Three days later, the first enemy struck.

Klaus was already in the worst mood possible given Freya had resurrected Finn and he was having to stay at the Compound while they figured out where he would build a home.

"Don't engage if you don't want to," Yara reminded him gently when he nearly broke a bottle of whiskey just watching Freya and Finn eat in the dining room. "He'll be gone soon enough."

"It's horrid enough having to be cooped up here," said Klaus sourly. "His presence only exacerbates the issue."

Yara was looking for the right moment to talk to Finn, hoping they could part without hatred toward each other. She wouldn't say she hated Finn but she definitely didn't like him, and she knew he felt the same way about her.

"Good afternoon," said Yara while Klaus watched Hope, pushing a bowl of feijoada to him. He only stared at it. "It's a Brazilian dish... black beans, pork, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots–?"

"Thank you," he said grudgingly, taking a spoon and beginning to eat. "Freya was telling me about what ended up happening."

"Yes. That demon child you loathed persevered and she's actually quite cute. I wouldn't be opposed to you meeting her if you wanted to."

He stared at his spoon. "You were right. Anything and anyone could be killed. You all defeated Dahlia. And what was it you said–? 'Anyone who comes for my children will wish for the mercy of hell and the devil. Anything will be preferable to what I do.' Freya claims that Dahlia was hardly recognizable by the time you were done with her."

She shrugged. "I make good on my threats. The ones I made towards you, however, I dismiss, provided you're no longer a threat to my daughter. I do wish to apologize for being rude. I was upset with you and the situation and perhaps I could have been a bit more understanding of your perspective."

"You're... apologizing?"

"Yes. I will always do anything I can to keep my daughter safe. That, I will not say sorry for. But my behavior could have been different, could have been better. I didn't need to approach the situation with aggression. I ought to have remained patient."

"Oh. I suppose... I ought to apologize for the threat against your daughter. I was afraid. As I told you, my mother filled my head with the terror of what would happen to all of us if that child lived. I admit, I didn't have faith that my brother would manage to stop Dahlia. I was sure we would all perish, sure that my fate would always be linked to them and their mistakes, their impulsive decisions and inability to empathize. You were right, it has been said that I was the most moral of my siblings but I did not behave morally with you. You were right to say that when we spoke, you didn't see a moral man, but a coward. I have no love for my siblings and I don't wish to remain here any longer than I have to. But I can apologize to you, Yara Lopes, for the way I responded to your questions."

She offered him a smile. "Thank you. Wherever it is you go after this, I wish you well. And if you'd ever like to visit... you know where to find us."

Klaus made no effort to talk to Finn even when he saw him asking Yara about her life, the few details everyone in the family already knew except for him. He sulked and made faces, then one morning, began to rip things out of his safe.

"Are you alright?" said Yara, unsure what he was doing with a stack of old letters that she didn't recall seeing there before. "Are those the–?"

"Yes," he said, making so much noise that Freya and Elijah came to investigate. "The letters of my victims."

Freya looked at Yara in a way that suggested her brother suddenly reminded her of someone straight out of Criminal Minds. "You collect trophies from all your victims?"

"Letter stop their loved ones, to be specific," said Elijah.

Klaus ignored them. "It was a phase."

"A phase in which we were forced to learn a different kind of stealth. You see, over time, Niklaus' enemies grew so numerous, we had no choice but to artfully withdraw from the world. And then... well, I wouldn't exactly describe our presence in this city as discrete. Wouldn't you agree, Niklaus?"

He huffed. "This city is crawling with vampires, all of whom had no choice but to shield me from potential foes! Were I to die, they would die, too. I couldn't have been more safe! And now my sire link is undone. Those very foes will come for me... Like never before. I am tired of waiting here with Finn for company."

Freya sighed. "It's only been a few days since the link was broken. Must you jump into crippling paranoia already? Finn will be gone soon."

Elijah rolled his eyes when Klaus continued to scowl. "It's a default setting."

"And for good reason!" said Klaus hotly.

"Well, Niklaus, if it offers you any solace whatsoever, you've ransacked Aya's belongings, torched Aurora's hunting ground, and obliterated every last splinter of the white oak."

