"They are formidable," Aya commented as they watched Sage's group take care of the rouges.
"The real test has yet to come," said Lucien, not impressed.
Aya resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him and continued to watch patiently.
"He's here," said one of the Sisters as Elijah arrived.
"Now we'll see how powerful they truly are," said Tristan, eager for the coming fight.
"See that one there," said Lucien, pointing out a man watching from the shadows. "That's a hybrid. Make sure it doesn't get away." It would serve to increase Klaus's paranoia even further.
Aya looked over to Tristan for permission, who gave it with a nod, and she left to take care of it as Elijah and Sage's group fight began.
.
The first vampire lunged at Elijah, leaping into the air, which he deftly avoided, blocking the attack of another foe attempting to stake him while snatching his heart out of his chest in retaliation before the rest set upon him.
Catching the arms of two stakes coming at him from different foes, he pulled them into each other, forcing them to stake one another, then pushed them into the path of two others, kicking a third, before flashing away to another two and tearing their hearts out.
Though it cost him, as yet another managed to stake him in the side.
Backhanding the perpetrator away to where his head snapped and his body spun, he ducked under a strike from his blind spot, pivoting around as he ripped out the stake from his side and planted it into the foolish cur's heart.
Four coming at him at once, Elijah did his best to dodge and block what he could while taking yet another stake to the side as a fifth joined.
Catching and breaking the arm that did it, he pulls him into the path of another while kicking away one sneaking up behind. Ripping the heart out of the one pulled, he throws the body in the way of an attack, slipping under another, while blocking yet another.
Getting kicked back, Elijah went with the flow, falling into the two behind him, making them miss their strikes as he reached up and tore out their throats.
Catching their stakes before they fell, he plants them into the next two, continuing past them to the next two, who each held him off well enough to find himself in the middle of yet another full group of enemies, leading to yet another stake into his side, and back as he struggled keeping up with everyone.
Sage's vampires were nothing to scoff at; the elites of her group were among the most capable vampires in existence, and fluid movements were never his strong suit. For each strike he blocked, two more landed.
However, Sage and Troy watched on nervously as Elijah avoided every fatal blow that would have momentarily put him down long enough for them to flee.
"You should run, we'll hold him off," said Troy, glancing at her.
"It won't work; he hasn't lost sight of me since it began. He'll instantly break off and attack me should I try; I'm his target. He's only playing with them to make me suffer. You were right, we should have waited for Finn," said Sage gloomily.
"Nonsense, we'll get through this yet," said Troy as confidently as he could manage.
"We will," said Sage, and she stepped forward. "Are you with me?"
"I am," said Troy, and they joined the fight before their numbers dwindled any more.
With them in the mix, their group began to up the pressure as Elijah now had to contend with not only multiple targets at once, but with each one attacking at different speeds, as Sage and Troy were nearly twice as fast as their slowest combatants.
Though as the fighting continued, it became clear that they wouldn't get out of this alive, as Elijah dismantled them piece by piece.
When he finally snapped the neck of the final one, all that was left were Troy and Sage, clutching a broken arm and panting heavily.
Troy gave Sage one final look and attacked.
"Wait, Troy," said Sage as her arm mended itself.
"No, Troy! Don't!" Sage cried as Elijah flashed towards him, catching his arm and breaking it, causing the man to cry out in pain.
He then broke his other arm, his legs, and finally, he stepped on one of the broken limbs, increasing his torture by twisting his foot as he glared at Sage.
"Is this what you wanted?" asked Elijah darkly before finally reaching down and tearing out his heart.
"You bastard! You and Klaus both can go fuck yourselves!" Sage yelled furiously, willing her arm to heal faster.
"Are we done?" asked Elijah, strutting past all the bodies towards her. However, it was much less intimidating than he would have liked, given the state of his dress from the various wounds he had taken throughout the battle.
"Never!" shouted Sage, quickly checking her arm was in working order before attacking again.
Elijah leaned back, dodging the first strike, caught the second, but was hit by a third, causing him to stumble back.
"You're better than I expected," said Elijah, trading blows. Appreciating how skilled she truly was, now that it was just them.
Sage smirks, "You're not." Landing another blow on his face, splitting his lip momentarily.
Elijah takes it in stride before he blocks her right arm and forces his hand through her chest, clutching her heart.
"It's over. I'll make sure Finn gets your body," said Elijah.
Sage scowls defiantly, sending her left hand shooting forward, gouging out his right eye, making him cry out as he took her heart.
.
Finn stumbles as it happens, feeling Sage's ring pull the life from him. It's first real test since the hybrid bite, but unlike the bite, she was never actually killed.
Speeding into view, he sees Elijah holding her heart above her body.
Elijah looks over at him, then at her, and back at him, before dropping the heart and speeding away.
Finn wanted to chase, but couldn't under the circumstances.
"How's it feel, Finn? Seeing the love you're life die right before your eyes and being able to do nothing about it?!" Lucien loudly mocked, drawing his attention to their rooftop.
"You planned this?" questioned Finn with a mad scowl.
Lucien smirked, "This is only the beginning."
Finn quickly grabbed a stake and threw it so fast that Lucien flinched embarrassingly when it struck the magical barrier protecting them.
"Finn, I'm disappointed in you," said Tristan calmly.
"Tristan? Didn't see you there. Been a while. Disappointed in what? You're only upset because you're sister happened to be linked to Rebekah, which we all learned together. WHEREAS YOU PURPOSEFULLY CAME AFTER MY WIFE!" shouted Finn angrily.
"You're right," said Tristan thoughtfully.
Lucien gave him a strange look, wondering where he was going with this.
"How about we strike a deal? There's no reason for this to escalate any further, now that we're even," said Tristan.
"Are fucking kidding me? No, wait, I should congratulate you for achieving your ultimate goal. I won't be killing Elijah until I've taken everything from you. Prepare yourself, Tristan, you'll find hell a paradise compared to what I have planned for you!" Finn yelled fiercely.
Tristan frowned as he collected Sage's heart and body and sped away.
Lucien always sensed something was off about Tristan, and only now did he take the time to truly appreciate how much of a certifiable psychopath he truly was. Sure, this was the same man who scarred him so badly that he now inflicts the same torture on others, but he figured it was more of a status thing, given the times.