Esmeray loved being a werewitch.

One, it had been very easy to put a boundary spell over the warehouse to keep any unwanted guests from getting in. She'd added an extra component (due to Keelin's brilliant idea) that would make the boundary trap anyone in a one hundred meter radius in spiderwebs, so Esmeray could see who was following them and deal with them accordingly.

Two, she was able to do a spell to keep the venom-extracting mask from inflicting too much pain on Keelin.

"This is totally not kinky," said Keelin, trying to diffuse the tension. "I'm not into this sort of thing."

"Trust me, neither am I," said Esmeray, adjusting the mask before slipping it onto Keelin, making the wolf wince. "I'm sorry. I know it still hurts a bit. Just ten minutes, that's all it should take to extract enough venom."

Keelin nodded slowly, squeezing her eyes shut. Esmeray moved off to the side, opening the lids of each of the coffins to reveal the sleeping bodies of Freya, Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah. She then took out her vials of venom and her prepared mortar and pestle with herbs already inside of it. She started to crush the herbs, setting some burning sage on the side before using chalk to draw an unfortunately lopsided star that had seven peaks.

She wove her hand over the star, making it even where some of the lines had curved themselves. Yet another reason to be thankful about her magic.

"Everything's ready," she muttered to herself, setting the six vials on six of the peaks, leaving the last empty vial for Keelin's venom. Freya would need to be the one performing the spell, as she'd been the one who put them to sleep in the first place.

Esmeray could hear movement outside, and rolled her eyes, knowing that whoever had been following them had now arrived. She moved toward the warehouse entrance, seeing three suburbans pulling up. From inside of each, nine vampires emerged, and they split to try the different entrances to the warehouse, only to find spiderwebs shooting out and trapping them in place.

"Ooh, I'm gonna pitch this idea to Marvel," said Esmeray with a grin, seeing that nearly all of the vampires were trapped. Only a few lingered free, and they weren't about to get any closer to the warehouse.

Apparently, they thought something else might work. She saw them pulling out a few guns, and they started to fire a few rounds at the wall. From inside, she wove her hands, and the spiderwebs wrapped around the bullets before sending them bouncing back the way they came, hitting the vampires and successfully trapping all of them.

Esmeray's phone rang to let her know Keelin's ten minutes were up. She quickly removed the mask, handing her a bottle of water and some yogurt to enjoy while she put the venom in the final vial and set it on the star.

"Okay, Freya," she said, going to the eldest Mikaelson's coffin. "Wakey wakey." She put her hand on her forehead and concentrated, managing to jump back as Freya shot up, clutching her chest and gasping for air.

"Good afternoon," chirped Esmeray, offering her a hand to get up. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," said the witch, catching her breath after a moment and climbing out of the coffin. "Did you get everything?" Esmeray nodded. "Good, I need to begin. If I can't turn all that into a cure, Elijah and Kol are going to die."

"Jeez, thanks for lifting my spirits," said Esmeray, seeing that Keelin looked pretty shocked with the revelation that Freya might not succeed. "Do you need me to help, or something? Why wouldn't it work?"

"Well, we've never done this before," said Freya, kneeling down by the bowl and the vials. "We're trying a spell for the first time, and there's no guarantee it'll work."

"Ah, the one time I made up a spell to impress your brother, it went better than expected for me. Do you need me to do a spell on them in the meantime, or can I go question the not-so-friendly bastards outside?"

"No, it's alright, you go. I don't feel good knowing someone's trying to get us."

Esmeray moved past Keelin, who seemed to be quite intrigued by Freya. She exited the warehouse and approached one of the vampires, who, even wrapped in webs, was trying desperately to wiggle toward the car to get his phone.

The werewitch kicked his hand down, making him grunt in pain as she leaned over him. "Who sent you?" she asked, remaining expressionless. "Tell me, or I'll just go into your mind."

When he didn't answer, she put her hand on his forehead, getting a flash of memories that let her know that an apparent Alistair Duquesne was behind this.

"Oh, fucking perfect, he's in New Orleans," she said darkly before swiping her palm out and magically ripping out the vampire's heart.

One by one, she went around, checking phones and minds to make sure no one had given Alistair any updates about their position. Once she was sure all was fine, she killed them. Maybe she didn't have to, but she certainly wanted to. Several of them had been present the night that the Compound was wrecked. She didn't think they deserved to live.

