❝ theres a mummy on main street ❞

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Katherine walks back to Alaric. "I have nothing." She explains. "I haven't heard anything overly suspicious, except that they are going to the dam."

"Dammit." Alaric hisses. "I have Kaleb using his powers now," He tells her. Katherine raises a brow. "Desperate times."

"Hi, there." The two turn their heads to see the man Alaric and Hope had met before.

Alaric clears his throat. "Hello." He says shortly.

"I'm Deputy Agent Clarke. I apologize for the inconvenience." Clarke peers down at his clipboard. "I see you're from Richmond?"

Alaric chuckles. "Uh, Roanoke." He corrects.

"I'm just checking in with everyone. Sooner we get everyone proper medical attention, sooner you can go see that giant ball of yarn." The two groan men laugh, and Katherine just looks between the two.

"Well, we, uh, don't need any attention, but thank you." Alaric says, pushing Katherine to walk away.

However, Clarke speaks up. "So you came in from Raleigh on a road trip with your family?" He asks.

Katherine glares at him. "It's Roanoke." She snaps.

"Roanoke." Clarke repeats, a fake grin on his face. "Sorry." Katherine says nothing, rolling her eyes. "You ever been to Kansas?"

Alaric's smile falters for a moment. Katherine tilts her head. "They were picking me up from rehab." She says shortly. "Meth addict, its hard stuff."

Clarke looks at her for a long moment, saying nothing. "So if there's nothing else," Alaric begins, but of course, Clarke speaks up.

"Actually, uh, I was hoping we could talk privately. You two and your daughter, uh, Jessica, was it?" He hums.

Alaric shakes his head. "I don't think we have anything more to discuss."

"I could think of a few things." Clarke nods. "Mystic Falls, maybe? Or perhaps your school for supernatural children." Katherine narrows her eyes.

Alaric stares at him for a long moment. "Katherine, go get Jessica." He hums.

Katherine glares at Clarke, turning and walking towards Hope. "Hope, come on."

"What about us?" Lizzie asks.

Katherine shakes her head. "Stay here, keep an eye on Josie's boil." She says finally as Hope walks over. The twins roll their eyes, while the other two girls follow Alaric and Clarke outside of the tent. "So, do you want to tell us who you are? Or am I gonna have to rip your fingers off?" Katherine asks.

Clark shakes his head at the vampire nervously. "I work for an organization that keeps monsters and things that go bump in the night from public view. I thought I recognized you and Jessica-"

"It's Hope, actually." Hope retorts.

Clarke looks at Hope for a moment, and then nods. "I wasn't sure if it was a coincidence, so we searched your van. We know you're Alaric Saltzman, headmaster of the Salvatore School. We know you're Katherine Valentine, the rebellious vampire who was so immature the headmaster made you go to school again." Katherine rolls her eyes. "We know a lot about it. You have a terrific reputation."

"Leave the school out of this." Alaric says coldly.

"Look, I applaud your school's mission. If you do your job right, makes mine easier."

Katherine throws her arms in the air. "So why the hell are we still here?"

Clarke looks at her. "Well, I have an entire town that needs to forget what they've seen today. You know, usually it's convincing a farmer in Nebraska he didn't see a chimera, you know, or a few ice fishermen in Minnesota that it wasn't a yeti that ate their best friend." He half heartedly joked. "This is an entire town. It's different. We could use the assistance of a vampire." He says. "I noticed the daylight ring on you and your boyfriend-"

"Not my actual boyfriend." Katherine points out.

Hope steps in. "Why not call it a freak swarm of bugs? Why erase it from memory?"

"Because someone may recognize them for what they are. Harbingers."

"Of what?" Katherine asks.

Clarke scoffs. "Seriously? This is obviously the work of a mummy."

Alaric does a fist pump in the air, receiving a weird look from all of them. "I told you." He says to Hope, sheepishly. Katherine raises her eyebrows, confused.

"One of our drivers survived an attack by the river. He's been tracking the mummy ever since." Clarke says. "He's still on the outskirts of town, but he's heading our direction. We're a cleanup organization. Okay, we're not equipped to go to battle with a mummy." He chuckles. "So... will you help? Cut him off at the pass and keep all these people safe?"

Ric frowns. "Oh, these are kids-"

"Kids with magic, in a town full of innocents without it." Clarke points out.

