In the compound, after Elijah and Hope had brought Klaus back to New Orleans and locked him up in the underground dungeon with the Hollow inside him, while Elijah and Freya were trying to find a way to deal with the Hollow, and Rebekah and Marcel were dealing with Kol, Hope and I found out that in the dungeon, Klaus had broken out and escaped.

"So it's true," I told her.

"We have to find him," Hope told me.

"It's Mardi Gras out there," I told her. "The streets'll be packed to the rafters."

"Well, he'll be the one foaming at the mouth and ranting," Hope told me.

"Yeah, exactly," I agreed. "Which is why I don't think it's such a good idea for you to be out there."

"It's better than being fatherless," Hope replied, leaving the dungeon to head outside into the parade.

I followed her. "Hey, Hope. Hope. Come on, Hope. We both know firsthand what he's up against. The voices, the rage."

"He's in this mess because he's trying to save me," Hope told me. "Just like always."

"Look, you put him down, he got back up," I pointed out. "You put him down again, the same thing's gonna happen."

"So, what, I'm an orphan at 15?" Hope asked. "God, you guys are always saying that I need someone to take care of me. Well, who's gonna take care of me if he goes? Uncle Elijah? Marcel? You? No, of course not, because you have your own never-ending life to live. So, Noah, just go and let me have my last moments with my father."

Hope used magic to keep me from following her as she disappeared through the crowd.

I looked around worriedly but couldn't find her. "Hope!"

*****

We found Klaus in an alley, hallucination.

Hope walked closer. "Dad. Come on. Let's go home."

Klaus was fighting off whatever was in his head, his eyes glowing. I rushed toward him to snap his neck from behind while he was distracted. Hope and I exchanged a look, nodding.

*****

Back in the compound, I could hear Klaus and Elijah.

"What have you done?"

"What I've always done. Followed you into the fire. Freya channeled some of the dark energy into me. It won't last for long. It should clear your mind, though."

"Sentimental fool. Give me back the stake."

"In good time. Niklaus, if indeed this is to be the end, you owe it to your family, to your daughter, to say goodbye."

"Please don't lecture me, Elijah. You have no idea the agony of being a father, of loving someone so much you cannot bear the see them in pain."

"I think I might have some idea."

"You've tried to orchestrate my life, to make me a better man, and for that, I honor you. You have to let me do this my way. Alone. No goodbyes."

"I could stop you."

"You could try. Please. This last time. Let me be."

*****

Hope and I were talking in the compound.

"He left instead of spending his last hours with me," Hope told me.

"He's hurt and he's scared," I told her.

"That's no excuse," Hope told me.

I shook my head. "Not making excuses. If anything, he cares too much. Hope, you are his everything. And without you, he wouldn't be making this sacrifice. Do you understand you have accomplished in 15 years what his siblings couldn't in a thousand? This isn't abandonment. He's afraid."

Klaus walked in. "Noah. Thank you. I'd like a moment alone with my daughter, please."

I nodded in understanding. "Of course."

I left the room to let them talk and have a goodbye.

*****

Rebekah, Marcel and I were sitting downstairs in the courtyard waiting for news.

"You remember when he stopped sleeping?" Rebekah asked. "He was so paranoid someone was plotting against him, he would wander the halls at night listening at our doors."

"That night he almost caught me sneaking out of our room," Marcel agreed. They both laughed. "I think I was hiding in that crawl space for about 12 hours."

Freya and Elijah walked in.

Freya sighed. "Um, Keelin just got back."

Keelin popped in. "Just wanted to say hi."

Marcel and Rebekah spoke together. "Hi."

"Hey," I told her, raising a bottle. "Well, you three sit down and help us share stories about Klaus. We've all got plenty."

Elijah sat down, chuckling. "You know, he always had a prescient eye. He was extolling the virtues of Vincent van Gogh when the world decided he was a madman with a severed ear."

