"I hate this! And I hate that-" Maleny pointed at the spell's chalk drawn on the ground, "-and I hate you for ever coming up with this plan..." Maleny was still raging and pacing in the courtyard which continued to burst in new flames every time she screamed.

Vincent rubbed his forehead wearily at her continuous screams. This had been going on for hours and she seemed nowhere close to losing her voice or at the very least lowering her voice. He understood her, on some level. She had lost the love of her life to an ancient spirit that now lived inside that love and would continue to for all of eternity. At the same time, her family - as malignant and bloody as it was - was fractured for all of time.

Klaus would never see her again nor their son or Hope.

Maleny blamed herself. Oh she blamed herself and that was why she was partly furious.

"And what the hell is-" Maleny stopped when a new fire burst just beside her. She jumped and stared, wide-eyed at the fire. "And...why do I keep doing that?" her voice had turned into a whisper.

Vincent dropped his hand from his forehead and with a sigh explained as much as he could before she screamed again. "You, Maleny, are now a...hybrid." Maleny's face contorted into a glare in record time. "You did this, remember? You let the Hollow access that magic when she brought Cami back from the dead," Vincent reminded her.

"But a vampire can't be a witch," Maleny didn't even know how to argue anymore. At this point, what wasn't possible?

"You can. Witches aren't meant to live like you have. Living and dying, sacrificed, for centuries? Nature compensated you for what you went through."

"Then at least tell me I can use it to bring Klaus back," Maleny pleaded for a solution that would make everything better. "My son and Hope can never see their father again because of what I did. My daughter-" she pointed a shaky finger upstairs, "-is broken because her mother tore the family apart. You hate me but please don't punish my kids."

"Look, I ain't got nothing against those three Mikaelsons but there's nothing I can do," Vincent was completely honest. He winced as a nearby vase shattered into pieces. "This is what you chose, it's what Klaus and his family chose. I'm sorry it hurt the twins and Hope, but that's it."

It was novelty seeing a vampire completely shatter within. Maleny lowered herself to the couch's armrest, eyes wide and full of tears. A frantic state washed over her as she finally began to process what this meant for her and her family.

She never noticed Vincent slipping away. Still, despite his attempt to get away, he was stopped by one more Mikaelson outside the street.

Nicolas was still walking when he shouldn't be. "You need to go help your mother," Vincent intended on saying only that and leave but Nicolas grabbed onto his arm.

"Help me bring him back," his voice was not demanding nor was it threatening. Like Maleny, Nicolas was losing it.

"I can't-"

"There has to be something, a loophole! Anything!" Nicolas exclaimed, letting go of Vincent.

"I just finished telling Maleny there was nothing. But please, feel free to do your own search because I get the feeling Maleny isn't going to make it."

"What do you mean?" Nicolas asked despite knowing exactly what Vincent was talking about.

"Your mother has never truly lived without the Mikaelsons has she?" Vincent curiously wondered. "She's died along the way but she was never away from them for a long time before she was placed in another body. Now she has to cope with the fact she can never see any Mikaelson ever again. And you know what, I'm guessing the fact she can't stay here either isn't going to help."

Nicolas' face scrunched in outrage. "What-"

"What your mother is now will forever mark her," Vincent warned. "People here will never forget how she slaughtered people-"

"The Hollow did that-"

"-and now Maleny has the power to do it on her own. Maleny is a hybrid now, and she's a unique one, a deadly one. She can't stay here," Vincent shook his head. "You know it."

Nicolas ran a hand through his hair, frustrated with things. "She is suffering in there! I can't...I don't know what to do to help her. Please, tell me something…"

All Vincent did was shrug because really, even if he wanted to help, there was nothing that came to mind. It was done.

~0~

Cami awkwardly cleared her throat as she approached Elijah in the cemetery. It didn't take her long to find him after the spell, but she did question his choice of venue.

"I realize now this is the first place where we actually... connected," Elijah spoke in a pretty nostalgic voice of Cami had to describe.

She gave a little smile in return. "In the cemetery... that's, that's pretty New Orleans." Elijah gave no comment, only continued to stare straight ahead. She turned to him and searched for any emotion on his face. As usual, he did his best not to show any. "Tell me what you feel," she instructed in a quiet voice. "You just...you gave up your family and that...that has to hurt. I say it as someone who lost most of her biological family."

"I'm a danger to my family, Camille," his words weren't the ones Cami was expecting but she figured it was a start. "And I fear that if I don't take precautions before leaving I will not be able to contain myself. I'll end up hurting my niece and nephew and Maleny."

"What do you mean?" Cami did her best to follow but his vague words weren't helping.

"My disease has always been this blind devotion to my brother. A thousand years, and whenever he has needed me, I have been there. And no matter what I do, I'm at the complete mercy of that devotion. I can't do that anymore. Not anymore."