"I would be mad to believe that," said Klaus. He shook his head, figuring they were going to be of no help. "That's it, I'm going for a walk."

He didn't allow anyone to accompany him. Yara was mending one of his shirts in the courtyard when he stormed back in, white as a sheet.

"What happened?" she asked immediately. "Are you okay?"

"I saw one of my sirelings," he said, storming back up to where the letters waited patiently. This time, Kol joined them in the study, more interested with the sight of his brother looking as though he might collapse out of fear. "It was him... Gaspar Cortez."

Yara made a face. "Um, which one is that, again?"

"Yes, remind me, who is this Cortez?" asked Kol.

"The youngest son of a particularly vile family of warlords I dealt with in the seventeenth century," he said, mostly because Freya had no context whatsoever while the others had vague memories.

Elijah snapped his fingers, "Didn't they burn that philistine pigsty into the ground?"

Klaus scoffed, offended. "Pigsty? Belaga was my favorite artist retreat!"

"Ugh, Belaga," said Kol. "That place was hideous."

Elijah grinned. "Thank you, Kol!"

"No taste, either of you," muttered Klaus. "His family decimated Belaga. Someone had to pay for that, so I murdered Gaspar's brute of a father."

Freya knew that wasn't the end. "And–?"

"And one or two–"

"–five–" corrected Elijah.

"Five," muttered Klaus, "of his bloodthirsty brothers."

"I swear there was a mistress somewhere in this story," chimed Yara.

Klaus threw up his hands. "That was an accident!"

"The point is," said Elijah, "that Gaspar was but a footnote."

"Until he became a vampire, hell-bent on hunting me," said Klaus. "He's a cunning deviant, known to compel hoards of the helpless to aid him with his tasks. You see, this is exactly what I was concerned about. Devils of all kinds, crawling out of their crevices to strike at me."

"Alright, calm down!" said Kol. "This, we can do something about. I think I know exactly how to find your enemies." He held up the stack of letters. "Mind if I burn these?"

Klaus wove his hand dismissively, "Go right on ahead."

Yara approached Klaus once the others left the room. "If you'd like," she said, caressing his face, "I can go find Cortez and kill him."

"No," he demanded. "You stay here."

"Oh, Klaus, Cortez is younger than me! In the 1600s when we was still a human causing trouble, I had already established my reputation and been trained with Strix techniques."

"He's hunted down members of The Strix!"

"And we defeated The Strix. In fact, Hayley and I defeated them, you were asleep."

"Not of my own volition! Besides, it was the wolves who defeated them."

"I can handle someone like Cortez. Stay with Kol, see what he's going to do with his spell. I'll go out and find him."

"Yara, he may not be alone."

"From the sound of it... he will be. Whatever his business here, I will find out."

It didn't take long to find Cortez. One of Marcel's vampires had seen him enter Rousseau's, and Cami had confirmed this with a quick text letting her know the man was there with Vincent Griffith, who he was forcing into some spell, having compelled the patrons to kill one another if anyone harmed him.

Yara prepared herself before walking in. She had a knife and a stake tucked in her jacket, and compelled an electrician to shut off all power in Rousseau's on her signal (which would be Cami walking out). The patrons couldn't hurt one another if they couldn't see Cortez being harmed. It was just enough time for Yara to take him elsewhere.

"Cami," said Yara happily, walking into Rousseau's as if nothing was wrong. "You have a full house here. I brought those kegs that you requested, they're in my car." She tossed her a set of keys that didn't belong to her at all. "Oh, hey! Vincent, you're here."

Gaspar Cortez stared at her as she walked closer, clearly recognizing her. "Yara Lopes," he said coldly.

She had never seen him before, and it wasn't hard for her to pretend she had no clue who he was. "Have we met before?" She asked. "The accent is familiar but it's been awhile since I traveled."

The lights went out. She whisked Gaspar out through the back door faster than he expected, slamming him into the wall of the alley with the stake pressed to his chest.

"You have a minute to tell me what the hell you're doing here," she snarled, knee up and pressing into his groin.

