ELIJAH entered the courtyard to find Marcel sending out more troops to search the city. "Anything?"

"They're putting eyes and ears out everywhere. Daywalkers are working every contact we've got. Cops, dock workers, guys in the Treme... Word is out: anyone trying to earn favor with me gets a lifetime of it if they find them." Marcel answered with urgency.

"Good." Elijah praised with a nod. "I need a pen and paper." He ordered and walked away.

After Marcel paused for a moment, he rolled his eyes and followed behind him. "Hey, am I taking orders from you now, or are we in this together?"

Elijah started removing his jacket and snapped in frustration. "Pen and paper, Marcellus. Now!"

Marcel sighed and looked at him sternly. "I want her back just as much as you do, you know... The both of them."

"Do you?" Ingrid challenged as she walked into the room. "You have a lot to gain from Niklaus' disappearance."

Marcel glared at her and left the room to get the supplies, Elijah began stripping off his shirt as he looked at Ingrid. "Take it easy on him. He's trying to help."

"He left him there, Elijah. He abandoned Niklaus and now he is missing." Ingrid snapped at him, her fear taking over her senses, then teared up and licked her lips.

"I know." He whispered to her, knowing what she was thinking without her having to speak it out loud. "But right now... I need you to make a list of these names."

Once he was shirtless, Ingrid gasped at the amount of tattoos covering his body. She walked toward him and read the words littering his arms, shoulders, back, and abdomen. She was circling him until she noticed a familiar name and stopped in place. "Sabine. Elijah, what is this?"

"I believe they represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries." Elijah responded with a betrayed look on his face.

Marcel rejoined them and handed the paper and pen to Ingrid. "It's called a Devinette. It's old school. Kind of a riddle. Witches use them to teach their kids. Solve it, and it disappears."

Ingrid nodded slowly in understanding then pursed her lips in aggravation. "So, it is a game for children."

"Celeste forced me to make a choice between yourself and my siblings, and now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game." Elijah sneered angrily and clentched his jaw. "The longer the game, the more they suffer. To find Klaus and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle. The solution lies somewhere in these names."

Marcel looked at the names then spotted a familiar one. "The name next to Sabine... Annie La Fleur, she's the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago. Never knew why, but I can find out."

Once, Ingrid wrote down each name, the trio set out to get answers. They arrived at the neighborhood where Annie had lived after she was shunned.

They were then able to speak to someone who knew her from the coven. "Annie was a good girl. The witches did her wrong, shunning her like that-- claiming she was doing dark magic. There's no way. But, they had proof. So, she just quit, and I can't really blame her for that. 'Cause once you've been shunned, what's the point in going on, you know?" The man informed them with a grim look.

Afterwards, Elijah and Ingrid were walking down a busy street, talking about Annie.

"She killed herself." Ingrid remarked in surprise and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yes, drowned herself in the Mississippi, to be precise." Elijah added, his face distressed. "Celeste was clearly tired of the body and ready to take Sabine's." He then took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself to say the next sentence. "She leaped to her death from the very location Celeste and I had our first kiss."

"How Shakespearian." Ingrid remarked in sarcasm and rolled her eyes. "I suppose I should expect nothing less."

"All these names, these lives, stolen that Celeste might take her revenge." Elijah said in a hollow voice, feeling accountable in some way. "I suppose we have no choice but to see where they take us." His phone then buzzed and he looked at the text message. "Hayley requested that we look into a Brynne Deveraux."

Ingrid nodded in acknowledgment then flattened her lips into a tight line. Elijah stopped in front of her and she looked up at him in confusion. "What is it, Elijah?"

"Had you have known I needed to make a choice, you would have made me save Niklaus." Elijah concluded, knowing Ingrid and her behavior. When she didn't respond, he suspected that he was right. "You are aware that had I saved Niklaus over you, your child would have died. He would never forgive me if that was the path I choose."

"Except now we cannot find him. I know he is not dead... but I still cannot stop from worrying what he could be going through at this moment." She explained to him with tears in her eyes and her voice cracking slightly. "My husband is missing and I--" she was cut off by Elijah pulling her into a tight hug and cried softly into his chest.

Ingrid had calmed down and they did the research they Hayley needed before heading home to the compound again. They walked into the office and Elijah looked at Hayley. "You were right about the Deveraux witch."

Before they could say anything more, Marcel joined them and glanced hopeful at Hayley, who was on the computer. "Find anything about Clara, the mystery witch?"

Hayley shrugged and shook her head.. "Not much. She was a nurse at the Fleur-de-Lis Sanitarium." She said turning the laptop toward him to show staff picture.

Marcel's heart dropped and he froze in his spot as he visibly began to panic. Ingrid watched him suspiciously and narrowed her dark eyes.

"Recognize her?" Hayley clicked on a picture and pointed to her so they could all see what she looked like. "Top row, second from the right."

