(you haunt the devil)

The sun was warm. It lit the world in a warm golden glow and left a golden warm shine on his pale skin as he woke in the flower-filled field.

Much like Elena, he woke with a feeling of bliss inside his heart. Safety and serenity were all he felt in those quiet moments until his mind came back to him.

Then came the worry. And the fear. And the pure feeling of being absolutely terrified.

He stood up quickly before he took off in a sprint, abandoning the calm forest. Rain soon began to pelt on his skin, soaking his clothing and thunder roared above him.

He needed to go faster, he thought to himself. But he couldn't. He didn't have his speed. It didn't matter though, all he needed was to find her.

"Keep going," he could hear someone tell him. It was a woman's voice. Esther, he thought to himself.

"Margot!" he yelled but his voice was barely above a whisper compared to the harsh wind that blew wildly around him.

"Keep running," the woman told him through the wind.

"I can't!" Stefan cried as he fell to his knees from pure exhaustion. His undead heart raced unevenly in his chest as his hands fisted the grass beneath him. The dream realm was tearing him apart.

Pain-fueled tears fell from his bloodshot eyes as he felt a hand move to hold his cheek, the act forcing him to look up. Before him, Esther stood, her long hair blowing wildly in the wind.

"Go save your daughter. I give you my strength."

Stefan coughed as he felt a surge of energy flow through his veins. The weak feeling in his heart was replaced with a sense of power.

"You know where she is. Go wake her up."

And with that, he started running.

— — —

"Is it working?" Klaus asked after a beat of silence as he watched Stefan's body lay completely still.

Kol's foot came down to kick Stefan's side, "I think he's dead. He looks like roadkill."

Kai's head tilted to the left slightly before a silent chuckle left his lips. "He kinda does actually."

Elena and Bonnie rolled their eyes at the two supernaturals. The latter, however, glanced at Klaus and chose to answer his, relatively, smart question. "I have no fucking clue. He honestly could be dead right now."

The younger Mikaelson coughed, "Hey, I was right. Where should we dump his body? I'm thinking somewhere tropical... Ooh, or–"

Klaus' hand came down to smack his brother's head, the harsh act earning a glare but quickly silences Kol. The vampire rolled his eyes as his hand came up to rub his head. "Ow. Dick."

Klaus' hand came down to smack his brother's head, the harsh act earning a glare but quickly silences Kol. The vampire rolled his eyes as his hand came up to rub his head. "Ow. Dick."

Without any acknowledgement, Kol sighed as he turned away from his brother before standing in the doorway and pulling out his phone. Ignoring the four text messages from Rebekah and two from Elijah, he searched for the address of the nearest pizza place.

"You guys think Domino's will deliver here? I'm thinking of Hawaiian. Is that good with all of you?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "No, it's not good–"

"Exactly, no one likes Hawaiian. Get–"

"That's not what I meant, Kai. Stefan might be dead and Margot is about to destroy the world. Pizza should not be on your mind right now."

"I think," Kol began as he held a hand to his heart, "I think that if Margot were here, she would want me to eat and she would want me to order pizza. So... I'm gonna go order one, you guys can't have it though because you're all boring."

— — —

The house rumbled loudly amidst the storm. It was the only sound that Margot could hear. Her father had disappeared into the night which left her alone with the body of her past self that was slowly turning cold with every passing hour.

She hadn't let her go, though. She couldn't bring herself to.

Aside from the rain that pelted against the house ten feet above her, she could hear her uneven, ragged breaths.

She was going to die soon, she could feel it. That explained why Samuel had disappeared.

Now it was just her, just like it had always been.

Her tears were dry along with the blood that covered her skin. The purple bruises had faded to shades of yellow and light purple, while her deeper wounds were left with deep aches.

Her fingers were still intertwined with her younger self's limp hand and her eyes held a look of emptiness as she stared at the concrete walls that surrounded her.

In a sense she felt comfort – she had spent so much of her life inside these four walls that it didn't feel like she was missing anything.

Her memory was fading, she had soon come to realize. Soon enough her life would be over and Margot Mikaelson would cease to exist. 

