Marcel's Dirty Secret

Marcel is standing in the middle of a bar surrounded by his own personal army of vampires.

"By now, you've heard what's going on." He begins, ensuring he has their full attention. "Klaus found a way to make werewolves lethal to us 24/7! The fireworks at the docks? That was me, trying to spoil his plan. He's moving forward anyway. He's got a witch, he's got a spell, and if he pulls this off? In one night, we go from hunter to prey."

When he realizes his army is getting antsy, he tries to appease them. "Now I know what some of ya'll are thinking. We stood against Klaus before...and we failed. No! Uh-uh. That's on me. I failed! I called off the attack because I thought it was the only way to save lives! But make no mistake - it we don't stand against him now....our lives aren't worth a damn anyway!"

There are murmurs of agreement, not as strong as he would like but he is getting through to them. "A wise man said, if you know yourself and you know your enemy, then you don't need to fear the outcome of battle! I know myself. I know my friends and I know my enemy!"

More murmurs - more powerful this time. It's working. "I know his strengths! I know his pride and I know his house! Every nook and cranny! We're going to go there, tonight! Hard and Fast! All at once from every angle! We kill their witch, destroy her spell book, and get the hell out!"

He's succeeded in riling them up. They're pumped, they're ready. They're cheering him on. He doesn't let up.

"And as for Klaus? He'll be coming for me and that's exactly what I want! I'll lead him away. I just need the rest of you to get past Elijah and do what needs to be done. So...that's the plan. I need to know, right now. Who's with me?!"

And without a doubt - even before they begin to cheer and chant his name in respect and solidarity - he knows they'll follow him into battle.

*****************

At the Mikaelson compound, Genevieve stands at the table preforming her spell under the watchful eye of Hayley, Klaus and Elijah.

"Materi lunare tua virtuse. Materi lunare tua virtuse." Genevieve chants, slowing moving her hands across the fragmented pieces that will be used to create moonlight rings when Francesca comes rushing into the room clearly panicked.

"My people say Marcel is on the move," Francesca warns, "And he's bringing friends."

Klaus stands from his spot, "Get Hayley to safety," He directs his words toward Elijah before he uses his speed to rush off.

Genevieve doesn't stop her chanting, not even as Elijah moves with a purpose toward Hayley grabbing her arm gently and attempting to remove her from the situation, "Come with me,"

"No," Hayley doesn't budge and Elijah is too much of a gentleman to pull her. "Someone needs to watch her," She looks toward Genevieve and then back toward Elijah. Genevieve shifts uncomfortably from her spot still chanting as now Elijah is watching her as well.

"You should help Klaus," Francesca insists toward Elijah, "My brothers and his security detail won't be much against a vampire army!" Her eyes are glossy, her breathing increased. She's afraid for her brothers. Her eyes switching between Hayley and Elijah.

Elijah looks to Hayley and she subtly nods signaling she is okay.

"I'll stay with Hayley," Francesca adds as extra incentive, Elijah looks to her for only a second before his focus is back on Hayley.

"Go, Elijah." Hayley assures before walking closer and nearly whispering her next words, "and don't hold back."

***********

Elijah strolls through the courtyard where Francesca's brothers and their security guards are aiming guns at the vampires flooding in from every direction. Causally he makes his way toward where Klaus is standing in the center of the room as the vampires surround them on all sides.

Klaus's expression shows his surprise at their audacity as he takes them all in, armed and ready to take on two originals.

Klaus sighs, "I thought this lot would have learnt their lesson."

Elijah doesn't miss a beat, "Well, they're not exactly renowned for their genius."

"So, where's the ringleader of this circus?" Klaus calls to the crowd, his arms extended as he feigns searching, "too afraid to show his face?"

Marcel steps out from where he had been standing on the upper balcony, "I'm here." He assures, "And I'm going to offer you one. last. chance. to pack your stuff and get the hell out of my town!"

"Or what?" Klaus sniffs indifferently, "You'll allow your men to rush to their deaths? Again?"

"Look around," Marcel counters with a self satisfied grin, "Every vampire in the quarter is coming out! They want their city back. No surrender this time. You're gonna have to kill us all."

Klaus remains unfazed, "Okay. I think I'll start with you."

Marcel is secretly pleased his plan is going the way he wants it to but keeps his expression controlled, "fine. Then come and get me!

With that he vamp-speeds away.

"If you don't kill him, I will." Elijah tells Klaus without taking his eyes off where Marcel had been standing seconds ago.

"He's mine." Klaus insists, "This won't take long."

