Esther caresses Gabriels jaw. "Still so strong, so... full of life. Too willful to take my offer."

Esther drops his head in frustration and walks to a nearby table to pick up an athame and turns back to him. "I remember you as a little boy. Innocent, kind... If that boy had known the creature he would one day grow up to be, he'd have leapt in my arms and begged me to save him." She affectionately runs her fingers through Gabriel's hair. "I'd do anything for that little boy, as I would you." She yanks his head back by the hair and slices his throat with the athame.

Gabriel awakes with a violent start and begins to gasp and choke while Esther whispers a spell in his ear. She drops his head when she's finished and he slumps forward, falling into a deep sleep yet again.

—

Gia returns to Marcels loft where he sits on the couch waiting for her. "I did like you said, I kept a low profile, went all over the city. There's no sign of Gabriel anywhere."

Marcel sighs. "Yeah, the humans I know said the same thing. Maybe Klaus is having better luck?"

Just then Hayley enters the apartment. "No, he's not, which sucks, considering how low the bar is around here. Listen, you two up for a rescue mission?"

Gia stands up eagerly. "Are we going after Gabriel?"

Hayleys eye slightly twitches at the girls eagerness. "Nope. That's all Klaus. I'm talking about Oliver. Now, he, Gabriel and Elijah were fighting the werewolves together. I've heard that Oliver's been captured and is about to be executed. Now, look, if we can save Oliver, then we might be able to find out where Gabriel is."

Marcel nods. "Kay, so what do you want from us?"

"Just a little distraction. Esther's son, Finn, he's the one that's controlling the werewolves. If you can keep him out of the way, I can go get Ollie myself." Hayley murmurs.

Marcel speeds around her and blocks her exit. "You can't take on all those wolves by yourself. You'll get killed, and then I'll get killed for letting it happen."

Hayley sighs. "I'm not going in alone. The werewolves may be answering to the witches, but they still have an alpha. I just have to find him."

—

Klaus is in the middle of digging up esthers grave where she was buried at the former Mikaelson Mansion. He pulls the coffin out of the grill and scowls when he hears the familiar chirping of starlings in the trees. He douses the coffin in gasoline, unapologetically. "Are you watching this, Mother? Nothing says "I loathe you" quite like desecrating a corpse!"

Just as he pulls out a lighter and he's about to set fire to her corpse he hears a familiar voice calling out to him. Turning around he sees Gabriel walking towards the plantation house. Confused and suspicious, he follows him. Inside, Gabriel plays the keys of the burnt up piano and Klaus approaches him. Gabriel looks genuinely happy. "You seem troubled. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were worried."

Klaus narrows his eyes. "What has she done to you Gabriel?"

"A thousand years of murder and mayhem, and Mother believes she can still save our souls. She wants to talk. Perhaps we should listen?" Gabriel looks to him with a pointed yet friendly glance.

Klaus smiles for a moment but it quickly turns into an angry scowl as he picks up a piece of wrecked furniture. "ENOUGH!" The furniture only passes right through Gabriel, revealing to him it was just an illusion. "The petty illusions, Esther! Where is Gabriel? And what have you done to Elijah?"

Esther in Lenore's body appears behind him. "He's preoccupied at the moment. I'm helping him find his way. But, not to worry, I'll return him to you. All I ask is that you hear me out. As for Elijah, the same thing goes for him, he will wake up soon."

"You expect me to sit through a sermon of your lies?" Klaus growls.

"I have lied in the past, to my shame. But, I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm in the process of making Gabriel and Elijah into the men they were meant to be. And, I intend to do the same for you. This plantation, ruined by fire. How sad, not to mention symbolic. After all you never intended to build a true home here. Even as Hayley carried your child, as Rebekah, Gabriel, and Elijah sought to defend you, your thoughts were focused on only your conquest of the Quarter. Tell me, how did that go?" Esther gestures to the burnt house around her.

He sarcastically chuckles. "I'm sorry. Is this some sort of motherly critique? Please feel free to choke on it."

"I mention your failures only to make a point, my dear. You've endured several lifetimes of misery, never mind the suffering you've caused others, even to your own blood. You yourself remain trapped in a perpetual state of despair. I have come to offer you a means to escape that cycle." She looks to him hopefully.

