▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

CHAPTER 47: UNFINISHED BUSINESS

❝ i am going to die. ❞

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

THERE WAS THIS ABANDONED HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE SALVATORE PROPERTY. Caroline scattered the stars like dust on the rotten wood and played russian roulette with the shadows that had been molded into creation; all slick tar and smoldering candlelight, burning house drowned in amber and decay. She can just make out the blue hollow of the voices that lived and died under the floorboards. Nostalgia broke open her bones and pulled the carcass of icarus from her rib cage until the ichor in her anatomy learned to pool itself into rivers and drown in its own current, a macabre imitation of carbon and rose petal moonlight and woven thread.

There was this black hole in the ground at the edge of the Salvatore property. Caroline could feel it. The tremble of her fingers as they grasped for purchase on the ragged planes; she stuttered her skin into something worth believing in and swallowed them like bioluminescent goldfish, bright and diminishing and lost in her eclipse. Silence has no place on this sacred ground.

"This place is fine," Klaus claimed. "A bit dusty, but fine."

"Well, the previous owner died a decade ago." Caroline muttered. Her eyes were focused on the sun set in the distance. She had gotten better at keeping her opinions to herself over the years. But this was different. "Stefan chose not to warn me about sacrificing his life too."

"Caroline," Klaus sighed.

"Don't," Caroline scoffed, holding up a hand. "Enola deserves to know what you plan to do."

"You can't tell her," Klaus begged.

"I won't. Because you are." Caroline countered. "Where did you even get a white oak stake?"

"It was decades ago," Klaus answered. "I was going to destroy it. But the weight of immortality was heavier then."

"Maybe we can buy you some time," Caroline reasoned.

"The magic in Hope is rooted too deeply," Klaus said simply. "Tonight, when she is trapped in that space between human and beast, that is when your daughters can remove it from her."

"Are you sure that there is no other way?" Caroline sighed.

"There is always another way. Somewhere, written in some forgotten language, in some city lost in lava, probably lies buried the secret to having everything I want all at once." Klaus smiled. "But we are not going to find it today and today is all we have."

"I am going to convince Ric to let our girls help you out with this. Because you are being a good father and you are being a good person. How could I tell you not to do that?" Caroline ranted. "Just promise me that you will tell Enola before it is too late."

"I promise," Klaus nodded.

Caroline gave Klaus a tight lipped smile before leaving. He was prepared to lay down his life. But there was this ache in his chest once he realized he would have to tell his wife. Though he knew that he could do this without telling her. It just did not sit right with him. She needed to know and he would reluctantly tell her. If only to say goodbye.

"Niklaus!" Elijah called out, carrying Hope up the porch to the abandoned house. She was limp in his arms and unwilling to move. He had got her loaded into the back seat of his car with her mother and sister before driving out here where he had tracked his brother with the Find My Phone app.

"She collapsed," Enola explained. "She does not have a pulse."

Elijah set Hope on the porch for Klaus to examine. Finn clutched onto Enola and Klaus began CPR compressions on Hope. This is not where any of them had seen this day ending. But what most of them did not know was that this day was going to end with another death. One that none of them were prepared for.

"Get Caroline," Klaus demanded no one in particular. "Tell her to bring her girls."

Elijah did not need to be told twice before rushing off towards the school as Hope continued to grow pale by the second. She blamed him for what had happened to her aunt. But that did not matter. Because he was willing to do anything to ensure that the rest of his family made it out of this alive. If only he knew what his brother was really planning.

"Come on, Hope." Klaus whispered.

"Come back to me," Enola begged.

"You better not die," Finn muttered.

Hope suddenly gasped to life. Her eyes were wide and horrified as she took in her blurry surroundings. She was struggling to breath in her panicked state. Her chest rose and fell in an attempt to consume the air she had been lacking for the past ten minutes.

"I don't want to die," Hope realized through tears. "I don't want to die."

"You are not going to die. I found a way to save your life." Klaus reassured softly. "Everything is going to be better in the morning."

