The party was apparently a disaster.

Yara hadn't been present, at Klaus's request. While Marcel had helped carry it out and while Freya had given Hayley some aid in finding out more about why her parents were killed, Yara had been having a movie night with Cami and Hope. The blonde absolutely adored the little girl, and it seemed Cami was Hope's favorite new person so far, though it was probably because she had several pastries she let her try.

"Should I even ask what happened?" asked Yara when she came back, Hope asleep on her shoulder, and saw blood being mopped up by the maids.

"I tried to avoid bloodshed but Elijah became the town executioner!" said Klaus hotly. (Marcel didn't seem surprised to hear this, and neither did Yara, for that matter.) "We have no way of knowing if we found all those in league with The Hollow or if they really had some apparent weapon to be used against us. Let's confirm with Dominic, shall we? Oh, wait, we can't. His corpse is currently burning in a dumpster."

Yara looked at Marcel. "Dominic, as in–?"

"Yeah, he came back to life," said Marcel.

She covered Hope's ears. "What the fuck?"

Marcel sighed. "I know. But he was definitely working for The Hollow. It's like he was its high priest or something. Vincent told us what he said to you earlier. How it wants to be reborn, how it resurfaces in four distinct locations. But we can't tell why."

"I might know," said Hayley, walking in with Freya. "It's looking for something. Four things by the sound of it. And I'm pretty sure that I have one of them." She held up a mandible, oddly well-preserved. "My parents were killed protecting this from one of The Hollow's followers."

"We've seen this time and time again," muttered Klaus. "When a witch wishes to be reborn, its remains are required to complete the spell. You've just found a piece of our enemy."

Hayley shrugged. "Lucky me. Who has the other three?"

Elijah's face paled. "Dominic. Dominic said that he had found something here."

"Wouldn't it have been obvious if he dug into any of the rooms?" asked Yara. "We don't have bones lying around."

"There is one," said Klaus quietly.

They followed him up to the study, where he began to open his safe. Moments later, he confirmed their fears: Papa Tunde's blade was gone. The bone blade had been part of The Hollow all along. "Dominic's death was a distraction."

"They used our own deception against us," said Elijah.

"And they've infiltrated the city," said Marcel. "They could send any of their lackeys to get the rest of the bones and if they do..."

"Then they may well try to raise this monstrosity," finished Klaus. "And it will come for us all."

Hayley followed Yara when she went to put Hope down in her bed, planning to tell her more about what Freya had helped her see when she investigated her parents' murder. Hope awoke just as they were walking out, calling out sleepily, "Mama? Hayley?"

"Princess," said Yara, returning to sit with her. "What's wrong, my love?"

"Nothing." She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "What's a Labonair?"

"That's the wolf bloodline you come from, my darling. You remember how your papa calls you his littlest wolf, how I told you that you are a little Crescent Princess?"

She nodded. "Well," said Yara, "that's because of the blood you have." She hesitated, looking at Hayley, who gestured for her to continue. "Actually, there is something we can talk about now that Hayley is here. Your papa and I were thinking of telling you soon, anyway. Do you think you can put your serious hat on for a big girl conversation?"

Hope mimed putting a hat on. "Is Hayley my mama, too?"

Yara's mouth dropped only slightly. "Um, yes, how did you–?"

"I know," said Hope, pointing at her. "I feel it."

Hayley moved closer. "You do?"

"Mhm." She held up her hand, encouraging Hayley to press her palm against hers. "You were gonna be my mama."

"Oh, Hope," said Hayley softly. "I um, I can tell you more when you're older, but you're right. I am your biologicalmama. I-I was young and I wasn't ready to have kids, but I still–"

"It's okay," Hope interrupted, stifling a yawn. "I know you loved me. You loved me so much you wanted Mama to take care of me."

"You got extra lucky," whispered Hayley. "I didn't have a good mom but you did. And I hope one day we can really get to know each other."

