Davina had started her spell nice and early, drawing out Hayley while she was still semi-controllable. Making it possible to hold her in a circle of salt in the middle of her family tomb.
Candle lit and burning.
But now, the sky was darkening.
The spitting of the wick replaced with the snapping of bones as the shift back began.
Eyes fuming, howl to human growl.
Listening out for her pack.
A collection of untriggered members walking through the city.
On their way to The Bayou Bar, Josh at the back, eyes pinned on his phone – texting MJ. Asking if it was safe yet. Letting her know they'd all taken the stones from her room with minimal questions. Wanting to know if he was about to lead a group of people in a potentially bloody reunion.
A different pained howl, muffled by the dreamcatchers inside the windows.
Street lamps flickering on, October chill finally entering the air as Levi Ajan walked down the pavement. Taking in the cracks as his breathing heaved through his entire body. Shoulders lifting. Dropping. Bones not quite in the right place. Almost too big and grating his joints. The dripping slashes across his face not healing the way the other injuries had – deep into his flesh, flaring eyes unable to be hidden, blessed by the lack of people around him.
Step.
Step.
Stilling.
Staring.
Sniffing...
Sweat mixed with dust and damp wood.
Like someone was working out in a rotting shed, yet no sound. No obvious shack. Just an open front yard, grass well worn. Two houses slightly greener than the rest, properly tending to their yards and flowerbeds after the summer heat. Opposite lawns, wooden fences dividing the space between the low-lying houses, windows of two floors making it clear they weren't bungalows despite their appearance. The mix of white and yellow paint and a few pink or orange to make the neighbourhood feel a little too shiny for the area of the city it was in.
But the smell was what he'd honed in on.
Leaving Levi to simply stare at the windowpanes.
Watching as a woman walked through the living room, pulling out a phone – noise masked. Confirming what he already thought. Dreamcatchers. The intricate designs of string created a silencing spell cutting out his increasingly heightened senses.
Mati had been walking to the kitchen when her phone rang, "Ryan?"
"Don't visibly react," Ryan Jung's tone was calm, "But some guy's been standing outside your house for the past ten minutes."
She swallowed, not letting herself look.
"Just staring."
Sound blockers went two ways; wolf senses not detecting him either.
"Is Sam still – "
"Yeah."
"It's a wolf."
Mati paused, "What?"
"I got my camera," He admitted, "Zoomed in and stuff – in the reflection, you can see blood all over his face – "
Mati snorted at the mock detective work of her friend.
" – And a golden glow. His eyes – "
"So it's a wolf about to shift?" She shook her head, "If Sam's not shifted back yet..."
"No other Crescent's should have."
The hybrids usually first.
"God," Ryan's words slowed, "That felt weird to say."
"You're still adapting," She mused, then hesitated, "If they're not a Crescent?"
"They're about to go animal in a public place."
"Call MJ?"
"Quite possibly," He winced, "Rena!"
Quickly asking her to do it.
"Do you wanna talk to him? I can stay on the phone in case – "
"You still got that gun from MJ?"
"Yeah."
"Stay on the phone," Mati was waiting for her son, not in the mood to have a different werewolf smash through her house, "Creepers get shot in my books."
Ryan laughed nervously, rooting through the kitchen drawers on the way to find the weapon she'd mentioned. Listening as the door opened with a creak. The evening air grounding them in reality.
"You gonna knock?" Mati slipped the phone into her back pocket, "Or should I be calling the police?"
Levi's head turned towards her slowly.
Mechanically.
Like if he moved any faster, his neck would snap in half, dry blood on his chin, letting her eyes inspect the deepness of his wounds and hesitate. He was hurt. They could very well be why he was acting so strange – claws were the obvious cause in her mind.
Mati stared into yellow, "You looking for help?"
"You have an animal problem."
She pursed her lips.
"There," His head tilted towards a long scratch on the inside of the fence, "Wolf."
Mati played dumb, "Wolves?"
"That ring," He stepped towards her, "Magic."
Her fingers twitched, moonlight ring sized specifically for her thumb, black stone pressed into a light silver band.
"Take it off."
"What?"
His footsteps became heavier, "Take it off."
"I'm gonna ask you to get a grip," She stepped back into the threshold, "Sir – "
Levi lunged forward, moving like an animal to pounce down the footpath to the door, only to be slammed back by a protective barrier, pressing his face into it as he panted. Any sense of strict control lost, cheek rubbing up the invisible line despite how it made his flesh start to burn.
Red and stretched, and bubbling until –
"I know transformations aren't easy," Mati spoke, "But I can help – "
He roared as a bone snapped in his back, lurching away from the line to crouch on the floor, pulling at his eyes like he might rip his lashes out.
"I can take you somewhere, but you need to fight for – "
"The young one."
A phrase that made her blood still.
"There's a wolf somewhere in this house."
It was like her ears were ringing, watching how his arms clicked like a toy who'd been locked into place, pulling him back to his feet.
"I can smell them."
"No them," Mati twirled the ring, snarling, "Just me."
Her eyes were gold too.
"And you're gonna stay away."
"Two triggered," His voice became layered, "Two potentials."
"Look, I don't – "
"All must die."
Mati would've attacked herself if he hadn't started screaming first.
A thin line of water dosed through the back of his shirt until Levi was scrambling to the side. Trying to dodge it. The smell of wolfsbane was unmistakable; Ryan holding a water gun. Finger only coming off the trigger in order to not waste it, watching how the man's face changed with the roar.
Mati moved first, yanking the human behind the threshold as the enemy bounded towards them.
The door slammed in his face, another ripple of burning air trapping him out.
"I thought you were bringing the gun!"
"I did!" Ryan lifted his other hand, the aura of emptiness almost captivating, "Then I remembered that would literally kill someone! And I wasn't sure I was ready to do that."
"You have liquid wolfsbane in your house!?"
"MJ keeps a bit of everything in our house! Why is a werewolf trying to kill you?"
Deep breaths, just staring at each other.
Mati's nose twitching at the smell now staining a bit of his hand.
Slowly turning back to the living room window.
Watching as the grunting figure stared back at them, ripped face human, posture rigid all over again, staring at the two weapons before slowly stepping away.
Stepping.
And stepping.
Walking backwards, eyes on them, until he reached the road and vanished.
A shadow of a giant creature melting into the approaching night.
THE WOLVES
History Holds Us Tightly
MJ shouldn't have used Hope's blood.
Without a pure Hayley blood source, Hope was the strongest connection; The only problem?
Klaus's DNA was also involved.
The spell was meant to show flashes of memories that would lead you to the person you're looking for. Yet, MJ stood in the same eerily familiar forest as her dream.
Middle Ages Mystic Falls.
It wasn't just a mix-up with genetics. MJ seeing Klaus's past location instead of Hayley's – she was genuinely there. It was...too real? Too sunny against her skin, fabrics unfamiliar.
She was in a long dress, cool taffeta silk against her skin, nails sliding along it smoothly. A deep yellow colour, decorative stitching around the trim, falling just above her ankles to avoid catching mud. Complimenting the brown leather of her shoes, pressing into the fresh ground.
MJ was missing her necklace, a collection of bracelets lining her wrists instead. Clips in her hair to keep the front out of her eyes, and a troupe of Floare unpacking in the field.
No crops in two of them, open for their use.
People setting up and chatting – a singing voice causing laughs.
Smiles and community, and –
MJ's heart jumped.
The face of Ana Ruiz among them.
Though MJ knew it was just some twisted ancestral vision, her feet almost tripped over each other as she rushed forward to hug her. The soft familiarity of her mum's body against hers, a blue dress pinned perfectly around her body, curly brown hair puffing like a cloud against her face, glowing in the sun as it cascaded down her back.
All of the colours just added warmth to her mother. Tall yellow grass-like plants, trees bursting with life – flowers waiting to turn into fruit. Animals slept or grazed as older workers tended to them. The wind pulling MJ further into her mother's arms. Squeezing tight and watching how it then moved out from them to swing over the tops of the crops like an invisible paintbrush.
"Pasare?" Ana had a tune in her tone, "What's this for?"
"I love you."
She laughed, "I love you too."
"I miss you."
"You saw me moments ago."
Slowly, MJ forced herself to pull away and nod like she was embarrassed.
"Now," Ana cupped her face gently, "You are meant to be becoming settled with the village."
"But – "
"Mira."
Hayley.
MJ was meant to be looking for Hayley.
But the universe had thrown her mum at her.
"Entertain yourself."
"Uh," She was barely blinking, not wanting to miss a moment of her mother's face, "How long are we here?"
"A few days."
"Why are we here?"
"Why do the Floare go anywhere?" She mused, "To see, learn, and experience."
