"We need to find a new strategy.." Carlisle made out Elijah's voice as he neared closer to the room he assumed inhabited the vampire, Klaus, Hayley, and a female whose identity was unknown to him.
"Freya, if you please."

"This spell you described. Dahlia calls it "kenning". Using proxies to watch her enemies from afar. But I've never seen it done on quite this scale." The unknown voice spoke up.

"Awesome." Hayley spoke up. Carlisle's thoughts exactly. This 'Dahlia' character sounds like someone he wouldn't want to mess with.
"So every hurricane-chugging, boob-flashing tourist on Bourbon street is a potential spy."

"The good ne-" Freya was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Come in here, Carlisle." It was an order that left no room for argument. Not that the witch would argue with Klaus. He didn't have a death wish no matter how much he joked about it.

The witch shuffled into the room as all eyes were on him. He made eye contact with the unknown woman in the room before Klaus gestured to the chair across from Hayley. The witch would have preferred to stand like the everyone else (excluding Hayley and Rebekah, the latter sitting two seats down from Carlisle) but the original hybrid's gesture seemed more like an order rather than a suggestion.

"As I was saying, I know a little bit about how her magic works. This tonic will at least prevent her from using any of us." Freya placed a tray which held four tea cups. Carlisle peered at the tray for a moment before reverting his gaze to his lap.

"Oh, come on. Should work like a charm." Rebekah spoke up as Elijah sat beside Hayley, the unknown woman sitting at Carlisle's left, and Klaus standing behind a chair at the head of the table which was unfortunately to the witch's right.

"Bottom's up." Rebekah held out her cup while the others began to drink their own. Elijah held out a cup and saucer to the still standing Klaus.

"Niklaus, is there something you wish to contribute?" Elijah sighed.

Carlisle's soulmate took a few leisurely steps towards the vampire.

"I prefer biscuits with my tea."

"Of course." Elijah rolled his eyes as he lowered his hand down, instead offering the tea to Carlisle who gratefully took the cup. His mind was something he preferred to control.

"Besides, our minds are far too strong to be invaded by kenning spells. Now what we experienced is a test. Dahlia's watching to see how we respond to aggression. She's preparing for battle. My guess is sooner rather than later." Klaus provided with narrowed eyes.

Carlisle tried to follow along with everyone though found his mind lagging behind. He knew virtually nothing of the predicament the family was in and found himself still rather tired though he had slept in fairly late that morning.

He did gather that Freya had a plan to use Jackson who he had been acquainted with that morning just before he, Hayley, and Hope had set out on a walk where he was then "possessed". Carlisle more or less agreed with Freya's strategy who he had gathered to be a witch.

"Good, then it's settled. Off you pop to your respective tasks. Me, I've always been of the opinion that the best defense is a good offense." Klaus spoke up.

"So I'm going to find a way to murder that godforsaken witch." The hybrid finished while Carlisle slightly grimaced.

-

"A witch, huh? So who's he to you?" Marcel asked Elijah as narrowed his eyes at Carlisle. The trio was waiting for Josephine LaRue to show up at Elijah's chosen 'sanctuary' while Klaus was off doing god knows what.

"He's merely a friend." Elijah lied. It was a horrible lie in the witch's opinion. It was clearly a vague explanation. One showing Marcel that Carlisle was much more important than just a friend.

Josephine arrived not long after, sharing polite greetings with everyone before taking a look around the room.

"This was quite the place back in my day. St. James Infirmary. Vulgar, filthy, loud. Some of the best nights of my life." The strikingly blue-eyed witch turned to look at the three with a small smile adorning her face.

"But I assume you didn't go through all this trouble on my account." The woman took a step forward as Marcel smiled.

"As you know this place served as neutral ground for both our communities. A place where all were welcomed and safe." Marcel turned to Elijah as the other vampire stepped from beside Carlisle.

"And in keeping with that tradition, we'd like to invite you to cast a spell. One that would prevent the use of any magic within these walls." The original vampire glanced around the room.

"You'd ask me to create a place where my kind would be utterly helpless." Josephine seemed to grow agitated. She gestured to Carlisle with a crippled hand.
"Why can't your witch cast it if you wish of such a spell?"

"You are a powerful witch. Your spells are rather difficult to break compared to mine." Carlisle supplied.

