By the time they got her to turn it back on, she'd gotten herself in quite a bit of trouble.

"What do you bloody mean she turned it off?" Klaus had snarled when Elijah came downstairs to tell the group.

"Niklaus, it is not so difficult to understand that she, a vampire, turned off her humanity!" Elijah snapped.

Freya held her hands up to silence them. "This isn't going to help her at all. Has she ever done this before?"

Klaus shook his head. "She's never felt hurt like this. Never. She never had reason to. She's always been the one that works through her emotions and— and assists the rest of us."

Elijah rubbed his forehead. "Clearly, we approached this entire thing wrong."

Klaus jabbed a finger into his brother's face. "NO! This was all your bloody fault! We told you she wouldn't want to see you and you barged in anyway!" he held his hand up to stop Freya from pulling him back. "I told you all— what she needed is to let her anger out in a proper, vampire way! You think I do not know her as well as you? Just because she let you address her by her given name does not mean you reign in all issues concerning her, Elijah!"

"Do you really think that sending her on another killing spree would have done her any good, Niklaus?" he snapped. "Did you see the count of how many she killed just outside Mystic Falls, with her bare hands? Seventeen people! Seventeen men and women! Seven firefighters and ten police officers! Not to mention the mass murder of all the Gemini Coven members, and an innocent pregnant woman who was carrying twins!"

"Don't add the coven's numbers to her total!" sneered Klaus. "They imprisoned her— she had every reason to want them dead!"

"I will not condone her actions just because they were justified! We should have been there for her right away— we should have searched harder—"

"She was in a bloody prison world again, Elijah, one which none of us had access to—"

"ENOUGH!" Freya swiped her hands out and sent them both jumping back from each other. "You both claim to want to help Beatrix and yet, neither of you are willing to work together on this!"

Elijah glared at Klaus. "I do not trust him in this. He killed Gia, he left Hayley condemned as a wolf, and he was intending to send Beatrix on another spree that would have only coaxed her into more violence!"

"Brother, you best not be thinking of Hayley at a time like this," said Klaus with a fiery glint in her eyes. "After all, were it not for your infatuation with her, Beatrix never would have strayed and fallen in love with that boy. You were the one neglecting her!"

"Klaus, darling."

They all looked up to where Beatrix was leaning over the balcony, looking at them, and smirking devilishly. She was all cleaned up, her hair now cut to hang over her shoulders in delicate curls, her makeup done to match the black tank top she was wearing, with shorts that hung quite short, but loosely, over her behind.

She started to walk down the stairs, swaying her hips as she walked. "You needn't be speaking of me as if I can't hear you," she said, coming over to the group and winking. She leaned onto Klaus, looking up at him curiously. "No need to chastise him, darling, he can focus on Hayley all he wants now. What do I care? It's not like he can ever have her. She's married now. I don't want him anymore."

"Beatrix," said Klaus quietly, looking down at her. "Just where do you intend on going, dressed like that, love?"

She let out a soft giggle and put her hand on his chest. "Don't call me 'love' as if it doesn't turn you on to say it, Klaus. Or else, you'll tempt me."

Klaus's jaw twitched. "Don't be absurd, Beatrix, I would never dare to take advantage of you when you're like this. I mean nothing by it, and you know that."

"Oh... that's right... blondes are your thing, aren't they?" she mused. "That Caroline girl was blonde... now Cami... I suppose you must have had a thing for brunettes in the past, because after all, Hayley and I were special at some point."

"Beatrix," said Freya gently. "How are you feeling?"

She cast her a look. "Fine, Freya, absolutely fine." Her eyes then widened as an idea came into her head. "You should come with me to the club! I'm sure you have friends you can introduce me to, by now?"

Freya was a bit stunned. "Um—"

"There will be no going to clubs," said Elijah with a tight-lipped smile. "You are not to leave this compound, Beatrix."

She turned to face him and came closer, brushing her hands up his suit, towards his neck. "What's there to do in here?" she asked with a fake pout. "Unless... of course... you're going to provide some entertainment..."

Within seconds, she'd snapped his neck.

He probably could have stopped her, but he didn't want to fight her.

"Beatrix!" said Freya in surprise.

"Freya!" she mocked, rolling her eyes. "Oh, come on, he was being so annoying! You can do with much better brotherly entertainment. Klaus is fun."

She moved back toward him, and he caught her wrists as they drifted to touch him. "As much as I hate warding off attention from you," he said, "I believe your interests lie in other places."

She batted her eyelashes. "Oh? So... not in your bed, then?"

He smirked. "Ah, so 'no humanity Beatrix' wants to pounce on everything in sight, is that it? That should be an easy enough problem to solve. I will be quite willing to fetch you any young men and women that suit your tastes."