Suddenly, Hope blurts out, "We'd be happy to help." Alaric and Katherine send weird looks her way. More so, Katherine was glaring at Hope.

Alaric looks back at Clarke. "I'm gonna need my weapons." He explains.

"Of course. Gather what you need. Round up your friends. My team can help you with anything else."

The three watch Clarke walk away, and Hope clears her throat. "Okay, I know you don't remember our trip to Kansas clearly, but that field that we woke up in in Georgia, that's where the portal to Malivore is." Hope explains to Alaric and the vampire. "It's hidden in plain sight by a company called TRIAD." Hope pulls out a card, handing it to Ric. "Look familiar?" Katherine looks down, seeing a card.

"This just got a lot more interesting."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

The night was cool and brisk as Katherine Valentine walked along side Kaleb Hawkins. She was thoroughly surprised she had messed around with a second Kaleb, but this one was merely a fling for the summer, and she hardly remembered him in bed. "I am so over this monster crap." He mutters as they walks towards Dr. Saltzman. He looks over at her. "How do you do it?" He asks her.

Katherine turns her head. "I am 35 years old, fighting evil has kind of been my thing since I was 17." She says.

Kaleb scrunches up his face. "Man, don't talk about it like that, makin me feel like I slept with a cougar." Katherine smirks, letting out a cat-like growl in his ear. Kaleb swats her away, the two laughing as they walk over to Alaric.

"All right. So let me run this back," Kaleb says as he places a duffle-bag on the car. Alaric turns, glancing at boy Katherine and Kaleb. "Homie talks like he's protecting innocents, but his office actually sits on top of the portal to hell?"

Alaric shifts his head side to side. "Not hell, specifically. Hell adjacent." He says.

Katherine raises a brow. "What does that even mean?" She asks.

"It's a tar pit of doom where monsters rot for all eternity." Alaric says, nonchalant.

Kaleb and Katherine stare at him blankly. "And if the urn gets to Malivore, what happens? The Adjacent Apocalypse?" Kaleb asks semi sarcastically.

"Two of the three locks that keep Malivore sealed will be open, which will lead to the end of all supernatural beings." Alaric explains to them both.

Katherine leans on the car. "Well, I guess that we aren't letting that happen." She huffs.

"Okay. So we can't let the mummy get the urn, we can't let Agent Clarke's phony hazmat dudes get the urn, and if we get the urn, then we're just bringing monsters back to the school with us?"

Alaric nods, chuckling under his breath. "Yeah. It is kind of a lose-lose."

Kaleb laughs, "Well, y'all crazier than my family, minus the barbecue." Katherine hums, wishing this kind of thing was crazy for her. "So who do I get to fight?"

"Actually, I need you to compel all the locals to forget what they've seen."

Kaleb glares at Alaric, "You mean while everyone else is fighting an actual mummy, I'm stuck with a bunch of simpletons making them forget about bugs? What about Katherine?"

Alaric looks at the female vampire. "The girls may need more magic to siphon from, since and Katherine is our best bet." He explains. "I don't know who this TRIAD group is or what they intend to do with the urn, but we can't run the risk of letting them get their hands on it, so first, we need them to think that we're on their side."

"So vamp powers are cool as long as it's for something boring." Kaleb says, annoyed.

"Look, there's one other thing I need you to do, and if we can pull this off, I guarantee you the last thing it's gonna be is boring." Alaric says. A smirk grows on Kalebs face.

Katherine stands up off the car. "Well, if I'm gonna be fighting a mummy, I should probably change out of the skirt. Give me five minutes." She says, walking away.

Alaric and Kaleb watch her strut off. Kaleb turns his head. "Why didn't you ever get with her when you were younger?" He asks.

The Headmaster cringes at the thought. "Cause even back then, I was old enough to be her father." Kaleb nods, realizing that Alaric was technically older, after being dead, resurrecting, and being a vampire and then cured.

"Well, then why did she never end up with one of those other guys y'all were friends with?"

Alaric sighs, unsure of how to explain it. "Katherine was never one for romance. And when she was, it always went down in flames."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

The Headmaster of Salvatore Boarding School and his long term friend walk down the street, his daughters and one of his students behind him. The girls are beginning an argument, but Ric looks over at Katherine instead. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." She shrugs. She had changed into high waisted latex pants. Alaric couldn't imagine they were all that comfortable. She had a dark blue cropped tank on as well, and finally a leather jacket.