Hope nodded, then giggled to herself. "Marcel and I got to have two mamas." She tilted her head. "What do I call you?"

"You can call me anything you'd like. But 'Hayley' is fine, too."

She smiled, wiggling her feet as if she wasn't sure what to pick. "'Kay." She tapped Yara's hand. "Mamãe." She touched Hayley's palm. "Mama Hayley."

"I love it," said Yara, kissing the top of her head. "Do you have any more questions, my love? Or are you ready to sleep?"

"Sleep." She curled up, waving her hands eagerly and demanding that both Yara and Hayley tuck her in.

"She is wise beyond her years," said Hayley as they walked back downstairs. "Listen, Yara..." she took her hands. "Thank you, again. These past years I have learned so much about myself, about where my place is in the world. And I have valued it so much. I know now that I wasn't meant to be a mom when we first met and that's okay. You have done a great job with her and I look forward to getting to know her. She's a good kid and I can't wait to teach her the things I know about being a werewolf."

"Of course, Hayley," said Yara, pulling her into a hug. "We're going to get rid of this thing before it takes you or Hope and I am going to make sure you two get to know each other."

Elijah had decided that they were on lockdown. While he and Gia were apparently 'running necessary errands' and Freya was keeping an active Boundary Spell on the Compound, Klaus and Yara had no choice but to clean the place up while Marcel kept an eye on Hope in the dining room, having asked if he could chat with her when he heard how mature she'd been about her conversation with Hayley.

"At this rate, we'll be hosting a yard sale," muttered Klaus, anxious with the prospect of being stuck in the house all day and able to hear Marcel downstairs as if all was well.

"I already have people compelled to donate this so we don't have to sit outside and sell," said Yara, packing another box. "Unless you want to pull out the lawn chairs, sunglasses, and a martini while the people of New Orleans fight for our stuff."

Klaus smirked. "Well, I suppose a lawn chair might not be the worst, but it's a far cry from the throne they believe us to sit on." He moved his head, listening again. "They've apparently much to talk about."

"Yeah, given we didn't hide that Marcel is her brother, she's eager to get to know him. And she hasn't exactly had the chance to make friends. She'll be a chatterbox until her situation becomes more stable and her social circle can grow."

"She won't need friends. She'll be worshiped."

"By who, exactly? Literally everyone who doesn't know our family hates the idea of a tribrid. Unless you think she's going to start a cult like your brother or maybe people will change their minds when they see how good she is. Besides, she won't want that. She's five years old. Her concerns right now are whether she can paint someone's face or whether there will be someone around to skip rocks with her at the pond."

"She'll be above such things, mark my words. She will have power enough to protect herself from anything. We won't have to trap her in bloody Boundary Spells to keep her safe." He slammed his fist into the open air by the window, hand colliding with the spell.

"Oh, Klaus," Yara sighed, walking toward him and hugging him from behind. "It'll end for all of us soon, I know it. And thank you... I overheard this morning that you told Elijah very clearly that violence must stay out of this house. I wholeheartedly agree."

He half-smiled. "Well, we'll protect her innocence for as long as we can. You and I both know the importance of that. No one protected ours." He silently began to help her with the boxes, and let out a gasp. "Oh, look at that." He pretended he'd found treasure in one of the boxes. "How to Defeat the Hollow: Volume One. Hidden in here amongst these old Guns N' Roses records. Oh, sweet child of mine."

She giggled, kissing his cheek. "Now that's more like it."

Somehow, the two of them made it through the entirety of the third and second floor. They had disposed of all the broken furniture and reorganized what was left, giving a thorough clean to each room. Yara was exhausted at the end of it, but it wasn't near evening. She found it odd that Elijah and Freya hadn't returned after being out all day. She'd tried to call them while Klaus showered to ask if they'd be home for lunch, but both went to voicemail.

