a/n: A plan (of sorts)
18 chapters...8 of those are split (4 episodes=8 chapters). I will try to post those episodes as one in morning, one in evening. Everything else will be based on when I hit the average number of votes/reads :)

Also, MJ & Klaus have great moments, don't panic about ships. Just enjoy the dynamic <3

MJ ended up staying the night at a hotel a few hours outside of Mystic Falls. She could've just crashed at her apartment and started the drive back in the morning, but she'd needed to get out of the town. Getting out her grief by screaming into the forest, letting Kol suggest things for her to do, had butterflies growing in her stomach. It had been a nice feeling. Until she'd gone to high-five him after fixing it all, hand flying right through.

Her rune did have a limit, so they'd both taken the hint. He'd vanished to stop her from wasting any more energy, and she left.

Every time MJ slept after wiping the rune off, she'd sleep incredibly deeply, somewhat aching.

A reminder that she was still a witch.

She had a limit to how much power she could use.

Kol was dead.

SKatherine was dead.

Tyler was back in town, which was going to blow up, and MJ was getting back to New Orleans before she could get dragged into anymore Mystic Falls hi-jinx - even if going home meant thinking about Davina.

Mid-drive, the next morning, she received a phone call.

Caroline started the conversation off strong, "I did something bad."

"Do I need to turn around?"

"No!"

MJ clicked on the satnav, "You sure?"

"Yeah, I – I just have to tell someone, but it's not – like, it's not a problem? I don't – "

"Care," She stopped her, "Breathe."

A long inhale on the other line.

"Just tell me what happened?"

"Klaus and I had sex."

MJ's car swerved, "What?"

"That's why he never popped in to see Katherine..."

She blinked very slowly.

"We were having sex in the woods."

She started to laugh.

"MJ!"

"Sorry!" She hadn't meant to laugh, "Oh my – Oh my god, wow."

"Um?"

"Caroline," Her voice was strained, "You know how in complicated situations there's a big red button you should never press because it'll implode everything?"

"I know!"

"You pressed the button!"

"Just as Ty got back," She sounded slightly broken.

MJ tightened her grip on the wheel to keep herself focused.

"I didn't mean to..."

"You didn't mean to sleep with him?"

"No!"

"Did you trip and fall on it!?"

"MJ!"

"Okay," She cleared her throat, "Momentary pause to stress something. Not judging you for doing it."

Her mind was only thinking about Tyler.

"Just...ahh."

"I know!"

"I'm sorry."

"...What for?"

"I feel like I'm making you feel worse," MJ couldn't close her eyes to process how uncomfortable she was because she was driving, "Not judging you, just, you did sleep with him."

You don't accidentally do that.

"You can't just say you didn't mean to like that changes everything...and I can't be in the middle."

"In the middle?"

"If we're reasonable," She tilted her head, "You guys were broken up. It's not like you cheated on him...and, I mean, he never has to find out..."

There was a sick feeling in her stomach.

"You're not going to tell him?" Caroline asked carefully.

MJ knew it would crush him, "Why would I?"

"But your whole honesty thing."

"Yeah," MJ wished she didn't know, "Klaus killed his mum."

Caroline paused.

"He can't know unless you're planning on getting back together."

Beat.

"If you are? He does. And you need to be the one to tell him. You can't call me and hope I'll do it for you out of an honesty complex."

"Um," Caroline swallowed, "Sorry."

"Why?"

"Carol meant a lot to you too."

"I was literally living with Klaus until the other day," MJ couldn't judge, "Another reason I can't be in the middle of this."

She brightened up at that, "Yeah! You are!"

MJ raised an eyebrow.

"If he's cool with you, he can't get mad at me?"

"He's not cool about it," MJ had to burst her bubble, "He's letting it happen because he knows I need it."

Dead everyone, trumped dead mum.

"I'm not choosing Klaus over him. I'm choosing New Orleans over Mystic Falls."

Silence.

"Sorry, Care."

Sharp inhale.

"I wanna do the whole girl thing where we get to laugh and be uncomfy about it in a good way, but," MJ really hated it, "No, okay, we're doing it."

She had to be Switzerland, no matter how much it made her shift in her seat.

"Tyler left. You gave him a choice. He made the wrong one. He's back. It's gonna be awkward, but we'll find a way to make it work."

*Optimism*

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

"Caroline Forbes," MJ had sat through enough girl talks about Matt and Tyler, as uncomfortable as they made her, "Talk to me."

"I mean," She made a shuddering sound, "I get you now."

"Get me?"

"The not wanting to share aspect. I keep showering to try and wash the shame off me."

MJ forced a laugh, "You had a one-night stand. That's perfectly normal if we ignore the Ty of the situation. And I wasn't keeping quiet out of shame. I was keeping quiet, so I didn't have to define the relationship."

Massive difference.

She wasn't ashamed, she was terrified to openly want something and of having to explain herself.

"Yeah..."

MJ had another question, "Can I ask you to tell Ty?"

"You just said he can't find out!"

"I know!" She groaned, "But secrets spiral. And you need to be the one to tell him, and you need to own it. Excuses will make it worse. And, and, ah."

"I'll...I'll see how him being back is."

"Love you, Care."

"Even if I slept with Klaus?"

"No judgement," MJ nodded, "It was bound to happen eventually. He'd clearly gotten under your skin last year – and I love you too much to care."

"Thank you."

She hung up.

MJ was so happy she wasn't in town for that fight.

After she'd ended the call, her phone was still propped up on a handsfree clip by the wheel, an odd notification on the lock screen.

One from Elena.

The road she was on was pretty empty, so MJ risked checking it.

- Hey

- I have some things I wanna say, but I wanna do it on a phone call

- Give me a call when you can

- When you're back in New Orleans, so you're not driving or anything

'Okay.'

'Is everything okay?'

- Yep.

- Everything's really good, actually.

- Just text me when you're in New Orleans.

Knowing someone wants to talk to you without knowing why is the quickest way to get a rush of anxiety, MJ picking up her pace to get back to the city. Traffic meant it took her most of the day, arriving at her apartment that night, Josh already asleep.

She'd immediately crept onto the balcony, trying not to wake him, planning to call Elena when she received one from Stefan.

"Your best friend's insane," He was fuming.

"What?"

"He tried to bite Caroline."

"What!?" She quickly closed the balcony door so she could speak louder, "I guess that means it's all come out about Klaus?"

Stefan took a beat to calm himself, "Yeah, and he wolfed out."

MJ closed her eyes.

"Talk some sense into him. He's being an ass."

"Stefan," MJ crossed her arms, "He has a right to be pissed."

"A right to kill her?"

"He never would've!"

"You didn't see it."

"Did he lunge at her? Or did he just go Hybrid Face?"

"...Hybrid Face – and he threw something."

"He's hurt, and I'll tell him off, but you can't snap at him like he's the enemy."

No response.

"Is Caroline okay?"

"Yeah," He was sharp, "You're taking his side then?"

"You think I want my two best friends hating each other?"

He paused.

"I'm neutral ground," She said firmly, "I think it's a complicated enough situation that they're gonna have to work through, and we're just gonna have to hope no one gets physically hurt in the fallout."

"Well, Tyler doesn't seem interested in not hurting people."

"And I said," MJ rolled her eyes, "I'll talk to him. But Stefan, focus on cheering Caroline up, not beating him up."

"Fine," He huffed.

"Don't be snarky with me."

"I'm not."

The tone was nicer.

"I'm still adjusting to being back to normal...was kinda hoping you'd be around to help."

"Sorry," She didn't want to think about him struggling, "If you're really feeling it, I am just a phone call away."

"Does that mean you'll come back to help?"

"I have a life. I'm not coming back because of break-up drama."

No chance.

"And if your sudden interest in Caroline's happiness is actually a deflection tactic, so you don't have to think about the fact Elena's now single – "

"It's not."

"Good," MJ hoped he wasn't lying, "Caroline's a good person, and she doesn't deserve to be your second choice either."

"Ha, ha."

"Talk to you soon."

"Bye."

She leant on the thin iron balcony railing, looking over her city, closing her eyes to listen to it.

Beyond her eyelashes were dots of gold, streetlamps lining restaurants and galleries. People were moving in and out of the different coloured buildings like a blurry photograph she kept coming back to – each glance revealing more details.

There was an exhibit MJ had visited in New York once, a statue made of sound systems in the centre of a room, surrounded by the other pieces, underscoring them with a mix of music and recorded conversations. What could've been an ugly and inescapable sound in your ears just kept you lingering until time no longer existed. It was just you in the room, having your breath taken away by the beauty your eyes could see, above the noise, like an omniscient god at peace with it.

That was what standing on her balcony felt like.

