"You collect trophies from all your victims?" Freya asked Klaus in disbelief.

   Audrey couldn't help but roll her eyes, as she joined them in the study with Mira's baby monitor in hand, sitting down beside Elijah. "Is it bad I'm no longer phased that's even a question in this family?"

   Elijah cleared his throat to stop himself snickering, placing his hand on her leg and squeezed her thigh lightly as he looked from Klaus to Freya. "Letters to their loved ones, to be specific."

   Klaus barely listened to them, as he read through the pile of old letters he'd taken out of the safe. "It was a phase." He defended absentmindedly.

   "A phase in which we were forced to learn a different kind of stealth." Elijah sat forward in his seat as he continued. "You see, over time, Niklaus' enemies grew so numerous, we had no choice but to artfully withdraw from the world." Klaus frowned, looking at him in offense, but Elijah ignored it as he continued. "And then...well, I wouldn't exactly describe our presence in this city as discrete. Wouldn't you agree, Niklaus?"

   Frustrated, Klaus shut the box of letters as he finally acknowledged the conversation going on around him. "We all saw the white oak destroyed!" He let out. "Plus, this city is crawling with vampires, all of whom had no choice but to shield me from potential foes! Were I to die, they would die, too. I couldn't have been more safe!" He sighed, his face falling in worry. "And now my sire link is undone. Those very foes will come for me...like never before."

   Freya crossed her arms, letting out her own sigh. "It's only been a few days since the link was broken. Must you jump to crippling paranoia already?"

   Elijah rolled his eyes. "It's a default setting."

   "And for good reason!" Klaus defended angrily.

   "Reasons of your own creation." Audrey muttered, earning a glare that she just waved off. 

   Elijah rose to his feet and walked over to him. "Well, Niklaus, if it offers you any solace whatsoever, you've ransacked Aya's belongings, torched Aurora's hunting ground, and obliterated every last splinter of white oak."

   "I would be mad to believe that." The Mikaelson hybrid said in a low voice.

   The elder of the two brothers simply shrugged. "Perhaps you should see a therapist."

   Klaus fell silent at the mention of Cami, and looked between the three of them silently a moment, before he walked out of the room. It was silent for a moment, before Freya looked toward Elijah skeptically. "Every last splinter? You're sure?"

   Elijah was silent, not meeting her eyes, which answered the question without him having to say anything. They couldn't be sure of anything right now.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   Audrey made her way down the hall toward Hayley's bedroom, blinking in surprise when she walked inside, seeing Hayley sat at the end of her bed. "I thought you were in the bayou?"

   Hayley put a finger up to her mouth silently, before nodding toward the closed nursery door. Audrey nodded, easily catching on to what she meant. "I just came home to feed Hope, put her down for a nap." She answered quietly. "I'm heading back out soon."

   As she got to her feet, Audrey narrowed her eyes as she moved closer, noticing a red mark on the top of her head. "What happened?" She gently wiped away the blood in concern. "Are you alright?"

   "Nothing." The Marshall-Kenner woman brushed off, pulling away as she walked around her. "I just got caught on a thorn." She shook her head, clearing her throat. "Do you need something?"

   "I just thought I'd check on Hope." She told her. "Klaus is dealing with everything going on, and Elijah's checking in on Mira."

   "Well, maybe he's right to be paranoid." Hayley looked at her honestly. "Seems like every time we pause to catch our breath, someone ends up dead." She hesitates a moment before she continues. "She'll be asleep for another hour. Do you mind?"

   "Of course not." The Gilbert girl assured her. "Go."

   "Thank you." Hayley gave a small smile before walking away, Audrey watching her carefully as she left. 

   She got the feeling there was something more going on with her, but whatever it was, Hayley wasn't ready or willing to talk about it. Carefully and quietly, she opened the nursery door and looked at Hope, who slept peacefully in her crib. She smiled a small smile, before she closed the door and made her way out of the room, following the sound of Klaus' frantic voice coming from the study. 

   "It was him." Klaus told his siblings adamantly. "It was Gaspar Cortez."

   Audrey raised a brow in confusion, walking over to Mira who was in Elijah's arms, wide awake after her nap. The littlest Mikaelson smiled at the sight of her mother, giggling happily as Audrey pressed a kiss on her forehead, not complaining as Elijah passed her over into her arms.

   "I assume this is someone from your box of letters?" Freya assumed with a sigh.

   Klaus nodded with a disgusted look. "The youngest son of a particularly vile family of warlords I dealt with in the 17th century."

   Elijah made a face. "Didn't they burn that philistine pigsty into the ground?"

   Klaus gave him an appalled look at his words. "Pigsty?" He repeated in distaste. "Belga was my favorite artists retreat! Someone had to pay for that, so I murdered Gaspar's brute of a father."

   Audrey gave him a knowing look. "And?"