Klaus found her in the courtyard after another attempt, sitting at the edge of the fountain when he saw her scrubbing a rug and trying to get a whiskey stain off of it. "Still nothing?"

"No," said Yara. "I would assume they're busy but it's been awhile. You'd think they'd be back by now."

He scowled. "You know, this is a fool's errand. We're not gonna accomplish anything in this mess. I should be out there with them. Not here, safe and entirely ineffective. Our daughter needs The Hollow to be purged from this Earth, or she won't be safe."

They shot up when they heard footsteps in the doorway. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't Freya and Elijah. Yara sneered when she saw Dominic, "Oh, I am getting really tired of you springing back up every other fucking day!"

"Impressive boundary spell," said Dominic smugly as he and three other men entered the Compound. "Unfortunately, it only lasts as long as the witch who cast it."

There was no time to think that this meant Freya was probably dead, there was no time to imagine what awaited Elijah if he wasn't here. She couldn't even think that Hope was in the next room and something terrible might happen.

She and Klaus split, each taking on two of the men. She made quick work of one, kicking him so hard that his skull was crushed upon collision with the wall. The other put up more of a fight, but a man with no magic was nothing against Yara, who took only a few more seconds and then sliced off his head.

Dominic had a hold of Klaus, keeping him still with his magic as the man behind him moved forward with the indestructible white oak stake. She threw herself onto the man, tackling him onto the ground and biting into his neck, legs wrapping around him and squeezing until he coughed out blood, slowly choking to death.

Yara tossed the stake to Klaus as she lunged at Dominic, plunging her fingers into his eyes and rendering him blind as the hybrid stabbed the man through the throat with the neck.

"Hell no," said Yara angrily as he pulled it out. "Hell– no–" she stomped on Dominic's shoulders, cutting off his arms. "I am not–" she ripped the stake away from Klaus, stabbing Dominic in the throat to cut off his head, "risking you coming back to life! Gather their bodies, we'll bathe them in acid before we burn them."

Marcel walked out from the balcony, which confused Yara until she realized he had probably whisked Hope upstairs before she could witness anything. She ran up as he moved down, presumably to handle the task she'd meant to do.

"Baby?" she asked, skidding into the room where Hope was singing one of the lullabies, hands clamped over her ears. She stopped in front of her, gently reaching out to hold her elbow so she could hear her.

Hope's eyes were wide. "Mamãe!" She hugged her tight. "Marcel told me to close my eyes and sing. He said the bad guys would go away."

"They did, my love," she whispered, holding the back of her head.

"If the lad is going to be a vampire," reasoned Kol in 1821, "he'll have to learn somehow, won't he? Come, I've already fed him my blood. All you have to do is snuff him, and voilà. One of us. Well, that's what you want, isn't it?"

Yara was quick to turn away, hugging Marcel to her chest when Elijah put Kol in a chokehold and shoved him backwards. "It's okay," she whispered, caressing Marcel's head. "Close your eyes and sing, just close your eyes and sing." She clamped her hands over his ears, daring to look over her shoulder.

It seemed Klaus had come to Kol's aid. "Thank you, Nik," said Kol. "At least someone knows the meaning of family."

"I told you before," said Klaus, "Marcellus is family."

Her eyes widened when Klaus plunged the dagger back in Kol's heart.

"What happened?" asked Hope, drawing away and looking at the blood on Yara's shirt.

"The bad guys tried to hurt your papa," she said; no sense in pretending she hadn't been involved in a fight. "But we defeated them just like we did before. Thank you for listening to Marcel. You were so brave."

Klaus came to check in once Hope had been set up with a bubble bath. Elijah and Freya were back. Gia had been helping Freya with a spell that was supposed to stop Dominic, but it had failed and Dominic had easily snapped Gia's neck and nearly killed Freya permanently. Were it not for Keelin coming in and giving her CPR, she might not have come back.

