The duplication spell was the least of their problems.

They left the wine festival hastily. Freya and Rebekah did not question it, electing to stay and walk around some more. Elaine and Finn got right back to the hotel, researching what they could about the spell to hopefully give Reynard and Kol a bit of an edge.

Naturally, it stopped being a top priority within minutes.

"Rey," said Elaine, surprised to find her son calling her so soon after they last spoke. "I assume that you, my brilliant bébé, are calling to say you've figured it all out?"

"No," he replied viciously. She could practically feel the spit launching off of his tongue as he spoke with more venom laced in his tone than she'd heard in a long time. "I need your help."

She straightened up, glancing over at Finn as he returned from trying to wash a pasta sauce stain off of his button-up. "What's wrong, my love?"

"Cami. I was supposed to meet her and she is not here. She is punctual, she keeps her word. Something is wrong. Someone has taken her, of that I have no doubt. We must find her."

Elaine didn't need to think too hard to imagine who the culprit might be. "Does your uncle know where Aya is?" inquired Elaine darkly.

"I have yet to contact him. I need you searching while I speak with him. If that little bitch has laid a finger on Cami, I will torture her for the next millennium on repeat. I am done with her inserting herself into every relationship I have ever had and ruining my happiness."

While Elaine would have liked to celebrate that Reynard was finally putting Aya in her place, it seemed premature considering Cami was still missing and would not be found so soon. "If worst comes to worst, you know I will handle her, Rey. Finn and I will get searching."

"Freya will perform a Locator Spell," offered Finn loud enough for Reynard to hear. "She rather likes Cami, we all do."

"Niklaus cannot know," Reynard warned. "I know not what affections he may or may not still harbor for her but I do know that he may kill Aya himself instead of allowing us to handle matters. I want to decide her fate."

"Very well, then," said Finn. "Freya will not tell anyone. I'm sure we will find her soon. Unless she is cloaked."

"If she is, I will find out which Strix witch helped Aya and I will punish them, too."

"Reynard," said Elaine, slightly alarmed to hear this. "You love those girls, you'd do anything for them."

"They are meant to be loyal to me, Mother. Not to her. If any of them have been twisted to her agenda then they are a weak link to be severed. If we are to pull off the de-linking, I need them ready to do as I say. No one else should be able to influence them. Everything must go perfectly now that the idiotic duplication spell is needed. If Aya stands in the way of that, and if she's corrupted any of my girls... then the Coven needs to be purified."

Finn was visibly concerned as the call was ended abruptly by Reynard. Elaine felt just the same, hand trembling as she set her phone in her pocket. "The last time he had this much rage," she murmured, "was when his friend died of wolf venom. Lucien scrambled to make that cure thinking Reynard's revenge would be his downfall. I do not like the sound of this."

"If Aya dies, it is not a very big problem," said Finn. "However, given the relationship he has with those girls, if they know he has harmed one of their own... they may not listen to him or respect him in the same way. They look up to him. He is their protector, their teacher, the closest thing they have to a good parental figure. That relationship will forever be shattered. They will not do his bidding."

"With any luck, Aya did not put those girls against him. And, if it comes down to it... I do the killing. Not him. Nearly all of those girls are adults. If they're involved, my guess is one of the adults is in on it. Not the little ones. I could not bring myself to hurt one of them. I don't think Reynard would be able to, either, but the way he is right now... I simply don't know what to expect. He reminds me of Tristan right now. And that is not a good thing."

Finn was quick to coordinate with his sister and get her searching. While scouring the city, Elaine was almost daring to pray that Aya wasn't cloaked, that she'd done this all by herself just to get Reynard's attention. Finn was right— hurting any of The Strix witches would fracture their relationship with Reynard. She hoped the girls would be strong enough to resist any temptation Aya set forth. But the truth was, Elaine didn't know them very well. She had no idea what they would be willing to betray Reynard for.

"Freya has something," said Finn, skidding to a halt as they emerged from Cami's apartment, looking at the scene left behind by the balcony, where Aya must have snatched her up. "A warehouse out by the docks. Reynard is on his way now."

"Let's hope this isn't a trap," said Elaine, grabbing his hand and dashing away. When they landed outside the cluster of warehouses, she stopped to listen, allowing the sound of a muffled conversation to guide her down the right row.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Finn turned to acknowledge Reynard, who was now standing between them. "How did we get here before you?"

"I was gathering some items that might be of use," he said, flicking his hand to reveal a dark, ornate dagger hidden up his sleeve.

"That's a dark object," observed Finn. "One of Kol's?"

"Cami's," he said. "She gave it to me because I was curious about it, and wanted to do some research. Her uncle's ledger didn't have many notes about its properties. I don't quite know what it does yet, but I would like to try it out."

