chapter eleven – bringing out the dead

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LIFE AS THE GRIM REAPER WAS A LOT BUSIER THAN MORRIGAN HAD EXPECTED. Lin had always been busy but in an idle sort of way. He had always been the kind of person, at least in her experience, that preferred staying in, at home, not going out. He'd never expressed an interest in going out of the Reaper house except for those few times that it had been something they were collectively celebrating. Now, Morrigan wondered if perhaps he had wanted to go out, but just couldn't because of how many reports he had to do.

Morrigan felt like she was drowning in the number of reports that always seemed to be on her desk. She'd been relying on her brothers and sisters more than she remembered Lin ever doing. She thought that was for good reason though. Not only did Lin have three hundred more years under his belt than her, but he also had her. She was his apprentice, she was there to help and to delegate further as well.

She relied on Mara and Alan the most. They were older than her, they'd been doing the job longer. Of all the people in the inner circle, they were the ones that could help her the most. And they were more than willing. If she wasn't new to the job and there wasn't a rule about excluding existing reapers, she'd definitely have been struggling about making one of them her apprentice.

With a sigh, Morrigan leaned back in her chair and looked over at Cu Sith, who was laying on a large dog bed against the wall next to her desk. He must have sensed that she was looking at him, so looked up and watched her. His red eyes should have been unsettling, but they weren't.

The door opened and a young brunette appeared in the doorway, looking apprehensive. Morrigan smiled at her, waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind.

"Can we... talk?"

"Sure, Juliet, come on in."

She came inside, sitting down in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. Cu Sith got up and stretched, before padding over to her and sitting down next to her, putting his big head in her lap. Juliet immediately reached down and started scratching his head.

"What's up, kiddo?" she asked.

"What's going to happen now that Lin is gone?" the young girl asked.

"That's a heavy question for this early in the morning," Morrigan said, leaning forward on her arms. "The truth is, Jules... I don't know. This is new to me, too. I know you're worried that with Lin gone, everything he did is going to be destroyed, but that's not what I want to do. Right now, I'm just trying to get used to all of this."

"That's not all I'm worried about..." Juliet admitted.

"What else is bugging you, then?"

"We all know about your connection to the hybrid," Juliet told her. "We know that you knew him before you were Lin's apprentice, that you knew the whole family. Now that you're in charge..."

"You think I'm going to leave."

"Maybe..." she admitted, looking down at Cu Sith as she continued patting him.

Morrigan stood up from her desk and came around her desk, kneeling down in front of her and taking her hands.

"Juliet, listen to me. I know that I've been absent a bit, that before... all of this happened and everything changed, I was spending a lot of time with Klaus and Rebekah. They had answers that I've wanted for over two hundred years that I couldn't find out any other way. They had, we had, this connection. Like family, like with you. I suppose I fell into it more than I planned to."

"You aren't going to leave us?"

"If I ever do, it's not because I don't want to come back. I love my family with you guys, I love my job, I love being a reaper. I do love them, too, but I don't love anyone or anything enough to abandon this job, this family. And if I ever do go anywhere, you can always come talk to me, see me. I'd never not want to see you."

That seemed to calm Juliet's nerves. She smiled at Morrigan and stood up, so the blonde stood up as well. Juliet paused for a moment before hugging Morrigan suddenly, surprising her enough that she had to take a step back.

Morrigan laughed and hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. She left the room, leaving Morrigan smiling as she watched her close the door behind her. Now alone in the room with only Cu Sith, she sat back at her desk and leaned back in the chair.

As the silence settled back in, she couldn't help but open a drawer near the top of her desk. Inside was the large book that she had claimed when becoming the Grim Reaper and that had the name of her first life written across the top. She set the book on her desk and stared at it for a long time. The temptation to open it was strong, getting stronger every day. But every single time she was tempted to open it something held her back. A little voice in her head that was saying "No not yet. Something isn't right yet."

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IT WAS LATE IN THE EVENING, A WEEK OR SO AFTER CLAIMING HER NEW TITLE when Morrigan received a call from Klaus. She had been overwhelmed with paperwork for most of that time. She had barely been able to be away from her desk. So seeing his name pop up on her call display made her smile. She didn't know what it was that he was calling about, but the idea of getting to talk to her old friend put a smile on her face. Even if he needed something, the break from paperwork would be a welcome relief.

