Outfits in the external link
From 3.22 "The Bloody Crown", in the courtyard of the compound, all of the vampires were gathered around Kassandra, Klaus, Marcel, Noah and Caitlin.
Noah: (voice over) "Previously on Worlds Colliding (The Originals)"
Marcel picked up Papa Tunde's Blade from the floor, walking toward Kassandra. "This lade is imbued with dark magic."
Many vampires restrained Klaus from behind, lifting him off the floor, carrying him toward Kassandra. Kassandra lifted the blade, stabbing it into Klaus' chest with both hands, making him scream in agony.
Marcel: (voice over from 3.22 The Bloody Crown) "It will cause unending agony."
From 4.04 "Keepers of the House", in the study of the compound, Freya and Keelin were talking.
"Since I am on the most wanted list on every psycho who wants your family dead, I guess I'm Team Mikaelson, whether I like it or not," Keelin told her.
Freya was surprised by the answer, affected and moved, taking Keelin's hand, bringing it close to her lips so she could whisper a spell onto the moonlight ring. She raised her gaze to look at Keelin. Keelin looked at her in confusion.
Keelin: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking)"You did cure me of my curse, so let's see this thing through. That's what friends do, right?"
From 4.04 "Keepers of the House", in the courtyard of the compound, Auria looked at Klaus, Kassandra, Elijah, Hayley, Kaylin, Nicola, Hope, Rae and Tory. "The Hollow is coming."
From 4.03 "Haunter of Ruins", in the pool room of the Davilla Estate, the witch looked at Auria. "It wants you here."
From 4.03 "Haunter of Ruins", in flashback to the Rayvnne House, Phelan and Gaia cut either of Young Auria's hands, pouring her blood on the symbols on the table. The same blue light started to glow around them. Young Auria watched in shock, scared and confused, while Phelan and Gaia continued to chant as if they didn't notice anything.
Witch: (voice over from 4.03 Haunter of Ruins) "They freed it, Auria, using your blood to awaken it."
From 4.03 "Haunter of Ruins", in the pool room of the Davilla Estate, Auria stood behind the witch, holding the knife to his throat.
"And now it must be fed," the witch told her.
Auria was overcome with anger and this rage that she hadn't felt before, stemming from the fear from what happened when she was a kid happening now, slitting the witch's throat, killing him.
Auria: (voice over from 4.04 Keepers of the House) "Now that thing, it took everything that's dark and twisted and used it against them, ended up changing them into something unrecognizable."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in St. James Infirmary, Marcel, Noah, Caitlin and Auria were talking.
"When Davina and I blew the link in the Ancestral Realm, there was a massive release of energy," Auria told them. "Now, my parents may have brought this thing here, or it used them and me to bring it here... but I think it gained more power from that night, when we severed our connection with the Ancestors."
"Great," Caitlin told them sarcastically. "We got rid of one evil to get another."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the cemetery, Marcel and Auria were talking.
"Is it trying to kill you, or trying to turn you dark like it did to the others?" Marcel asked.
"I can feel it trying to turn me, but it knows that I would rather die and that I will stop at nothing to stop it, so if it can't convert me..." Auria trailed off.
"It'll kill you," Marcel finished.
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the bayou, Mikayla and Hayley were talking.
"Hayley, I think the Hollow made Mary's husband kill our parents," Mikayla told her.
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the bayou, Mikayla and Kacie were talking.
"So, not only is the Hollow obsessed with the Rayvnnes, but it's obsessed with the Labonairs, too?" Kacie asked.
"If this thing is back to finish off the Rayvnnes, what if it's also back to finish off the Labonairs?" Mikayla asked.
From 4.04 "Keepers of the House", on the dock in the bayou, Riley looked at Hayley, Mikayla, Kassandra, Kacie, Caitlin and Noah. "The Hollow wants power. The kind that only comes from sacrifice."
From 4.04 "Keepers of the House", in the ballroom of the compound, Riley was just waking up, having been restrained to a staircase. Hayley walked closer.
"You think you can save me," Riley told her.
"If anyone gets taken over by the Hollow, we want to know how to save them," Hayley told him.
From 4.04 "Keepers of the House", at the ritual, Kassandra, Klaus and Marcel were trapped in the circle of fire.
From 4.04 "Keepers of the House", in the other world, instead of being trapped in a ring of fire, Kassandra, Klaus and Marcel seemed to be trapped in a dark forest in a circle of snow. A bright blue light shined in front of them.
Riley: (voice over from 4.04 Keepers of the House) "It will feed, and it will rise."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the bayou, Nicola and Elijah were talking.
"The Hollow is basically a witch spirit that can possess and twist people into something dark and twisted and unrecognizable," Nicola told him. "We already know I'm immune, and that if my blood is poisonous to witches..."
"It can be poisonous to the Hollow," Elijah finished.
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the bayou shack, Nicola gave Riley more of her blood, while Tory was siphoning from him. A burst of blue light and black smoke seemed to be expelled from Riley, making them all jump in shock and duck reflexively, watching as the blue light and black smoke swirled around and disappear entirely.
Nicola: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking) "And if my blood exorcises the witch spirit for a short time and it comes back, I can do it again, and again."
From 4.04 "Keepers of the House", in Rae's Dream, in St. James Infirmary, Auria and Marcel were talking.
Auria sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Marcel, I wonder if it hasn't gotten to you, because it knows that you're gonna protect me. Because the best way to get to me... is you."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the cemetery, the Hollow was tormenting Marcel with visions of Noah and Caitlin.
"You think that you can protect Auria, but you can't," Noah told him. "She will either turn into her mother and father, or she will die."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in Lucien's Penthouse, the Hollow was tormenting Kassandra with visions of Lucien and Rosalita.
"You are here to deliver a sacrifice," Rosalita told her.
"Either Klaus or you, and you can't die, Kassandra," Lucien told her.
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the abandoned house, Kassandra and Klaus were fighting under the influence of hallucinations.
Lucien: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking) "Two powerful souls, both fighting to the death, and he's the only one that can be killed... by you."
Tory and Freya both cast a heavy pain infliction spell on Kassandra to make her let go of Klaus before she could bite what she thought was Rosalita. Kassandra held her head, getting annoyed quickly. Elijah rushed toward Kassandra to push her against the wall before she could recover. Klaus helped Elijah restrain Kassandra while Tory and Freya continued to give her a pain infliction spell to distract her so that Nicola could stab Kassandra with a needle of her blood, injecting it into her. The spirit seemed to burst out of Kassandra in blue light and black smoke, but it seemed to be holding tight onto Kassandra, unwilling to let go completely. Nicola injected her with more of her blood while Tory siphoned the power of the Hollow out of Kassandra, expelling the magic out of her, the magic that swirled around and make them duck.
Kaylin: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking) "Nikki's blood and Tory's siphoning powers expelled the Hollow's magic out of you, and they also mostly expelled it from Kassandra, too."
Kaylin injected Klaus with some of Nicola's blood, while Tory siphoned the magic out of him to free him as well. The blue light and black smoke burst out of him, swirling around, making them all duck.
Klaus: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking) "Mostly. That's what concerns me."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in Klaus' study, Klaus and Kaylin were talking.
"It let me go without a second thought," Klaus told her. "Clearly, it has other plans for my sister, being that it didn't want to let her go."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in St. James Infirmary, Marcel, Noah, Caitlin, Auria, Tory and Luke were talking.
"It turns out that drinking a bit of the witch-poisonous serum that is the Huntress' blood and the tribrid siphoning the Hollow's power out of a host can cure a Hollower Follower," Luke told them.
"Is there a chance that the influence can come back?" Auria asked.
"Yes, definitely, because it's still attacking Kassandra even after we tried to cure her, which is why she asked me to lock her away inside a boundary spell," Tory answered.
Marcel drank the vial of Nicola's blood so that Tory could siphon the Hollow's magic out of him, expelling the blue light/black smoke that disappeared almost instantly.
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the dungeon, Kassandra was inside the boundary spell. The Hollow was tormenting her with a vision of Lucien.
"I'm trying to protect everyone I love from the monster that you want to turn me into," Kassandra told him angrily. She rushed to her feet to glare him in the eyes angrily in determination. "Once I am free of you and once I am sure that you can no longer have a hold over me, I will hunt you down..." She lowered her voice to a taunting whisper, leaning closer to say the whispering threat into his ear like he had done to her repeatedly that day. "And I promise you I will deliver you another kind of nightmare."
Kassandra backed away, opening the palm of her hand to reveal that she had found one of the vials of blood, drinking it quickly to expel the spirit from her mind before it could stop her.
Nicola: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking) "Did she seriously have Tory lock her in a boundary spell inside the same dungeon that she kept Klaus for five years?"
The Hollow was forced out of Kassandra in a swirl of black smoke and blue light, disappearing along with the vision of Lucien.
Elijah: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking) "For our protection so that nothing like what happened today will ever happen again."
Kassandra watched it go smugly in amusement, relieved for it to be gone for now, pleased at the fact that she was able to hurt it when she forced it out of her mind, sitting down, wrapping her arms around her knees, leaning her head against her arms, looking at the many vials of blood on the floor next to her that were no longer hidden from her because the Hollow was gone for the moment, even though she knew that it would come for her again.
Nicola: (voice over from 4.05 I Hear You Knocking) "I'll keep trying to cure Kassandra, but she's dangerous to everyone until we know for sure that she's not a threat anymore."
From 4.05 "I Hear You Knocking", in the abandoned house, Sofya and Dominic were talking next to where a poisonous plant seemed to be growing.
"I want Klaus and Nicola dead," Sofya told him.
Dominic shone the flashlight on Kassandra's blood and the plant that was growing over it to show Sofya. "Kassandra's blood was spilled today. As she is the only one who can kill an Original, a single scratch from that thorn will kill an Original, or any vampire, including the Huntress. And we both get what we want."
----~----
Day One
Morning - Abattoir Compound - Dungeon
(Song:) Zombie - Damned Anthem
Kassandra was sitting in the middle of the boundary spell, lighting candles around the salt line in boredom. She heard something, looking up, sensing that the Hollow was coming back for her, looking around for the last vial of Nicola's blood that she had in the circle, knowing that it was already there. "If you show me more imposter faces of people that I love or that I used to love or my enemies that are dead and I can't do anything to get revenge, I will gladly send you screaming back to Hell the first chance that I receive."
Hollow!Lucien appeared in front of her, chuckling in amusement. "If only you showed this much hate and vengeance to your brother, Kassandra."
"If you've come to taunt and break me into attacking my brother, you've wasted your time, seeing as I refuse to let anyone let me out of this boundary spell until I am sure that you will leave me alone," Kassandra told him.
"Maybe I am just here to convince you to leave when they offer to let you out," Lucien told her. "And they will offer to let you out, because they love you, and they don't wish to see you suffer in a dungeon."
"Yes, well, I have it coming," Kassandra told him irritably.
Lucien shrugged. "Perhaps. Doesn't change the facts that you are letting the people who destroyed the love of your life get away with murder."
"We've all gotten away with a lot more murder than just my ex," Kassandra told him impassively. "And they are family. Yes, they had a hand in destroying him, but most of the blame falls on the Ancestors and Rosalita."
Lucien knelt in front of Kassandra. "Is that what you really believe, Kassandra? Or is that just what you want to believe so that it will be easier to forgive them and forgive yourself?"
Kassandra glared at him furiously. "You're in my head. Why don't you tell me?"
"I can tell you that I know what you're thinking," Lucien told her. "Do you remember what that first time with Lucien felt like? Being with someone who was every bit as powerful, as tormented, and as cursed... as you?" Kassandra didn't answer, looking down. "Look me in the eye and tell me you haven't thought about what the two of you had every day for the last thousand years, and that you haven't spent every day of the last five wishing things could have been different. You blame yourself for it being this way, which is the main reason that you are here in this dungeon, and the reason that you haven't yet sent me away. Because you want to punish yourself for everything that happened, and the things that you did. You're not the one that needs to be punished..." The Hollow hallucination smirked as he called her what Lucien always used call her, only to make her angry and get under her skin. "My love."
Kassandra raised her gaze to glare at him furiously. "Don't call me that."
"Only the real Lucien could call you that, correct?" Lucien asked. "You want things to be different so badly. What if I told you that there was a way things could be different? To show my gratitude if you obeyed, maybe I would let you see the real Lucien again. Not the Lucien that died in front of you, the one out of his mind. He would be the same Lucien, but his mind would be healed and put back together, to the Lucien that you remember from before you were daggered and he was compelled to be your brother for 500 years. That Lucien that treated you like his queen and never thought of hurting anyone close to you, either willingly or unwillingly. And I could heal your mind completely as well, Kassandra, so that you would be able to maybe revert back to the girl that you once were, just far stronger than anyone else."
Kassandra shook her head in suspicion and anger. "You're bluffing. No... you're lying."
Kassandra grabbed the last vial of Nicola's blood from the floor to send him away.
Lucien grabbed her wrist tightly, making her stop as if he could actually grab her instead of just hallucinating the touch. "Am I? Are you too scared to find out, Sandra? Or would you choose the dysfunctional, hypocritical family that destroyed both you and your lover over the only person who has ever truly been devoted to you and would never have betrayed you if it wasn't for Rosalita, the Ancestors and your family?"
Kassandra glared at him. "Go to hell."
