Marcel, Davina and I were at the Davilla Estate in the pool rooms.

Davina was consulting her notes on the de-linking spell that were still hanging in the pool room, sighing, visibly stressed out. 

"You got everything you need to break the sire link?" Marcel asked.

"Almost," Davina answered. "Aya's getting the rest. I should be ready by sunrise. It'll be fine, I promise. You may feel some warmth when the spell begins, but it'll pass when the link's broken." Marcel and I exchanged a look, sighing. Davina gave us a look. "I know that face."

"Crazy spell," I told her. "Substitute hearts. Creepy witches helping you out. What if the warmth is the last thing we feel?"

"I'll be careful," Davina told us.

"I get that," Marcel told her. "And I am game. But, we are on a tight rope with the Mikaelsons. I mean, that's not just anybody's heart. Jackson was a friend to them, and he was to us."

Davina sighed. "I know, Marcel. And it's a long shot. But, if I don't save you, then I can't save Josh, and I can't save Kol. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you guys."

***

Hayley had called Marcel and me to the compound because she had found Lucien tied up in a train car by Aya and Aurora.

They had taken Klaus and Elijah.

Hayley, Marcel, Lucien and I were in the courtyard of the compound.

Lucien was sitting on the couch, frantically gulping down several blood bags to replenish himself.

There were several blood bags lying around, empty and full.

Marcel looked at Hayley. "We had no idea that Aya was gonna take Klaus and Elijah down." He gestured to Lucien. "And regardless, why the hell are we trusting this guy all of a sudden, huh? He's the one who ran off with Aurora the first chance he got."

"You can hardly fault a man for following his heart," Lucien told us. "Yet, the moment she started raving about firing white oak into Klaus, well... words were said, hearts broken, veins drained."

Hayley turned to Marcel and me. "You're ones to talk about trust." She looked at me. "Who was it that handed my dead husband's heart to the people who helped murder him?"

I looked at Hayley apologetically and guiltily, but also frustrated and overwhelmed. "I bought your life with that heart." Hayley tilted her head. "They would still be clamoring to kill you if I hadn't given them something else that would work."

"You know what?" Marcel asked. "You called us here, so if you have another plan, please, let's hear it."

"It's simple," Hayley told us. "We storm the coven house, stop the Strix from completing the de-siring spell. Period."

"Okay, well, that's easy for you to say," Marcel told her. "You're not sired by anybody, are you?"

"It's not just about de-siring," Lucien told us. "We've got to stop an execution."

I walked toward Lucien, looking at him skeptically. "What are you talking about?"

Lucien looked at Marcel and me significantly. "A lovesick teenage witch with a runner-up heart is somehow going to break the sireline? I'm sorry, but your darling Davina is in over her head, and Aya knows this. She will let Davina de-sire both brothers, then test the spell's success by firing a white oak bullet into Klaus' heart. I mean, it's a win-win for her. If the two of you live, well, she's won. If not, at least she's eliminated the rival sireline, including me."

"His prophecy witch said she saw Klaus die and his entire sireline burn," Hayley told us.

Marcel and I exchanged an extremely worried look.

"She watched us fall, she watched us burn, every soul Klaus ever turned," Lucien told us. "When Aya tests this spell, Klaus will fall either way. And, if Davina fails, as she likely will, the three of us will die as well."

A male vampire walked down the stairs and into the courtyard, walking toward us. "Actually, make that the four of us."

Hayley turned and looked shocked at the sight of the male vampire in the courtyard of her home.

I looked at the vampire in confusion. "Who the hell are you?"

"Stefan," the vampire answered. "Stefan Salvatore. One of the vampires in Klaus' sireline, and an old friend... sort of." Marcel and I looked at him in confusion. Stefan shrugged. "It's a long story."

***

We were all still in the courtyard.

I was on the phone.

Stefan was looking at a blueprint of the Davilla estate.

Lucien stood over his shoulder, watching what he was doing.

Marcel stood in front of them.

"Could use one of these access tunnels to slip into a backroom," Stefan told us.

Lucien frowned. "Hmm."

"What?" Stefan asked sarcastically. "Worried about getting a little dirt on your thousand-dollar shoes?"