Cami gripped his hands and offered her most supportive face. "What do you want to do?"

Elijah finally met her gaze and, despite his fears, he confessed, "I want to be free of Always and Forever. I want to...forget. But...if I do, I might lose you. And I never want that."

"Whatever you want to do, I will be there," Cami vowed. She admitted taking his memories away wasn't the first thing on her mind but it had some logic. "Memories or not, we're together no matter what."

She met him with a hug and a kiss. It was their reassurance this would not be their ending.

~0~

"Maleny?" Abigail inched closer to Maleny who was still in the courtyard, sitting on the couch with her hands together and pressed against her nose. "You want to come upstairs and rest for a bit?" Maleny shook her head without saying a word. "You just expelled an evil ancient spirit from your body. You must be exhausted." Nothing she did pulled Maleny out of her state, until a different voice spoke out to her.

Maleny sensed the new presence of the other of their families and felt like maybe she should have locked herself up in a room.

"Aunt Mal?" Hope struggled to get her backpack set properly on her back, but she still made it up to Maleny.

Maleny took a deep breath and pulled her face from her hands, quickly wiping away some tears before Hope could really see her state. "Sweetheart, you're ready to go?" she looked over Hope to Hayley, both exchanging nods of agreement.

Hope deserved a normal life and if there was anything good that should happen today it was that Hope would finally get a chance to make friends at a boarding school just for supernaturals. Hope was still trying to understand what happened with her father, aunt and uncles and while she didn't understand the implications she knew that she couldn't see any of them…

Maleny looked so sad that Hope didn't want to make things worse by crying in front of her too. Her aunt Mal made the sacrifice in the first place so that the Hollow wouldn't touch neither her nor Nicolas. Hope thought she could make this small gesture in return. "Mom says there's a school where I can learn about magic."

Maleny gave a soft smile. "Yes, I heard. I hope you learn a lot from them and... don't get into trouble. I know mischief almost literally runs through your veins, but…"

Hope chuckled along with the others. Freya cleared her throat and came to bend down beside Hope. She held out a small bracelet for Hope. "Your Aunt Rebekah asked me to give you this. She loves you so much. Family heirlooms are very important. They remind us where we come from, and that no matter where we go, our family is with us."

Hope carefully took the bracelet into her hands then reached to touch the pendant of her own golden necklace, the one Maleny bought for her years ago with Hayley's name written on the back. "Thank you."

"I love you," Freya hugged Hope tightly.

"I love you, too, Aunt Freya," Hope said back, suddenly feeling the weight of the emptiness in the building. Maybe leaving it for school wouldn't be so bad.

"Hope," Maleny called to the girl. Hope returned to Maleny and allowed the blonde to hug her in a bone crushing hug. "I am so sorry for everything. I love you so much, okay? Never think for a minute that will change."

Hope felt Maleny tremble, probably from new tears. The girl pulled away and offered a smile to cheer Maleny up. "I think the wedding will happen one day."

Maleny froze, her eyes immediately landing on her engagement ring still on her finger. It just made her heart ache honestly.

"C'mon Hope," Hayley tugged Hope away from Maleny. "I'll be back tomorrow," she told the others before finally taking Hope away.

"Mother, we have to talk," Nicolas cleared his throat as soon as Hope was gone. "And it's about the Quarter."

Maleny shook her head. "What the hell else is there? Do they want me to publicly issue an apology or-"

"You can't stay," Nicolas decided to skip the build up and just came out with the point. Maleny stiffened then looked at Freya. Those two were always on the same page and it appeared now was no different. "The people here, the witches, they're weary of you because…"

"Because I'm a freak," Maleny bitterly laughed.

"You're not a freak-"

"I do not appreciate you lying to me Nicolas Mikaelson."

Nicolas blinked at her mother's tone. She was angry, but he understood she wasn't angry at him. She was angry at everything that happened, and with good reason. "You are a different person now, we...we need to tap into that magic and control it before…"

"Before I burn down a building!" Maleny exclaimed, not a moment later causing an eruption flamed at the dried out fountain. She slapped a hand at her forehead. "I should've just died-"

"Maleny-" Abigail reached for her daughter's arm but Maleny pushed herself away.

Maleny made a gesture for no one to touch her. "I can't take it!" she confessed in a raspy voice, one about to he engulfed in tears. "I destroyed the family when I should have just died!"

"Mum-"

"Your sister doesn't even want to look at me right now!" Maleny's tears streamed down her face all over again. Marlenie had locked herself away in her room and while she didn't say anything, they had heard her angry screams destroying things on the other side. "I should have just died! Me! And not for the others to separate for all eternity! I'm gonna have to carry that with me for the rest of my life!" as she continued to scream her desires, her magic caused several more things to burst into flames and things to explode.