Kassandra had had enough of the Hollow's torment and preying on her weaknesses, quickly drinking the vial of Nicola's blood in one gulp.
The Hollow was forced out of Kassandra in a swirl of black smoke and blue light, disappearing along with the vision of Lucien.
Kassandra was a little shaken up by what the Hollow hallucination of Lucien had said, and though she never wanted to hurt another member of her family ever again, she couldn't help but wonder if it had been lying to her about being able to see the real Lucien again or if it was just another mind trick that it was playing on her.
----
Worlds Colliding (The Originals)
----
Auria's Apartment - Living Room
Auria and Caitlin were looking at a wall of maps, articles, etc.
"So, what do you got?" Caitlin asked.
Auria gestured around the wall. "1953. Clusters of violent rituals in four different locations, all in the span of two months. Similarity of the rituals, to me, suggests a possible connection to the Hollow. More violent clusters, this time in Algiers, Treme, the bayou and Marigny. Again, four different locations."
Caitlin frowned in confusion. "Why is it always four locations?"
"That's the part I haven't figured out yet," Auria told her.
Caitlin nodded.
Marcel and Noah walked in.
"Auria, Caitlin, hey," Noah told them.
"Hey, Noah, Marcel," Caitlin told them. She looked at Marcel. "You just got a dose of Huntress blood and siphoned from the tribrid to make sure that the Hollow's magic out of you?"
"Yeah," Marcel answered. "Kacie, Tory and Luke just left. Apparently Lockwood, Donovan and Thompson had something else to do."
"They went to Rousseau's to see if they can find anything else," Noah explained.
"And while we all may be fighting with the Mikaelsons because of what happened to Davina, we all know that we need their help to get rid of this Hollow," Marcel told them.
Auria and Caitlin nodded in agreement.
"And I bet they got a plan all figured out," Caitlin told them.
"As a matter of fact, they do," Noah told them. "A rather festive one, in fact. We should get into detail."
Auria sighed. "Well, if we're gonna defeat this thing, we're gonna need their help. Doesn't mean that we have to like it."
----
Abattoir Compound - Courtyard
Klaus and Elijah had several compelled people setting up for a party.
Kaylin and Nicola walked in, looking around, confused, turning to see Klaus and Elijah standing on the balcony above the courtyard.
"We're throwing a party, I see," Nicola told them
Klaus smiled. "One that will be attended by New Orleans' most influential creatures."
Nicola gave them an amused look. "You two do realize that everyone hates you."
"But they love Kassandra as a result of what she was forced to do to her family, and as the invite states, she is the co host," Elijah told them. "Tonight, we celebrate the reunion of our family."
Kaylin leaned against a table next to her to look up at them in amusement, tilting her head. "So, you're throwing a fake party in honor of a newly reunited family, and your guest of honor, AKA your sister, locked herself away in a dungeon to make sure that she's not forced to hurt any of us ever again."
Klaus and Elijah walked downstairs toward Kaylin and Nicola.
"Freya has been trying to convince Kassandra into leaving her self-isolation, telling her that we can help her be free from the Hollow's control, but of course our sister is in no mood to listen," Klaus told them. "At least that Sandra's stubbornness is the one constant in our lives."
"We'll continue to try to get through to her, but until she's free of this vile influence, perhaps this is safer for everyone," Elijah told them.
"But you hate that Kassandra is putting herself through more suffering than she's already going through," Nicola told them.
The brothers nodded somberly.
"In the meantime, we'll have our hands full weeding out those in league with the Hollow," Klaus told them.
"Mm, sounds like you could use some help with that," Kaylin told them. "Kacie, Tory and Luke convinced Marcel, Auria, Noah and Caitlin to let us help them when Tory was making sure that Marcel was safe from the Hollow, and Hayley and Mikayla are asking a favor of Luke, Tory and Kacie about finding out what really happened to their parents. Hope and Rae are with Mary, having peaceful fun day, so at least they're away from all the dangers that the rest of the Salvatores, Mikaelsons, Lockwoods, Donovans, Thompsons, Davises, Labonairs, Gerard, Rayvnne, Dumaine, Forbes and Harris have to face."
"What do you need from us?" Nicola asked. Klaus and Elijah opened their mouths to speak. "And before you try to talk either of us out of danger, remember that both Klaus's daughter and Kaylin's daughter, slash my sorta aunt/niece Rae almost died, and we both want to protect Rae just as much as you two want to protect Hope and Kassandra. And we both want to protect Hope and Kassandra just as much as you two do. Like she said. It's the rest of us Salvatores, Mikaelsons, Lockwoods, Donovans, Thompsons, Davises, Labonairs, Gerard, Rayvnne, Dumaine, Forbes and Harris in this."
Klaus and Elijah sighed, smiling small smiles, amused and impressed. Kaylin and Nicola smiled, shrugging.
----
Auria's Apartment - Living Room
Marcel, Auria, Caitlin and Noah were looking at the wall of maps, articles, etc.
"This thing has been haunting the city for a very long time," Auria told them. "And before today, the only thing I knew about it was that it was a spirit practicing very dark magic, and it was trying desperately to get back into this world. And that's why it tried to sacrifice those kids. That's why it tried to do the exact same thing to Kassandra and to Klaus. Because if it kills them, if they die, it absorbs all of their power."
"So, talk to me about this," Marcel told her.
"This is the history of the city," Auria told them. "Yeah, this is the ebb and flow of violence and tragedy. Look, this is, um Madame LaLaurie. This is, uh, the Axeman. I mean, the list goes on and on and on and on and on, and sometimes it's hidden, but if you know what you're looking for, right? There's always a sign that it's the Hollow. And when it does bubble up, it always does so in a pattern of four."
"What does it want?" Caitlin asked.
"It's a ghost," Auria told them, sighing. "It--it wants access to this world. So it reaches out, and it whispers to the desperate."
"There have to be others, someone else, someone who could speak to us of its desires, of its weaknesses," Noah told them.
"You think this person might be at the Mikaelsons' party?" Caitlin asked.
"I'm counting on it," Marcel told them. "And they're counting on us to help them identify the followers, and in return, they'll help us."
Auria sighed, nodding in agreement.
Caitlin looked at them curiously.
----
St. Louis Cathedral - Bell Tower
Freya and Keelin were talking, getting ready to leave.
"I have to get back home to try and talk to Kassandra about all of this, but I just wanted to let you know about the party," Freya told her. "We Mikaelsons do know how to party. Live music performed by Caitlin Harris and Noah Dumaine. Open bar. Dancing. Of course, you don't have to come."
"Uh, do you know how long it's been since I got to dress up and drink free booze?" Keelin asked. "If there's a party, I'm in."
"Good," Freya told her. They looked at each other. Freya chuckled, while Keelin laughed. "I'll see you there. I just..."
"Need to be there for your sister and try to convince her that you can help her without her locking herself up like a martyr," Keelin finished. "Yeah, I get it. Go. Be there for your sister. I'll meet you there."
Freya looked at Keelin gratefully, nodding, turning around, walking away. Keelin watched her go, smiling slightly.
----
Rousseau's
(Song:) Home - Morgan
Tory and Luke were sitting at the bar, drinking.
"So, you, Kacie and I managed to convince Marcel Gerard, Noah Dumaine, Caitlin Harris and Auria Rayvnne to work with the Mikaelsons, but they still haven't forgiven them for what happened Davina," Tory told him. "But I can't blame them, though I know that the Mikaelsons did what they did to save Kaylin, Nicola, Mikayla and Klaus, and try to prevent Kassandra from turning into the beast. I know that us Lockwoods/Donovans/Thompsons/Davises/Forbes aren't really supposed to be there for them or the Labonairs, but because of the Salvatore girls, we are. No matter what they've done."
"Yeah, well, the Mikaelsons have done a lot worse for less," Luke told her, taking a drink.
"Luke, I know that you have no reason to get along with them, but I'm happy that you're here, even if it's just for me," Tory told him.
"Well, I would do anything for you, and I've proven that... repeatedly," Luke told her. Tory smiled, chuckling, nodding in agreement. "And, yeah, Ryan is back from the dead, and the only reason why he got killed was because of Rosalita's mind control, so I don't have to keep hating Klaus or Hayley, but it doesn't mean that I have to like them."
"But you still helped them, because of me, and because of Kaylin, Nicola and Rae," Tory told him. "That means a lot in my book."
Tory took a drink.
"Yeah, and maybe once Nicola learns how to control herself without your help, this will all be behind us," Luke told her. "Though, if we have to stick around for a while, then I won't be complaining. I mean, given the sire bond to Hope and all."
"And being related to the Salvatore girls, even if it's very distantly," Tory told him.
Luke laughed. "Yeah. Through Rosalita and Silas. All of you are related to the two worst monsters in history."
"Uh, incidentally," Tory told him. "We can't choose who we're descended from."
Luke laughed in amusement.
Tory and Luke smiled, looking at each other for a moment, kissing slowly and sweetly for a moment, pulling away.
Hayley and Mikayla walked in, seeing Tory and Luke.
Hayley saw Riley across the bar, holding up a finger to Mikayla to tell her she would be back. "I just need to talk to Riley. I'll be right back, Mikayla." Mikayla nodded in understanding. Hayley walked toward Riley. "Riley. Hey."
"Hi, Hayley," Riley told her, taking a drink.
"I see that you're free enough go out and have a drink," Hayley told him.
"Are you checking up on me because Mikayla wants to know if one of her old wolves are okay, or because you want to know if I'm okay?" Riley asked.
Hayley managed a small smile, chuckling. "A little bit of both. Just to make sure that the Hollow didn't come back for you."
"Pretty sure that a wolf like me is a low score for something like the Hollow," Riley told her. "I still have some urges, but..."
"That's not good," Hayley told him. "Making sure, you know?"
Riley nodded. "Yeah. I might have been cured, but there's still a little lingering of the magic."
"Okay," Hayley told him. "Listen, Riley, me and Mikayla have to ask Tory, Luke and Kacie for a favor, but maybe after that, you could meet me at the Mikaelson party tonight. Nicola will be there, and if you could get a little more of her blood, then it'll make sure that the Hollow's completely out of your system. Just to be safe."
Riley nodded in agreement, sighing. "All right. Sounds good. Just to make sure that this thing doesn't have control over me anymore, be on the safe side. Thanks, Hayley."
Hayley chuckled, smiling a small smile, nodding.
----
Elsewhere
Mikayla walked up to Tory and Luke at the bar. "Hey, guys. I was wondering where you were."
"Well, we're here," Luke told her.
"Where's Kacie?" Mikayla asked. Tory nodded across the bar. Mikayla followed her gaze. Kacie was throwing darts at a dartboard, hitting three bull's eyes in a row. A few other patrons cheered her on. Kacie smiled smugly, turning to her table, taking a drink, stopping when she saw Mikayla from across the bar. Mikayla smirked slightly. "Why am I not surprised?"
Kacie smirked sarcastically, knowing she would hear her. "I heard that, Mikayla."
"You were supposed to," Mikayla replied.
Tory and Luke looked between the two in amusement.
Mikayla smirked slightly, looking at Tory and Luke, sighing.
"Let me guess, Mikayla," Tory told her. "You need a favor, and you come to me because Freya is busy with family stuff, and Auria hasn't forgiven you guys."
Mikayla sighed, nodding.
Tory nodded, finishing her drink.
(Song Ends)
----
Josh's Apartment - Living Room
Josh walked into the living room of his loft.
Sofya was waiting for him, sitting on a couch. "Late start to the day, Josh?"
Josh stopped in surprise and weirdness. "Okay. Hi. Creepy. You know, normal people, like, knock."
"Normal is boring," Sofya told him.
"Yeah, tomato, 'to-mah-to'," Josh told her. "Are you here to kill me?"
Sofya smirked in amusement, standing. "Now, why would you think that?"
"That's what you tried to do the first time we met," Josh answered. "And it's not like we've ever seen each other since then, so..."
Sofya saw the invitation Josh had received on the table from the Mikaelsons for their party that night, picking it up. "My priorities have changed. Just now, I'm focused on event planning." She walked closer to Josh. "For instance, don't you find it odd that the Mikaelsons are hosting a family reunion party with Kassandra, yet no one's seen her in over 24 hours?"
Josh crossed his arms over his chest. "Because she's locked in a dungeon?" Sofya was confused to how Josh knew that. "My friends Noah Dumaine and Caitlin Harris told me that Kassandra was affected by a mystical force named the Hollow, and that she had a Hybrid Heretic, or a tribrid, named Tory Donovan spell her into a secret place so that she didn't try to hurt anyone else she loved again."
Josh walked past her toward the couch.
"They're inviting everyone to see who is in league with the Hollow," Sofya told him. They turned to face each other. "Well, it's your lucky day. I'm your plus-one."
Josh chuckled nervously, shaking his head. "Yeah? Actually, I wasn't even gonna go."
Sofya stepped closer to Josh. "You know that I used to work for Lucien Castle." Josh nodded in agreement, wondering what the point was. "Lucien was completely in love with and devoted to Kassandra. And I might need her help for a little plan of mine. I want you to help me find her and get her out."
"Why would I want to help you set free an insane Enhanced Original that wants to be locked up so she doesn't go all ninja on everyone she cares about?" Josh asked.