While Klaus vamp speeds after Marcel, Elijah confidently unbuttons his jacket. "Gentlmen," He smiles and holds his arms out wide. "Shall we?"

************************

One of the security guards make his way into the room where Genevieve is casting the spell, in order to get Francesca out of there.

"Ms.Correa, we need to go. Your brothers are already headed out the back." He tells her.

Francesca holds up her hand, eyes fixated on the spell Genevieve is still performing, "Not yet."

Hayley's phone buzzes she picks up and see's it's Cami but chooses to ignore the call so she can keep watching Genevieve. Who suddenly stops changing and picks up a piece of the fragmented stones.

"The stones are finished," She doesn't make eye contact, staring straight ahead as she swallows hard. "I've done my part, now, it's up to you."

Hayley tries to grab the stones, "I'll get them to the Bayou."

Francesca rushes over to Genevieve and holds out her hand, where the witch drops the stone into her hand. "Actually, she was talking to me."

"What the hell is this?" Hayley demands

Genevieve refuses to look at Hayley as she once again swallows harshly.

"Call it a side deal," Francesca answers for her, "Point is, I'm taking the stones."

As she walks away, Hayley follows her. "Are you out of your mind?! You think humans can go up against Klaus?!"

"No, I don't." Francesca breathes, "But I'm not human." With a flick of her wrist she has a pocket knife extended and uses it to slit the throat of her bodyguard. He bleeds out, dead in seconds and she doubles over in pain as her werewolf curse is activated. She looks up at Hayley with golden eyes as she pants, "I'm like you now, Hayley. And I'm going to take back my town!"

Hayley goes towards Francesca, "Like hell you are," Only for Genevieve to further betray her. Using a spell to knock Hayley unconscious. Genevieve hands the rest of the stones to Francesca as she looks away in guilt.

"Don't look so dour, Genevieve. We both got what we wanted," Francesca reminds her before she leaves.

****************************

"Marcellus," Klaus states, climbing off of where he had been pummeling his fist in Marcel's face. "How well your name fits you -- little warrior. Though, ultimately one of no consequence."

Marcel forces himself to stand, though he is weak and bloody. "My name is Marcel," He bites out through panting breaths.

He lunges at Klaus who easily blocks him, slamming Marcel's head against his car that is parked on the street and twisting his arm behind his back.

"Is there no end to your defiance?!" Klaus "You summon Mikael! Turn Rebekah against me! Try to bury me in your garden?! And yet, you always fail."

Marcel tries to force Klaus off of him, but Klaus subdues him grabbing his face in his hands and staring into his eyes, "What is there left to do but put you out of your misery?"

You can hear the pain in Klaus's voice, even as his hybrid face comes out with a roar and he bites ferociously into Marcel's neck - ignoring his feeble attempts to push him off.

*************

A group of witches drag a struggling Hayley by her arms toward the sacristy. Hayley is screaming and trying to fight but is weak from the fact that her baby is coming.

Genevieve is following the witches restraining the pissed off, scared and very pregnant wolf. "Get her down on the floor!"

"We should take her to the city of the dead," One of the witches insists, Monique.

"We won't make it," Genevieve watches as they place Hayley against the stone steps. "The baby is coming now."

"No!" Hayley screams, holding her stomach as a contraction hits her, "It's too soon!"

"Apparently not," Genevieve retorts, moving toward her only to be stopped by Monique.

"The plan was to induce her when the sacrifice was ready!"

"I had to subdue her," Genevieve explains, "The trauma caused a placental abruption." She rips her hand free from the witches hold. "So, the baby is coming and we'll just have to adapt."

Hayley fights against the witches holding her down, "Let me go!"

"You need to be calm, Hayley." Genevieve tries moving to replace the witches who moved away from Hayley.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Hayley questions with vulnerability in her voice, near tears. Genevieve sighs looking away briefly to hide the shame she feels.

"To be reborn, you must sacrifice." Monique answered instead.

"What the hell does that mean, you psychotic little bitch?!" Hayley demands, pushing the witches hands off of her.

"The ancestors demand an offering," Genevieve explained, "In exchange for power."

"and the child will be a fine offering," Monique finished.

"No! No!" Hayley panicked, trying to force them away from her and her unborn child. "You will not take my baby! I will KILL ALL OF YOU!"

"No you won't!" Monique insisted with anger in her voice, "And neither will Klaus or Elijah! When your baby is born, we will offer her up to those who came before us."

Hayley starts to cry and hyperventilate as she shakes her head and continues to struggle against the witches hold.

"I'm sorry Hayley," Genevieve apologizes, "but this is the way it had to be."