Wiping her hands on her jeans, she went in just as Freya was finishing the spell, placing the liquid formed from the combined venoms into a syringe Esmeray had left in the bag she'd used to transport her materials. She went to inject Kol first, then Elijah, before motioning for Esmeray to wake Rebekah up.

The werewitch put her hands on Rebekah's shoulders to sit her up as she did the spell, allowing the blonde to wake up without shooting up and accidentally hitting her head on the coffin lid. She helped her to her feet just as Elijah and Kol got up, looking around, surprised at the scenery.

"So," said Esmeray, going to another cooler she brought and opening it to reveal blood bags. "I have three for each of you before we drive into Louisiana and find some other humans for you to feed on. I know it's not much, but I labeled the bags. Elijah, I know you hate O positive, so any O positive has Kol's name on it—"

The youngest brother rushed to the cooler immediately, finding the three bags with his name and hungrily tearing into them.

"Awesome," said Esmeray with a slight smile. "The three AB's are for you, Elijah, and the B negatives are for you, Rebekah."

The vampires started to feed immediately, and Keelin gave a squeak, watching how easily they tore through the bags.

"Well," said Esmeray, going to help her up. "If you feel well, feel free to take one of the suburbans outside and go back home."

"What?" said Freya. "No, we can't just let her go, what if we need more of her venom?"

"I've got a spell to multiply the amounts, it won't be necessary."

"Hold on," said Keelin, who actually didn't seem to want to leave. "I mean, I have this week off, and I don't know if they're waiting at my house for me, so..."

"So I'll give you the address of the safe house so that you can wait there for us," said Esmeray, taking out some post-its and writing Hayley's address before giving it to her. "I'll let Hayley know you're coming. Just for safety—" she swiped her hand in the air over Keelin's face. "There."

"What did you do?" she asked, not feeling any different. But she looked down at the post it and saw the written address was gone.

"I've made you absorb the memory of the address just so you can get there. As soon as you arrive, you won't remember it anymore. Also, if you try to tell anyone, you'll be mind controlled into texting me and admitting that you're working for someone that's trying to hurt my family."

If Keelin had a problem with this, she didn't voice it. Maybe she was so confused, she didn't know what to say.

"Cool," she said before going to the suburbans outside.

"The rest of you, let's pick whichever car she doesn't take," said Esmeray, pointing at the coffins and making them disappear. "Now, those things can finally go back to wherever I stole them from in the first place— I don't remember. We have to ditch the trailer, too, no way am I going to drive that into New Orleans."

The four Originals followed after her like ducklings after she packed up her materials, leading them to one of the other cars amidst the crowd of vampire corpses. Esmeray got into the driver's seat while Rebekah rode shotgun, the others piled in the back seat.

"What's the plan?" asked Freya after Esmeray began to drive to New Orleans.

"We're going to rescue Klaus," she said simply.

"What, today?" asked Kol.

"Yes, is that an inconvenience for you?"

Rebekah turned to face him. "Hasn't Nik suffered enough?"

"Yes," said Kol. "And I've died, twice. I'm not about to give Marcel a shot at a third. Now, I say, we draw that Muppet out of town, and when he's gone..."

"We don't have time to be luring him out," Esmeray sighed. "Besides, I took the memories of the vampires that were outside of the warehouse. Alistair Duquesne is there with Marcel, and so are a bunch of other vampires who want a glimpse of Klaus on this fifth anniversary. We need to go in and out as fast as we can, and be out of Louisiana entirely before Marcel realizes Klaus is even missing."

"And how in the bloody hell are we going to do that?" asked Kol.

"I've done various Locator Spells on Klaus. Now, he's cloaked enough that I can't pinpoint what part of the French Quarter he's in, but the point is, he's there, and I'm betting Marcel still has him in the Compound. Maybe in the dungeons beneath it. We need a way to distract Marcel."

"I can go and speak to him," said Rebekah. "He will—"

"Rebekah, no," said Elijah in a grave tone. "Who will keep him from biting you, next? Do not speak to me about some ludicrous diversion. You'd be walking into a lion's den."

"Marcel will not hurt me, Elijah, he had plenty of opportunities to do so, and he didn't."

"There must be another way."

"Well," said the werewitch, "I don't know what other brilliant ideas you have, Elijah. He won't want to see you after you killed him. He won't want to see Kol and Freya after what happened with Davina. It's either me or Rebekah, and it probably shouldn't be me. Just because he let me live before doesn't mean he won't kill me now. He's never cared for me the way he cares for Rebekah. Besides, if Klaus is cloaked, Freya and I need to work together to do that spell."