Meanwhile, Elijah had been with Vincent, apparently re-establishing the Ancestral link as a means to trap The Hollow. Yara was horrified to learn he'd killed four random sixteen year old girls to accomplish this, despite Vincent asking him not to.

Yara kept her distance while they waited to hear back from a man the Mikaelsons knew in Mystic Falls, an Alaric Saltzman who was going to help them get another one of The Hollow's bones from the storage of Tyler Lockwood. Yara still remembered the pleasure she had in killing him. Now, he was finally being useful.

"Mamãe?" called Hope from downstairs.

She sped toward her, and found her in the ballroom, watching the mandible they had move around in a circle of salt. "What's going on, baby?" she asked uncertainly.

"Can you hear them?" she asked. "More voices."

"No, my love. What do you hear?"

"The Ancestors have a message. They want you and Papa to go to St. Anne's Church to talk to them. They said you have to do exactly what they say, and you have to do it now. Before The Hollow comes for us."

Klaus was displeased, mainly because he intended to fetch the bone from Alaric himself. Marcel was kind enough to take his place, mostly because he didn't trust Elijah not to slaughter a troop of Girl Scouts, should they encounter them on the drive there. As they'd been walking to the church, Josh messaged Yara, letting her know that Davina was there, waiting for them.

"I thought you weren't safe here!" said Yara, drawing her into a hug.

"The Ancestors came calling," said Davina with a shrug. "Guess they need an actual Harvest girl to mentor the new ones." She motioned to four girls setting up a spell in the back. "I can help trap The Hollow because she brought me back. Trust me... this is good. I know how we can defeat The Hollow."

Klaus encouraged her to speak. "Well, don't keep us waiting."

Davina smiled tightly. "The Ancestors want to defeat The Hollow, which is why they're allowing me access to information about her. Her story begins a thousand years before the city was founded. Two rival tribes decided to combine their power. They thought that by uniting in peace, they would enter a new age of harmony. A marriage was arranged, similar to the Unification Ritual you saw with Jackson and Hayley. Two powerful witches joined together to create a unified coven. That marriage bore a child. For nine months, the tribe elders visited the mother, using magic to grant the child great power in hopes that the newborn would become a symbol of prosperity.

"But they had no idea what they were bringing into the world. She was named Inadu. Soon it was clear that she was stronger than anyone could imagine. And that she had a terrible hunger for more power still. And that's how The Hollow was born. Her tribe tried to stop her, tried to undo what their magic did. But that was the beginning of the end. Over time, she grew and craved more power. Inadu channeled life in all its forms. Her hunger was insatiable. She loved the fear she inspired in others. Her people knew her as ruthless, unfeeling, empty. Until that became her defining quality. So they began to refer to her by that single trait... 'The Hollow.'"

"Let me guess," murmured Yara. "She killed them all."

Davina nodded. "Yes, but not because they hurt her or were unkind. She did it for fun."

Klaus smirked. "Well, to be fair, we all have our bad days."

Yara pinched his arm. "Not the time. How do we defeat her?"

"She has one weakness," said Davina. "Marcel spoke with me about what Hayley learned. That is our loophole. It all comes down to the bloodline. That's the only thing that worked against her. When her evil became too great to bear, the tribes united to defeat her. Tribe elders managed to capture her using mystical bindings. But even with all that power, Inadu was too strong. Death seemed the only solution. Four of the strongest elders each imbued a part of their magic into a mighty ax. When the weapon was ready, they relied on her mother, the one who gave her life, to be the one to take her life. But before she could kill her child, Inadu cast a final spell. One powered by her own death. A curse upon all present that night. She bound them to the full moon, so that once a month they would turn into the very beasts they used to hunt her. The Hollow created the werewolf curse. And her mother... once cursed... became the first of the werewolves along with the other six who survived that night. She was the first Crescent."

"That's why she's hunting Labonairs," realized Yara. "I'm guessing since her mother delivered the killing blow, Labonairs still have the ability to end her."