"Because I have someone that you care about," Sofya answered. "Your boyfriend, Eddie, is it?" Josh looked at her worriedly, glaring in hate at the information that his boyfriend was in danger. "If you help me with Kassandra, I'll let him go without a scratch. I'll even compel him to forget that he was ever in danger, everything about the supernatural. If not, well... Kassandra's not the only one who can go 'ninja' on innocent people who get caught in the crossfire. And if you tell anyone about this, I'll have him killed instantly. That means no telling Marcel Gerard, Noah Dumaine, Caitlin Harris, Auria Rayvnne or anyone else. Am I clear?" Josh swallowed nervously, nodding. Sofya looked at the bracelet that she was wearing, which was fashioned from the plant/weaponry that the Hollow had made from Kassandra's blood. "I can deal with Nicola Salvatore the Huntress and everyone else that might stop you from releasing Kassandra. You will find Kassandra, or I will reconsider allowing your boyfriend to live."
Sofya gave Josh a significant look, walking away.
Josh was obviously worried.
----
Rousseau's
(Song:) Certainty - Temples
Riley, Hayley, Mikayla, Kacie, Tory and Luke were sitting at a table, talking.
Tory reached across the table to grab Riley by the arm, allowing her hand to glow red as she siphoned the magic out of his system, only a little bit of black smoke/blue light leaving his body, barely noticeable. "It's almost gone, but I would still head to the compound tonight to get some of Nicola's go-juice, to make sure that it doesn't come back. You know, there's only so much that either of us can do when it comes to exorcising the Hollow."
"Uh, all the same, thanks, anyway," Riley told her. "Means a lot."
Tory nodded. "Of course."
"Riley, are you gonna be okay?" Hayley asked in concern.
"Once this thing leaves me alone for good, yeah," Riley answered.
"Good," Hayley told him.
Kacie took a drink. "So, Hayley. Mikayla, what was the favor that you wanted to ask of Tory?"
Mikayla looked around to make sure no one was listening in, leaning forward against the table. "Kacie, you remember what I told you about what we found out about the man who killed our parents."
Kacie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you said that you thought that the Hollow might come for both the Rayvnnes and the Labonairs, too."
Tory and Luke were confused and concerned by this.
"Right," Hayley agreed. "Now, I was only one years old when our parents were killed. Mikayla was just an infant. We don't remember it, but we--we do know where they were killed."
Mikayla looked at Tory. "We were wishing, maybe with your spells and your witchcraft, and your psychic abilities..."
"You want me to unlock your childhood memories," Tory finished. "Mikayla, violent death has a very specific energy. I could conjure up whatever there is to see, but you might not like it."
Hayley hesitated for a long moment. "I don't think we have a choice."
(Song Ends)
----
Abattoir Compound - Courtyard
The servants were still setting up for the party.
Kaylin and Nicola were standing next to a large fleur-de-lis ice sculpture in the middle of the room, looking around the room at the purple and gold linens and more fleur-de-lis shapes on the beams around the courtyard.
Kaylin smiled.
Klaus and Elijah were getting wine and dine ready.
Freya walked in, looking around. "Well, you've outdone yourselves."
"I'm inclined to agree," Klaus told her.
Kaylin looked around, running a finger along the ice sculpture. "It's such a shame these lovely linens will soon be red with blood."
"Violence must only be seen as a last resort, or it will only weaken our position," Freya told them.
"Yes, well, I'm a creature of very specific habits," Klaus told her, using a knife to point at Freya.
Elijah took the knife from Klaus, walking around him. "Niklaus, Kaylin, please remember, the plan tonight is to create a false sense of security." The brothers turned to face each other. Kaylin gave Elijah a skeptic look. "A little music, a little champagne, some stealthy reconnaissance." Elijah used the knife to point at Klaus for a moment, giving Klaus, Kaylin and Nicola a significant look. "No bloodshed." He turned away to put the knife down on a nearby table. "Do we understand each other?"
Kaylin turned toward Elijah, tilting her head. "They threatened Hope, they threatened Rae, they threatened Klaus and Kassandra and all of us. So maybe, just maybe, bloodshed is inevitable."
Nicola picked up a bottle from the bar, turning to face them. "And how do we protect Rae and Hope from all of this?" Klaus and Kaylin didn't know how to answer, sighing, standing next to the bar. Nicola poured herself a drink. "The two of them worship the two of you. You've both have histories of being monsters, but both have stated that you want to be better for your daughters."
"I do not wish for them to see me as a monster, but I cannot sit idly by while threats to our family to go unanswered," Klaus told them.
"They won't," Elijah told them. "Now, let me do this. Please. And should any turmoil arise, should anyone dare to disrupt our kingdom, let them answer to me."
Klaus and Kaylin exchanged a look, willing to take this as a better compromise.
Nicola took a drink.
Freya sighed, walking closer. "Niklaus, Elijah, whatever we're going to do, we need to speak to Kassandra." Klaus and Elijah looked at Freya, nodding in agreement, somber and sad at the thought of what their sister was going through and putting herself through. "We have to at least try."
----
Dungeon
(Song:) Innocence - Nathan Wagner
Kassandra was still in her boundary spell, pacing in boredom, looking around. She sighed, sitting down, whispering a riddle to herself to keep her mind busy so that she wouldn't be affected by the Hollow. "This thing all things devours. Birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel. Grinds hard stones to meal. Slays king, ruins town. And beasts high mountain down."
Klaus, Elijah and Freya walked inside.
"Coming up with poetry to pass the time, Kassandra?" Freya asked.
"More like easing my mind with riddles so that I can tune out the Hollow's hallucinations," Kassandra answered. "It's playing tricks on my mind."
Freya looked at her in concern, walking closer. "What kind of tricks?"
"Making me see... Lucien... and making so-called promises about letting me see him as he was before his mind was ruined, if I did what it wants," Kassandra answered hesitantly.
"You don't believe it, do you?" Klaus asked.
"No," Kassandra answered. "Absolutely not."
"But you can't help but be a little curious," Freya realized. "Kassandra, I'm so sorry."
Kassandra didn't respond for a moment, gazing off. "I'm not going to let it manipulate me like that. I'm tired of being manipulated. I'm ignoring it as best as I can, but I ran out of the bloody vials."
Her siblings looked worried and concerned and angry that the Hollow would play with her like this, but relieved that Kassandra was clear on what she wanted and what she would not do.
Elijah held up a few vials of blood. "More gifts from Nicola." Kassandra looked at them in relief. Elijah passed them over the boundary spell, though he himself couldn't reach past it. "And after Luke Thompson, Tory Donovan and Kacie Lockwood do a favor for Hayley and Mikayla, Tory will be here to siphon what remains of the Hollow's magic in your system after she finishes a favor for the Labonair sisters."
"Don't worry about me," Kassandra told them. "Just worry about taking care of things out there. Like with your party. Genius plan, really, and one that I'm a little disappointed not to be a part of."
"I knew that you would be able to hear everything up there," Klaus told her. "And of course you're disappointed, because you've always loved a good party. It's usually your idea to throw parties for schemes of ours like these."
"Yes, well, I'm not up to my best self," Kassandra told them.
"But if we get you out of there and keep an eye on you, maybe you can be soon," Elijah told her.
Kassandra rolled her eyes, shaking her head, sighing in exasperation and frustration. "I'm not going to have this conversation again. I know that you want me to join you, but I can't trust myself not to hurt you with this thing in my head. It's not only you I could hurt. I could hurt everyone."
"Kassandra, just admit one thing to me," Klaus told her. "Admit that this isn't just about you protecting us from yourself, though it is a large part of it. Admit that this is about punishing yourself for what happened."
Kassandra lowered her gaze, shaking her head unconvincingly. "No. That's not what this is about."
"Really?" Klaus asked sarcastically. "You just happened to need to lock yourself away in the exact location I was kept for five years."
"Where I imprisoned you and tormented you and kept you away from Hope while your daughter grew up without her father, you mean," Kassandra told him. The three other siblings gave her a look as if this answered their question. Kassandra sighed. "All right, fine. Yes, I am punishing myself for what I did. There. You have your admission. Are you happy now?"
"No, we're not happy, Sandra," Klaus answered in frustration. "We're not because you're not."
"We know you're trying to atone for what you've done, you would rather lock yourself away here to torment yourself and to protect the rest of us," Elijah told her.
"You have already suffered enough, Kassandra," Freya told her. "Sister, please, just let this be the end."
Kassandra considered for a moment about what she would say, sighing. "Lucien bit Finn because Finn tried to stop him from getting to me." The three other siblings were saddened by this, but they knew that she blamed herself for this as well. "The night we scattered Finn's ashes on the bridge... I made him a promise. Do you remember what I promised?" They didn't answer, so she went on. "I promised him that I would not let his death be in vain. That it wouldn't be for nothing. And that is how it happened, because Lucien turned me into what he was, and Finn died trying to save me from it. Cami's dying wish was that I wouldn't turn into a beast like my lover, and that is what happened."
"All of these things were out of your control," Freya told her. "You couldn't see the future, and you can't change the past. You can't keep blaming yourself for things that aren't because of you."
"Watch me," Kassandra told them, looking away.
"At least share the blame," Klaus told her. "Don't drown yourself in it. I don't need to remind you of the three other main key players that are involved in this devastation. I know that you blame and hate the Ancestors and Rosalita with a passion, Sandra. And... if you need to blame me, as well... then so be it."
"That's the thing, Nik," Kassandra told him. "I have been blaming you for five years when I had my humanity off and the hex on my mind. And now that my emotions are on, and the curse is gone... with me barely being half the girl I used to be... I don't have it in me to blame you anymore. And everyone else I can blame is dead, so who else is there to blame other than me?"
Elijah sighed deeply in regret, kneeling on the other side of the boundary spell to look Kassandra in the eyes. "This cannot go on forever, Kassandra. We are going to end this, soon. And when we do, you will no longer be here, no matter how badly you want to punish yourself, because we will not allow you to suffer anymore than you already have to. Do you understand me?"
Kassandra didn't answer, looking down.
"And when we fix this, you are free to decide who you are now," Freya told her. "You don't have to go back to the way you used to be. You can find a different way to live. A better way to live."
"And before you start in with 'I don't deserve anything but torment', please note that this is not up for discussion at the moment, because we have a party to get to, that we know you will be listening all the night through," Klaus told her. "Wish us luck."
Kassandra managed a small smile, looking up. "Okay." The three other siblings looked at Kassandra sadly for a moment, walking out of the dungeon, not wanting to leave her, but knowing that they didn't have a choice. Kassandra watched them go, whispering to herself. "Good luck."
(Song Ends)
----~----
Night - Abattoir Compound - Courtyard
(Song:) Four for Three - Marco Guidolotti Quartet
A live band was playing instruments such as saxophone, guitar, cellos. Caitlin and Noah were playing with them. Noah was playing the trumpet, while Caitlin was playing piano. They looked at each other, smiling slightly, while they were also keeping a lookout around the crowd.
Everyone there was having a fun time so far, dressed in evening gowns and fine suits.
Marcel and Auria were greeting people as they came in, shaking their hands.
(Song Ends)
----
Dungeon
Kassandra was pacing around in the dungeon, tilting her head back in boredom, snapping her fingers, swinging her arms, listening to the sound of the music and the party upstairs. She sensed someone, frowning slightly in confusion. "Why is Luke Thompson coming here? Who sent you to check up on me?"
Luke walked in. "Tory, ironically. She wants to make sure that you're okay while she and Kacie are doing a favor for Hayley and Mikayla. She'll be here soon to siphon the magic out of you. Lockwood and Labonair ladies together right now, since my girlfriend's not just a Donovan/Luna or future Thompson but a Lockwood too."
Kassandra smirked. "Planning to make her your future wife, are you? Bit confident that she'll say yes to being a Thompson." Luke smirked, shrugging. "And my siblings told me about the favor. That doesn't explain why you're here, Luke." Kassandra frowned slightly in confusion and suspicion. "Unless you're not really here."
Luke chuckled in amusement. "You think I'm the Hollow?"
"That's exactly what the Hollow would say," Kassandra told him. "It's made me see Lucien, Rosalita, even Kol and Rebekah."
"Which all have very strong emotional reactions out of you, either love, betrayal or anger," Luke told her. "And while Lucien and Rosalita are dead, Rebekah and Kol are out in the world helping Eliza Forbes look for cures for you and the Huntress. Why would the Hollow make you see me?"
Kassandra considered this for a moment, nodding in acknowledgement. "Good point." She picked up a vial of blood. "But just to be sure..."
Kassandra drank the vial, making a little of the black smoke/and blue light leave her body, but Luke remained in front of her, obviously not a hallucination, but amused and understanding about her behavior.
"You convinced yet?" Luke asked.
"Yes," Kassandra answered, sitting down. "As a matter of fact, I am. So are you supposed to babysit me now?"
"Actually, I'm supposed to keep your mind off of the Hollow and the hallucinations while everyone else is busy," Luke answered. "And make sure that none of the Hollow's lackeys come to try and get to you while you're alone while there's a party right up above."
Kassandra nodded, shrugging. "Well, that's actually smart to have someone on the outside of this barrier so that no one can free me and use me to their needs and wants. I guess I should thank you... I've been a little out of practice when it comes to asking and thanking." Luke smirked, nodding. Kassandra looked around the barrier. "How the mighty have fallen. How the tables have turned. Still trying to find the right idiom. Well, if you're going to be here to keep my mind clear of hallucinations, you might as well make yourself useful and bring me a bottle of bourbon."
