A New Chance

The Return to New Orleans

Hope POV:

While Freya and Finn were in New Orleans I had them buy neighboring mansions. She let me know that we had one side of a street in total. I was slowly moving hybrids into the tenements I made when we traveled there, the original ones I made were full with the Bayou packs and new wolves who fled to safety.

Caroline, Liz, Tyler, Mason, Theo, Bonnie and Sheila Bennett had asked to stay with us in New Orleans. They knew the risks, but they also knew we would fight for them. The Salvatore's would be joining us later, cutting ties would be a little more difficult for them. Damon being part of the Council, Stefan had to compel his leave at school.

I went to the cemetery in Charlotte alone, I'm going to try something nobody has ever attempted in our family. I burst the doors open, walking in and pushing the lid off his casket. He smelled ripe to put it lightly. Having been desiccated for fifteen years. I had found a rogue vampire along the way, knocking them unconscious and bringing them into the Tomb.

I cut the vampires wrist over Mikael's mouth, not allowing him to bite down. Only enough for him to wake up. I pulled the vampire away, walking out of the Tomb and throwing them as far as I could with my magic. I walked back in to talk with the Destroyer. "Now that you are awake." I paused putting my hand out, his white oak stake flew into my hand. "NO! WITCH!" He bellowed.

"That's only the beginning, so shut up or I'll kill you right here right now. It's not like I don't have the means." I said holding the stake to his chest. He laid still, holding eye contact, "I'm listening." He seethed out. "Good, I have information for you. You will have two choices, I'm not particularly merciful but just this once." I said.
I started using magic while speaking.

"I am Hope Mikaelson, daughter of Niklaus Mikaelson. I am far more powerful than you, with or without the stake. So hear me well, Freya is alive and well, so is Henrik well alive not so much but he is here. I will release you if you never go after any of Esther's children, including Niklaus. I can show you that they are alive, I'll also show you what happens when you go against your children." I told him placing one of my hands on his temple.

Images of him attempting and failing to kill his kids flashed in his mind. How Dad killed him twice proving to be the stronger man. "He is more your son than any of your other children. You wanted a strong Viking child, you made him one. You couldn't accept that he was better than you. So you beat him and treated him like garbage. You will face so much pain at the hands of your children before you are free to rejoin the family." I told him, putting him back to sleep.

I put the stake in my bag, making a new age coffin. I put him body in it and carried it to the car. I won't tell them about him until we are all in New Orleans. Things are changing, it will be for the better. Everyone is going to be so hard to convince.

Dad had taken interest in Caroline, having talked to Stefan making sure he was cool with it. Dad has grown on a maturity level, not always such a hot head. I would soon be introducing Davina to Kol. They had such a complex start maybe, it'll be simpler knowing they both had access to my memories in the past.

We had been in New Orleans for about a week, unpacking, only feeding from our flasks. None of my family members had found Mikael's coffin, it was kept separate from Esther's. I wanted everyone settled, and the houses sound proofed and protected before I woke him again.

2 weeks later

All the hybrids and heretics had been settled, we walked out in pairs, knowing the brutality of Marcel's vampires. Finn had told us of his experience with Marcel and his day walkers. He had made it clear that they were not fans of him ruling the city. While looking in Mikael's mind when he was asleep, I found such immense dark magic it was a wonder it wasn't seeping out of his eyes.

I had called a family meeting, only Mikaelson's allowed. "Everyone, I know this is rather inconvenient, knowing we all like to make plans for taking back our home. I will cut to the chase, I have an unconscious, magically compelled Mikael in the basement. Before you all lose your shit, I have taken his white oak stake. You should know that I looked in his mind, I found so much black magic that I'm surprised he can see straight." I told them.

"You have Mikael?" Dad asked slowly, confused. "What caused the black magic?" Elijah asked quickly following Dad. "Yes I have Mikael, I've had him for about three weeks. The magic was caused by Esther, old magic. I think the spells were placed before you all were turned. Once you all turned the spells were amplified, much like all the emotions being heightened. I think that he may be completely different if Henrik and I break him free from all the darkness." I said looking at everyone.

"He hunted us for a millennia. How are we supposed to just trust that this will work?" Kol asked standing up. "Well if it doesn't we can always just stake him." I answered, Kol sat back down, hoping it didn't work. We could all see it on his face. "I say we try it, compel his motives from him after and see how we feel? Does that sound fair to everyone?" Henrik asked everyone at the table.

Dad looked among his siblings, waiting for someone to say something. "Go ahead, but be careful he is more treacherous than any of us." Dad said. They all followed as we went to the basement finding him still in his coffin. I waved my hand over his face, stopping his forced slumber. "WITCH!" He shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We get it, now be quiet and let us work." I said. Henrik and Freya stepped into his line of sight, "Hello Father. I bet you don't recognize me." Henrik said. "Who are you?!" Mikael hissed out. "It's Henrik, long story short, I'm also more powerful than you now, I'm going to try to help you." He answered. "Father, it's Freya. I'm here, I'll be here when you come out of this." She said, gently touching his cheek.

"Don't you DARE touch me! I am the DESTROYER!" He roared, trying to break free from his chains. "Stop moving." I said spreading my hand as wide as I could. He went stiff as a board, almost waiting for instruction. Henrik would be removing the black magic, I would be ensuring he didn't break free.

Henrik gripped Mikael's head like a watermelon he was trying to crush. The red glow that comes from siphoning was incredibly bright, which means that Henrik was pulling the magic out aggressively. Mikael screamed for hours as we kept working. The rest of his children had pulled out chairs, waiting to see what would happen.

"It's nice not to be the ones screaming in agony." Dad said to the others. "Quite." Elijah said, flipping through a book. There was a black ooze pooling out of his eyes, nose and ears. I poured water over him, wiping the goo with a towel. "Oh god that is foul." I said whipping the towel away from me, gagging from the smell.

"Surely it can't be that bad." Rebekah said. Dad and I were practically suffocating from the smell, "It is that bad!" Dad said emphatically, then covering his nose. I put a bubble around each of us, performing a fire spell in the room to burn out the smell. Once the protective bubbles were down, we all breathed in and found no toxic smell.

I had pulled out a flask of vampire blood, knowing his odd preference. I gave him just two sips, before removing it. "How are you feeling Mikael?" I asked. He blinked a few times, looking around. "Who are you? Where am I? What have you done to me? Who am I?" He asked panicked. "Shit I might have siphoned too hard." Henrik said.

"No I think that the removal of the  black magic is just causing temporary amnesia." I responded. "Will someone answer my questions." Mikael asked again. "You are Mikael, these are your children, I am your grandchild. You are in New Orleans, you've been trying to kill your kids and me for a long time." I answered some of his questions.