— — —

"Are you all seriously still holding onto hope that you'll get her back?" a malicious voice spoke up from behind them in the concrete room.

Their heads collectively turned to face the direction in which the voice had come from only to see Margot. Or, more properly, The Midnight Witch.

Kol glanced up from his third pizza of the hour and scoffed, "Well, that's bloody wonderful. Who the fuck let you in?"

"I did, jackass. This is my house. Who the fuck let you in?"

"I did, you fucking twat. Now give me back my best friend."

"How about no?"

"You're such a bitch," Kol muttered under his breath before taking a large bite out of his slice of pizza.

The remaining in the room looked between Margot and Kol with shocked looks. Someone, even though she was an entirely different being who wanted to destroy the Earth, she still managed to have the same humour as their Margot.

They had assumed The Midnight Witch would be a soulless monster, not someone with thoughts and the ability to be sarcastic.

"Margot? Can we call you that?" Bonnie spoke first, taking the woman's glowing blue eyes off of Kol for a moment.

"Bit boring but sure," she answered as she glanced back at Kol and looked him up and down. "I never understood why she didn't pick you. Mm, tasty thing you are."

Kol awkwardly hid his face from his brother's glare, choosing to stare at the pizza box in an attempt to hide his blush.

Klaus rolled his eyes as he grabbed the pizza box and threw it across the room. "We can all hear your heart racing, dipshit." He turned back to Margot, "You, stop flirting with my brother. With my shit luck, he'll end up falling for you."

"Would that be so bad? You have shared before, haven't you?"

Kai rubbed his forehead from his place beside Stefan's unconscious body, "Can we not talk about my kid's sex life? Especially when it comes to these morons."

Margot grinned as she walked further inside the room and traced her hand along Elena's shoulder before doing the same to Bonnie's. "So, you wouldn't like to know what we three girls did? Not even a little bit?"

If Kai's face could turn green, it would have. Instead, he shook his head as he turned around. "Happy thoughts. Blood, dead siblings, baseball bats hitting people."

Through his mantra, Margot turned back to Klaus before glancing down at Stefan. "He's already dead, you know. He didn't even make it past the forest. And poor little Margot, she's not doing too hot either. She's watched her younger self die at least three hundred times now. Soon enough she'll break and then her mind will be mine and this world will die and I will rule."

"I wouldn't sound so sure," Klaus argued, a smirk on his lips. "Stefan will break her out."

"And if he fails?"

"Then I will."

"You'll die before you can," she told him, her voice taunting as her finger came up to trace the outline of his cheek.

He grasped her hand tightly in his own, hindering her movements. "That's where you're wrong, love. I won't be the one dying today." 

She stepped back a few paces as her hands began to glow a bright blue. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll wish you were dead."

And with that, a powerful blue burst of magic was sent in every direction.

— — —

Stefan's breaths were ragged as he came to a stop in front of the Orion family home. His hands came down to hold his knees as he took in a deep breath before pushing past the front door.

The house was the same as it was the first time he saw it when he rescued her. The only difference was Samuel's dismembered body was no longer in sight and the living room wasn't full of blood.

He walked further inside, knowing exactly where to go as he slammed his body against the basement door, completely knocking it off its hinges before he ran down the uneven wooden stairs.

As he reached the steel door, his hand came down to the lock. He gripped it tightly but it wouldn't budge.

"No," he muttered as he slammed his hand against the door. His eyes widened when he heard a quiet shriek come from the other side.

"Margot!" he yelled.

He heard a cough before a soft voice spoke up, "Dad?" If he didn't have his enhanced hearing he was sure he wouldn't have heard it.

"Margot! I'm gonna get you out. I promise, honey. I'm right here!"

 "Dad!" Margot shouted, ignoring the pain in her throat as the word pushed past her vocal cords.

Stefan's body rammed against the metal door earning a loud creak but it didn't open. It did, however, move ever so slightly and so he did it again.

And again.

And again.

And again until it finally opened enough for him to slip through. As soon as he was inside he didn't waste a second in running over to his daughter.

As he slowed, he moved to kneel in front of her, a sad look in his eyes as his hand came up to brush a strand of hair away from her face. His eyes met her broken ones. A collision of green and brown.

