4. Esoteric

A myth made real.

Caroline hadn't known what to expect, of course. Something á la The Davinci Code, whereby everything was contained sequentially, in pristine, monitored rooms of glass? Or something of a time long past – flaming torches and cob-webs?

Much to her amusement, she was met by something in between – but Dan Brown had been pretty dead-on. The Vatican's Archives exhibited elements of its original architecture, infused with modern structural additions and furniture. Caroline didn't have enough time to ponder specific details, however. No matter who had been correct in their assumptions or conspiracies, one singular truth remained: it was an abyss of lost knowledge. How many mysteries of the world could have answers in the kilometres of secrets before her?

"This is your duty?" Caroline voiced. "Stealing from the world?"

The bishop, still under her compulsion, responded with veracity, "The truth would destroy their faith."

An involuntary shiver coursed down Caroline's spine, and she closed her eyes, concentrating her energy on finding the object she desired. A flurry of movement coursed through her mind as if she were out-of-body, aerial: her mind followed the vision to its end, to a handle, a door. "Room 364," she whispered.

"It contains the only remaining artefacts from the Library of Alexandria," her companion answered.

"Well." Caroline squared her shoulders, unable to quell the rush of excitement in her belly. "That's where we're going."

– I –

"You can come in and meet your daughter now, Mr. Mikaelson."

Elijah and Rebekah started, springing to their feet before the nurse. The siblings exchanged a glance, before the elder one stumbled towards his fiancée's room.

Rebekah turned to the nurse, eyes dilating with compulsion. "There is a helicopter on the roof – an ambulance – that will leave in ten minutes. I need your most capable nurse who has no immediate family or significant other. Send them to this room with their belongings."

The middle-aged woman nodded compliantly, eyes distant.

Rebekah took a steadying breath and made for Katherine's room. Opening the door enough to step just inside, the Original's breath hitched in her throat at the sight before her: Elijah cradled Katherine, who nestled her newborn to her breast. It wasn't fair; the tragedy of it all. "It's time," Rebekah gently interrupted.

The Doppelgänger's eyes struggled to focus on her, still fighting general anaesthesia. "What? Why?"

"We're being hunted," Elijah responded quietly, fingers tightening around his little family. "We need to leave now, my love."

"Silas?" Katherine choked.

"No," Rebekah assured her. "Whoever is chasing us is not after you or your baby; they're after all of us. But we can't let them have either of you; can't let them use you as leverage."

Katherine pressed her lips together. "Okay. Then we run."

- I -

Caroline's heart thundered in her chest when her eyes rested on the symbol.

Identical to that in a page of the Consortium's manuscript, the inscription was in a diamond fashion, lined by a series of eyes, detailing a star in its centre. Extra-terrestrial meets Illuminati, she thought, amused. Fingers trembling in the white gloves, the daemon unfurled her discovery with utmost care, breath leaving her body in a gush as the document revealed its secrets.

Or, rather, lack of.

It was blank.

Caroline frowned, blood spiking. "I don't understand," she hissed. "Has it faded?"

"These things happen over time, signora. While we do everything in our power to preserve, we are not responsible for its handling before it reached our care." Beads of sweat had formed on his brow; Caroline could sense his fear. If she had any less humanity, Caroline may have killed him for it; for something that wasn't his fault. She had seen the molestation and depravity in the man's mind – he no doubt deserved such a fate.

But this was not his crime, and she was not judge, jury and executioner.

Not yet.

Caroline's eyes flickered back to the manuscript, searching the aged papyrus with desperation. It was the scroll that had called to her; the spell all writings had declared existed. She had poured over them all for months; she wasn't mistaken. Unless–

– of course.

Caroline removed a glove, allowing her palm to hover above the parchment. Energy reached up to meet it, caressing her skin in delicate flicks. The scroll wasn't empty at all.

"I'm going to need to take this." Her mind buzzed with power – reaching out, wrapping itself around the old man. "I'll need something to transport it."

"Of course signora." He bowed out of the room.

- I –

"Where will we go?"

Elijah grasped Katherine tightly in his bridal-carry as they approached the exit. Beyond the large set of double doors before them, lay the helipad. "We'll decide when we're up in the air."

"But won't they be able to track us?"

"We'll disable the tracker," Rebekah intervened firmly. She couldn't begin to imagine the magnitude of what Katherine had been through in the last few hours – but the last thing they needed was for her to lose her mind.

"What if they try to shoot us down?" Katherine's eyes welled, and she pressed her newborn daughter closely to her chest.

"I'll protect you." An instinctive response, but not a very feasible one – and Katherine knew it. If their helicopter went down, there would only be two survivors.

Rebekah opened all safety latches, shoving the exit open. They were met by the deafening roar of engines and harsh gusts of wind. The infant began to scream.

"No," Rebekah choked.

Flanked by two helicopters of their own, a swarm of hostiles had their guns trained on the escapees. Behind them, their pilot was bound to the helicopter – gagged and useless.

"Surrender yourselves, and no one is harmed," called a deep, female voice from behind the line of soldiers.

Before Rebekah could formulate a response, the guns shifted in aim. One by one, the men turned the guns on each other. Shots cracked, followed by thumps of a dozen bodies. From the chaos, one man remained standing. Their saviour stepped forward, removing his helmet.

A face so familiar to them all, but not the version they wanted it to be.

Dumbfounded, the Mikaelson's exchanged a look.

"Silas," Katherine choked.

His teeth flashed in a grin. "I hear congratulations are in order."

"Have you any heart?" Elijah snapped, "She's just given birth!"

Silas furrowed a brow, motioning with an index finger to the mess around them. "I just saved you?" He nudged a body out of the way. "You're welcome."

"Only to kill me," Katherine rasped, head lolling against Elijah's shoulder. Blood began to ooze through her hospital gown.

Silas was unaffected. "I'm not going to kill you."

"How else do you plan on getting the cure?" Rebekah growled.

"By protecting it," the immortal answered simply.

Behind them, shouts and heavy footfalls came into earshot.

"I'm not after you anymore," Silas continued almost urgently. "I have since come to understand it's in my best interest to protect you." He looked past them. "And you don't really have a choice."

Rebekah moved to the rooftop doors and slammed them shut, before snapping an iron bar from a nearby railing and shoving it through the handles. "Unless we get out of here, we're all lab rats," she shouted, looking at her brother. "He's our best option! Get to the chopper, we'll figure it out later." She grabbed the nurse by the arm and dragged her towards the ambulance, before bending above the pilot and snapping his restraints.

The others followed. Once inside the aircraft, Elijah reluctantly set Katherine and his daughter down and moved to the cockpit to co-pilot. Rebekah then lifted her niece from Katherine's arms as the nurse began to connect a drip.

"What's her name?" the blonde murmured, occupying a nearby seat.

"Ana," Katherine breathed, managing a weak smile. "For my lost sister, Anastasyia." Barely conscious, her head rolled towards Silas and she muttered, "Why help us?"

"Look no further than the child," he responded simply. "For she is the living, breathing, infinite cure."

Katherine opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes fluttered closed before she could.

A/N: No doubt many of my old-time readers are probably wondering where in the hell this update has come from. To be honest, I don't know myself. All I know, is that the literal curtain will be drawn on Klaroline soon, so I had to finish my story for them too. Feedback is always greatly appreciated – life is hectic, so it's nice to know if the chapters are enjoyed!