Chapter Twenty-Three – The Originals 4x02

Stefan woke up to the sound of screaming, followed by some light muffled crying. He flashed upstairs and appeared in the doorway to Hope's room in a second, where she sat on the bed hugging one of her teddy bears and rocking slowly back and forth.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked, rushing to her side a little more slowly as to not frighten her. "What happened?"

"I had a bad dream," Hope admitted. "There was a boy in a blue room, and a picture of a snake."

Stefan narrowed his eyes as he sat on the edge of the bed. This didn't sound like a conventional nightmare for little kids. "Well at least it was a picture," he soothed, comfortingly, "and not a real snake."

"This was worse than a real snake," Hope insisted, shaking her head. "It was like the ones in my drawings." She pointed to the floor where she'd painted and sketched a dozen pictures of a snake biting its own tail. Stefan knew enough about the supernatural world to know this wasn't just an ordinary dream.

"Well you're safe with me, sweetie," he said, as she leaned in for a hug. "I'm not going anywhere."


The Mikaelson clan ended up on the side of the road next to a wooded area. From deep within, the screams of Kol's victim could be heard, and on the side, quite close to a lake, it was annoying the others.

"Good Lord, that one has some lungs on him," Rebekah observed. "He should have been an opera singer. It might have ended better for him."

"Is this really necessary?" Finn asked, looking in disgust at the dead bodies that were piling up around them.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Well, that depends. Do you want us at our full strength, or do you plan on rescuing Klaus on your own?"

"Freya and I are trying to concentrate," Finn explained, scowling deeply. "The screams of the innocent are quite distracting and we're trying to break a cloaking spell. Not to mention unnecessary and cruel."

"Kol!" Elijah yelled into the woods. "Will you please?!" After a second, they heard the noise of a crack and the screaming ceased. "Thank you," Elijah said. "You were saying?"

"I can sense Klaus is still in New Orleans," Freya chimed in, walking towards them. "However, I've been a little off my mark since last night, and I can't tell exactly where. Can you call Caroline and get the situation?"

"The more I call Caroline, the more dangerous it gets for her," Hayley said. "I'll text her, but we can't rely on her too much. Caroline's also supposed to be leaving today, so we have to act fast."

"I'm not planning a pub crawl," Freya said. "I don't want to stay any longer than we have to, but we need to go."

Kol emerged from the forest, covered in blood and looking very confused. "Wait, wait, wait," he said. "We're not doing this today, are we?"

"Hasn't Nik suffered enough?" Rebekah reasoned.

"Yes, but I've died twice," Kol reminded her. "I'm not about to play my luck again. I say we draw that muppet out of town, and when he's gone-"

"I have been away from my daughter long enough," Hayley told him. "If you're afraid-"

"It's called being sensible," Kol corrected. "Until Freya makes enough cure with her werewolf hostage, Marcel can basically chew through our bloody throats."

"Enough," Elijah declared, getting to his feet. Everybody stopped to listen to his decree as the obvious ruler of the family. "We free Niklaus today, even if I have to burn that city to the ground."


Josh was lounging around his penthouse with his newest boyfriend when he heard it – the slightest whoosh that indicated a vampire nearby. A human wouldn't have heard it, but it was remarkable what vampires picked up on.

"Sorry," he said, instantly. "I just remembered I have a shipment of, uh, stuff coming in. Plus, I also have to go to the bank and get change. You know, dimes, nickels, pennies. Like, doesn't anyone just use a credit card anymore?" As he rambled he collected his dates jacket and nudged him closer towards the door, interrupted him before he could say anything and preparing him to leave. "I will text you, okay? I promise." He closed the door on him and sighed at how terribly that went before turning to his apartment. "Well thanks for waiting," he said, "and not just killing him."

"We're only monsters by necessity, Joshua," Elijah said, leading himself and Rebekah down the steps and into the living room.

"Besides, we just ate," Rebekah added.

"Aw, that's too bad," Josh said. "I was going to offer you some welcome back waffles."

"Was that your boyfriend?" Rebekah asked, threateningly. "He seemed sweet. And terribly vulnerable as humans tend to be.

"Okay, I get it," Josh said, quickly. "Just tell me what you want."

Rebekah and Elijah got a quick briefing from Josh about what's what in the city, before Rebekah interrupted with her plan. "I'll distract Marcel," she suggested. "I'm the only one he won't kill on sight."

"Don't talk to me about some ludicrous diversion, you're walking into a lion's den," he informed her, in an attempt to silence her.

