𝟑𝟑 | 𝐁𝐮𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐧

"𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍." Maxime walked back into the dungeon with his phone in hand after his conversation with the Harvest girl ended. "Marcel and Josh are missing. She wants our help finding them in exchange. But she couldn't promise that she could find a permanent solution to our problem. I also called Delia and she's on her way."

Maxime furrowed his eyebrows when his eyes landed on a troubled Kol who was sitting on the ground, his elbows resting on his bent knees with his hands tangled in his dirty blonde hair as he lowered his head. He was heavily breathing—panting. Like he had been running a marathon and couldn't get enough air in his lungs.

"Kol." Maxime called as he neared him, crouching down and placing a hand on his back. His eyes momentarily turned to Mary, who was sleeping soundly. And for the record, the woman did not volunteer to do so.

"What's wrong? Did she say something?" Max asked.

Kol didn't answer immediately. He first lifted his head, sniffling as his eyes were watering, like he had just finished crying. Panicking was the right word, though. Maxime was caught off guard by the look on the male witch's face. The vampire's gaze then started to roam around the poorly-lit room, scanning every dust of every corner. Nothing out of the ordinary. He wondered what it was that made this usually tough, fearless, and wily original shaking.

"She knows I can't hurt her. Not when she's in Mary's body." Kol finally uttered.

Maxime knitted his eyebrows together, finding the man's word rather absurd as he slightly moved away from him.

"Knowing Mary, she would rather take a beating than let that parasite of a spirit control her body for a minute longer." Maxime stated, and he was right. Mary was known to be quite possessive of the things she knew belonged to hers and hers only. Her life had been stolen from her a long time ago. She'd be damned if she'd let anyone do that to her again.

"If you won't torture her, I'll do it myself." The vampire said. Maxime was about to stand up and wake the woman with agonizing pain. But before he could even straighten his crouched legs, Kol reached out and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back down.

"Max, don't!" Kol warned. Even from the way he had grabbed him, Max could feel his fear. He had never seen Kol this scared before. And the longer he witnessed it, the more convinced he was that he was not scared for his own well-being. Perhaps not even Mary's. He knew Mary would always find a way to push through this. She didn't survive over four centuries just to lose again.

This is Mary fucking Stuart. A 'survivor' doesn't even begin to cover her with everything that she had been through.

"It's not that I won't. I can't." Kol emphasized, trying to make the vampire understand. "None of us can."

Max slightly shook his head as he looked at the male witch, puzzled and concerned, clearly oblivious to what was going on inside Kol's mind.

Kol let out a short, soft, and shaky sigh as he looked into Max's eyes before uttering the words. "She's pregnant, Max."

The vampire felt like air was knocked out of his lungs as he lost his balance from crouching down, causing him to drop completely to the ground. He had his hand quickly support him to keep himself from falling back as he stared bewildered at Kol. His best friend was pregnant.

"The witch told you that?" Maxime asked. Kol swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing before he nodded. "She's bluffing." Max added.

"That's what I said. But she's not." Kol muttered as he shook his head, his eyes wandering from Max's gaze, now looking like he's out of his mind. "I did a spell to confirm it. She's not lying."

Max's free hand crept its way to his hair, tangling itself as he registered the news to his head. He was still processing when Kol spoke again.

"The blasted witch was threatening to hurt herself whilst in Mary's body. I had to spell her to sleep." He explained, his eyes landing at the unconscious woman tied up in front of them.

The vampire turned his gaze toward the woman as well. His eyes were glistening from worry and distress. He had never been this scared for Mary since his last days as Commander for her Queen's Guard.

"That's not the only reason you're shaking." Max commented, not sparing the male witch a glance for a couple seconds before he finally did.

He found Kol looking down once more, looking like the world has been weighing down on him. And to be frank, it was true.

"It's my child, Max." Kol whispered, his voice straining from how faint it was before averting his eyes toward the vampire. "Mine. How many times have you imagined me with a kid?"

The thought never even crossed Max's mind. Ever. Because up until this moment, that was impossible.

"None." He answered honestly.

"Exactly." Kol agreed, then he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not even any good at taking care of myself. How am I supposed to father a child?"

Max couldn't find the words to comfort the original. How could he? He was right. Kol was one of the most impulsive, childish, and wildest people he had ever met. How could he raise a baby?

Once Maxime had finally regained his composure and his focus, the vampire took a deep breath before speaking.

"First of all, stop whining. We're not gonna get anything done by that." Max began. Kol gulped at the vampire's words before he started to collect himself up as Max stood up. "Second, we need to find Josh and Marcel so Davina can finally help us while we're waiting for Cordelia to come here."

