Vincent confirmed Hope's suspicions.
Freya's Locator Spells were proving unsuccessful. Ibeth stood beside Hayley as they watched her work her magic, hands hovering delicately over a map of New Orleans, her blood remaining stationary, try as she might to make it move.
They heard a rattling noise behind them. The jaw bone was wiggling around on the table again, turning circles to get their attention.
"That's her," said Vincent as he arrived. "That's The Hollow. She has Elijah, and now she wants the bone."
"In exchange for Elijah?" gasped Hayley.
"No, you don't understand," said Vincent sharply. "There won't be an exchange. She needs Elijah to die in order to channel the energy from his sacrifice. She's already poisoned him with the rose thorns. She wants this bone by sundown. If she doesn't get it, then she's gonna come here and she's gonna take it. And when she does, she's gonna burn this entire city to the ground."
Ibeth reached for her phone, informing Klaus to come back. "Then we need to figure out what the hell to do about this. I'll ask Kurt if any of the wolves have seen suspicious activity in any of the abandoned houses out in the Bayou. She's used them before, she could be using them again."
Vincent sat patiently beside her while they waited for Klaus and Marcel to arrive. He didn't seem happy to be there, but it didn't appear like he could bring himself to leave, either.
"You want a plan of attack," he began when the other two walked into the ballroom, "it comes down to this. Use the element of surprise. Now, Marcel will hand over the bone, and then stab the Hollow with Hayley's blood, and then I'm gonna cast the spell that buries her."
"The Ancestors' spell requires a sacrifice," Hayley recalled. "An Original has to die."
"Yeah," said Vincent, "and right now, The Hollow is gonna use Elijah's death to come back, but there's a window where I can use the sacrifice to shove her back into her grave."
Klaus scoffed. "You'll forgive me for stating the obvious, but your plan does nothing to save my brother. In fact, it relies entirely upon his death."
"Easy," warned Marcel as Ibeth motioned for Klaus to keep his comments to himself until Vincent was done explaining. "He's just trying to help."
Vincent glared at the hybrid. "Klaus, Elijah's already dead. Now, the only thing that we can do right now is figure out whether or not that death is gonna count for something."
"That's not a call any of us get to make," said Hayley, causing Vincent to turn away so he could roll his eyes. "Especially not you. There has to be a way to save him."
Ibeth had a feeling that, given what she'd heard about the previous day's events where Elijah offered to die in Klaus's place, he wouldn't mind dying to defeat the enemy, but he would prefer a chance to come back to life. She didn't voice her opinion.
"Freya," inquired Klaus, "you still have the antidote we used to cure Marcel's bite?"
"I have it, yes," said Freya. "But I don't know if it'll work against the poison of the rosebush."
"You guys aren't listening, okay?" said Vincent, frustrated. "Even if we do cure Elijah, we still have a big problem, that's called The Hollow. And it's just gonna keep coming at us until it resurrects. And when that happens, we're talking about an ancient, primal power that's made flesh and blood. It will wipe out this entire city in an afternoon, and ain't a damn thing that you or anybody else here can do about it. Now, my way? We take her out while she's still a spirit. Elijah dies, but at least his death counts for something."
"No," snapped Klaus. "No, I'm not willing to discuss this any further."
"What about your little girl? This thing wiped out the entire Labonair bloodline. It already got to Hope once, right? Now, this is a chance, Klaus. This is probably the one chance that you got. Now you want to blow that opportunity to maybe save your brother, or do you want to do you job and save your kids?"
"Don't use my children to justify your absurd plan!"
"If you have a better plan, voice it," said Ibeth. "Let's stop snapping at each other and throw out every idea we have. There are always loopholes, always alternative ways. We just have to find them, right?"
"I agree," said Freya. "I have my mother's grimoires. Vincent, I welcome you to study them with me."
Reluctantly, Vincent agreed, following her out of the room.
"I'm sorry," said Hayley, getting to her feet. "I need a minute alone."
Ibeth remained with Klaus and Marcel. "There's gotta be something else," she mused. "Some other weakness we aren't thinking of, some other release of power that could imprison her. An Original's death is worth a lot but isn't worth as much now that everyone was unlinked from their sirelings. So what if just channeling all of you at once is the key, instead of someone dying? You, Kol, Rebekah, Elijah, even you Marcel. The five most powerful creatures and just have Freya and Vincent channel that energy. None of you would die but all that strength would still be going into imprisoning The Hollow. Provided we can rescue Elijah, it's possible... right?"