Luke chuckled in amusement, nodding, pointing at Kassandra. "There's something that I can agree with you wholeheartedly on. Coming right up. Be right back."
Kassandra managed a small smile.
Luke rushed off to get a bottle of bourbon and a few glasses, returning shortly.
----
Abattoir Compound - Ballroom
Everyone was gathered in the ballroom around the staircase.
Kaylin and Nicola were standing on the balcony overlooking everyone, in the back of the room, facing the three Mikaelson siblings across the way.
Klaus, Elijah and Freya were standing on the balcony overlooking everyone, in front of the room.
Elijah raised a glass to make a toast. "My dear friends." Everyone looked up at Elijah. "Tonight, we celebrate the reunion between our family and our sister Kassandra Mikaelson, after she was freed from her hex and has returned to her humanity. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, our sister might be going through a bit of an ordeal as of now, and if she needs to take a moment to adjust before presenting herself before everyone after everything that occurred, she shall have it. Not to mention that, as is her custom, she is unfashionably late." In the dungeon, Kassandra was listening, managing a small laugh at what Elijah said, which was Elijah's goal. Klaus and Elijah knew she would have been listening, and had heard her laugh, smiling slightly. "So until such a time as she graces us with her presence, let us all raise a glass and salute the glorious city of New Orleans."
Klaus stepped forward, also raising his glass. "But, before we do, my family and I wish to acknowledge a painful truth. Our relationship with this city, and indeed with most of you, has been long and complicated. We wish you will be put at ease knowing we intend but a brief and peaceful stay. Let this evening be a respite from past grievances and an opportunity to forge new friendships. Cheers."
Everyone else raised their glasses. "Cheers."
Elijah gestured to the live band, Caitlin and Noah. "Everyone, Caitlin Harris and Noah Dumaine."
Everyone applauded. The live band and Noah started to play their instruments, while Caitlin would sing.
(Song:) Symphony - Zeds Dead & Charlotte OC
Caitlin started to sing, very calm and relaxing and chill to match the song. "Like ice cream on a burning hot pavement waiting / For you to scoop me up and pour me down / I've been spending all my nights with the demons lately / They have me howling your name, howling out / I'm playing it slow, I'll play it sweet / I'm pulling you close under my feet / Ooh / Now your heart is my symphony." Caitlin and Noah looked at each other, smiling. "Now your heart is my symphony / I'm pulling it high to kick it down / How does it feel, oh? / How does it feel, oh?" Everyone was actually pretty impressed, a little surprised with how good the band, Noah and Caitlin were, relaxing to the chill music. Marcel and Auria were the only ones not surprised, though they were impressed and proud, smiling slightly. "Now your heart is my symphony / Now your heart is my symphony / How does it feel, oh? / I'm playing it slow / I'm playing it slow / I'm pulling you close / Pulling you close / Ooh / My symphony."
Auria was in the crowd, walking around, continuing to shake hands with people around the room. She saw Dominic across the room, making her way through the crowd, pausing when she saw Marcel drinking. "Marcel. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm doing better than I was, thanks to Nicola and Tory, and the beads that you spelled to protect me from the Hollow's influence," Marcel answered. "It's a good thing that you made beads for me, yourself, Caitlin and Noah to protect us, Auria."
"Yeah, well, it's easier to control when we can control ourselves," Auria told him.
Marcel nodded in agreement.
Caitlin continued to sing. "I've got you standing on an ice cold pavement waiting / For me to take you home and thaw you out / Through the holes of your heart I'm forgetting / And through the holes of your heart you see me now."
The song continued onto the chorus one last time.
----
Elsewhere
Josh was looking around uneasily, watching Noah and Caitlin on stage, smiling knowingly, proudly.
Sofya walked up to him.
"Oh, good, it's the homicidal super model," Josh told her sarcastically. "So, if I do this, you let Eddie go, right?"
Sofya nodded. "I'll let him go after the party, if you do what I told you."
"All right, you want me to look for and free Kassandra, and you said that you could handle Nicola," Josh told her. "How exactly are you gonna do that?"
"Why, providing her and her family with a distraction, of course," Sofya answered.
"What kind of distraction?" Josh asked.
"Never your mind," Sofya told him. "Just do as you're told like a good boy. And remember, if you tell anyone, or ask anyone for help..."
"Yeah, I got the threat the first time," Josh told her, walking away.
Sofya smirked in amusement, looking around, seeing Dominic nearby, walking toward him.
Dominic whispered to Sofya casually so they wouldn't get suspicion, knowing that she would hear him, but no one else would. "Do you have the weapon?"
Sofya showed him the weapon that she had turned into a bracelet around her black gloved wrist. "The Hollow will have its sacrifice, don't you worry about it."
Sofya walked away. Dominic smirked.
----
Elsewhere
Elijah and Nicola were standing on the balcony overhead, watching.
Nicola was a little overwhelmed to be by so many vampires, though it wasn't consuming her as much as she thought it would.
Elijah was watching her reaction carefully, knowing the struggle and the conflict.
"You can go ahead and ask how I'm dealing," Nicola told him. "The answer is, better than I expected."
"Also better than I had expected, even without Tory present for the moment," Elijah told her, handing Nicola a glass of alcohol, thinking back to when she had told him that the alcohol made it easier to control herself. Nicola took the glass, drinking gratefully. "Seems that our progress is better than we thought."
Nicola chuckled nervously, nodding. "Yeah. As long as no one picks a fight, I should be able to control myself."
"Anyone looking to pick a fight with you would not be the smartest in the room, and would regret that choice immediately," Elijah told her.
Nicola looked at Elijah, smirking at his attempt to get her to feel better, chuckling lightly. "It's easier than it was before, you know. Control. The urges are still overwhelming, but it's not as difficult to handle as it was. And I have you to thank for that."
Elijah nodded. "Nicola, despite your impressive restraint tonight, it is clear to me that you are not as unfazed by tonight's company as you would like me to believe." Nicola sighed, nodding. "Staying clear of any conflict would preserve that control."
"You want me to stay out of the fight tonight in case all of these vampires feel the wrath of the Huntress?" Nicola asked. "Fine. I'll stay out of it. At least until I'm needed and when there's less... of them all around."
"Thank you," Elijah told her.
"No, Elijah, it's me who should be thanking you for making sure that I don't do anything that I would regret," Nicola told him.
"I'm talking about helping tonight in this crowd at all," Elijah told her.
Nicola nodded in understanding, managing a small smile. Elijah smiled in understanding and sympathy, holding his glass toward her. Nicola clinked her glass with his. They both drank.
(Song Ends)
----
Elsewhere
Kaylin walked downstairs with a glass of wine.
Noah was walking off stage now that the live band, he and Caitlin were taking a break. "It was a nice speech, Kaylin." Kaylin sighed, turning to face him. "It was a nice speech, but I don't think anybody bought it."
"Well, most of it was the truth, but your concern has been duly noted," Kaylin told him. "Now, why don't you and Caitlin go back to playing live for the guests so that Marcel and Auria can go back to making friends? We can find out which one of these freeloaders is working with the Hollow. It's fun doing the scheming with you, Dumaine. And Harris, Rayvnne and Gerard."
Noah looked around the party. "Yeah, and while we're doing that, are you gonna do anything to help the cause?"
"Well, Klaus and Elijah are gonna be playing hosts, and Freya's gonna be playing hostess, so why shouldn't Nikki and I help you when we can?" Kaylin asked. "We all might be monsters, Noah, but right now, we all want the same thing. You can hate it, but you know that you need the help."
Noah sighed, relenting, nodding.
Kaylin smiled a small smile, taking a drink, walking away.
Noah walked away to continue playing for the party.
----
Hallway
Josh was sneaking away from the party to search around the compound, walking up a set of steps to the balcony, walking along, looking around to make sure that no one was watching him, reaching a wall at the far end of the balcony, knocking along it to find hollow spots in the paneling, opening the hidden door, looking inside to see a pathway that would lead to the tunnels that held the dungeon beneath the compound.
----
Old Labonair House - Outside
A car pulled up the home that had used to belong to the Labonairs.
Hayley, Mikayla, Tory and Kacie got out of the car, all holding flashlights, exchanging a look, walking toward the abandoned house.
----
Inside - Living Room
Hayley and Mikayla led the way inside the dark, abandoned home, shining their flashlights around. Tory and Kacie followed close behind, closing the door behind them. They looked around the dusty, cobweb covered furniture that had been left abandoned when the family had been killed. Some of the furniture there was infant related, including toys, bouncers, swings, etc.
Kacie looked at Tory. "You positive this will work?"
Tory looked around with her flashlight, sighing. "I can feel the energy that was trapped in here when Hayley and Mikayla's parents died, Kacie. So, yeah, it'll work." She looked at Hayley and Mikayla in concern. "Are you sure you want to?"
Mikayla looked around in the dark, clearly already affected to be here even though she didn't know what had happened yet. "I always wondered what my parents might have been like, what they might have thought of me. Missing these people I never even knew."
Hayley nodded in agreement, looking around. "But if this can help us fight the thing that came after Hope and Rae..." She turned to face them, shining her flashlight. "Then let's get it over and done with."
----
Abattoir Compound - Dungeon
Kassandra was still in her boundary spell circle, having gotten the bottle of bourbon from Luke, drinking.
Luke was sitting on the far edge of the room, drinking from another bottle.
Kassandra was going through more riddles. "I touch the Earth, I touch the sky. But if I touch you, you'll surely die."
"Lightning," Luke answered.
Kassandra nodded. "The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginnings of every end, the end of every place."
Luke had to think about the answer. "E."
"I run away every day and return every night, I am the bane of the flower and the nightly creatures' delight," Kassandra recited.
"Darkness," Luke answered. "God, you are morbid and dark. But what do I expect from the likes of you?"
Kassandra smiled in amusement. "And you're smarter than I first expected, Luke."
Luke gave her a weird look. "Thanks, I think." Kassandra smirked, taking a drink. "You seriously have nothing else to do other than rattle of poems and riddles just to keep yourself sane? See, it might be a little easier if you were to keep more than just your mind busy."
Kassandra rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. My siblings also told you to try to talk me out of in here."
"They think that you're mainly locking yourself in here because you want to punish yourself," Luke told her.
"And to protect everyone from myself," Kassandra told him in annoyance. "If I really wanted to punish myself the way that I punished Niklaus, I would have your girlfriend place cursed shackles on me, starve myself, and have Papa Tunde's Blade of mystical pain in my chest, rather than just sitting here in this boundary spell with that blade upstairs in my room in a safe behind a painting on the wall."
Luke shrugged, taking a drink. "Be that as it may, we need all the help we can get against the Hollow."
"I would be more of a liability than help, with the way that it keeps coming back to attack my mind," Kassandra told him.
"Yeah, well, Little Red Riding Hood and Mulan are looking for other ways to fix that," Luke told her.
Kassandra chuckled slightly in amusement. "Mulan I can picture as Nicola. But I'm guessing if Tory is your Little Red, you're the big bad wolf, Luke."
"Well, Tory's a little bit of both," Luke told her. Kassandra smirked, but the movement didn't reach her eyes, as she was getting distracted and sad again. "Even if I didn't convince you to take up your siblings on the offer of letting you out on good behavior, I can say that I at least tried."
Kassandra nodded barely, looking down without making eye contact. She looked up in confusion. "Luke? Did you hear that? I wanna know that was not just me or the Hollow playing tricks on me."
Luke focused his hearing to hear the approaching from down the tunnels. "It's not just you, and it's not the Hollow."
Luke rushed out of the dungeon.
----
Tunnel
(Song:) Dreams - Brat'ya
The song could be distantly heard from upstairs, as the door to the tunnels was open that lead up to the compound.
Josh was listening from down the way. He knew that they had heard him, rushing away.
Luke rushed into the tunnel to find that Josh was already gone, and he didn't recognize the scent because he had never met Josh before. He looked around in confusion and suspicion, but Josh was long gone.
Auria and Marcel walked closer.
"Oh, it's just you guys," Luke told them. He sighed. "Marcel. Auria."
"What do you mean, just us?" Marcel asked. "Luke? What happened?"
"Kassandra and I heard somebody out here," Luke answered. "Guess it was just you. You ready?"
Auria nodded.
(Song Ends)
----
Dungeon
Auria, Marcel and Luke walked in toward Kassandra.
"It was just Marcel and Auria, Kassandra," Luke told her.
"Yes, I see that, Luke," Kassandra told him. She looked at Auria and Marcel in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
Auria sat on the floor on the opposite side of the boundary spell, setting out tarot cards in front of her, sliding them over to Kassandra's side, taking out a set of spelled rosary beads, passing them over the barrier spell to Kassandra. "I wanted to give you these. It's spelled with protection and purifying spells. As long as you have it on you, it'll keep you safer from the Hollow."
"And what if I dropped them to the floor?" Kassandra asked.
"The Hollow will jump at the chance to continue twisting you to its will, almost changing you immediately, so don't drop them," Auria answered. "Marcel and I have some, too, and so do Caitlin and Noah. I'll make more when I can. We're trying to locate our enemies. I was up there, I was talking to all the guests, shaking hands, and while I was doing that, I was taking a reading." Marcel sat down. "Now, I need to take the Hollow's energy that's inside of you, Kassandra, and put it into this deck, and have you help us find our enemies with this."
