Nothing was certain.

There was no guarantee that everyone who went with them to fight Lucien would make it back alive. There was no guarantee that the remaining Heretics would still be okay. There was no guarantee Sarah was actually just fine and being kept merely to lure them in. And there was no guarantee Vincent's plan would fully work. But they had to try.

They left their things settled before exiting the Compound. Maddy ensured the current copy of her will was the one she wanted to keep. She checked the letters she had saved for Hope, and ensured everything she wished to say to her had already been written somewhere. She hugged her little girl tightly, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back, whispering how much she loved her in case it was the last time she'd ever be able to do so.

"Almost ready?" she asked Klaus when she found him in his study, finishing up his own will.

"Yes," he said, signing off then folding the piece of paper. "I am."

She sat on his desk before he could get up, keeping him there. "I don't know how to say goodbye," she murmured. "To you or to Hope or to my brothers and all our other family members. So I won't say goodbye. But I will tell you that no matter what happens tonight... I love you so, so much." She cupped his face, pressing her thumb over his lips to silence him before he could say anything. "I have been so blessed to have you at my side these past years. I was blessed to meet you and I was blessed with the opportunity to create and raise a beautiful daughter at your side. If I die I will be at peace knowing that Hope will be safe with you and those who are still here to tell her stories of me if I'm gone after today. Please know how much you mean to me. And if I die and you're still here, know that I will remember you and love you always and forever, and I will be waiting for you to find your peace, even if it takes another thousand years before I see you again."

He almost wanted to burst out for her not to say such things. To not speak as if she was actually going to die. But the truth was, they simply didn't know. So he remained silent until he finished speaking, then sat up and kissed her, cradling the back of her head, a singular tear slipping out of his eye and drifting onto her cheek to allow her to know he was crying.

"I love you, Madeleine Mikaelson," he said when he pulled back, his lips ghosting over hers. "I have never deserved you. I never deserved your love or your patience as you stood beside me even when others did not. If I perish tonight, I wish for you to know that you made me the better man I never saw myself being. You stayed my hand, quelled my rage, inspired goodness in me, aided me in opening up to risks and possibilities and you gave us a beautiful daughter after enduring a horrific labor that nearly killed you. Unlike all the souls I've encountered and forgotten in the long march of time, I will carry you with me. Whether you die, or I do, or we both find ourselves reduced to ash by dusk. Wherever it is we are tomorrow, I will hold you in my heart as I have never held anyone before. And I promise you, Madeleine, if anything happens to you, I will do my very best to raise our daughter, as I know you will do the same if anything happens to me."

Just like that, she burst into tears.

"You wouldn't want a hybrid or tribrid kid?" Maddy had asked, tilting her head on the day that they confirmed she was pregnant. The same day Jo and Meredith had told them their theory that the child might be a tribrid.

"Well," he'd replied, "I would be proud all the same. I would care for them all the same. A powerful child sounds very nice. However, it could hurt you if the child has more magic than the average supernatural baby. I cannot bear to lose you. If you were to die giving birth, I could not raise the child. Not alone. I simply couldn't."

Maddy didn't hold it against him. "That's why we leave clear instructions in case the worst case scenario comes true. Let's talk about that now, if you'd like. Who should get custody if I die?"

"Rebekah," said Klaus immediately. "Unless you wish for one of your brothers to..."

"No, it's okay, I would trust Rebekah to be its mother if I can't be. Stefan is great but he would never accept.. he'd be too worried about hurting it. Enzo, well... I don't know how he feels about kids to be honest. Elena and Elijah are the second option, I'd say. Or we could just say Elena, Elijah, and Rebekah. I'm pretty sure your brother and my best friend are going to end up together forever. And Rebekah would kill you if you didn't let her have at least a piece of the custody."

Klaus managed a laugh. "I imagine they would enjoy that..." he trailed off. "You aren't cross with me?"

"No, I'm not. I get it, Nik, I really do. At least with their support, you can still be part of the kid's life but without it feeling like a burden to you. Everyone has their limitations. Ideally, you'd care for it if I wasn't there, but if you can't, I would never hate you for it. Besides... this is only for a worst case scenario, which won't happen. I'm not going to die. I swear it."

"And if you do?"

"I won't. I'll be damned if I let the white light suck me in before I get to be a mom. I'd be so pissed if I died before I got to see it take its first steps. I'm going to survive out of spite."