   "And one or two--"

   "--Five--" Elijah corrected with a sigh. 

   "Five--" Klaus snapped in annoyance. "--of his bloodthirsty brothers."

   "Don't forget the mistress." Elijah reminded him.

   The Mikaelson hybrid held his hands up in defense. "That was an accident!"

   Elijah merely rolled his eyes, looking at Freya and Audrey. "The point is that Gaspar was but a footnote."

   "Until he became a vampire, hell-bent on hunting me." Klaus corrected worriedly. "He's a cunning deviant, known to compel hoards of the helpless to aid him with his tasks. You see, this is exactly what I was concerned about. Devils of all kinds, crawling out of their crevices to strike at me." He pauses for a moment and begins to deeply scowl. "Speaking of which..." He muttered and sped off downstairs. 

   It was long till they heard a crash come from the courtyard, and three remaining made their way downstairs to see what the commotion was. They walked into the courtyard to see Klaus frozen, staring with a stunned expression at who was in front of him. 

   The same expression appear on their faces, as Kol gives Klaus a pointed look. "Now, Nik, I mean, you did go after my girl."

   "It can't be." Klaus breathed out. 

   Davina stepped in to mediate. "It's Kol." She confirmed. "When I broke your sire link, it created a surge of power."

   Freya crossed her arms over her chest with a cold look toward the Claire witch. "You stole the nexus vorti." 

   Davina gave a frustrated look at their less than grateful reactions. "And brought your brother back from the dead!" 

   Kol stepped in front of her protectively. "You should be thanking her, really." Surprising everyone, Klaus moved forward and hugged Kol tightly, make shock and a small smile appear on Kol's face. When they pull apart, Kol turned toward Elijah, who continued to just stare at him in amazement. "Hello, Elijah."

   "You haven't aged a day." Elijah let out, earning a chuckle in response.

   Kol then looked toward Audrey, who passed Mira over to Elijah before hugging him tightly. Kol grinned as he hugged her back, spinning her around on the spot. "I see a lot has changed with you since I've been gone." He mused, spotting the daylight ring on her finger as he carefully set her down. "Nik's doing, I assume?"

   Klaus frowned as Audrey chuckled. "Of course." She then turned took Mira again, who was staring at Kol with wide eyes. "Kol, it's time you meet your niece, Mira."

   Kol's face softened as looked at Mira, who curiously reached her hand out toward him. Taking her hand gently, he held it in front of his mouth and pretended to nibble on it, making her giggle and squirm happily, before reaching out to be held by him eagerly. Audrey passed her over to Kol with ease, and stepped back to stand beside Elijah, the two parents smiling as they watched their daughter so happily entranced by her uncle. 

   With Mira settled contently in his arms, Kol then finally looked over  at Freya, narrowing his eyes on her with a frown. "And you...?"

   "Freya." She introduced.

   "Right." He nodded. "Long lost older sister. Speaking of twists and turns in our family tree, where might Rebekah be?" He looked between all of them.

   Klaus glanced at Elijah, Audrey, and Freya with a certain look, before he looked back at Kol. "That's a long story. And one reserved for family. Davina can see herself out."

   Kol looked at his brother with an exasperated look. "Are you--"

   "--As per usual, our family faces a multitude of threats." Klaus cut him off quickly. "The sooner you become acquainted with them, the better. I won't have you distracted."

   "By Davina?" Kol asked and grew annoyed. "You know, if only you could pull your head out of your--"

   But Davina quickly stepped in and stopped him going on any further. "Kol. It's okay. I'll go."

   His face fell as she turned to walk away, quickly walking after her. "Davina." He said softly, stepping front of her.

   "You can make it up to me." She gave him a small smile.

   "And I will." He promised. "Dust off that fancy dress, 'cause tonight we're going dancing."

   Her smile grew at that as she nodded. "Okay."

   The two kissed goodbye before Davina left, the three siblings watching their brother in surprise at his tenderness toward her. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   *

   With Kol's help, they were able to determine where exactly all of the threats against Klaus were, and only one was located in New Orleans. The rest were scattered around the world, to all of their relief. While Klaus left to deal with Gaspar Cortez, Elijah and Audrey left to meet Marcel, who had spent the day dealing with Strix members disappearing. Freya and Kol assured they'd keep an eye on Mira and Hope, with Hayley still not back from whatever she was out doing in the bayou. 

   Elijah sent Marcel a frown as they approached him in the alley. "Went to the wrong dumpster." He told him, less than impressed with the situation. "Of course, I have nothing better to do."

   Audrey gave him a look, before looking at Marcel. "What's going on?"

   Marcel didn't say anything and opened up the dumpster he was stood in front of, revealing the several desiccated bodies inside. "Davina found our missing Strix. Wolf bites. They were tortured and then torn apart." He informed the couple, who looked at the sight in horror, and he gave them a significant look. "Guys, Jackson was killed just around the corner from here."