"Tarot cards are gonna help us figure out who it is we're looking for?" Luke asked skeptically.
"Just let her do her thing, Luke," Marcel told him. "She knows what she's doing."
Kassandra sighed, nodding in agreement.
----
Old Labonair House - Living Room
Hayley, Mikayla, Tory and Kacie were sitting in the middle of the dark, destroyed home, surrounded by lit candles all around.
"Hayley, Mikayla, while I'm diving into your heads to unlock your memories from back when you were babies, Kacie and I are gonna be your anchors to reality so that you two don't get lost in the memories," Tory told them.
Hayley nodded. "Got it."
Kacie was still concerned about Hayley and Mikayla doing this, but willing to comply. "You ready?" Hayley and Mikayla nodded barely. Hayley and Tory took each other's hands above the four candles in the salt circle between them. Kacie and Mikayla took each other's hands, holding them next to Hayley and Tory's. Kacie looked at Mikayla in concern, still wondering if she really wanted to do this. Mikayla nodded reassuringly. Kacie sighed, looking at Tory, nodding. "Go ahead."
Tory nodded, closing her eyes to start the spell and the psychic process to unlock Hayley and Mikayla's memories of that day. "Ostende det siste. Ostende det siste. Ostende det siste. Ostende det siste. Ostende det siste. Ostende det siste. Ostende det siste."
----
Flashback
Day - Old Labonair House - Nursery
Mikayla and Hayley's parents were standing next to 1-year old Hayley, who was standing up in her crib, and infant Mikayla, who was laying down in her crib.
Mikayla and Hayley's father walked away. "We can't let them find it."
----
Now
Night - Old Labonair House - Living Room
Hayley, Mikayla, Tory and Kacie were sitting in the middle of the dark, destroyed home, surrounded by lit candles all around, holding hands while Tory and Kacie were anchoring Mikayla and Hayley to the present while Tory was unlocking their memories.
Hayley and Mikayla were trying not to be emotionally affected by what they were seeing, but they were still saddened by everything that they would soon see.
----
Flashback
Day - Old Labonair House - Hallway
Richard Xavier Dumas, Jackson's grandfather, grabbed Mikayla and Hayley's father by the collar angrily, clearly taken over by the Hollow. "We need all four of them."
Mikayla and Hayley's father struggled to get free. "You're not finding it."
Richard pushed Mikayla and Hayley's father against the counter, using a knife to stab him in his throat.
Mikayla and Hayley's mother ran closer, crying in shock and devastation. "No!"
Mikayla and Hayley's father fell to the floor, in sight of the nursery, though he was not yet dead.
Baby Hayley was watching from the nursery, standing up in her crib. She started to cry and scream.
Baby Mikayla had no idea what was going on, but she was scared by the sound of her older sister crying, starting to cry.
----
Now
Night - Old Labonair House - Living Room
Hayley, Mikayla, Tory and Kacie were sitting in the middle of the dark, destroyed home, surrounded by lit candles all around, holding hands while Tory and Kacie were anchoring Mikayla and Hayley to the present while Tory was unlocking their memories.
Hayley and Mikayla were still reliving everything, looking horrified and in despair, tears in their eyes, trying not to cry.
----
Flashback
Day - Old Labonair House - Hallway
Richard pushed Mikayla and Hayley's mother against the wall, stabbing her in the chest, slitting her throat with the knife.
Baby Hayley could see this, crying and screaming.
Baby Mikayla was crying due to her older sister's crying, wailing.
Mikayla and Hayley's father weakly crawled over to the doorway to the nursery, looking at a crevice there, dropping in a set of keys.
----
Now
Night - Old Labonair House - Living Room
Hayley, Mikayla, Tory and Kacie were sitting in the middle of the dark, destroyed home, surrounded by lit candles all around, holding hands while Tory and Kacie were anchoring Mikayla and Hayley to the present while Tory was unlocking their memories.
Mikayla and Hayley gasped in shock and pain from reliving the memory and from being pulled free from the spell. They looked shaken and troubled and devastated, looking at Tory and Kacie for a moment, letting go of their hands.
Hayley quickly stood, running over to the doorway to the nursery, kneeling down, punching her hand through the floor to retrieve the keys that were still there. She looked at the key chain that said:
EXTRA ROOM MINI STORAGE
Mikayla looked to be in unbelievable despair, after having to watch her parents' death, after already having lost so many friends and her husband.
Tory had seen the memories when she had unlocked their memories, looking at them sympathetically in sadness.
Kacie looked at Hayley and Mikayla in concern, not knowing what to expect.
----
Abattoir Compound - Dungeon
Kassandra was still sitting in the boundary spell, using the energy that Auria was spell casting from the Hollow's influence over Kassandra to split the deck and flipping over the cards, while Marcel and Luke were watching. She flipped over a card that had seven swords, and a snake wrapped around the sword in the middle. The second card was a hanged man hovering above a snake. The third card she flipped over was of a magician holding a snake. The fourth one was of Death, who had a snake resting on its arm.
Marcel leaned forward in confusion.
"Now, the cards are symbolic," Auria told them. "They're gonna help us find a common clue."
"What does any of this mean?" Luke asked, gesturing to the cards sarcastically. "Our suspect is a hanged magician with a penchant for collecting swords?"
"Look at the details," Auria told them. "What's the common thread that links all of these cards together?"
Marcel took a closer look at all of the cards. "Well, the hanged man hovers above a snake in the grass, Death has a snake on his shoulder, and the magician holds a serpent."
"Look at the seven of swords," Auria told them. "There's a snake there."
Kassandra was reminded of what she had told Lucien in 3.06 Beautiful Mistake. "You can always catch an insect with the smell of a flower. But it's the smell of blood that draws a carnivore. What draws a snake? Is it just me?"
"Another riddle?" Luke asked skeptically.
"No, Luke, it's what I used to say to Lucien," Kassandra answered.
"And the Hollow's been giving you visions of Lucien," Luke told her. "That's not a coincidence."
"So that means I'm gonna see somebody who's in the presence of a snake," Auria told them. "We find that person, we find the person who's aligned with the Hollow."
Kassandra smirked, impressed. "I wish you the best of luck with finding the viper in your midst."
----~----
Storage Facility - Outside
Hayley, Mikayla, Tory and Kacie had arrived to the facility, looking for the storage locker that the key that they had found in the old Labonair home went to, stopping at unit 39.
"This is the one," Hayley told them, using the key to unlock the unit, trying to open it, but it remained closed.
"What the hell?" Kacie asked.
Hayley backed away.
Tory stepped closer, putting her hand on the door, sensing the magic that kept them out. "It's been sealed with a spell."
Tory backed away, holding her hand toward the door, twisting her hand in a shaking motion to undo the spell that kept the unit closed. Kacie walked closer to help Tory lift the door to the storage unit.
----
Storage Unit
Hayley, Mikayla, Tory and Kacie ducked underneath the door to get inside, looking around at the dark with their flashlights.
Kacie found a box labeled 'Andrea and Alicia's Nursery', turning the light on in the unit.
Mikayla found a picture of her baby self Hayley's baby self and their parents, all of whom were smiling in the faded photograph. She sighed heavily. "Kacie, Hayley, Tory, head to the party. I can do this myself."
"Are you sure?" Kacie asked.
"Yeah," Mikayla answered.
Hayley sighed. "Mikayla..."
"Hayley, you said that you would meet Riley there," Mikayla told her. She looked at Tory. "And you have to get there to siphon whatever magic stays in Kassandra's system so that the Hollow will leave her alone."
"Yeah, but are you sure that you want to do this alone?" Tory asked.
Kacie looked from Mikayla to Hayley and Tory. "I'll stay. You two go."
Hayley and Tory took this as a good compromise, nodding, walking out, leaving.
Mikayla looked grateful that Kacie would stay. "Thank you, Kacie. For staying."
Kacie nodded in understanding. "No problem. It's not like I have anything else to do, Mikayla. And besides. You probably shouldn't do this alone."
Mikayla smirked. "I can do it alone just fine."
"I know you can," Kacie agreed. "Doesn't mean you have to."
Mikayla was surprised by the answer, smiling a bit gratefully.
----
Abattoir Compound - Ballroom
(Song:) Animal - J2
Caitlin and Noah were playing live for the party.
Caitlin was singing the hauntingly beautiful cover. "Here we go again / I kinda wanna be more than friends / So take it easy on me / I'm afraid your never satisfied."
The party guests seemed to be mesmerized by the haunting version of the song, loving it.
Riley walked into the party, looking around. Hayley was standing nearby the door, seeing Riley. They both saw each other, looking affected by the song, looking from each other to Noah and Caitlin.
Noah was singing the song in the same fashion. "Here we go again / We're sick like animals, we play pretend / You're just a cannibal, and I'm afraid I won't get out alive / No, I won't sleep tonight."
Noah and Caitlin looked at each other as they continued to play live, smiling.
Caitlin sang the chorus the first time. "Uh-oh, I want some more / Uh-oh, what are you waiting for? / Take a bite of my heart tonight." Kassandra was listening to the song from down in the dungeon, hearing the hauntingly beautiful and somewhat dangerous vibe to this version, looking down, looking as if she could relate it to her and Lucien when he was the beast. "Uh-oh, I want some more / Uh-oh, what are you waiting for? / What are you waiting for? / Say goodbye to my heart tonight."
Back upstairs, Auria was searching through the crowd for someone who would appear to be holding a snake. She and Marcel were looking at each other, mostly due to the song that Noah and Caitlin were singing.
Noah was singing while playing the haunting melody on piano. "Here we are again / I feel the chemicals kicking in / It's getting heavy and I wanna run and hide / I wanna run and hide."
Caitlin raised her voice beautifully but dramatically. "I do it every time / You're killing me now / And I won't be denied by you / The animal inside of you."
Noah sang the chorus the second time. "Uh-oh, I want some more / Uh-oh, what are you waiting for? / Take a bite of my heart tonight / Uh-oh, I want some more / Uh-oh, what are you waiting for? / What are you waiting for? / Say goodbye to my heart tonight."
Nicola looked moved by the song, listening intently, looking toward Elijah on the balcony further away. Elijah nodded to Nicola, walking away to another room. Some of the couples were dancing to the slow haunting melody. Klaus and Kaylin were looking at each other from across the way like they could also relate to this version of the song.
Caitlin sang softly. "Hush, hush, the world is quiet."
Noah sang softly. "Hush, hush, we both can't fight it."
Noah and Caitlin sang together. "It's us that made this mess / Why can't you understand?"
Noah looked up at Caitlin. "Whoa, I won't sleep tonight."
Caitlin smirked. "I won't sleep tonight."
Noah and Caitlin sang the song to the finish together. "Uh-oh, I want some more / Uh-oh, what are you waiting for? / Take a bite of my heart tonight / Ooh... I want some more / Uh-oh, what are you waiting for? / What are you waiting for? / Say goodbye to my heart tonight / Say goodbye to my heart tonight / Say goodbye to my heart tonight."
(Song Ends)
When the song came to an end, everyone applauded loudly, cheering.
Caitlin and Noah smiled, taking a bow.
Caitlin looked at Noah. "That was amazing." Noah smiled. "You seem confident in this plan of theirs."
"Well, Auria is an expert, powerful witch, motivated to expose evil and protect her flock," Noah told her. Auria continued to look, passing Marcel by. "Besides, she knows if this doesn't work, the Mikaelsons will just kill everyone here."
Caitlin glanced around the room.
Auria continued to look around, finding Dominic in the crowd, getting a vision of him holding a snake. She turned to look at Marcel, Caitlin and Noah, nodding to Dominic.
Caitlin nodded in understanding, looking at Noah. "Him. Guy by the stairs. Am I to assume that while they take first crack at our foe that we are to stay here and keep up appearances?"
Noah smirked. "Yep."
Caitlin smirked, shaking her head.
----
Elsewhere
Riley was looking around.
Hayley walked closer. "Riley, hey."
"Hayley," Riley replied.
Hayley chuckled. "Tory and I just got here, too. Tory went down to siphon the Hollow's magic out of Kassandra, so that might take a little bit. Glad you could make it."
"Yeah, well, I'm also supposed to look for the Huntress for Hollow-exorcist reasons," Riley told her. "Remember, you're the one that suggested it."
Hayley smirked, pointing up at the balcony, where Nicola was standing. "She's staying away from all the vampires so she doesn't lose control."
"That's smart," Riley told her.
Hayley nodded in agreement, noticing that Riley was in his normal clothes rather than a tux. "Aren't you a little underdressed?"
"You're one to talk," Riley replied.
Hayley chuckled, taking Riley by the hand, nodding for him to follow her. "Come on. Let's make sure you get cured, Riley."
They walked toward the stairs up to the balcony toward Nicola.
----
Elsewhere
Freya was walking through the party, looking around. She saw Keelin nearby, who was talking and laughing with women. She looked mildly jealous and a little nervous, taking a deep breath.
(Song Ends)
----
Upstairs Living Room
Auria and Marcel led Dominic and two other vampires into the upstairs living room, where Elijah was waiting.
Dominic looked at Elijah. "Our esteemed host. Auria and Marcel tell me you requested a private audience."