Nicolas was fresh in tears as well. Without a word, he flicked his fingers to the side and snapped his mother's neck. Both Freya and Abigail gasped and looked to Nicolas with the same stunned faces. Nicolas took in a deep breath before uttering, "We're going to have to talk."

~0~

The last thing Marcel expected after everything was to receive a call from Elijah asking him to meet him in the woods. Another thing, he didn't expect for Vincent and Cami to be waiting either.

It was then that Elijah relayed to Marcel what he wanted to do. "How do you know that this will work?" asked Marcel.

"All of Vincent's power. He can open my mind, allow you to compel me. To release me from always and forever," Elijah said with Vincent nodding in agreement.

Despite his feelings towards the Mikaelsons, Vincent admitted Elijah's plan had a logical sense to it. It was the only reason he was there for help. He would make sure the Hollow never got the chance to reform. "The Hollow's too powerful. It's gonna tempt Elijah to try to get back with his siblings. If we don't do this, the Hollow's gonna come back."

"What if we're just creating a monster here?" Marcel still continued with hesitance.

"I am a monster," Elijah said so easily it made Cami flinch. "You, of all people, know that."

"I'll be there with him," Cami said as another means to ease Marcel's doubts. "He'll have no memory of his family...except for me." Elijah gave her a smile. It was his only consolation. She wouldn't leave him.

"Okay," Marcel sighed. He supposed this would have to be done for precautions. "How do I compel an Original?"

"Marcel, you haven't even begun to tap into all that magic that our ancestors put inside of you," Vincent said, kind of regretful now that he thought about it. Marcel was yet another aberration of nature, more so despite his vampire self. "Now, if we combine that with my spells, we can wipe out centuries of family drama."

"Are you sure you really want that?" Marcel directly asked Elijah.

Elijah nodded. Family had been his downfall for too long now. Everyone was free, and he should start to be too. "Yes."

With that, there was nothing left to say.

Vincent applied his best magic to ease and open Elijah's mind. Cami stepped to the side and watched with her heart in her throat as Marcel finally began the compulsion. She had no idea what kind of person Elijah would be after this - and neither did Elijah know - but she just hoped he would find some peace after all this. Everyone deserved it.

~ 0 ~

When Maleny woke up from her unexpected slumber, she found herself on the couch of the courtyard. As she rubbed the side of her neck, she began to remember just how she'd gotten there. Nicolas is so grounded.

The voices belonging to Freya, Abigail and Nicolas started carrying over from the living room. As Maleny got up from the couch, the words became more clear…

"I love my mother, but what Vincent said was true-" Nicolas was saying, "-she's never lived without my Dad or my aunt Rebekah or uncle Elijah, or uncle Kol. I just don't think we have many choices here!"

"What you are suggesting is completely deranged, Nicolas," Freya argued back. "We already lost most of the family-"

"-and if we don't do this we will lose my mother too," Nicolas cut her off. "Everything that Mum is feeling - all the guilt, the pain, the heartache - she cannot carry for the rest of her life. I mean, can either of you?"

"I would never wish any of these feelings on any of you," Maleny decided to make her presence known before she felt worse. All three froze at the sight of her. "I do not appreciate this conversation - that's completely about me - being done without me…"

"Mother, I'm sorry," Nicolas hurried to meet the blonde woman who received him with open arms. "I panicked and I-"

Maleny soothed him with a hand on his back. "None of this is your fault. I'm the one that...is losing it." She pulled away and patted his cheek. "I'm the one who has to figure out how to live with this...this...pain. My heart hurts, but...I don't know what to do with it. And now you say I have to leave my home again and I...I don't know what to do honestly. It hurts. Everything hurts."

"Then turned it off," they heard someone say from behind Maleny.

Without looking back Maleny knew it was Marlenie who had finally come out of her bedroom. The raven-haired woman looked like she had cried a river with her red eyes and disheveled hair.

"Turn your emotions off, mother. Feel nothing. Only then can it get better."

"Marlenie…" Nicolas was about to scold when he saw his mother's face. She...she looked to be considering it.

"I never thought about it before," Maleny admitted.

"Maleny, if you turn those emotions off you won't know what type of person you would be after," Freya quickly stepped in.

"No emotions means no guilt," Maleny whispered, her hand slowly coming to her chest. "No heartache."

"But you wouldn't be you," Abigail sadly said.

"I'm not me anyways," Maleny sniffled the more she thought about the losses that would now follow her everywhere she went. "I lost Klaus. I-I will never be able to see him again and I...I don't think I can move on from that. I made him separate from his son, his daughter and his siblings. It's my fault, mother. And it's selfish to take this easy way out but right now I can't think of anything else."

"I can," Nicolas said, though whatever it was it didn't appear to have neither Abigail nor Freya on board too. "We erase the memories of Dad, the Hollow." To spare Maleny more trouble, he would leave the part of forgetting himself and Marlenie too.

