At the Davilla Estate, Aya hung up her phone.
"Good news I trust?" inquired Tristan, joining her on the balcony.
"Our men have engaged the Slayer outside the city limits. They're leading her away now," said Aya.
"Good, ready the men for Marcel's call, and inform Lucien," ordered Tristan.
"You should know, she was seen actively hunting Finn. We could use her against him," Aya suggested.
"No, I think not. It's not worth the risk; she'll kill us as easily as anyone else. We'll stick to the plan," said Tristan, walking away.
"As you wish," said Aya, giving him a polite bow.
…
At the same time, Marcel was organizing a meeting for all the unaffiliated vampires in the city.
After spreading the word and ensuring the right people heard, he got them to send an invitation to Sage's group after capturing a few of their men to up the ante.
Now, the only issue left was how to deal with Finn, and the only way to deal with an Original effectively was another Original.
Picking up his phone, he called Kol.
Several attempts later with no answer, he sighed and called Elijah.
"Marcellus, to what do I owe the pleasure?" asked Elijah in his usual dull superior tone.
"I have an offer for you, but only for you," Marcel stressed, not wanting to deal with Klaus.
Taking the hint, Elijah looked at Klaus, who glared back, eager to hear more.
"I'm afraid now is not a good time, our brother is missing. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" asked Elijah.
"Kol is missing? I've been calling him with no answer," Marcel admitted.
"And why would you be doing that, I wonder?" came the angry tone of Klaus, snatching the phone away from his brother.
"Klaus. I was hoping for one of you to help me; he was simply the first option I tried before calling Elijah," said Marcel, hoping the truth would rule him out of any of his paranoia.
"Well, go on then, what do you need help with?" asked Klaus, intrigued.
"The Slayer's back in town," said Marcel, quickly thinking of something.
"Where?" asked Klaus seriously.
"I had some men lure her out of the city, but a couple of mine paid the price, and we both know it won't be long before she comes back. I was hoping to set up something for when that happens," said Marcel.
"And you didn't think to inform me?" asked Klaus heatedly.
"I didn't think you'd care what happens to me," said Marcel.
There was a moment of silence before Klaus responded testily, "No, but I do care what happens to what's mine, in my city, to my people, to say nothing of the headache she could cause me personally! Don't make the mistake of not informing me in the future. Do I make myself clear?"
Marcel frowned. "Crystal."
"Then I expect you soon," said Klaus, ending the call.
Marcel decided to take the chance and tell Elijah in person, heading to the Abattoir. Klaus was too big a risk to involve, not to mention that he and the Strix wanted nothing to do with him.
Jackson lets him in, where Klaus and Elijah are waiting.
"So what could you have possibly done to incur the Slayers wrath, heh, Marcellus?" asked Klaus, sipping his drink.
"My people just happened to run into her, is all, and didn't know who she was, mistakenly leading her back here," said Marcel, coming up with a believable lie.
"Well, that is unfortunate, but what exactly was your idea with my brother?" asked Klaus pointedly.
"Kol knows the witches best, so I was hoping for his help in contacting them for a solution," said Marcel.
Klaus smirked.
Sensing something off, Marcel's brows furrowed, "Am I missing something?"
"It seems you haven't heard. There are no more witches in New Orleans, well, except the ones hiding behind the trinity groups in town," said Klaus.
"Wait, what?" asked Marcel in disbelief.
"What I'm saying is, me, Elijah, and my hybrid pack went out the other day and wiped them all out. For you see Marcel, there will be no more factions, all will fall in line under me or perish," said Klaus definitively.
Rendered speechless, Marcel grew deathly silent.
Seeing that he got it, Klaus dismissed him after discussing the possibilities of where Kol could be.
Elijah, knowing there was something more to that phone call before Klaus took control, followed him out.
Klaus watches them leave together from the window, setting off alarm bells in him as the prophecy plays inside his head. First, Kol's disappearances—or lack of contact, to be more precise, doubting Finn had him, or the conveniently timed Slayer; and now, Elijah is making secret deals with Marcel. Did they really think they could take him? He needed more hybrids.
"What did he want?" asked Klaus suspiciously when Elijah returned.
"Aside from the Slayer, he wanted help bringing the unaffiliated vampires in line, with one of us there lending weight to his words," said Elijah
"After all that! He still hides things from me," Klaus growled.
"He feared your presence would, antagonize them," said Elijah amusedly.
"Or make them more compliant," argued Klaus unsuccessfully, if Elijah's deadpan face was any indication
"We both know that's never been the case," Elijah denied.
Klaus snorted, "Just be sure to remind them to fall in line, no more factions Elijah."
"Understood," said Elijah, taking his leave.
When he was out of earshot, Klaus turned to Jackson, "I want you to shadow him and report back."
"By your will," said Jackson mockingly, taking off.
"As for the rest of you, Find Me Kol!" Klaus shouted angrily, sending the rest of them scampering away.
Turning to the last one, Hayley, who was quickly becoming his favorite pet, Klaus ordered her to get him another drink while wondering why he stopped compelling at the hybrids as well as why he had never done it much before them. It made life so much better and easier; he could see it now —a world without lies, a world of his own making. He smirked, taking the drink.