*************

They've moved Hayley off the floor, pining her down to a stone slab as she struggles to fight their hold. Sweaty, panting and trying to hold off labor.

"Let go of me, you bitch!" She screams toward Genevieve only to fall back as another contraction hits her. She screams.

Klaus limps his way into the church, bloody but determined to save Hayley and his unborn child. He stumbles his way forward and rips the head off one of the witch guards who comes to stop him. Genevieve and another witch link hands and use a spell to pin him to the wall behind him.

Genevieve grabs a dagger used in the ceremony and turns toward Hayley who is still screaming from childbirth and terror while Klaus is trying to fight the magic holding him.

"You should know this brings me no joy," She states despite knowing it didn't help either of the parents about to lose their child, "I promise I'll make it quick."

One of the witches covers Hayley's lower half with a sheet, "Let's begin, shall we?"

*************

Hayley is still in labor as the witches assist in her birth.

"I will bring hell to your doorstep! I will bathe in rivers of your blood!" Klaus screams at the witches

"One last push! Push! The baby's almost here!" Genevieve encourages, ignoring the threats of the pissed off hybrid.

"No!" Hayley screams trying to stop labor. "No!"

"I can see the baby!" Monique reveals with a sigh of relief.

"Ok now, push! Gently. Gently." Genevieve coaches

"You will die screaming!" Klaus continues to struggle

Hayley falls back in exhaustion as the baby is finally born.

Genevieve, "There!" She exclaims, followed by small baby cries. Klaus and Hayley stop screaming as they see their baby, the witches help cut the umbilical cord and wrap the baby in a blanket.

"You have a beautiful daughter," She reveals as Hayley and Klaus stare at the small baby they created. "We must start the sacrifice as soon as the moon sets with the morning sky."

"Please. Please. Can i hold her?"

Genevieve brings the baby over so Hayley can hold her. Hayley looks up at Klaus and manages a small smile before kissing her daughter on the forehead. Suddenly, Monique grabs Hayley by the hair, pulls her head back and slits her throat with the knife.

"NOOOO!" Klaus screams, so caught up in his grief he doesn't see the witch who grabs the second, much smaller baby as they collectively leave with both Mikaelson children.

*************

In some tomb full of lit candles, Genevieve dressed in a white dress sets both baby girls, now sound asleep in a basket. Behind her, Monique and Abigail, also dressed in white dresses, watch her.

"The moon has almost faded from the mourning sky," She explains, "I need to prepare."

When Genevieve leaves, Abigail and Monique talk behind her back.

"She'll go through with it. The ancestors promised her, her life."

"What about their promise to us? Four Harvest girls sacrificed, four girls returned. But her friends hijack it, and our friends have to stay dead? Cassie was our friend. I hope she doesn't go through with it. Then, you and I can do what the Ancestors want, and they'll give us Cassie! And drag Genevieve back to where she came from."

*************

Genevieve lifts one baby in the air while another witch holds the other. Abigail and Monique hold their hands toward the twins and begin their spell.

"Nouvelle vie, nouvelle ame, melange avec nous."

*************

"We've passed her twice already!" Elijah sighs, "We're running out of time." In his anger, he punches straight through a wall.

"Then we move faster," Klaus marks the wall with third tally using a large rock to show they had indeed been here before.

"Or smarter," Hayley's voice rings out behind them causing them to freeze and turn toward the source of the sound. Hayley stands in the door looking exhausted.

"Hayley," Elijah whispers in disbelief, rushing forward and touching her face to ensure she isn't another illusion. "How are you here?"

Hayley speaks in a daze, "I woke up in the church and I felt this...hunger. I knew what I needed. I can feel her. She's here, I can feel my baby."

Elijah looks confused while Klaus has a moment of realization.

"You died with the baby's blood still in your system." He turns toward Elijah, "She's in transition."

Elijah looks horrified, "Which means she has to drink the blood of the child if she is to survive."

"To be reborn a hybrid,"

"I don't care about me!" Hayley interrupts them, "I'm gonna go find our daughter!"

*************

As the twins begin to cry, Genevieve, Abigail and Monique are chanting the spell.

"Nouvelle vie, nouvelle âme, mélange avec nous."

Genevieve raises the dagger above the children, preparing to complete the sacrifice.

*************

"Nouvelle vie, nouvelle âme, mélange avec nous."

Hayley, Elijah and Klaus turns a corner and see Genevieve holding a knife above the baby's head - due to their position they are still unable to see their is another child.

"No!" Hayley screams while Elijah picks up an urn and lobs it at the witches. It slams against Genevieve's hand and knocks the dagger onto the ground.