Elijah walked closer, noticing the two men behind Dominic. "Private, yes. Yet you brought these two fascinating Neanderthals."
Marcel smirked in amusement at the insult, looking down.
Dominic looked at Elijah. "Well, given your reputation, one can never be too careful."
"Not unless you have something to worry about," Auria told him. "Which you do, because you're the high priest of the Hollow."
"You seem to have made up your mind about me," Dominic told her. "Not really fair. After all, you and your family are the ones who allowed the Hollow into this world. Phelan and Gaia Rayvnne used you to give it breath. And your Ancestors were the only thing holding it back. And when you severed that link, you allowed it to go free. And it has been feeding and growing in power ever since. See, I wonder if it will want to show you its appreciation. Perhaps by letting you see your dead parents."
Dominic used magic to rip off the rosary around Auria's neck that was protecting her from the Hollow's influence. He used magic to rip the rosary beads out of Marcel's hands so that he wouldn't be protected from the influence either.
Marcel and Auria felt the anger surge through them, barely able to fight it off.
Auria furiously punched Dominic in the face hard, making him fall to the floor.
Marcel rushed toward the two vampires, snapping their necks, letting them fall.
Dominic stood, holding his arm toward Auria, using magic to push her back. Auria raised her arm to counter attack with magic. They both started to strangle each other telekinetically, making blood drip from both their eyes and their lips.
Elijah, stunned and concerned with how quickly the Hollow could get to Marcel and Auria when they didn't have protection, picked up Marcel's protective-spelled beads from the floor, handing them to Marcel so that he would return to normal. "That will be all. All of you." Auria tried to stop, though the anger that she felt at everything was just fueling the violence more. Marcel picked up Auria's rosary beads spelled with protection from the floor, placing them on Auria's hand to bring her out of it. Auria backed away with the beads in hand, relieved that she felt like herself again without the anger and the pain. Elijah handed Auria a handkerchief for the blood on her face. "Marcellus, you should get Auria out of here." Marcel nodded in understanding and agreement, though he did give Elijah a glare, leading Auria out of the room, leaving. They were both worried and horrified by how the Hollow was using both of them. Elijah turned to Dominic. "Sit down." He took out his handkerchief, handing it to Dominic for him to clean himself up. Dominic took it, sitting down, starting to wipe the blood away. Elijah smiled fakely. "Let's start again."
----~----
Ballroom
(Song:) Make You Feel - Alina Baraz & Galimatias
Noah and Caitlin were still playing live.
Caitlin was singing, dancing around with Noah while they were playing, very graceful while they were at it. "Listen long, long enough / You can love me / I'll be just yours, you can hold me / You gotta crave it and chase it / Until you're close enough to taste it / I can give you what you need / I can give you what you need."
Kaylin was looking around the party.
Klaus appeared next to Kaylin, taking her hand. "Kaylin. Seems to me that you're a woman in desperate need of dancing to pass the time."
"And to stop violent impulses?" Kaylin suggested sarcastically. "You know me so well."
Klaus led Kaylin to the dance floor, spinning her around, pulling her closer to dance while they continued to be on the look out for anything out of the ordinary. Kaylin was looking at Noah and Caitlin.
Caitlin continued to sing. "I can make you feel / I can make / I can make you feel all right / I will make you feel all right / Breathe, breathe me in / Taste my words / Let me blow your mind / I'll take you far, far away / I'll make you feel all right."
Kaylin looked at Klaus. "Noah and Caitlin are really good."
"Yes, they are," Klaus agreed.
Kaylin sighed. "This whole deal that Elijah, Nikki and Freya made us make sucks." Klaus chuckled in amusement and agreement. "I hate not being able to do anything."
"As do I, but they may have a point in this case," Klaus told her.
Kaylin sighed. "Yeah..."
Klaus lowered Kaylin into a dip, leaning closer, both of them looking at each other for a moment, lifting her again. Kaylin smiled, spinning closer to him, her back to him, while they both looked ahead of them. Klaus took her hand to spin Kaylin around to face him, pulling her back into the dance. They both looked at each other for a long, intense moment.
Klaus chuckled slightly. "You look stunning, as you always do."
Kaylin smirked knowingly. "Mm, thank you. What do you want?"
Klaus smiled, feigning offense. "Really, Kaylin? I can't compliment a girl I love on how ravishing she looks during a party, one of her favorite scenes?"
Kaylin chuckled in amusement. "Oh, you can, and I love it when you do, but when you do, it normally means that you either, A, did something, or B, you want something."
"Yes, well, the only thing that I want is for you to be safe and not involved in all of this," Klaus told her.
"So, you're gonna pull a Elijah like this morning when he told us both to stay out of it?" Kaylin asked skeptically. "Come on, Nik. We both want to stop this thing for what it did to both of our daughters and to you and to Kassandra."
"You are the one that agreed that had to be more careful now," Klaus told her. "Especially given the fact that you no longer have true immortality like you did when you were working with the Devil."
"Uh, it wasn't true immortality, just so you know," Kaylin told him. "Cade just brought me back to life every time Nikki killed me until the day Tory, Nikki and I killed him."
Klaus gave Kaylin a halfhearted look for trying to change the subject, though he found what she said amusing. "Not the point."
Kaylin smiled innocently, tilting her head slightly. "I know, I know. I get your point, okay? I know that you're just trying to protect me, but I can help you, help all of you and our daughters, and your sister."
"I know you can," Klaus told her. "I don't doubt you for a second, Kaylin, fore I have seen what you can do up close. But you and I both know that this foe is more dangerous than we know."
"Okay, how about a little deal?" Kaylin asked. "You Originals and little niece Nikki get to handle the big jobs, and if you get hurt you need help, like when the Hollow nearly took you over, then I will get involved and help any way that I can. Deal?"
Klaus smiled. "You probably won't listen to me if I told you to steer clear of the danger completely, and I did make a promise that I wouldn't compel you again, so... you have deal." Kaylin smiled because she knew that he was just joking about the compulsion comment, chuckling, nodding. "My brother wants first crack at that bloke up there? He can have at it. We need to focus our attention on potential allies."
Kaylin nodded in agreement, looking around before looking at Klaus. They both smiled small, mischievous smiles.
(Song Ends)
----
Storage Unit
(Song:) Lonely - Nathan Wagner
Mikayla and Kacie were sorting through the storage unit that used to belong to Mikayla and Hayley's parents, making objects clatter everywhere.
"Kacie, thanks for offering to stay," Mikayla told her. "I know that Hayley promised to help Riley Grey get back to normal, and Tory is in high demand lately, but going through all of this... is a lot harder than I expected."
"I get it, Mikayla," Kacie told her. "You know, I grew up in one house my whole life, with my family. The town of Mystic Falls called it the Lockwood Mansion. My brother and my parents lived there with me, and so did my uncle Mason. Tory lived there for a while, too. And then everyone but me and Tory dies. And when Rosalita came back to try to burn us all to Hell, literally, she used magic to make my home explode into flames." Mikayla was surprised and sympathetic to hear this. "After that, after we took down Rosalita, Tory and I spent a while rebuilding our home. It's not exactly like it was, and everything else that we can't replace is lost..."
"But you still had to do it for your family, the Lockwoods," Mikayla finished. "No matter how hard it was."
"Yeah," Kacie answered. "So, I get it, Mikayla. I get it."
They looked at each other knowingly and sympathetically, nodding in understanding.
Mikayla saw a teddy bear, chuckling slightly, picking it up, bringing it to her nose to smell, sighing nostalgically.
Kacie smiled a small smile, continuing to look around.
Mikayla seemed to sense something off about the scent, feeling along the teddy bear, turning around to open the back of it, pulling out what looked like a burned human jaw bone with teeth, looking horrified.
Kacie was shocked to see it, completely stunned.
(Song Ends)
----
Abattoir Compound - Hallway
(Song:) Intention - Kiiara
Noah and Caitlin were able to take a break from playing live because the song playing was on DJ.
Caitlin was drinking.
Freya walked through the crowd toward Caitlin, sighing. "Caitlin. You and Noah have done very well tonight. I enjoyed all your songs."
Caitlin was not happy to see her. "Thanks. Elijah's up there. He's probably cutting a deal or killing somebody. Either way, we really don't have anything to talk about."
"That's fine," Freya told her. "But I should say thank you for helping my family."
"Your niece and your sister," Caitlin corrected. "Besides your niece and your sister, I don't give a damn about you or anybody else in your family. I'm here right now because there's something that's hurting kids in my city. And the second that it is gone, I don't have another reason to work with you ever again."
Freya nodded in understanding and shame. "You hate me because of what I did to Davina. You know, I can't say I blame you. But the truth is, I did what I needed to do. And I regret the cost--"
"Don't try to justify what it is that you did," Caitlin told her. "You know you were wrong."
"And you, Caitlin?" Freya asked. "Have all your battles been free of casualties? Because, if so, congratulations. Must be nice. You know, in my experience, I've learned that survival comes at a price, just like love and family and basically anything else. But at the end of the day, we only answer to ourselves."
Caitlin was trying not to be angry or sad. "I was forced by the Ancestors to kill my best friend. And I had a chance to get her back, to not go through five years of dealing with that pain, until you sacrificed Davina. I know it was to save your family. I get that part. But Davina was like my family, too. The closest thing that I had to a sister. And the day that you sacrificed her, Kassandra told you to find another way, to save Davina so Kol, Marcel, Auria and I didn't have to lose her. That's why I like Kassandra, that's why I've been trying to help her for the past five years, because she was willing to leave herself in danger than to sacrifice anyone else. But Kassandra didn't want help at the time because she was hexed and emotionless and she didn't care, and she was willing to hurt anyone who made her angry or got in her way. Kassandra is far from perfect, but at least she had our backs, and yours, too. The last time that I ever got to see Davina was the day after I was forced to kill her, and she forgave me just minutes before you took her out, and the last time I heard her voice was when she was screaming my name for help. So, no, I don't think you trying to justify your actions are gonna cut it, Freya."
Freya knew that she was right, looking guilty and somber, sighing. "You're right. And I'm sorry, Caitlin. I'm so sorry. In ways that you can't even imagine. And I know that you possibly may never forgive me. But I'm sorry for the pain that I put both you, Marcel, Noah, Auria and Kassandra through by doing what I did. You, as a Harris, and a Gerard, Dumaine and Rayvnne, you were all like family once. And I'm so sorry that I ruined it."
Caitlin nodded, trying not to feel. "I know. And thank you for saying that. But I just can't do this right now."
Freya nodded sadly.
Keelin had been listening to the argument, walking up to them. "Is everything okay here?"
Caitlin looked away. "I got to go."
Caitlin walked away.
Keelin turned to Freya. "She seems nice. Want me to break her legs?"
They both chuckled, though Freya still looked guilty and hurt by what had just happened.
"No," Freya answered. "No, Caitlin was right. She's justified. What I did to her, to Davina, was possibly the worst thing I've done. And I can't blame Caitlin for the way she's acting. I just wish I knew how to fix it. If there even is a way to fix it. How about, uh, we just grab a drink?"
Keelin smiled. "Okay."
Freya managed a small smile. They walked off toward the bar together.
----
Balcony
Nicola was still standing on the balcony away from the party, drinking, watching everyone. She could sense that a vampire was walking closer, turning around.
Sofya was standing there, raising her hands in a non-threatening manner, smirking slightly. "I didn't mean to give you a scare."
"If you thought that you scared me, you clearly have no clue who you're talking to," Nicola told her in boredom.
Sofya smirked. "Actually, I do know who you are. I've heard about you. The vampire vampire Huntress."
"And you have the courage to walk up to me in the middle of a vampire-infested party?" Nicola asked skeptically. "Either you have boundless confidence and arrogance, or you're just stupid."
Sofya chuckled. "Neither, actually. I'm actually curious about you."
"Curious about a woman who can rip you to shreds," Nicola told her. "Classic vampire."
"Heard rumors that you were finding ways to control yourself, but I didn't believe them, so I had to see it for myself," Sofya told her.
"You say that like you know me by more than just my reputation," Nicola told her. "But I don't remember you, and I remember all of my victims, either dead or marked. And you're not marked, otherwise I would be able to see your thoughts and feel what you feel."
"And given the hundreds of vampires that you have either killed or marked in the past two years, that must mean that you have to deal with a hundred different minds in your own head," Sofya told her. "That would explain the craziness and lack of control."
"If you're smart, you'll walk away now," Nicola told her.
Sofya looked at the bracelet/weapon around her wrist. "So, the vampire Huntress that killed some of my best friends has a conscience. Never knew that."
Nicola sighed, looking away. "Look, I'm sorry about your friends, okay? Until recently, I could barely control who I attacked or killed, even with the help of a tribrid I'm related to controlling me."
"Doesn't make a whole lot of difference to the dead, does it?" Sofya asked, holding the bracelet/weapon out to Nicola.
Nicola snapped Sofya's arm, breaking it before she could touch her, acting completely out of instinct without thinking, making her groan in pain. She looked at the bracelet/weapon in confusion, amused and skeptic but bored and annoyed. "Am I supposed to be threatened by that monstrosity on your arm?"
Sofya chuckled. "You should be. Other Kassandra Mikaelson, it's the only thing on this planet that can kill either you or the Originals."
"You're bluffing," Nicola told her.
