It was the morning after the disastrous events at the ball. Rebekah had somehow sneaked off with Stefan after the ball and had come in looking guilty as charged. Kol had teased her to no end while the rest of them laughed at the display of Rebekah throwing her shoe at him as he attempted to remove himself from his sister's assaults.
Jeremy loved it. They were acting like normal siblings, squabbling and bickering like they usually did but they really did love each other. Until Elijah had to dampen the mood and reported back to the group that Esther had disappeared, meaning that the magical seal had been broken.
If Jeremy was being completely honest with himself, he had forgotten about the vengeful mother that they needed to defeat until Elijah had mentioned it. He was so angry. Why did everything bad happen to them? They could hardly catch a break until someone wanted them dead or they were being plotted against. Jeremy wondered where she was.
All he knew was that she was planning on killing them all but how? He racked his brains as he paced up and down the floors of the living room, hands behind his back. He had to think harder than he had ever thought in his sixteen years of life.
Esther had forced Finn to give blood, completing the link around them, then that meant that she had to kill him in order to undo what she had done. Because what happened to one, happened to all. Jeremy felt sick when he realised the truth. But something else bugged him. They were originals. The first vampires to ever exist. That meant that every single vampire that existed in the world ordinated from their bloodline, either direct or distant.
But it didn't matter, because every vampire was related to one original. Jeremy knew that he was closer and closer to the truth but he just had to think. If Esther was trying to get rid of her children who were original vampires...
Jeremy gasped and he could swear that his blood ran cold. She wanted to get rid of every vampire on the earth. "Is this bitch crazy?!" he hissed to himself as he dialed Elijah's number rapidly and told him of the news. Elijah had barely contained a growl and Jeremy shivered from the danger that was underneath it.
"I'll be dealing with it, don't worry" he had said and Jeremy's heart ached for him when he heard the gentle tone but sadness underneath his voice. He sounded so defeated - so unlike the usually strong Elijah Mikaelson.
Currently they were discussing how they should defeat her. "Finn you have to act as if you are going through with the plans," Jeremy rushed out. "You're the closest with her and she wouldn't suspect you," he explained further when he saw the immediate hesitant look on the elder man's face. Elijah nodded his head. "He's right, brother, she would never suspect you," he agreed and the rest of them voiced their agreement.
Jeremy gently reached out and squeezed on his arm comfortingly, giving him some strength. Finn sighed and nodded his head slowly. "OK," he said slowly. He understood why he was chosen and there was no backing out of it.
"I'll go with her when she's ready for the sacrifice and then I'll kill her," his voice wavered at the last part and Jeremy felt sorry for him. He understood how close he was and it ultimately got him tangled in a plot to murder his siblings. "I'm sorry about this," he murmured so that only Finn could hear it. Finn only gave him a watery smile in return but he could tell that the elder vampire was grateful toward him.
Finn knew that the rest of their siblings detested his extremely close - knit relationship with their mother. They always said that it would get him into trouble in the end but he wouldn't listen, thinking that they were wrong. It was only now he realised how wrong he was. But he was determined to do better and to claim his rightful place into their family once more.
— — —
"They're coming mother," he called out in a blank tone of voice. Esther looked up in the sky and then straight ahead, a soft gasp falling from her lips as she saw her children walk up towards where the pentagram was placed, stoic expressions on all their faces."No, it can't be!" she cried out in protest. "The moon isn't high enough" she explained further, but Finn wasn't really listening. He wanted this whole situation over and done with.
The sooner she was dead the sooner they could go on about their lives without either parent coming back from the dead seeking vengeance on children who had done nothing to them.
"Go, quickly," she ordered softly to the two witches and they ran back into the dilapidated building. Bonnie felt the dread coming up, eating her alive. She couldn't believe that eye agreed. She had only wanted to keep Elena safe but she was also harming Jeremy's family. But they were dangerous and they had to go.
All of them at once. The Mikaelsons brought nothing but chaos and destruction wherever they went and they had to be stopped once and for all.
Bonnie just hoped deep down inside that Jeremy would find somewhere in his heart to forgive her. She knew that it would take time but she was happy to wait until she earned his forgiveness, trust and friendship once more. She regretted that it had come to this but there was no going back now. The steps had already been taken and she was determined to see everything go through. They didn't come this far along just to fail.
Abby, Bonnie's mother squeezed her hand in reassurance. "The lad will forgive you in time, I'm sure" she murmured as she gazed from a window, watching the scene from outside. She didn't even understand why she was needed. She was useless without her magic. But her bloodline was powerful so she was useful for the ritual to be carried out.
"Stay beside me, mother" Finn uttered in a hollow tone of voice, holding his hand out as if to shield her from harm. Esther smiled at her loyal son. He never wavered from her side, even as a child when they were human. She was glad that he was taking part in restoring the balance of nature. "Don't worry, they can't enter" she murmured for her eldest sons' ear only, watching in satisfaction as Kol approached but was pushed back because of the flames.
He scoffed in disbelief, shaking his head. "Look at this, we're stuck out here while the favourite son plays sacrificial lamb," Kol sneers, his dark eyes reflecting off the flames.
