"Marcel, all I need you to do is get the stake Klaus keeps locked in the slaughterhouse vault," the witch said confidently.
"Why the hell is a stake so important?" Marcel asked, already irritated with the woman.
"It's nothing special. Think of it as a trophy Klaus keeps after cutting down someone he feared," Esther lied through her teeth. There was no way she was handing valuable information to Marcel for free.
"Klaus fears nothing," Marcel grumbled.
"A few days ago, you thought you could defeat real ancient vampires with nothing but an army," Esther shot back. "You know nothing, Marcel. Klaus fears many things."
"…"
Marcel tried to argue, but after everything he'd recently learned, he couldn't exactly deny her words.
"Fine. I'll get the damn stake. But what are you planning to do with it? The Originals are immortal."
Esther's eyes gleamed.
"Nothing is immortal. Not vampires, not Originals, and not even gods. Everything can be killed." She stared at him intensely. "What I plan to do with the stake doesn't concern you. What matters is that it'll help you defeat Klaus. Now go."
The Slaughterhouse
Klaus paced back and forth like a caged animal.
Elijah looked deep in thought, while Kol sat on the couch eating Doritos in complete silence.
"Kol, what else can you tell me about my son's mother?" Klaus finally muttered.
Kol looked up.
"Oh, come on. Again?"
"Is there any chance she'll turn Nik against me?" Klaus actually sounded worried.
"I don't think his mother needs mind games to destroy you," Kol sighed in annoyance. "Relax. Nik isn't going to hate you out of nowhere… unless you really piss him off."
"That's exactly what scares me, Kol," Elijah muttered.
He stared into the distance, putting every single vampire brain cell to work.
"At first it was just us, random vampires, witches, and occasionally werewolves." He sighed again. "Then we discover the Nobles, a worldwide vampire order that keeps our species hidden from humanity. Then the Alphas, an evolved race of werewolves and vampires with strange abilities."
Elijah looked genuinely anxious.
"We've been completely out of touch with the important things happening in the world our entire lives. And to make matters worse, my idiot brother managed to have a child with the leader of the largest witch clan in the world and didn't even know his son existed until the boy introduced himself to us. The idiot didn't even know the mother's name or what she looked like."
"That's not my fault!" Klaus snarled. "If I'd known about Nik, I would've raised him!"
"Mikael is also alive," Elijah said coldly. "You said you killed him."
"I DID kill him! I don't know how he's alive!" Klaus roared.
Kol jumped into the conversation.
"Did you kill him… or did you think you killed him?"
Klaus glared at him.
"You saw Amara's powers, didn't you? And strangely enough, Mikael had every opportunity to come after us, and he didn't. In fact, he's been ignoring us. And yes, Klaus, he's seen you several times… and even helped suppress those warrior werewolves. Our father seems to be ignoring us."
Kol smirked.
"And knowing your son…"
Klaus frowned.
"Are you saying my son made me think I killed Mikael?"
"No. I think he negotiated for Mikael's survival. I don't know how, but Mikael is much stronger than you, Klaus, and you're a hybrid."
Kol tossed another Dorito into his mouth.
"And he was at war with several witch clans in Eastern Europe. Every one of those clans had one thing in common—a clan called Hansen."
"Wait…" Elijah's eyes widened. "At the ball, Nik called our mother a Hansen."
"Exactly." Kol suddenly looked interested. "And apparently our dear father hates that clan more than he hates us. And your son seems to hate them too, judging by the venom in his voice when he called our mother by that surname."
Kol sat up.
"Think about it. He wanted to teach the Nobles a lesson. He manipulated me into attacking them. I switched sides and joined the Nobles, but the message was delivered and they stopped causing problems."
He grinned.
"But Nik knew there was a chance I'd join them."
Everything suddenly clicked.
"So my nephew might have negotiated with Mikael in an attempt to destroy this Hansen clan," Elijah said seriously. "The question is… our mother was a Hansen. According to my nephew, Mikael hates the Hansens enough to possibly make a deal and leave us alone just to attack them."
He frowned.
"In theory, we also have Hansen blood. So why does my nephew hate them? And why would Mikael agree to this?"
Kol shrugged.
"Simple. Maybe Mikael wasn't brave enough."
Both brothers looked at him.
"The Nobles said most of supernatural Eastern Europe is under that clan's control. If my nephew gets involved, then the Bennett Clan is probably involved too. Mikael wouldn't fight that war alone."
He paused.
"But that's just a theory."
They were so absorbed in the conversation that none of them noticed someone silently entering the house.
"Damn… more things we don't know."
A loud noise suddenly echoed through the building.
All three jumped.
"Who's there?!"
They vanished and reappeared inside another room.
The vault was open.
"Oh, for the love of—!"
Klaus punched the safe so hard it bent inward.
"What was in the vault, Niklaus?" Elijah asked cautiously.
Klaus looked horrified.
"A White Oak Stake."
"...What?"
Elijah instantly grabbed him by the throat.
"WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE A WHITE OAK STAKE?!"
"I…"
Klaus didn't get to finish.
BAM!
Elijah punched him in the face.
"Damn it, Niklaus! You're always making everything worse!"
He stared directly into Klaus's eyes.
"We are getting that stake back. And if you cause even more problems…" his voice became icy, "I swear I will find a way to punish you more than any pain you've ever suffered in your life."
For once, Klaus actually shivered under his older brother's gaze.
Esther's House
Marcel arrived and found Esther waiting for him with a smile.
"I got it," he said, holding up the stake. "Here."
"Excellent."
Esther took it and casually tossed it into a strange boiling pot.
She then added a few drops of blood.
"I don't have the blood of a doppelgänger, but I managed to get the blood of someone from the Bennett line. It won't be as powerful as Alaric… but it'll be enough."
She began chanting a spell.
"What are you doing?" Marcel asked.
"Quiet."
She finished the spell and stopped.
"It's ready."
She poured some of the strange soup into a cup.
"Drink."
"What?" Marcel stepped back.
Suddenly, his body moved on its own.
"What are you doing to me?!"
Esther didn't answer.
Marcel lifted the cup against his will and drank.
Then—
THUD!
Esther drove the stake straight into his heart.
Veins exploded across his body.
He collapsed to the ground, dead.
Esther watched with amusement.
A few seconds later, Marcel's body began convulsing violently.
Then the veins slowly disappeared.
He took a sudden breath.
Esther smiled.
"It worked."
She looked down at him.
"Not as powerful as Alaric… but we now have an Enhanced Original. It will be enough to deal with my children."
Her expression darkened.
"Meanwhile… my sisters and I will deal with my grandson."