8 May, 2028

Kaitlyn's POV

8 hours. It was 8 hours too long. 8 hours too late when our flight finally descended on the Mystic Falls airport runway. As soon as our car finally stops outside the Lockwood mansion, I almost jump out of the still running car and rush into the house.

"Ric!" I yell out and my voice echoes throughout the house as Klaus, Rebekah and Marcel too walk into the house behind me.

"It's too quiet," I say as I move around the house to check if anyone was here. When I find no one, I pull out my phone and dials Damon's number. After two failed calls, Klaus' phone starts to ring instead.

"Freya," he says as he answers the call and I decide to listen in.

"Klaus, where are you? We're in trouble, the kids need Kaitlyn," she speaks form the other side of the call.

"We're in Mystic Falls. Damon called us and asked us to come back. Just tell us where you are," Klaus replies.

"We're...we're at the school. Klaus, it's bad. You need to get here now!" she says before hanging up and by the time, I am already out of the house and in the car's driver seat.

Breaking some driving rules and almost running over a few people, we reach the Boarding House's entryway after five minutes or so. From the outside, the school looks so dark and gloomy right now, like a terribly dark shadow had taken over the area. And there it was- the same, chilly quietness again. I burst through the front door and the first sight I'm greeted with are storm clouds...inside the school. There were dark storm clouds covering every inch of the school with rain water.

Then my eyes land on Alaric and as his eyes catch mine, he does a double take as if to ensure if it was really me. Then, before I know it, I am engulfed into a tight hug by him.

"Bee, thank god you're here," he says breathlessly as we break away from the hug and places a small kiss on the side of my head.

"What happened?" I ask, getting to the point.

"Kai was back," comes another voice and I turn to see Damon. Behind him was Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, Enzo and Freya.

"So I've heard," I reply as he hugs me and just then, it strikes me, "wait, what do you mean by 'was' back?"

"Bee, you might wanna sit down," Alaric says as he leads me to the library of the school. The only room with no storm clouds, surprisingly. Not that it mattered because we were all drenched to the core by now.

"No, where are the kids? Who's with them?" I ask as Alaric sits me down on a couch.

"The kids are...alright. They're all in your office right now. We should talk before you go see them," Alaric says and I nod hesitantly as Klaus sits down next to me and places his comforting hand over mine.

"So, Kai was back. We don't know how exactly he got out of the Prison World because Bonnie should've been able to feel it happen but there was nothing. He...he made a deal with this ancient witch called Necromancer and he was back to get revenge. He probably had some spell cast on him because none of us felt his presence even though he said he was among us for two days before Hope figured out his secret," Alaric says and I immediately tense at the idea of Hope...or any of my kids having to face Kai. I exchange a worried look with Klaus and just then, Kol and Davina walk into the room, also completely drenched.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" he asks as he walks up to me and hugs me tightly.

"Anyways," Alaric says, ignoring Kol's comment, "so Hope figured it out and instead of informing me or anyone else, she followed him to the woods and when he figured out, he attacked her," he says and all of us audibly gasp, "don't worry, she's fine. She beat Kai and knocked him out. Then, she called me and we brought Kai back at school, locked him in the basement, waiting for his senses to be back."

"You've got a pretty stubborn yet strong daughter," Damon chimes in and Klaus wears a proud smile on his face while I wear a worried one.

"Just like her mother," Klaus says at the same time as I say, "like her father."

We both then look at each other and smile as Alaric clears his throat and continues to speak, "yeah so then, when he woke up, he told us about this Necromancer guy and said he had made a deal to bring him back this ancient knife that apparently we have in our unlabeled artifact collection, in exchange of an undetected escape from the Prison World. Just then, Ryan called saying Lizzie had fallen unconscious and they couldn't find Josie, so I left Kai and rushed to find the kids. He...he manipulated Hope into freeing him, saying the Necromancer could find out if Hayley had found peace but of course, he lied. While I was helping MG get Lizzie home, Ryan and Madeline went to look for Josie. When they came back with her, she was unconscious, apparently Kai stabbed her with some mystical 'dark magic' knife," he continues and there is another series of gasps.

"How are you so calm about this?" I ask him, almost angrily.

"Because he hasn't even gotten to the worst part," Caroline cuts in and Freya nods.

"The worst part is, when we caught Kai the second time, he was riling me up and was saying there's no way to save Josie now. He...he brought up Jo and I lost it, I...I decapitated him," he whispers the last part but all the supernaturals in the room heard it clearly.

"You...you did what?" I ask again, as if my ears were deceiving me, "you killed Kai? But that means..." I trail off.

"That means the twins are in line to merge for the coven now and it needs to be done ASAP. Or else they will be overtaken by paranoia and ultimately, they won't even make it to their 22nd birthday, let alone past that," Alaric finishes my line and I immediately stand up from the couch, all eyes now on me.

"Don't say that, Ric. We'll find a way like we always do," I say and everyone nods, although no one looks that convinced, "now, I'm going to go see my kids. You people split up and look for solutions. Oh and, someone tell the Mikaelsons about the merge," I point out, noting the confused look on most of their faces.