He laughed darkly, though it was cut off when she began to squeeze his throat harder. "Niklaus could not come to face me himself? He had to send his little girlfriend?"

"He's handling someone a lot more threatening than you," she said sweetly. "You weren't worth his time. And honestly, now that I think about it? You're not even worth mine."

She stabbed the stake into his throat, shoving him to the ground as he gagged and bringing out the knife, using it to slice off four of his fingers. "Let's see which one of these opens your phone," she hummed, pressing the different tips until one unlocked it. "Perfect!" She stabbed the knife into his forehead, looking at his messages before ripping her hand into his chest and removing his heart. "Okay. So this may be a big problem."

"What happened?" asked Klaus when she came back with Gaspar's head and set it on the courtyard table.

"He didn't tell me anything, but his phone did. Since they were invented, it's easier for all the bad guys to stay and touch and boy, did they ever. Seems someone's been spreading rumors about Aurora leaving behind a piece of white oak. There's a race to find it. What's this?" She stared down at a map Kol had made, with small drops of blood all over it, many heading toward New Orleans.

"A map tracking my enemies," said Klaus. "The rumors have spread... they're coming."

Vincent didn't have good news for her when she called him to ask if that was what Gaspar had been having him do. There was white oak, he was sure of it, but he didn't know where; he hadn't had to complete his spell. And he couldn't, it seemed, because the Ancestors had it hidden away.

"In hindsight," said Kol with a chuckle as Klaus tried to decide what the next move was, "we could've been nicer to people. Or at least left fewer survivors."

"We don't know all their motivations," said Klaus, gesturing to Elijah. "Half of these people could want to put the bullet in your heart! End the sire war with the pull of a trigger."

Elijah wasn't worried, given some Strix vampires remained in the city. "I have an army devoted to keeping me alive. The only people that care to protect you are standing in this very room. As you well know, Niklaus, there is another way."

Klaus looked at Yara, nodding his head. Freya's eyes widened. "You're going to run?"

The hybrid laughed weakly. "There was a time when the name Klaus Mikaelson was little more than a rumor. A shadowy figure who cast fear into the very bones of any who heard whisper of him. I don't run, sister. I disappear. Yara and I have managed to remain hidden from the world for long stretches of time. We will do it again."

It was easier to disappear with Kol's help. There was no jumping through hoops and struggling to find a witch who would cloak them. Freya cast the spell that shielded them and Kol had brilliantly used the map to trick their enemies. If anyone did a Locator Spell, they'd think that Klaus was in New Orleans.

"You know, for all his mischief, you are truly a master of your craft," said Klaus, ruffling Kol's hair as he tried to get away from him. "Drawing trouble is your forte."

"Yes, well, remember how bad the trouble might become for us and stay grateful," warned Kol.

"I will, brother."

"Thank you, Kol," added Yara, kissing his cheek, then Freya's, then Elijah's. "Please, all of you, stay safe, too."

"We will," said Elijah. "Do not stop driving until you're absolutely certain that you are safe."

Klaus looked down at Hope, already asleep in her carrier. "You don't have to remind me how precious my cargo is." He hugged Freya. "Keep them in line, would you, sister?"

Freya nodded, the three other Mikaelsons waving as Klaus and Yara walked down into the cellar, entering the tunnels that would carry them into the Bayou where a car was waiting, courtesy of Marcel.

"We'll be back before you know it," said Yara, taking her turn to drive first. "Once they realize they can't win... they will give up."

It was strange to be living in the same safe house where she and Klaus had fought, where Hope had already had to be with Cami and Kol because of the danger in the city. She was glad to be the one caring for her this time.

"Day one, of hopefully not too many," she said, bringing french toast to Klaus when she found him sitting alone by the window, sketching a tree. "Vincent, Marcel, and Josh are trying to get the last piece of white oak, there's some auction going on. Kol and Freya are figuring out how to destroy the indestructible stake so that they can just burn all the pieces when they have them. And Elijah, apparently, is running circles around The Strix and trying to shake his bodyguards even though they're only still there to protect him."