As they argued over the rationality of Rebekah convincing Marcel that she was alone and only there to talk, Josh slowly reached for his phone, but didn't get very far with it before Elijah said: "Wouldn't you agree, Joshua?" He practically seethed saying his name, and Josh got the message, setting his phone back down. Elijah took the phone, slipping it into his own pocket. "Why do you guys even need me?" He asked. "I know I'm adorable, but I'm extremely small potatoes."

"You're Marcel's trusted friend," Rebekah reminded him. "We were planning on getting everything you know and then using you as collateral, but since you know so little, I would like to try my plan."

"Before you do this," Elijah warned, "I want you to consider the risk."

"I have," Rebekah said. "I won't allow my family to face that risk. Besides. I know someone who can back me up quite well."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kol scoped the bell tower out before Freya and Finn entered, making sure he wouldn't need to kill anything so they could do their spells in peace. "This is absolutely where you had to do you magic?" He asked.

"Well, when I first became a human, I prepped this place," Finn explained. "Marked it with my magic and made it mine. Since Freya's room is in the compound and inaccessible, it has to be here."

"This dusty bell tower might be your own, but this is Marcel's city and we're nothing but targets," Kol reminded him.

"All the more reason to let us get to work," Finn snapped, "so we can get out sooner rather than later."

Freya rolled her eyes at the two of them and reminded them: "Hayley's gone to get Caroline. She should be here to watch our backs soon enough. In the meantime, I need to know where everyone is. Marcel, Vincent, the witches. We need to know where it's safe and where it's not."

Just as she said that, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Hayley's number popped up with the message: Rebekah's going to meet Marcel, so Caroline's going with her. I'm coming to pick you guys up before we meet with Elijah.

Just after reading that, Rebekah texted with: Marcel's location?

Freya wanted to call her and argue that it was a dumb plan, but she assumed she'd heard it all before, so she just set to work with Finn on the locaters spell and texted the address to Rebekah.

To get from the bell tower to Rousseau's unnoticed, the three siblings put their hoods up and sunglasses on and pretended to be hungover tourists, even pulling out a map to navigate the streets they knew too well. Elijah and Hayley met them there, after Josh had cleared the place out.

"So, what now?" Josh asked them all.

"Would you be so kind as to move that freezer unit so that we might be able to access the tunnels?" Elijah asked politely, although they all knew he wasn't really asking.

After a moments hesitation, Josh did as he was told and Kol turned to his family. "Are we absolutely certain we're looking in the right place?"

"The tunnel goes through the city, Marcel must have carved out a section to work as his personal dungeon," Freya narrated. "Genius. And sadistic."

"Save the compliments for when he comes to kill us," Kol requested. "Your flattery may give him pause."

Josh returned from moving the freezer and nodded at them. "Okay, you're all set here. So good luck, break a leg, and I'll just be on my way."

"So you can rat us out to Marcel?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow. "Somehow, I don't think that's going to work for us. How about snapping his neck? We should be done before he wakes."

"And if we're not?" Elijah asked.

"Let's kill him," Kol requested.

"We're not doing that," Hayley claimed, putting her foot down. "He's valuable to Marcel. We can use that. I'll stay. You guys go on and get your brother."

"Let's go then, we're wasting time," Freya claimed.


Rebekah only played nice with Marcel for five minutes before pulling out a particularly dark and decorative stake on him. It was the one that hexed her for five years, the one that nearly destroyed her. If anything was going to take down Marcel, it could be that.

"So this is the real reason you found me?" He asked. "To stake me?"

"You had every chance to do the right thing," Rebekah reminded him.

"The right thing?" Marcel challenged, seemingly outraged by that suggestion. "The right thing according to who? You? Or your family?" He shook his head. "This isn't about you and me at all, is it? It's about Klaus. Elijah and the others are on their way to rescue him now, right? And your job is to what? Hm? Keep me here no matter what? Let it go, Rebekah. It's over."

"It will never be over," Rebekah said, angling the stake towards his heart. "You will never know peace, not a day in your life, so long as you hold my brother captive. We will stop at nothing-" Rebekah stopped talking, interrupted by an arrow shooting through her back. Another was quick to follow, but it was intercepted by Caroline catching it, appearing out of nowhere and snarling at the attacker.

Marcel's newest girlfriend, Sofia, was holding the crossbow, and aimed it at Caroline, who caught every arrow that flew her way. The one that hit Rebekah, while made out of wood, narrowly missed her heart and the Original remained awake.

"Oh, and what? Caroline's your backup?" Marcel growled.