"And that's about all the hypocrisy I can take. I suggest you give me my big brother before I get angry." He points a finger at her.

She tsks. "Such hatred. It breaks my heart to see you like this. The boy I loved."

Klaus scoffs. "Your love was a curse, an affect you feigned. The truth is, you're not better than Mikael, and like him you seem to have crawled back from the grave simply to ruin your children." He notices her eyes widen and he smirks in realization. "Oh! You didn't know! Yes, the Destroyer has risen, brought back to kill me by the witch Davina. Surely Kol has revealed everything to you? Or, is Mother's loyal little boot-licker not quite so loyal, after all?" He hums.

"If Mikael has returned, we will need to deal with him." She insists.

Klaus laughs. "We? Is that a joke? Am I to forego centuries of hatred for my evil mother in order to join her in besting the very demon she herself allowed to raise me?"

The woman sighs in annoyance. "I am not evil, Niklaus. I am your salvation. And Mikael? He was not always a demon. Long ago, he loved his children with all his heart. He doted on your brother Gabriel for being the first born male, but it was our first-born, Freya, who was the apple of his eye."

He continues to stare at her blankly, not fazed at all. "You really think that saccharine recollections of anicent history will have any effect on me at all?"

"What I think is that you have gone mad from centuries of hating your parents. But, if you join me now, I can grant you peace. And, should Mikael return with the intent to harm you, I will strike him down myself." At this the man seems slightly tempted, but remains stubborn.

"That's quite an offer. But, you know, I've never needed any help when it comes to killing parents." He taunts. "All I need is my brother now."

"You reject me out of hatred, but I have something stronger. I have the truth about your father, not Mikael, you're real father." She offers.

—

Esther trails out to the outside of the house and Klaus cautiously follows behind her. She stops at her dug up grave. "A thousand years ago, in a fit of rage, you wrapped your bare hands around my neck and squeezed until I died. Do you even remember why?"

He comes to stand beside her. "Let's see... You turned us all into monsters. You cursed me, denied me of my hybrid nature. You lied to me about my father..." She interrupts him. "It's that one above all. You killed me because I kept you from ever knowing your true father."

"My hatred for you runs so deep, it's difficult to pinpoint it's origin. Maybe I hate that I'm the product of a whore's lechery?" He spats. Esther, becoming furious at his words slaps him across the face. "Watch your mouth! You will do well to remember that you are still my son!"

"You judge me evil, yet it was your lust that made me what I am." He spits.

"And not once have I ever regretted the love I had for your father. And, you have never known the truth of how that love came to be, or what happened in the months after Mikael and I lost your sister Freya to the plague. There are no words for the loss of a child, as you well know." She gives him a pointed look.

Klaus' eyes widen in pain as he thinks about his own child.

"After Freya died, Mikael was inconsolable. Compelled by his grief, we were forced to pack our things and set across the seas. Eventually, his despair would drive us apart, and that's when I saw him for the first time your father. I'd never seen a man like him. Powerful, yet wise, but loved by his people. And, because Mikael had chosen to leave me alone in his grief, shunning me from his life, I found myself drawn to another." Esther becomes slightly nostalgic.

"What of Gabriels father?" Klaus hums mockingly. "Did he entrance you as well? Spare me the sordid details of my origin."

"I only speak the truth. Gabriels father does not need to be mentioned." She scowls.

"Then tell me this, Mother: Why did your Adonis abandon his son? Why did he allow me to be raised by a monster who hated me? Why not claim me for himself, raise me among the wolves? Or, was he as ashamed of his b*st*rd as you were?" klaus becomes slightly emotional as he calls himself a bastard. "Quite hypocritical of you to talk all this nonsense of my father when Gabriel still has no clue whom his father even is. You must have met him when before you guys left for another land."

"No, no, no. He loved you. It was I who forbade it. I knew if Mikael had learned of my infidelity, he would've destroyed us in his rage. I had no choice." She pauses as Klaus glares at Esther furiously. "Gabriel's father... He need not know of his origins. When I learned I was with child, I went back to Mikael. I told him I was having his baby. He showed no joy, but neither did he suspect the truth. When you were born, it renewed his spirits. We had Kol, Rebekah, Henrik... Because of you, we were a family again!"

He steps back, overwhelmed. "A family built on secrets and lies."