"You think so?" Sofya asked sarcastically. "The thorns of a rose grown from Kassandra's blood and the magic of an ancient spirit that hates the Huntress and the Originals as much as I do. Go ahead, call my bluff. See how that works out. Immunity to magic protects the Huntress inside you, but does it protect the vampire part of you? Let's see if the venom of the great beast can kill the Huntress after all."
Sofya tried to punch Nicola to nick her with the thorns on the bracelet/weapon.
Nicola caught Sofya's arm, twisting it behind her back, pushing her face first against the wall. "Maybe I should just kill you."
"And risk losing control in the middle of a party full of vampires?" Sofya asked tauntingly. "Go ahead. Even if you put me down, the Hollow's followers will make sure you and your friends are dead by the end of the night. Especially you and Tory Donovan, because the two of you are meddling with the spirit's victims."
Nicola turned Sofya around to face her, gripping her throat, slamming her against the wall, strangling her one handed. "More like saving them."
Sofya struggled to breathe. "And who's gonna be left to save you from the anger you've sparked up in the Hollow, Salvatore? Elijah? Kaylin? My friends will make sure the Originals and your own family will be dead soon, too. Your friends, too. Kacie Lockwood, Luke Thompson."
Nicola sighed, rolling her eyes. "You have allies." She grabbed Sofya by the shoulders, spinning at vampire speed to push her against the railing of the balcony behind her, making Sofya bend back slightly, looking at her angrily. "So tell me exactly how much of this cursed rosebush is there before I kill you."
"Enough to kill you and the entire Original family, you, Mikayla Laboanir, Hayley Marshal,l, Caitlin Harris, Noah Dumaine, Marcel Gerard, Kacie, Luke, Tory and Kaylin ten times over," Sofya answered. "You kill me, it won't matter, because they will do what I can't." Nicola was struggling not to lose control, focusing all of her energy to letting Sofya go so that she wouldn't kill her in the middle of the party, because they were already starting to draw attention from some of the partiers down below. Two male vampires rushed up behind Nicola while she had been distracted. Vampire 1 tried to slit Nicola in the neck with a thorn on his own weapon. Nicola caught his wrist, breaking it. Vampire 2 slit Nicola's arm with a thorn of his own weapon. Nicola gasped slightly in pain, holding her arm, watching it bleed, and not heal. Sofya slowly stood, smirking, still aiming her thorns at Nicola. "Or maybe you can't stand the thought of having another death on your hands. And because you spent so much energy and focus on not trying to kill me, you didn't even realize that there were two other vampires waiting to kill you. And the reason that you die is because you're holding back. How ironic is that?"
"I've got plenty of death on my hands," Nicola told her, punching her hands into both of the male vampires' chests, gripping their hearts, though she was careful not to rip their hearts out, yet, glaring at Sofya, using the lives of her friends against her. "I'll gladly add two more to the list unless you tell me everything that I want to know. You hand over your weapon, expose the Hollow's allies, and I'll let you leave here unscathed. Well, aside from the fact that I literally just marked your friends by reaching into their chest cavities, so now they'll have to worry about the fact that if I die, so do they." The vampires looked at Nicola in confusion. Nicola gave them a mocking look. "You didn't know? The marks that I give vampires link them to me. Not just mentally. What do you say?"
(Song Ends)
----
Upstairs Living Room
Elijah and Dominic were still speaking, sitting down, facing each other.
"Tell me what it wants," Elijah told him.
"Well, the Hollow has lain dormant for a long time," Dominic told him. "It needs to feed."
"The poor dear," Elijah told him sarcastically, standing, turning away. "You know, I understand it has a penchant for innocent children."
Dominic smirked. "Only as hors d'oeuvres. It prefers the power channeled by the death of someone like you." Elijah turned to face him, pouring both of them a drink. "Old, ancient, imbued with magic. But it needn't feed on you, your brother, sister or niece or anyone else you care about." Elijah walked closer with their drinks. "Marcel Gerard will do nicely."
Elijah held a drink toward Dominic, but didn't let him take it just yet. "Why would I give you Marcel Gerard?"
Dominic took the glass, watching as Elijah paced around the couch he was sitting on. "As patriarch, I'm sure you'll make the right decision on your family's behalf." He stood, turning to face Elijah. "But in the meantime, I'll take Auria Rayvnne as a show of good faith."
Elijah walked closer. "Once again I ask, why would I give you Auria Rayvnne?"
Dominic chuckled. "Marcel was business, but Auria is personal. Whether she gives in to the Hollow or not is her choice, and it's her battle to fight. But if she continues to stand against the Hollow and to try to fight it, she will die. Along with any others who might stand in the way of the Hollow or in the way of getting what it wants with who it wants."
Elijah realized who he was talking about, giving him a mocking look. "Let me guess. People like Nicola Salvatore and Tory Donovan for interfering with who is under their control, like Marcel, Auria, my sister Kassandra, and the werewolf Riley Grey. On the behalf of us Mikaelsons."
"My terms are set," Dominic told him. "Auria and Marcel now, you either getting Nicola and Tory to stand down, or they will be taken down as well. As of right now, three vampires are attacking Nicola as we speak, pricking her with a weapon made of Kassandra's blood that formed a deadly dose of venom. The weaker the vampire part of Nicola becomes, the stronger the Huntress will get, until she dies altogether." Elijah was worried and angry. "Unless, of course, you have the cure that your friends used to save your life. What do you say, Elijah? Do we have a deal?"
Elijah simply gave him an unamused look, glaring furiously.
----~----
Outside
Two men were stationed outside the compound.
Kaylin and Klaus approached them.
"Gentlemen, the men that work for Sofya, tortured by the Huntress Nicola Salvatore says you've come to kill us," Klaus told them.
The two men ran closer. Kaylin easily grabbed one man, throwing him against the brick wall, making him fall. Klaus broke the arm of the other man, pushing him to his knees.
Kaylin looked at Klaus. "It's a good thing one isn't judged by the competence of one's enemies, otherwise this would be rather insulting." Klaus chuckled in amusement and agreement, searching the men for their weapons. Kaylin looked at the men. "Whatever the Hollow's promised you, it's not going to deliver. It's going to take away everything that you've ever loved, or get you killed. It will leave you with absolutely nothing, or it will leave you to die. You want to call a ghost that sacrifices kids and turns people into things that can't control what they can and cannot do? Come on."
Klaus handed Kaylin the weapons that he had found, walking toward the two men that were still on the ground. "Gentlemen... I ought to flay the skin from your bones." He gripped them by their throats, lifting them to their feet to push them against the wall, making them both groan in pain and gasp for breath. He hesitated for a moment, roughly letting them go, turning to stand beside Kaylin once again. "But these are uncommon times, are they not?"
"Indeed," Kaylin answered.
Klaus looked at the two men. "And they call for uncommon mercies. You and your brethren have a choice. Forsake the Hollow or die by its side. Either way is fine with me."
Kaylin was surprised and impressed with the kindness and mercy he showed, looking at Klaus, smiling a small smile, knowing that she had been right about the change in him. Klaus looked a little sheepish, returning the smile.
----
Inside - Courtyard
Nicola was still on the balcony with her hands in the two vampires' chests, trying her best not to kill them. The venom that she had been scratched with was making her weaker and the Huntress stronger until she would die.
Sofya had already fled, because she had gotten the distraction that she needed.
Everyone was looking at them now, and no music was playing.
Klaus and Kaylin walked in, noticing the confrontation from down below.
Nicola was trying to let go of their hearts, but the venom was weakening her enough to where she couldn't control the Huntress or the urges as well as before, ripping their hearts out, letting the two bodies fall, to everyone's shock.
"Nikki," Kaylin told her in warning.
Nicola was sounding more like the Huntress than she was sounding like herself. "They attacked me. And isn't it me that is always giving you a warning 'Kaylin'?"
Kaylin rushed up next to Nicola to get her to calm down as she was starting to become more ill from the venom. Nicola nearly lost control on Kaylin.
Tory rushed up to them after leaving the dungeon where she had siphoned the Hollow's magic from Kassandra, gripping Nicola by the arms, using her psychic abilities to get into her head to control the Huntress enough to get her to calm down. "That's enough. Calm down. Let's get you sitting down." Tory and Kaylin led Nicola to a nearby chair. Tory noticed the slit on Nicola's arm, knowing what was wrong, looking down toward Freya and Keelin in the crowd. "Freya, we need the cure to Kassandra's venom."
Freya and Keelin nodded in understanding, running off toward a room in the compound to get the cure.
Everyone else was muttering in confusion and concern, especially Auria, Marcel, Noah, Caitlin, Hayley and Riley.
----
Upstairs Living Room
Elijah and Dominic were both standing, speaking.
Elijah had his back to Dominic, still very angry. "I must say, you are quite manipulative and cunning. Using the beast's venom in an attempt to kill the Huntress, promising a fix if she would stand down, in exchange for the Marcel and Auria." He turned to face Dominic. "If only I could believe that you would uphold your end of the bargain."
Elijah took a drink from his alcohol glass.
Dominic chuckled. "You're even more perceptive than your reputation suggests."
"I grew up on a Viking farm," Elijah told him. "I'm familiar with the scent of fertilizer. And you should know that my sister Freya has made enough cures for Kassandra's venom to cure Nicola Salvatore, and as my vampire hearing tells me, she and Miss Donovan are in the process of curing her right now. I won't ask you again. What does it want?"
"Why, freedom, of course," Dominic answered. "A spirit cannot manifest the true depths of its power. But when it's once again made flesh..."
Elijah gave him a cold look, walking closer. "And in what fairy tale do you think that I would allow that to happen?"
Dominic smirked. "My offer was a courtesy. The Hollow will take what it wants. Auria and Marcel will be ours regardless, but if you insult us further, we will take Kassandra as well. Who would die after that? Nicola and Tory, the two with the means to protect and cure the Hollow's influence? Or any number of your family or closest friends? Do you still doubt our power?" He chuckled, smirking. "Well, you shouldn't. As you will soon find out, we came here tonight for one thing. And thanks to the lovely distraction provided by your darling Nicola due to her illness, we already have it. The Hollow will not be stopped."
Elijah furiously smashed his glass against Dominic's head, making him fall against the wall and bleed from the head, grabbing him by the collar, dragging him along.
----
Courtyard
Kaylin, Klaus and Tory were standing next to Nicola, making sure that she was in control of herself until she could be treated with the cure.
Freya walked closer instantly with the anti-venom, handing it to Kaylin. "Here. I'm sorry it took so long."
"Better late than never," Tory told them.
Nicola shuddered in pain.
Kaylin worriedly and quickly applied the cure to the slit mark on Nicola's arm from the venomous thorn.
Freya looked at Tory. "We were lucky to get enough cures out of Keelin in case something like this happened."
Tory nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and I guess it's a good thing to know that I am not entirely invincible," Nicola told them. Klaus frowned in confusion. "Makes me not take anything at face value or for granted."
"Don't talk like that," Kaylin told her.
"Kaylin, have I ever told you, even though you're like a sister to me, sometimes you are so overprotective and caring of me that it could be maternal?" Nicola asked.
"Shut up," Kaylin told her.
Klaus chuckled. "It's true, Kaylin."
"You shut up, too," Kaylin told him.
Klaus and Nicola smirked. Freya and Tory managed small smiles.
They watched in relief as the anti-venom started to heal Nicola's wound, though Nicola needed a little time to recover.
Elijah dragged Dominic onto the balcony up above. "Ladies and gentlemen... we have here an errand boy of the Hollow. The very one that is responsible for the attack on Nicola, and her losing control and killing these two vampires here." The crowd started to murmur. "A disciple of the very darkness that threatens to devour our city, your loved ones and mine. One that wants Nicola Salvatore and Tory Donovan dead for rescuing the victims of his master and getting in the way of its plans." Elijah lifted Dominic off the floor by his throat, dangling him over the floor of the compound. Everyone was nervous as to where this was going. "Now, whether or not you despise us, we will do everything in its power to remove this scourge from New Orleans. I recommend you do the same."
Hayley and Riley watched knowingly.
Freya and Tory looked away, as they already knew what was coming.
Elijah continued to strangle Dominic, punching his hand into his chest, ripping out his heart, letting his dead body fall to the ground below. The crowd was all gasping in shock.
Klaus was exasperated and annoyed. Kaylin sighed.
Noah and Caitlin were unsurprised, rolling their eyes.
Auria turned away toward Marcel, both of whom were not even surprised either,
Nicola wasn't surprised or even bothered at the moment because she was still angry and recovering from what had just happened.
----~----
Downstairs Living Room
Marcel, Noah, Caitlin and Auria were getting ready to leave.
Elijah walked in.
Noah sighed, giving him a look. "Was a hell of a show you put on tonight, Elijah."
Marcel nodded sarcastically. "Hell of a show."
Caitlin sighed. "And here I thought that Noah and I put on a good show tonight. You and Nicola Salvatore took the cake."
"Caitlin, Nicola lost control because she was poisoned by Kassandra's venom, and I did what I had to," Elijah told her. "And you're quite welcome, Marcel and Auria." They looked at him in confusion. "Dominic wanted the two of you along with Kassandra handed over to the Hollow. And he wanted Nicola and Tory dead."
"So are we supposed to thank you?" Auria asked.