"And that bitch is yours," Rebekah returned, nodding to Sofia and flashing towards Caroline, who pulled the arrow out of her back. In return, Rebekah handed Caroline the dark stake, and they turned to their respectful opponents.

Before a fight could break out though, Marcel ran. Caroline flashed after him, and Rebekah took care of Sofia.


Freya, Finn, Elijah and Kol arrived at the gates to Klaus's dungeon and found their brother lying in chains on the floor. He stirred slightly as his family appeared, and with a flick of Freya's wrist the charmed gates flew open.

"Niklaus," Elijah called, stopping at the line of salt around his younger brother.

"Nik, we're here," Kol added, kneeling down.

"This spell is strong," Freya said, holding hr hands up to feel the barrier spell around Klaus. "It's been reinforced over time. It's going to take time we don't have to take it down. We can try sheer force to overwhelm it. Finn, give me your hand. I still have Katherine's necklace. If I channel you both, I could do it faster."

"You two keep watch," Finn ordered Kol and Elijah.

They started chanting in unison, and before they could get very far, Elijah and Kol heard footsteps above them, in the courtyard of the compound. They exchanged a look before running up together and coming face to face with Marcel. Caroline ran in after him and surrounded him.

"You find someway to survive my bite and you have the audacity to come back?" Marcel growled at the brothers.

"Forget it, Marcel," Caroline demanded. "You can't fight the three of us."

"Nik just has too much family for one man to handle," Kol added.

"Our brother has suffered enough," Elijah claimed. "He leaves this awful place today."

Caroline, still behind Marcel, flashed Elijah a glimpse of the dark stake before throwing it over Marcel to him. Before Marcel could run for it, Caroline jumped on him, forcing his arms behind his back and holding him still long enough for Elijah to plunge the stake in Marcel's heart, just as Freya, Finn and Klaus resurfaced.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Just outside the back entrance of all the tunnels, where a little stream of water from the river was gushing under their feet, Rebekah and Hayley had found each other and were waiting for the rest of their family.

"Any longer and I'll have to go," Hayley claimed, agitatedly. "If there's a chance they're not coming out of that tunnel, I can't leave Hope alone."

"They'll be here," Rebekah insisted. As if on cue, Elijah and Kol came out of the pipe, supporting Klaus as he stumbled towards them, followed by Finn, Freya and Caroline. "Nik!" Rebekah yelled, running forward and embracing her brother.

"You can hug him later," Freya said. "We need to leave before any of Marcel's guys find us." They all piled into the car Hayley had pulled up, and took off without looking back.

It was almost morning by the time they arrived in Mystic Falls, outside the old Mikaelson Mansion where Hayley had been raising Hope.

"Thank you," Klaus told his siblings as they climbed out of the car. "For not abandoning me."

"Well, we did consider it," Rebekah admitted. "The vote was rather close."

Everyone started to file inside but Klaus hung back, and after a quick look to Caroline, Hayley was the one who stayed back with him. "You okay?" She asked. "I'm sorry, Klaus, I can't imagine what you've been through."

Klaus sighed. "I did have my moments of solace to sustain me. It's because of them I'm here now."

"Caroline's visits?" Hayley checked. "She loves you, you know?"

He smiled at the thought but shook his head slightly. "Yes, but not only her. Katerina came to visit me. She gave me blood and Hope's drawings. She helped me."

"She helped us too," Hayley said. "Gave Freya strength, gave Caroline leads. We're going to see her again, aren't we?"

"Sooner rather than later, I believe," Klaus said. "But not tonight."

Hayley nodded. "Does that mean you're ready to see your little girl?" She asked.

She lead him into the house and upstairs to Hope's bedroom, where they creaked open the door to watch the little girl roll over in her sleep. She took Klaus's breath away, and after a while, he decided to sit down in the armchair across the room, and just watch her for the night.


AN: So no activity for a year and now two updates in a couple of days? I'm a loose cannon guys, you never know what I'm going to do next. This chapter was all over the place, IK, and basically just dealt with the cannon events just to get it out of the way. I'm halfway through next chapter, but don't expect it for a little while longer as I'm getting puppies this Saturday and my exams start on Monday, so I'm a very busy bee. However, it doe take a slightly different approach to cannon on the whole Freya/Keelin front and I finally give Finn something to do. Idk tbh I kind of surprised myself with it. I guess you'll just have to trust me.

BTW guys, I'm not fucking about with this story, I'm going to give you guys the fanfiction that you've waited for - that you deserve. JK, you guys don't deserve the pain I'm going to put you through. The angst, the misery, everything. TW: Main character death.

Anyway, don't forget to review. You might just inspire me to update faster ;) -Izzy