MJ had chosen Julia Street because it was a hotspot for art galleries and live performances, bleeding into her life. The buses and cars moved along the road, slick wheels against tarmac, people walking about on the stone streets three floors below her, some fast and busy, others sloppy and laughing.

The building only had three floors, so she was the highest she could get, breeze blowing through her hair gently.

Then she called Elena.

"MJ!" She sounded way too excited.

"I'm no longer driving," MJ didn't, "Whatcha wanna talk about?"

"I...I was just thinking..."

The pep disappeared.

"Um, so I broke up with Damon."

She didn't know how that had anything to do with her, "I thought he dumped you?"

"He did, then he took it back."

"Oh."

"And I spent the day thinking...really thinking, and I realised some things."

"Okay?"

"One of which was that I'd never apologised to you."

MJ curled her lip in.

"I should've listened to you about a lot of things," Elena's voice started to sound a little more sure of herself, "The sire-line, Silas, the fact you could've healed the Hunter's Curse."

All true.

"And god – I'm so sorry about not even considering your feelings when we killed Kol."

MJ looked down at the smiling faces of a friend group walking into a restaurant.

"I mean, you literally brought me back to life!" Elena scoffed at herself, "You kept saving me, and I'm not sure I've ever thanked you for any of it."

"You did," MJ's voice was quiet, "Near the beginning, and, like, it's hard to expect thanks after the sacrifice considering I did...you know, sacrifice you and Jenna."

"But you brought me back!"

MJ rubbed her wrist while changing which ear the phone was pressed into.

"And I've been going through all the choices I've made the past year, and I wanna do better. That starts with making up with you."

"And dumping Damon?"

"Yeah."

MJ raised her eyebrows at the firmness of her answer.

"Every time I make a choice, I have to think through how he's going to react to it, and it's too much," 'Elena' complained, "I might be good for him, but he's not good for me, and that doesn't seem like a fair deal."

She wasn't wrong.

"And if we're not together, I can focus on other things. Me things – like mending friendships."

MJ felt a little flutter inside.

"You cared about Kol, and we could've found another way. We should've. And it's not fair that I got Damon, Bonnie, and Jeremy, while you had to leave town."

"I wanted to leave town."

"And I'm really happy that you've found a place you enjoy...even if it's with Klaus."

MJ laughed.

"Seriously, how does that work?"

"It just does," She smiled, "Don't think about it too hard."

"...Do you know?"

"About Caroline and him?"

"My mind kinda exploded," Elena whistled lowly, "Please tell me yours did too?"

"To be honest," MJ felt lightness in her bones, "I was expecting it to happen. I just didn't expect it to coincide so awfully with Ty coming back to town."

"Whose side are you on?"

"I have no leg to stand on, so I'm hoping they draw up a shared custody agreement for me to follow."

She laughed, "And if they don't, I can steal all your time."

"Maybe."

"No maybe," Elena sounded like she was smiling, "I'm putting in the effort to be a better friend. Because I miss being your friend. And having you as a friend – and I know forgiveness is probably impossible – "

"It's not impossible," MJ wanted to hate Elena and Jeremy, but she wasn't good at long term hate, "Jeremy texts me every day, constantly threatening to track me down and be my personal bodyguard."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"Please don't," She was smiling too, "I appreciate the sentiment, but my bar has always been an apology or a thank you. So, you ticked the boxes."

"That's seriously all you want?"

"I could hate you forever," She had planned to, "Or I could accept that the world keeps turning...I'm not gonna lie and say I love the sound of your voice. But there's nothing I can do to change the past."

"We can only shape our futures," Elena agreed, "And that's what I'm trying to do."

"Then we're good," MJ was willing to try and be good anyway.

The conversation wrapped up pretty quickly after that, MJ making her final phone call.

One to Tyler.

She listened to him cry, and ramble, and hate the universe and himself more than anything.

He didn't talk about Klaus. He didn't talk about MJ. He just talked about how much he hated himself for leaving to begin with, and she was grateful for that. He knew putting MJ in the middle wouldn't work since it would just open up a whole other can of worms about his feelings towards her being in New Orleans, and they didn't need to have another conversation about that.

He just needed his best friend.

Hearing him cry physically pained her. It drained the energy out of her body, like someone had plugged her into an IV to steal her blood. But MJ couldn't do anything about it.

She could only tell him off for going straight to the rage monster part of his brain, then try and help him figure out what he was going to do now he was back in Mystic Falls.

After about an hour of letting him talk it all out, MJ crashed on her bed without even getting changed.

It was a very odd two weeks following the death of Katherine Pierce.

The witches were making themselves scarce in The Quarter, and the vampire community were slowly getting back into the swing of things under Klaus's leadership. She'd been able to operate somewhat normally, going to her job, and using her free time to start work on Kol's list of resurrection ideas.

She had a special cork board pinned up in the magic room and everything!

Coloured string connecting the parts she liked from the different spells in case she was forced to create her own one. Locating each of the spells was a bit of a nightmare, but she was making progress - Kol having listed vague recollections about resurrection from different spots around the world, her able to use MiMiPasare to get more details.

Since the magic was precious, she'd recreated a barrier spell on the room, controlling who could get in.

People were tense, which meant Hayley and Rebekah were both summoning MJ to The Compound every other day to sit on the bed in the magic room and rant/drink (not Hayley).

It was a surprisingly fun rhythm to be in.

MJ had finished a Hayley catch-up over breakfast, then headed into the courtyard, noticing Marcel staggering down the stairs with a wine bottle in his hand, intercepted by Diego.

"Oooh," MJ wafting her hand, "Day drunk on wine? That's good to see."

"Hm," He wasn't amused by the comment, taking another sip

"Do you know what's going on?" Diego asked her.

She looked around the courtyard, all the nightwalkers and daywalkers waiting for something to happen.

"Klaus ordered us to meet here," He glanced to the people sitting nearby, "And now he's a no-show."

MJ shrugged, "Klaus likes to make an entrance. He probably wanted you all here first."

"That's a bit dramatic."

"Klaus's default setting is dramatic."

"It's a new regime," Marcel's features were scrunched, "Get used to it."

As if on cue, Klaus arrived, walking from the entrance with a hand on Thierry's shoulder.

Thierry, wearing a buttoned-up checked shirt and a clean jacket, no flat-top cap on his head.

MJ pointed, "Here we go."

"Dearest brethren!" He announced.

"See," She whispered, "Dramatic."

Diego fought off his smile.

During her two weeks of popping in and out, MJ had been trying to play nice with as many of the vampires as she could. The vampires, however, were mainly choosing to be difficult with her.

"Your attention, please," Klaus rubbed Thierry's shoulder, "No doubt, you're all surprised to see Thierry Vanchure, who's supposed to be rotting in The Garden for the crime of killing one of our own."

While everyone else stood up to come closer, smiles appearing on their faces, Marcel took a seat at the centre table, MJ joining him to try and work out what Klaus was doing.

"I decided to issue him with a pardon."

Marcel looked at MJ for an explanation she didn't have.

"I hope you'll all welcome him home."

Everyone cheered as Thierry whipped his old hat out of his pocket to put it back on his head, heading into the crowd of people coming forward to high-five and hug him.

Klaus sauntered over to join them, leaning on the table.

"You're in a good mood," Marcel acknowledged, causing Klaus's grin to double, "You should visit Mystic Falls more often."

"If he does," MJ grimaced, "I'm not leaving him unsupervised again."

Marcel raised an eyebrow.

"He found a way to put the 'fun' in funeral. "

Klaus realised she knew, straightened up almost nervously and cleared his throat.

He went to say something, but she stopped him.

"Learning about it was enough of a conversation for me. I brought it up so you would know not to."

He managed a laugh and looked back at the crowd, all simmering down for his next announcement.

"As you all know, the witch Davina is no longer with us."

MJ stared at Marcel's half-empty bottle.

"Without Davina, we can no longer monitor the activity of our witch neighbours."

Someone pointed at MJ, "Why don't you just use her?"

"Because the Harvest tracked the magic. Davina was just the host," MJ kept her tone as friendly as possible, "I'm not the Harvest. I can't just do that."

She could track magic, but she couldn't make it specific to the French Quarter Coven, and she wasn't about to just out every spell performed by any witch in the whole of New Orleans. She'd come to help witches, and part of her still wanted to, even if The Quarter Elders seemed nightmarish.

They'd all died.

It could be the start of a better generation.

"You could still be a weapon."

"Yeah, lock her in the attic!"

Vampires could be assholes.

"Keep her in her place."

"Enough!" Klaus snapped, "Mira is a friend and an ally."

"She's a witch."

"She should be tossed out with the rest of them."

"And if these suggestions continue," Klaus spoke like no one had said anything, despite threatening them, "I will be forced to rip your tongues out."