Even after Hope's birth he had always implied that he couldn't handle doing it alone. That emotionally he wouldn't have the capacity to be a good father without Maddy there at his side.

"You're serious?" she asked, her voice breaking. "You would raise her, even if I wasn't there?"

"I would," he said. "Rebekah will be very cross with me, as will Damon and Meredith, and anyone else who was hoping to be first pick to get her if something happened... It must be me who tells her what a wonderful woman her mother was. It must be me who reminds her every night of the way you held her and loved her even before you met her."

She pulled him into a hug, a sigh of relief escaping her as she pressed her chest against his, only just able to hear and feel his heart beating across from hers.

There was a knock on the door. They drew apart, seeing Elijah was there, waiting. "It's time," he said softly. "Marcel came for the girls. He will have them at the safe house with Camille, Davina, and Jeremy. He is not joining us for battle, and Elena has insisted we not pester him about it. He is still helping Camille adjust."

"Let's do this, then," said Maddy. "We'll contact Lucien and see where he wants to meet."

He replied instantly when Elijah asked where he wanted him and Klaus to come and see him. He wanted it to happen at a small stadium near his apartment complex. Convenient for him, they supposed.

At the hour, they arrived, all armed with hidden stakes and other weapons, as they'd been when they had gone to confront The Strix. The three Original vampires, the two Mikaelson witches, the three Salvatores, Tyler, Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, and Valerie. Vincent and Ansel had already made their way to the cemetery, and with any luck, would blow the well before things got too bad. Freya and Kol were prepared with hidden talismans to capture the energy when it burst out. According to Vincent, they should expect a small earthquake to let them know the power was released.

"How adorable," said Lucien, walking up to them when he saw the group. "Ah, but you are missing a few people... I recall there being more."

"Let's skip the theatrics," said Klaus coldly. "Hand over the Heretics, unharmed. And Sarah Nelson."

Lucien smirked. "Now, we didn't discuss that."

"Enough with the games!" sneered Klaus. "You stated they would be next if we did not meet you. Here we are. Hand them over, now."

"Haven't you learned by now, Nik?" said Lucien, baring his set of double fangs. "I am finally your superior in every way. You don't get to command me. Besides... I do not have them with me. The only way you can get them is if you defeat me and, well, we all know that you do not stand a chance against me." He scanned their faces. "Haha... I can smell it, the stench of fear. Uncomfortable, isn't it? Knowing your life could be snuffed out any second? Count your heartbeats... all of you."

They all sensed movement around them, very suddenly. "What?" said Lucien innocently, when a massive group of vampires suddenly flooded into the stadium, surrounding them. "Did you really think I'd come alone? All these vampires have been invited to witness your downfall. Let's call it... The Fall of the Mikaelsons. And their... silly little extended family. The show has started, ladies and gents. Who's first? Or shall we have a few of our audience members introduce themselves?"

"Who the hell are all these people?" whispered Maddy to Klaus as Lucien went around proudly, asking if anyone wanted to say their piece. "Why are they here? If he's strong enough to beat us all..."

"He's proving a point," murmured Elijah. "Ensuring they will all be loyal to him out of fear. And, I imagine, to keep any of us from escaping."

"These are all my sirelings," said Klaus quietly. "I recognize many of them... this is their revenge. They're all thinking they will get their fix, watching my entire family be slaughtered in one fell swoop."

"Oh, wonderful," said Lucien, seeing Klaus's eyes were darting over the faces in the crowd. "He recognizes you. Klaus Mikaelson... sire to a thousand years' worth of angry faces. And they're all here to watch you die, Nik. But first, they will cheer over and over again as each person in your group falls dead at my feet." He turned back to the audience, "Are we all in agreement to save the wife for last?"

There was a loud roar of agreement in the crowd, and Klaus pulled Maddy to stand behind him, though it only made Lucien laugh more. "Don't look so surprised by this, love," said Lucien, glaring at her. "Or do you perhaps not know the man you married? Why, he made us all in his image. Angry... paranoid... merciless... he sired us then abandoned us. Tore out the hearts of anyone who defied him. Betrayed those who were once his closest friends. You brought this on yourself, Nik, and now it's time to face the consequences."

