Havoc ━━ The Originals

xix. a phantom

Cullen is quiet as she steps into a clearing, freezing when she hears the subtle sound of an arrow being drawn back. Using her vampire speed she spins around, grabbing ahold of the arrows before they can hit her. "Is that your best shot?" Cullen calls, throwing the arrows to the ground. "You'll have to do a lot better than that if you're going to kill a heretic."

The man who shot the arrows comes out from behind a tree, knife in hand. Cullen stands her ground, ready to fight is she needed to. "Stop." A familiar voice suddenly calls, holding the man in his path.

"Jackson?" Cullen questions, turning to face the man she hadn't seen in a while.

"Cullen." Jackson greets. "I see you met my friend Ansel."

"You know her?" The man, Ansel, questions.

"Yeah, actually. I do." Jackson responds. "She's a friend of a friend."

With everyone now introduced Jackson leads Cullen to the place where he had been staying. "What happened?" Cullen questions as they take a seat around a fire. "Why are you out here?"

"After Francesca Guerrera took over the wolves, she offered me a moonlight ring as long as I'd call her Alpha. I declined." Jackson explains. "So, a couple of her brothers dragged me out here and left me for dead. By the time I healed up, word had spread about what happened to you, and to your baby." At the mention of Hope, Cullen looks away, not wanting to think about her absence. "So, I knew it was over, and I just drifted. And that's when I met Ansel. See, he's been teaching me the old ways, the traditions. What it means to be a wolf."

Cullen laughs slightly, glancing between Jackson and Ansel. "You mean by living out in the ass-end of nowhere?"

"Hey, easy. Your kind makes him ornery." Jackson cuts her off.

"My kind?" Cullen arches an eyebrow. "Jackson, whatever you and your friend think of me, my kind is the witches, at least the ones that aren't insane. Hayley sent me out here. She knows that the wolves need an Alpha. Oliver was taken. He needs one, too."

"Yeah, I heard about that." Jackson mutters. "The thing is, Oliver betrayed me. He plotted with the Guerreras. He spilled his own people's blood."

"He was trying to make up for that." Cullen interrupts.

"It doesn't matter." Jackson snaps. "Witches have him-- he's dead. Not that I care."

"You don't want to be the Alpha? Fine." Cullen stands up. "Hayley and I will save Oliver ourselves." As Cullen is about to walk away she's blocked by Ansel. "You got a problem, old man?"

"I have no love of vampires." Ansel tells her. "But I will not allow a wolf to be killed by witches."

Cullen sighs, looking towards Jackson as Ansel walks away. "Which one does he hate more? Witches or vampires?"

-

After calling Hayley to inform her about Jackson, Cullen and Ansel met her at the cemetery where he was being Oliver was being kept. "Ollie. Ollie." Hayley calls as they enter the lycée. "Wake up."

"What are you doing?" Oliver questions, looking between the group before zeroing in on Ansel. "Who the hell is that?"

"We're here to save your ass." Hayley tells him, ignoring his question. "Please tell me you know where Elijah is."

As Oliver shakes his head Ansel speaks up. "They know we're here."

"Sorry." Cullen mutters, reach for Oliver's chains. "No time to be gentle." She pulls him down watching as he falls to the floor.

"Let's go." Hayley crouches down, grabbing ahold of him.

"Just leave me here. Go." Oliver stress, too weak to walk.

"To hell with that." Hayley states. "They want a fight, I'll give them a fight."

"No." Ansel interrupts. "I came with your friend to save one of my own, not watch as you kill scores of them. Take your friend out the back, move as fast as you can. Cullen and I will hold them off here." Hayley turns toward Cullen, a look on her face asking if she could handle it. Cullen nods, telling her to go.

They watch as Hayley guides Oliver out, turning to exit the lycée themselves, watching the hoard of werewolves running towards them. She turns to Ansel, a smirk on her face. "You ready old man?" Ansel doesn't answer, only pulls out his knife and that's enough for Cullen as they jump into action. They take out each wolf one by one until there's only one left. Cullen goes for the kill so she's distracted when Klaus shows up, eyes widening when she turns around to see Ansel holding his knife to Klaus' throat.

Cullen's confusion only furthers when she sees the expression on Klaus' face. She had never seen it before. He looked like a scared little boy being told off by a parent. At that thought Cullen freezes, putting the pieces together. She knew Ansel looked familiar and every since meeting him her magic had been giving off no warning signal. It was like it knew he was family.

"You." Klaus breathes.

"Niklaus?" Ansel questions, knife still raised.

"No, no." Klaus raises his voice, grabbing ahold of Cullen as he backs them away. "You're not real."

"Niklaus." Ansel tries again.

"No." Klaus yells, backing further away. "You're a phantom, conjured by Esther, that's all that you are. Mother! Stop this charade! I know that thing is not real!"

"Look at me, Niklaus." Ansel commands. "I am flesh and blood."

Cullen leans into Klaus as he continues to shake. Placing her mouth next to his ear she whispers. "He is real." Klaus glances down at her with a terrified look on his face, not even believing Cullen.

"I am your flesh and blood, Niklaus." Ansel continues.

"You've been dead a thousand years!" Klaus exclaims, letting go of Cullen to move towards Ansel.

"And through that time, I lingered on the Other Side, watching you let the world fall apart, until I woke, four moons past, in the land of wolves like myself." Ansel explains.

"No." Klaus points at him, refusing to believe anything he was saying. "No. You're just in my head. You're an illusion, meant by my mother to sway me to accept her bargain."

"I do not speak for Esther. I know nothing of her bargains." Ansel cuts him off, moving closer to him. "But you are my son."

Klaus stops him before he can get any closer, backing away so he has a hold on Cullen. "Even if what you say is real, you are nothing to me. For all I care, you can crawl back to hell." With that Klaus speeds them away, far from his father.