"Look," MJ put a hand on his arm, "I'm not here to cause trouble, and I'm not here to be used either."

"But, she will be here," Klaus said simply, "Her magic isn't reliant on The Harvest, so she has a long-lasting purpose."

"Daily reminder that you suck!"

"And even if she didn't, she would still be under my protection."

MJ noticed Elijah watching from the balcony, "You suck slightly less."

"And since the Harvest failed, the witches magic will soon be gone forever, and until then, I say we keep them on their toes. Diego," Klaus pointed to him, "I wonder if you might lead a rousting in the cauldron?"

"Rousting," MJ mocked quietly, finding the way he'd said the word unnaturally funny.

Diego liked the instruction, rubbing his hands together and instantly picking out a group of other vampires to join him.

Marcel grabbed his bottle tightly, "The witches are your people."

"I'm aware," MJ crossed her arms, "And don't act like you haven't given that exact order before."

He couldn't argue that

"They are my people," She softened her voice, "But until I find the Harvest magic and bring those teenagers back, there isn't much I can do for the witches."

Marcel paused, "You think you can?"

"I know I'm gonna try," She wasn't giving up, "Plus, the witches voted death to my mother and lied to four teenagers about dying. My sympathy is lacking."

He took another swig then went to walk away, catching Klaus's attention.

"Marcel," He stopped him as he stood up, "I'd hoped you would join Diego."

"Nah," Marcel didn't bat an eye, "I'm gonna take a personal day."

He didn't wait around for an order to do otherwise, opting to walk straight into Klaus's shoulder and out the door, leaving his sire scowling.

Klaus then looked to MJ, standing up and heading to the exit too.

"Where are you going?"

"Work," She lifted up the 'press' pass she'd wrapped around her wrist, "I'm supposed to be taking pictures of the Fulton Street Food Festival."

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, I am."

"Just because I don't want my vampires to treat you like a prisoner doesn't mean I can let you out my sight."

"Klaus – "

"What if one of them makes a move against you to get at me?"

"I'll melt their brain."

"Mira – "

"Don't try and ground me," She shook her head, "It won't end well."

He scowled.

"Think about how obnoxious I was the first time you locked me up," MJ reminded him, "And that was when I was terrified of you. Imagine how much worse I'll be now."

He held her look.

"Do you really want me to rehash the entire history of Russian Theatre again?"

He considered it, "You are the most annoying prisoner on the planet."

"Exactly!"

"But I need you close by."

"And I need to do my job," She retorted, "See ya."

"Mira!"

"I can literally teleport," She vanished and reappeared closer to the door, "You legit can't keep me here."

He vamp-sped in front of her, pressing a finger into her shoulder to see if she was actually there.

She was.

He raised an eyebrow, "...Since when?"

"It's only within my eye-line, and it drains me like crazy," MJ waved a hand, "I'm also working on my bird shifting, so I'll see you later."

As she walked from the Compound and back to The Art's district, she phoned her brother.

"MiMi," He greeted.

"So," She knew she sounded nervous, "I have a question."

"Okay?"

"Would you be okay with me consecrating mum's spirit?"

Doing it behind his back felt dirty.

Consecrating her would affect their family magic, giving it an anchor in the city, so he needed to be on board with the plan too.

"Um, what?"

"Well," MJ needed a good lie, "Being back in New York...I've started thinking about what it means to have a home, and mum chose New Orleans."

"And she died because of it."

"She still joined a coven."

"So you want to consecrate her to their ancestral plane?"

"I was thinking about it."

"MiMi..." His voice had sympathy in it, "She belongs in Floare Peace."

"And she found peace. All I'll be doing is giving her magic a place to rest."

"Her magic belongs to the Floare."

"And it still will, through us," MJ had done the reading, "Right now, it's tied to the necklace – I just thought she could maybe have both. Access to the two worlds she lived in."

He made an unsure noise, "Is this you looking for an excuse to go to New Orleans and spy on dad?"

"...If I happened to see him..."

"He's gone eight years without us," Ryos didn't take the chance to come clean, "Can we really just rock up and change his life?"

"Fair enough," MJ was really trying not to just snap that she knew about the compulsion, "If you don't want me to consecrate her, I won't."

"I'm just trying to think about how you could."

"I have her spirit's essence in the stone."

"But wouldn't you need the body? We don't know where the body is – the coven might've burnt it."

"True," She couldn't tell him they hadn't.

"I think we should have this convo another time, like, on Skype or something?" He suggested, "To properly talk about it...I do like it as an idea, just, we need a plan it properly."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Talk to you soon then."

She hung up, turning onto Fulton Street and taking it all in. The street was wide, made for walking on. Different coloured orange stones mapped out places cars could go down to make deliveries, but a bandstand of sorts in the centre made it clear it wasn't a proper road. The dark red brick buildings on either side were filled with restaurants and pubs, some using their upstairs for that too; others renting them out as living spaces.

The balconies were all decked out with flower wreaths for the week, the walk space filled with tents and tables of food. Large platters and dishes, manned by chefs, trialled by the general public and the judges.

MJ had passed through for initial photos on her way to The Compound, getting pictures of competitors and judges before the event started, back to capture the life of it.

Work helped with grief.

It gave her a routine to stick to, meetings and photography sessions that stopped her from fixating on Sabine. 

She'd been given a press pass to meet the new Mayor and Chief of Police, taking pictures of them and getting a tour of their offices, interviews done about the sudden change of leadership. Then there were the University and College Campus groups leading environmental protests that she got to attend.

It was a super-easy way for her to meet more and more locals, forever a social person when allowed to be, and earning money from it.

Elena had continued texting her, and it felt unnaturally easy.

The occasional stories from college, jokes about a hot professor she had, and links to nice pairs of shoes she'd found online. MJ found it odd since Elena hadn't shown an interest in accessorising before, but she wasn't going to complain.

Then there were her chats with Bonnie twice a week.

...She was doing good...

After about an hour of exploring, MJ found Sam holding two paper bowls of food for them to munch on.

"Sophie's here," He greeted.

"I assumed she would be," MJ knew she'd wanted to be a chef.

"And she's in a state of permanent drunkness."

"While manning an oven?" She lifted the camera to multitask work and talking.

"Sabine's her babysitter."

"And that explains the stiffness in your voice."

"Yeah..." Sam watched her turn, the camera clicking as she ticked off the list of things her boss wanted in her head, "I've been trying to get info on the Crescent Curse off Sophie, but she's not exactly in the mood to be helpful, and Sabine keeps threatening to 'spell' me if I don't back off."

MJ started to walk through the people, twisting the lens, "If it was her ancestor, it'd be in a family Grimoire."

"That's what I figured," Sam momentarily got distracted by some of the food, adding it to their plates.

MJ's pass meant they got discounted prices on everything.

"But I feel super awkward asking, given The Harvest of the situation."

"Just because her family's gone doesn't mean yours has to be," She understood the difficult situation they were in, "More reason for me to try and find the magic, right?"

He nodded firmly.

"If I can get Monique back, she'll have the motivation to help you and Hayley."

"Do you have any leads?"

"The magic vanished, meaning it's been put somewhere," MJ focused on getting the perfect picture to stop herself from getting distracted as she spotted Sabine and Sophie, "It's just about finding it."

"Can't you track it again?"

"The Harvest magic runs through the streets," MJ finally paused to get her plate and eat, "It's everywhere."

"Smoke-screened."

"Precisely." She stretched her neck and cracked her back, "Should we get a plate for Josh?"

"Already on it," He tapped the bag he was wearing, "I went through every stall earlier with a thermos box."

MJ smiled, "That's good."

She handed her plate back to him, capturing a few close-ups of sales being made.

"I can feel it in my gut," Her camera was back in the case around her neck once that was done, "The magic's been put in something or someone, and if I can find it, I can get Davina back."

An unfamiliar male voice spoke behind them, "You might be right about that."

MJ and Sam both turned, tightening their grip on their plates while scanning him.

He was African American, tall and thin, dressed in a white linen suit with a golden bow tie. The black fedora on his head kept the sun out of his eyes.

MJ froze when she spotted an ink pattern on the back of his wrist.

"Sam," She kept her eyes on it, "You need to go."

The man wore a large and confident smile, "No, he doesn't."

"Who are you?" Sam's eyes were dancing between the two of them, "MJ?"

She kept her head high, body tense, "He's a witch using sacrificial magic to power himself."

"I go by Papa Tunde," He took a step closer to them, MJ taking one back, pulling Sam with her, "A performers identity – the ancestors said you'd know a thing about that."

She had no clue who he was or how much black magic he might've been using as a battery pack, but she could feel the power, and she didn't like it.

