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Chapter Text

The dull echo of chains and silence was all that remained in the catacombs beneath the Abattoir. The long-forgotten chamber smelled of earth and old magic, a pungent reminder of what it was to be a Mikaelson. Rebekah Mikaelson lay still, frozen in a sleep of stone, the dagger wedged deep in her heart. Time meant little to her as the days turn into weeks, weeks turned into months but the coffin of oak and silver remained. The world above, changed every day, but she laid, unable to move, half dead.

Kol, ever the unpredictable brother, stepped into the torch-lit chamber. He rolled his eyes at the melodramatic theatrics of their family. “Always hiding each other away like dusty furniture.” He crouched beside Rebekah’s coffin. "Poor Bekah."

With a smooth motion, he reached for the hilt and yanked the dagger out. Rebekah gasped, her eyes flying open. Breath came in a ragged gasp as her lungs exercise breathing again.
"Kol," she whispered hoarsely. "Why?", Eyeing her youngest brother suspiciously.

"Because, dear sister" he said, offering her the blood bag he stole from the hospital, "you deserve better than being Nik’s pawn."

"And what’s in it for you, Kol" Getting up from her coffin after taking the blood bag and stretching out her limbs, sore from the prolonged state of unuse.

Kol clutches his heart in mock hurt "Not even a thank you for waking up my favourite sister".

Rebekha rolls her eyes and drinks the blood Kol brought for her while waiting for Kol to elaborate and answer her question.

"I don’t stand to gain or lose anything from leaving you daggered here." He shrugs and continues while smirking, "But I do certainly gain some annoyance from Nik by waking you up."

"Kol Michealson, ever the troublemaker." Rebekha shakes her head, amused by her brother’s antics.

"Enough about me, what are you planning on doing" Kol curiously looks at her "now that you are, you know free from Nik’s clutches?"

Rebekha grimaces and throws away the half empty blood bag, "Haven’t given it much thought." She shrugs and continues "Besides wouldn’t he figure out that I am not here anymore?"

"No, for a while he won’t" Kol smirks "Nik and Elijah are in Mystic Falls."

"That gives me some time to get away" Rebekha stares at Kol and continues "Thank you Kol." She says hugging her brother.

"Careful sister, we don’t want to make it a habit now do we?" He smiles and hugs her back.

"That blood was awful"

"Then let’s get out of here and get you some real blood, sister". Kol Chuckles.

Chapter Text

New Orleans was no longer her home. She couldn't bear to be Klaus's bargaining chip anymore, to be tossed between daggers and promises. Rebekah decided that it was time to flee, but this time with the help of Kol and possibly for the longest of her hiatus. She slipped away under cover of night, compelling everyone and everything in her way to secure herself a false identity. Her destination: Australia.

The sea had always called to her in a way that neither Klaus's ambition nor Elijah's righteousness ever could. There was something ancient and liberating in its depths. Somewhere she could be more than just another Original Vampire, live the kind of life she had dreamed of for 1000 years. Peaceful, pleasant and the closest she can come to experiencing the life as an ordinary human being a vampire.
"Are you sure Kol," Rebekah asks for what seems like the millionth time "you don’t want to come with me?"

Kol rolls his eyes "As sure as I can be, sister."

"Okay then, this is it" she smiles at her brother "I am off to Australia."

"Don’t me miss me too much Bekha" Kol smiles as she rolls her eyes and enters the airport.

She landed at the Gold Coast under the guise of Emma Gilbert. Her plan was simple: blend in and live an ordinary human life, with the occasional feeding on human blood which would keep her alive. To do that, she needed a family. Which wasn’t too hard to find. The Gilberts, a rather wealthy family who had been on a summer get away to New Orleans. Rebekah had managed to compel the unassuming family rather easily. After all compulsion is one of the many useful side effects of being a vampire, one of the Originals at that.

"You have a daughter," she told them gently, eyes glowing with power. "Her name is Emma. I am Emma. I have always been your daughter."