Max approached Kol and dragged him up his feet and looked him in the eyes, as if trying to get his words into his head was faster that way.

"Third, we need to tell Klaus. We understand his behavior well enough to know that he'll think of torturing her to get his way. He can't do that. We need to make sure no harm comes to Mary." Kol nodded in agreement as the vampire proceeded to talk. "And fourth..."

Max trailed off. It was his turn to swallow hard while he attempted to find the words to properly say them.

"Is the baby okay?" Max asked, his gaze lowering briefly before it found Kol's again. The male witch nodded and something inside Max bursted in relief.

"All right, then. Let's get the Queen back to her throne."

• ─────────────── •

The entire time he was planning with Max, Davina, and Aiden about the rescue mission for Josh, Marcel, and the other missing vampires, Kol could not shake the thought of Mary and their child off his mind. It was already tattooed in his brain, the image of a healthy baby, the ear-to-ear smile of Mary's, him standing beside her as he looked at the child with such love. It was a future that he was scared of, but also one that he knew Mary deserved...they deserved.

Right now, he had risked his life meeting Finn to save the missing vampires, not knowing the price that he had to pay in exchange. Kol thought he had sold Finn his lies. If only he knew that Finn had something up his sleeve.

"Klaus knows you trapped Rebekah." Finn stated as he pointed at his little brother. "And yet he hasn't tracked you down to torture her location out of you?"

Marcel was tied up in a chair just a few feet away from the conversing brothers, unconscious after he got his neck snapped for the two of them to reach a deal that they would surely not reach.

"Well, I'm smart enough not to be found." Kol bragged, a mischievous smirk tugged on his lips.

Finn arched an eyebrow at the blonde witch. "You mean, you're smart enough to use Mary as your shield. Klaus always had a soft spot for her. No wonder he'd hold off on getting his hands on you. A little whisper in his ear from Mary and he'd lie down and show his belly like the hybrid puppy he is."

You have no idea, Kol thought. Mary was his shield. But not in that way. He wasn't using her to talk down Klaus from ripping him to shreds. For now, they just had a common goal.

"Then Elijah also knows Rebekah is missing and yet he remains unaccounted for." Finn pointed out. He could smell something fishy in every action his brothers were making. It was out of the ordinary. One of theirs is missing, yet not all of them were coming to her rescue.

"Despite my power, I've been unable to locate him, which suggests he's gone to great lengths to hide himself. And Elijah hides from no one." the eldest Mikaelson brother spelled out. Even Kol was beginning to understand Finn's words, especially when he had just fought with Mary about the same thing. About something that they were keeping hidden from him.

"Unless he's keeping something hidden." Finn realized.

Kol knew he was right. But unlike Mary who was practically a pathological liar—a concern which he aimed to raise in order to fix their relationship in the future—Kol had a great record for lying, but also a great record of all of it biting him in the ass.

The blonde witch scoffed at his brother's words, trying to make him think how ridiculous his assumption was to keep the remainder of his family safe.

"Wow, Finn, you...you sound like Sherlock Holmes after one too many tequilas." Kol joked.

"And you act a fool to dare think I wouldn't know about your little friends in the back."

Kol's blood had gone cold in dread. Finn took one step after another, Kol doing the exact opposite as he walked backwards. The older Mikaelson's eyes bore right into Kol's, every negative feeling being drilled right through his skull. Anger. Frustration. Betrayal.

From that moment on, he knew he was fucked.

A wave of unbearable pain shot through his mind, causing Kol to collapse knee first to the ground with a groan because of Finn's magic.

"Allow me to send a message to your friends." Finn threatened. He waved his hand yet again but nothing happened to him. Though, he suspected that the new spell was directed at the others trying to rescue the vampires.

Slowly, Kol raised to his feet, his eyes not breaking eye contact with Finn's as he did.

"Now, are you through with this little ruse, brother?" The older Mikaelson asked. Though it was more of a rhetorical question.

Kol took this opportunity to break into a sprint, swinging the nearest door open only to find a room crawling with hungry vampires at his feet. Hisses and groans echoed in his ears as fangs and dark eyes overwhelmed his sight.

He just escaped a swarm of hungry vampires, not he just waltzed into another.

Finn was closely behind him and much to Kol's luck, Finn spelled all of the vampires to sleep, their bodies colliding with the ground with a thud. But at the back of Kol's head, luck wasn't really a fitting word.