"MiMi Pasare."

"Mira Jung Ruiz," She introduced, "Floare-Ruiz if we're being specific."

"Ah," He nodded, "Alphonz Bellatunde Delgallo."

Why did she know that name?

"If we're being specific."

"And why are you here?"

"To extend an offer."

"An offer?"

"Well, more so, deliver a message."

"From who?"

"Your ancestors."

"Ances...wait!" She almost dropped her plate, "Alphonz – you!"

His smile just got wider.

"You were one of the names!"

"MJ," Sam had taken another step back, "What's going on?"

"One of your little disgraced creations," Papa Tunde looked him over, "As a show of good faith, I'll leave him be."

Sam inched back again, sensing the threat under the sentence.

"The message is simple, young one," He focused back on her, "Join your fellow witches or suffer, the way all witches who find themselves entangled with the Mikaelson's suffer."

"See," MJ narrowed her eyes, "I can't tell if you're threatening me or saying they'll kill me."

"Why can't it be both?"

"Wonderful," She loosened up a little, "Is that all 'Papa Tunde.'"

"For now," He nodded, retreating into the crowd of people.

They couldn't start a fight in the middle of the day, surrounded by the public. MJ wanted to know who she was dealing with before she'd risk a fight at all.

"Um," Sam looked oddly pale, "What was that?"

"We just found The Harvest."

"We did?"

"We did."

"Into some random witch?" Sam pushed onto his toes to try and spot the fedora again, "Not Sabine?"

"Four witches were meant to rise," MJ finished her food as quickly as possible, "I was given a list of four names; his was one of them."

She felt like an idiot.

The magic had been relocated in to four different people – that was why she couldn't track it.

"Oh."

"Yeah," MJ put the paper plate into the nearest bin, "We need to get back to the compound. Now."

It was a very rushed trip, MJ going straight there while Sam vamp sped to drop the food off for Josh before getting back to her side.

MJ had to say Sam was adjusting well.

His initial distaste for compulsion had faded away once he'd realised he was genuinely expected to spend all his time at The Compound with Hayley. He compelled all of his bosses to try and keep his life going since he needed a paycheck.

The problem was hiding it from his family.

All of them were supernatural, so he couldn't compel them, but since they weren't involved with the community, and since he didn't want them involved, he hadn't actually told them about the fact he'd died.

Something MJ was trying to change his mind about.

He couldn't hide his hybrid upgrade forever, and it felt like not telling them was his way of being in denial about the entire situation.

"Klaus!"

Nothing.

"Niklaus Mikaelson!"

Still nothing.

"You have super hearing, so I'm just gonna keep yelling until someo – "

Diego appeared in front of her, "He's not here!"

"I figured," MJ grinned, "But I needed someone to tell me where he might be?"

Klaus wasn't answering his phone.

Neither was Rebekah.

Both of those pieces of information had added to MJ's stress during the walk back.

Diego eyed up Sam.

"Hey," She clapped to get his attention back, "Klaus? Where is he?"

"You haven't heard yet?"

She groaned, "What's happened?"

"Two vampires got attacked during our little 'check-in' with the witches," He crossed his arms, "Some symbol drawn on their heads, killing them."

That was when she noticed just how many vampires were crowding in the corridors of the house, watching them.

"Yeah," MJ sighed, "I just met the witch responsible."

"We don't know that for sure," Sam corrected.

"Creepy witch with sacrificial symbols up his arms followed by two dead vampires? Yeah we do."

"You gonna do anything about it?" Diego seemed to flip-flop between tolerating her and viewing her as the enemy.

MJ couldn't really blame him for that.

She'd lied about her identity on two separate occasions, was friends with someone he definitely hated, Klaus, and Sam - who Diego also seemed to have a problem with.

"Yes," She nodded, "I am...What's Klaus told you guys to do?"

"He wants us ripping heads off."

MJ looked to the low-mood nightwalkers, "But you're not?"

"A witch hasn't killed a vampire in eight years," He said bluntly, "We aren't giving them a chance to kill more."

"Fair enough."

"Which is what we should be doing," Sam said to her, "You don't need to go after him, MJ."

"I kinda do."

"No, you don't."

"He came to me."

"He came to threaten you."

"It was a weak attempt," She had a list of people who could scare her, and some random walk-in wasn't on it.

"It was still an attempt."

"Back off, wolf boy," Diego glared, "She's Klaus's witch. Let her run off and pander to his suicide quest."

"Excuse you!" MJ glared.

He put a hand up, "No offence."

"Sorry, I actually care about other people putting their life at risk," Sam turned on him, "I get that's probably not common with vampires."

"It more common than with wolves."

"Wolves are packs; vampires are soulless."

"Well, you're neither and both, so have fun with that."

"Oookaaay," MJ made her voice fluctuate up and down while spinning a finger around, "Let's start this conversation again."

Neither said anything.

"I'm MJ. I'm a witch. I don't pander to Klaus. I just like helping people."

Straightforward sentences.

"And helping him track down this Papa Tunde will help everyone rest easy. I like art, being busy, and being outside."

They were both still clenching their jaws.

"And Sam here, he's a hybrid," Her customer service voice was popping out, "That means he's a wolf and a vampire."

"MJ," Sam finally broke the glare to look at her, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get you two to see past the species."

"Wolves aren't worth looking past the species for."

It seemed like Diego had some damage MJ would have to uncover.

"Come on, dude," She turned to him, "Tell me something about you."

"Why?"

"Because right now you're 'caricature minion number one', and I'm hoping you have a personality beyond that."

He tried to fight off a smile at the bluntness.

"I know you must," She reasoned, "You made fun of Marcel at his party – in a loving way. That demonstrates fondness, a characteristic. Tell me more."

He eyed her up.

"You're buddy-buddy with Thierry," MJ thought aloud, "So you either got turned at similar times, or you have something in common...you don't give me old-timey vampire vibes and I know he was turned a while back...you don't smell of fish, so it's not the docks..."

She put a finger forward.

"Music!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Thierry's whole thing is that he's a trumpet player. You're a music guy?"

"I may enjoy music nights," He admitted, still stern though.

"Fantastic!" She tried not to sound too much like a primary school teacher, "So does Sam."

Said hybrid clicked his teeth.

"We were actually texting about Wednesday At The Square this morning. The performance timetable got released."

"Yeah," He nodded, a slight relaxation across his face, "I saw."

"And there we go," She mock cheered, "Common ground!"

They looked at each other again, for a second, then back to her.

"I would force an actual conversation about something other than 'fangs' and 'fur.'"

The terms had her mind taking a swan dive into the gutter.

"But I have things to do today," MJ spun on her heel, "ELIJAH!"

"Davina's room!" He called back.

She gave Diego a peace sign, heading up the stairs, Sam just behind her, awkwardly stepping around the vampire, like he wasn't sure what he was meant to be doing.

MJ halted in the bedroom, taking it in.

The same red wallpaper, white lines decorating it with flowers...She hadn't been in the room since she left with Davina and Marcel.

It was a complete mess.

All the things knocked down by the earthquakes were still on the floor, Hayley sitting on the bed, surrounded by Davina's drawings of Celeste.

"Wow."

She looked at Elijah, standing by the bedpost.

"You could've answered me after the first yell for Klaus."

"And interrupt the 'riveting' conversation you instigated with the riff-raff?"

The gleam in his eye almost had her laughing, except, The Original focused on Sam.

"You."

Sam glanced behind him before taking a half step forward, "Yes?"

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping Hayley safe?"

"I gave him the morning off," Hayley dismissed.

"I was buying her stuff," Sam motioned to his backpack, "Since she can't leave to get her cravings herself."

He was making the best out of his position as a supernatural babysitter.

"He's also helping with the wolf investigation," Hayley revealed.

"I just wasn't going to mention that to the Mikaelson."

"He's the good one."

"We'll see."

Once he'd handed the bag to her, Sam was retreating back to the doorway to get space between Elijah and himself.

Elijah's threat during their first meeting had certainly left an impression.

MJ got them back on track, "What are we doing in here?"

"Davina's drawings," Elijah gestured to them.

"Morbid, I know," Hayley stepped out from them, "I was just thinking, we never figured out why she drew those pictures of Celeste."

MJ thought through the list of names in her head.

"Anyway," She shuffled the sheets about, "I'm just killing time now I'm on lock-down."

"Whoever did this? We will deal with them," Elijah assured her, "It won't be long."

"I'm not worried," Hayley shrugged, "I just think it's funny that it took some big, supernatural threat for you to even come into the same room as me."

MJ somewhat ignored the conversation as she started to really look at the drawings.

There was the pile of Celeste's on the bed, three pined up on the wall, charcoal still-life's of the room, then the other witch sketches across the floor.