Their eyes glossed for a moment, then softened. Lisa hugged her tightly, while Neil ruffled her blonde hair.

"Emma, where have you been this whole trip." Her new brother, Elliot, asks entering her new home "It’s like we hadn’t seen you at all!"

Emma smiles "I had been with my friends Elliot."

Settling into her new room, Rebekah realizes that this is only the beginning and that a lot of work is needed before she can relax and live in her new reality.
Rebekah's next step: Befriending locals as though she had always been there, embedding herself in the day-to-day life on the gold coast.

Chapter Text

Rebekah had now seamlessly blended into the persona of Emma Gilbert it was as if she had always been her. Her parents thought they knew Emma inside out, thinking she was their little girl, the one in their memory, the one they remembered watching grow up. Rebekha would have felt some remorse, if it weren’t for the fact that she had gotten used to it. To the lies which came with the life of a vampire. The compulsion she always had to do, to stay alive and now to also stay away from Klaus.

Emma, Cleo and Rikki adrift on the Zodiac, paddling slowly as the boat was now out of fuel.
"How did you guys end up on this anyway?" Emma shrugs as she looks at Cleo "because no offence Cleo, but you would never get into a boat on your own."

"No, you’re right Emma," Cleo sighs "Zane asked me to help him with something on the boat and then pushed it away."

"Yeah, sorry about that, I stole his spark plug." Rikki shrugs. Emma makes a face at that but stays silent. "What, annoying Zane Bennet is fun." Rikki defends.

"And now we are in this mess because of your fun." Emma huffs.

Before Rikki could respond, Cleo shouts pointing towards Mako Island "Look! We are within walking distance now. "

The three of them get off and drag the Zodiac on the beach. Rikki and Cleo sit on a fallen log on the side of the beach while Emma takes out her phone and tries to get a signal but puts it away when she isn’t very successful. Flopping down next to Cleo, Emma sighs.

"Let’s explore the Island and find a way to contact others." Rikki says while getting up, dusting her pants and walking off towards the forest. Emma and Cleo exchange a look and shrug "What else can we do?" Emma deadpans "except sticking together" and walks after Rikki.

"Wait for me!" Cleo calls after them, picking up her pace to a jog to catch up with Emma and Rikki.

Walking deeper into the forest the girls come across a river, surrounded by slippery rocks covered in all sorts of algae and moss.

"I don’t have a good feeling about this, guys." Cleo mumbles.

"You’ll be fine Cleo" Emma leaps over a particularly large rock. The action followed by Rikki. Both looking expectedly towards Cleo, coaxing her to jump.

"I can’t do this." Cleo looks down at the rock "It’s too slippery." She takes a step back and looks around searching for an alternative when she loses her footing and slips, screaming all the way down as she falls into a small opening between the rocks.

"CLEO!" Emma and Rikki scream in unison. They jump back towards the opening and drop to their knees to get a better look inside.

"CLEO?" Emma shouts "CLEO!"

Cleo sits up and yells back "I am okay." pulling both of her legs towards her chest.

"Can you climb up?" Emma asks, concern etched on her face. Cleo tries standing up but falls back down when slithering hot pain shoots up her right leg. "Ow" she flinches.

Emma looks at Rikki who is crouched down behind her. "I have to go down." Emma states.

"Are you insane, it doesn’t make any sense-" before she can even finish her sentence, Emma screams as she slides down the steep slope. "You’ve got to be kidding me." Rikki mutters to herself.

"Are you okay?" Emma asks Cleo once she has recovered from her fall. "I’m fine, but I think I might’ve sprained my ankle."

Just as Emma was about to respond, they hear another scream as a body softly crashes on the ground next to them. "Woah!" Rikki exclaims as she sits up.

"What the heck Rikki." Emma glares at her "What are you doing here?" Rikki shrugs "You came down too".

"You were meant to stay up and throw a rope or something." Emma states.