For one more moment, MJ let herself really stare.
She'd grown used to the version of her mother who may have looked beautiful, with round cheeks and smooth skin, but held herself like a knife ready to be used. A level of ice in her eyes and her tone. Tiredness in her eyes that came from running through a supernatural war.
In this dream, all of that was missing.
There was no Floare stone yet.
If they were in the 900s, Kol hadn't met Dinah. None of the Floare lived to old age, but the power was split up. No way for Ana to become a paranoid addict who lied about almost every detail of her life.
She was able to just exist.
"Meet some of the locals – see if you can find any witches," She brushed MJ's hair, "I need to top up some ingredients."
The instruction had MJ's body moving, against her will, falling into the story's beat. Hoping that letting it play out would somehow lead her back to Hayley. MJ had used the right words in the spell, so it should've connected her to Hayley through Hope, not Klaus, and this was some weird detour map to answers.
Everything was bustling with life, fire pit lit, and people running about holding decorations and masks in their hands, calling to friends and family as they set up the square. It was always strange to see what traditions crossed eras, strings of beads connecting the houses like bunting, hanging cloth lining the street, unlit candles waiting for the evening, and rickety wooden tables waiting to be filled with food.
A community feast that had MJ smiling like an idiot.
Hayley.
Somewhere, there had to be some form of information. Something written down – Hayley's name or face among all the people for her to talk to and get answers from.
Moving about wasn't as complicated as MJ thought it might be. The people sent her careful glances, happily stepping aside and trying not to stare too obviously as she passed. Other Floare started to mingle, talking to villagers, buying supplies and asking about their festivals, noise she could just about listen to.
There was so much noise.
Little kids screaming with joy, playing games. Adults trying to get the older ones to help and failing miserably. 'Her people' using magic to make things easier, brightening up the flowers for the Vikings.
Until there wasn't.
MJ had moved through each little enclave of huts for any sign of why she was there until she was at the back, near an entrance into the forest. The bustle was somewhat muted by the final mud wall, breaking into the greenery of shrubs and leaves, wildlife that was probably extinct or beaten out of the Mystic Falls she knew.
Quiet.
Someone making a muffled cry out, hunched over on a log and tending to their arm.
Shoulder-length blonde hair.
Klaus.
MJ froze.
MJ wanted to back away, but her body didn't agree. Feet walking until she was behind the log, able to see the bloody cut up his arm, tiny splinters caught in it. Face a year or two younger than what she was used to. Meaning it just felt more innocent, no physical differences.
"Need any help?"
He jumped, scared eyes scanning how she was dressed.
The Vikings and the werewolves wore thick wool, trousers and shawls, browns, blues, and whites since they all probably had their clothes made by the same people. It made them feel more set in their time than the Floare, milling about in outfits made for sun and travelling – moveable fabrics. Styles from the cultures they'd been born from.
"That doesn't exactly look nice," MJ had no clue what she was doing, moving round to sit with him, "And I can heal it."
"...Your one of the witches that's just come in."
Like in her pre-period dream, they talked in a language MJ did not know yet could somehow follow as quickly as English. Letting her tongue just move.
"I am," She smiled warmly at him.
It was Klaus. Of course, MJ would be friendly – she was just screaming internally at how she seemed to be part of some alternate reality. A version of Klaus who wasn't lighting everything in his life on fire, being deliberately sharp with her because of Jeremy and Pri.
"No need to look frightened," She assured him, "I'm trained in this stuff."
Carefully, her fingers graced over the cut, a coolness filling the air as the dirt and grime pulled out and vanished, skin closing up under her gentle touch.
He blinked.
Then his murky blue eyes were pinned on her face.
"I'm Mira."
"Niklaus."
"Awful," She scrunched up her nose, "Can I call you Nik?"
He nodded quickly.
It was so weird seeing how cautious he was around her, looking at her face like he was trying to memorise it.
"You wouldn't happen to know someone called Hayley?" She had to try, "Would you?"
"Never heard of anyone around here called that."
"Ah," She'd have to keep searching, "That's inconvenient. Should I assume that came from a sword fight?"
He pushed his shoulders back to seem taller, "Correct."
"Sibling or parent?"
That had him faltering again.
"None of my business," MJ should've assumed Klaus hiding meant Mikael, "Never owned a sword but always been tempted by the sport."
"I can – "
"Nik?"
A familiar voice interrupted, confused expression at the sight of his brother with a stranger quickly replaced with MJ's favourite cocky smirk. Kol's long hair would never fail to amuse her, carrying a basket over one arm, a book she recognised as his grimoire in the other, standing in the entrance to a side path of the forest a few metres to the left of them.
A twelve-year-old on his shoulders.
Henrik.
She felt somewhat captivated by looking at them together, "Hi?"
'Looking human' felt like a stupid thing to say when all vampires looked human, but it was the only way to explain it. Kol, her perfect crazed maniac, happy to vamp-speed everywhere, strong enough to break household furniture when he got excited, rolling his eyes at trivial everyday problems. In this world, carrying his brother on his shoulders, probably sent to do something by their mother.
"Hello," He lent forward to drop Henrik to the floor, coming closer, "You're from the witch troupe."
"Mira."
"Kol," He kissed her knuckles, "When mother said 'travelling spirits,' I never thought to picture someone so beautiful."
"Flitter away, Kol," Klaus sighed, "She was doing me a favour."
"A favour?" He straightened, "Favours should be repaid – how can I be of service?"
MJ curled her lips in to not laugh.
"I'm a witch myself – therefore – "
"She wants to see swords," Klaus smiled falsely at him, "Something you care nothing for."
"I care nothing yet can still best you quite easily."
"In your dreams, perhaps."
"My dreams are things I turn into reality quite easily," He smiled back at MJ, "I can guarantee that they will start featuring you."
She laughed.
"Have some sense of decency," Klaus scolded, "You are a stranger, and she is clearly above your class."
Taffeta versus wool.
Implying she was nearer to the 'noble' side while they were simple villagers.
"If she's above mine, she's above yours too!" Kol defended, turning to MJ, "I apologise for his lack of charm. Perhaps I can atone for it by showing the revel's rituals?"
"Rituals?"
"We have two druids here," He grinned in victory at her intrigue, "With the wolf pack – "
"How are you here, MJ?"
Henrik's question froze everything.
Her eyes went wide as she looked at the inquisitive child watching all of them, Kol and Klaus standing there like they hadn't even heard him, ready to continue with their 'lines' the moment MJ's attention was back with them.
No more wind of lively chatter just out of reach – just silence waiting for them.
"Henrik?"
"There were no travelling witches at this festival," Henrik's eyes were wide, "Kol took me to see him turn a piece of parchment into a bird – and Nik lost to father – and then they all went to the masked dance, but mother did not allow me to – "
"Hey, hey," MJ knelt down, taking a hand, "Just breathe."
His hand was trembling.
"Henrik – "
"It was a good day," He pleaded, "And – and now – "
Eyes slamming shut, head shaking back and forth.
"They're trying to take me away."
"What?" She lost the comforting warmth, "Henrik?"
His eyes slowly opened.
"Someone's trying to take you away?"
He nodded.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Did something happen?"
After the collapse of The Other Side, spirits went to hell or peace – and Henrik had already been at peace. Their meetings were strange enough; hearing him talk as if he was going to lose that peace had her all types of unsettled.
"I can help, Henrik, but you need to explain things to me."
His eyes drifted to his two frozen brothers, "Is Kol still courting you?"
"He is."
"How are my family?"
"Um..." She knew better than to answer that with complete honesty, "Klaus had a daughter last year."
He perked up, eyes less watery.
"Her name is Hope."
His tension turned to a smile.
"She's adorable...Elijah's good with her...Kol's scared to pick her up."
He grinned, "That's because Kol would drop her."
"I don't think he would," She smiled fondly, "I'm trying to find the mother right now. She's gone a little missing."
"How does a mother go a little missing?"
She could've made several abandonment jokes, but Henrik wouldn't have understood them, so "Hayley's had a tough year."
His big eyes somehow grew, "Hayley?"
"Yeah. You know the name?"
"It's the woman said," He was panicked again, grip on her hand tightening, "You-you're helping her?"
"What woman?"
"I don't know."
"Where?"
His voice was wobbling, "In my head."
"Oh, Henrik," She found herself using her free hand to brush his flopping hair back, "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I used a spell that's somehow dragged you into my problems."
He looked down, pressing the side of his face into her hand like he thought it might keep him safe, her heart suddenly feeling gooey.
"Someone's trying to take you somewhere?"
He nodded.
"Would you mind letting them?"
"No!"
"With me."
He paused.
"Lead me to the woman."