Beatrix was no longer smiling. "You think you're so clever, don't you, Klaus? You think that you're going to be the key to me turning it back on, or something? This was inevitable. I'd been considering turning it off since the day I got back here. I only lasted these past few days because I thought perhaps... someone would give me a reason not to. You're all quite terrible at comforting someone who's grieving."

"We're far older than you, love, at this point, we don't really feel things so deeply, do we?" he said, releasing her wrists and grasping her face roughly, pulling it closer to look into her eyes. "Turn it back on. Now."

She stared into his eyes for an instant, putting on a wistful expression as if the compulsion was working. But then, her hands flew to grasp his wrists, and she began to siphon, causing him to release her and leap back.

"Nice try, darling, but you must know that I took preventative measures when I was planning this." She held up her daylight ring, which now had a purplish tint to it. "I spelled it to hold vervain and wolfsbane, and cast a charm so that it won't harm me. It's just enough to keep you from compelling me. If you try to take the ring off, it won't burn you... but it will kill me. So... I think you'll have to think a bit harder on your little plan, hmm? Not that you need to try. I like it this way. No pain."

"Please, Beatrix, just turn it back on," said Freya desperately. "It will hurt so much more if you eventually turn it on, any time in the future. The pain will be worse than what you were already feeling. You don't want to suffer like that!"

"You're right, Freya, I don't," said Beatrix. "That's why I don't plan on ever turning it back on."

She sped out of the compound before either of them could react.

_

And so, months had passed.

July had been the first to go. Beatrix hardly came to sleep, but when she did, she was never unaccompanied. There was always some poor man or woman who she dragged into her room. She'd feed on them all through the night, using them to rant about her annoyance with the Mikaelsons, then toss them out in the morning, telling them to forget everything she said and to forget that she nearly drained them of all the blood in their system. At the very least, she hadn't killed anyone in July.

She had partied and gone to just about every club in Louisiana, dancing and having her fun and leaving with plans and ideas of what to do next. She didn't care about how obvious she was being about her powers. She'd do tricks for money, depositing more and more into her bank account every day. She'd make bets that she would of course win, such as downing a certain amount of drinks or lasting a certain amount of time in a chokehold. She'd win at arm wrestling competitions and do all sorts of athletic challenges that kept her pockets full and her interests met.

August had been next. She'd had her fun for an entire month already just accumulating funds and being reckless without violence. So of course, August had turned out to be the prime time for her to start killing. She'd left Louisiana at some point, and had killed at least one person in each state as she moved around, but by then, Klaus and the others weren't bothering to track her, unless they found her within the French Quarter.

Bodies were appearing all across the country, killed in the most creative ways that she could think. One, drained of blood completely, and filled instead with toothpaste (different brands combined). Another, with every organ torn out and laid out in alphabetical order in terms of the names. Three at once, their spines and other bones snapped to make them bendable in order to spell out 'BLS' on the pavement. It was sickening and terrible, and each time the Mikaelsons heard of a new brutal and completely bizarre murder, they knew it'd been Beatrix's doing.

In September, they could no longer sit idly by. The first of September, they'd gotten Davina and Freya together to try and find something that could be done. They were looking up spells that could perhaps flip the switch for Beatrix, but they were all looking to be very dangerous.

"You're telling me there isn't a spell you can do to force her to turn it on?" Klaus had snapped.

"We never said that," said Davina coldly. "We're just saying it's risky. It could cause damage to her, or to us. She's the one that's always been better at darker spells without getting the sucky side effects. If Freya and I did these spells, we could die from being taken over by black magic."

"There has to be something else, then!" growled Klaus. "Consult every bloody grimoire in this house— I don't care— just find something!"

"Maybe if you hadn't hijacked my spell to bring Kol back, he would be here to help!" hissed Davina. "If he were here, he might have known how to comfort her so that she wouldn't have turned her humanity off in the first place! If he were here— he'd know a spell we could do!"

"If we'd let you on with your little project, Dahlia would have killed us all, little witch, keep that in mind!" sneered Klaus.

Elijah, Klaus, and Marcel had done a different type of research. None of them knew enough about magic to look in terms of spells, but they'd managed to find a woman who claimed to be the daughter of Robert Cavelier de La Salle— a vampire who'd been living a simple life in Dijon, France, since her birth in 1687.

"If she really is Beatrix's half-sister, she might be able to help," said Marcel. "Beatrix traveled to Dijon— she met people who were related to her, she just didn't reveal her true identity. She might know this woman. It could help."

And so, when they'd found Beatrix at Rousseau's chatting idly with Cami, who was for some reason not in any danger around her, they'd brought in the woman.

"Beatrix."

She turned as Cami started to wipe down the clean glasses. "Yes, Klaus?" she said with a cheeky smile.