"No, I don't. Marcel?" Elijah turned to look at Marcel to hear what he had to say and noticed how alarmed and worried he looked. "Marcel? Do I need to remind you that Niklaus and Rebekah are somewhere suffering horribly? If you know something, talk."

Marcel walked away and cleared his throat. "The Sanitarium. That's where you'll find them."

"How do you know?" Ingrid questioned him, her posture reading that she wasn't trusting of him

"I just know." Marcel snapped, hoping he wouldn't have to give anymore information.

Elijah walked toward him with a suspicious look. "How do you know?"

"If I'm right, you need to know exactly what we're walking into. We did something, Rebekah and I..." Marcel began to admit, stuttering over his words. "I think the witches are trying to use it against her. It was, uh... something that you're not gonna like." Marcel then informed them that he and Rebekah had summoned Mikael to New Orleans in 1919.

Ingrid sped toward him and slammed him against the wall by his throat. "You conniving, little--" she sneered harshly in fury but was cut off by Elijah.

"For the better part of a century, I have wondered how Father found us, what foolish mistake that we had made to destroy our time in the one place that we could finally call home. Did you know, I even blamed myself for a time, Marcellus?" Elijah said slowly yet furiously. He was disappointed in the actions of his sister and furious at the fact that they were the cause for Mikael's return.

"Elijah--" Hayley attempted to stop him.

He ignored her and continued to speak to Marcel. "Niklaus treated you like a son." He sneered at the younger vampire.

"Rebekah. I loved her. I still love her. All we ever wanted was to be together, but as long as Klaus was around, that was never gonna happen. But hey, I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, huh?" Marcel gave him a sarcastic laugh.

"When Klaus learns the truth, there will be no end to his rage. I will not let my sister suffer that wrath." Elijah said in determination.

"Then we need to get to them before he learns the truth." Marcel said determinedly.

Ingrid dropped Marcel to the ground and he coughed. As she walked out of the room, she smirked to herself and called out to him. "Do see yourself out and if I see you here again, I will kill you."

Elijah followed Ingrid out of the room and they walked the hallway. "Do try to contain your anger for a moment." He advised in a stern tone of voice.

She stopped in her place and turned to look at him with a condescendingly smile. "It amazes me how quickly you can brush away Rebekah's treachery. She deserves every ounce of Niklaus' wrath. She is not a child. She knows exactly what she is doing and if it goes by unacknowledged and unpunished, she will simply do it again."

"And it amazes me how quickly you turn on our family to protect Niklaus." He remarked back with an attitude.

"Niklaus is my husband and I will stand by him through everything for the rest of eternity. There are certain things I will not allow and this happens to be it." She snapped back at him in a protective manner. "My apologies if that was not approved by you but from my standpoint, you just refuse to admit that Rebekah was selfish."

"How quickly you forget that he daggered you and left you locked away for thousand years." Elijah sneered, hoping to strike a nerve.

"It was your idea, if I am not mistaken." She replied causing him to look at her in shock. "Yes, I know it was you who talked him into doing it. You also had me magically sealed."

"Mikael was getting close and you were being reckless." Elijah argued sternly. "There were bodies piling up faster than we could dispose of them. You burned London to the ground! You lacked self-control."

"And for that, I get daggered! Rebekah summons him to New Orleans to kill Niklaus and he burns New Orleans to the ground. Yet here you are, protecting her." She snarled furiously then scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Spare me your hypocrisy." Then she stormed away from him and walked down the hall toward her office, slamming the door behind her.

The next morning, Klaus lied in bed shirtless in their room. His eyes were closed and he was gasping in pain from Papa Tunde's blade being embedded in his chest. Elijah watched him, clearly conflicted, and pointed at him. "This was all you."

"Hmm..." Ingrid mused lowly as she walked into the room.

Elijah removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeve, glancing up at her from the corner of his eye. "Spare me your vexation." He remarked in exhaustion then changed his expression to urgency. "The blade is still in his chest and for every second it remains causes Niklaus untold suffering."

"You sound oddly concerned being the one who stabbed him." Ingrid snarled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Ingrid, I am doing what I can to keep this family from lashing out and killing each other." He replied to her with a heavy, stressful sigh.

"So, this is keeping us from lashing out?" Ingrid questioned sarcastically while motioning to Klaus.

"Well, now I intend to remove it." He informed her with a pointed expression. "You might want to take a step back." He advised in a caring manner. "I called you here because of all the people that could be here, you're the only one he won't slaughter."

"Try not to sound so surprised." Ingrid replied in a dry tone with a blank face.

He then used a scalpel to slice into Klaus's chest, along the red scar bisecting, before jamming his fist into the open wound to grab the blade and pulling it out. Klaus bellowed loudly in agony and Ingrid ran toward him immediately.

"Niklaus will be weak as he recovers." Elijah informed her as he set the blade down in a bowl. "So, watch over him and feed him, if you would. But slowly, please. Perhaps you could use the time constructively? Persuade him not to murder his baby sister." He requested with a patronizing smile to which she returned. He then turned to Klaus and spoke to him softly. "Niklaus, it was not my desire to bring you pain, but I will not see you hurt Rebekah."