Elijah stood, turning to face them. "An alliance between us is essential. This enemy's a dark force. It can't be bargained or reasoned with. I don't bargain. And after tonight's fiasco, I'm done with reason." He held his hand toward them. "What about you?"
Marcel, Auria, Caitlin and Noah didn't answer, ignoring his hand, turning around, walking away.
----
St. Louis Cathedral - Bell Tower
Keelin was standing next to the windows, looking out of the bell tower over the city in the night.
Freya walked closer with two glasses of red wine, sighing. "I owe you an apology. What Elijah and Nicola did... not exactly what I expected when I invited you to the party."
Keelin took one of the glasses. "I get the sense that's kind of par for the course with your family. Not that mine is any better. You know wolves... Lots of fighting, lots of violence." Freya took a drink. "And I was afraid I would become them, so that's why I chose a different path, then got a medical degree. Made my own life. Took a while, but I did it. So can you, you know." They looked at each other for a moment, smiling. Freya chuckled. "I know that Nicola killing those vampires wasn't her fault. It was theirs because they attacked and her and poisoned her. And she's Elijah's girl, so of course he's gonna retaliate by killing the guy that set out the hit on her in the first place. Especially considering that the same guy is one of the people working for the force that is currently tormenting your sister and has her so scared that she's gonna hurt someone else she cares about that she had a tribrid spell her into a dungeon." Freya nodded in agreement. "But it did cut the party short." Keelin stepped closer to Freya. "I was just starting to have some fun."
Freya smiled. "Well, the night's still young. And I know a great jazz bar."
Freya nodded toward the door, taking a drink. Keelin chuckled. They walked out of the bell tower together.
----
Josh's Apartment - Living Room
Josh walked in, walking through the dark living room toward his room.
Sofya was waiting for him on the couch, turning the lamp next to her on to get his attention.
Josh stopped walking, knowing who was there without looking, sighing. "Of course you'd enter in the creepiest way possible." He turned to face Sofya. "Again."
"Tell me what you found," Sofya told him.
"Where is Eddie?" Josh asked.
"Doesn't work like that, Joshua," Sofya told him. "You only get him back when Kassandra gets free and she's ready to do some violence herself."
"Just tell me where he is, and I'll tell you what I found," Josh told her.
"He's tucked away, safe and sound, at least until I get what I want," Sofya answered. She stood. "I'm doing this for revenge, you know. Yes, Nicola Salvatore did kill some of my closest vampire friends, but I hate Klaus Mikaelson more than I hate the Huntress."
"What did he do?" Josh asked.
Sofya sighed. "500 years ago, a Russian village named Kalach. A nice summer day. Big, happy family. Outdoor wedding feast. I'd gone off to get more wine. I returned to see him feeding on my sister. The wedding party, my entire family, all dead. I hid and watched what he did. Attacking Nicola tonight for my friends, and getting revenge on Klaus through his sister Kassandra losing herself completely all over again? It's two birds, one stone. Now tell me what you found, or I will tell my people to gut your little boyfriend right now."
Josh was clearly torn between his worry for Eddie and not wanting to piss off the Mikaelsons or get anyone else killed. "Good news. I finally managed to get into the tunnels. Bad news, a hybrid named Luke Thompson--"
"I know who Luke Thompson is," Sofya told him.
"Okay, good," Josh told her. "Anyway, Luke chased me away from the dungeon before I could get to Kassandra. He didn't see me. Luke doesn't know me, but I've heard of him."
"So Kassandra's down there, and they were smart enough not to leave her alone during a big party like that, leaving Luke Thompson to watch over her," Sofya told him. "Thank you. I'll give you an update on your boyfriend when Kassandra is freed."
Sofya smirked.
----
Abattoir Compound - Dungeon
Kassandra was sitting in the boundary spell, holding the rosary beads from Auria that was spelled to protect her from the Hollow, able to feel more like herself.
Hayley, Kaylin and Nicola were sitting at the far end of the dungeon.
Kassandra sighed. "Seems you've all had a trying day. I'm sorry, Nicola."
"For not knowing that your blood could be used as a weapon to kill the rest of us?" Hayley asked. "Kassandra, you're taking on too much guilt lately."
Klaus and Elijah walked in.
"As we have told her once before, but of course she doesn't want to listen," Klaus told them, giving Kassandra a significant look.
Kassandra smirked sarcastically in return.
"At least we get to see a bit of the sassy Kassandra back," Kaylin told them.
Kassandra chuckled lightly, tilting her head.
Elijah looked at Nicola. "Are you all right?"
"I'm healed and cured, yeah," Nicola answered. "Kind of embarrassed, though. I was holding back because I didn't want to kill them, and that's why I got cut/venomed."
"You showed mercy and restraint when the dark force inside you doesn't know the meaning of the words," Elijah told her. "It's not something to be ashamed of. You did really well tonight, all things considered."
Nicola smiled a small smile. "You sound like you're about to say you're proud of me."
Elijah chuckled. "I am." Nicola smiled, tilting her head. Kaylin smiled slightly, because she was proud of Nicola, too. Elijah looked at Klaus and Kaylin. "Did you retrieve all of the weapons?"
"Well, I don't know," Klaus told them. He looked at Nicola. "Let's confirm with the vampires that attacked you that you tortured for information, shall we?" He looked at Elijah. "But since Nicola lost control after they attempted to kill her, maybe we should check with Dominic instead." Nicola rolled her eyes, taking a drink from her bottle. "Oh, wait, we can't do that, either. His corpse is currently burning in a dumpster. Kaylin and I try to avoid bloodshed, and both of you become town executioners."
"Oh, I'm sorry that the venom from the weapons that nearly killed me made me lose control and kill two vampires in the middle of your party," Nicola told him sarcastically. "It's not like you haven't killed people for less."
Kassandra was chuckling quietly to herself because she found it rare for someone to stand up to Klaus like that, amused by Nicola's statement and sarcasm.
Klaus was about make a retort to Nicola when he noticed that Kassandra was chuckling, looking at his sister. "Well, there's a familiar trait of the old Kassandra we knew." Kassandra looked up curiously, tilting her head slightly. "It takes 48 hours and a dozen vials of blood from the Huntress and a couple of siphonings from a tribrid, some magical beads spelled for protection from a former witch Regent, and you're already back to helping someone else laugh at me." As Klaus had planned, that got an actual smile and laugh out of Kassandra. Klaus and Elijah were relieved and amused to see this side of their sister again. Kaylin, Nicola and Hayley smiled at the sweetness and the humor of the moment. Klaus looked at his brother. "At least Nicola has the excuse of losing control to the Huntress, Elijah. Am I to assume that you were angry at Dominic for the mess that Kassandra is in now, and sending those vampires to kill Nicola, making her lose control and kill more than just two vampires?"
"It's not just Nicola that Dominic wanted dead," Hayley told them. "He wanted Tory dead, too, which means other people might want both of them dead."
Elijah turned to face them. "Tonight, killing Dominic, was a message to anyone who would go after Nicola or Tory. Let me handle this."
"Why exactly should we do that?" Hayley asked.
"Hope and Rae," Elijah answered, giving Klaus, Hayley and Kaylin a significant look.
Hayley and Kaylin sighed, looking away.
Klaus walked closer, sighing. "You see, it's precisely because of them that I have to assert my involvement."
"You have to?" Kaylin repeated in amusement. "So still trying to keep me out of it for protection, I see."
"We made a deal, Kaylin," Klaus told her.
"A deal that states that if you need help, I will help you," Kaylin replied. "I want to protect Kassandra, Hope and Rae just as much as both of you do, and I also don't want anything to happen to either of you. Not to mention the fact that the Hollow's hit on Nikki tonight and the threat on Tory's life from Dominic proves that they can very well help us defeat it, even if it puts them in danger."
"Yeah, well, Tory and I've always been in danger, and I've come to laugh in the face of it," Nicola told them.
Kassandra smirked, chuckling in amusement, tilting her head.
"Not to mention that Nikki and Tory are my family, even if Tory is distant from us," Kaylin told them. "So, now they've gone after them and Rae. I'm more than pissed now. So if I feel the need to get involved, I will get involved if I need to, especially when it comes to Nikki, Tory and Rae."
Nicola, Kassandra, Klaus, Elijah and Hayley knew that Kaylin had a right to be this angry and that she had a right to get involved in the fight because of what happened.
Klaus nodded in agreement, looking at Elijah. "So, brother, tell us what you know."
Elijah sighed. "This thing wants to be reborn. Auria, Marcel, Noah and Caitlin said that whenever it resurfaces, it does so in four distinct locations. I can't tell why."
Mikayla walked in. "It's looking for something. Four things, by the sound of it." She held up the jaw bone she had found. "And I'm pretty sure that Kacie Lockwood and I found one of them."
"Kacie?" Nicola repeated. "You and Kacie found that?"
"Yeah," Mikayla answered. She looked at Hayley. "Our parents were killed protecting this from one of the Hollow's followers."
"We've seen this time and time again," Kassandra told them. "When a witch wishes to be reborn, its remains are required to complete the spell."
Hayley looked at Mikayla. "You and Kacie have just found a piece of our enemy."
"Lucky us," Mikayla told them sarcastically. "Who has the other three?"
Elijah was thinking, overwhelmed, putting a hand to his head. "Dominic. Dominic said that he had found something here."
"What?" Nicola asked. "There's just, like, a bag of bones laying around that I didn't know about?"
Kassandra came to a realization. "No. But there is one." They looked at her in confusion. "Nik, go to my room, and search the safe behind the painting for Papa Tunde's Blade."
The others were stunned.
----
Alley
A group of men were gathered around Dominic's body, having him shirtless for a resurrection spell, cutting their hands to drip their blood over his body.
----
Abattoir Compound - Kassandra's Room
Klaus rushed up to the painting on the wall, removing it to reveal the safe behind it, quickly working the combination, listening to the clicks inside to tell what the combination was.
----
Alley
Dominic's body was healing quickly as a result to the spell that the other men were casting around him. He awakened with a gasp.
----
Abattoir Compound - Kassandra's Room
Klaus opened the safe to reveal that Papa Tunde's Blade was missing and had been taken some point during the night's festivities.
----
Alley
A man laid Papa Tunde's Blade over Dominic's bare chest.
Dominic took hold of the blade in both hands, looking up at the sky.
----
Abattoir Compound - Dungeon
Kassandra was in the boundary spell, holding her rosary beads. Elijah, Nicola, Hayley, Mikayla and Kaylin stood outside of it.
Klaus walked in worriedly. "Kassandra's right."
"It's gone?" Nicola asked.
Klaus nodded.
"Dominic sending those vampires after Nikki was a distraction," Kaylin realized.
"Yeah, I would say that nearly killing her and making her kill two vampires in front of everyone was a hell of a distraction, Kaylin," Hayley told her. "Going after a Salvatore in the middle of a Mikaelson party."
"They used our own deception against us," Elijah told them.
"This thing has followers everywhere," Mikayla told them. "They've infiltrated the entire city."
"If they get to the other bones before we do..." Kaylin trailed off.
"They may well try to raise this monstrosity," Kassandra finished. "And it will come for us all."
They were all worried and concerned about what could happen, not knowing what to expect, but knowing that they had to be prepared for anything.
----~----
4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter" Trailer
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in the bell tower, Freya and Tory were working on a spell. Mikayla, Kacie and Luke were nearby.
Freya: (voice over from 4.07 High Water and a Devil's Daughter) "We're up against a powerful evil spirit..."
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in the dungeon, Kassandra was in the boundary spell.
Freya: (voice over from 4.07 High Water and a Devil's Daughter) "Who's hell-bent on using my sister..."
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in the compound, Klaus was transformed.
Freya: (voice over from 4.07 High Water and a Devil's Daughter) "To sacrifice my brother."
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in the compound, Nicola placed the jaw bone on a table.
Tory: (voice over from 4.07 High Water and a Devil's Daughter) "And hell-bent on killing anyone who stands in its way."
POWER
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", at the cemetery, Caitlin looked at Elijah. "Do you remember at all what it's like to be a human being?"
"Not really," Elijah answered.
MUST BE
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in the dungeon, Kassandra was in the boundary spell, holding her rosary beads. Hope and Rae walked up to the salt circle.
Kassandra looked up in surprise and confusion. "What are you doing here?"
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in the courtyard, Klaus looked around in worry. "Hope?"
Kaylin called out worriedly. "Rae!"
Nicola looked toward Kaylin and Klaus in concern.
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in the cemetery, Auria was casting a spell at an alter. Marcel, Noah and Caitlin stood with her. Elijah stood a little distance away.
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", in a warehouse, Dominic and his followers were attacking Mikayla, Tory, Kacie, Luke and Freya.
Dominic's nose was bleeding. "You have no idea what you're dealing with."
DEFENDED
Mikayla glared at Dominic in annoyance. "I'm unimpressed."
Freya and Tory cast a massive pain infliction spell on Dominic that made him scream in pain.
Tory was pushed to the limit enough to get so angry that she started to transform facially. Her eyes were blood red with an underglow of werewolf gold at the irises. She had fangs and veins underneath her eyes, but unlike normal vampires, these veins spread from her eyes to her cheekbones, more prominent and throbbing.
From 4.07 "High Water and a Devil's Daughter", earlier in the warehouse, Luke nodded sarcastically. "Great. So who's up for a murder fest?"
WORLDS COLLIDING (THE ORIGINALS)