"We have someone here to see you," the hybrid said, beckoning to the door as Marcel led the woman in.

Tall, slender, with pale skin and thin blonde hair, she looked absolutely nothing like Beatrix, but every bit like their father. She moved forward slowly, and smiled. "Beatrix, is it?" she asked gently in her French accent. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

Of course, they had met once. But the woman had had no idea that Beatrix was her sister, back then.

Beatrix gave her a wry look. "Renée," she murmured. "Yes, I remember you. Renée Catarina La Salle, born in Texas, but raised in Dijon. Pray tell, why are you here? What have they promised you?"

"Nothing," said Renée, striding forward. "I have not been told much about you, just that you're my sister."

A lie. Marcel and Klaus had told her exactly what was going on, and it had been Renée that suggested going before they could ask her to.

Beatrix stood, observing her. "You and I, we look nothing alike. Why would you believe anyone who told you that?"

"Perhaps because I just wanted to see for myself," she said simply. "Neither of us met our father. I was conceived mere months before he died. But my mother kept the journal he carried, and there was an entry from 1683, regarding a woman named Soleil claiming to be carrying his child. It didn't take too much searching to find a drawing of her. You look just like her."

Beatrix swirled the drink in her hands, not looking over at the woman. "Well, darling, I haven't much to offer you. I suggest you leave before this gets ugly."

Renée was not about to back down. "I would like for us to get to know each other," she said. "I believe we are from the same sireline, and we are indeed half-sisters."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but I don't give a fucking damn," said Beatrix with a careless shrug. "Walk away. This is your last warning."

Her mistake had been to try and touch Beatrix's hand. "Please, sister—"

Beatrix had seized her heart and torn it out before Marcel or Klaus could stop her.

Cami had turned away immediately, covering her mouth as Renée's dead body fell to the floor. Beatrix glared up at Klaus. "Really? You think you could get me to turn my humanity back on with the help of a woman I only knew once? Why did you think that would do absolutely anything? You don't know me, do you? Not at all."

She'd sped away and they hadn't tried to catch her.

"This is getting bloody ridiculous!" Klaus sneered on the 15th of that month. "Nothing has worked! NOTHING!"

"Perhaps if you just apologized to Elijah so that you could all work together properly, something would turn up!" chided Freya.

The hybrid whirled to face her. "Do not lecture me on my relations with Elijah!"

"The house is divided because you're both at odds!" she cried. "Maybe things are better with Marcel because you let him take over the Quarter again, but it doesn't erase what happened!"

"If Elijah does not wish to forgive me, then that's his bloody problem! He can spend his time brawling in Marcel's bloody fight gym for all I care! Hayley tried to take my daughter! He does not get to tell me how to go about that! If he cannot set aside his idiocies to help the woman he loved far before Hayley's parents were even born, then we do not need him!"

Freya crossed her arms. "Do I need to tell Rebekah to come home?"

"No!" snarled Klaus. "We have it under control!"

"Do you? Even Cami is scared to go near her now, even if Beatrix hasn't hurt her. She's torn through too many people to keep count anymore! Davina won't help because you're all being uncooperative and she doesn't want to come off as a vampire sympathizer anymore!"

"To hell with Davina and her bloody covens, then!" roared Klaus. "We don't need her and we don't need Elijah!"

"How do you propose we get Beatrix to turn her humanity back on, then?" cried Freya. "Tell me, Klaus, I'm all ears!"

He hadn't responded right away.

Beatrix was still having the time of her life.

She was at another club, feeding on one of the waitresses in the shadows. She had her eyes closed until she'd heard someone clapping slowly, and footsteps coming her way.

"Very good, very good, you chose the one with the tastiest blood," said a man as he walked toward her. Dark brown hair that was neatly groomed, piercing hazel eyes, slim yet muscular, with a dark leather jacket. He was not much taller than her, and yet, he carried himself like he was the most impressive man in the world.

"You've tasted all the servers?" asked Beatrix, letting the waitress go and sending her stumbling away to bring more drinks. The Heretic leaned back against the wall, letting her gaze drift up and down his figure before fixating on the charming smirk plastered on his handsome face.

"All of them since I arrived, yes," he said, coming closer. "Haven't been here for more than a few hours. You weren't here earlier."

"No, I was murdering a brat of a pizza delivery boy in Algiers earlier," she said casually, standing up straight. "He absolutely refused to let me have a slice."

"A slice of the pizza or a slice of his neck?" inquired the man.

"Both," she replied, batting her eyelashes. "And what might your name be?"

"Lucien Castle," he replied, stretching his arm out to shake hers. "And you?"