"I don't know, love," said Klaus. "There's a certain energy only death can provide, all witches seek it out. This creature thrives on sacrifice, it is only natural that she be defeated with sacrifice. A complete one."
It seemed Freya had had an idea. Klaus and Ibeth were called into the study, and found her holding her blue pendant out to Hayley.
"Vincent said the Ancestors can imprison The Hollow," she reiterated. "To power their spell, an Original must die. If Elijah is going to die one way or another, we should harness his death, and then I can try placing his soul inside the pendant."
"Try?" asked Hayley, alarmed. "What do you mean, try?"
"Well, it won't be easy. We have to find him, and I'll need all of my magic. And Elijah's been poisoned for some time, there's... a chance he won't survive the process."
"But I would survive," offered Klaus.
"Klaus," warned Freya.
He continued, "If I'm the sacrifice, you can channel my death to imprison the Hollow before she kills Elijah. Yes, I'll be in the pendant, but the rest of you can find him, cure him, and bring him home."
"But Freya says she doesn't know if the cure will work against the rosebush," argued Ibeth. "What happens if both you and Elijah die? Does that cancel out the sacrifice for imprisonment and rebirth, does it mean you both get stuck in the pendant— can that thing even fit multiple people if everything goes wrong?! Klaus, I don't think—"
"Listen to me, love," he said, gripping her shoulders, "that evil wench cannot be killed. Left unchecked, she will come for Hope and for Jayden." He looked at Freya over her shoulder. "Sacrifice me, we can save Elijah and we can defeat this thing. It's the only way. We don't have time to debate this. Work your magic, sister. It's gonna be okay."
"Klaus!" Ibeth followed after him. "What if you die permanently? What if Elijah is the only one who fits in the pendant and it kicks you out and you don't come back? I-I don't want to lose you. The kids shouldn't grow up without a father."
"If that happens, they will survive," he said softly. "They'll have you and Hayley. They'll be okay."
"They want you, too. They need you. Hayley and I can survive on our own, we've lost so many people at this point, we can live without everyone if we have to, but they're children... children who only just met their father. They can't lose him so soon. It's not fair, Klaus, please..."
"It needs to be done," he insisted. "I'll inform Vincent."
"Then let me come with you."
"Absolutely not. You must stay here and take care—"
"I'm not going to sit here comforting them without knowing what's going on with you and Elijah! Keelin is here, she can watch them. I'm going with you, at least to hold your hand while you die. You shouldn't be alone."
Reluctantly, he allowed it.
She, Vincent, and Klaus made their way to the Lafayette Cemetery with a handful of the rosebush, a regular wooden stake, and Freya's pendant. Vincent had Klaus sit on an altar, lightning two torches to channel the power of the flames for the spell.
"Well, go on, your silence is deafening," said Klaus to Vincent. "Say it."
The witch raised a brow. "Say what, exactly?"
"That my impending execution pleases you. There's no shame in taking pleasure in finally felling a long-standing foe. 'The man who killed Klaus Mikaelson.' That'll make a lovely epitaph on your tombstone. May be engraved sooner than you think, if things don't go our way."
Vincent clicked his tongue. "The truth is, Klaus, I never thought I'd live to see this day. See, growing up in New Orleans as kids, we— we hear stories about the evil Klaus Mikaelson."
"Yes, yes," said Klaus. "And now I'll finally reap my just desserts."
"No," said Vincent. "I was gonna say, here you are, finally living up to the potential that Cami and Ibeth have worked so hard to make you see within yourself. When I told Cami what I was coming here to do, she wanted to come with. I didn't let her. So she sent me with a message. She wants you to know she's proud of you."
Klaus gulped, unable to meet anyone's gaze. Ibeth coaxed him into laying down on the altar. "How much longer?" he asked quietly.
"We're almost there," said Vincent. "All that's left is your death. Once I scratch you with the thorns, I'll stake you in the heart to end things quick and painless. The Ancestors are gonna help me with everything else."