"Katherine, we need to tell the school, or at least the girls." He says lowly.

The vampire shakes her head. "It's too soon." She replies, anxiously looking back at the three girls who were now arguing.

"You only have a few weeks, if that."

"Guys." Josie blurts loudly, cutting everyone off.  "There's a mummy on Main Street."

Alaric gets in to position, aiming his crossbow at the mummy. Katherine tilts her head to the side, observing different things about the creature. Lizzie shrugs. "So, what, do we, like, rush it?" She asks.

"It's seven feet tall." Alaric replies. "We hold our ground until it's close enough to attack." Katherine shrugs, liking the idea.

"Okay, Dad, get behind us." Josie says.

"I can't do that." Alaric whispers.

Lizzie tilts her head. "Dad."

"I have to protect you, all of you." Ric says.

Hope steps forward. "No offense, Dr. Saltzman, but you and your crossbow are kind of manspread in front of four powerful witches and a vampire." She points out,

Katherine looks over at Alaric. "She has a point." Alaric sets down his crossbow, looking at them. He mutters an awkward okay before going behind all of them. Katherine moves next to Josie, looking ahead.

Josie breathes heavily. "Okay, what can a mummy do to hurt us?" She asks out loud.

The mummy lets out a loud roar, "I think we're about to find out." Hope says shakily.

A green glow emits from the mummy's chest. He lets out another roar, bugs flying out of his mouth. "Hope." Josie says nervously. She grabs Hopes hand, Lizzie grabbing Hopes as well. Josie looks to her side, Katherine holding out her hand. Pursing her lips, she grabs on, siphoning powers slowly.

"Bulla." The three of witches say. A bubble like shield circles around all of them. Katherine nods in appreciation, impressed by the three.

The bubble finally goes down once the flies are gone, and Alaric sighs. "Nice teamwork."

"Should we rush it now?" Lizzie asks.

Hope shakes her head. "Not yet."

The mummy growls loudly. Katherine looks over. "Now?"

"No."

"I really, really think that we should rush it." Lizzie says nervously.

Hope snaps. "Wait! On three. One... Two..." Suddenly, the mummy waves her hand. Hope begins to choke.

"What's happening?" Lizzie asks. "What's happening?" Bugs begin to fall out of Hopes mouth as she keeps coughing. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God." Lizzie begins to choke as well.

Katherine groans. "That's gross." She mutters, before beginning to cough. "Josie, spell." She says before bugs tumble out from her lips.

Josie nods, Resistus maledi." She says as she covers her mouth. The young Saltzman turns to the vampire, grabbing the coughing Valentines hand. She begins to siphon more magic, "Ignalusa." Josie says. A flame gathers in the girls hands. She blows it out of her palm, letting it cover the Mummy in flames. He disintegrates into ash, and Lizzie and Hope finally stop choking up insects. Katherine does the same, however she looks ill from the magic being taken away from her.

Lizzie looks up, her face in disgust. "Worst spring break ever." She mutters.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Back at the camp, Katherine sips on a blood bag she had shoved into an enchanted cup, protecting its smell from people like Kaleb. She sits on the hood of her car, Josie sits on the hood next to her, neither of them saying anything for a moment. "You feeling better?" She asks Katherine, looking over with an unreadable expression.

The vampire turns her head, smiling softly. "Slowly but surely." She hums. "You did pretty good back there."

Josie shrugs, "It was something I taught myself using one of your old grimoires in dads office." Katherine smiles, "Sorry, I know you don't like talking about it."

Katherine sighs. "I have had years to move on. It doesn't affect me anymore." Katherine turns slightly, "Ask me anything about my witchy days."

"Did you really die for the Harvest?"

"I was supposed to die. But I was able to get out of it as another witch had taken my place at the ceremony." Katherine explains shortly.

Josie nods, "And did you really kiss Damon Salvatore?"

Katherine nods, "I didn't know the full story between him and Elena, as far as I knew, he was free reign!" The way she smiles causes Josie to laugh. Katherine thinks about her time, the short yet fulfilling life she got to live. How was she going to get these kids, her friends, to understand?