Elijah looked at her again, wiping his hands with a rag. "Now, I fear Sabine will be making a final move against us. I intend to find her and to end this."

"By end, I really hope you mean kill." Ingrid said darkly as she took a seat next to the bed.

"That is the intention." Elijah assured her with a slight smile.

"Elijah. You will pay for this." Klaus threatened him in a weak whisper.

Elijah looked at him with a blank face before smiling condescendingly at Ingrid again before walking out of the room.

Ingrid began feeding Klaus from a series of blood bags until he was strong enough to sit up. He groaned in satisfaction after removing the tube from his mouth and tossing the empty bag with the others. He glanced over at the pregnant hybrid with a wide grin and held his hand out. "Hello, my love."

She grinned back at him and grabbed his hand. "Hello, darling. I am relieved to have you home. I was incredibly worried."

"I told you. I'm indestructible. No need to worry." He boasted arrogantly earning him a slap in the arm from her. "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry." He said with a laugh as she glared at him. Then he raised an eyebrow and smirked in amusement. "I see you and Elijah are fighting. Did I tip the boat?"

"No. Elijah sunk the boat of his own accord." She remarked with an angry look on her face. "He hopes I can deter you from killing Rebekah and while I do not wish for her death, I think she deserves to be disciplined."

Klaus looked over at her in shock and smiled slightly. "You do?"

"Of course." She replied with a scoff and leaned back in her chair. "She brought Mikael to New Orleans without taking into consideration what that actually meant. She has proven time and time again that she stands against you at every turn and that she will side with you when it conveniences her. That is not loyalty. That is exploitation." She rambled on in an enraged rant as she walked across the room to get him more blood bags from the dresser. "No one truly seems to understanding that actions have consequences and if you do not enforce those consequences, it will simply happen again. That is why some people need to be made an example of."

Klaus stared at her in admiration then covered it up when she turned around to face him again. "How would you proceed?" He questioned curiously, wanting to hear her opinion.

"Well, no offense to you, darling, but the daggering is ancient and played out." She replied in solemnity and walked back over to her spot as she spoke. He gave her a slightly offended expression but motioned for her to continue. "And chasing her to the ends of the earth just makes you Mikael. Since we are merely speaking on punishment and not killing her... I would..." Ingrid trailed off as she thought of what she would do being in his position. "Exile."

Klaus seemed unimpressed by her consequence idea and gave her a face to match. "That's it? Coming from Ingrid Mikaelson I expected more... aggressive matters."

"We can't kill her." Ingrid remarked in an obvious tone of voice and sat next to him. "That is usually my go to so yes. That is it." She said while handing him the blood bags. "What would Niklaus Mikaelson do? Dagger her?"

He held a finger up and drank the blood bags with insatiable thrist. He reached for the last one but she yanked it away and slapped his hand. "Nooo. This one is mine. You have already had ten. I can have this one."

He narrowed his eyes but let her have it and climbed out of the bed, unsteady on his feet at first. Once he was stabilized, he walked toward the door with her following. "They'll need a cloaking spell, and for that, they'll need a witch. There's only one place they can go..." He trailed off for dramatic effect and she glared at him, impatient. "...Home."

"Elijah has always carried guilt for that night for not stopping our father. I told him not to blame himself. When your father wants to kill you, he wants to kill you. Nothing you can do about it." Klaus stated in nonchalance.

"Oh, yeah. Of course." Ingrid replied sarcastically and finished her blood bag.

Klaus was about to reply when his cell phone vibrated, so he checked it with a smirk. "Oh, I hate to be a know-it-all."

"No, you don't." Ingrid commented with a knowing expression on her face.

"Yeah, you're right." He admitted with a smirk then glanced at her with a devilish look. "My sister and her lover have been spotted in town." He walked over to a statue on the table and knocked it over. The statue fell and broke on the floor, revealing the indestructible white oak stake inside.

"Oh, this is how this is going." Ingrid mused to herself and raised her eyebrows with a heavy sigh. "Okay."

Night had fallen and Elijah walked passed he crypts before he stopped in front of one. Rebekah finally found him and approached him, clearly surprised to see him. "Elijah?"

He glanced at her in worry and confusion. "What are you doing here? Rebekah, you should be on the other side of the world by now."

"You and I both know that wouldn't have been far enough." Rebekah snarled in response with tears in her eyes.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Klaus bellowed furiously as he stood at the end of aisle. "She's mine."

"You were saying?" Ingrid questioned Elijah, referencing to their prior conversation, as she stood on top of the crypts, looking down on them.

Klaus' eyes flashed golden-amber as the veins protruded on his face and his fangs come out. Elijah held Papa Tunde's blade in his hand and he bared his fangs at Klaus, and Rebekah quickly did the same. All three were ready to attack one another as Ingrid watched from above with an eyeroll.

---
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