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

Hope walked through the square alongside Klaus. Her eyes were focused on the live band as he spoke to her about his plan to rid her of the darkness. She crossed her arms over her chest as she nodded along in uncertainty. Though she could not find a single flaw in the plan. It still made her feel nervous. This darkness inside of her was bound to put up a hell of a fight.

"Look–I know it is not an ideal evening, but the timing is right." Klaus reassured. "Once you are mid transformation, the Saltzman girls will be able to siphon the magic out of you."

"Are you sure about this?" Hope frowned.

"Yeah. I will dispose of the magic later." Klaus lied. "Tonight is about you."

Hope went to respond when Finn came into view. She was sitting alone on a park bench. People watching was one of her favorite pastimes. Especially now that she was a vampire. She supposed she is lucky it happened now. She no longer had to worry about period pains or saggy boobs or anything a human girl goes through. But things are different now. And sometimes different was bad.

"I will be right back," Hope muttered. She made her way towards the bench before taking a hesitant seat. It took her a long moment to gather the courage to speak. "You looked lonely."

Finn was quiet for a long moment. She had a lot to think about after today. It was almost impossible for her to figure out where her thoughts began and where her thoughts ended. Though one of her thoughts seemed to be more clear than the rest.

"I keep thinking about what Elijah said," Finn confessed.

"Elijah said a lot of things," Hope said. "You are gonna have to be more specific."

"Being a younger sibling is weird. I have always known you. But you have not always known me. Mom tells me stories about our childhood sometimes. I don't really remember much. But I remember you used to hold my hand and break my things. You used to wipe my tears and pull my hair." Finn ranted. "We don't talk much anymore. I don't think we ever really did. But I miss laughing with you. I miss drawing with you. I miss you. When you made me food because no one was home. When you did my hair because it was picture day at school. I still steal your clothes from time to time. I just put them back before you know it." She chuckled dryly. "I don't know a life without you. I don't know much about you either. Yet I know where you keep your secrets. So why are we strangers now?"

"Because I am a ghost and you are a ghost but I am banging cabinets and television static while all you have ever been is silent," Hope answered.

"I don't believe in ghosts. But they do make for great imagery. All things that once were and are no more always do. No. I don't believe in ghosts." Finn hummed. "I believe in the presence of something impossible. In things once buried, coming back for more. I don't believe in ghosts. I believe in haunting. And we haunt the hell out of each other when we should be protecting each other."

"My entire life, I have protected you." Hope confessed. "Or tried."

"My entire life, I have resented you. Or tried." Finn countered. "I think we were both born with responsibilities that we did not deserve. Maybe it is time to let those responsibilities go."

"And do what?" Hope wondered.

"Act your age and I will act mine," Finn supplied. "We are too young to let the weight of responsibilities crush us."

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

Klaus watched with soft eyes as Hope and Finn took to the dance floor. This would be his last thing he saw before he died. It was a beautiful moment that he would have engraved in his memory. But he could not deny that there was one thing that he was missing. His wife. She did not know what the future held for them. He knew he should tell her the truth about what he planned on doing with the darkness. He just couldn't find the right time to bring it up.

"What is on your mind?" Enola hummed.

Enola appeared out of nowhere beside Klaus. He had been so long in his thoughts that he didn't even notice her approach. She almost looked at him the same way she used to. Like he put the stars in the sky. Though the current look she was giving him was more mature. She had not fully forgiven him for leaving her five years ago. Which is why he hesitated to answer her question.

"I really wish you would stop looking at me like that," Klaus whispered.

"Like what?" Enola frowned.

"I don't know," Klaus confessed, then hesitated. "Like you could fall back in love with me."

"Nik, I never fell out of love with you." Enola said.

Enola left a mark on Klaus that no one could ever even dream of holding a candle to. She was as much a part of him as his own war torn soul. Her place in his heart is tender. A bruise of longing. A pulse of unfinished business. Just hearing her voice was enough to push and pull him in a thousand different directions. And when he tried to define it, describe it even to himself, words held no meaning. If he had a lifetime to talk to her, there would still be things left unsaid.