One by one, several of the sirelings were introduced by Lucien, announcing to all about the awful ways they'd been turned at the hands of Klaus. Maddy knew all of these stories, having heard most of them from Rebekah, and even a few from Klaus himself. She could feel him growing more and more tense by the second. She knew it wouldn't be long before he just burst and attacked Lucien. She knew that was exactly what he wanted.

"And now," said Lucien, finding it ever so funny to hear the hateful words being spouted at Klaus, "he arrives here with his family, thinking he can best me. I imagine many of you don't even recognize those standing with him. Why, you may ask? Because they're children. His silly, fragile little in-laws who are as easy to break as a twig. The supposedly great hybrid has to rely on young vampires to back him, because he knows he is not strong enough. He has been weakened, caring far too much about playing house with that pretty little wife who is miraculously, still alive. While my Aurora rots in the ground, she stands proud with the Mikaelsons. I say she's just as awful as them. Do you agree?"

"This is ridiculous, even for you, Lucien," said Elijah, stepping slightly forward.

"Ridiculous?" asked Lucien.

"Yes," agreed Klaus. "You complain about what I have done to harm you and in reality my greatest direct offense to you was getting the girl you wanted. It's pathetic, really. You had a thousand years to earn her love and you could not, even when I was not present. It's a shame Aurora isn't here to witness your victory."

Lucien's eye twitched. "You think this is inspired by lost love? No, this is about station. A simple stable boy beating a tyrannical king. You have to admit, it's a hell of a story."

"I am not the villain of this fairytale you conjured," replied Klaus. "Lucien, we were friends."

He only laughed. And suddenly, before anyone could react, he'd grabbed Elijah, and bitten into his neck.

Maddy felt fear coursing through her body from that moment onward. After that split second of realization that Elijah was bitten, she felt almost paralyzed, so beyond afraid, that she could hardly move.

Elijah is bitten. We don't have a cure. The pure wolves are nowhere to be found and Enzo hasn't found anything in the Augustine archives. Even if we kill Lucien, Elijah will end up dying in complete agony. He's still linked to his sireligns. Vampires all over the world are going to drop dead because of this.

Too much is happening. A fight is about to break out and we're not going to feel the earthquake when it hits, and Freya and Kol might not capture the energy at the right moment. The power could go to waste and Lucien won't be killed. We'll have come here for nothing.

She forced her thoughts out of her head as a fist nearly landed right in her face. The entire group had split apart, and everyone was locked in battle. Most of the vampires were watching, but a few had joined Lucien in the fight, and were already having their fun trying to kill those that Klaus had come to consider family.

They didn't have enough weapons for this. Within the first few minutes, Maddy was out of stakes, and she had to rely on every last survival instinct to gain the upper hand on vampires older than her that were now trying to hurt her with the intent of getting their revenge on Klaus. Nearly all of them were focused on her, and she felt herself starting to drown.

They weren't even trying to kill her. They seemed to be trying to capture her, as if to torture her and drag out her pain so that it would torment Klaus more. She could see a lot of them had dark objects from other parts of the world, ornate knives similar enough to Papa Tunde's blade that she wondered if maybe a few possessed similar abilities. If she were to be cut with one of those, would she immediately start to burn from the inside out? If she were stabbed, would it cause her to break out in painful blisters? Or worse, would it knock her out and leave her vulnerable?

Damon and Stefan were the only ones near her, the only ones she knew for certain were alright. She couldn't see Klaus, she couldn't see Elena, and she had no idea if Elijah was still fighting or if he'd passed out. How long had it taken Finn to die? Hours? What if Lucien had injected enough venom to kill him in minutes? What if Elijah was already dead?

"Mads, you gotta get out of here!" said Damon in a moment where she bumped into him after kicking two vampires back and making them topple onto their companions. "Get Elena, get Caroline, and run."

"I really don't think there's a way out of here," she huffed, seeing more and more vampires coming at them. There were less people here than there had been at The Strix Coven house the day the sire line delinking spell took place. But it didn't mean the fight was any easier.

"He's right," panted Stefan, using the last of his hidden stakes to kill a vampire that tried to come at Maddy from behind. "Hope needs at least one of her parents and the way this is looking, nobody here is letting Klaus walk out alive."