A tear dripped from her eye and he caught it with his thumb. "I'm here now," he whispered. "You're safe, Margot. I got you. I'm gonna take you home."

A broken sob left Margot's dried lips as her face nudged into his palm. "Please don't leave me, Dad."

"Never," he answered as a tear fell from his own eye. "Not unless you beg me to. Even then I don't think I could."

She let out a choked breath before wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. Minding the body in her lap, his arms wrapped around her waist tightly. "

"I've got you," he whispered into her ear. 

 — — —

"You've gotta wake up, baby," Stefan whispered into her ear a few minutes later. He had moved to sit beside her, letting the legs of her younger self rest on his own as he held Margot's shoulders close to his chest.

"I can't," she muttered, eyes closed as weakness consumed her. "I'm so tired, Dad. I can't do it anymore."

"Yes, you can, Margot. You have to. Hope and Henry need you. Klaus needs you... I need you."

"Your lives would be a lot safer if I wasn't here."

Stefan could have sworn he felt his heart break within his chest at her words. His hand came up to hold her cheek, forcing her head to turn so he could meet her closed eyes.

"Open your eyes."

She didn't.

"Come on, Margot. Open your eyes for me. I need you to look at me."

Her eyes fluttered weakly until they eventually met his.

"Our lives would be safer if we had you by our sides. Our lives would never be the same if we didn't have you. My life wouldn't be the same. I need you, Margot."

"I'm so tired though. Everything hurts."

"I know, I know. But I know that you are stronger than them. You are stronger than anyone, Margot."

"I wasn't strong enough. She's stronger than I am."

"That may be true," he admitted as he brushed a flake of dried blood off her cheek. "But she's nowhere near as smart as you. You'll find a way out. I know you will."   

— — —

The blue mist surrounded their bodies, filling them with pain as they floated in the air. Pain-filled screams pierced the air while The Midnight Witch grinned.

Klaus grunted angrily, trying his best to hide his pain as he sent a glare toward the woman with the same face as his wife.

"You won't win this," he told her, his words stuttering slightly as his teeth clenched.

"I will," she answered as she traced her finger along his jaw once more. She smiled when he shivered against the touch. He was so close. She was so close.

They were right next to each other but it felt like they were miles apart.

"Please come back to me, my love," he whispered beggingly.

Her eyes flickered for a moment. The harsh glow of blue died down into its natural honey brown before turning back.

"Margot, please. Come home. I need you, baby."

They flickered again.

— — —

"You're doing great, honey. Just try a little harder," Stefan encouraged as he held Margot tightly. Her chest was pressed against his, her knees hardly able to stay straight as she weakly stood with his help.

Her face was contorted in pain, small whimpers leaving her lips as her eyes flickered between brown and blue.

"Go home, Margot. You can do it. I believe in you – we all do."

Margot's eyes closed and the next time they opened, his ocean-blue eyes were staring into hers.

She could feel his stubble against the palm of her hand as her thumb brushed against the skin.

His body radiated warmth and it seemed as if it were cascading along her body in waterfalls.

The slight flush on his cheeks. The redness in his lips. His crooked nose.

The blue power slowly faded in the room, their bodies falling slowly to the ground. But he stayed standing. His left hand moved slowly to her hip while his right moved to hold her cheek, his thumb mimicking the actions of her own.

"Is it you?" he asked, his blue eyes watery.

"It's me. I came home," she whispered before their lips collided in a kiss of passion and unfathomable love. 

His forehead rested against hers when their lips separated. "I'm never letting you go again, Margot."

"Well, we do have that leash somewhere..." Margot teased, causing him to chuckle. "Whatever you want. As long as it makes you happy."

"I love you, Niklaus."

"I love you more, Margot."

Groans could be heard from below them as the group slowly began to wake up, Stefan included.

"We get it, you guys are in love and we are all destined to be alone but can you tone it down on the lovey dovey shit and let me hug my best friend?"

Margot grinned widely as she slowly separated from Klaus' warm arms, keeping her pinky intertwined with his as Kol sped into her arms, the rest soon following.