"I am going to die," Klaus blurted.

"What?" Enola blinked.

"I lied. To Hope. To Finn. To you." Klaus continued. "The only way to dispose of the dark magic is to put it somewhere else. In me. Then I plan to kill myself with the last remaining white oak."

Enola was silent for a long moment. She has always had this overwhelming fear of watching something beautiful disappear. Without a goodbye. Without a reason. This was an opportunity for her to yell. To scream. To argue. But no words left her mouth because she knew deep down that she could not be mad. Not when she had spent these past couple of months saying that actions speak louder than words.

"How am I supposed to be mad at you when you are being so selfless?" Enola sighed. "Three years ago, I tracked you to Italy. It had been two years since you cut contact. I had practiced what I was going to say to you in the mirror what felt like a million times. But then I saw you. Sitting in the middle of a crowded bar with a full glass of whiskey in your hand. I sent you a picture. Hope and Finn. Their first flag football game. They started a brawl. You pulled your phone out and smiled. Then you pushed the glass of whiskey away before leaving the bar." A smile spread across her lips at the memory. "I think a part of me has always known that you were never the villain of my story."

Klaus and Enola did not find intimacy the first time they took their clothes off. It was when she saw him at his worst. Like how she witnessed the most unloveable parts of him as he slowly unraveled each imperfection in front of her like a scar in need of attention. And despite all of that, she loved him harder.

Klaus subconsciously gravitated towards Enola. His nose brushed against her cheek and her eyes fluttered closed. There was a long moment of tension before he gently cupped her face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. He lingered before slowly pulling back to rest his forehead against her forehead.

"It is time," Klaus sighed.

"I don't get it. Aren't there a million things that you want to say to your daughters? About life or love or how to file taxes?" Enola wondered.

"They don't need me when they have you," Klaus said.

"But they want you," Enola countered. "You are their dad."

"I have been absent most of their lives," Klaus reminded. "I am no one."

Neither Klaus nor Enola had not noticed the lingering presence of Elijah nearby. He stood back with an almost haunted expression on his face. He had dedicated his entire life to protecting his brother. How could he just stand back and watch this execution unfold? He wouldn't.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

Elijah had seen Finn off to bed. Her opinion of him had surprisingly changed in the short time they had spent together. She had come to realize that she was just as at fault as he was for keeping quiet. Perhaps things would have been different if they had more time. But time was a fickle thing indeed.

Enola was in the cellar of the Salvatore Boarding School with Hope. She was trying to distract herself from what was to come. But no amount of preparation would make her feel any better. Her life would forever be changed after this one night and there was nothing she could do because that would be very selfish of her. So she was here. Talking her daughter through the full moon.

"It is only pain. It is completely manageable." Enola said sternly. "Fear is only a construct. All you have to do is close your eyes and—"

"Sing. I know." Hope reassured. "I think I will be okay."

"You think?" Enola frowned.

"I know," Hope corrected.

"Much better," Enola grinned.

Enola used the shackles to chain Hope to the wall. She gave her daughter one last look before hesitantly leaving the room. Her face was immediately illuminated by the soft glow of the moon that shone through the small window. The warmth was enough to make her feel whole again. She wanted nothing more than for her daughter to feel the same way. So she turned back around and pulled the cellar door open with ease.

"Mom?" Hope questioned, eyes full of confusion. "What are you—"

"We have to hurry," Enola claimed, quickly undoing the chains that bound Hope by the wrists.

Enola led Hope through the vacant halls of the Salvatore Boarding School. It was easy seeing as she knew the place like the back of her hand. She rushed out the backdoor only to be met with miles and miles of woods. Which was perfect for what she had planned tonight. Her eyes flickered up to the moon that was nearly at peak as she guided her daughter further and further away from civilization.

"Mom, what is going on?" Hope questioned when Enola finally came to a stop.