"Wait, do you remember that April Fool's in Copenhagen where he compelled a circus troupe to follow you around?" Rebekah asked.

"Also known as the most challenging 36 hours of my long life," Elijah told us.

I laughed. "No, no, no, no, no. The worst was when he would get drunk, and get it in his head that he was gonna set the world ablaze with his paintings, and then he would actually set them on fire." Everyone laughed. "That was the weird thing. What was his phrase?"

Elijah, Rebekah, Marcel and I spoke together. "His inspirational rampages."

Kol walked in with bourbon. "His drunken collection was always my favorite. I should have known this was going to be redundant."

"Brother, bourbon's never redundant," Elijah told him.

"The prodigal brother returns," Rebekah told him, embracing Kol.

"Yes, well, as much as I hate to admit it, you were right," Kol told her. "We should honor our brother's sacrifice. And if Nik's time is up, then, I guess I didn't want to miss my chance to bitch and moan. Because he is a tremendous ass."

Klaus and Hope walked in.

"That he is," Klaus agreed. "But he oh-so-secretly adores his youngest brother." He embraced Kol, pulling away. Everyone was looking at him. "Well, don't stop on my account. If this is to be my funeral, then, let's get on with it."

*****

In the dining hall, we were all sitting around the table, eating, drinking, finding the means to have a good last couple of hours for Klaus, managing to laugh and reminisce about that past. Hope was even smiling. Freya popped a cherry into Keelin's mouth. Rebekah pushed Kol playfully. Everyone raised their glasses to clink them together and drink.

*****

Everyone was still having a good time, except for Hope, who was now despaired.

I walked over to sit next to her. "I will never abandon you. And even though I can't always be around, if you so much as breathe my name..."

Hope nodded, managing a small, sad smile. "I know, Noah. Thank you."

We embraced.

"All right," Rebekah told us. "It's time for an old-fashioned wish burning ceremony."

*****

In the courtyard, everyone was burning their wishes. The somber air had returned, as everyone knew that Klaus was going to die soon.

Klaus took a deep breath. "You know, as much as I've savored the joy of tormenting you throughout the years, I must confess you all mean everything to me. Your loyalty and counsel and your love is probably the only reason why I've survived as long as I have. Which is how I know long after after I'm gone, you will all come together, time and time again, to take care of each other. And that is why I'm not afraid for your future."

Elijah sighed sadly. "We're bound forever to those whom we share blood. And while we may not choose our family, that bond is our greatest strength."

Klaus managed a small smile. "Though, I may be leaving you tonight, this is not the end of the Mikaelsons." He looked at Rae and me. "Or the Salvatores. Always and forever."

We all repeated. "Always and forever."

Klaus took a deep breath. "I need a moment."

Klaus followed Hope to give her one last goodbye. We all watched them go sadly.

Elijah took a moment to speak. "There's something else we need to discuss."

When Elijah had told us that he was planning to follow Klaus to the death, literally, we all knew it was because he couldn't let Klaus die alone, and because he couldn't live with what had happened with Hayley, understanding his decision, and each one of us giving him a hug goodbye.

*****

Marcel and I were at Rousseau's with the vampires of New Orleans.

I spoke to the vampires while Marcel was talking to Rebekah. "If we're leaving, then so are you. No more vampires. We're giving the city back. Train leaves in a couple of hours, so get your last glimpse of New Orleans, then get the hell out of Dodge."

I was looking at the pictures on the wall for memorializing the dead. Jackson, Ivy, Gia, Davina, Cami, Hayley, Aiden, Josh. I knew that Klaus and Elijah's pictures would soon be up there as well, not knowing how to deal with all the friends we had lost and the fact we were about to lose two more. Saying goodbye to New Orleans, saying goodbye to all that we had lost, in the past, and even in the future, was hard to do, one of the hardest, but we would always find a way to move on. The final battle in New Orleans might have ended, but battles anywhere else were far from over. And whether if this was the end or the beginning was yet to be discovered.