Elaine and Finn glanced at each other over his shoulders, neither failing to notice the maniacal smile on Reynard's face as they approached the correct warehouse.

Reynard promptly kicked the door open, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it aside when he saw Aya alone in the center. Cami was nowhere to be seen.

"Enough games, Aya," said Reynard coldly. "Give her back."

"I am not surprised that your parents came with you," said Aya, taunting him. "My message said you needed to come alone."

"Message?" said Reynard innocently. "Oh, yes, that vampire you sent... I ripped his tongue out before he could get a word in. Oops. Now—" he sped to her, easily managing to get her in a chokehold with the knife resting over her exposed chest. "Give me Cami. Now."

Elaine and Finn sensed the vampires before they arrived. Within seconds, they were surrounded and trapped in a tight circle of about fifteen vampires, none of which Elaine recognized. Strix vampires, that was certain, if one could judge by their attire. But not from the inner circle. Not those she saw on a daily basis.

"Unsurprisingly, you have those who would follow you," said Reynard, rolling his eyes. "The same fools who doubt my strength, and that of my uncle. Go on, then." He threw Aya onto the floor. "Which one of you wants to come and have a go? I assure you, I can kill you just as easily as any Original could."

"Call of your little attack dogs, Aya," said Elaine. "I don't want to have to kill them. They're children to me."

Aya said nothing to indicate the vampires had to stand down. Reynard sneered and went to plant his foot right on her throat. "I already know you've been following me around the city," he said, pressing so hard, her head was ready to pop off. "And now this? An ambush that will yield nothing in your favor? Or perhaps, you think it might. What, you want to encourage me to kill fellow Strix members so I am in violation of the charter, so I can no longer be the leader?"

"You are getting distracted again," Aya managed, wheezing as she tried to push his foot off of her. "All these secrets... what the bloody hell are you up to?"

Reynard chuckled darkly. "You feel left out, Aya? Because you haven't been invited to our meetings? Well maybe, it's because you don't matter. Because you're not relevant to what we're discussing and planning. Maybe—" He did a partial twirl atop her neck, a crack echoing around the warehouse as she croaked, "You're just jealous again. You've ceased to be as important as you think you are. Well, I have news for you, Aya... you never were that important. So I will ask you only once before I ask much less nicely. Where is Cami?"

"Boys," said Elaine, looking around at the other vampires as they started to close in. "Let's not make this nasty now. I assure you that you will all benefit from our plan, whether you're aware of it or not."

"Something is wrong here," said Finn, brushing his hand against hers to get her attention. "This makes no sense. Why are they doing this? Why here? This feels... stupid. They know we can defeat them. They..." he tilted his head, "are distracting us from something."

Reynard glared down at Aya, who reached her hand up, and brought his foot further down onto her neck. Elaine watched in horror as her head popped off, and blood leaked out around her body. Reynard stepped back, growling and wiping his shoes on the ground, leaving a trail behind.

The vampires surrounding them scattered. Reynard angrily kicked at Aya's head, hurling it into the far wall. "I remember all of your faces!" he snarled at their departing figures. "I WILL HAVE YOUR HEADS FOR THIS!"

"She wouldn't have given up just like that," said Elaine, walking closer to examine the body. "Not unless she knew her goal would be met. Whatever it was. This was a distraction. To accomplish something... something Aya must believe in, must be devoted to if she was willing to die for it. But it just makes no sense."

"It doesn't matter right now," muttered Reynard. "For now, we do not stop until we find Cami!"

"Reynard," said Elaine. "Wait a moment before you go. Clearly there is more to this than we know. Perhaps we ought to stop and think—"

"There is nothing to think about," said Reynard, walking right up to her and sneering in her face. "Cami is gone. Aya just offed herself like some bloody martyr for a cause we know nothing about and will likely know nothing about, because there is no way those vampires knew anything of substance, they were just fools following Aya's agenda, likely those brats who think of overthrowing me on a daily basis! Whatever her aim, we aren't learning it today, so help me find Cami or leave me alone!"

Finn stepped between them, giving Reynard a firm tap in the chest and making him take a few steps back. "Do not speak to your mother that way," he said firmly. "We understand you are worried and agitated but it does not give you an excuse to take it out on her. We are trying to help you, Reynard. Obviously there are those within The Strix that cannot be trusted. You cannot find those people alone. Stop and think before something worse happens."

Reynard's lips curled up into a wicked smile, and he scoffed before his mouth bent back into a stone-cold frown. "You are not my father. Don't tell me what to do." He sped off.

"I am very, very sorry about that," said Elaine quietly. "He is... he's..." She rubbed her forehead. "Reynard's fatal flaw is how vengeful he gets. It's always been a problem. Always. If there is a score to be settled he has to be the one to settle it. He always has to get revenge. Aya has taken so much from him, this was the last straw. I am highly concerned about what this greater cause is. What she would have put her faith in so firmly that she would be willing to die without seeing it through."