"You are not doing this inside. Chained to the wall like some sort of animal." Enola decided. Hope collapsed to the ground with a broken ankle. "It is starting."

Enola smiled up at the moon as if it was Hayley. She rolled her shoulders back and removed her leather jacket. She had transformed many times before. But this time was different because she was with her daughter. Her daughter whom she had always wanted to protect. Things did not work out the way she had envisioned. But she could not turn back the clock now. She kicked off her shoes and dropped to her knees.

"What are you doing?" Hope panted, spine reshaping in the most painful way possible.

"I am doing this with you," Enola claimed. "I am not going to sugarcoat anything. This will hurt. Just concentrate on the air in your lungs and the ground beneath you." Her eyes softened at the strangled scream that left her daughter. "The first time can take hours—"

"Hours?" Hope echoed in horror.

"—If you fight it." Enola finished. "The pain will make you want to stop because you think that is all you can take. But let it in. Allow it to swallow you whole and it cannot break you."

"I can do this," Hope muttered to herself.

"When you are done, I will show you how it feels to run wild and free." Enola promised. "And Hope? I am so proud of you."

Hope looked up with amber eyes that reflected power and control. Her transition began to speed up before she was suddenly lifted off the ground by a magical force. The Hollow was leaving her for good. She watched the blue energy gather above her before she was released completely. She fell on all fours and finished her transition with the help and guidance of her mother. Only then was she free to explore the night.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

Klaus arrived back at the abandoned house to find the darkness was already gathered in a blue ball that illuminated the entire clearing. He had just gotten into a heated argument with his brother who swore he was making a mistake. But this was the only way to save his daughter from certain death. Though he had to pause the second he reached the location to take everything in only to realize something was missing. Or rather someone.

"Where is she?" Klaus wondered.

Caroline and Alaric shared a look full of uncertainty. They did not need clarification. They knew exactly who was missing from this picture. Someone who had watched enough loved ones die to last an entire lifetime. Someone who could not bear to watch another slip through her fingers. Someone who was tired.

"She just—" Caroline hesitated. "She just couldn't watch you die."

Klaus was immediately clouded by grief. He had never wanted things to end like this. But he had no choice in the matter. Not when it came to his kids. So he took a deep breath and stepped towards the magical circle that had been drawn in the earth just for him. That is when it happened. Someone appeared behind him and snapped his neck before he got the chance to make the biggest mistake of his life.

Caroline and Alaric gasped when Elijah appeared. He had tried to talk his brother out of it. Tried to supply alternatives. But nothing was good enough. It was all temporary. A permanent solution was needed. This was that solution. But his brother had people to live for. The one person he had ever let in was dead and it was all his fault. It was time for him to atone for his sins. He would not be taking no for an answer.

"What the hell is going on?" Alaric demanded.

"You will be placing the dark magic into me," Elijah decided.

"Why are you doing this?" Caroline questioned.

"I have spent one thousand years protecting my brother from the darkness," Elijah said. "Why stop now?"

"Are you sure this is something you want to do?" Caroline inquired.

"I have never been more sure of something in my entire life," Elijah said.

Alaric and Caroline shared a look as Elijah stepped inside the circle. There was no hesitance in his steps and he never moved to leave. He welcomed death as if it was an old friend as he stared up at the blue light in defiance. Then it hit him square in the chest and knocked him to his knees. It hurt more. But the pain is what he deserved for the years he spent neglecting his family.

Alaric and Caroline jumped back in surprise when Klaus suddenly gasped awake. A broken neck was nothing to a one thousand year old hybrid. He immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to the circle as his brother absorbed the Hollow. Though he was thrown back by a magic force so he was unable to enter. He watched in horror as his brother collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Alright," Alaric clapped his hands together.

"Come on, girls." Caroline smiled tightly, ushering Lizzie and Josie away from the Mikaelson drama.

"Elijah," Klaus whispered. "What have you done?"

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

AUTHORS NOTE.
surprise. i am not going to kill klaus either. especially because he has yet to right all of his wrongs. until next time, my loves!!!