"You say that as if they aren't gunning for me just as hard," she said, ducking under a vampire and ending up behind him to cut off his head. Some of the blood splattered onto her face, but she ignored it. "I can't see them, I can't hear—"

She let out a strangled scream as she suddenly felt someone reaching into her own chest, holding her heart. The last time she'd felt such a thing (that she could vividly remember) was when Alaric had nearly killed her back in Mystic Falls. Her life had flashed before her eyes then. And it did so again this time, only that the majority of her memories were now of Hope. Reminding her of every little moment she'd ever spent with her daughter.

I didn't even make it to her first birthday...

Damon and Stefan both stopped fighting. In fact, they weren't even the only ones— everyone had stopped, because Lucien had yelled for them to. She hadn't even heard it. The only noise in her ear was the pounding of her own heart and the buzzing as she felt her consciousness slipping away.

"Oh, well," said Lucien wickedly from behind her as Klaus came forward to stand with Damon and Stefan, though he didn't dare attack Lucien because he knew that Maddy's heart would simply come flying out with his hand when he knocked him aside. "A queen and a king caught by a one-time pawn. Thus the game comes to its inevitable end."

Maddy gagged, starting to cough out blood. Her legs were wobbling, but she forced herself to stay upright. If she moved even slightly, her heart would dislodge from where it was attached, and she'd have killed herself. Klaus's eyes were wide with fear, that much was evident to anyone who looked.

"What are you proving by killing her?" said Klaus shakily. "It's me you hate."

"Was it not her who killed Aurora?" said Lucien darkly. "I hate her as much as I hate you, Nik. Besides, was I not clear when I murdered Finn, Lily, and those Heretics? I don't care who dies! But since you do, indulge me and I might just spare your wife. Kneel. Get on your knees, unless you wish to measure your pride against my mercy."

Klaus immediately sank to his knees. He held Maddy's gaze for a moment before letting his head hang.

Lucien began to laugh again. Many of the other sirelings jeered at him, calling him a bastard, a weakling, a monster, among other things. They were happy to see him looking so defeated.

"What was it the prophecy said?" asked Lucien. "One would fall by friend, one by family, and one by foe? Well, Elijah is a foe of mine currently, but he used to be a friend. What does that leave? Ah, yes, family."

"Let her go, Lucien," said Klaus fearfully. "I did what you wished!"

"Not just yet, Nik," he replied. "Rebekah, love, come here."

Rebekah didn't dare disobey. She walked up as Lucien reached into his pocket, bringing out a syringe. Maddy was too dazed to see what he was doing, but judging by the sounds, she assumed he was withdrawing his own venom.

The syringe and needle were placed into her hand. He released her heart only to turn her around, looking into her eyes, "Inject it into her," he said. He acknowledged the wide-eyed look she shot at him. "And yes, love, I can now compel you. It's a mistake, you know, letting Nik feed on you constantly. It keeps you neglecting your vervain."

Maddy couldn't stop herself from turning around. "Rebekah," she whispered, "Run."

Lucien grabbed the blonde, holding her down before she could. "Do it, Madeleine, now," he commanded.

"Someone stop me!" she pleaded, her voice cracking as her hand was raised. It was trembling as she tried to fight against the compulsion, but couldn't.

"Stop her," said Lucien, "and I will simply bite Rebekah myself. It's inevitable."

They watched helplessly as Maddy stabbed the needle into Rebekah's neck, injecting the venom right into her carotid artery.

"I'm sorry," whispered Maddy, crying. "I'm so, so sorry."

Rebekah's eyelids fluttered for a moment before she said, "Not your fault."

Suddenly, the entire stadium rumbled before the ground shook with a force Maddy had never felt before. Lucien's grip on Rebekah slacked, and immediately, Freya and Kol began to chant, despite the fact both looked very battered, and were sporting scrapes on their necks that, as they approached, seemed to have been made by the poisoned rings The Strix wore.

Lucien let out a howl of pain, and the sirelings all jumped back as his body bent backwards, chest facing the sky. Seeing him in a vulnerable position, Valerie tore forward, using a small knife to slice into his wrist, draining his blood into a small vial. Maddy held up the syringe, revealing there was still some venom left. Just enough for them to potentially make a cure.

The witches' hands were glowing, and at the same time, Lucien's eyes began to glow red, his double fangs emerging for a second before suddenly disappearing as he continued to yell out. He fell to his knees, and in the blink of an eye, the sirelings were gone. The majority of them were already dead anyway, and their bodies were littered all over the stadium. Maddy could see the others clearly now. With a sigh of relief, she realized no one from their group was dead.