"I do apologize if you feel neglected," Elijah was alternating between watching the witch and holding Hayley's gaze, "I have been occupied. My siblings are in some quarrel."

MJ knelt down to flick through the ones drawn before Davina's Celeste obsession kicked in.

"Niklaus remains agitated. You'll recall that even our slightest interactions seem to infuriate him."

"Klaus is a dick, and you want to be a good big brother, so we can't hang out," Hayley said bluntly, "That sum it up?"

Elijah looked down guiltily.

"I get it, Elijah. It just seems like a really crappy deal."

"I think the 'infuriated' part comes from the fact you both accused him of having a child to form an army."

The reminder wasn't needed, but it got their attention back on MJ as she spread the pages out.

"Since he's fine with everyone else."

Marcel was right. Klaus had been in an amazing mood post-Davina.

Sure, he'd lost her as a weapon, but Katherine had died, which was a point for him, and he'd had sex with Caroline, which was another.

"But," MJ was talking like she was only half there, "Klaus is, in fact, a dick...and, it is, in fact, a crappy deal."

Elijah moved to stand behind her, "You mentioned you'd met the witch who caused the attack?"

He'd been eavesdropping.

"Uh-huh," She turned on the floor, stretching her legs out.

"Care to share?"

"You need some background info first," She took his hand, pulled back to her feet, "These drawings? Not caused by witch dreams."

Hayley returned to sitting on the bed.

"Davina only drew portraits when someone was using magic. The rest of the time, it was just things around the attic."

"But Celeste is dead," Hayley pointed out.

"True," MJ nodded, "You know who isn't? Sabine."

"You think she stole the Harvest," Elijah had been caught up on her theory.

"We know Sabine's cast magic recently," MJ didn't want to sound crazy, "She did the baby gender-demon-child prophecy reading – "

"Can we not refer to her as a demon child?"

"I meant it as the title for the prophecy," MJ backtracked, "Not the baby."

"It was a small off-the-radar spell," Hayley reminded her.

"So were Sophie's," MJ nodded, "So why has Davina sketched Sophie and not Sabine?"

She'd lain out the non-Celeste pile of pictures.

They weren't complete portraits, just snippets of faces, but the more recent ones were all clearly Sophie.

They all straightened up.

"Second bit of context," She felt unnaturally focused, everything falling into place in her head, "When I siphoned the Harvest, I heard a list of names."

She hadn't actually shared that information yet.

"I assumed it was a list of people who could be used to make a witch an elder because my mum's name was on it."

Six names, four resurrection spots to steal.

"My mum and Celeste. I thought the ancestors were trying to give me options."

"But Celeste's remains didn't work," Elijah noted.

"No," MJ agreed, "There wasn't any magic in them."

"Meaning her spirit wasn't there," He clicked, "I had a similar thought about how she might've moved it."

"Well, I'd say she definitely did," MJ tapped her hands together, "Celeste Dubois, Alphonz Delgallo, Genevieve Brodeur, Bastianna Natale."

Hayley realised what she was implying, "Four names."

"Five, actually," MJ needed to be very clear, "Six – but I think they only meant to say five."

Sam crept back into the room to look at the pictures too.

"Originally, it was Ana Ruiz, switched to Esther Mikaelson."

It was like the walls were watching her talk, egging her on.

"They were telling me the spirit they thought they were owed, i.e. how to make an elder to finish The Harvest. Then they told me the four witches who were prepped to come back."

"Alphonz Delgallo," Elijah pointed, "The vampires were marked with his magic, and we assumed it was a copycat."

"We just met him," Sam summed up, flicking between sheets, "Doesn't seem like a friendly guy."

Elijah looked at MJ, worried.

"We did," She confirmed, "My betting? If we kill those four, their magic returns to the earth, and the Harvest girls wake up."

Or someone else would hijack it as it continued to be passed around the city of the dead.

"I'll kill him."

If she was in control, it would be Davina.

MJ would be getting all of the Harvest girls back, even if it meant having to kill four people.

"Mira," Elijah shook his head, "The power this man demonstrated in the past - "

"Sacrificial battery pack magic," MJ tapped her hand. "I'm aware."

She'd recognised the symbols from the book she'd taken from Shane's office, filled with information about quite a few dark arts – not just Expression. Her witch doctor resurrection book had reference it a few times, forcing her to study it over the summer, prior to Kol telling her to find another way.

"And I'm also hoping someone's heard from Rebekah today because I haven't."

~Phone Anxiety~

"And I'd really like to make sure there are no Original's in his power supply," She tried to keep some pep in her voice, "Because that's gonna be a problem."

Elijah pulled out his phone, dialling his sister himself as MJ continued to call Klaus.

"Who is this guy?" Hayley asked.

"Radiates creepy," Sam answered, "Was wearing a fedora and a white suit."

"Papa Tunde arrived in New Orleans in 1919," Elijah led the group out of the room, phone against his ear, "Klaus and I were trying to set up a semi peaceful community. We were the vampires, then there was the Guerrera Werewolves and the humans."

"No witches," MJ glanced down to the courtyard, candles everywhere among the houseplants.

It was an interesting combination.

"The witches had been in a state of disarray after both Klaus and Kol had tried to control them."

"That was 1914," She argued, "Five years later, and they still weren't welcome at the table? You were asking for an uprising."

"And that's certainly what we got," He pressed Rebekah's contact again, "He killed the Mayor before coming to his first meeting, marking the head with the same symbols on the vampires this morning."

"He was taking the power of their deaths," MJ slid down the stair railing.

"He wanted money and territory. We denied him both."

"And his reaction?"

"He killed the human faction, then the werewolves, so I offered him a truce."

"But it wasn't really a truce," Sam was standing protectively close to Hayley as they followed the pair into the main room, "Was it?"

"I intended it to be," Elijah glared, "I gave him my word."

"But Klaus screwed it up," Hayley finished the thought.

"Precisely."

"You gave Elena 'your word' when you promised to kill Klaus," MJ was fine with Hayley having a soft spot for Elijah, but she needed to realise he wasn't perfect, "Broke that just fine."

He gave her a look.

"Sorry, not relevant," She clicked her teeth, "Klaus killed him?"

"Klaus killed his sons."

"Oh," MJ cringed.

"...How old were they?" Sam asked carefully.

"Fully grown," Elijah assured him, "I only recall one member of my family slaughtering children."

A pointed look, sent in her direction, his way of getting back at her for doubting his honour

"Klaus has too!" MJ defended, "His revenge rampages involved killing all family members. He just set fires or compelled other people to do it while Kol liked to do his own dirty work."

Given her 'Mikaelson Timeline' – she was pretty sure any child murders lined up with when Klaus had been under the Hunter's Curse and when Kol's humanity had been debatable.

She doubted Klaus would hurt a kid unless something like the Hunter's curse was messing with him.

"Back to the point," Elijah pivoted, "He showed Tunde the heads of his sons, then crushed his eyes and killed him too."

Hayley and Sam both shuddered.

"He'll be coming after all of us," MJ was added, "And he's taking the spot of a teenager...I'm gonna kill him."

"Rebekah isn't answering her calls," He gave up ringing.

A phone bing.

MJ cheered, "Klaus is at The Cauldron with Sophie!"

One Original safe.

"He finally texted back," She held up her phone, "He's trying to find out what might be going on in the coven."

"So Rebekah's the only one unaccounted for."

Hayley started to get nervous, "You guys are really worried she might've been caught by this guy?"

"Frankly, I'm worried she had something to do with this," Elijah frowned, "She's very displeased with Niklaus."

He turned, looking around the room and lowering his voice.

"Perhaps even conspiring..." He'd noticed something, "With others – Thierry!"

The man in question was drinking alone at a table, freezing at the sound of Elijah's voice, eyes darting down.

"Thierry," He started to walk towards him, "Is it?"

"That's right."

MJ stood on his left, a little back, watching to try and figure out what Elijah knew, while Hayley was behind them both on the right, Sam next to her.

"My sister is rather fond of you," He looked him up and down, "Strange. She's not typically drawn to unremarkable men."

Thierry was just about able to hold eye contact, drink returning to the table.

"Would you care to explain your sudden magnetism?"

"I don't know what you're – "

Elijah moved in a flash, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the wall of the nearest corridor, all of them rushing to follow.

"You can either tell me what you know, or I can distribute tiny pieces of you throughout The Quarter."

"She asked me to keep an eye out on witch stuff!" Thierry spluttered out, "I found something, and when I showed her, we were jumped by some guy."

Less than ideal.

"He desiccated her with his touch."

MJ always wondered if she could do that herself. She could desiccate a vampire if she held on long enough, but if she learnt the exact amount to pull out at once, could she do it with a touch?