"Yes," said Davina. "Labonair blood is toxic to her. It's why she will try to kill Hayley and Hope, to prevent their blood from being used against her. Right now, the Ancestors haven't been able to locate Inadu, which means she's chosen a host. This is where our window is, very thin, but a window nevertheless. If we track her, we can fight her. Labonair blood is her weakness, so use it. Once her spirit is free, the spell to put her down can be cast."

"Well, that sounds convenient," said Klaus. "Only, if the immense release of power let her out, I take it only an equal amount will bring her back into her prison."

"That's right. That's where we hit our snag. We have the same problem that the tribes did. After the tribe killed Inadu, her spirit became more powerful. She haunted them in the form of blue lights. So they burned her remains, but not all the pieces could be destroyed. As long as those pieces were together, her power only grew. The indestructible bones were distributed among four families, each charged with keeping the bones apart, so that they would never come together again. Now that she's free, she won't stop until those pieces are gathered. She already has one. What we need to do, we need to do now. The kind of power that is needed to put her away before she can be resurrected is, indeed, great. It's the same power needed to resurrect her. The death of an Original, or a creature as powerful as Marcel."

"No!" whispered Yara. "You're telling me one of them needs to die to imprison her?"

"Yes. Marcel, Klaus, Elijah, or Rebekah. One of them will be enough for The Hollow to be imprisoned permanently."

"But– but we can't just do that! They're family, and if we kill Elijah or Rebekah, I might die and thousands of vampires around the world will certainly die. No, there has to be another way."

"There isn't. One will die by her hand, I am sure of it, because she needs it to be reborn. If she gets the four bones, there is nothing stopping her from coming to the Compound and burning it to the ground if it means getting Klaus or Elijah or Marcel and harnessing their death. We need to beat her to it."

They were already too late.

"What the bloody hell do you mean you lost the bones?" snapped Klaus when Marcel, Vincent, and Alaric arrived at the Compound. "And where the bloody hell is Elijah?"

"We were ambushed!" said Marcel hotly. "The Hollow was in some vampire's body but it was basically a Heretic, she was performing magic! She took the finger bone Alaric brought and she took the femur we found at the cemetery. Vincent found us knocked out and there was a puddle of venom on the floor next to me. I think The Hollow took my venom when she took Elijah."

"Let me guess," said Freya darkly. "She wants the bone we have in exchange for Elijah."

Vincent shook his head. "No, there won't be an exchange. She needs Elijah to die in order to channel the energy from his sacrifice. Chances are she's already injected the venom into it. She spoke to me, I felt it. She wants the bone by sundown. If she doesn't get it, then she's gonna come here and she's gonna take it. And when she does, she's gonna burn this entire city to the ground."

"Well, looks like we arrived just in time."

They whirled around, relieved when they saw Kol and Rebekah. "Freya said you needed backup," said Rebekah with a smile. "It just so happens we were in the area."

Apparently, Kol and Vincent were even smarter together than they were individually.

"Simple," said Kol, holding out a spell for Freya. "We pretend to ask for an exchange. Marcel can give her the bone, armed with this here dagger," he flicked one in his hands, "which will be coated with the Labonair blood."

"Are you sure we need to bleed Hope for this?" asked Yara nervously.

"Well, let's think, love, if The Hollow wanted Labonairs dead, she'd have already killed Hayley. But she didn't. And I reckon it's because Hayley's dead, her blood won't do anything. Hope is the last living Crescent. Ergo, her blood is the toxic one."

"Marcel stabs her with the dagger," continued Vincent. "Davina and I cast the spell that buries her. Right now, The Hollow is gonna use Elijah's death to come back, but there's a window where I can use the sacrifice to shove her back into her grave."

"And what of my brother?" said Klaus. "This plan does nothing to save him."