As tempting as it was to play out her vision with Klaus and Kol, MJ couldn't let herself get distracted by their vision-antics.
"There's a chance she can tell me about Hayley."
"You promise you won't let her hurt my family or me?"
"I promise."
Reluctantly, and after a final glance at his big brothers, Henrik nodded, putting on a brave smile.
"Thank you."
"This Hayley is family if she is Niklaus's wife."
"Closer to Elijah's, actually."
He rolled his eyes, "The pair of them still fight that way?"
"No fight this time," She assured him, "Elijah loves her. Klaus and she...the past."
They were fighting over Hayley, but not in the 'Tatia' way Henrik was assuming.
"But yes. She's family."
Klaus just needed to remember that.
With that answer, Henrik took a step back from her, letting MJ return to her feet, taking her hand and leading her away.
~***~
With Pri stomping away, Jeremy stood in the Mikaelson silence for a whole ten seconds, then decided he wanted nothing to do with it. Except, as he spoke, so did Kol;
"I'm gonna check on – "
They looked at each other.
Kol knew Pri.
Ish.
He'd spent an enjoyable evening with her, and she'd been nothing but pleasant to him since. And he'd heard her furious yet sympathetic response when MJ had revealed his death over the phone on the Gilbert Porch. Kol would rather talk to her than watch Elijah and Klaus glare at each other.
But Jeremy had been her partner of sorts for a few months.
And now they'd both spoken?
"Ah, I guess I'll – "
Another shared sentence.
"You can – "
"I'm gonna look for some of Levi's traps," Jeremy decided, "You find Pri."
Kol bobbed his head.
Freya was narrowing her eyes, watching them walk off, looking at her remaining brothers.
"Is that safe?"
"If Kol wants to play nice for Mira," Klaus glanced up, "Let him. His fault if it goes wrong."
"He killed him."
"The situation was complicated," Elijah didn't look happy either.
"I heard the complications," Freya crossed her arms, "I still don't think he should be allowed to just walk about the city our family now lives in like it doesn't matter."
"I didn't say it didn't matter," Elijah knew Kol would be listening, "But it is Kol's situation to handle."
Given the MJ of it all.
"Jeremy Gilbert won't repeat the attempt."
"You're so sure?"
"MJ brought his girlfriend back from the dead after he'd killed her boyfriend," Klaus summarised, "I am assuming he will act like he owes her a few."
"He was also the person to object when Mira was expected to kill their aforementioned vampire hunter guardian," Elijah recalled, "Kol is far more likely to kill him than the other way around."
"Which no one would object to," Klaus spoke towards the trees, "A way to test if Mira loves you enough to let it slide."
"Ha-ha," Kol muttered back.
Jeremy raised an eyebrow as they walked, "What?"
"My family are discussing whether I should kill you."
The sound of their footsteps as they traced through the path Elijah and Freya had come from, Kol taking in just how many bodies there were. Yes, the smell made it clear, but it was the first time he'd seen a large massacre since...well, him.
He hadn't been around for Mikael of Klaus's moments.
There was; his church massacre, his bar crawl in Europe, his Greece coven attack...and, well, when he'd murdered the people meant for Jeremy's hunter tattoo.
"And suddenly the name 'Levi' feels slightly daunting," He had to admit it, "This has got to be most of the pack."
"Anyone who's been shot must've been the human hunters," Jeremy let his feet still, "We were here this morning, and there were only like ten bodies."
"And Levi was in the city with Mira," Kol nodded, "Statement retracted. Still not feeling enough scare-factor from this man."
Jeremy's face was grim, "Wait till you see what his little traps can do."
Kol's eyes darted around.
Listening out for Pri.
Hearing her hand running through the dry mud, seated next to one of the bodies, eyes closed and breathing deeply.
"Is she okay?"
"She can hear you," Jeremy reminded him, "Ask her yourself."
"I hate when people other than MJ just ask me – "
"I'm fine," Pri responded, "Just tired."
A beat.
"Everyone deserves to be mourned."
Especially when their bodies had been left in such a state that they probably wouldn't be able to be shown to their supernatural. Too confusing and question-inducing. A sentiment that struck far deeper in the original than she probably meant it to.
Jeremy was looking at Kol, unable to hear her.
"I think she wants to be left alone," He filled in, biting his cheek, "Have fun trap hunting."
A step back towards the clearing.
No second one.
Creating another very awkward silence. Kol listened to his family again; Freya flicked through the Kingmaker Land Development file, lightly chatting with Elijah to get more information on Lucien now they knew it was tied to him. The taunting words Klaus had said in his ear.
Kol could kill him.
He knew MJ would put herself in his shoes, justify it, and pretend to not be upset.
But...
He hated that he couldn't just do that to her anymore.
He'd been ready to kill Tyler, Ric, Jeremy, and Stefan during their first week. Caroline momentarily joined the list when her little spiel about how much she worried about MJ seemed more than friendly – officially added when it was clear MJ swung both ways. Taken off because her advice had been surprisingly helpful.
Jeremy had no reason to be taken off his kill list!
But it had been three years, a death, a second near one, and a fixed humanity switch wittering in his ear about how it would be cruel to put MJ through that.
She'd cut Katherine out for killing Jeremy.
And Kol was a little self-aware. He knew his head found it easier to kill problems than deal with them because of his humanity problem. Encouraging his eyes to spot which tree branch would be thick enough to create a very dead hunter kebab.
"Look," Jeremy spoke, "We good?"
Kol shifted inconspicuously, "Why wouldn't we be?"
"I killed you?"
"Ah," Kol tilted his head, "That incredibly decent reason to vengefully murder someone."
If smug faces could be heard, Kol was hearing Klaus's.
"But, yes, Jeremy," He sighed, "We are indeed cool."
A word had Jeremy almost smiling.
"I was trying to de-limb you."
"Also a decent reason to 'vengefully murder someone.'"
"I think the part where I was going to kill your sister is more justified, but – "
"We had a dagger. I could've used it."
"I'm aware."
"Elena caught it deliberately."
"And I've already had her justify it."
Jeremy paused, "Huh?"
"When I visited," He nodded, "She gave me her reasons."
"Just..." He didn't look happy with what he was going to say, "...She's my sister. Obviously, I'm gonna defend her a little – "
"You didn't use to."
Jeremy paused.
"You openly said you thought she was a bad sister."
"...When?"
"On the phone," Kol got some joy out of the panic in his eyes, "MJ and I were in Mexico with Katherine. Klaus was threatening me. You said that you thought Elena was a 'sucky' sibling for having you compelled."
"A sucky move, not a sucky sibling," He rephrased, "She does love me."
There was a slight implication in the sentence.
"The worst things she's done have been because she loves me."
Which didn't make it okay, but they had at least talked about it.
"Including killing you, despite the sire-line. She didn't give you a chance because – "
"I was a victim of my family's history," Kol finished, "Elijah, Rebekah, and Klaus, had all backtracked, abused, misled, and murdered, regardless of any hearing out she'd given them."
Jeremy bit his lip.
"So I was killed before I could do the same."
The hunter nodded slowly.
"Like I said," Kol put on a smile, "I got my answers."
"And that means you no longer care?"
"She's in a coma. I am alive and happy," He decided, "When she wakes?...I'll see."
Jeremy accepted the casual threat.
"So much time to develop beautifully creative forms of revenge."
"Is this the stuff you were saying to Bonnie that drove her up the wall?"
"Possibly," Kol tensed, "Does Bonnie hate me?"
"What?"
"Does she?"
"Why are you asking?"
"When Caroline Facetimes MJ, she lets me stay in the room," His eyebrows were creasing, "Bonnie always asks me to leave."
Jeremy took a moment to process the oddness of the normalcy in the sentence.
"MJ tells me everything, so why do I have to leave? Because she hates me."
"You tried to kill her boyfriend, her best friend, and her."
"I was nice to her afterwards."
"Harassing her as a ghost is nice?"
"I wouldn't call it harassment – "
"Said in every court case ever."
Kol had to give him that, "I think I was quite a helpful spirit."
"Sure," Jeremy shook his head slightly, "And MJ told her you were the person who figured out how to save her from the prison world pre-Kai screwing it up."
He tried not to look too pleased by that reveal.
"She didn't hate you. You just bummed her out."
The smile vanished, "What?"
"I don't know," Jeremy shrugged, "Always mopping about. Missing MJ."
Bonnie and he still talked occasionally. Even if they weren't a couple, they cared about each other. And their breakup had been more about them as people, not the relationship.
"Why do you think she'd leave crosswords for you?"
"She pitied me!?"
"That's not what you wanna hear?"
Kol gagged, "I was fine!"
"Uh-huh."