Elijah snarled, "Like a coward, you left her."

"What was I supposed to do?" Thierry squirmed in his grip, "Fight some warlock that took out an Original?"

Hayley was staring at Elijah's hand, eyes wide, but asking, "Where was this, exactly?"

"The docks, warehouse 57," Thierry and his docks, "I was just doing what she asked."

He then realised a bigger problem he was in since they knew he'd abandoned Rebekah.

"You can't tell Klaus."

Elijah scanned him, a softness appearing that made him seem reasonable as he looked at Hayley.

Then he snapped Thierry's neck, body hitting the floor.

"I shall take that into consideration."

"Well," Sam commented, turning away slightly, "Okay then."

"I'm coming with you," Hayley decided.

"No," He shook his head, "Stay here. The Compound is safe."

"Is it?" MJ countered, "You guys need to sign it into somebodies name, and you need to let me have a day of just protection charming it up."

"Still," Elijah knew she had a point, "It's safer than being on the street."

"Rebekah's in trouble," Hayley held her head up, "I'm going."

Elijah looked to MJ for help.

"I'm going after Tunde," She replied openly, "His goal's gonna be Klaus, right? I find him first, I kill him and get a Harvest girl back."

"Mira," He came very close to her, "Let me make myself very clear. He has the power of every person he has ever killed stored in his knife. Built-up. Enough that a touch killed my sister."

"I won't let it touch me."

"You do not let it touch you."

A breath in.

"Your safety is my initial concern; yes. Your power is my second."

"Oh," MJ pulled a face, "Um, worry about the fact he's channelling Rebekah."

If she got caught, on top of Rebekah, they were gonna have a major problem.

"Let's keep it at one Original. I'm gonna have to siphon you guys to take him, and I don't know how well that'll end."

She'd only really been able to hold Qetsiyah's magic because she'd gotten rid of it almost instantly, and her entire body had felt like it had been on fire. She hadn't exactly practised controlling that amount of power.

Elijah then looked to Sam, "And will you be of use?"

"I'll be..." He looked at MJ, "You're not seriously going out there on your own, are you?"

"Yeah."

"I'll..."

"You'll go with Hayley," MJ didn't wanna throw him into the fray when he was nervous, "Elijah can focus on not getting added to the power store while you protect the baby."

"I'm not defenceless," Hayley rolled her eyes.

"I know," MJ gave her a look, "But you are pregnant."

"You'll be on your own," Sam pointed out.

"Don't even worry about it."

"You'll get hurt."

"Mira is quite the competent witch," Elijah patted him on the shoulder, "If I didn't have faith in her abilities, I wouldn't be letting her out of my sight either."

MJ smiled at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Protect the baby."

"Sire-bond," He put a thumb up, "I have to."

Hayley agreed, "Pretty much."

"Then let's go," MJ pushed them all towards the doors.

Elijah gave Hayley one last focused look, "Do not leave my sight, understand?"

She nodded.

Splitting up from them, MJ was initially gonna head to The Cauldron to protect Klaus.

The story.

She really thought through the details Elijah had given them.

Klaus hadn't just killed Tunde. He'd killed his kids, showed him the heads, then killed him.

He'd made a point first.

If Tunde was trying to get revenge, going for Rebekah worked in two ways; it would hurt Klaus, and it would make him strong enough to fight Klaus since she was an unlimited power source.

She couldn't be killed.

It wouldn't hurt Klaus the way losing his sons had hurt him.

MJ needed to think of someone who was killable. Someone considered to be Klaus's child.

Hayley and the baby made sense.

Marcel made more.

MJ phoned him.

"If Klaus thinks you can talk me into helping him, he's wrong."

"Where are you?"

Marcel clocked the tone, "Are you okay?"

"Where are you?"

"Rousseau's, with Cami – Why?"

"You need to get somewhere safe; Papa Tunde's been resurrected, and he's coming for you."

"Resurrected?"

"Yes," Tunde's voice travelled down the phone, "Resurrected."

There was a loud buzz, Marcel's end going dead.

MJ ran through the streets, darting in and out of tourists until she hit Rousseau's, skidding through the front door. Cami was sprinting out from behind the bar, getting to safety in the backroom while Tunde pressed a white bone blade into Marcel's forehead, carving his symbol.

MJ waved her hand, Tunde shooting up, "Nope!"

She'd been trying to summon the knife, but his hold was strong, keeping it in his hand, body rising with it instead.

Two shelves had been knocked out of place near the back room before her arrival. Its bottles were smashed over the floor, blood on Cami's face from where she'd been cut by the mess, hair out of place and arms shaking. MJ could only assume she'd been tossed into the wall by the first attack; Marcel having been slammed to the floor.

"Call Klaus!"

Tunde turned on MJ, fire rushing out from his hands, bursting up to the ceiling as she rebutted it with her own.

The alcohol bottles closest to them exploded, setting the counter of fire too.

A quick whip of her wrist had a wind tunnel firing Tunde back, the knife skidding to the side.

"Phasmatos Pyrox Morsinus," He hissed.

The scream was ripped from MJ's throat as glass shards shot into her stomach.

"Fugere."

The fire all rushed towards her again.

"Fatine Ignos," She slammed her elbows into the floor as she fell.

The soft drink box behind the bar broke in two, fizzy drinks spraying out.

The liquids were pulled into a wave around her, dousing the flames just as they reached her skin, turning them into smokey air before they could properly burn her

"Ad Somn – " MJ wasn't able to finish the next spell as her airwaves closed up.

Tunde picked up the blade from the floor, "I told you to stand with your witches."

He was channelling Rebekah.

MJ knew that.

But she'd fought off Originals before.

"It seems you've made the wrong choice."

He crouched down in front of Marcel again, going to finish the sacrifice with a light sprinkling of salt.

"As I recall, you're one of the few people Niklaus Mikaelson ever gave a damn about," Tunde spoke like it was a big joke, "You know what he did to my family."

Marcel skin turned greyer as the bone point touched a spot on his forehead, mouth able to roar in pain.

Desiccation.

"Nemi," MJ fought for breath, "Nemi Blir Kraften."

Tunde fumbled, once again stopped from finishing the spell on Marcel, a choking noise in his mouth.

"Nemi Tegnet Kurse."

She needed to think like she was fighting an Original, not a witch.

That meant MJ needed to use the spells she'd written specifically for Originals. Words that would drain her far more than simple offensive magic, but words that would actually hurt him, attacking his mortality specifically.

Which was, of course, when her phone started to ring.

She tried to keep her focus but ended up diving out of sight as Tunde went to throw his knife at her with perfect mental control.

If she was out of sight, she could risk answering it.

"Now is not a good time," MJ used her shoulder to hold it to her ear as she continued to telekinetically toss bar supplies at Tunde.

"We have Rebekah," Sam's voice.

"Great, wake her up," MJ had to dive again, a table crashing over her head, "Please."

"She's in a protective circle; we can't pass it."

"Send me a picture," She stood up, still on the phone, "A Vita Ex Alii."

Tunde tried to grab at his own throat, standing next to Marcel – except MJ wasn't choking him. He was misunderstanding what was happening to his body.

She smiled at the moment she'd bought herself as he started to salivate, desperate for water, food, and air, skin turning waxy.

She had a text from Elijah.

"Ooh," She pulled a face, "That's not fun."

"MJ?"

"It's a – "

Tunde was free, her wrists slammed into the bar like they'd been tied together so he could break them the same way Silas had tried to at the Salvatore House.

"You're strong," He commented, "But not enough. And I have a goal."

MJ could hear yelling from the phone she'd dropped.

"The sins of the father are paid for by the son," He was back to Marcel, "And I will take pleasure in telling Klaus how you died."

A cut on Marcel forehead turned his eyes completely white.

"And then I will move on and take the power of the siphoner the way it was meant to be given to the city years ago."

As he began the second line, his hand was caught by one far stronger.

"I remember killing you."

"You're timing is impeccable!" MJ revelled, free as Tunde's concentration faltered.

Klaus grinned at her, "I rather relished the kill at the time."

"Have fun reliving fond memories," She ducked as Tunde blasted Klaus into a cupboard across the room.

The hybrid was back on his feet, watching Tunde straighten up his jacket.

"You're here," Tunde was too calm, "Good."

MJ focused on the picture from Elijah.

Rebekah was in the centre of an intricate and old school style salt circle. There was a massive triangle in the top half, curved lines coming out from it to reach the edge, a dry puddle of blood around her body.

"I can crush you before the eyes of your son," Tunde smiled wickedly, causing Klaus to send her a quick glance, "Then, I will consume you both,"

The resurrected witch used the pause to rush forward with the speed of a vampire, grabbing Klaus's neck and choking him against the bar.