"It does," said Kol nervously, though this seemed to be the part of the plan he wasn't as confident about. "Freya has a cure. Now, if an Original does need to die, that death doesn't need to be permanent. It's highly unlikely we have enough of the cure to fully undo the effects of the venom on Elijah while he's still alive. But Freya protected Finn and I with her pendant. Now, I say this– while Marcel is promoting the exchange, Nik and I will help Freya put Elijah's soul in the pendant. His body will die, but as soon as it does, then we can cure it and put his soul back in. The energy released from The Hollow's imprisonment should be enough to put him back in his body seamlessly, but if it isn't, Freya and I can still manage it."

Yara was holding her head. "This is insane. Besides, does this mean we're willing to let the vampires of Elijah's sireline just die? Are we really going to rely on a hail Mary and a maybe regarding his resurrection?"

Rebekah put her hand on Yara's. "I know what you're worried about. And you don't have to be." She slid her a piece of paper. "These are the details, but Kol and I did some digging these past days. You're not Elijah's sireling. You're mine."

Marcel cleared his throat. "I know The Strix. Some of them are my friends."

Yara gulped nervously. "All those vampires are someone's friend, someone's family. I-I would be inclined to say just kill them but morally, it isn't right. We shouldn't. I can't just say 'screw it' and condone this."

"We don't have to," murmured Klaus. "Freya, Kol, how sure are you that Elijah will even survive the jump into the pendant?"

"Fairly sure," said Freya quietly. "But there is no guarantee now that his body is so weakened. There is a chance he won't even survive the process."

"But I would survive."

"Klaus–"

"If I'm the sacrifice," said Klaus, starting to pace, "you can channel my death to imprison The Hollow before she kills Elijah. I'll survive the jump into the pendant. The rest of you can find Elijah, cure him, and bring him home."

"But we might not have enough of the cure–"

"What point is there in using him if there is no certainty that he'll come back? Use me. If I die, no sirelings will follow. That evil wench cannot be killed. Left unchecked, she will come for Hope. Sacrifice me, we can save Elijah and we can defeat this thing. It's the only way. We don't have time to debate this."

By some miracle, it worked.

Yara had gone with Vincent, Klaus, and a vial of Marcel's venom to capture the power before the exchange could happen. She held Klaus's hand as his soul entered the pendant, continuing to grip it tightly as Vincent administered the venom and staked him with regular wood.

She waited by his side as Davina and Marcel came to collect the pendant, taking it back to Freya just in case, her heart hammering in her chest wondering if the exchange would work,if Hope's blood really was the key, if the cure would be sufficient to cure Elijah and leave a bit over to fix Klaus's body.

"Are you ready to go, my love?"

"Yeah!" said Hope happily. "Papa, can you tie my shoes?"

"Of course, my littlest wolf," said Klaus, kneeling down in front of his daughter. "Are you excited to go to your new school?"

She nodded happily. "Mhm! Uncle Elijah said I'll be the smartest one there and Mama Hayley promised to visit my werewolf class! There is a class on werewolves!"

"That does sound very nice," said Yara, fixing her hair. "I bet you'll ace the class, you know a lot about werewolves."

"Mhm, I know Papa is a werewolf, Mama Hayley is a werewolf, Uncle Jackson and Aiden are werewolves, and Mamãe is a wolf, too, in a way."

"Oh?" said Yara. "How so, my love?"

Hope giggled. "Marcel says you have a nickname! They call you the Lone Wolf! And lone wolves are important for the– the–" she frowned. "The jeans?"

"Genes, my littlest wolf," said Klaus with a chuckle. "They bring new genes to new family groups."

"Genes? Marcel said jeans."

"I promise you, love, your brother did not mean the jeans we wear. You'll learn about that when you're older. The lone wolves make new families, they help populations thrive. They call them dispersers."

"So Mamãe is a loba solitária. A dispersora."

"That's right, my sweetest love," whispered Yara, pulling her and Klaus into a hug.

-

A/N: Keep reading for the Final Author's Note!