"I'd been killed," Kol backtracked slightly, "But I wasn't that bad."
Jeremy didn't look convinced, "It meant she got less mad about me showing you stuff."
Kol shifted.
"I would say you're welcome, but as I said back then, it felt fair."
"I did appreciate the 'googling.'"
Jeremy stared at him for a second, then shook his head.
"What?"
"I don't get how I ever bought that you were a normal person in Denver."
Kol's momentary irritation slipped away.
"Everything modern sounds so wrong out your mouth."
"I was constantly compelling you."
"Yeah," Jeremy rubbed his forehead, "Really annoying headache when you died."
Kol gave him a look, Jeremy's hands going up.
"Which is karma."
"Karma was getting killed yourself for doing what I warned you about."
"Please tell me you've stopped the 'compelling her friends' thing."
"Who says I was ever compelling anyone more than you."
"Caroline," He didn't miss a beat, "She saw my headache and clicked."
"...It's not that big of a deal."
"Then why try and act like you hadn't?"
"Well," Kol pulled a face, "Yes. Maybe I've stopped."
"Maybe?"
"One of the receptionists at her work," He defended, "In case something happens."
Jeremy opened his mouth –
"It's a cautionary move you will all be thanking me for one day!"
Jeremy let himself laugh, not sure what else to do given the intensity with which Kol spoke.
Then, he lowered his voice, "I am sorry."
"I'm not," Kol's posture opened, "I was correct. You were all stupid. And you're all fortunate I love Mira enough not to – "
His entire posture froze.
A quick glance at Jeremy's lack of reaction to the phrase.
Just an odd look now he'd tensed up.
"...Kill you all for it."
"I'll take it," Jeremy paused, "Elena spent last Christmas vomiting goo. Did you poison her when you visited?"
He smiled proudly, "I did."
"She thought she was dying."
"How awful that must've been," His tone was bleeding false sympathies, "How – "
"Point made."
"Did she realise it was me?"
"Jo clicked it was the 'tea' you left."
"Good to know Mira's notes were still put to use."
"None of us told Ric."
Kol's eyes narrowed.
"Elena claimed it must've been left over from Kai's day of tricks when he asked."
A slow blink.
"I'm sure you know how much they'd been arguing."
Them being MJ and Ric.
"We were all sick of it," Jeremy had been done with everyone, "Meeting you calmed him down."
The people who voted not to call Klaus that first night hadn't wanted to keep MJ from going home. They hadn't wanted her to give up magic either. They'd just wanted her settled. Not wandering off when the last time they'd let her do that, she'd killed herself. Not freshly operated on and burning people into bone.
And, was it that unreasonable to not want Klaus in Mystic Falls ever again?
"None of us wanted to ruin your first impression."
"...Thank you."
MJ's phone rang from the clearing.
A personalised tune that made Kol's eyes go wide in recognition.
"What?" Jeremy reached for a weapon, "Levi – "
He vamp-sped back without an explanation, Pri a moment behind, not trusting the reaction. Jeremy looked around in confusion, spotted the metal device he'd come to the forest looking for before rushing back too. Klaus had stepped forward, but Kol intercepted, pulling out MJ's phone and clicking 'reject' before anyone could see the I.D.
Serena Jung.
He'd assumed it was her dad, but MJ had the same tune for both, so she never accidentally picked it up in a rush in front of people she hadn't revealed her family to yet.
Klaus eyed him up, "What was that about?"
"It's MJ's ringtone for Davina."
An easy lie.
"I'll text her," He pulled out his phone, "Didn't want you potentially answering and pissing her off the one time she calls MJ for help."
Kol didn't have Serena's number yet, but he did have Ryan's.
- MJ is in a trance
- i.e. not in a state to answer calls.
Ryan: Are you able to?
- Not particularly
Ryan: Kol.
- The way you leak fatherly disappointment through text is impressive.
Ryan: Gotta keep you in shape somehow
Ryan: A guy just showed up, knew Mati was a wolf and tried to kill her
Kol paused.
Freya noticed the reaction first, "What else has happened?"
"I think our hunter is currently at Sam's house."
A shift, Kol the only one aware of where that was.
Ryan: A werewolf.
"Or not?"
- A werewolf?
Ryan: Wolfsbane had him screaming + glowing gold eyes
Ryan: If that doesn't mean werewolf, MJ's stories aren't as I thought
"So they called Davina," Klaus was eyeing him, "The woman not using her ancestors to reverse the thing cursing their son."
"His stepdad is a witch. She's his Regent."
Two bits of that first sentence were clearly new information.
"How do I know more about him than the people who've been using him for two years?" Kol rolled his eyes, "What happened to a good old-fashioned background check on minions? Do we not do that anymore?"
"You didn't check Rebekah's body."
"Because that was a prank," Kol's eyes went back to his phone, "Not the man I let babysit my child."
Klaus shrugged, "He was sired. I didn't need to know anything else."
- I'll call later
"And I'm not taking childcare advice from the man scared to pick up a baby."
- Can you send me a description of the man?
Ryan: I got a few pictures.
Ryan: Not a front view, but you can see his eyes glowing in them though
"Kol?" Klaus was surprised by the lack of his response to his jab.
Ryan: I'll see if they're worth sending
He looked up from the device, "Apparently, the attacker was a werewolf – "
MJ's head tilted back, mouth opening to breathe out, veins on her neck looking like purple glow sticks.
"Something's gone wrong," He put his phone away.
Klaus hesitated, "What makes you so sure?"
"The Floare magic's got involved."
Which could be a good thing. Purple meant the second stone, which didn't seem to have such a vendetta against MJ hosting it – but it also wasn't what Kol wanted to see after MJ's dream situation. Floare magic wasn't meant to be in a host for an extended period ...
~***~
It was like Henrik could see something MJ couldn't – or hear something. The pied piper, creeping through the forest path and leaving the village far behind them. Birds were overhead, insects flittering about, once again trying to distract her with details.
MJ wasn't really there.
"Is Kol going to marry you?"
"Not sure."
"Aren't you of the age people usually get married?"
Way past it in Middle Ages terms.
"Has he not asked?"
"Once or twice."
Henrik looked more confused, "But you rejected him?"
"He wasn't asking properly," She smiled to herself, "Or seriously."
Part of MJ didn't see Kol actually getting on one knee.
If anything, she half-expected one of their holidays to end up in Vegas for a whirlwind elopement. If MJ ever got engaged, she wanted an actual wedding. Still, Kol viewed them as a farcical Rebekah-ism, meaning their middle ground would probably be to never actually get married and live in young adult bliss forever.
Something they were both okay with.
Any comments about how he would marry her didn't mean anything if he never actually followed through, and MJ wasn't going to force him to. Kai hadn't ruined her love of weddings, not in the slightest, but he had made her comfortable with not having one for a while.
And she was twenty-one!
Who got married at twenty-one?
"Kol isn't capable of being serious thought," Henrik retorted.
She snorted, trying not to focus on how the path became darker, thick branches unfamiliar.
"Do you not want to get married?"
"I don't know."
Henrik pulled a face, "Is that not what grown-ups do?"
MJ fought off a smile.
"Court. Get married – "
"The era I'm from is a little freer," She'd explained, "My parents never got married. Had two kids. A lot of people get married more than once."
He was at the age where they knew about society but would still be open to learning other things.
"It's more important to find someone you love rather than follow the conventional steps."
There was a rustle causing them to pause.
Henrik gripped the hand tighter as she scanned their surroundings.
Something had changed.
He talked so much to stay calm, "Would you have children?"
"No idea," She doubted it.
"What is Nik like as a father?"
"Annoying," MJ almost regretted that answer, "...He loves her a lot."
Henrik focused on her instead of the coolness filling the air.
"She likes drawing. Slowly figuring out words."
The change clicked in her mind.
"This isn't the same forest," MJ needed him to confirm it, "Right?"
Henrik inspected the bark, pulling her closer as he walked, then peering up to try and see through the leaves. As if the blue sky they'd left behind might help him.
"They're..."
Still familiar to her.
"You will keep me safe?" He checked.
"Entirely."
His arm wrapped around hers as he took one last look around before leading them to the right.
They'd mainly been on a winding path, finally breaking from it, Henrik's steps more cautious, staring at the shadows like they might eat him.
"You have another older sister," She kept her voice quiet, "Freya's alive."
That caught his attention.
"She's come home to the family."
"Freya?"
"Yeah."
His hugging of her arm tightened in appreciation, a small smile forming on his lips as the air turned colder, the trees becoming thinner, but the sky dark and filled with stairs.
"And," MJ had one question for him, "Do you remember that first time we met."
"If I didn't, why would I speak to you?"
She smiled, "Good point."
Her question.