"So the mummy ain't actually dead?" Kaleb asks as he follows Alaric over. Josie and Katherine watch as Alaric and Kaleb walk towards the van.

"Well, if I'm right, the mummy's curse is bound by the scarab in its chest. Once the girls siphon the scarab, the curse will be lifted and the mummy will be dead."

"Okay, and what if you're wrong"

Hope, whos sitting on the floor of the van, looks up, "He's never wrong." She retorts.

Katherine sighs, "So what now? I'm supposed to have a spa day tomorrow." Lizzie looks oer at Katherine, wondering how easy it must be to be someone like her.

Alaric sighs, opening up the hood of the van. "Until we get the urn, we wait." He explains.

Lizzie groans. "How long do we have to wait? If I have to bug-hurl again," Lizzie turns her head towards Hope. "I swear to God, I will never talk to you again."

"Okay, that one wasn't even remotely my fault." Hope retorts.

Lizzie scoffs, "Yeah, well, the beetle slime in my tonsils says otherwise." She mumbles. Katherien sighs, checking her phone for what feels like the hundredth time.

"Why can't we just give the mummy the urn?" Josie blurts. "Is opening the portal to Malivore really that bad?"

Katherine hums,"Judging by the amount of monsters we have encountered, do any of the monsters that have been trapped in there and came back seem happy go lucky friendly little angels?" She asks sarcastically.

Lizzie sits up. "I'm with Josie. Why don't we skip bug vomit round two and just go and get some pancakes or something?" She asks, Hope rolls her eyes, completely annoyed by the twins and their ignorance.

Alaric sighs, standing up from the hood, "Think of it like this. We'll be setting the mummy free from his prison." He says, looking at his daughters.

Josie pouts in thought, "Poor mummy." She mumbles. Suddenly, a crowd of people come screaming in horror out of the tents.

"All right, look, we can keep having empathy hour or we can do what we came here to do." Kaleb blurts, knowing that the mummy must be back somehow.

Katherine and Alaric stand next to one another, "Here we go." He mumbles. The sound of glass shattering and roars causes everyone to tense up.

The mummy rips open the tent, letting out a loud roar. "What the hell is happening?" Katherine turns her head to see Clarke.

"I don't know; he should be dead." Alaric says.

"Well, clearly he isn't."

Katherine snaps her head. "Yeah, we can see that." She retorts. Clarke sends her a fake smile, and Katherine rolls her eyes. "He's looking for the urn." Katherine says to the group. The Mummy starts knocking boxes over, growling in frustration.

"What do we do?" Asks Clarke, looking at Katherine for a longer moment before looking over at Dr. Saltzman.

Alaric shrugs, thinking quickly. "I don't know, give him the urn."

Clarke pulls out his walkie talkie. "Hey, can someone give this thing the urn?" He yells.

The tech over the radio replies quickly. "Can't. The urn's gone." He says.

Clarke frowns in confusion, "Wh... Who's been in there?" Katherine and Kaleb glance at one another, an evil glint in the Valentine's eye.

"Only our guys."

The mummy bellows, ripping the place apart. Clarke looks at the group of supernaturals expectantly. "Do something." He pleads. Katherine rolls her eyes as Alaric looks over at her.

Katherine looks at Kaleb, "Ready for some supernatural football?" She asks, smirking.

"Yep." Kaleb speeds at the demon. "Nice bling. Don't mind if I do." The mummy roars as Kaleb takes the scarab. He turns, throwing it at Katherine.

Katherine catches it, vamp speeding to the twins. Lizzie and Josie grab onto the glowing green scarab, beginning to siphon it's powers. The mummy snarls, hopes eyes wide. "Oh crap, hurry." Katherine takes her stance next to the tiribrid. The mummy steps closer. "Like, hurry hurry?"

The monster opens its mouth, the bugs flying towards the crew. Alaric covers his eyes, Katherine vamp speeding in front of him to block them out. Hope says a spell, and suddenly everything stops. The twins finish siphoning the magic, and Alaric opens his eyes, seeing the mummy frozen in place, his hand over his heart. Mummy lets out a final moan before freezing completely.