"I am not without empathy but I have a responsibility to the witches. This is not our fight." Josephine turned to leave but was stopped with a statement from Elijah which could be seen as a threat to most.

"Perhaps a blessing to dispel unwanted spirits?" Josephine offered after words were exchanged.

"A blessing combined with a disruption spell. You can draw power from me." Carlisle bargained as his eyes narrowed slightly with the other witch's.

"Yes, that should do the trick." She replied after a second of consideration before Elijah gave a nod in her direction. The vampire then proudly smiled towards Carlisle.

The spell made Carlisle feel even more worn out though he convinced himself to try and be of some use to Elijah and the others. He and Elijah later found out from Freya that Dahlia intended to make her move that night and Klaus and Mikael (who the witch had previously thought to be dead) were to be her next victims. It made his stomach drop at the thought of Klaus dead which made him grow angry with himself.

Elijah of course condemned Carlisle from following. It was nice to know that he and Rebekah accepted him into the family with open arms and seemed to care for him a great deal. Carlisle felt utterly useless cooped up in the compound but he convinced himself it was probably for the better.

-

"Hayley?" Carlisle noticed Jackson call for the other hybrid as he walked into the room. Jackson turned to narrow his eyes at the witch before Hayley stepped out of the hallway, Hope in her arms. Hope made a happy gurgling noise when noticing the witch. Carlisle was suprisingly good with babies which he proved to Hayley when they conversed that morning.

The witch noticed the child was swaddled along with a knit cap adorning her head. There was a diaper bag slung across Hayley's shoulder as well. The newlyweds both knew that Carlisle must have connected the dots.

"Where are you going this late?" Carlisle intentionally failed to feign nonchalance.

"Klaus and Elijah are the oldest, most powerful vampires in the world. And Dahlia's got them scared. If she takes them down, I don't want Hope to be around to see what's next." Hayley's eyes showed a wild fear as she lightly bounced the baby. Hope lightly cried, her hand reaching out for Carlisle in want.

Carlisle nodded his head. Fuck Klaus. His soulmate showed no potential of ever attempting to actually converse with him while Hayley was someone he thought of as a friend.

"Do you really think that this is the best plan to protect her?" Hayley turned to Jackson after shooting a small smile the witch's way as her husband placed a loving hand on her daughter's head.

"I really do." Jackson narrowed his eyes before the couple turned to leave. Not before Hayley gave one last glance towards Carlisle.

Marcel arrived not long after, swiftly opening the door to Carlisle's room. The witch lying in bed, pretending like he was attempting to sleep which wasn't difficult as he was dead tired.

"God, can't I just get some sleep?" He groaned, sitting up as the blanket slipped off of his bare chest and pooled at his lap.

"Where are they?" Marcel demanded.

"Hayley? Wasn't she supposed to wait for you?" The witch feigned confusion as Marcel grew irritated, leaving with the slam of the bedroom door. Carlisle waited a few moments, ensuring that the vampire wouldn't hear him.

"Hope that gave you enough time." He mumbled to himself.

-

"Well, that sounds like a bloody fiasco. Where's Dahlia now?" Rebekah questioned.

"She could he anywhere. There wasn't a trace of her at the church." Elijah stood beside his younger sister while both of them eyed their father who in turn was eyeing Carlisle. The witch was standing across the room from Elijah, not noticing the pair of eyes on him.

"She's done with us for now. No doubt she wants to us to take some time to wallow in our defeat." Freya supplied, crossing her arms as she stood beside Mikael.

Carlisle tuned her voice out halfway through, instead looking worriedly towards Klaus who was nursing a glass of scotch. The witch had an almost clairvoyant feeling of something bad about to happen.

"Defeat?" Klaus questioned, standing up with his back against everyone in the room before he set his drink down. The witch internally sighed at that. Here we go.

"I disagree. We saw her face, we took her measure. If that's the best she's got, quite frankly, I'm unimpressed. " Klaus turned around, taking long strides across the room towards Mikael and Freya.

"Her aim was not to impress us. She wanted us to reveal our sole weapon. And like fools, we did." Mikeal spoke up after Klaus stopped to stand in front of him.

"Am I hearing things, or did Nik just exchange words with out father?" Rebekah inquired, turning her face slightly to Elijah.