"I never heard what you asked me to tell Klaus."
He blinked slowly.
"Just..."
"I thought he might have blamed himself," Henrik's voice was quiet, "I wanted you to tell him that it wasn't."
MJ bit her lip.
She'd pass it on, but she knew from experience hearing it from Henrik was the only way Klaus would accept the comment. And it was basically what she'd told Klaus in Italy. Just a confirmation.
"He told me to stay hidden. I ran out to see them."
"I'll let him know."
"Thank you."
His lips flickered into a frown, "I don't know where we are."
A beat.
MJ really thought about it, "I do."
No more earth beneath their feet but white marble slabs, weeds poking up, leading them to the black metal gate of Lafayette Cemetery.
"Henrik!" Kol looking about in the trees behind them, filled with sunlight, "Mother will be a tyrant if we're late!"
"Sorry!" He took off without a second thought, fear forgotten, ability to see her gone too, "I found an odd plant!"
Kol laughed as his brother launched himself at him, catching him on his back and letting him shove up to sit on his shoulders.
MJ wanted to stay there.
To allow herself a moment to see the family like that.
But she couldn't.
She was at the New Orleans Cemetery.
He'd helped her.
"Henrik!" She called after him, "Thank you."
He didn't seem to hear her.
At least he was safe.
MJ faced the familiar graves, opening the creaking metal to enter.
Which was, of course, when she woke up, groaning out of her trance and shaking the icky feeling in her stomach away.
"Mira," Kol had a hand on her arm and one on her back, "You – "
"Um."
A long blink.
A moment to get settled in her skin.
Breathing in, looking at Pri, then at Jeremy's hands on a metal contraption, Andrew's body in front of him. Freya on MJ's other side, having been monitoring her state, Elijah and Klaus, staring at her, one unblinking.
"What happened?"
"Your neck," Kol rested back, "Floare...?"
MJ let her mouth open slightly.
"You were in a trance."
"The spell went a little wrong," MJ stretched back, "I saw Henrik again."
The Mikaelsons all went stark, Pri and Jeremy looking at each other in confusion.
"You saw our dead brother," Elijah's tone was unreadable.
"Right," MJ glanced between Klaus and Kol, "You didn't already know I've met him."
She could hear his heart picking up.
"We've spoken twice."
Italy and the forest.
"Hayley's alive," MJ had to assume, "Some spirits are masking her."
New Orleans spirits could mean Levi's ancestors or something larger.
"I'll track Sam's clothes," MJ pressed a hand into the base of her neck, "See what happens – "
Kol handed her his phone, "Speaking of."
MJ's eyes darted between the two, trying not to seem too concerned.
There was a chance Levi had been on her dad's street after she knew he'd been in the storage locker. But there was also a chance it was just some random and vengeful wolf who just happened to attack Mati, for some unknown reason, the same day as all the other chaos.
She sighed, putting the phone on the steps.
"Henrik," Elijah was somewhat locked on the reveal, "You spoke to Henrik."
MJ let her head bob.
"Is he...?"
Henrik thought someone had been trying to take him away from peace.
Did she tell them that?
It felt like a twisted thing to keep secret.
But they already had three potential murderers to deal with that night – ghosts hearing voices from the modern world could be addressed in the morning, when the problem would've hopefully been dealt with. But –
"He loves you all. He wanted to help me, help you."
Keep it simple.
"But he's at peace."
"But you saw him."
"Floare have access to more afterlife's than witches."
"The last time you ended up in peace," Kol spoke slowly, "You were dying."
"Not necessarily."
"Yes, necessarily," He argued, "Bonnie and I studied the spell. You pushed your body too far."
"But I'm immortal now."
He clicked his teeth, "You still have the magic in you."
"Exactly," She wanted to be calm, "Even stronger connection to alt-afterlives."
She didn't want to waste time on her magic situation.
"Hope is part of the New Orleans system, making your bloodline part of it. Esther was consecrated to it. Dahlia used it in the curse. Freya, even if you're not in a coven, Jo officialised you."
The Mikaelsons were officially in.
"My mum could still be consecrated to strengthen my connection, even though she was already at peace. It's probably leftover Esther 'particles' in my head, getting mixed up with The Floare stuff."
Particle was an odd word, but it was what had come out of her mouth.
"But she's at peace. Henrik's at peace."
"It's a warning card, MJ."
Kol had a point. The last time MJ had seen Henrik had been a sign she'd pushed her ghost-spotting a little too far. Not just momentary bug upchucks, but actual damage – Ana Ruiz losing serotonin vibes. It did make sense that MJ had a time limit on the situation, even if she'd done the right hosting spells. The magic was probably why using Hope's blood had gone so funky – it pulled her towards the spirit walking tricks she hadn't performed since hijacking Mikael's ghost attack on Hayley.
How long can you walk among the dead before you die yourself?
Especially if it was in her dreams and visions.
A distracting dream could become so heavy on her mind it stops her from waking.
But it was something to deal with another day.
"We can talk about it later," MJ assured her boyfriend, "Hayley's alive."
Eyes to Elijah.
"That's what matters."
Freya was watching her carefully.
"Henrik knew Hayley when I mentioned her name," MJ added, "Heard it in whispers, meaning the magic was trying to take me somewhere – we ended up in New Orleans. I just woke up too quickly, and he returned to peace."
More relaxation from the siblings.
The first thing to really unite them all beyond Hope since Dahlia.
No more daggers, just intrigue, mutual worry, and love for their dead brother.
Moment ruined when Andrew snapped up in a gasp, eyes going around – wild.
MJ grimaced, ready to attack, Jeremy flicking the lid off the vial she'd summoned for him.
Blood was everywhere – the blood of his kind, his skin probably crawling at the incompleteness of his current situation. MJ knew she'd been itching to drink when she'd first woken up. To finish the transformation, letting all the discomfort and unaligned hunger feed into her attack on Kai.
Still, despite the overpowering scent of the air, Andrew's eyes focused on Jeremy's vial.
He was moving with an odd mix of rigidness, and speed, inching across the floor, ears pinned on their movements, eyes then jumping to Klaus, turning yellow. A growl formed in his throat. No taunting grin or focus from Klaus, instead a step towards Freya, like he'd finally processed that his lash out might've been a dumb idea.
MJ stepped closer, "Sorry."
"I'm...dead?"
"Yeah."
He blinked.
"If you drink this," Jeremy lifted it closer, "You'll survive."
"And if I don't?"
"The moment you touch any other blood," MJ remembered the one chasing her down a mountain, "You'll go insane. No control over your actions."
Just desperation to kill everything.
His entire face changed at that, breathing picking up.
"Look," She moved closer, Kol instantly by her side, "I can help with this. I'm a hybrid – it's – "
"I – "
"Right now," MJ spoke louder, "Your body can help us figure out your hex. Potentially interact with the hunter and hurt him from here."
He seemed to sober up, stilling at the reveal.
"Just slowly drink," She encouraged, "And let me work."
The glass vial settled among his fingers, "You can hurt him through me?"
"While your body isn't sure what it is?" MJ nodded, "Yeah."
"So I just?"
"Drink," MJ spoke as gently as she could, "And you just might end up free."
He glanced to Pri, who forced a nod, glaring at Klaus.
"Slowly..."
Andrew needed to be calm.
Trust someone who'd technically just let his neck get snapped.
All in the hopes it might hurt the person who had hurt him the most – the death of his sister momentarily worse than dying himself.
"Ignore me," MJ placed a hand on his shoulder, "Guíame Muéstrame Drenaj Mwen."
As she started to speak, he moved the vial to his lips.
"Guíame Muéstrame Drenaj Mwen."
Flashes of the forest were in her mind.
"Guíame Muéstrame Drenaj Mwen."
Blackness, overtaken by the sounds of movement.
Footsteps.
Mechanical clicking as traps were set.
"Guíame Muéstrame Drenaj Mwen."
A male screamed in her mind, not in the forest anymore – but loose.
Out.
Operating.
"Guíame Muéstrame Drenaj Mwen."
Following a scent, but now doubling over, in the city, familiar noise overtaking the buzz of electricity that had accompanied the previous branch cracking steps, a stone thrown into the bayou, skimming over the surface like an echo.
"Guíame Muéstrame Drenaj Mwen."
Levi's face.
The pale yellow that had caught her attention that morning taken over by a golden glow.
Veins in his forehead, ready to pop as he looked ready to launch himself up the side of the building to attack the dark sky itself for bringing him pain. Merges with three large scars driving over her features. A run-in with a wolf, seemingly ending very badly – but not enough to kill him.
"Guíame – "
Another scream, grabbing his shoulder only to find blood.