"Good to hear from you," Morrigan said.

"I need you to come over," he said.

"Skipping right to the good parts, huh?" she teased.

"There's someone here who needs to meet you so some things can be explained to him."

"Someone at your place? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Totally fine. And please, do hurry. I don't have all night."

With that, he hung up. Morrigan was confused, as he hadn't given her much explanation but she did still find herself incredibly intrigued. She supposed that was his goal. And it was working as she was definitely going to go over there.

Morrigan quickly told someone where she was going and then departed from the house. She stepped out near the home that Klaus had claimed and hurried towards it. At the front door, Klaus was already waiting for her and she gave him a curious look but he pressed a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet and gestured for her to follow him inside. She did so, long since past questioning the small things that Klaus did.

He led her upstairs towards where the sitting room was. She noticed more than a few pieces of wood and shards of glass scattered about the room, as well as the remains of a broken door still just barely holding onto its hinges as well as the pieces of what was obviously once a small table. Klaus led her through the now empty door frame and into the room beyond.

"Dear brother, here is the person I wanted you to meet."

Inside the room was a man that Morrigan instantly felt that she recognized. He wore a neat suit, cleanly pressed, and the rest of his appearance matched with perfectly in order hair and perfect posture. His expression changed immediately upon seeing her just as Klaus and Rebekah's had, but his was more. More emotion, more anguish, more everything. And even without that, Morrigan's heart skipped a beat upon seeing him.

"Mina?" he questioned, expression soft.

The accompanying shock that ran up her spine was so much more intense than any time before. She became aware of tears in her eyes and she didn't know why.

"Brother, this is a cruel joke," he said to Klaus.

"It's no joke, Elijah," Klaus promised.

Elijah. The name itself caused her heart to skip another beat.

"Is it really you, Mina?" Elijah asked hesitantly.

"In– in a sense," she said. "After I died, I was reborn without my memories. I'm called Morrigan now but– I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying if I don't even know you."

"Morrigan, it's okay," Klaus told her. He placed a hand on her back and gently pushed her forward. "You know why."

Her hesitant step forward seemed to be all the reason Elijah needed. In a flash he was right in front of her, embracing her and holding her close. Her arms wrapped around him, too, and she pressed her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling the scent of old books, wood smoke and roses that made her heart flutter.

The tears came back and before she could stop it — or even really knew that it was happening — a sob escaped her. Elijah's arms tightened impossibly around her and it made another sob sound from her lips. Just like that, they were on the floor as if their knees had given out and Morrigan was audibly crying into Elijah's shoulder as he held her. She couldn't hear anything over her own sobbing, but she could feel his face pressed into her shoulder and the tears soaking her shirt.

After several moments, she pulled back to catch her breath, moving her hands from around Elijah to hold his face in her hands. He kept his arms tight around her waist as if that alone could keep her from ever moving away. His eyes were as red as hers, tear tracks down his cheeks to match her own but none of it took away from the perfection of his face, the beauty of him. For a moment, all she could do was stare in admiration.

"I know you," she managed to say. "I don't remember you, but I know you."

Elijah leaned his forehead against hers. She was overwhelmed by the emotions rushing through her. It felt like they were hers and someone else's entirely. She was feeling them, but they really belonged to her first life, to Mina Mercer.

"I'll leave you two alone," Klaus said.

"Niklaus," Elijah said, stopping his brother before he left. "Thank you."

Klaus left the room silently, and Morrigan pushed her fingers into Elijah's hair, leaning her forehead once more against his and letting her eyes close. Elijah moved his head into the crook of her neck and breathed in deeply and the last bit of tension left his body, clearly comforted by whatever he smelled.

"How?" Elijah asked.

"I... After I died, a man offered me a choice. To be reborn as a Reaper, one who escorts the deceased across to the other side. And to be his apprentice, to one day become the Grim Reaper."

"Why?"

"I don't know yet. My previous life made that decision and I don't have any of her memories. But I have a haunting feeling that it was for you," she told him. "Of course, I can't be sure, but I think it was so that I could see you again."