"Be quiet Kol," Esther snapped, her eyes cold. "Your brother knows virtue you can't even imagine" she sneers. Elijah speaks up for the first time and Jeremy looks towards him with a curious expression on his face. He looks calm and collected but Jeremy could sense the warring emotions underneath his cold, blank mask of indifference. He lifted his chin up and faced her. "Whatever you think of us, killing your own children would be an atrocity," he comments. Jeremy could only hum in agreement.
Esther simply ignores his comment and says, "my only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago," and Jeremy clenched his fists at her statement. Klaus just prowled around the edge of the pentagram, rolling his eyes. "Enough, all this talk is boring me," he says, rolling his eyes.
"End this now mother or I'll send you back to hell" he snaps. Rebekah barks a laugh. "I don't think that a place like hell would even want her, Nik" she says dryly, seemingly indifferent to the events that were taking place but deep down she was barely holding in the anger she was feeling.
"She's too far gone in her little plot to kill us," she said bitterly. Jeremy saw a flicker of emotion wash across his face for a few moments before it hardened into a cold mask filled with hate and disdain for the woman who brought him up. Again, Esther only ignored the comments thrown at her and carried on speaking. Jeremy hated how calm she was. How could she not show even the tiniest bit of remorse for what she was doing? Rebekah was right.
Maybe she was too far gone. Jeremy only wished that there was a way to destroy her soul to prevent her from coming back from the Other Side again. He hoped that it wouldn't have to take any dark magic for it to happen. He wasn't particularly fond of those sorts of things. "For a thousand years I was forced to watch as you shed blood," she began. Jeremy scoffed.
"You didn't have to watch, you could have just turned away, but OK then self righteous witch bitch," he snapped. Klaus laughed. But it was a harsh bitter laugh with no happiness behind it. "He's right, mother" he said in a sarcastic tone of voice. "You had absolutely no reason to watch while we revelled in our sins."
Through the dark, aided by the light of the flames, Jeremy could see Finn's lips lifting up into what Jeremy considered to be a smile. "I felt the pain of every victim," she said. Jeremy could sense that she was becoming increasingly annoyed by their behaviour. He was glad. She didn't deserve to speak. Not what after she had done. Jeremy spoke up again and he smiled when he saw her clench her jaw in frustration, her blue eyes flashing.
"Then I sincerely hope that you will feel the pain of every vampire all over the earth whom you are planning to kill," he said calmly, smirking devilishly when Esther looked horrified. The rest of his siblings just smirked. They already knew this information for Jeremy had told them previously. They were wondering when the bomb was going to drop.
"You are committing genocide." He bluntly stated, his hands in his coat pockets as he looked right into her face. Jeremy could have sworn that something flickered across her features but he didn't care. "You are no better than a human government ordering a mass extinction of a race of people simply because you don't like them.
"You are rotten to the core, Esther Mikaelson. You say that vampires are abominations," he said with a shake of his head. "Vampires aren't supposed to exist!" Esther growled.
"And neither should you!" Jeremy roared. "You are an abomination as well! Ha! In fact, you are worse!" Her argument was so flawed, Jeremy sometimes wondered if she was being possessed by an evil demon of some kind because the behaviour she was displaying wasn't normal. She needed to see the errors of her ways but he knew that was impossible. There was no hope left for her.
"What is going to happen when the humans find out when loads of people in their thousands start dying everywhere, dropping like flies?" he asked her, walking around the pentagram that she and Finn had made. When Esther was silent, Jeremy chuckled, shaking his head in utter disbelief and disappointment.
"There's going to be a witch hunt. Innocent people whom you claim to love so much are going to die because of an impulsive mistake that you made! And when they all find out, I hope that you would be the first to get burned for your crimes!" he shouted.
He nodded toward Finn who had gotten one of the torches and had thrown it at their mother while his brother was speaking and had hurled it at her head first. The flames engulfed her and her screams mixed in with the roars of the flames as they ate away at her body until there was nothing left, just charred remains. Finn stepped back as if he had been hit. The look on his face made Jeremy's heart ache. Nobody spoke for a few moments. Suddenly, nobody knew what to say.
Then Rebekah broke down, tears falling down her cheeks and Elijah immediately raced to her side, pressing her body flush against his so that she would be supported. He tried his very best to comfort her. He hated seeing people cry, especially her.
Klaus closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He swung on his heel and marched away. A whoosh of wind and Finn was standing beside Jeremy. He slipped his larger hand in his small one and squeezed, his eyes brimming with tears.
The fact that he burnt their own mother to her father would stay with him forever. But at least then no genocide would have taken place. Jeremy just smiled sadly and walked with him out of the clearing.
He understood that the elder needed to get away from the situation as quickly as possible. The older male looked as if he was going to break down any second the longer he was present.
Kol had gone with Klaus and Rebekah was still leaning up against Elijah who practically carried her away from the scene. Nobody looked back at the charred remains of their mother. But she wasn't their mother. She was just a woman called Esther who tried to kill them all.
Forgotten in the dilapidated building, Abby and Bonnie looked on, shock etched on their respective features.