"I got this, Sunshine," Kol states and I nod.

"How is she so calm about this?" is the last thing I hear before walking out of the library and into the storm clouds again.

I hesitantly open my office door and peak in my head through a slight gap first, not knowing what kind of a sight to expect. I see Josie lied down on the couch with her head laid on Josie's lap.

Ryan and Madeline are cuddled up against another couch and Hope, MG, Landon, Rafael are all sat on the floor. Landon is the first to notice me as he was sitting closest to the door, talking to MG and Rafael, "Miss K?" he asks in an uncertain voice as I hold the door open wider. His voice causes Hope, Ryan and Madeline to wake up as well. Ryan goes to talk but I put a finger over my lips and ask them all to stay quiet, so they don't wake the twins.

"Hey kids," I whisper as I walk in and Hope engulfs me into a hug first, "thank god you're okay," she says and I chuckle lightly.

"I should be saying that. You went against Kai? Why would you do something so reckless?" I scold her and she just shrugs.

"I was protecting my sisters," she states sheepishly and after a second, a wide smile breaks out on my face. Then Ryan hugs me, "I'm so sorry I didn't get to Josie in time," he pleads and I run my hand up and down his back to comfort him, knowing how guilty he must be feeling right now.

"It's alright, Bubbah. I know you tried your best. Besides, it should've been me and Ric protecting you guys and I wasn't here when you needed me..." I go to say but he cuts me off.

"Please mom, for once, you were somewhere for yourself. You coming back was supposed to be happy and now all this has gone wrong," Ryan says.

"Like I said, we never get to stay happy for too long," Hope chimes in and just then, Lizzie starts to churn in her sleep. I walk up to her and kneel down next to her, running my hand through her blond curls.

"M...mom?" Lizzie whispers, still half-asleep.

"I'm here, sweety," I whisper back and she blinks her eyes a few times, as if to check if this was real. Then, she begins to cry and the thunder storms start to rumble louder and rain starts pouring furiously.

"Mom, I lost control and I...all these clouds and it was so bad, it hurts mom," she cries and she lays her head on my shoulder and I comfortingly shush her.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you needed me, baby. It won't hurt anymore, I'm here. We're all going to be fine," I reassure her as I look around at the other kids, "give us a minute," I tell them and they walk out of the office, leaving behind only my four kids.

"Why didn't you tell us about our psychopath uncle who wants to kill us?" she asks and from the way she said it, I deduce that Alaric hadn't told them about the merge yet.

"It's...complicated. There's a lot you don't know about your bloodline and your history and we...me and Ric have been trying to avoid this for so long but it just got here sooner and now, I don't even know where to start with the story," I tell them.

"Just rip off the band aid, mom. We can take it," Ryan says as Lizzie and Hope nod.

"So you two come a very powerful coven of witches- the Gemini Coven. Your mom was a part of it and so was her twin brother, Kai, who you've already met," I get cut off by Lizzie.

"Wait so Kai is the uncle who killed mom?" she asks in a disgusted tone and I nod.

"Um...yeah, at your mom and Alaric's wedding. Kai killed...all his other siblings too, a long long time ago. Your mom saved two of her younger siblings, Luke and Liv and ultimately, Kai merged with Luke a few years ago," I say and all the kids look confused, "like I said, it's complicated. So um...when a pair of twins are born in your coven, they are destined to partake in a merge ritual to continue growing their strengths and to continue electing new Coven leaders."

"What do you mean 'merge'?" Hope asks and I hold onto Lizzie's hand, knowing what was bound to happen after this.

"During this merge, the stronger of the two would claim their twin's power and they would emerge stronger than ever," I say, not being able to continue with the rest.

"And what happens to the weaker twin? Mom?" Lizzie questions and I inhale sharply.

"The weaker twin...the weaker of the two would die as a result," I whisper and the kids gasp in horror.

"Wh-what? Mom, one of us has to die?" Lizzie asks in a horrified tone.

"No no, we won't let that happen. Alaric and I have been travelling all over the world all these years looking for solutions to avoid your merge from happening. Kai was the last leader of your coven since everyone else was dead or killed, I guess. The twins are expected to merge on their 22nd birthday but now, Kai is dead so we don't know what happens now," I say honestly and Ryan then asks the dreaded question.

"What happens if the twins don't merge?"

"They...they both die," I whisper and Lizzie breaks down, crying hysterically as we hear thunder rumble throughout the school premises.

"All these years, you and dad would go on 'office trips', that was this?" Ryan asks again and I nod.

"Bonnie, Enzo and Care too have been travelling all over looking for solutions. So has Kol," I tell them, realizing how lucky I was to have such amazing friends in my life.

"Mom," Lizzie whispers and I turn around to look at her as she looks up from where she was all curled up against me, "mom, I don't want to die and, I don't want Josie to die either. Please," Lizzie continues to cry.