" – Muéstrame – "
Red and black, the ink leaking off his skin with burning heat, symbol scarring against flesh.
Like he was simply the animals he'd killed.
Vision over his, blurring reality and making it impossible to think.
" – Drenaj – "
Three coughs, black beetles coming up his throat and onto the floor.
"- Mwen."
MJ blinked back to reality, the blood gone.
Andrew roared as his eyes turned golden with black and red edges, ready to break free. Like he might turn from the overwhelming rush of it all - her hands on his shoulders, shoving him back to the floor and snapping him back to his senses.
Both looked slightly sweaty from the ordeal.
A side effect of messing with black magic.
A long breath in.
Andrew shoved back against the mud, leaves sticking to his damp palms, shaking his head.
"It worked," She promised him, "He's in the city."
Not at Sam's, though.
"He's not here. He's not about to hurt you. And he knows I've just declared war on him."
A loophole to whatever magic he'd used to stop locator spells from working.
Andrew's eyes settled above her crouching body. Kol loomed over, waiting for the worst to kick in in case Elena's blood didn't work anymore. If Hope was nature's way to let Hybrids be a thing, no more immortals out there to give doppelgängers reason to exist, it might have done nothing other than cause the spiral MJ had once barely escaped.
But...
Just as MJ thought he seemed fine, his eyes became dazed.
Pri approached with caution, "Andrew?"
"MJ," Kol tapped her shoulder.
A signal he thought she should move back.
"He should be fine," Her eyes jumped to Klaus, "Right?"
"You and I," He vamped to her side now, "Know as much as each other about a transformation."
MJ let herself return to her feet as Andrew's teeth seemed to get longer.
Sharper.
"Stop," Klaus looked him dead in the eye, "Do not transform."
While Andrew's pupil's dilated, his fangs going away, he was still scratching at his leg.
Ripping flesh up like it was nothing.
"Calm down."
"I am calm," His voice was, body moving like it was out of his control, "You lied."
MJ blinked, "I didn't?"
Pri looked at her for any theory.
"I..." She shook her head, "Try Hope's blood?"
Freya tossed her the vial she'd left on the shack steps, MJ's step cueing Andrew to jump her, Kol intercepting to get a hand around his throat, hiking him off the ground and watching him struggle, MJ tipping it down his throat. A firm enough grip to choke but not enough to stop him from being able to swallow.
Wrong call.
Andrew roared all over again, teeth going for Kol's wrist, Klaus yanking his brother out of the way before hooking the transforming man over his shoulder. Tossing him into a tree, Elijah vamping forward to compel too.
At the end of the day, after all the bickering, they'd still protect each other.
"Do not fight us."
Andrew just hunched forward, like he thought he was in a wolf's body, charging.
"Okay," MJ jumped to the left, "Compulsion doesn't work?"
"It was," Klaus pointed out, grabbing the back of the man and slamming him to the floor, "Stop."
He went limp under his hold.
No idea if it was compulsion or the hybrid sire bond.
Pri crept forward, Elijah closer to Freya now Klaus was semi-occupied.
She and Jeremy were technically the only sources of living blood, making them most at risk. Still, Jeremy was a vampire hunter, while Freya had spent her day fighting off the migraine that came with trying to find Hayley. She looked better now, but she also didn't have the superspeed Andrew would if he decided she was his target.
And considering they had Klaus, Kol, and MJ, they could spare Elijah to guard her.
Breaths that sounded like popped lungs barely passed through Andrew's lips, slowly starting to squirm again.
'Stop' was a vague instruction, and his brain was slowly restarting.
Loopholing it.
Stillness.
Forest wind with the movement, eyes pinned on what he'd try to do next.
Klaus's hand dove into his chest, Pri tackling his off him, both rolling on the floor, Klaus's hand on her face, fingers about to dig into her eyes, MJ's hand swiping faster that eyes could follow, an invisible force throwing him off, Andrew vamping up and forward, nose twitching.
Blood.
He was searching for blood.
Bleeding.
His mouth went into his own arm, tearing up the skin until he hit the elbow, flinching his head back up as a stake entered his stomach, eyes now on Jeremy. He'd had one of MJ's arm machines on this entire time, and while he knew it wouldn't kill him, he wasn't trying to kill the guy.
Klaus was back, only for Pri to put herself in the middle again, "He's innocent."
"He's deranged."
"Because you acted," Pri reminded him, "You – "
"Pri – " Jeremy fired again.
He spoke as a warning. A promise he had her covered, second stake driving into Andrew's throat as he moved towards her, instantly being hit with a punch in the face from Pri herself. A punch, then a drop-down to swing a leg at his knees, Andrew crashing forward, only for his wrist to be caught in her hand, chucked over Pri's shoulder like a sack, other hand on his head to smash it firmly into the ground, knocking him out with a neck snap collision.
A moment to breathe.
The second series of actions somewhat surprising the Mikaelsons.
"Done dance since I was four," She clocked their unease, "Kickboxing from six, Mixed Martial Arts since seven. Wrestling since Freshman year."
Pri may not like murder, but she was team, 'know how to defend yourself.'
"You don't get to just kill him when there might be another option."
"And I once again remind the pair of you that you do not get a vote while in my city – "
"Not yours," MJ reminded him, "And she has a point."
"He's out of his mind," Elijah didn't look happy either, "And we have a few sources of blood for him to go rabid over."
"He's extra weight," Klaus agreed.
MJ knew it was technically true, but she didn't like it.
He hadn't asked to be turned, he'd lost his entire family, and he was fighting because his sister was supposedly still out there. He'd been as helpful as he could be given the situation. But he'd also told them to come to The Bayou, which they now knew wasn't for their benefit but because Levi told him to do it.
While MJ tried to sort her thoughts out, he was already groaning back awake.
An unreasonable recovery time if they were being honest.
Curling up and driving his own hand into his chest, hissing at them.
"That's..." Jeremy pulled a face, "A new reaction?"
MJ stepped closer, Kol's arm coming out to stop her.
Pri turned round, the closest to him.
Hissing and crawling – pulling up.
"Shit," MJ vamped down to hijack the movement, forcing his hand out of his own body without a heart, "Andrew – "
His hands wrapped around her neck, fangs poised to bite, Klaus and Kol both reacting, MJ moving faster, letting him make contact, only to flip over to end up on top, throwing his aim off and keeping the muscles loose enough to be controlled, own hands on his temples, trying to calm him.
Find a voice.
Something to hold onto and prove he was still –
Levi's face, in her mind again.
Only, not in the city, or the forest, or really in focus.
Just his eyes turning from pale yellow to gold, chanting filling her ears.
MJ lurched back to her feet, looking around in a flurry, trying to find the source.
A witch was doing this.
A witch, or several – or the spirits of the witches who'd passed in the creation of the Ajan bloodline –
"MJ – "
Warning her about the attack didn't do anything, Andrew colliding with her, only to land on the floor, slamming his own head into the mud, over and over.
"It's magic," She didn't look away from him, "The transition worked, but – "
His hand plunged back into his chest.
"Magic making him insane?" Pri checked.
"Yup."
"Can you put him in an extended coma?"
"Probably – "
"MJ," Elijah gave her a look, "This man announced himself as a distraction."
Writhing on the floor and peeling his own skin back.
"You offered him solutions and he lied."
"Exactly," Klaus agreed, "All of this is a rabbit hole we don't – "
"Shut up!"
The echo of her voice shocked even her.
MJ was trying not to get too wrapped up in it, but at least two human's had been killed, bodies of Crescents littering every inch of floor and filling up her nose, reminding her that there was a collection of children relying on her. Having faith in her to save their families. MJ played parent for months because there was no one else, and they were just kids, and now – and now –
And he'd lost his sister –
And he was leaking blood and dark magic, and it might've kicked in because she'd screwed with the hex, and that was the magic she might've been feeling; MJ couldn't tell anymore. Everything racing through her –
Andrew's eyes locked in the water like he could see something she couldn't.
Peace just below the surface.
He vamped towards it, chest still open, ribs poking out, marking MJ's brain in a way she didn't expect, the image of Elijah's bone hand fresh in her mind like it hadn't been pre-Dahlia's defeat. The feeling of The Pethane placing hands on her body clearer than they'd been in the dream.
Eyes on her body.
Cutting her flesh back like glass.
Something had been watching her all day.
All month.
All –
Andrew's vision was covered in blood, leaking out like his eyes, body swaying.
He was staring out like it calmed him.
Fingers poked around in his chest, unable to remember where he'd found the organ.
"The head or the heart," He whispered.
The knowledge was out there.
There'd been enough hybrids made by this point, and MJ and Ryos had put the information out. MJ to make hybrids seem less scary – killable, Ryos, as part of his Original's map.