"Seems your friend Davina has absconded with one of my prisoners." Said Finn, noticing the missing vampire in his vampire army.

"Look, I didn't come here for a fight." Kol tried to convince him. He knew this was a losing game. He was no match against Finn who was channeling their parents. "The little witch asked me to be a distraction, and in exchange...she'll help Mary."

The vengeful witch narrowed his eyes at the troubled one, curiosity shining in his eyes at the words of his brother. But even though Kol can be really stupid at times, there was no way he was telling Finn that the love of his life was pregnant with his child.

Finn was too far gone. He doubted his older brother would drop all this vengeance stuff and come be an uncle to their unborn child.

"The spirit has taken over control of her body." Kol said. It was the truth. But not the whole truth. He learned that from Mary.

The man simply chuckled at Kol before grabbing him by the back of the neck, their foreheads colliding as Finn spoke.

"Don't you see? We were given a gift." Finn said through his gritted teeth before they pushed each other away. "Rebirth!"

"Unfettered by vampirism. We were made clean. And all that was asked was a pittance in return and you could not even give that." Finn said, each word coming out of his mouth like spitting venom.

Kol began to fear for his own life. And not because of himself. But because if something were to happen to him, what about Mary? What about their child?

"Finn. You're angry." Kol pointed out. "And when you're angry, you don't think straight. So just give me a chance—"

"You don't deserve another chance. Kol." Finn exclaimed. And for a moment there, he saw vulnerability in Kol's eyes. He saw fear. And regret. Then he grabbed him by the head. "So I'm gonna give you the one thing I know you fear most."

Kol's life flashed before his eyes. Scene after scene. Memory after memory. Each of them contained Mary's face, whether it was good or bad. Then the life he could've had flashed. The birth of their baby. The love they could've shared. The home they could've lived in with their family.

Because he himself knew what he feared the most.

"Death." Finn said.

Because what he feared the most, meant the loss of everything and everyone he loved the most.

"No." Kol tried to protest only for Finn to grab him by the chest, an incantation rolling off his tongue like a second language, earning pained groans and whimpers to escape the frightened lips of one Kol Mikaelson.

"I curse you to this body, unable to jump to another." Finn declared as he proceeded with the spell. "Over the next few days, I want you to contemplate what's to come. A meaningless, lonely death, and the darkness to follow."

And with that, he released him.

Kol stumbled backwards as he felt the rush of anxiety building up in his body.

"Clock starts now. Be sure to say your goodbyes." Finn said. There was nothing but coldness in his voice. Not a hint of care or worry. Nothing.

Kol glared at him through his glistening eyes.

"Go, brother." the older Mikaelson said. "I will not miss you."

And he meant every word.

• ─────────────── •

"Where is she?" Asked Klaus.

Maxime rolled his eyes at the original hybrid, pissed that he had only arrived now when he was really needed earlier.

"Nice of you to show up." Maxime commented.

"I had things to take care of." Klaus simply responded. He wasn't lying though. They were also important things. He had to visit Hayley at the Bayou after finding out that the prenuptial rituals for Hayley and Jackson's wedding required one that would spill all of their family secrets.

And one in particular was something Klaus didn't want her to spill.

"She's tied up in the dungeon." Maxime finally said.

A smug grin stretched on Klaus's face as he started marching away. "Well, perhaps I should give her a little taste of Mikaelson hospitality."

\Maxime turned around when the original hybrid walked past him before he spoke.

"You're not going to hurt her, Klaus." The younger vampire told him.

Klaus halted his tracks and whirled around, the grin on his lips slightly decreasing at the sound of Maxime's voice. He never responded well to orders.

"I believe you're mistaken because I can very much so." The hybrid answered.

Maxime looked away with an annoyed expression plastered across his face. "She's pregnant."

Klaus's smile instantly vanished.

"With your brother's baby." the younger vampire added.

His feet shifted uncomfortably in his position, his mouth opening as if ready to argue with Maxime about it only for him to realize quickly that it wasn't worth it. He clamped his mouth shut, as well as his eyes before he sighed deeply.

It took him a couple of seconds to calm down before his eyes fluttered open, immediately meeting the black-haired vampire's gaze.

"If that's true, we better make sure that we keep her far away from Finn's or Dahlia's grasps." Klaus declared.

Maxime furrowed his eyebrows at the mention of Dahlia's name. He didn't know her. But after the recent turn of events, Klaus now has no choice but to inform him and Kol about the story of their eldest sister and their aunt.

• ─────────────── •

Currently on duty at the airport, thought I should post a couple of chapters while waiting for my next flight. How have y'all been?