   "Oh God..." Audrey let out quietly, catching onto what he meant. 

   In that moment, what happened that morning made sense. How evasive she was, the blood on her forehead. It was Hayley going after and taking out members of the Strix. All to get revenge for what they'd done to Jackson.

   "The Strix are still gonna want the head of whoever did this." Marcel told them knowingly.

   Elijah took Audrey's hand and began to lead her away, turning and pointing toward the dumpster with his spare hand as they left. "Burn the bodies." He ordered.

   Neither of them needed to say anything, as they both knew exactly where they needed to go. They made their way toward the warehouse Tristan had held Hayley and Jackson in, and paused in shock at what they saw. A vampire sat bound to a chair in the middle of the room, a large bite mark on the side of her neck, whimpering loudly in pain. Hayley silently walked around her with a menacing expression, before she grew annoyed and grabbed an ax that rested against the table beside her. 

   "Hayley, no!" Audrey shouted, moving further into the room.

   Hayley turned and looked at them, as Elijah gave her an appalled look. "What do you think you're doing?"

   However, the Marshall-Kenner hybrid simply glared between them both for a moment, before she turned back toward the vampire. Bringing the ax up, she swung it as hard as she could and took the vampires head off, splattering herself with blood in the process. 

   "This has to stop!" Elijah shouted at her, as she looked at them once again.

   "Why are you defending these people, Elijah?" She asked, a cold expression on her face. "Oh, that's right, because they're the only ones that can protect you from the white oak. Well, guess what? I don't need their protection." Pulling a piece of paper from her pocket, she unfolded it and walked forward, handing it to them. "This is a list-- of all the Strix who took down me and my husband. The ones responsible for his execution, which I was forced to watch."

   "The Strix will consider this an act of war, Hayley." Elijah tried to reason with her. "Now, I beseech you to think of your daughter."

   But all his words do is make her more furious. "Do not use Hope in an attempt to tame me, Elijah! Now, I have taken risks for you. It is about time that I do right by Jackson. I'm sorry if that inconveniences you."

   The couple were quiet as she stormed away, and Audrey's eyes glanced over the list, seeing all the name she'd crossed out and the handful that were left. "What do we do?" She asked him. "If the Strix find out it was Hayley, they'll kill her, but she's not wrong, Elijah. They murdered Jackson."

   "I know." He nodded as he took a deep breath. "Her anger and want for vengeance is justified. Had something like that had happened to you...I'd be doing the exact same thing."

   Audrey went to speak when her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out to look at it. "Freya. Something's going on, they need us to head back."

   Elijah took a deep breath and nodded. "We'll handle the last of the list and come up with story." He said. "I'll talk with Marcel and put an end to this."

   And that was exactly what they did. 

*  *  *  *  *  *   *  *  *  *

   With some help with Marcel, once all the names on Hayley's list were crossed off, they made it look to the Strix like Gaspar was responsible for the murders. When they got back to the compound, they found out why Freya had called. Kol's spell to locate where all of Klaus's enemies were had changed, and now on the map, every single one of them was moving toward New Orleans. 

   Which left only one option. Klaus was going to run, go into hiding just like he had done in the past, and he was taking Hope and Hayley with him. 

   He walked down into the courtyard with his bags in hand, raising a brow at Freya. "Is it done?"

   "Yes." Freya told him. "Any now any witch who does a locator spell will believe you're right here in New Orleans."

   Elijah let a small, amused smile twitch on his lips. "You know, for all his mischief, Kol truly is a master of his craft."

   Klaus chuckled slightly. "Yes, well, drawing trouble is his forte. You'll thank him for me?"

   Elijah nodded. "Don't stop driving until you're certain that you are safe."

   "You don't have to remind me how precious my cargo is." He gives his brother a hug, before kissing Freya on the cheek. He then looked at Audrey, who stood with Mira resting on her hip, and he gave a small smile as he kissed his niece on the forehead. "Goodbye, little one." He said softly, before he looked at the Gilbert girl, nodding his head toward Elijah. "Keep him in line, would you, sister?"

   Audrey sighed softly and nodded, before she pulled him into a hug. "Be safe."

   "Always." He promised, and he looked at all of them for a moment, before grabbed his bags and walked away. 

   Freya let out a sigh as they watched his car pull away. "It's going to be quiet around here."

   Elijah didn't say anything as they watched the car disappear from sight, kissing Audrey on the forehead as she rested her head on his shoulder, looking at Mira who was falling asleep in her mother's arms. "I wouldn't bet on it."

Kol is back! I loved this episode a lot, but I did miss a fair part of it. I didn't need the Hayley and Elijah moment, and I'm excited to get onto the episodes coming up. A lot is going to happen, and it is going to be very fun to write. 

I hope you all enjoyed!