"You're not going to die, neither is Lizzie. We'll fix this, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. To any of you," I tell them as Hope and Ryan to join in on the couch and I wrap my arms loosely around my kids, contemplating what could happen next.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆
I don't know how much later it was when I was woken up by a tap o my shoulder. I look around to see the kids were still asleep and Klaus was stood before me. I slowly move Hope's head off my lap and Lizzie's off my shoulder before getting up and placing a new blanket over them, that Klaus had brought over. The rain had ceased now.

Him and I walk out into the hallway and I turn to look at him expectantly, "no solutions as of yet but we're still looking. Kol and Davina are off to contact this old witch Davina knew once and I contacted Elijah. He said he's looking too. Bonnie and Freya have their noses buried in grimoires in the librabry," he says and I nod.

"The grimoires aren't going to help. We already skimmed through these. The Gemini Coven was so secretive, no one outside the coven would know about their rules, rituals of r loopholes," I say nonchalantly and Klaus sighs.

Just then, a lightbulb goes off in my head, "wait," I say as I hold onto his arm and he looks at me, waiting for me to continue, "no one outside their coven would know but...someone from their coven would," I say and he looks confused.

"The coven is dead, love. Alaric killed Kai, there's no one else left," he says and I shake my head.

"But they're there...on the Supernatural Plane. They have to be in the witch's world or something. I...if I can go back to the Supernatural Plane, I can find Jo, she can help us!" I exclaim, getting excited about the idea but Klaus shakes his head vigorously.

"Absolutely not. You're not taking up such a risk, especially not after you nearly died because of it the last time," he says and I sigh, taking his face in my hands, I look him dead in the eye, "Nik, I'm sorry but I don't care about me. Not right now. For the last sixteen years, we've been scourging the world for solutions. You think we'll find a solution in sixteen hours when we didn't find one in sixteen years? These are my kids, I have to do what I can for them," I tell him.

"But this doesn't have to be it. We'll find another way. Just wait for another day, please?" he pleads and I nod hesitantly as I see Alaric, Caroline, Elena and Damon walk up to us.

"Any news?" I ask them but they all shake their head 'no'.

"Well I told the kids about the merge and all, Josie is still unconscious and the others are finally asleep," I tell them in return, "what do we do about this black magic that the knife put in her?"

"Freya thinks it's similar to something that happened to Rebekah once and she said when Josie wakes up, she can make a potion for her," Klaus says and I nod. Just then, his phone starts to ring and I lean in to see it's Elijah. I nod and he walks away to answer the call.

"It's a pretty ring," Caroline says and it takes me a second to realize what she meant. For a second, I had almost forgotten about everything that happened in Paris.

"We had this entire party planned that we'd throw you guys when you got back," she continues and I give her a sad smile.

"No worries, Care. We have forever to make up for this," I tell her and everyone smiles. I then hear rustling inside the office and open the door to see Josie was sitting up on the couch, while the others were still out.

"Hi baby," I greet her with a smile as we walk into the office but something was wrong. Her eyes. They were dark. I gasp when I realize what was happening.

"Get Freya's concoction now!" I yell, turning to Caroline as they rush out towards the library, only leaving me and Alaric behind.

"Josie, sweety it's me," I say as I cautiously walk towards her and she growls in response, "Josie, I know you're in there. Just...calm down, you're fine," I say as I watch Ryan gently grabs onto her hand. Josie, however, immediately twists Ryan's hand and throws him against my office desk, knocking him out due to the surprise of the attack.

"Ryan!" I hear Madeline yell out as she rushes towards him and I turn to Josie. By now, Lizzie and Hope are up too and Alaric is stood before them in a protective way.

"Josie, it's us! It's mom!" Lizzie yells out and for a second, I see Dark Josie's eyes soften before the darkness takes over again. Caroline rushes into the office with a mug in her hand.

"Hold her," Freya says from behind her as me and Alaric grab onto both her arms, trying to be gentle but also prepared for a similar outcome to Ryan's.

Freya walks up to Dark Josie, chanting a spell and then pushes the mug's contents into her mouth forcibly, although Dark Josie ends up spitting most of it.

"Whatever went down her throat should keep her down for a bit," Freya says as Josie's body goes limp against Alaric's arms.

"Keep her down? I thought this would get rid of the magic temporarily," I say.

"We didn't have enough time to get all the ingredients for that. The longer Josie is conscious with the darkness inside her, the more it will consume her. It's better if she stays down until I have the potion or some other solution," Freya replies and I nod half-heartedly as I walk up to check on Ryan.

"What happened?" he asks groggily as I run my hand through his hair.

"The dark magic took over Josie's mind. She's fine now, she'll just need to stay down for a little. Are you okay?" I ask him as I check for wounds.

He chuckles, "mom, I'm a hybrid. It's gonna take more than my baby sister to beat me," he jokes and we all laugh lightly.

"We'll be fine," I whisper as I hug him and Lizzie and Hope join in.

"But mom," Lizzie says after the hug, "no more deadly secrets, please."

"I promise," I tell them and then ask Caroline to take the kids back home with Alaric while the rest of us stay here, looking for the solutions to our countless problems.