"No memories of me and yet you can still catch me by surprise," Elijah said with a laugh, lifting his head to look at her.

Morrigan laughed too. It felt good. She shifted her position so that the way they were tangled together was more comfortable for them both. Elijah took her head in his hands and her heart skipped a beat again.

"I know you don't remember me and this may be a lot to ask, but I have waited over three hundred years, so... may I kiss you?"

"Yes, please do, please," she said.

He smiled and his hands shifted, one down to her cheek and the other to the back of her neck. For a moment, he paused as if he was hesitant and Morrigan was having none of that, so she surged forward and kissed him.

Morrigan wanted to say that sparks and fireworks exploded around her as they kissed, that the world stopped or something else groundbreaking, but she couldn't. What she could say was that kissing Elijah was like coming home, like returning to the place where her heart belonged after time spent away and it was the best kiss that she'd ever had.

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MORRIGAN FOLLOWED CLOSE BEHIND WHEN KLAUS SHOWED ELIJAH TO HIS ROOM. She wasn't intending on allowing much space to come between her and Elijah for at least a little while and she was sure that he felt the same way. Or perhaps sure was an understatement given how he kept hold of her hand as they walked through the halls of Klaus' mansion.

The blonde found herself pressed back against the door as soon as it was closed. As Elijah wrapped his arms around her and leaned his forehead against hers once more, she could only smirk.

"I'm sure Nik prepared you a whole closet, you should get changed," she told him.

"Why don't you help me?"

"Careful, Mr. Mikaelson, someone might think you've forgotten your manners. We've only just met, you remember."

Elijah laughed and stood straighter, though didn't step back or remove his arms from around her. She simply smiled at him as he studied her face.

"Come on," she urged him. "Your suit is in tatters."

"Just a moment longer."

"We've got as many moments as you count, Elijah. You can afford to spend a few on getting into some clean clothes."

Though he seemed reluctant, he did take a step back and walk over to the closet. Morrigan went over to the large bed, settling down on it on her stomach, facing the end of the bed so that she could watch Elijah.

"In my first life," she asked as he started looking through the suits, "what... were we?"

"What were we?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah... I can feel the connection, the romantic feelings, all of that. But I don't know what our relationship was. I can assume that you're the mutual friend that Nik said would have our heads if something happened between us, but does that mean we were dating? It was the seventeenth century, so maybe not dating, but courting? Were we married?"

"We were supposed to be," Elijah told her, pausing as he looked at one of the suits he'd picked out. "We were engaged when my father killed you."

"Mikael killed me? I suppose that explains that horrible feeling I had when I heard his name and then saw him..."

"You saw him?" Elijah asked, more alarmed.

"The night he was killed. Before... before Nik did it, my— the man who was the Grim Reaper before me, he was killed by Mikael."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you. It's been a hard month. Doesn't seem so bad now, though."

Elijah immediately strode over to her and leaned down to kiss her. Morrigan rested her hand on his chest to help her move into a sitting position when her brow furrowed as she felt something strange.

"There's something in your jacket pocket," she said.

He placed a hand on his chest where the jacket was, feeling what she'd been talking about. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a white piece of paper. His brow furrowed as well, opening the paper at the fold and looking over it.

"It's a note," he said. "From Damon Salvatore."

"Oh, what does he want?"

"You're familiar with him?"

"I've been here for a few months now, we got acquainted. And then I beat the shit out of him last time I saw him..." Elijah raised a brow. "What? He was being a jackass. What was I meant to do?"

"It looks like he wants to meet with me. That he's the one who woke me up."

"I thought Nik did that."

"No, he was surprised to see me."

"Are you going to go to the meeting?"

"If he's the one who woke me, I suppose I must see why."

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IT WAS OF NO SHOCK TO MORRIGAN WHEN ELIJAH RETURNED AND TOLD HER that Damon wanted his help in killing Klaus. They had never seemed too fond of Klaus, given everything he'd done to them and since Elijah had teamed up with the Mystic Falls Gang to kill Klaus when he broke the hybrid curse, it also made sense that they went to him for help.