Yet.

"His power's gone," said Freya as Lucien panted on the ground. "He's nothing but an ordinary vampire now."

Elijah came to stand behind him, holding him roughly by his hair as Klaus came over to him. "You see," he said, "that family drama you so joyfully derived does have its merits." He grabbed his head, forcing his way into his mind, emerging moments later. "The other Heretics are alive," he faced his wife, "and so is Sarah."

Maddy clapped her hands over her mouth as if she was praying, closing her eyes in relief. "For a century," Klaus began to tell Lucien, "you lived with my name and you never did quite recovered from losing it, did you? You became a man of wealth and stature but you never could crawl from my shadow, and in the end, despite the gift of immortality, you have always known what you truly are. You are nothing."

He took the knife from Valerie, using it to slice a smile onto Lucien's mouth. Lucien let out a sob as Klaus ripped out his heart.

Immediately after, Elijah staggered back. Elena tore forward, catching him before he fell.

"Lucien is dead," said Kol, wheezing as he leaned against his sister. "But... Freya and I are poisoned... Rebekah and Elijah are infected with the venom... and we don't have the time to find the cures."

"What the hell are we going to do, then?" asked Caroline frantically. "Enzo still doesn't have a way to make a cure! And it's going to take time for Jo to analyze the venom and the blood..."

"I may have an idea," said Bonnie suddenly, limping over. Aside from a gash in her leg, she was doing fine. "My mother desiccated Mikael, preserving him that way, and no one was able to find him. Those sirelings... they'll be back. We need time to heal you all. What if there's a way to freeze you all? Not in the sense that you'd be in ice, but... everything just stops?"

Freya mulled it over. "There may be a way. We'd all be comatose, in a sense... but it would buy you all time to cure us. All we need is an anchor."

The Mikaelsons all faced Klaus, who was the only one of them that wasn't poisoned or filled with venom.

"Then I will be the anchor," he said. "What must I do?"

"It'll take a toll on you," murmured Freya. "Our lives would be linked to yours... the only way for us to stay alive long enough to find the cures would be for you to go into hiding. You'd be very, very weakened by this. Reduced to being almost a regular vampire like Maddy, because your power would be keeping us alive. But it is possible... and if you are willing..."

Klaus assented without hesitation. "I will do whatever it takes to keep you all alive."

"Alright, then," said Kol. "Let's get to the Compound."

Bonnie performed the spell while Valerie, Stefan, and Damon went to get the Heretics and Sarah. Within the hour, the four Mikaelsons were in a deep sleep, stuck in a Chambre de Chasse until their bodies were healed. Klaus had slumped forward when the spell finished, looking incredibly exhausted, but otherwise fine.

"How do you feel?" she asked, once he'd drank about five blood bags.

He cleared his throat. "Better. However... I can feel a great deal of my strength is just... gone. How are the others?"

"In coffins, comfortable. Everyone else is packing. Marcel is bringing Cami, Davina and Jeremy back, as well as the girls. He's going to stay here with Cami and his vampires while we go to our safe house. My brothers will be in Mystic Falls researching based on the Augustine archives. Meredith will be heading the research on making a cure for them. Jo and Vincent will be here, working with the Crescent wolves to see if they can get pure wolves, in case the other route doesn't pan out. Elena and Bonnie are staying, for college, and if they need to travel to meet with wolves, they're happy to do so. Caroline and Tyler are going to get started on fetching the venom from the wolves who already said they'd help. The coffins are coming with us. We'll keep them in the attic of the house in Willoughby, and we'll remain on our little farm until we can wake them." She smiled, caressing his face. "The first thing we'll do is get a horse or two. Just for you."

She dipped down to kiss him, then perked up at the sound of movement downstairs. "Valerie and the others are back," she murmured. She took Klaus's hand, leading him to the entrance hall just as her brothers brought the Heretics in. They seemed fine, albeit a bit shaken.

In the back of the group was Sarah. Maddy couldn't stop herself from making a beeline for her, bringing her into a hug. To her surprise, Sarah hugged her back.

"You're okay," Maddy whispered as the girl began to cry. "Oh, my sweet girl, you're okay... you're okay..."

She blinked tears out of her own eyes when she felt Sarah holding onto her tighter and tighter with each passing second.