"What am I, a mind-reader?" Rikki fires back "and what rope?" she cocks an eyebrow and stares at Emma.

"Shouldn’t we focus on getting out." Cleo tries to distract the other two with the more important task.

Emma huffs but turns her attention back towards Cleo. "Yep."

Chapter Text

"Shouldn’t we focus on getting out." Cleo tries to distract the other two with the more important task.

Emma huffs but turns her attention back towards Cleo. "Yep."

Looking around in hopes to find something, Cleo spots a narrow tunnel leading somewhere "Look!" she says pointing towards it "maybe that’s our way out." She continues hopefully.

The group walks through the tunnel which led them into a cave with a pool, directly underneath the mouth of the volcano.
"Wow!" Rikki exclaims, looking up "we are directly under the mouth of the volcano."
"It’s not going to erupt, is it?" Cleo asks, voice shaking slightly.
"It’s been dormant for 20,000 years." Emma glances towards her, trying to ease her friend "I think we will be fine."

Emma looks the pool, deep in thought and wonders out loud "Tidal rings." The other 2 look at her in confusion "The level of the sea rises and falls. " “Who would’ve thought decades of schooling could be beneficial.” She thinks to herself.
"So?" Rikki huffs, not quite catching what she meant.
"So, it means it’s connected to the ocean." Emma explains as she removes her shoes and socks places them neatly before diving into the pool. "Wait for me, I’ll report my findings to you."

As the seconds passed, Cleo began pacing waiting for her best friend.
"Emma?" Cleo exclaims a few seconds after her she disappears underwater "Emma!"
"Give her a minute." Just as Rikki completes her sentence, Emma emerges out of the water, and pulls herself out of the water.
"It’s about a 20 second swim underwater which will directly lead us to the ocean." Emma breaths out as she resurfaces.
"Through there?" Cleo says pointing towards the pool "No way I am doing that."
Rikki gives Cleo a little shove while taking off her shoes and socks "Come on Cleo. This is our only way out." Rikki herself into the pool and clings on the rocks on the edge of the pool, just like Emma has been doing.
"Is there not another way?" Cleo bargains, "I really don’t like swimming."
Emma and Rikki share a look, almost as if having a conversation with their eyes and coming up with the same solution. They give each other a nod and each grab one of Cleo’s legs and pull her into the water.
"AHHH!" Cleo yelps, "What the heck guys."
"I am sorry Cleo but this is our only way out." Emma explains feeling a little guilty.

As she falls into the water with a splash, Emma and Rikki surround her, one on each side, knowing full well about her fear of water. Just as the three were getting ready to swim, the moon rises further aligning itself perfectly with the mouth of the volcano, creating a magical atmospheric glow of seemingly artic blue glitter. The water starts bubbling and the bubbles rise up above the water.

"Wow" Cleo exclaims. Completely in awe of the of beauty of what’s happening in front of them.
"Spooky." Rikki says, looking at the water bubbling in the pool they all are in and swimming closer towards the wall.
Emma looks around suspiciously "I’ve never seen magic like this before." murmuring to herself.
Rikki, hearing Emma speaking but not really catching it looks curiously towards Emma "What do you say?"
Looking over at Rikki, Emma takes a calming breath and says "I said “take a deep breath let’s get out of here”" and ducks under water. The other two following suit after a moment.

After swimming the short distance, the three resurface, taking deep breadths as Cleo grumbles "That was more 20 seconds, Emma." Emma just shrugs, looking smug.
"Look at the bright side Cleo," Rikki butts in "at least we are out of" she thinks for a moment and says "whatever that is." nodding in the general direction where they came from.
"I’m proud of you Cleo" Emma says "I knew you could do it."

They hear sirens ringing in the distance just as a boat approaches them.
"This is the Water Police. Please make your way to the boarding ladder at the rear of the vessel." A man from the boat speaks through a loud speaker.
"C’mon" Emma says glancing back towards Mako Island once before swimming towards the boat along with Rikki and Cleo hot on her heels.