It even made sense that Elijah had agreed. His brother had lied to him and daggered him. Even if he'd been the one to bring Morrigan to him, sort of reuniting him with his lost lover, Morrigan could only assume that this one good deed did not outweigh the bad. And as much as she cared for Klaus herself, thought of him as a friend, she felt much more devotion to Elijah. And as a hybrid, she knew his death was out of her hands. The only real opposition she could give with her limited knowledge of the whole situation was about the balance of life and death. Something that wouldn't be thrown if he died.

So, that evening, Morrigan stood by Elijah's side, dressed up a little, as Klaus prepared for dinner. He set up a circular table and compelled two girls to be waitresses for them.

Then, finally, there was a knock on the door and Elijah went to answer it.

"Niklaus, our guests have arrived."

Elijah let the two brothers in and closed the door behind them. Damon and Stefan's eyes looked over the display in front of them with surprise, especially when they saw Morrigan standing there as well.

"Damon. Stefan," Klaus said. "Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, shall we?"

"It's better to indulge him," Elijah told them as he walked past them to get back to where she was standing.

"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus," Stefan said as he walked slowly forward. "In fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told I had to cause you would hear us out."

Klaus laughed. "Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours."

"Sure, one question first," Damon said as Klaus sat down. Damon turned and pointed at Morrigan. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"Oh, didn't you hear the news, Damon?" Morrigan told him, smiling at Elijah as he pulled out her chair for her. "My connection to the Mikaelson family is much more intimate than I knew."

"And, as the new Grim Reaper, she is here as an impartial third party," Elijah explained, sitting down next to her.

"Impartial, my ass," Damon said.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere and Elijah told me you wanted to do more than just argue here tonight, so take a seat."

Though he seemed unhappy about it, Damon did plaster on a smile and sit down next to his brother. And Stefan sat as well, though he didn't bother with putting on a fake smile.

The first course was brought out once everyone was seated and the two waitresses brought out some wine, offering it to everyone at the table. Stefan was the only one who refused the wine and even to touch the food when it was put in front of him, so everyone but him dug into the delicious meal.

"You lost your appetite," Klaus said to Stefan, who only shrugged.

"Eat," Damon told his brother. "I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home."

Stefan forced what was obviously a fake smile onto his face as he finally grabbed one of his utensils and started to eat.

"That's the spirit," Klaus said. "Isn't it nice? The five of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"

"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier," Damon answered, even going so far as to wink at Elijah.

"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through," Klaus said.

"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan said. "Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her."

"I'm sorry, who daggered Rebekah?" Morrigan answered, keeping the anger in her tone to a minimum.

"Elena did," Stefan said. "So that she wouldn't interfere in our plan to get Mikael to kill Klaus."

Anger balled up in Morrigan's stomach at the knowledge that Elena had anything to do with Mikael killing Lin. That any of them had been involved in bringing the man who had killed her father to town. She hadn't realized that Mikael didn't just show up in town, having heard that Klaus was in town.

The lightbulb in a lamp on a side table in the room suddenly burst and Elijah put a hand over hers. That was when she realized that she had a death grip around the knife. She took a deep breath and gave him a smile as Klaus ordered one of the waitresses to take the broken lamp out of the room.

"If you were referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah. And Morrigan," Klaus said.

"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgment until dessert," Damon chastised his brother.

"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses."

"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself."

"And you could remember just a few manners, there, Stefan," Morrigan said.

They finished the course in silence and the next one was brought out. Morrigan found it hard to forget the involvement of two of the people in front of her in Lin's death, but every single time she felt that anger balling up again, Elijah would give her a smile or squeeze her hand and she'd feel the anger dissipating.

"Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "Ask Damon."

Klaus laughed and Elijah turned his confused expression to his brother.

"I'm sorry, you've missed so much," Klaus said. "Uh... trouble in paradise."

"One more word about Elena and this dinner's over," Stefan threatened.

Amusement still all over his face, Klaus smiled and put a finger to his lips as a promise to keep quiet about Elena.

"You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do-not-discuss pile," Damon suggested.

"You're probably right," Klaus agreed. "It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger, still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"

"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" Elijah said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line."

"Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell," Damon said.

Elijah looked over at Morrigan and she suddenly understood his hesitation. Tatia was more than just the original doppelganger. He'd held at least some affection for her.

"It's okay, Elijah. I'm assuming that she was much before my time."

