For Good | Hale- TO/TW [8]

51 | And Forever

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Trees loom over their heads. A clearing appears before the; wide and free. A single oak tree stands in the center, names carved into its trunk.

Lexi sighs as she pauses before the oak, looking up at its branches and leaves. They sway in the gentle breeze as squirrels run up the trunk and owls hoot in the distance.

"Why are we here, Alexis?" Elijah asks.

She sighs once more as she places her hand against the tree. "Time to work, darling," she mutters, tracing her fingers across the carved names.

She hears Niklaus inhale sharply. He must have read the names. "What are you doing, Lexi?" He asks, though his voice no longer holds conviction.

"I cannot save you." She lets her hand drop to her side as she sighs deeply, pushing down the sinking feeling in her chest. "There is nothing I regret more than knowing that when you need me, I cannot help."

"We have accepted our fate," Elijah replies.

Lexi nods slowly. "I have too. But the power worries me."

Klaus frowns. "Worries you how?"

She turns around, meeting their gaze. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. "Magic does not disappear, brothers. It cannot disappear. Just like all matter, magic cannot be created or destroyed, only changed."

"Are you saying this is all for nothing?" Klaus demands, anger seeping into his voice. "The Hollow could come back, no matter what?"

She shakes her head. "The Hollow is dead. Her magic, however..." She clicks her tongue as she looks back up at the tree. "Do you remember when the Beacon Hills pack stayed with us? Their stories and their lives?"

Elijah scoffs. "How is that important—"
Lexi shoots him a look. "All in due time, brother."

With a sigh, Elijah nods. Klaus narrows his eyes as he looks at the large oak before him. "What are you getting at, sister?"

"Do you remember that they spoke of a tree?" She asks. "A very special tree. A tree imbued with magic."

Shaking his head, Klaus lets out a chuckle. "You can't be serious."

Unraveling the paper, she shows her brothers the spell written. "Dead serious."

"You want to create a Nemeton?"

Lexi's expression does not change even as her brothers let the shock set in. "A Nemeton is an ancient part of nature," Elijah reminds her. "It cannot be created—no one knows how."

"No one's had the power to create one," Lexi corrects him. "But the power running through your veins should do quite nicely."

"Why?" Klaus asks. "Why do this?"

Hesitantly, she takes a step forward. Fear and hope flicker in her expression as she says. "Because New Orleans is a supernova ready to explode. It has been a safe haven; it has been a prison. It is the perfect place to live in peace, if given the right leadership. The Mikaelsons—our rule—was not right. It is our duty to hand it off to better hands."

"And who would that be?" Klaus steps past his sister and up to the tree. He runs his hands over the carved names. "All those worthy of such power are dead."

"Not all." Lexi chuckles. "In fact, New Orleans is coming upon a new age of peace. Marcel was training Declan on how to lead the human faction. The witches have their leaders. Vampires are leaving, and the wolves have chosen their new leader, should he choose to accept it."

Elijah lets his lips tug up. "Theodore."

Lexi nods. "He wants to lead; he practically begged us. He wants to fix this, all of it. He wants to help people like us, who come here without a home, without a thing to lose. He and Declan will rebuild New Orleans peacefully. After he finishes schooling, of course.

"But in order to do that, they need help. Scott and Stiles have promised to show them the ropes, but no one really knows what goes on it their minds. Teddy and Declan need the power a Nemeton would offer. Without it, New Orleans may never find lasting peace." Lexi looks between her brothers as her eyes soften. "Please," she begs, her voice wavering. "There is no promise it will work. But I have to try. Because without it, you may never find peace. This way, I can harness your deaths and help this city as we intended to do over a century ago."

Klaus and Elijah exchange a look. Without speaking, they come up on either side of their youngest sister. Klaus squeezes her shoulder as he nods. "Do it," he whispers. "Make sure New Orleans rises again."

Elijah nods, noticing the tears building in her eyes. "Always—"

"And forever," she breathes before she wraps her arms around both of them, soothing them in a hug. She buries her head between their head and shuts her eyes tightly. A tear escapes, cascading down her cheek as she takes a shaky breath. "I love you. So much."

"Be happy, Alexis," Elijah says into her ear as the brothers pull away. "Now, I believe, it is time."

Lexi closes her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from sobbing. The temporary fix allows her to take three steps away from her brothers as they take out white oak stakes.

Klaus snaps off the tip of his stake and tosses it to Lexi. "For when Kol finds his time," he says as she pockets the wood. "He'll be the only one of us left."

Lexi looks up to the sky and bites her lip as if silently cursing the unforgiving god watching over them. She grips the spell tightly in her fist as her brothers position their stakes over the other's heart. She keeps her eyes on the sky, trying to give them privacy.

"I don't deserve the love you've given me, brother," Klaus says, his voice shaking. "But I am so grateful."

"It's been a glorious ride, Niklaus," Elijah replies. Lexi can hear the smile in his words. "And my greatest honor."

Lexi gasps when she hears the squelching of flesh. The scent of burning skin hits her next. She looks forward as their faces begin to peels away. Specks of their beings are carried by the breeze to the tree.

With shaking hands, Lexi brings the spell before her eyes. She begins to thank as the stakes burn to ash, piling at their feet. Their bodies begin to break apart only for the breeze to blow what is left of Niklaus and Elijah Mikaelson onto the large oak tree.

The bark begins to glow under the midnight moon. Lexi shields her eyes, forcing herself to continue as a ringing fills the air. The tree glows brighter and brighter with each word falling from her lips.

When she finishes, the tree's light bursts forward, throwing Lexi backward. The moment she hits the ground, she can feel the earth humming with power. She looks up at the once ordinary tree. It calls to her with a power unlike any other.

Approaching the tree, Lexi flicks out her claws. She presses her palm against the bark; her skin begins to tingle as the new Nemeton hums against her. She begins to smile, running her eyes along the tree. "Thank you," she whispers as she presses her forehead against the tree. "I love you, my brothers. Forever."

She drags her claw against the bark and relishes in the way it peels off the tree. She adds two more names alongside the rest before she backs away.

"Forever," she repeats before she turns around. Deep in her stomach, she feels the power receding from her, but she does not mind.

As she walks away, there tree stands tall with the names of the fallen written over its body: Niklaus Mikaelson; Elijah Mikaelson; Hayley Marshall; Laura Hale; Josh Rosza; Ivy Belois; Camille O'Connor; Peter Hale; Allison Argent; Jackson Kenner; Finn Mikaelson; Talia Hale; and so many more.

As she walks away from the names of her family and friends, she leaves behind the memory of Alexis Mikaelson—the broken—to keep moving on as Lexi Hale—the survivor.

It's over. I have no words. 

-L