They heard footsteps behind them. "Might reconsider, Vincent," said a man, holding a knife to the throat of a female witch. "Or else your friend dies."
"Oh, you've got to be joking," said Klaus, sitting up. "Don't hesitate. Kill me now!"
"If you're so eager to die, be patient," the man replied. "Once The Hollow rises, she'll kill you herself."
"Man, you don't have to do this!" said Vincent, holding his hands up in surrender. "I mean, we're all New Orleans witches here, right?"
The man scoffed. "You talk of witches as you make deals with vampires and werewolves. It's 'cause of them that we need The Hollow."
"Please, man," begged Vincent. "She is never going to save you. She's just gonna damn you to hell."
"Okay, enough talk," said Klaus, launching himself at the man and freeing the woman from his hold.
Ibeth rushed forward, using one of the torches to hit another witch on his head, shoving the flames onto his face and incapacitating him long enough to rip out his heart.
"Vincent!" cried the female witch suddenly. "The thorns!"
They saw one of the other men had run forward to toss the thorns into the fire. Vincent cried out and flicked his hand to snap his neck. Ibeth sprinted forward, and reached her hand into the fire to try and grab them before they burned. She would have managed it if Klaus hadn't materialized beside her and yanked her hand out.
"What were you thinking?" he demanded. "If those thorns could kill me, what do you think will happen to you if they prick you?"
"I could have saved them!" she argued. "Marcel's venom is made from the same stuff my venom is made out of, and wolf venom isn't lethal to other wolves. Chances are, it wouldn't kill me!"
"The thorns were created by The Hollow's magic, and we are trying to keep you from making contact with that, lest you go mad!"
"It's over, okay?" said Vincent to get them both to shut up. "The thorns are gone, I can't complete the sacrifice without them."
"Then I must go and get this to Freya," said Klaus, holding up the pendant. "Ibeth, go home."
"Wait—" She huffed when he vanished, leaving her behind.
Considering she didn't know where they were, she had no choice but to return to the Compound. Both Hope and Jayden had a million questions, wondering whether Elijah would be alright and if everyone would return home soon. She simply didn't know.
She put the children to bed earlier, hoping that they wouldn't be awake if the others returned with bad news.
Which was precisely what happened.
"This isn't happening," whispered Hayley as she, Klaus, and Freya sat in one of the studies, watching as the Mikaelson witch hovered her hand over the broken and bloody pendant. Elijah's body had been laid in a coffin downstairs. "Tell me Elijah's in there."
"I can't tell yet," said Freya softly. "I've been reaching out, but..."
"You're exhausted," Hayley said, trying to keep calm. "Just take some time to gather yourself."
"We've wasted enough time!" said Klaus angrily. "My brother's soul is in that pendant, we need to find him and bring him back."
"She might fare better in her search with a break," said Ibeth soothingly.
"We failed him once already!"
"Klaus, enough!" snapped Hayley.
Freya hung her head, defeated. "There's just... nothing. There's, there's nothing there. I think... I think he's gone."
"Try again," Klaus pleaded.
"Klaus, I did try..."
"I am asking you to try again. I know he's in there."
Ibeth and Hayley tried to urge him not to insist, but he snarled, "TRY AGAIN!"
Freya lifted her hands once more. "Leigheas brotin. Leigheas brotin... I just need some time."
Klaus turned away anxiously. "This is not happening. For a thousand years, my brother and I have walked this Earth. Countless times, death has come for us and countless times, we've denied her. He's not gone! He can't be."
"What is that?"
They realized Hope and Jayden had found them.
"Let's get you two back to bed," urged Ibeth, trying to get them out of the room before they saw that everyone was crying. "Come on—"
"No, I want to see!" whined Jayden, pushing past and looking at the pendant. "Why is it covered in blood? Where's Uncle Elijah?"
"Wait," said Hope, stepping forward and placing her hand on Freya's shoulder, causing her to flinch, her eyes widening.
"Did you see that?" the witch said to Hope. "Did you feel it?"
Hope nodded. "Uncle Elijah. He sounds so far away."
"He's in there," said Hayley, relieved. "You heard him, right?"
Freya assented. "Yes, I heard him. He's somewhere inside, but..."
"But what?" asked Klaus.