"Kill me."
Pri stilled, having been about to reach out to him.
"Kill me."
MJ swallowed her panic.
She was stronger than it.
She was stronger than any memories of Klaus snapping Tyler's neck like that.
"Please."
Kol glanced at MJ, then at how Klaus inched forward, their eyes meeting. Message clear. One of them would do it while the other dealt with whoever interrupted. Knowing it was best to follow through, even if MJ wanted to try Pri's way.
"If you don't..." His limbs were moving, walking him forward, "Can't you hear it?"
He was like this because of them.
Because MJ had tried to loophole a hex when she knew better.
She'd seen Kieran.
She'd seen Kol's –
Andrew dived forward, MJ vamping before Kol or Klaus could catch her, right into the water after him, only for her body to scream, electricity pulsing through it, scattering through every pore and turning her momentarily blind.
Pri went to dive after her, Elijah's arm coming out to catch her.
Saving her.
Letting them all take in the sight of volts jumping across the reflective liquid, revealing itself now that something had touched it.
The noise Andrew had tuned into was the buzz of electricity.
Hidden beneath the overwhelming stench of blood and their arguing.
Andrew's face in the water, bubbles and a low scream, MJ flinching up towards the sky, writhing in agony, stilling them all.
Powerful enough to null a hybrid.
MJ was still awake, but if someone like Pri went in, they'd die. And whether that death was a temporary one, like a neck snap, or a permanent one – they didn't know. The wolves were being killed by that power, four bodies right there, the cause of death once confusing, now clear.
If the wolves were being murdered in new and strange ways, who was to say it wouldn't hurt vampires too?
"Where's it coming from?" Jeremy and Pri had seen similar stunts, the most awake, his voice bringing Kol back to reality, "There has to be a source."
"The houses," Pri reasoned, "Shacks – whatever."
They had household appliances inside, so there had to be some power lines.
"MJ," Kol had to turn, focusing in on what they were talking about, "M – "
The smell of frying meat in the air, her scream getting louder.
He closed his eyes, vamping into the building, looking for any signs, but still unfamiliar with how exactly modern appliances worked. Anything a potential component smashed to try and break the circuit. Yanking at the furniture and floorboards in a flurry of fear and rage.
"MJ," Jeremy called, "You're awake."
Klaus stepped to the water's edge, hand lowering down.
"Klaus – " Freya stopped herself from going to stop him, watching as blue-white light jumped around his fingers and body.
Sharp enough stinging in his fingers to make him flinch back.
"Wolves seem susceptible, dude," Pri had been acting on instinct, but now her brain was back on, looking at Klaus from the shack doorway, "She's out? It might hurt you more."
"I'm a thousand years older – "
"And you have a shit ton of people tied to your life!" She exploded, "Don't risk it."
A pause.
Taking in her wide, angry, and unblinking eyes.
Light up shoes, fading quick as she stopped moving.
"I will find a way to snap your entitled re-enforced Original neck," She hissed, "Before I let you risk it."
Klaus didn't know if that made him trust her, 'one of Elijah's,' more or less.
"MJ!" Jeremy broke the silence, "You were locked in a burning building!"
A phrase rippling over the water, Kol's hands stinging, cuts as he found the wiring. Buried to be safe. Wrapped in solid materials meant to stop breakages, nothing to Original strength, but still enough to leave minor injuries, he'd need to step back to let heal.
"And you figured a way out."
MJ couldn't taste anything other than metal.
Metal and firewood forced down her throat, black debris like soil frying her tastebuds. Locking into her body. Muscles triggered in ways she understood but couldn't do anything about. Biology lessons on sensory systems and reactions based on the transfer of information, not how to break them down and control them by putting the body through unimaginable pain.
The type of thing mental institutions once used.
Her head twitched left and right. Tying to see, only to be smothered by water washing across her gums too – racing down her throat. Like ice against weakened teeth. Hot and cold. Drowning yet burning up at the same time. Jeremy's voice through a wall. A glass lining where he was a child exploring his options, she the fish desperate to be picked so she could leave the tank of poisoned pain.
His voice.
The voice of someone who'd had faith in her, over and over again – enough to place his life in her hands. To take some of the load off her back, now that being the supernatural internet was starting to feel like a job. A wider world she needed to remember existed. Pri existed. Everything existed outside of the white-hot noise, driving her senses into oblivion. Every inch of water –
Not the water she loved so much –
The wave of hands chucking her against the screen as Ryos watched on –
"You redirect – "
Everything.
MJ couldn't hear the end of Jeremy's sentence, but she didn't need to.
She was Mira Jung Floare-Ruiz, and she survived – she redirected –
MJ was fire.
MJ was energy.
MJ was life.
A supercharge.
Water whirlpooling around her body, screams changing from pained injury into pain reclaiming, the insides of the shack exploding as any remaining electricity in it was forced into the water. Skirting over the surface of it like the stone Levi had thrown. Water wasn't something MJ moved easily. That was almost why she liked it. It was beyond her control, yet still perfectly on her side – on no one's side.
Hoisting her up, glowing like a radioactive star, pulsing into the sky.
Lightning released into the air, crackling through the navy colour to form root-like jump-offs into the trees, the last of the winter leaves shrivelling up and creating shadowed black circles around their bases. Roaring with claps and crashes until it was nothing – the destroyed home bursting into flames, then out. Then vanishing with that gust of nothing.
Stillness.
Panting.
Singed burning in the air, flesh healing as MJ dropped back into the water, floating like driftwood.
Kol had sped to the edge during the fire, "MJ!"
No response.
He dived right in, ignoring everyone else's panicked 'wait,' sparks against his skin. Weak remains of what had happened. Swimming until he reached her, scanning now slightly grey skin, heart about to explode in his ears as her mouth hung open, eyes shut.
"Mira – "
MJ jerked awake, coughing water out of her lungs, eyes darting wildly.
Hands on his shoulders to steady herself.
The water was too deep for her petite frame, and she was too weak to kick. Legs wrapping around Kol as he peppered kisses over her face, hand holding her head to his shoulder through damp hair.
Scolding her for being an impulsive idiot.
"Coming from you," MJ managed.
Kol breathed out.
There was red in the water.
Blood poured from Andrew's body, but neither could focus on that.
Not when it was them. Bobbing up and down. Listening to each other's heartbeat. Kol's feet just scraped the bottom, opting to kick to keep them above the lapping coolness while MJ regained her strength. Processing their position. The clothes were different, but everything else filled her with familiar warmth, easing her out of the pain she'd just been in.
Kol Mikaelson.
Heartbeat racing in her ear as she pressed further into her chest, wishing she could just crawl inside it and sleep in their moments together.
Jumping in after her.
Making sure she was okay.
A pair and a half.
Only considering safety if it was about the other.
MJ tugged his lips to hers, brushing fingers through his hair until his stress melted away. Brain taking a moment off. Sinking below the surface to hide. Just them, sharing a breath until the bubbles forced them to kick up, wrapped in each other's limbs, well aware of how quickly making out in a body of water could become complicated.
But who cared!?
MJ was safe.
She was with him.
She could kiss him and let the water soak her clothes until she no longer felt on the edge of a panic attack. No doubt about what choices to make. Who to present herself as in front of a mix of her past. The three versions of her. All of which Kol loved. His touch, a paintbrush revealing her most authentic self.
Smaller secure pecks as they met the air, bringing that first heightened sugar rush back.
"There is literally a dead body in there with you!"
Jeremy's voice.
MJ just rested her forehead on Kol's.
"I promise I'm okay."
"MJ."
"I'm a hybrid."
The incoming night sky, feeling less threatening. Glistening silver sparks comforting after the harsh explosion. Like the sky they'd danced under that real first night - pulling them together. Captivating to the eye. Telling MJ that it was okay to let herself fell peace, even if the universe seemed to be screaming around her.
"Nothing can really hurt me."
"I stand by my week one dub of 'hero-complex.'"
"And I stand by my week one dub of 'he'd look hot with wet hair."
Kol couldn't help but smile.
"That was the real reason I dove in the first time."
"Not the magic making you overheat?" He knew she was jesting.
"Wanted you shirtless."
"Could've simply asked."
"But teasing you was so much more fun."
Legs tightening.
"In retrospect, wet hair may be hot, but you jumping into danger with me, may be even hotter."
Kol leant in, "Your eyes just light up in such a unique way at the prospect of it."
She couldn't help but kiss him passionately before they were forced to return to dryland and deal with the situation at hand. Even if MJ was still pretty mad he hadn't called her, as long as she had Kol with her, she could push down the dumb dramatic vampire side of her brain, telling her to give up 'because you failed!'
Like she hadn't been through worse.
Like she'd ever stop getting back up again.