Klaus snorted. "Of course. And Finn?"

"I think Finn is still struggling to narrow down whether he wants tropical, subtropical, or more extreme subantarctic climates for the rest of his life. I heard talk of New Zealand or somewhere warmer like Campeche Island."

"He'd go to Brazil?"

"He can go anywhere now, sky's really the limit." She giggled when he set the tray of food on her lap, then brought her to sit on his. "What do you think? If we had to end up raising Hope somewhere else... where should we do it?"

He hummed, shyly asking with his eyes for her to pop the piece of french toast in his mouth. Once he'd chewed, he said, "I did like Brazil, and I know how much it would mean to you. Then again, I've enjoyed many of the places we've lived. Most of all New Orleans, but if it cannot be there, then, I suppose, somewhere... alive. A vibrant culture, not too remote but not too crowded. I'm accustomed to humidity. The gulf is nice."

"Hmm, if you wish to stay in the gulf area, we could live in Mexico... Cuba... Texas... maybe even the Bahamas. You know I won't say no to Brazil. I want her to know different cultures, I want her to know different languages. French, Portuguese, Spanish, the ones we know best." She looked down at Hope, who was pushing herself around on her mat, reaching for a table. "Verdad que si, mi amor? Você quer saber todas essas línguas. Pour que tu sois une fille intelligente." (T, Spanish: Isn't that right, my love? T, Portuguese: You wish to know all those languages. T, French: So you can be a smart girl.)

Klaus shushed her as Hope started pulling herself up, little legs firm against the ground. "Look at you," he said, beckoning her closer. "There you go, my littlest wolf, you can walk to us."

"She's walking!" whispered Yara. "Oh, my sweet girl!"

Hope toddled carefully toward them, arms outstretched as she made toward Klaus, who offered his finger for her to hold onto. As soon as she was close enough, he scooped her up, the three testing the limits of the armchair that Klaus had chosen to rest on.

Yara had a grand time feeding both of them the french toast; apparently it was too hard for Klaus to feed himself while he supported both of them on his lap. Their lunch was more proper, and Hope had walked around the house until she got tired and needed to be put down for a nap. Klaus and Yara watched her, quietly drinking wine and waiting to hear back from New Orleans.

It had gotten bad. Very, very bad.

"Don't tell me you don't know where they are!" fumed Klaus when Elijah had called and said that Lucien had apparently kidnapped Freya, Vincent, and the last piece of white oak. "Find them, now!"

"We are trying, brother," said Elijah tightly. "We are tracking them using Finn, as he recently inhabited Vincent's body. They are cloaked, it is not as simple as you might think! Stay where you are, we will locate them."

"No, I will not stay here. We must do something."

"Then you could go to all of Lucien's Kingmaker offices, perhaps there are traces of them or something that can be used to find him."

"If you find him first, don't hesitate."

Yara stared at Klaus, wide-eyed, as he set his phone down and sighed angrily. "Where do we take Hope?" she asked. "So we can go to the Kingmaker offices."

"We'll have to take her back to New Orleans before we go. Cami and Marcel can watch her in the meantime."

Yara got to mapping out the offices they needed to check while Klaus drove them back to New Orleans. They didn't even stop by the Compound, heading out immediately and going North as they checked the different offices, all in surrounding states.

"The wolves, Freya's abduction," muttered Klaus. "The white oak, Vincent. It can't all be coincidence. My brothers will need to pursue the obvious path... we'll see what comes of my ever-reliable brother, Finn."

"I'm sure he will do everything he can to find Freya," said Yara softly. "We'll find something at these offices, too. Elijah probably suggested it because there's nothing else that can be done at home. But this, maybe, will give us some indication of what his plan is. If we can intercept it..."

Klaus nodded, rubbing his head. "No doubt all roads... lead to the same treacherous bastard."

The first five offices had nothing to offer. Hardly any employees, no records of Lucien even visiting in the past months. All standard offices for their land development business, and all seemingly built from a kit, with the same windows and plants, the same generic abstract art, and even all containing receptionists who were easily compelled.