Hayley, Klaus and Elijah run toward the witches trying to save the babies while Monique and Abigail connect hands and channel the ancestor's power to throw them backwards while Genevieve tries to find the dagger.

Abigail begins to chant, "La mère, le père, le frère, la sœur... La mère, le père, le frère, la sœur..."

"You fools!" Monique screams at the two hybrids and one original vampire. "To come against us in our place of power in our strongest hour? You don't face three, you face us all!"

Suddenly hundreds and hundreds of dead witches have come together to protect the trio of Abigail, Monique and Genevieve as they try to complete their sacrifice.

*************

Klaus and Hayley try to run in opposite directions while Elijah runs straight toward the witches, in hopes of overpowering them.

Hayley finds Genevieve picking up the dagger and kicks it out of her hand before punching her in the face.

Klaus gets cornered by spirits and thrown into a tomb, shattering it.

Hayley knocks Genevieve down onto the ground with a final punch and then runs toward the baby. Genevieve forces herself to stand and uses a pain infliction spell on Hayley, causing her to fall to her knees and hold her head in pain while screaming.

Monique and Abigail are using their combined powers to channel the strength of the ancestors and subdue the hybrid and original while simultaneously completely the sacrifice. "La mère, le père, le frère, la sœur... La mère, le père, le frère, la sœur..."

Klaus sees a wrought iron fence, breaks off one of the spikes and throws it forcefully toward Abigail. It impales her through the stomach and kills her instantly, breaking the connection that she and Monique had to the ancestors.

Monique quickly runs to grab the dagger and finish the sacrifice herself. Klaus and Elijah vamp speed toward her but she uses her magic to block them using a wall of fire.

"No!" Hayley screams hysterically while Genevieve continues her pain infliction spell to prevent her interference.

Just as Monique raises the dagger to sacrifice the babies, she's hit with the Devil star which embeds itself in her stomach. Her body becomes covered in cuts and she coughs up blood before falling to the ground.

Klaus and Elijah turn to see Marcel was the one who saved the baby - before they can say anything he vamp speeds toward the girls - lifts them and vamp speeds away with them. Klaus follows after him.

*************

"I was too late," Marcel beings as Klaus enters the compound finding all the bitten vampires dead and strewn across the courtyard. He's holding Twin 1 in his arms, having put Twin two where Klaus couldn't find her as further insurance. "There should have been more time,"

"Looks like the wolves came back and finished what they started," Klaus answers him as he continues to survey the damage.

The baby stirs and coos and Marcel stares down at her.

Klaus's eyes widen briefly in realization, "You took my daughter so I would heal you and your friends,"

Marcel looks away, both so Klaus wouldn't see the guilt nor the relief that he had no idea of the second child - but Klaus simply releases a breathy laugh of disbelief and holds out his wrist offering it to Marcel. "Here,"

"This bite, all this... I know it didn't come from nowhere. This is the last note in a song I started a century ago when I brought your dad to town. and for that, I'm sorry."

Klaus looks at Marcel in sympathy as Marcel looks at his fallen vampires in sorrow. Klaus kneels in front of him.

"No." His voice firm but soft, "You saved my child's life, Marcel. For that, you deserve this."

He holds his wrist out once again and Marcel bites into it, drinking his blood.

"We will take down whoever brought this upon us, I swear it." Marcel looks up at Klaus in shock before handing over the baby girl. Leaving as quick as he could - if only to prevent his own guilt from changing his decision as he watched Klaus with his daughter.

*************

As Marcel listen to Hayley, Elijah and Klaus talk of making the world believe their daughter dead until they vanquish their enemies - it reinforces his decision that he is doing the right thing.

*************

Three months later...

Marcel vamp speeds to his pent house and into his bedroom where a beautiful and small baby girl is peacefully asleep while a compelled human is packing her bags.

She has a onesie on that says 'babies are a little bit of heaven sent down to earth' and a pink baby blanket with lambs on it cover her small body. A slight head of barely there blonde hair.

"Have you thought of a name?" Lily asks, looking fondly at the child she has helped Marcel care for in secret.

"Alana" Marcel smiles as he picks her up, his eyes lighting up in joy as he watches her snuggle into his chest in her sleep, "Alana Bex Marshall,"

"No one can know she exists," Lily sighs with acceptance but slight sorrow, already accepting what's coming.

"No loose ends," Marcel agrees before with a swift flick of his wrist he had snapped Lily's neck feeling only a slight twinge of regret. "It's just the two of us now,"

He looks at the sleeping girl in his arms before he grabs their bags and heads to his packed car. Prepared to leave New Orleans and never look back.

章 1: 17 years ago...

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