"And if Bex can't stall him?" asked Kol. "What's to stop him from chewing into our bloody throats?"

"We have a cure now, and I have enough venom from all the Packs to make it on the fly. Freya, you can even make some right now if you're bored." She gestured toward the bag at the woman's feet. "Marcel doesn't know we have a cure, but he definitely knows that all of your lives were linked to Klaus's."

She cleared her throat to continue voicing her ideas. "We'll be stopping soon for some food for all of you— real food and blood, too. There's a prison nearby and a few fast food places. I think, if Elijah drives, Freya and I can do a Locator Spell from within Louisiana, while channeling Kol and Rebekah, to make sure Klaus is in the Compound. If he is, then getting in will be simple enough."

They only stopped briefly for the three youngest siblings to feed on some of the prisoners heading out on a shuttle bus before continuing to make their way to the French Quarter of New Orleans. As stated, Esmeray and Freya performed their spell to confirm that Klaus was indeed in the Abattoir, and also underground in the dungeons.

"Josh is in there," said Esmeray, peeking out the window when they parked in front of Rousseau's. "I don't sense Marcel. Rebekah, go, your part is up. The rest of us will go in..." she pulled out her phone and called Josh.

"Uh, hello?" he answered after a few seconds. "Esmeray?"

"Get everyone out of Rousseau's right now, pretty please, because I would really hate to blow it up."

Josh seemed to get the memo. He ushered the guests out and looked out the door uncertainly as Elijah sped Freya and himself in, while Kol and Esmeray darted in after them.

"Why are you all here?" asked Josh worriedly.

"Simple," said Esmeray. "We're here to get Klaus. You know I appreciate you, Josh, but if you try to stop us or tell Marcel, then I'll make sure to snap your neck."

Josh held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't tell Marcel, I swear. I'm guessing if you're here... you know where he is."

"Yep. I know there is an entrance to the underground tunnels here. So, open it for us, please."

"At least you said please," said Josh, going toward where a freezer was and moving it before popping open a secret door. "Okay, here you go. So uh, good luck, break a leg, and I'll just be on my way."

"What, so you can rat us out to Marcel once we're down there?" asked Kol. "Not bloody likely."

"Stay here and watch him," Esmeray asked politely. "That way, you'll be here when Rebekah gets back, and the two of you can take the car to a rendezvous point of your choice. Deal?"

"Fine by me," said Kol, smirking at Josh, who looked afraid. "Happy to stay and have a drink and eviscerate anyone who tries to follow you."

The rest of them moved underground, and with Esmeray in the lead, taking advantage of her soulmate bond with Klaus and the sharp memory of his smell, moved through the tunnels as fast as she could.

"Klaus!" she whispered when they came upon a large iron door with a lock and chains on it. She kicked through it, and bolted forward, coming to a screeching stop before hitting a salt barrier that kept Klaus trapped. His shirt had blood over the center of it, and judging by the faraway look in his eyes, he had Papa Tunde's blade inside of him.

"Niklaus," said Elijah, coming to crouch by the border. "We're here."

"This spell is strong," said Freya, feeling over the barrier. "It's been reinforced over time, which means it's going to take time to break."

"We don't have time," said the elder brother impatiently.

"Together, we can break it, Freya," said Esmeray, offering her hand. "Come on. You choose the spell."

Freya nodded. "Elijah, keep watch, please." She closed her eyes and began to chant, "Apne en vrata, apne en vrata..."

"Apne en vrata," Esmeray joined in, "apne en vrata..."

Elijah perked up at the sound of someone coming. "Whatever happens," he said, "do not stop until Niklaus is free." The two nodded before he sped away, and at ground level, Esmeray heard him say, "Hello, Marcellus."

Both women tensed. If Marcel was here, was Rebekah okay? Was Kol? They didn't have time to wonder. They started to chant faster and louder, each pressing their palms against the border as hard as they could. Esmeray could see Klaus was moving, as if he could sense they were there.

"Klaus," said Esmeray pleadingly, continuing the spell without speaking the words. "Wake up. We need to get out of here quickly. I know that you can hear me. I need you to pull the blade out of yourself. That's an order. It would also make me really happy if you did."

It was nice to know the Alpha in her could come in handy sometimes. Klaus, unable to resist a direct command that would bring his soulmate happiness, was able to put his hand on his chest, grunting out as he reached in and pulled the blade out, just as Freya and Esmeray tore through the barrier.