"His voice sounds distorted, broken, like radio static and I just heard... his screaming."
"If he's broken, we have to fix him," reasoned Jayden.
They waited until morning to begin their planning. Klaus contacted Rebekah and Kol, asking for their help in locating the remaining rose thorns to destroy all the weapons that could be used to kill them.
"Rebekah and Kol just landed," Klaus announced when he found Ibeth and Hayley watching Freya prepare her spell. "I just assured them we're mere moments from returning our brother to life. Don't make me a liar."
"Watch your tone," warned Ibeth. "Freya needs to do this at her own pace."
The witch nodded in agreement. "I can't resurrect Elijah until I'm certain his mind is whole."
"Well, you saved Finn with that very trinket. What's the problem?"
"When that pendant was shattered, Elijah's mind shattered with it. He's most likely retreated to the innermost of his consciousness."
"How do we do that?" inquired Hayley.
Freya bit her lip. "I don't know. It could be anywhere in over a thousand years of memories, but if I try fixing the pendant before finding him and healing his mind; he'll be permanently fractured, like casting a broken bone before it's been properly set."
Klaus rolled his eyes. "Spare me the medical analogies and fix him."
Freya glared at him. "I need to go inside and find him. Once I'm sure his mind is stable, then I can fix the pendant."
"Well, then, stop talking and get in there."
"Klaus," said Ibeth. "Go get Kol and Rebekah from the airport. We'll handle things here."
He rolled his eyes again and left the room.
"Freya?" asked Hayley meekly. "Please tell me that you can do this."
"He's my brother," she replied. "I'm not gonna stop until he's safe."
Soon enough, she was ready to do the spell.
"You actually think you can pull this off?" asked Hayley as Freya laid herself down in a circle of salt.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I've never actually tried this before."
"Freya, there are a thousand years of memories in there. How will you know which is the right one?"
"He'll recognize me. If I can find the core of his being or whatever memory he's clinging to, I'll pull him out."
"Anything we can do from out here?" asked Ibeth.
Freya shook her head. "Just... believe in me." She started to chant, "Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz..."
She went quiet and still.
They waited for her, pacing back and forth and watching as her face twitched every now and then. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and sat up with a loud gasp.
"What happened?" asked Ibeth, helping her to her feet.
Freya panted, "I thought I found him, but he just vanished right in front of me. That's not our only problem. I can't search Elijah's mind and sustain a spell at the same time."
Hayley held out her hand. "What if you sent me in?"
The witch shook her head. "That would require more power."
She insisted, "You stay here and anchor the spell. He'll respond to me. Send me in, Freya, I can find him. Nobody's closer to Elijah than I am."
Ibeth figured that wasn't exactly true, perhaps Klaus would have better luck finding him quickly if he was willing to be cooperative. Still, she hoped Hayley knew enough to locate him.
"To place you into the pendant, I would need to channel another witch," said Freya slowly. "A powerful one. Born of my family's bloodline."
"Hope," realized Hayley. "No. She's too young for this."
"She's young," agreed Freya, "but she's strong. Stronger than I was at her age. Hayley, I would never hurt my niece, ever."
Hesitantly, Hayley agreed.
Jayden insisted on coming along, holding his little Ninja Turtle as he walked by the salt circle. "Can I help, too?" he asked. "With the channeling?"
"Sure," said Hope. "I can hold your hand."
"Are you both sure about this?" asked Ibeth. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, either of you. It's okay to say no."
"I'm not afraid," said Hope.
"Me neither!" piped up Jayden.
Hearing this, Hayley laid herself down within the salt circle. "So he's just in there somewhere, clinging to broken memories?"
"The core of his being has retreated deep into his subconscious," replied Freya, "but, yes, he's still in there."
"And I just search until I find him?"
"You don't have time. There are too many memories for you to randomly search. You have to think, where would Elijah find refuge? It has to be somewhere that represents the fundamental basis of who he is. Hopefully, that's a good place. When you find it, draw him out and wake him up. But be careful, his mind is unstable."
"Mom?" asked Hope, holding onto Freya's hand, then offering her other one to Jayden. "Be careful."
Hayley managed a smile. "I'll be right back, sweetie."
Freya led the children in starting the chant, "Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz..."