"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus."

"Oh, I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much," Klaus countered.

"Wait a minute," Stefan said. "So you both loved the same girl?"

"Our mother was a very powerful witch," Elijah said. "She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I... grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"

"But in the end, we realized the sacred bond of family," Klaus said.

"Family above all," Elijah said, raising his glass towards Klaus.

"Family above all," Klaus agreed, clinking his glass with his brother's.

The waitresses came to clear the plates before the next course was brought out. Morrigan took the moment to give Elijah's hand a squeeze to reassure him that they were alright despite him talking about one of his past loves.

"So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?" Elijah said.

"That's very simple," Damon said. "Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges."

"The deal sounds fair, brother," Elijah said.

"I don't think you understand," Klaus said. "Elena's doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind."

Klaus grabbed his glass of wine and stood up, beginning to pace in front of them as he continued to speak.

"Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is... the two of you."

Damon gave a weak smile at this before looking down. Stefan's expression mirrored the awkwardness on Damon's face as he looked at his brother. It must be a hard truth to hear.

"I'm gonna get some air," Damon said, standing up.

"Let me deal with this," Elijah said, also getting up.

Elijah followed after Damon, casting a look behind him at Morrigan to tell her to stay there. She did so, although given the tension now in the room, she wasn't exactly thrilled about it.

"All this talk has made me thirsty," Klaus said. He looked at one of the waitresses and she walked over to him. Klaus brushed her hair back from her neck. "What do you say Stefan? Can I interest you in a little after-dinner drink?"

"You are absolutely not going to feed on that girl right here," Morrigan protested. "You are not going to make me lose my appetite. I saw what's for dessert, if you make me lose my appetite so I don't get to eat it, I will make your life more unpleasant than you know."

"Come now, Morrigan, you're not going to deny me my favourite meal."

"What, pretty blonde? I'm literally sitting right here. Of course, I am."

"Fine," Klaus said, turning to the girl. "Go help with dessert."

As the girl left the room, Stefan stood up.

"Well, I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus, was to drive a wedge between me and my brother."

"Oh no, you're doing that well enough on your own. Because of Elena, you're going to lose your brother and only have yourself to blame."

"What is it with you vampires and your manners?" Morrigan questioned as she stood up as well.

Just as Klaus was giving her an offended look, Elijah and Damon reentered the room.

"What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter," Damon said.

"Okay," Klaus said, rounding the table to sit on the opposite side the Salvatore's were standing on as Elijah and Morrigan stood behind him. "I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?"

"Matt Donovan? Really?" Damon questioned.

"Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family."

"And continue the Petrova bloodline," Stefan pointed out. "Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?"

"Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being," Klaus said. "See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her."

"As the person in charge of the balance between life and death — oh, and thank you for thrusting me into the job before I was ready — I should point out the truth of his statement. The amount of danger she's in only goes up the longer she spends around the supernatural."

"Thank you, Morrigan," Klaus said, standing up and walking over to the fireplace. "So, what do you say, Stefan, hmm? Do we have a deal?"

To probably everyone's surprise, most of all Damon's, Stefan actually walked over to Klaus. When he held out his hand, Stefan actually took it.

"Nice try, Klaus," Stefan said. "But no deal."

Klaus snarled and moved faster than anyone could react. He broke Stefan's arm, eliciting a cry, then kicked his leg, breaking it as well. He pushed Stefan's hand into the fireplace, where it started to burn. Damon attempted to rush over to him, but Elijah intercepted him and pushed him against a wall.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked.

Morrigan stood where she was, her hands balling into fists as Klaus continued to hold Stefan's arm in the fire, even as he screamed in pain.

"Stop!" Damon yelled.

"Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive," Klaus said.

"I'll get it," Damon said tensely.

"Go with him, brother. You keep him honest. And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family," Klaus said.

"Morrigan," Elijah said, holding out a hand for her.

"No," Klaus said, stopping Morrigan in her tracks. "She stays. In case Stefan tries anything."

"Think you can't take him on your own?" Morrigan teased.

"Oh, no, I think I definitely could. But I'd love to see what you can do now."

Morrigan looked back at Elijah and nodded, telling him that it was okay. He walked off after Damon then and she watched him until he disappeared from sight.