"Actually, I'll be doing most of the heavy lifting, since the vampires we're facing are, what?" Lucien asked. "Seven times your age? Is this really the best help we can get?"

I made a face in frustration, hanging up, standing, walking closer. "Doesn't matter. We're not getting their bodies back. Strix from all over the world are flying in to make sure this spell goes off. They're guarding every entrance and exit."

Lucien looked at me. "Noah, you're their leader. Call a meeting. Schedule a retreat. Order them to stop."

I shook my head. "No, no, no, no. I do that, Aya has no problem staging a coup."

Lucien sighed. "I guess it's on me to come up with our grand plan, then."

Freya and Hayley walked in.

"No need, Lucien," Hayley told him. "Freya figured out a way to get the boys out of the chambre. She just needs a strong enough power source."

"I'd channel Finn, but he's all for letting our brothers perish," Freya told us. "So, I'll channel Lucien. The older the vampire, the better the battery."

"We're going to buy her some time, keep the Strix occupied," Hayley told us.

Lucien scoffed. "Wait, so you want me here holding hands with the leftover sister while the toddler vampires tackle the Strix? You must be jok--"

Freya smirked, flicking her wrist, using magic to snap Lucien's neck, watching in amusement as he fell back against the couch.

I turned to Freya in surprise, giving her a hilariously impressed look. "Well, that was impressive."

Freya smirked. "Well, I work better with quiet."

I smiled.

"Wait, so the plan is that the four of us are gonna keep one hundred of the world's most ancient vampires occupied?" Marcel asked.

"Well, there could be another way," Stefan told us. I looked at him curiously in confusion. "All you have to do is get us to the front door."

***

A mystical vampire huntress named Rayna Cruz had stabbed Stefan with a magic sword that trapped vampire souls in a stone that made them live through their own person versions of hell. She would not rest until Stefan was dead, because she would hunt anyone that had been marked with her sword down unmercifully until they were dead. The wound acted as a beacon, drawing Rayna to Stefan.

Freya could not cure the wound, but she had used an herbal paste to mask its signal.

All we had to do was get Stefan and Hayley to the front door, so that Stefan could wipe the masking paste off of his wound so that it would draw Rayna to the Strix headquarters, so that she could kill them off one by one with her sword, and whoever she did not kill would have been marked, which meant that she would track them down until she put them into the stone on her sword.

***

Marcel and I were driving a black car down the road to the Davilla estate.

Stefan and Hayley were in the trunk.

I could hear them.

"Are we close?" Stefan asked.

"A few more minutes," Hayley answered.

"That's a cute kid."

"Yeah. She is."

"Is she the reason you're here?"

"In a trunk with a stranger, going into a fight we may not win? She's not the only reason, but, yeah. Maybe I just don't want her to grow up without a father."

"Hmm. Guess that depends on the father. I could have done without mine. If it weren't for my brother, I probably wouldn't have survived the guy."

"So, he stood up for you, and now you're risking your life for him?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"You know, I never understood the brotherly bond until I met Klaus and Elijah. They hurt each other more than anyone, but... they're vicious when it comes to each other."

"And the ones they care about?"

"So, who's on your homepage, huh? Ah, Caroline. Klaus had a thing for her."

"Yep."

"And I'm pretty sure that I snapped her neck once."

"Yeah, well... she's toughened up since then. I don't think you'd win round two."

"And she's also in Klaus' sireline. Is she the reason why you're here?"

"In a trunk with a stranger, going into a fight we may not win? I guess we both have our reasons."

Marcel slowed the car down, pulling up to the front gate.

The Strix vampires at the gate approached us in the car.

I rolled down the window, giving them a look.

One of the vampires gestured toward the other one to ope the gate to allow Marcel and me through, unknowingly letting Stefan and Hayley inside with us.

***

Marcel and I walked into the Davilla estate, into the pool room.

Aya was overseeing as the Davina and the other sisters prepared for the spell.

Klaus and Elijah's unconscious bodies were floating in the pool.

The sisters sprinkled various herbs into the water around them.

I looked at Aya. "Any problems?"

"No," Aya answered. "We're nearly there. After today, one man's recklessness will no longer weigh on the shoulders of his sires. Thousands of vampires across the world will be freed from the tyranny of the Originals." She turned to face Marcel and me. "I'm really glad you're both here. Stay close when it happens."