"That's about the same thing as turning the emotions off," Marlenie opinionated, crossing her arms. "Emotions off would mean no guilt at all - even if she knew what the Hollow did. Erasing the memories doesn't guarantee she won't just learn about it again and go through the cycle of feelings."

"So you want me to turn my emotions off, then?" Maleny eyed her daughter with a degree of hurt.

When Marlenie saw this she sighed and came up to her. "Mother, despite what you may think, I do not blame you for anything. You know it has always been my dream to have my family together. I...I can't have that now, obviously, but I never once blamed you for it. The Hollow is the one who did everything. Not you. Turning your emotions off means you will never feel the pain again."

Maleny looked at everyone in the room with teary eyes. She didn't know what she would do, but it was clear that she would need to do something because if left like this...she would not survive.

Despite being a vampire, a fighter, the Hollow had hit her directly where it hurt most. It took away the person she loved the most and hurt him too. She separated a family, the family she loved with all her heart and there was nothing she could do about it. All the time in the world would mean nothing if she couldn't spend it with Klaus and their family.

~ 0 ~

One Week Later

It had taken everything to leave New Orleans and not look back. To be quite honest, Klaus wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep up a quiet, solace charade. He wasn't used to being alone - he wasn't good at it. Disastrous consequences would follow, he was sure of that...he would just strive to make sure it didn't happen so soon.

Venice was lovely. As lovely as it could be when one was on their own. It was why he was overly surprised when he felt a familiar presence not too far from him.

The child he could ever see had found him.

Marlenie approached her father with a bittersweet smile and a necessity for a hug. Klaus held his daughter tightly in his arms and couldn't help to ask how Nicolas and Hope were. He had yet to be brave enough to call either of them.

"They're fine," Marlenie promised him. "Hope's at her boarding school and Nicolas...is in the Quarter. He wants to help aunt Freya figure out a way to put the Hollow away in another place."

"And...Maleny?"

Marlenie looked down at her long purse hanging to her side. She swallowed hard and offered another smile. "I want to stay with you, Dad." Klaus seemed surprised with her, figuring she would want nothing more than to stay with her mother. "Mum...has done something, and I...I know why she did it, but I can't be around her. It hurts me now."

"What did she do?" Klaus asked, unable to hide his concern.

"Can I please stay with you?" Marlenie first needed to make sure she wouldn't have to go back.

"Of course you can. You can be wherever you can but please...what did Maleny do? Is she okay? Is she-"

Marlenie took out a white envelope from her purse and held it to Klaus. "She wrote you a letter."

This wouldn't bode well. Klaus took the envelope and opened it up. He pulled out a folded letter and began to read it the moment he laid eyes on Maleny's handwriting.

Dear Klaus,

First of all, I need to apologize. Despite it not being of any use, I need to do it because you deserve it. Your entire family deserves it. I'm sorry for what I did, for what I caused. I will always be the woman who separated the Mikaelson family. And I will never be able to fix it.

I am not the strongest woman despite what you used to say to me, what everyone used to tell me. I have the physical strength, but not the mentality. Like you, I cannot be alone. I realized, or rather I was made to realize, that I have never truly been away from you nor your family. One way or another, I always found you. Those days are over now. I only hope having our daughter Marlenie there with you will help you find some peace that you are not truly alone. Confide in her what you would confide in Elijah. She is your confidant now. Look after one another and, please, tell Marlenie that I love her so much. Remind her that every day for me.

And please, remember that I loved you too. When we were still humans in our village, I knew that you were the one I wanted to marry. I would have given everything to spend my days with you - and I did. I did everything I could to match my lifespan with yours. It's why we're here now, in a way, I guess. I love you, Klaus, I do but I cannot carry all this pain and heartache with me. You are strong, I am weak. I am selfish. I had to do something to free me from my pain and my guilt.

Like you set me free from the Hollow's claws, I will now do the same for you.

Don't torture yourself by thinking of our feelings. Think of me as gone. Don't think about my feelings if you were to find someone new. Whether it is for a long term thing or a simple night of pleasure - I am gone.

I love you and I set you free.

Maleny.

Klaus didn't think it was possible to have his heart break all over again but ever since Maleny and his children arrived to his life, he found himself feelings new things. By the time he finished reading, his vision was slightly blurred from tears.

Marlenie now held out the engagement ring Klaus had given to Maleny.

All the time and world at their feet seemed like so little now.

He had lost everything.

Author's Note:

To Be Continued in...As If It's Our Last. The story's already been published on my profile!

That concludes season 4! Sorry it took me so long but I wanted to write out the last story to the point where I had a couple chapters planned ahead. I have to admit, this is the first story (out of all my fandom stories) to end on a tragic note. I kind of like it xD

And before we really finish here, let me say thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed or favorited! I hope you're ready for the next, final story! Go check it out!