Elijah Mikaelson & The Dragon's Quest

Chapter 11

Angelica waited for Freya to land at the private airfield in Boston. The Leer Jet made final approach and touched down effortlessly. Freya alit from the jet and walked to the waiting SUV, throwing her bags in the back seat then climbing into the passenger seat. As Angelica drove toward the abandoned garage, Angelica explained that Charlie was already surveilling the location from down the street. They discussed what they knew thus far about the predicament the brothers were in and how to get them out of it safely. It would not be long before Angelica parked the SUV behind Charlie's vehicle. They exited the SUV then joined Charlie inside.

After exchanging greetings, Charlie told them that there had been no movement around the abandoned garage. He reviewed the infrared images he had taken that allowed him to see whether there were any heat signatures inside, but there were none. The technology would not be able to penetrate beneath the garage into the tunnel. Charlie handed a small case to Angelica. She opened it, took out an earbud and placed it in her ear. She handed one to Freya who held the item in her hand and looked back at Angelica, not sure of what it was. "Communications," she told Freya, as Angelica motioned for her to put it in her ear. Freya did so and Angelica walked her through the fundamentals. Charlie handed Angelica a large backpack, she looked inside to assess its contents, nodded to Charlie then put it over her shoulders.

Freya was seeing Angelica in a different light and she was in awe of her sister-in-law. She had always pictured her as the business woman, the mother, the wife, the vampire/dragon/empath, but she had never seen the version of Angelica that had worked with The Seven to destroy Niklaus' enemies with military precision. It was as if her personality morphed perfectly into whatever role she had assumed. "Add chameleon to her list of accomplishments," thought Freya.

The two women exited the mobile command vehicle and headed toward the abandoned garage. It was after dark and their first course of business was the cloaked archway entrance. Freya read the spell on the walls and looked around to be sure no one was watching them. Angelica nodded to her that it was clear and Freya engaged the spell. After a few moments she stopped and opened her eyes. She looked at Angelica and told her she would need to tap into Angelica's energy to boost her powers. Angelica put out her hand and Freya took it then continued the spell. As Freya channeled Angelica it sent shockwaves of pain through Angelica's body, but she barely made a sound. Her 300-year experience with the dark object that Kol had plunged into her chest raised her tolerance for pain incredibly high and this was barely a scratch in comparison. Freya breached the spell and the wall vanished revealing the archway entrance. The doorway had been closed but that was easy to open compared to the cloaked wall. They entered and disappeared inside the garage, closing the door behind them.

"We're in," spoke Angelica, and Freya then realized how earbuds worked. Charlie's voice could be heard in both their ears, with the brief reply of acknowledgement. Angelica set the backpack down and removed the first item, after a brief assembly she set the item down on the floor, and said, "It's all yours, Charlie." The drone began to hum as it rose off the ground scanning the entire interior of the garage. Angelica paid little attention to it as she reached back into the backpack and pulled out a set of devices. The first she placed on the interior wall of the garage. She searched Megan's vehicle again and it still had Davina's luggage and purse inside. They would retrieve those on the way out and take fingerprints to see if they could confirm the identity of Davina's friend. She spoke to Charlie, "We're ready to go down," and he acknowledged, sending the drone into the tunnel first. Angelica and Freya followed, and Angelica placed the second device just inside the tunnel. Freya asked what the devices were and Angelica told her it was to provide a wireless network so that Charlie could keep in contact with them, and with the drone.

The drone illuminated the tunnel and Angelica and Freya saw the four passageways that the Mikaelson brothers had seen. Angelica paused, "Something is not right down here, Charlie. I am seeing four tunnels, not one." Charlie replied that he saw it, too. As Angelica stood there, she closed her eyes then opened them again. Freya had started to walk towards one of the tunnels but Angelica abruptly stopped her. She asked Freya whether she sensed any witchcraft and Freya did not. "The witch's trap," said Angelica, "it's right here in front of us, I can feel the energy." Freya incanted a reveal spell but nothing happened. Freya looked at Angelica again and Angelica lifted her hand to Freya, who took it and again channeled her for the reveal spell, but still nothing happened.

"Charlie, send the drone down each tunnel. Let's see where they go." As the drone commenced into the opening of the first tunnel, it collided with an unseen barrier. "That's interesting," commented Angelica as she waved her hand across the area the drone had just impacted, "my hand can pass through but not the drone." "Wait a minute," said Freya, as she scanned the tunnel openings. "The tunnels are not really there, this is an illusion," Freya observed. "This is powerful magic to keep this illusion going. Something is powering it." The two women looked at each other and reached the same conclusion. The illusion was being maintained by the Mikaelson brothers themselves.

They knew there was only one tunnel so Angelica reset the drone and Charlie sent it much more slowly down the second tunnel, hitting the same barrier. But they had success on the third tunnel. Before they headed down the real tunnel, the drone checked the fourth tunnel and reached a barrier. With the real tunnel confirmed, the drone was sent down the tunnel equipped with another signal booster. Angelica signaled for Freya to wait until Charlie reported back on what the drone could see. Angelica closed her eyes and opened her mind, reaching out to see if she could feel Elijah or his brothers. The drone made it to the end of the tunnel and Charlie was sending it back to them. "Hold it there, Charlie, I'm going in. Freya, stay here in case I get into trouble." Angelica sped down the tunnel and reached the end. She opened the hatch at the end of the tunnel and it matched the location found on the map. She was on the outskirts of Boston.

Angelica closed the hatch and stood in the tunnel for a moment, closed her eyes and reached out for Elijah. "Despair," thought Angelica, as she opened her eyes. "He's here. They're here. But where?" She sped back to Freya and joined her at the tunnel entrance. "Charlie, I can feel them, they're here, but I can't see them." But it was Freya who answered, "They may be cloaked, Angelica, may I use you one more time?" Freya took Angelica's hand and incanted an uncloaking spell. She pushed the spell deeper using every ounce of her power and a great deal of Angelica's energy. The tunnel opening shimmered then transformed revealing Kol, Niklaus and Elijah. The three brothers were unconscious and with the cloaking spell gone, the wave of emotions from the three tortured brothers hit Angelica hard, overwhelming her empathic abilities as the horror of their experiences raced through her heart and her mind. She gasped, and Freya grabbed her to support her, causing Freya to be able to share in the visions that were emanating from the brothers through Angelica.

"Oh my God," shouted Freya, unprepared for the experience. Angelica caught her breath then focused, severing the empathic connection for the moment. "Their visions are warped, events that did happen are mixed with events that never happened, they are being tortured, but how?" asked Angelica. Freya knew that there had to be another hidden spell fueling it, but she could not find it. Angelica reminded her, "I think they are powering it themselves, like it is on a loop once they were trapped. It tapped into their deepest fears, used it against them, and the energy from those emotions are fueling the trap, and the cycle repeats." It was Charlie who spoke in their ears, "So how do you break a spell that was activated by them and is perpetually powered by them?" Freya answered, "The nightmare has to be broken by them and they each need to choose to leave the nightmare, that's the only way to break the spell."

Angelica was the key. She would be able to empathically siphon off the negative emotion and replace them with healthier emotions. She would need to do this after she enters their vision to interact with them in their subconscious minds. But she would need Freya's help to control her brothers if they came out of it disoriented or dangerous, and to protect them should any unexpected visitors arrive. Charlie would have the drone conduct continuous sweeps to provide additional support. Angelica took a deep breath and prepared to enter the minds of the Mikaelsons.