They joined in, "Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz..."
Ibeth knelt by Hayley, keeping an eye on her as she closed her eyes.
It seemed like barely a minute later, Hayley began to seize.
"MOM!" cried Hope, trying to let go of Freya's hand.
"I've got her," said Ibeth, quickly turning Hayley onto her side. "What's happening?"
"Aunt Freya, do something!" urged Hope.
"Hope," urged Freya, trying desperately to keep her from letting go, "if we don't maintain the spell, we could lose her in there."
"Send me in," urged Ibeth. "I'll find whatever door she went in through and pull her out of it."
Freya nodded. "Okay. Lay beside her."
Ibeth did so, taking Hayley's hand. They chanted again, "Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz. Tillate ulaz."
When she opened her eyes, she was in a long hallway with blinding white walls and doors to match. There were many of them, perhaps an infinite amount. She started to walk further down, hearing no noise behind the first few doors.
Then, she stopped in front of a red barn door, quite different from the ornate doors stamped with the Mikaelson crest. She could hear screaming inside. Hayley.
"Here goes nothing," she said, stepping inside.
She entered a cabin, filled with all sorts of work tools. She reached for the first knife she found, then grabbed onto a broken piece of wood, exiting into a vast forest.
"HAYLEY!" she yelled, hoping she could hear her.
"HERE!" she screamed.
Ibeth made for where the scream came from, starting to run. She was shocked to find Elijah, his hair long and his clothes unlike anything she'd ever seen him wear, with his hand around Hayley's throat, pinning her to a tree.
"Let go of her!" she snapped, whacking him on the back of his shins with the piece of wood.
He loosened his grip enough for Hayley to headbutt him, ripping his hand off of her throat. The hybrid grabbed onto her, speed them back to where they entered the room. Elijah caught up to them in the cabin, grabbing Ibeth and tossing her into the nearest wall.
"Open the door!" she told Hayley. It seemed the hybrid understood what her plan was. She opened it, but didn't step through.
Elijah turned his attention to Hayley. Ibeth rushed at him from behind, and Hayley from the front, and they tackled him in the direction of the door, succeeding in the three flying out of it and landing on the white hallway outside.
Ibeth scrambled to her feet, pulling Hayley up and stepping protectively in front of her as Elijah, now dressed in his usual suit and with his hair done, stood and stared at them in shock.
"It's okay," said Elijah softly. "It's me."
"Let's go," said Hayley, pulling Ibeth back the way they came. "We'll tell Freya it's safe to fix the pendant."
They rushed down to the other end of the hallway and awoke with a start within the salt circle. Hope and Jayden rushed toward them, hugging them tightly as soon as they sat up.
"It's time to fix the pendant," said Freya.
The children ran back to her, linking hands again as she chanted over the broken shards, "Leigheas brotin. Leigheas brotin. Leigheas brotin. Leigheas brotin.."
Slowly, the broken pieces repaired themselves like a puzzle.
"Come on," urged Ibeth, helping Hayley stand. "Let's get a drink, you and me."
They hid away in Ibeth's room with a few bottles of bourbon. Hayley was still trembling, staring in shock at the far wall.
"I think Vincent is right, you know," the hybrid whispered.
Ibeth furrowed her brows. "About what?"
"He told me the same thing he said to you. Hope and Jayden aren't safe around any of them. We knew they were monsters. We've chosen to focus on their good moments. But maybe we're making a mistake. Elijah chose to hide in the darkest part of himself. And lately he's been allowing too many innocents to die. Vincent thought that you and I should leave, raise the kids somewhere on our own."
Ibeth gulped. "And you think we should?"
"I think we should send him to the Salvatore Boarding School," said Hayley. "It would be good for them. They'd spend the majority of the year there, with friends. Learning. During holidays... they come home to us. Visit the Mikaelsons every now and then. But I don't think we should all live together. I think that's a mistake."
"What about Klaus?"
Hayley gulped. "If he were willing to leave them behind permanently and live with just you and me... it could work. But he never will."
She slid the bottle of bourbon toward Ibeth, who drew a sip, watching her closely.
Hayley hugged her knees to her chest. "If we don't set aside our own feelings and take our kids somewhere safe, we're just as monstrous as them."