"This time," He mused, "I'm stronger."

MJ sunk further behind the bar as Klaus fought back.

Tunde wasn't just using Rebekah's magic but her skillset, so MJ needed to cut off his power source before she could help Klaus win.

"I'm back," She whispered.

"Are you okay?" Sam's voice was higher than normal, "MJ – "

"I am," She scanned the image one last time, "Speaker me."

"You already are," Elijah's voice always had some level of calmness to it, which helped her relax, too, though it was clear he was pacing.

"He's a showboat, which is helpful."

"Meaning," Sam asked.

"It's a convoluted spell. A recipe rather than just a trap," She was speaking as quickly as she could, "You can spoil it by messing with the balance if someone rushes back to The Compound and grabs a binding ingredient more powerful than all that salt."

They needed more than that.

"I have volcanic ash, chia seeds – "

"What about the blood of a witch?" Elijah sounded like he'd won.

"Yeah!" MJ cheered, "Yes."

"I need a favour," He wasn't talking to her.

"The baby," Hayley knew what they meant, "She's a quarter witch."

"Be quick, please," MJ tried to sound okay, "Bye."

Klaus was getting overpowered by Tunde, which made her reconsider her earlier lack of fear. She didn't like seeing him over Klaus, holding him on his knees and choking him as the bone dagger prepared to cut the sigil on his forehead too.

"A Vita Ex Alii," She repeated, Tunde unable to move, body trembling.

The spell caused him to experience desiccation, except he wasn't actually a vampire. He couldn't desiccate. So, he was just being held in a suspended state, desperate for anything to sustain him.

"Ea Po Traho."

He was forced down, and Klaus kicked him, hurtling him into a wall.

One vamp-speed later, and Tunde's head was in Klaus's hands, him ready to dig his thumbs back into his enemies eyes, only for Tunde to use super-speed too – his hand directed at MJ.

The broken glass.

Klaus got there just in time, arm out to stop from slicing through her neck with the force of a moving train, tightly positioned in front of her, a chair leg ramming into his back, a half-second later.

"Interesting," Tunde could just about rise to his feet, sweat rolling down his forehead.

He was still holding his knife.

MJ looked up at Klaus, pain as he pulled the wood out and dropped it to the floor.

He was staring at her bloody arms and stomach, eyes trying not to turn red by forcing himself to focus on her face instead of the way for him to potentially power up.

One extended second of eye contact and his head dipped in a small nod.

She grabbed his arm.

Just as MJ started to siphon, Tunde intervened, summoning an earthquake in their minds to make the world shake until their brains felt like splintering rocks.

Then it was abruptly cut off.

"Yes, Elijah!"

Klaus rushed at him, but Tunde was smart enough to use his remaining power to vanish.

MJ pushed on the bar to swing up and over it while Klaus dropped to his knees by Marcel's side, Cami creeping back in from where she'd been able to hide in the kitchen.

She took the mess of the room in, MJ, then Klaus.

MJ put her hands out, very slowly pulling all the broken pieces back together so the place could fix itself.

She wobbled.

Klaus shook his head at her, "Mira."

"Is he dead?" Cami's voice was a whisper, eyes locked on Marcel.

"Get out of here."

"Is Marcel dead?" She demanded, "Did that guy kill him!?"

"No," MJ assured her, looking over her own injuries, "He didn't finish him off."

"Marcel needs blood to heal," Klaus instructed, "Go. Find me someone off the street."

"I'll do it," Cami joined him on the floor.

Klaus put a hand on her shoulder, "I don't want you involved in this."

"You don't control me anymore," Cami pushed him away, "Remember."

He accepted the hate, standing up and backing off.

Cami moved her hair to one side, softening her voice, "It's okay."

She pulled him up, placing his mouth on her neck.

"Marcel, it's okay."

His fangs came out, completely unaware of what was happening for a few seconds.

"It's okay," She was closing her eyes, wincing, talking them both through it, "Marcel."

Klaus was watching as the colour came back to his 'son's' face until MJ swayed again.

Her vision started to fade, knees giving out.

Klaus had a steadying arm around her waist before she properly fell to the floor.

"There's glass in my stomach," She closed her eyes and leant on him, "Give me a sec – "

Her hand rested on the wound, three pieces yanking themselves out from her skin.

Adrenaline had kept MJ from properly feeling it, but Tunde had managed to hurt her a number of times. And she was exhausted from having to cast that many powerful spells, yet still trying to force herself to perform another one.

She needed a proper healing spell.

Klaus bit into his wrist and held it up, "Here."

"I'll be fine."

"Mira."

"Isn't that," She winced, "Like, a little weird?"

"You can't hear your heartbeat, Mira. I can."

The spots in her vision let her knew that it was probably incredibly slow, so she caved.

If MJ was at a magic low, she couldn't just snap her fingers and fix it all up on her own.

She hadn't had a Floare-Siphoner magic low moment in a while.

It was weird to feel it again.

The second she could think straight, MJ nodded for Klaus to move his wrist away, still needing a bit of support to stand, Marcel back on his own feet – looking like a person instead of a stone corpse.

Back at the Compound, MJ was better.

Healed.

She positioned herself on the balcony with Marcel, looking down at the courtyard, completely filled with vampires.

There wasn't any special event, just the community gathering to celebrate some form of a victory. Tunde had gotten away, but they knew who they were dealing with; they'd cut his power, and they knew they needed to band together to beat him. People were sitting around tables with drinks, chatting, energy high.

MJ couldn't help but smile, even if she knew their troubles were far from over.

She liked seeing somewhat happy communities.

Hayley and Sam appeared on the other side of the surround, looking down at the rabble too.

Sam said something, looking at her.

"He's asking if you're okay," Marcel murmured.

"Yeah," She answered, knowing he could hear her.

More mouth moving.

"He can smell the blood on you."

"All healed up," MJ gestured to her tattered shirt, "You're smelling dry blood."

Sam nodded in acceptance.

"Are you guys?"

He gave her a thumbs-up, and MJ let herself scan Hayley.

She was rubbing her arms nervously; the loose tops she was wearing for the growing belly suited her, which was good. But then she drifted back into one of the rooms, not interested in the communion.

Sam didn't quite follow, eyes lingering on the group he was technically a part of below.

Then Klaus arrived to play King, launching into a speech, pausing MJ's initial instinct to move and talk to Sam or Hayley.

"You pretty much saved my ass," Marcel commented.

Everyone was looking up from the courtyard to where Klaus stood on the top of the stairs, except them. They were just leaning on the railing, above and off to the side, Marcel drinking bourbon since it was officially evening, his jacket hood up.

MJ fiddled with the bracelets up her arms, "I can't take all the credit."

"You heard Tunde arrive," He listed, "Ran into that situation with no back-up and then, like that wasn't a big enough statement - you took a phone call mid-fight."

She looked over to the stairs, smiling at the way he said it.

Her eyes landed on Klaus, who was loving having everyone's devoted attention.

"I knew he'd come."

"Still."

"What can I say?" MJ shrugged, "He thought channelling an Original gave him a leg up, but I've gone toe-to-toe with them before."

"And now you're with them full-stop."

"In a way," Her mood momentarily dropped, "Tunde was smart."

"Because he ran?"

"Because he got super strength from channelling Rebekah," She didn't quite understand how that worked since she wasn't a master of whatever magic he used, "We saw him use it to hold down Klaus."

"What's so smart about that?"

"He didn't even try to get close to me, the easily breakable mortal."

He'd only used offensive magic from afar.

"He knew you were a..." Marcel tapped his glass, "Siphoner's the word, right?"

"Yeah," MJ was trying to plan, "He was smart enough to run, and he was smart enough to know he couldn't let himself get near me."

"What does it, you know, feel like?"

"Like your soul is getting ripped out of your body," She raised two eyebrows, "Then, the death part depends on the species."

"Oh."

"This witch let me kill her, and she was screaming in agony until about five seconds before she died."

Maybe MJ shouldn't have been making notes about her powers while killing someone, but it was hard not to.

"Then it was like she was so exhausted from it all, she just fell asleep forever."

"And vampires?"

"You relive your death," She counted the heads of the people in the courtyard, "Life and soul is ripped away, then slowly the way you died comes back to haunt you."

Marcel looked down at his people too.

"Can I ask how you died?" MJ didn't know what tone to use when asking that question.

"I was shot by my real father for trying to free a group of slaves in 1835."

One way to go.

"Klaus found me, fed me blood, and snapped my neck to properly do it."

"Fun," She added that to her info pile.

"Our community is under attack," Klaus's voice went up a little, ending their conversation, "I require soldiers. I need warriors, not cowards."

MJ saw Thierry frown in the audience.