"Rebekah. I'd know that wicked tongue anywhere. What mischief have you gotten yourself into now? No doubt the bastard's doing." Their father took a few steps towards her. Carlisle narrowed his eyes at the man before turning to Klaus. The witch expected him to respond though the original hybrid did nothing but keep his back turned and clench his jaw.

"And who are you?" Mikael turned towards Carlisle with a minuscule tilt of his head as the witch stiffened.

"Awfully quiet, and suprisingly human." Mikael deduced while taking a few steps to get closer towards him.

Carlisle was sure that everyone in the room could hear how fast his heart was beating. He didn't doubt the very much human Rebekah could hear it.

"Enough." Klaus demanded sternly.

Mikael stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing at Carlisle's form before turning to look at Klaus.

"My patience, like this farce of a reunion, is at an end." Klaus moved to stand beside Elijah while his elder brother spoke up.

"Agreed. There really is only one question here. What exactly are we doing?" Elijah took a few steps away to stand beside Carlisle.

"This was not my plan. You rushed it and made but a single weapon. Of course she took it from you. And now we've lost what advantage we had and used up the very materials we needed to kill her." Freya seemed to grow angrier by the minute, a small snarl adorning her face. Elijah placed a reassuring hand at the small of Carlisle's back after noticing the witch's growing anxiety.

"That's a bit histrionic. Your materials are easily found. Let's take stock, shall we?" Klaus gestured in the air with his right hand, a hint of a smirk on his lips.
"There's an ample supply of your blood. Norwegian soil is hardly scarce. What else? Ah, yes the ashes of Dahlia's Viking oppressors."

"Only priceless relics gotten with great difficulty at a museum. Lost due to your worthless strategies!" After the last word was uttered from Mikeal's lips, Klaus flashed forward, pinning the other man against a wall. The hybrid pushed the white oak stake into their father's chest.

"No," Freya lunged towards them but Elijah grabbed at her arm, keeping her back.

"If I feel even the faintest touch of your magic Freya, I will end him with the flick of my wrist." Klaus threatened with a growl.
"You don't seem surprised." The hybrid spoke calmly as he turned to face Mikeal.

"Betrayal is in your nature, boy." Mikeal spoke slowly.

Carlisle could spot the ashen veins peeking out of the man's collar. He took a few steps closer, though his mind was screaming at him not to.

"No. I wasn't born like this." Klaus stated.
"Her, you fight for. Lovely Freya, the daughter you barely know." Carlisle caught the small snarl on Klaus' lips.

"Yet there was a time you knew me... As your son. A time before all the disappointments, the revelations of betrayal. There were moments when all you had to do was be my father." Carlisle could hear the hybrid's voice break slightly.

"And even then, you despised me, didn't you?"

Mikeal nodded slightly.

"I want to know why."

"I don't know." Mikael's voice sounded softer, desperate almost.
"I just did."

Carlisle watched as Klaus' head hung low for a moment before returning to look at his father.

"Are those your final words?" Carlisle could barely catch his soulmate's whisper. Though at the sound of those words, the witch stepped closer.

"Don't--" Carlisle didn't know Mikael though murder was murder in his view and killing your father was unimaginable. The witch moved to put his hand on Klaus' shoulder before the original wrapped his hand around his neck, closing off his airway while keeping his other arm leaning on Mikeal.

"You know nothing about my family. Don't think for a second I won't kill you." Once Klaus let go, sending Carlisle to fall to his knees. As soon as the hybrid had let go, there was a warmth that felt like the edges of a fire licking at him. He looked up to see Klaus' eyes on his own.

He must be feeling the same thing. He has to be. Klaus turned to his father, decidedly ignoring Carlisle. It made Carlisle feel cold.

"Freya... I'm so sorry." Mikael looked past his son's shoulder.

"I love--"

Klaus plunged the stake into Mikael's heart, Carlisle flinched back while Freya began to thrash in Elijah's arms.

"No!" Freya sobbed as her father's body lie on the floor, catching fire before Klaus turned around. She collapsed to her knees while Rebekah moved to stand beside her.

Klaus' eyes narrowed at Carlisle's form for a moment before turning to look at his siblings.

"Viking ash is indeed rare. But all you really need is a burning Viking corpse."