"That question likely won't be answered today," muttered Finn. "Let's find your son before he lands himself in a trap."

"Finn—" she stopped him before he could go. "What he said... I do not think he meant it. He considers you a father figure, he always has, ever since he could understand who you were, what you wanted to be to him. In his anger he forgets to be respectful..."

"He meant it, Elaine," said Finn softly. "And it's alright if he did. The truth is, I am not his father. Despite my love for you, I was not the one who created him. Due to our circumstances, I was not the one who raised him. You did that. Your brothers helped where they could, given the state they were in. I am not his father. In reality... only Reynard de Artois is his father. Biologically. My feelings are not hurt."

She didn't believe that he meant that.

Freya did her best with another Locator Spell on the fly while they tried to track where Reynard had gone. She found that Cami was being held in a basement inside an abandoned building. By the time Elaine and Finn arrived, the two vampires who had been her guards were dead. Reynard must have sliced their heads off right in front of her, judging by the fact that Cami's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Did they harm you, darling?" he asked, ignoring the presence of his mother and Finn.

"Aside from knocking me down a few times on the way here, they didn't hurt me," said Cami. "I don't really remember much of what happened though, I blacked out for awhile. What the hell is going on?"

"It doesn't matter," muttered Reynard. "You're safe now." He glanced down at the dead bodies. "I am sorry that you had to see me lose control that way. I am sorry that you had to see that side of me." Then, under his breath, so quietly only Elaine and Finn heard, "But I am not sorry that I killed them. They had it coming."

"What?" Cami asked, dazed as he placed his jacket over her shoulders.

"Nothing," said Reynard calmly. "Let's get you home."

Elaine and Finn remained rooted to the spot as Reynard and Cami walked past them. "Dear god," muttered Elaine. "If we don't figure out that stupid duplication spell... he's going to lose his mind. I need to see Tristan."

"I need to speak with my siblings," said Finn. "We must convince Rebekah and my brothers soon. This cannot be delayed. If Aya happens to be involved with whatever danger the prophecy foretells, then the de-linking must happen very soon."

Elaine arrived at the Davilla Estate shortly after, grabbing her brother by the elbow and yanking him upstairs, diving into his mind to tell him what'd happened, away from curious ears.

"He just exploded," said Elaine worriedly. "I don't even think he questioned those vampires, he just killed them. And Aya let herself be killed. Something is afoot here, Tristan. The Strix are divided. Some part of them are loyal to someone else, someone outside this organization. Please... if you know anything about this, you must tell me."

"I know nothing," he said honestly. "I do not understand what Aya was up to, or who she has been communicating with, but I will find out. She communicates heavily with those outside of our sireline, mostly to be aware of conflicts and other relevant news. If she has betrayed us... I will know it soon enough."

"The prophecy, Tristan. It... it really unsettles me. We don't know how much of it could come true, how much is guaranteed. It states the Mikaelsons will fall, but we do not know how literal that fall is. I am scared. I really am. Finn is right... we need the de-linking to happen as soon as possible."

"We're working on it," he promised. "I do believe the duplicator spell will be possible to perform painlessly on Hayley. I've already communicated my ideas to Reynard, and I am sure he will relay them to Kol. Though I trust The Strix Coven most, I believe the Mikaelsons would respond best if perhaps Freya herself with the help of Davina Claire performed the spell. They could channel our Sisters for support, but they may trust the process more if their own are in charge of it."

Elaine nodded. "Freya and Davina are trustworthy, that is a good idea. What about what comes after the spell?"

Tristan hummed. "Well, a spell of that magnitude will surely create a Nexus Vorti to be used. I believe that perhaps that power could be used to locate the white oak. We've had no success thus far but that amount of raw power is perhaps sufficient to track every last splinter around the world. The Mikaelsons could be put in charge of retrieving it, and we would at least know if it exists or not."

"Good," said Elaine. "But what about... after they are unlinked? Days after? Weeks after?"

"My dear sister, it is a promise that The Strix will stand by them and protect them. For the sake of Hope Mikaelson. Reynard informed me that it would be a good idea for The Strix Coven to potentially teach her. There is no reason they should be worrying about her, of that I am aware... some members have their concerns but I will handle it. We could make it public knowledge that The Strix and our family support the Mikaelsons. No enemies of Niklaus's or Elijah's or Rebekah's will come to settle scores knowing that we would smite them. The little girl will be safe. Rory already cares for her very much. After spending the entire day with her, she's already talking about staying here permanently. As much as it worries me, it is good to see our little sister so excited about something. Looking forward to it, thinking of settling down. I think— reluctant as I am to admit this aloud— that this has been good for her. And I believe it would be best if The Strix remained stationed here for some time... just until the vampires get a sense of what's expected even after the de-linking happens. All will be well, Elaine."