"Each of you has a decision to make. You either fight alongside me, or you leave now."

People started to look around, muttering, waiting for someone to decide for them while also trying to work out if Klaus was serious. He wasn't threatening murder, he was just giving them an out, and that out could get them killed – but it could also just be freeing them, so he could create a truly loyal and strong community.

If it was the second option, the vampires wanted to be on the winning side.

MJ didn't know if their hesitation was a good or bad thing.

It implied most of them were sheep.

Sheep were easily fought off, especially since Klaus was a lion.

Tunde seemed like a lion too.

Someone finally made a choice.

"We don't owe you anything," Thierry yelled up, stepping forward and turning the room silent, "If staying in The Quarter means living under your rule, I'd just as soon get the hell out."

He turned from Klaus and looked to all his buddies.

No movement.

His eyes pinned on Diego, nodding to him, except Diego didn't nod back.

He looked at Thierry, then to Klaus, then to Marcel and MJ.

Finally, he looked to his fellow vampires and made his own choice. He didn't leave. He was apologetically shaking his head, staying in the courtyard and facing Klaus.

Thierry scoffed, walking past his friend, a small collection following after him.

MJ turned to Marcel, presenting the scene as he groaned.

"You didn't say 'I told you so' after the failed revolution, but you're gonna say it now, aren't you?"

"Little bit," She was kinda smug, "But I won't if you're actually offended."

He sighed, "Go for it."

"I told you so," She said in a sing-song voice.

He sipped his drink, lips twitching up at the corners.

"You built a fragile society, Marcel. You care about your people," Her voice became a little softer, "But it was fragile nonetheless."

He pointed his chin up, "You're one of those girls who's used to being right all the time."

"You have no idea," Klaus mused, joining them, Sophie just behind him.

"It can take me a second," MJ smiled at them both, "But I usually get there."

Sophie was studying her.

"I got to admit," Marcel looked down at the community one last time, "I thought you'd lose a lot more guys than that."

"Well, good riddance to them," Klaus was clearly pleased with himself, "We've got no room for slackers or cowards in our kingdom."

MJ liked the use of 'our' in Klaus's sentence.

He was holding two cups of wine, handing one to MJ while lifting the first up as a toast to the vampires.

Marcel raised his glass too then the three of them took a long drink.

MJ had never really drunk wine, it always felt too adult, but the Mikaelson's store was probably the best place to start.

"Now that you've regained your composure," Klaus's demeanour lost the smirk, "Let's move on to the next item of business, shall we?"

The four of them were walking into the upstairs study.

"With a little help from our dear friend Sophie."

"I got no reason to help you," She gestured to Marcel, "And I sure as hell don't have a reason to help him."

"You say, despite having come here on your own," MJ gloated, "And come upstairs. And continued to follow us as we walked."

Klaus laughed.

"But sure," She nodded patronisingly, "Keep up the tough girl act."

"You don't need to be difficult, love," Klaus opened the door for her, "You'll only live as long as you're of use to me."

He had a gift for casually threatening people.

"And right now, your best use is to explain why a witch I killed a hundred years ago has come back for revenge."

Klaus took a seat at the desk while Sophie drifted towards the bookshelves.

He waved a hand, "Come on."

"Resurrected witches with vast power?" Sophie looked at him like he was stupid, "It's the Harvest. Four girls were meant to die and be reborn."

She was confirming what MJ had already half told them all.

At the end of the day, since MJ wasn't part of the city witch circles, all her usually correct assumptions were just assumptions. The fact they'd been correct was because she was making lucky educated guesses.

They needed to check the ideas with people like Sophie for when the luck ran out.

"I don't know how, but someone jacked that power, and brought back four witches," Sophie wasn't happy about the situation, "Just not the right ones."

"So there's still a chance that if we can get that power back," Marcel realised, "We can save Davina."

"Oops!" MJ put a hand up, taking a seat on the sofa arm, "You guys weren't here earlier!"

They all looked at her.

"Elijah, Hayley, Sam and I kinda already figured that out because the ancestors gave me a list of four names when I siphoned the Harvest."

"Your ramblings," Klaus remembered.

"Celeste Dubois, Alphonz Delgallo – our Papa Tunde, Genevieve Brodeur, and Bastianna Natale," She held up four fingers, noticing how Marcel tensed at the third, "I'm assuming killing Celeste will get us Davina, but that's not confirmed. Another thing that's not confirmed?"

MJ was organising all her thoughts.

"I think Celeste is Sabine."

Sophie gave her a look, "What?"

"Mira thinks Sabine stole the power of the Harvest," Klaus explained, "And as already mentioned this evening, her theories often prove to be true."

"But it's Sabine," Sophie shook her head, "She's my friend."

"She moved back to town a year and a half ago," MJ pointed out, her research binge having her back, "Which makes her a perfect choice to be body-snatched – as none of you know how she might've changed while living elsewhere."

"That's...that's true."

"And Davina's drawing thing? She drew every witch who did a spell," MJ recapped her earlier conversation, "Sophie, you were drawn a few times. Sabine isn't to be found despite doing magic with you – who is? Celeste. Celeste is meant to be dead."

"Wait," Marcel stopped her, "You think Celeste has been resurrected, or you that she's body jumping?"

"She can be both," MJ shrugged, "The power of one of the Harvest girls is keeping her alive, but alive in Sabine's body."

"MJ," Marcel's voice was low, "That last name? Bastianna Natale?"

"Yeah."

Sophie gave Marcel an odd look, "She's the one who was organising the Harvest."

"And she's the one who was leading the charge when it came to your mum's death," Marcel said the bit he thought was important, "She was there when it happened."

MJ stilled.

She'd heard an older female voice; she'd just assumed it had been a vampire.

"She wanted to kill your dad."

PANIC.

"But your brother knocked her out before she could."

"Good to know."

"Let's concentrate on the immediate problem, shall we?" Klaus got all of their attention, "Papa Tunde wants revenge."

To say the least.

"He'll continue to attack us, channelling power from the vampires he sacrifices. He kills, he grows more dangerous," Klaus's hands were curling into fists, "So how do I end him?"

"We could've done it tonight," MJ was sure of it, "Without Rebekah, we could've."

"He needs sacrifices to gain that power back."

"You keep him from killing any more nightwalkers," Sophie suggested, "That's a start."

"Unless," Klaus put his hands together, slowing down, "He finds the one place with a load of vampires ready to be sacrificed."

Marcel, Klaus and MJ all shared a look before bolting from the room to get down to Marcel's Garden.

It was too late.

Bodies buried in cement and hidden behind walls, all dug up and killed, the symbol of Papa Tunde on their foreheads.

There was a white chalk circle on one of the walls.

A message to let them know it was definitely him.

Thick black veins covered the vampires grey skin – and they weren't Rebekah. They weren't just desiccated. They were dead, and their power was now Tunde's, which was both a massive problem and something MJ could use.

She sprinted back through the underground tunnel connecting the garden to The Compound without bothering to explain herself.

Klaus and Marcel would follow behind, and she needed to get to her room.

The map MJ had used to track the Harvest was rolled up on a bookshelf, and she summoning it out, pressing it over the table. The paper was enchanted to track the Harvest magic, following any change to the magic in the streets. MJ had hoped it might've given her hints as to where the power had gone, but it hadn't. Luckily, Papa Tunde's power was different.

She could use the same map but track general sacrificial magic.

He was channelling vampires.

Three candles lit as MJ flicked a finger towards Marcel, a slice of air cutting his wrist open, pulling blood onto the paper.

He looked at it, wincing.

"Sorry," She needed a connection to their magic, "You're their sire."

Klaus was the overall sire, but Marcel's blood had actually turned them; plus, Klaus had Original Blood and Hybrid blood.

Marcel's was a more accurate match.

They all watched as she began to hum, moving her hands in different sized circles over the page, Sophie standing in the doorway too.

MJ felt herself drifting from her body a little, the humming having an odd beat under it.

A heartbeat.

Papa Tunde's heartbeat – letting her lock onto it and trace him.

The blood began to move.

She gasped as the rhythm halted sharply, a cutting feeling across her neck making her gag.

Klaus was by her side, "What happened?"

The blood was still moving.

"He died."

Marcel was staring at the paper, "What?"

"His heart stopped," MJ moved her hands down as the blood settled, "The knife is in the Cemetery, but he's dead, and there's a buttload of power around it."

"Which means what?" Sophie was getting interested again.

"It means three witches, carrying the power of the Harvest, are guarding a knife that can torture and kill people with sacrificial energy," MJ rolled the map up bitterly, "Meaning we can't risk going to get it. Not while all of them are together."

The candles went out.

"On the bright side," She needed to think good and bad, "If he's dead, for all we know, a Harvest girl just woke up."