"Lucien is playing a game here," muttered Klaus as they walked up to the sixth one on the list. "Each unassuming little office building we search, the more sure I am of it. We keep going. Even if we have to scour one hundred of these poxy places."

The receptionist looked up as they walked in, hanging up a call. "Ah, hello, love," said Klaus, leaning forward. "We're here for a spot of 'search and potentially destroy.' Do tell–" he compelled her, "where are the areas off-limits to general staff?"

Yara did not like the way the woman smiled, saying, "You just wait right here... and I'll have someone out here to help you with your inquiry."

They sensed her pressing a button just before alarms went off in the building. Well, that was new. Yara and Klaus stood back to back as armed guards burst out, aiming assault rifles at them. It took about a minute for them to kill them all; the rifles didn't even have wooden bullets in them.

The alarms continued to blare as they stormed past the massacre and began to search the building, stopping when they saw a man in a white lab coat rushing out of a room. Klaus caught him by the neck, and Yara ripped off his identification badge, scanning them into the laboratory.

"Holy shit," said Yara, finding a dozen men and women, werewolves, chained to the walls with IV drips attached. There was a cage in the corner with the body of a wolf, large enough that she assumed it was also a werewolf. She reached out to one, examining the breathing masks on them, with two vials on each side full of a reddish-orange fluid. "These machines are to extract venom." She held the arm of one man, slowly removing the IV and pressing her finger down, leaning back when he woke with a start and moaned in pain. "It's okay. We're getting you all out of here."

"This one is a vampire," said Klaus, gesturing to the corpse of a woman deeper inside, with lesions on her face, neck, and chest. "What the hell is Lucien up to here? Their venom... I recall he mentioned a cure. I take it he harvested the venom he needed and reverse-engineered a vaccine. But the dead vampire, she was killed by wolf venom. He was testing his cure, yet why would he need to when he knows it works?"

"I don't know," said Yara quietly. "But I'm starting to worry what the answer is."

They were quick to free all the wolves, offering them blood. A few took it, but one refused, staring at them in disbelief. "Who are you?" he asked. "Where... how..."

"My name is Yara," she said, kneeling in front of him. "And this is Klaus. It's okay, we're here to save you. Are you all Crescent werewolves?"

The man shook his head. "No, nobody here is. There was one Crescent, but he died last week. We're from the seven packs: Deep Water, Malraux, BasRoq, Barry, Poldark... I'm a Paxon." He stared at the vampire's corpse. "They wanted our venom. They kept... pumping it into her over and over and over again. Then they'd heal her with some drug. Except the last time. They shot her up with something so powerful... there was no saving her."

Klaus waited by the car, updating his brothers while Yara evacuated all the prisoners, paying for transport for each of them, and having called a delivery guy that brought them some food. The boy was a bit intimidated with the sight of the burning building, but he didn't question it when Yara gave him a hundred dollar bill as a tip.

"Freya is safe," he said once the last wolf had been driven away. "But Lucien, he's become... a creature unlike anything we've seen. Two sets of fangs, red eyes, faster and stronger than an Original. And he boasted about having a bite that would kill an Original."

They weren't sure how to make Lucien prove it, and they didn't want to. When they returned to New Orleans, Finn and Elijah relayed what'd happened in Mystic Falls, where Lucien had taken Freya and Vincent.

"Lucien did all of this to become like his maker," said Klaus slowly, "and yet, my bite cannot kill an Original. What are we up against here, brother?"

Elijah shook his head in disbelief. "I truly don't know."

"You mentioned the lab," mused Kol, tapping his forehead. "Venom from different packs. Nik's blood can cure any werewolf bite that we know of, and it isn't lethal enough to kill an Original. But if he has venom from all seven packs and combined them... that would be very lethal indeed."

"And it would give him a bite that not even I can cure," realized Klaus.

"There were two vials of serum when he performed the spell," said Freya. "He only drank one. Maybe it's because the spell will wear off eventually and he'll need another dose?"

Klaus's eyes widened in horror. "Or he made enough for two."

Yara wished he'd killed Aurora when he had the chance.