeah," he answered. "If I have to."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Caroline woke up in an almost-empty airport, sitting in one of the seats. Stefan was next to her, flicking through one of the magazines. She rubbed her neck as she shot to her feet, turning around to glare at him.

"Oh good," he said, standing up with her. "You're up."

She seethed. "Did you seriously snap my neck?!" She demanded. He nodded and her scowl deepened. "Is this a hostage situation?!" She exclaimed, furiously. "I'm your girlfriend, Stefan. You don't kidnap your girlfriend. You talk to her like a rational adult."

"Be mad all you want," he told her, condescendingly, "but here's your boarding pass." He handed her a large ticket and threw it over her shoulder without even reading it. "Caroline, you're going to need that when we get on the plane. Which will be soon, hopefully. Before any of Klaus's enemies or siblings find us and drag us back."

"Us?" She demanded. "I'm sorry, where's the us? All I see is you! Your decisions, your plane tickets, your wants, your needs, and then there's me. Your little girlfriend, who you decided to kidnap against her will, going all caveman on me. This is not you. You usually respect people's choices."

He shrugged, innocently. "Yeah, until it comes to life and death. And then it's not up for discussion."

"There's always a choice," she insisted. "You gave Elena that choice."

"And then I lost her," Stefan exclaimed. They were beginning to get odd looks from nearby travellers, but they ignored them in favour of the discussion. "Elena asked me to rescue her friend from the bottom of the river, and she died. Because I respected her damn choice."

Caroline paused, looking awkward, and remembering something she heard Katherine say once, when she wasn't supposed to be eavesdropping. That Stefan would never look at anyone the same way that he looked at Elena.

"Well, maybe one day, you'll wake up and realise that I deserve the same respect she did," Caroline said. She shifted uncomfortably. "But you know what? I think I'm done waiting. So if you come to your senses, then call me. But until then, I'm staying in New Orleans."

She made to walk past him, but he stopped her. "You already knew that, didn't you?" He accused, angrily. "Hell, when you were driving here, you knew that. You never came here for me, or you would be leaving here with me. You came here for him."

Caroline paused for a short while before answering him. "I'm not leaving with you because you're forcing me," she corrected. "But if you want to blame somebody aside from yourself, then blame me. Because I want free will? What a bitch I am."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The residents of the compound found themselves awake particularly early the next morning, gathered around in the living area. Elijah had made a pot of tea and sat on one of the armchairs, Hayley and Klaus were sat on the floor with their daughter, and Katherine and Freya were on the couch, looking over the spell that would supposedly heal Rebekah.

"This is a very complex spell," Freya mused, aloud. "I won't be able to do it on my own." She looked up to Katherine and smiled. "Which means that you're a prime candidate for more magic lessons, if you're willing."

She nodded, reading through the spell herself. "Since I'm not getting vampirism back anytime soon, why not? It would be nice to have some power."

"Well, having another witch around the house is always useful," Klaus approved with a slight smirk. "Speaking of playing house, have the two of you made up, yet?" He gestured between Elijah and Katherine, until his brother replied.

"Nope," he answered, simply.

"Well, I for one," Hayley chimed in, helpfully, "think Katherine's wrong-doings are kinda balanced out by this," she pointed to the spell, "and the fact that she saved your asses last night."

"Thanks Hayley," Katherine said, almost sarcastically. "You always have my back."

Before Elijah could add anything, they turned their heads to Caroline, who walked back through the gates, and looked around the group, taking a nervous breath. "Um," she said. "Stefan and I kind of broke up, and I'm staying."

They all checked Klaus, for his reaction, but he just looked shocked and concerned for the blonde.

"Caroline, my offer still stands," Katherine said.

Caroline nodded and opened her clenched fist, letting Katherine's keys dangle from her middle finger. "Yeah, I already got your keys from your bag," she told her. "But I'd quite like to get settled in, and I need your invitation."

Katherine nodded, getting to her feet and following Caroline out.


AN: There we go. Hours to write, seconds to review. -Izzy x