"Beatrix La Salle," she stated, offering her hand. He took it and kissed it. "My my, a beautiful name fitting for an absolutely stunning woman. Tell me, should we get out of here? I have someone whose blood you might like better."

"Lead the way, darling," she said, raising her eyebrows.

Reckless, passionate, dirty, rough, there were likely not enough words to describe what went on in the newly purchased penthouse that night, but in the end, it fulfilled the goal that the Heretic had— pleasure that could make her forget why she was being so reckless in the first place. And this time, without her humanity, there was no nagging feeling of guilt, only bliss that she craved to draw herself further and further away from ever turning the switch back on.

She'd come to sleep at the Mikaelson compound for the first time in two months that morning, still stumbling and feeling unbelievably tired.

"Her mother," Klaus had been saying to Freya earlier, when he'd finally figured out what to try. "It has to be it. I know what she looks like because I painted the woman for her once. I recall a brief scene from her childhood. If you were to channel me, would you be able to create the illusion of her mother, or something? Surely that would make her turn her humanity back on."

"We can try it," Freya said, pursing her lips. "Yes... that might be the last possible thing that could work.

When Beatrix had awoken the following afternoon in her bed, curled up under the sheets, she'd been greeted with a pat on her shoulder.

"Itza," breathed the almost forgotten voice of Ixazaluoh. "Mija. Wake up. I didn't raise you to sleep in."

Beatrix whirled around, certain she was still dreaming. "Mamá," she breathed.

It was certainly her mother, every last detail pinned down by Klaus's memories of Beatrix's dreams. Her long, flowing, dark curls. Her gentle brown eyes, and the kind smile that she'd presented her daughter with every morning. The loose robes she wore, splattered with different colors from making tonics, potions, and other mixtures to alleviate all illnesses. She looked like Beatrix, just a bit older, and with her skin a few shades darker.

"Mija," she breathed. "Why have you let yourself go? I never taught you to be like this. What did I tell you, when you found out you were a siphon?"

Beatrix gulped, feeling a bit embarrassed. "To never use that power to hurt. Not like how I burned you, that one time."

"Exactly. And yet, all I see is blood on you. Traces all over your body from the people you have killed. Didn't I tell you that I didn't want that for you? I escaped my people because they sought to sacrifice me. Me, an innocent, torn to pieces just for a meager attempt at bringing back the Mayan civilization. Something that never would have worked. I hid you from the witches because they sought to hurt you. I always taught you how precious human life is. How fragile. And I was so proud that you only ever killed in self-defense when you first became a vampire. I taught you to fight for yourself and you did. But this?"

She sat on the bed beside her daughter, and reached for her face. "This is not you. I did not fight to hide you so that you could be corrupted. You are better than this. You have more potential than you realize. It hurts so badly to lose someone you love. It pained me when your father sent me away. It hurt so much more when I died and lost you, never able to touch you again." She withdrew her hand, as if to make a point, when really, Freya simply feared that if her illusion made contact, Beatrix would realize it was a trick, and they would lose her.

"I-I'm sorry, Mamá," said Beatrix shakily, looking ashamed. "Porfavor... me tienes que perdonar... no quiero pensar que estás enojada conmigo... aunque es un sueño, no quiero que estés decepcionada... yo jamás pensé que te estaba haciendo sentir avergonzada de mi. No fué mi intención."

Translation: [Please... you have to forgive me... I don't want to think that you are mad at me.... even if this is a dream, I don't want you to be disappointed... I never thought that I was making you feel ashamed of me. It wasn't my intention.]

The woman gave her a smile. "Then turn it on, my darling," she whispered. "This may be only a dream, but if you turn it on, you will still feel the relief, and I swear to you, it will be the right choice to make when you wake up. Please, do it for me."

Beatrix didn't even think that this wasn't really a dream. She had no idea that she was actually awake, and this illusion was a trick meant to get her to turn her humanity on again. After all, once she turned it on, everything would flood back, and the guilt would keep her from turning it back on again.

And so, she closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. When she opened them, she began to cry immediately, tears streaming steadily down her face once she saw her mother was no longer in front of her.

She looked to the doorway, where Klaus was standing, looking in at her reaction. Freya was beside him, holding Hope.

"S-She w-wasn't— w-wasn't really h-here, w-was she?" Beatrix hiccuped, her body trembling as she started to sob.

"No, love, she wasn't," said Klaus gently, going over to sit at her side. "But I know that your mother is watching over you no matter where she is, right now. Even if she cannot appear to you in dreams without it being a memory, it doesn't mean she's gone."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "I only knew Kai for a very brief moment. And yet, I could see how special he was to you. Like your mother, he isn't truly gone. I promise you that. I... I apologize that you had to lose him. I really, really, am sorry."

She pulled him into a tight hug instead of replying.