Katherine moves out of the Headmasters way. "The curse is lifted. He's gone." Alaric breathes. Everyone sighs, filled with relief. Alaric turns to Clarke. "Well, Agent Clarke, we do any more work for you guys, you're gonna have to put us on the payroll. Guess we'll be, uh, on our way out of here." Katherine slides into her car, noticing the twins and Kaleb climb into Alaric's vehicle. "Whew." Alaric shuts the van hood. "Have a good night." He says before getting in the drivers seat and driving off. Katherine sits there for a moment when Hope suddenly gets in.

"We need to talk." Hope says sternly. Katherine starts the car, following the others down the road.

Katherine hums, "Alright, little miss Mikaelson, what's up?" She chimes. Hope looks at the vampire, who's always been in her life the last 17 years. The same girl who taught her her colors, the same girl who snuck in candy so they could watch movies late at night. Katherine is the same girl who taught her some of her first spells. Katherine was by her side at school for years. Sure, Katherine has been a student for longer than she really needed, but she was there for Hope, and her friends. Even now, Katherine is there for them.

Hopes eyes are glossy as she turns her body to face Katherine. "Are you leaving?" Her voice wavers in Katherine's ears as she speaks. Katherines breath hitches in her throat, expecting any question other than that.

The Valentine sighs, "Hope-"

"Are you leaving!?" Hope repeats, louder than before. "What did we do? What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, Hope,"

"Then why are you leaving me?"

Katherine snaps her head. "Because I'm dying, Hope!" She shouts. Hope jumps at her shout, surprised by the statement and Katherines volume. Katherine breathes heavily, looking over. "I'm sorry." She mumbles.

Hope shakes her head. "What do you mean you're dying?" Hope asks, confused. Katherine looks ahead, seeing Alaric pull the van over. Katherine slows the car, pulling up behind him.

"I think it's best we wait until we're back home." The vampire whispers. Hope's lip quivers as she opens the door, getting out and stomping to the van. Katherine sighs, starting her car and speeding away.

Hope gets in, Alaric and the others watching Katherine driving away. "Where is she going?" Alaric asks.

Hope looks at Alaric. "I think you two have something to tell us."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

After a night of events, including Josie confessing her former crush on Hope, Alaric gathers the group once again in his office, including Katherine, who stood in the far corner away from everyone. "Today was a long, intense day, and I wish I didn't have to tell you guys this right now, but, I have no other choice." Alaric says slowly.

Josie frowns, "Tell us what?" She asks.

Katherine sucks in a heavy breath, turning slowly. "I'm dying." She says shortly. The group all look at her with confused stares, except Hope.

"I'm sorry, can someone explain what the hell is happening?" Kaleb asks.

Hope stands straighter. "I think I know." Katherine looks at the Mikaelson. "I remember you and my mom always talking about a curse. A curse that would happen in only a decade at the time." Katherine looks down. "Your mom cursed you to die,"

Josie looks over at Katherine, studying the vampires defeated look. The Saltzman twin then turns to her dad. "Why didn't you tell us?" She asks him.

Katherine steps forward from the window. "I told him not to." She cuts in. "You guys are kids, you shouldn't have to worry about some stupid curse put on me when I was your age."

Hope scoffs, "You were a kid too, Katherine!"

"And I grew up. I did what I had to to save myself and you guys for the last seventeen years. Even if it meant risking my entire life." Lizzie looks at Katherine with glossy eyes. She remembers what it was like to always dream of being like Katherine. The way she always wanted to dress like Katherine, or wanted to be her friend. It was all such a fantasy, and now that same girl is dying.

Josie looks up, "Did you find a cure?" She asks softly. Katherines lip quivers, a tear rolling down her cheek as she shakes her head. Josie's face crumbles as she looks down at her feet. Alaric swallows the lump in his throat, tears threatening to spill.

"How much longer until the curse-"

"Only a week, if that," Katherine whispers. The group all suck in heavy breaths, while Hope whimpers softly. "I'm sorry." Katherine says.

Hope shakes her head, looking up. "There must be a way to save you, there must be something-"

"Hope," Alaric starts.

"No, no, we can save her. We can find something, we-" Katherine stands in front of the Mikaelson.

Katherine smiles softly, "My life has been filled with joy and people that love me, and I am content with the life I've lived." Hopes eyes water as Katherine places a hand on her cheek. "You have been my greatest joy, Little Wolf, and I have been honored to have been by your side." Katherine pulls away completely, "I'm going to go to sleep, goodnight cherubs," Is all she has left to say as she walks out of Alaric's office.