She wasn't entirely sure she believed that.

"Finn says that he's spoken to Rebekah already," she informed Tristan after they had a lonely meal, waiting to find out more from the others. Reynard had been very dry in his responses, saying he was still tending to Cami before he went to investigate those vampires. The longest text from him so far was naming the vampires present in the warehouse so they could be gathered for execution. Tristan was unsuccessful in retrieving them. They already knew they were on his hit list and had left the city altogether.

Tristan glanced up from his plate. "Hmm. What did she say?"

"She'll do it," said Elaine, eyes drifting between his face and the screen. "That was expected. He says he's pitching the idea to Elijah and Niklaus now. I'm worried."

"He was smart to do it quickly," said Tristan. "What with Reynard being very unpredictable at the moment... it's best we get on with it all."

"What is the deal with Lucien?" said Elaine. "Have you spoken to him? He, too, has been unpredictable as of late. Hunting wolves in the Bayou... he made me leave his penthouse yesterday when I asked him to stop that. He's angry at me, I know he is. I simply have no idea what he's doing and I want to know. I don't trust him, Tristan."

"I have never trusted him. I will look into it. Lucien's presence in this city still confuses me. He's not exactly helping us with this. He simply knows of it. He is still cross that Rory is with Niklaus. Jealous prat."

Elaine tsked. "It's more than that. This goes beyond jealousy. Finn was right, he loves me most out of everyone in this family. So why would he get mad at me? Why so... harsh?"

Tristan shook his head. "I do not know. Lucien is always up to things on his own... he's always been independent..."

"I know. But in a time like this... it rubs off on me the wrong way." She nearly jumped when another text from Finn arrived. "Oh. Wonderful. It went terribly."

"What did they say?"

"No, of course. Oh, this is bad. This is bad... Finn is making his way here now. Let me tell Reynard. Oh, shit." She rubbed her forehead. "This day is just getting worse and worse!"

Finn arrived looking angrier than he'd been before. "They are idiots. They refuse to see reason!"

"Perhaps this isn't the best moment for me to say this," said Elaine quietly, "but I did think they'd react better when it was just us and not every vampire in the world." She held up her hands in surrender. "However I do understand the points everyone made about being fair and not selfish and all that... the plan is still a good plan. They simply don't want to do it. Understandably so."

"We'll convince them," said Finn. "We have to. Rebekah will figure out something."

"But now our cover is blown, they know what we're up to. And where is Rory? I texted her ages ago!" She shook her head. "Lucien isn't answering either. What is going on?"

"Ah—" Tristan showed Aurora was calling him. "Sister?"

"Hello, Uncle."

Tristan stared at Elaine. "Reynard. Why, pray tell, are you calling from your Tante's phone?"

"Mother," said Reynard on the other line, ignoring him. "I've confirmed with my witches that the duplication spell can be done using only Hayley's blood. She won't be harmed. I've had someone take it to the Davilla Estate so we can begin the process."

"Begin the process?" said Elaine, snatching the phone from her brother. "Reynard, sweetheart, I told you they said no."

"There's no reason we need to abide by that. I say we get it done anyway. Do the de-linking tonight. Freya and Davina are ready at a moment's notice. Now that we know an unsired heart is needed, the spell is fine and able to be performed any time."

"And how the bloody hell are we going to do the de-linking without them acting as willing participants? I wanted them to consent to this."

"They are fools, and did not consent. So we bring them by force."

"Kidnap them? Are you insane? Reynard, my love, I want you to get here right now. You are not thinking straight!"

"Do you remember when I stole the dagger from Kol— the one he made for Niklaus— and you were worrying and worrying but it all worked out in the end?"

Elaine narrowed her eyes. "Yes, and then you gave the dagger back after you made sure it wasn't used... why?"

"I already kidnapped them."

"Reynard!"

"What?" he said innocently. "Kol helped me dagger them. He enjoyed it. They did it to him several times!"

"Oh, bloody hell," said Finn, turning away and covering his face.

"And what about your Tante?" asked Elaine. "Her phone—"

"She'll be alright. She'll play no part in this. She will be safe, unaware. Niklaus will not ever retaliate against her for it. Rebekah was daggered too, for safety. Prepare the pool and prepare my girls. Freya, Kol, and I will be there with the three other Originals shortly."

Elaine glared at her brother when Reynard hung up on her. "We'll all be killed."

-

A/N: Happy 300 pages! There isn't much left to this story, I've decided to end it more happily! Like, there will be angst but it won't end in everyone dead and suffering. My next story, however, I anticipate to be very angsty throughout. You've been warned! Comment for more :)