I faked a smile. "Mm. Oh, we're not going anywhere."

Aya walked away, leaving.

Marcel walked toward Davina.

Davina was still kneeling at the edge of the pool with her sister's coven cloak around her shoulders, pouring a clear red fluid into the around Klaus and Elijah.

Marcel knelt next to her. "Did you know?"

"Know what?" Davina asked.

I walked closer. "She's going to kill them. Klaus first. Then, if the sireline is proven broken, Elijah won't last much longer."

Davina did seem surprised by this information, shaking her head. "I didn't know. But... does that really change anything?"

Marcel and I looked at her incredulously in confusion.

"If it fails and Aya puts Aurora's bullet into Klaus' heart, I die," Marcel told her. "Noah dies. Josh dies."

Davina frowned in confusion. "You don't think I can do it."

Marcel sighed. "It's too risky. And either way, Klaus is gone. Your boyfriend Kol's brother. Our sire. We owe him."

Davina shook her head. "No, you don't. He's taken far more than he's given. From you, from me, from Kol. He's had his turn." She looked at Marcel. "Two years ago, you asked me to find a way to break the sireline because you wanted to kill Klaus. I swore to you that I would find a way to do it. Now, I have. You trusted me then."

"Circumstances have changed, all right?" Marcel asked. "Things are different now, D."

"No," Davina told him. "We've always protected each other. When you had me shunned, I was furious. But now... I get it. You'll always protect me, not matter what. Even if I hate you for it." She had tears in her eyes. Marcel and I looked at her worriedly. "You both deserve to be free of Klaus. We all do. But I can't do this if you don't trust me. I'm scared. And you're the only family that I have. I can break the sirelines. So, are we in this together? Because, if so, I can do it." She sniffled, pulling herself together, standing. Marcel stood. "No doubts, no hesitation. I can do it."

I sighed, looking away.

Marcel put a hand on my shoulder, and one on Davina's, squeezing them.

Neither of us gave an answer, but Davina took the good gesture as a sign that we were giving her the right to do the spell.

Davina smiled, comforted by this reactions.

***

Davina was consulting her de-siring spell notes.

Marcel and I watched.

"I'm ready," Davina told us.

Marcel nervously looked at his watch.

I looked at them, my smile nearly betraying the plan we had arranged with the others. "Are you sure? Take your time."

Aya walked into the room with a crowd of Strix vampires. "If the girl is ready, she's ready." She put the heel of her platform boot on the edge of the pool, kneeling forward to get a good look at Elijah, who was still floating unconsciously in the pool. Davina raised her hood, putting it over her hair in preparation. "All of us have waited long enough for this."

Davina took Jackson's heart out of the box it had been buried in, surreptitiously grabbing a glass bottle adorned with gold. "The unsired heart will bind the sisters' magic to these waters." She walked over to the edge of the pool, holding the heart aloft over the water. "Once the pool's fully charged with Mikaelson blood, I can break the sirelines."

Davina dropped the heart into the pool with a large splash.

***

Davina had just slit Klaus throat with an athame, chanting the incantation to the de-siring spell with the sisters. "Newo unus animabus carnem..." She slit Elijah's throat. "Newo unus animabus carnem." She dropped Elijah's body into the water. Aya leaned forward toward Elijah, almost as if she was giving him a mocking kiss goodbye. Marcel and I were at the back of the room, watching. Marcel was nervous. I was agitated and serious anxious about what was going on. "Nemo unus animabus carnem."

Klaus and Elijah's were still floating in the pool, where their throats had been slit from ear to ear, the blood filling the water, turning it into dark red.

***

Klaus and Elijah continued to bleed out into the pool.

Davina and the sisters were still chanting the incantation for the de-siring spell. "Nemo unus animabus carnem et sanguinem de ista duo. Sanguinatum venetus barkael meh. Nemo unus animabus carnem et sanguinem de ista duo. Sanguinatum venetus barkael meh."

One of the Strix guards ran inside. "Aya. We may have a problem."

Aya seemed torn, reluctantly leaving with the guard.

Marcel, several other Strix vampires and I were left to supervise the spell that Davina and the other sisters were casting the de-siring spell.

***

I could Aya further in the estate.