"Oh, you were my secret joy! And, to protect your secret, I denied you a life with your father. But, what if I could make up for all that? By curing you of this sickness that's infected your soul? Wheras I put Kol and Finn into the bodies of a witch, you I shall place into the body of a werewolf! So you can live out your days as what you were always meant to be! If that is what Gabriel wishes I will do the same." She smiles at the thought of all of her children no longer being immortal.

He turns away from her. "What could possibly make you think I would agree to such a thing?"

"With mortality, you could start over. You could have a family of your own. Happiness, peace, all the things you have long been denied?" She begins walking towards him but every step she takes he takes one back as well.

He stops. "ENOUGH! Tell me where Gabriel is, or I will kill you, in this body or any other you choose to jump into from now to bloody Armageddon!" He steps towards her but she uses magic to throw him in another direction.

"I had hoped there was some part of you that yearned for an end to your vicious ways!" She continues holding him with her magic and he struggles to push against it. "But, if you are determined to perpetuate the cycles of the violence to which you have become accustomed? Well, then, I'll have to accommodate you." She balls her fist up and twists it in the air, snapping his neck.

-

Klaus wakes up with a gasp after his snapped neck had healed. He sits up and realizes Esther had been waiting for him. "Apologies for the headache. Were you dreaming?"

"I was remembering the day I found out who my real father was. Only that was after Mikael slaughtered him." He looks down to the ground at the horrible memories.

"My darkest hour. Had you yourself not killed me soon thereafter, I doubt I ever would have recovered." She pulls her pocket watch out and checks the time. "You woke earlier than I expected. No matter. It is time."

He stiffens. " Time for what?"

"You said you wanted Gabriel. He's sleeping. Chained to the wall of a tomb in Lafayette Cemetery. I've lifted the spell that hides him. You are free to take him home. Now, his own mind will work out his choice for him. When he wakes, he'll make his own decision. Every single thing I've said to you tonight is the truth, Niklaus. Whether you choose to believe it is up to you." She innocently watches as he speeds away to get Gabriel.

—

Klaus has finally made it to the Lycée where he finds Gabriel bound to chains and unconscious. He spots the poppet that binds the spell keeping the chains from being broken and rips the chains off. Catching Gabriel when he falls into his arms and sets him on the floor. "Wake up, brother."

Esther appears behind him. "He won't wake. Not yet. Which gives you and I one last chance to discuss my offer."

Klaus becomes furious as he tears the cuffs from Gabriels wrists. "You promised me Gabriel's safe return. Or, was that a lie, just like that ghoulish atrocity outside claiming to be my father, back from the dead? What's next? some man comes back from the dead claiming to be Gabriels father as well?"

Esther ignores his last questions. "Your father's return is real. I pulled him from the Other Side before it collapsed, left him in the Bayou to join the wolves. And, I used the execution of one of his own to draw him here, where I knew he'd find you."

Klaus is enraged. "To what end? Besides my torment?"

She slowly approaches him. "I brought him here to be the father you never had. To teach you to be the man you always longed to be. Once you are remade as a werewolf, you can join him."

"His return changes nothing." He states.

Esther shakes her head. "It changes everything. It is my gift to you, Niklaus. This offer is your last chance at salvation. Reject me now, and you will live out your endless days unloved and alone. Do not refuse me out of some ancient spite... "

He interrupts her. "Not spite. Hatred. A pure and perfect hatred that's greater now than the day I first took your life!"

She becomes upset. "Why, after all I've done to explain to you, why must you persist..."

Completely losing his temper he grabs her in a choke hold, slamming her head against the stone wall as he pins her down. "BECAUSE YOU CAME FOR MY CHILD! MY DAUGHTER! Your own blood!"

"You... don't... understand! Niklaus! I had to!" She chokes out. Lifting two fingers to give him a nosebleed but he only grips her throat harder, making her whimper in pain.

"You declared war when you came after my family. And, for that, I will make you suffer as only I can. After all, I am my mother's son." He smirks, throwing her to the ground where she struggles to catch her breath. He rushes towards Gabriel and carries him out of the crypt.

—

Klaus lays Gabriels bloody form on a bed in the compound as he, Elijah whom had recently woken up with nightmares brewing in his eyes, and a teary eyed Hayley, all worriedly wait for him to awaken.