Esmeray burst in, pulling him to his feet as soon as the blade was out. "Feed," she told him, sensing he was weak.

He bit into her neck, and she gripped onto him, holding him steady as she felt his legs wobbling beneath him. Soon enough, they became sturdy, and she knew her blood had helped him.

The three moved upstairs, where they could hear Marcel knocking Elijah around. "You tore my heart out and threw me off a bridge," he said venomously. "And your brother just stood by and watched. There is only one justice left."

Klaus leapt forward, taking advantage of the element of surprise, and stabbed Papa Tune's blade into Marcel. "Niklaus," said Elijah in surprise, grabbing onto him as he swayed a bit. Esmeray grabbed onto Freya before holding onto Elijah's jacket for him to speed all of them away down the tunnels, coming to a stop where they'd entered in Rousseau's. They stopped to listen above, and could not hear Kol or Rebekah there.

"I can smell them," Klaus mumbled, leaning onto Elijah and Esmeray. "That way." He pointed down one of the tunnels that led into the Bayou.

Elijah grabbed hold of all of them before heading where Klaus had indicated. The four came to a stop at the exit of a drainage pipe leading into a small stream, where Kol and Rebekah waited, seated upon boulders.

"Nik!" Rebekah cried, running to embrace him.

"Hey, you can hug him later," said Freya urgently, making a beeline for the suburban. "We need to leave."

"Marcel will be catching up," Esmeray agreed. "Come on, we should—"

"Actually, I'm right here."

Rebekah and Esmeray both immediately stepped between Marcel and Klaus before the Enhanced Original could advance. "You shouldn't have come back," he said lowl. "None of you."

"You don't control us," Esmeray shot back. "No one does."

"That's what family does, Marcel," Rebekah told him. "We fight for each other."

"Yeah, so I've heard," he retorted. "Though, it didn't really work out for me, did it?"

Kol scoffed. "Oh, for God's sake, you were never a Mikaelson, get over it. Don't you have a city to run? Vampires to boot out of town?"

Marcel made to lunge at him, but Rebekah blocked his path. "If you want to kill one of us, you'll have to kill us all."

The younger vampire held up his finger. "Don't push me, Rebekah."

"Then get on with it!" she challenged. "Let's end this once and for all."

"That's enough," said Klaus, moving toward Marcel. "That's enough, Marcel, you've won. New Orleans was our city once. Now it's yours. For good."

"Is the great Klaus Mikaelson accepting defeat? Or is this all just another distraction?"

"Neither. In fact, despite your appalling behavior, I'm offering you a chance at peace. Attempt to kill us all, and you will be making a mistake. Any who survived would no doubt return to seek revenge, bringing our enemies back to your city in our wake. And even if you did manage to eliminate us all, one day my daughter would come for you. And her daughter after that. On and on for all your days— an endless cycle of violence you will bring upon yourself. Or... Or we leave and we never come back."

Marcel glared at him almost hatefully. "After all that time buried in a hole, you still got some nerve. Yeah, well, you stand there with a straight face and try to sell this like it's your choice. But here's the truth. I could kill all of you right now. And tonight, I would sleep like a baby. Hell, that's what you would do. You've destroyed more people, taken more lives, ended more families than anyone who's ever lived. All because you can. But here's the other truth. Despite being raised by you people I am nothing like any of you. In fact, I'm proud as hell I'm not a Mikaelson. I beat you all without turning into you. And now you can live the rest of your lives knowing that the only reason that you exist is because I am showing you mercy."

"Cool," said Esmeray with a snort. "But newsflash, Marcel. I saw into the minds of twenty-seven vampires before coming here. I've seen your violent acts. You're just like us, whether you like it or not." She shoved a piece of paper into his hand. "Here. A copy of the spell I will use to bring back Davina. Before you act like we're rotten to the core, I'll have you know that on the way here, Kol and Elijah offered to let me channel them while Freya and I perform the spell to bring her back. But fuck family, hmm?"

Marcel's hand shook as he looked down at the paper. "Go," he said gruffly. "And don't ever come back."

With a growl, she brushed past him, the rest of them making their way to the car and piling in quickly. Esmeray moved to the furthest row back, and Klaus came to sit with her, bringing her into a tight embrace.

"Hi," she said softly, smoothing her hand through his curls.

"Hello, love," he whispered, running his knuckles down her face before kissing her.