"If you've lost contact, send men to the front gate to check the... Well, if it isn't Rayna Cruz."

Marcel and I could hear fighting from further in the estate, knowing that they were completely occupied with Rayna.

***

Stefan and Hayley hesitantly walked into the pool room.

Davina and the sisters were still performing the spell. "Nemo unus animabus carnem et sanguinem de ista duo. Sanguinatum venetus barkael meh. Nemo unus animabus carnem et sanguinem de ista duo. Sanguinatum venetus barkael meh."

Hayley looked horrified when she saw Klaus and Elijah floating in the pool filled with their blood.

The witches all had their eyes closed, not immediately noticing Stefan and Hayley, and neither did the Strix vampires.

Stefan and Hayley rushed toward two Strix vampires, snapping their necks while they had their backs turned to them, taking them completely by surprise, letting their bodies fall.

The sound of them landing on the floor caught the attention of the other vampires and the sisters.

Marcel took a deep breath to calm down.

I was calm, rushing toward another vampire, snapping his neck, letting him fall.

Davina gave me a betrayed look. "Noah!"

I looked at Davina apologetically, pointing at her. "I'm sorry, D."

The remaining two Strix vampires rushed toward us.

Marcel snapped their necks.

Davina looked at him pleadingly. "Marcel!"

Marcel looked at her apologetically, guiltily, turning away to Stefan, Hayley and me. "We need to get them out of that water, now."

Hayley nodded in agreement.

Davina looked furious, thrusting her hands toward us, just as the sisters did the same. "No!"

Davina and the sisters used magic to throw Stefan, Marcel, Hayley and me across the room into the far wall, making us fall to the floor, incapacitating us long enough to return to the spell.

***

Elijah suddenly woke, thought the sisters didn't seem to notice immediately.

Davina and the sisters continued to chant the incantation for the de-siring spell. "Nemo animabus carnem et sanguinem--"

Elijah rushed to his feet in the pool, grabbing a sister by the front of her cloak, pulling her into the water, both drowning her and feeding on her at the same time, her blood spreading through the water.

Stefan, Marcel, Hayley and I stood.

Davina and the sisters were doing their best to complete the spell, though it was obvious that they were terrified and unsure of what to do.

Elijah leaped out of the water, snapping the neck of one of the other sisters.

I snapped another sister's neck.

Hayley grabbed another witch from behind, biting into her neck, feeding off of her for a long moment, pulling away.

Marcel rushed toward Davina. "Davina, stop!"

Davina stood, walking away from the edge of the pool, though she still continued chanting the spell.

***

Davina had just trust her hand toward Klaus, continuing the spell. "Nemo uus animabus carnem." Klaus awoken in the pool. "Nemo unus animabus canem!" Klaus leaped out of the water at vampire speed, toward Davina. Davina held her hands toward him, using magic to make him stop midair, growling at him furiously. "You've had your turn!" The lights exploded in a shower of sparks. Davina pushed her arms down, using magic to push Klaus into the pool with a loud splash. Elijah was finishing off the witches that were still fighting against us. "Nemo unus animabus carnem. Nemo unus animabus carnem!"

Marcel, Stefan and I were standing a few feet apart, spaced out evenly. It felt like we were burning from the inside out. The skin on our hands started to turn bright red as if we were burning. The bright red made its way up our arms, traveling up our necks. We screamed in agony.

Klaus was screaming in agony as well.

Davina waved her arms into two concentric circles.

The water in the pool shot up in what looked like a half-dozen geysers.

The force of completing the spell caused Davina to pass out. She fell to the floor.

Klaus fell unconscious in the water once again.

Marcel, Stefan and I were on the floor, breathing heavily, trying to recover.

Elijah stood, jumping into the pool next to Klaus, gently helping him sit up.

Klaus looked desiccated, however, it quickly began to fade as the wound on his throat healed. He weakly opened his eyes, barely able to speak above a whisper. "I felt them leave. My sireline is broken."

***

Hayley had killed Aya herself as revenge for Jackson, since Aya was the one that sent a legion of Strix to capture her and Jackson so that Tristan could kill him. Aya had been the one to knock both Hayley and Jackson out and deliver them to Tristan.

Marcel had taken Davina home.

Stefan had left town again.

And everything else that was to follow had yet to be seen.