He'd never let her stop getting back up.
Kol swam them back to shore, letting MJ rest, the sound of the arms slicing through water, rippling around her ankles and wrists too tightly. Too cold. Pulled out and allowed to lie on the mock pier, taking in the sky, Kol grabbing the very dead Andrew before climbing out himself. The stranger hadn't instantly been knocked out; a gap in his chest showed he'd had a chance to rip his heart out like a taunting trophy.
Levi had gotten his way.
A wolf keeping them occupied, MJ unable to save him, and an easy out of any potential punishment that came with anchoring a hex. No answer to where his sister's body had gone.
Everyone trying to understand what the hell had just happened.
"One of those bodies might be Sam."
The voice coming out of MJ's throat was dry.
Fried.
Tired.
"Wolves get their water from the bodies of their prey."
But Sam was spelled to be in control of his instincts.
He was barely eating.
The person who'd properly need a separate water supply.
"The others probably came to escape the poachers...Wolves are surprisingly good swimmers."
Endless 'fun' facts in MJ's head, the bodies less than a metre from her.
Panting.
Craving blood and trying not to think about theirs.
"They could get away, assuming they wouldn't be followed in – only to be shocked – this is his water supply."
"Sam would heal," Kol reminded her.
"We don't know that."
For a moment, it felt like MJ knew nothing.
"I survived because I'm me. While Sam's a wolf, he might not wake up."
And they'd been dead for so long she couldn't check their minds for identities.
"Sam – "
There was nothing else to say.
Her entire body was exhausted.
MJ hadn't felt exhausted since her transition – even when she'd been overwhelmed, she'd had energy, just unmotivated to use it. Now she couldn't even speak. Everything focused on healing the boils and burns across her body, hair smoking in a way that reminded her of why she'd cut it short all those years ago.
Kol plopped down next to her, hair and clothes dripping to leave specs around the damp shadow she was creating by lying there. Blocking her view of the bodies. Letting her stare at the sky and guess where the stars would start to appear.
"There is no way," Jeremy spoke as Kol brushed pieces of mulch out of her hair, "A place like that – "
The main shack.
"Has enough power to pull that off."
"But it's a good starting point," Pri reasoned, "He's working with a witch, right?"
MJ nodded, "A witch could've supercharged it for him."
"You said," Elijah noted, "Someone was controlling him?"
"Maybe," MJ couldn't look anywhere but up, "Or the hex lashed out at the transition. Or, it was part of the hex. That if he tried to escape it – "
A million reasons.
Either way, he was dead.
Fighting through the electricity to rip his own heart out.
"If he's set up the water to be a trap," Freya kept her distance, knowing she might not survive whatever remained on MJ's skin, "Are there other things he could've changed?"
"That's what I was looking at," Jeremy tilted his head back to the thing he'd left on the floor, "One of his exterminator traps."
Klaus eyed it up, "What is it actually?"
"Trigger bomb," He admitted, "Step on it, get sprayed with vervain and wolfsbane."
MJ sat up, "What?"
"Yup."
"No, no, no," She looked at Klaus, "That's not targeted at me then."
"Unless he is aiming for two birds, one stone," The Original mused, "I do love an assassination attempt. Keep the years interesting."
"Though, if our working theory is correct," Elijah was pulling some of the food out of the car, lifting the tray towards MJ, "Lucien is behind the attempt."
Klaus bit into his cheek.
"And it's more likely to be aimed at Hayley," MJ reluctantly added, "Right?"
Klaus wasn't stuck as an animal or known for running around The Bayou.
If a trap was there, it was for Sam or Hayley.
Hayley - if it was about targeting people part of the new 'Mikaelson Family.'
Even if she'd technically turned from the name because of Dahlia.
"That's it," Pri decided, "If he's here, I can find him."
Klaus snorted.
"I have his bank information; I can see if he's made payments in the city."
Elijah's lips twitched slightly at that, MJ picking one of his mini sandwiches to eat.
Her other hand grabbed five more, the elder vampire relaxing to smile fondly at the action.
Not able to not when she just took the whole tray, Kol still focused on fishing things out of her hair.
"If he's here – "
"He's the police problem," MJ held a hand over her chewing, "You need to take this to Vincent and Cami."
"Camille doesn't need to be involved with this," Klaus shut down.
"She already is."
"Not if it involves Lucien."
"If you wanna try and tell Cami what she can and can't do, go ahead," MJ rubbed her hands together, "I'm sure that'll go well."
If she could face Kai and not freeze, she could keep her head on straight with Lucien.
"Vincent's with her; it's not like she's defenceless."
Vincent and Cami...
The Police.
Hunters.
Missing Hayley.
The potentially dead body of Sam to her left.
Traps across the forest that could do that much damage to her?
MJ needed a new plan.
Especially since they didn't know that Lucien was in New Orleans.
Well, they might not.
Cami and Vincent?
They were at Marcel's place, Hope asleep on a mat he'd grabbed from The Mikaelson Compound after picking her up from them, getting a bit more of an explanation about what was happening. Seeing if Vincent was right about a Mikaelson victim from the past matching their current victim's patterns.
He put the police file down, "Gnarly stuff."
Cami stood by the large windows, looking out to the early evening sky, Vincent sitting on the coffee table, watching the vampire.
"And not very wolf hunter."
"I mean, there are no obvious puncture wounds," Vincent had to say, "But whoever did that had to be a vampire."
"And nobody heard any screams," Cami had read through the extra details on the walk over, "So he had to have been compelled to just stand there and suffer. Beyond the no struggle wrist."
"You think this was us?" Marcel had to assume, "My guys know better than to leave a body in the streets. Bodies mean headlines. Headlines mean tourism drops."
They didn't mess with the food supply.
"We know," Cami shifted, "Obviously, someone new could've lost control – "
"I'd know if I had a ripper – "
"But we want to talk about The Mikaelson's."
Marcel chilled slightly, "Kol and Klaus have been hiding from MJ all day."
"I had a similar thought," Vincent agreed as Cami turned to face them, "Sure, we think it's this hunter keeping them occupied, but why not tell her about it?"
Cami pursed her lips, not liking that they had a point.
"You said it could match either of their histories."
"As an example of why it's one of their enemies," She reasoned, "Not them."
"Look," Marcel's lips twitched up, "Elijah says Klaus has been on his best behaviour."
MJ backing that up somewhat.
"But I've known the guy over two hundred years – best behaviour ain't exactly his thing."
Cami let her eyes jump back to the glass.
The balcony beyond it.
The street leading to the building's front door.
"Sooner or later, he'll cut loose. And," Marcel was focused on Hope's sleeping form, "Just maybe? He already did. Kol helping him cover it up."
"Why would Kol help him?"
Marcel shrugged, "The pair of them always bonded over bloodshed."
"Enough to hide something from MJ?"
"Klaus acting like this wouldn't exactly fly with her," Marcel did hesitate slightly, "It's in both of their best interests not to start that fight."
"Which factors out how MJ knows Klaus," Cami stepped closer to the glass, "She's lived through Klaus."
Her eyes were pinned on the people below.
"This is not bad enough to hide from her."
"True."
A beat.
"Cami?"
Her focus was starting to concern them.
"You okay?"
"It's nearly night."
"Yeah."
"Any news about Hayley?"
"None," Marcel had his phone on the coffee table too, "Haven't heard anything since I called MJ."
"...Would they send someone from the pack to get Hope?"
"No one other than Jackson or Sam."
"Well," Cami pointed, "Someone's staring at us like they have something to say."
Marcel and Vincent both pushed up to look out.
"Our hunter?" She had to assume.
The man, with dark brown, almost black hair, looked offended, clearly hearing them despite the distance. Smiling easily. Lifting a hand in a taunting wave.
No one reacted.
"If anyone's interested in helping a man out," He spoke, Marcel stepping onto the balcony, the only person able to hear him, "Nik wasn't home when I popped by. Heard this was a local spot."
The shorthand name and accent rubbing them the wrong way.
"There a phone number you'd care to share."
"Yeah," Marcel shook his head, "I'm not one for handing out information to strangers."
"Fair enough," He chuckled, "When he comes stomping my way, I'll make sure to let him know who stopped me from sending him a hello upon arrival."
Cami had stepped onto the balcony too, leaning over to get a proper look at the face.
Chiselled features and expensive clothes.
Her mouth opened, "Your name?"
"Lucien Castle, love."
Her eyes narrowed, "We'll let him know you're here."
"Perfect."
Then, he was gone, a breeze in the night.
Vincent finally joined them, "Does anyone else think we just met our Mikaelson Copycat?"
"Quite possibly," Cami tried not to shiver at the way his smile stuck in her brain.