"Go ahead, kill me," Stefan said. "I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin."

Klaus pulled Stefan away from the fire and took a couple of steps away from it, holding him by his collar for a moment.

"You really have given up, haven't you?" Klaus questioned. "Where's the fight, huh? Where's the ripper?"

Klaus gave Stefan a small shove and Stefan shoved him back harder with a small growl.

"The ripper sounded was a bit of a douchebag, honestly," Morrigan chimed in.

"Elijah..." Klaus said, looking over Stefan's shoulder at where Elijah and Damon had reappeared. "Why haven't you left?"

"Where are your manners, brother?" Elijah said as the blonde waitress came in carrying a tray covered with a cloth. "We forgot dessert."

Elijah pulled the cover off the tray the blonde waitress was carrying. Two silver daggers lied upon it. A look of what could only be pure dread came over Klaus.

"What have you done?" he asked.

"What have you done?" Elijah echoed. "You see, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now."

A dark-haired man who resembled Elijah came into the room, walking past him towards Klaus.

"Kol," Klaus said, backing away.

"Long time, brother," Kol said.

Klaus started to back away. Another dark-haired man appeared, quickly grabbing a dagger approaching him.

"Finn, don't!" Klaus said.

He stabbed the dagger through Klaus' hand. Klaus screamed and Finn pulled the dagger back, clearly intending to stab him again. Before he got a chance, Klaus rushed away at the same moment an arm wrapped around Morrigan and she was standing next to Elijah and they were back where he had been standing.

Looking back to where Klaus was, Morrigan saw him get intercepted in the opposite doorway by Rebekah and a dark-haired woman with the same strong jawline as Elijah.

"Rebekah! Halle!" Klaus exclaimed.

Rebekah stepped up to him and stabbed him in the stomach with another dagger, causing him to keel over.

"This is for our mother," Rebekah hissed.

The dark-haired woman that Klaus had identified as Halle pulled the dagger out and Klaus fell back into Kol's arms, quickly being restrained. Elijah looked over at Damon and Stefan.

"You're free to go. This is family business."

The two Salvatore's disappeared quickly, obviously not wanting to stick around. Morrigan stood her ground, lacing her fingers through Elijah's. Family business.

When Damon and Stefan were gone, Kol released Klaus and Rebekah circled around Klaus and grabbed a vase while Halle twirled the dagger in her hand.

"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik," Rebekah said.

Rebekah threw the vase she'd picked up into a painting on the opposite wall, causing it to fall off the wall.

"I wanted it to be for all of us. A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again," Klaus admitted sadly.

"Well you're right, none of us will be," Elijah said, pulling Morrigan along with him as he walked to stand with his siblings near the doorway out.

"You're staying behind," Finn continued.

"We're leaving you, Klaus," Halle said.

"Right after I kill that doppelgänger wench, then you will be alone. Always and forever," Rebekah said.

"If you run, I will hunt all of you down," Klaus snarled, though the tears in his eyes gave away that he wasn't really angry.

"Then you'll become everything you hate," Elijah explained.

"Our father," Halle continued.

"I'm the hybrid!" Klaus shouted. "I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you."

"You will when we have that coffin," Elijah said.

There was a beat of silence before a door slowly creaked open behind them and they all turned to see who could possibly be coming in at this moment.

Morrigan did not recognize the woman standing there. She was dressed in very, very old style clothing and had long blonde hair that was slightly curled. And though this woman was a stranger to her, everyone around her seemed to recognize her. Klaus even gasped quite audibly in shock.

"Mother," Rebekah gasped.

The woman looked at each of her children, lingering on them for a second before moving on until her eyes turned towards Klaus. She walked up to him, but Klaus flinched away and avoided looking at her.

"Look at me," she commanded. "Do you know why I'm here?"

He struggled to look up and finally meet his mother's gaze, but when he did, they could all see the tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks.

"You're here to kill me," Klaus said.

"Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you," she told him before turning to face the rest of her children. "I want us to be a family again."

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an. haha well this chapter was long but we finally got to see another new face! Halle Mikaelson will be getting her own book, Eleventh Hour, that will be published very soon (or is already up if you're reading this a while after it's been published). I hope you liked this chapter!