Shaking his leg nervously, Scott stared at the map in front of him. It was the map of the old, abandoned bank. The teenagers knew that their friends and family were in the bank but they were unaware of their exact location. There was a possibility that they would be in the vault but they might not be there. If they rush this, they might give away their location and they don't know how many vampires there are.

The strawberry blonde bit her lip as she tapped the wooden table with her fingernails, also thinking about her friends.

"Guys come on. We can do it. We'll save them, we always do." Kira spoke, trying to lighten the mood.

"Last time we fought with vampires, Astrid had to save us. We don't know how many of them there are, kira." The banshee spoke to the kitsune who was, by now, getting on her nerves.

Kira sighed, putting her sword down "let's just call Astrid, then." She said as if it was obvious.

Scott slammed his hand on the table, also annoyed by the kitsune "kira." He said in a harsh tone "If you didn't realise yet, Astrid is at war with someone who's trying to harm her family. We can't worry her with this as well." He told her. The fox nodded, finally understanding that Astrid would not help them in that situation. They were on their own.

The three looked at Scott's phone when it began buzzing, Astrid's picture popping up. Scott gulped and picked up the phone, answering the call. "Hey" Scott said, a small smile on his face.

"Hello, love. How's the trip going?" She asked over the phone with a concerned voice.

"We're going to be a bit late." He said. There was a long pause, neither of them speaking, only the sound of their breathing could be heard.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, worried that something was wrong.

"Yeah. Yeah. Everything's fine. I just wanted to spend some more time with my mom." He answered her question, trying not to seem suspicious. He didn't want her to get involved; she already had too much on her plate.

"Okay. You know you can tell me if something's wrong, right, love?" She asked.

"Yes, of course." He spoke "I'm sorry but I have to go." He added, about to end the call.

"Okay." She answered. Scott was about to end the call but she began speaking again. "Scott!"

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"I lo- actually, never mind. Bye!" She said quickly, ending the call.

He put the phone down, on the table as he took a deep inhale. They already had a plan. They would enter the building through the roof and when inside, the three would go their seperate ways. If one of them was in danger, they would have to simply shake their phone and their location would instantly show up on the other's phone.

If one of them found the missing group, they'd text the other three and they would come help them. It seemed like a good plan.

➖➖➖

Astrid and Klaus walked into an old garage where Joshua, the vampire Klaus compelled, was. They stood behind him as they watched him fix his car.

The boy turned around and jumped slightly, not expecting the two originals to be there. "Oh, man, I'll never get used to that." He said with a smile. "Why do I get the feeling you two studied theatre?"

"Our whole life is like a show, Josh" Astrid smiled at the younger boy.

"All the world's a stage, young Joshua," Niklaus told him "and it just so happens we have the role of a lifetime for you."

Joshua's smile instantly disappeared and he gulped nervously. He was visibly scared.

"We want you to get our daggers back." Astrid told him, taking a step closer to him.

"Daggers?" Joshua asked confused "What daggers?"

"Silver daggers. Quite hard to miss. They're pretty long, shiny, silver - obviously... and, Marcel has them." She told the young vampire. "We need you to get them back for us."

"What are they for?" He asked, gulping once more.

"That is none of your business, love. We just need the daggers. It's... very important." She said, faking a frown as the boy looked at her sympathetically "We got it from our mother the night before our bastard father murdered her. We really need them back." She lied as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Niklaus also had a fake frown on his face, yet he was internally smirking. It was so easy to manipulate the boy. All they needed to do was show some emotions.

"Okay. Fine." Joshua replied, looking away from Astrid.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed and hugged the boy.

➖➖➖

About an hour later, Niklaus and Astrid met up with Joshua again - expecting to receive the daggers. But, unfortunately, he didn't have them.

"Alright. So, I'm not doubting your mad vampire skills of destruction or anything, but Marcel is on red alert, surrounded by, like, an army." Joshua explained.

Astrid clenched her jaw and fist, annoyed at the boy. But she couldn't blame him, it's not his fault that Marcel is paranoid.

"You're totally bone, unless-"

"Unless what?" Niklaus asked him.

"I overheard him arguing with Diego." Joshua told the two "apparently, he's clearing out the compound tonight for a date or something. That's where Marcel will be."

Niklaus looked at him with his head held high as he spoke "when I run New Orleans, there will be a permanent daylight ring in it for you, Joshua, for services rendered unto your true king..." He told the boy.

"Cool" Joshua replied with a smile.

"But..." Astrid said as she took a step towards him with a glare "If you ever even think about betraying us, I will make sure you spend the rest of your pathetic, eternal life in exquisite agony wishing for a merciful death... which I will never grant you." She said, standing only a metre away from him. "I will make sure that you will be on the brink of death, pleading for death that will never come to you. You will be stuck for eternity, going insane while I watch your suffering... with amusement." She smiled sadistically, stepping away from him as he stared at her shocked.

She walked towards Nik and left with him. "Where to now, brother?" She asked him.

"How about we pay a little visit to the priest?" He suggested. Astrid smiled and the two vamp sped to the church, standing, sitting behind the praying priest.

"What do you want?" The aged man asked, praying on his knees.

"It's poitin." Niklaus said as he showed the priest his flask. "It'd raise the dead, kill them, and raise then again."

The priest sighed as he sat between the two originals, not afraid of them. He grabbed the flask and took a sip, sitting in a comfortable position. He seemed relaxed even though he was between the most dangerous creatures on earth.

"We'd like to talk to you about your niece." Astrid told him "Camille."

"I'm sure you suspect this already by the gaps in her memory." Niklaus told the priest "I compel her. At first it was because she was a useful spy but now for her own protection." Nik sighed.

The priest sighed loudly as he processed what Nik just told him "I assumed a vampire was messing with her mind, though I never anticipated a confession." The priest told him.

"She won't leave things be." Niklaus whispered.

"Yup." Astrid agreed "It's getting really annoying."

"Her mind churns with the permutations of what happened in this church when her twin went on his slaughter spree. Now, If she find out what really happened, that the vampires and witch hexes were involved, she will dig and dig and dig until she digs too deep and gets herself killed." Niklaus said quietly, concerned about the girl.

"New Orleans will be the death of her." Astrid added, making the priest inhale sharply. "She needs to leave. Now."

"As ironic as it may seem." Niklaus began speaking "I believe it should be her choice."

"Yes." The priest answered "it is ironic discussing free will with a mind-controlling vampire."

Nik sighed and looked down "she's a clever girl. She gave me a piece of her mind earlier today."

"It was quite a show." Astrid chuckled.

"I would've killed others for less." Nik added. "I care about her survival. I smell war in the air, and with every war, there is the innocent victim who could've been spared if they had just walked away." Nik said, pausing to look at the man "please convince her to walk away from New Orleans."

"Or I'll be forced to convince her to do it." Astrid told the man in a monotone voice.

➖➖➖

Published; 10th/02/2019