Chapter Text
IT ENDS WHERE IT BEGAN
It was a long drive. Nuntius sat quietly with Klaus driving and Kol in the back seat. Kol made idle chatter to try and stave off the boredom and Klaus kept getting annoyed everytime he did. When they finally arrived to Mystic Falls it was night time, good. Klaus drove to their old house turning off the headlights in case anyone had gotten into the place.
"Alright, from here, we walk." Klaus said quietly. Kol got out of the back seat and stretched starting to make noise and Klaus dash put a hand over his mouth. Kol made muffled noises. "Shh, be quiet, we don't want anyone knowing were here"
Kol nodded and Klaus let go. "Sorry" he whispered. Nuntius got out of the car and took off his suit jacket, tie and shirt and put them all in the back seat. Kol blinked at him confused but also, damn Nuntius looked good.
"What?" Nuntius asked at Kols staring.
Kol averted his eyes "Nothing, nothing"
Klaus rolled his eyes and grabbed two shovels out of the trunk of the car and tossed one to Nuntius. Nuntius caught it and slung it over his shoulders.
"Alright Kol, lead the way"
Kol started walking towards the woods. It was a long trek but the more they walked the more familiar things got for Nuntius. He started to see flashes of what had been, how the paths had changed and even the smells. They reached a darker, colder, hidden path in the woods and Kol stopped.
"It should be behind those rocks over there"
Klaus took stock of the groupings of rocks and nodded. They went behind the rocks and Nuntius froze.
Klaus looked at him concerned. "What's the matter?"
Nuntius closed his eyes and he saw the hut, the red door and, Esther, her last words to him played in his head. "This will not haunt you, this will not harm you as long as you stay calm, and keep control of yourself"
Klaus touched Nuntius's arm and Nuntius's eyes snapped open. "Its here, the book"
Kol nodded "erm, yeah, some where"
Nuntius took the shovel off his shoulders and put the spade end into the dirt and started walking making a line, he stopped after twelve or so paces and then made another line. He did this until there was perfect square in the dirt.
"This is where the hut was, so the book should be somewhere in this square"
Klaus nodded "Good lets get started, kol you'll take shifts with me"
"Okay" he replied and climbed on the rocks to sit and watch, and, stay out of the way.
Nuntius looked at the square and went to the center most part of it and started digging.
Klaus and Nuntius dug until the moon was directly over head of them.
"Kol, your turn" Klaus said holding out the shovel.
Kol hopped off the rocks to go over when he heard something strange.
Nuntius hit something with shovel. Nuntius struck the thing again and it sounded, like wood.
"I think I found it"
Nuntius dug around the wood. It was larger then he'd anticipated a box or chest might be. He scrapped the dirt away as best he could.
Kol walked over and he squinted tilting his head looking at it "Nuntius"
Nuntius wasn't paying much attention as he was still trying to clear dirt.
Klaus went over to Kol to get a better look and his eyes widened. "Nuntius" he said quietly but his heart was beating hard in his chest.
Nuntius sighed and looked over "What?"
"You, may wanna come over here mate, look at this thing? And, maybe make Logi while your at it" Kol offered with a bit of a wince.
Nuntius tossed the shovel aside and made Logi in his hand. He dashed out of the divot he'd made and stood next to Klaus and Kol holding Logi in front of himself. In beded in the dirt was the red door. It looked the same as it always did, like no time had touched it.
Nuntius swallowed hard and slowly approached it. Klaus followed and so did Kol.
"It…what is it doing here?" Kol asked curious.
"Better question, what's beyond it" Klaus offered.
Nuntius could barely move. Klaus looked over at him and leaned against him a little.
"The book" Nuntius finally spoke.
Kol nodded slowly as it made sense to him. "Well lets open it then?"
Klaus looked thoughtful then over at Nuntius. "Up to you" he said gently
Nuntius walked up to the door slowly. He crouched down next to where the handle was and carefully, reached for it. It burned him. He pulled his hand back and he glared at it.
"Get me an axe" he said, his voice going dark.
Kol dashed back to the car and went in the trunk to pull out an axe and dashed back and tossed the axe to Nuntius.
Nuntius caught the axe and stood up his eyes not leaving the door. He went to the front of the of the door his back now to Kol and Klaus. He tightened his grip on the axe growling deep in his throat. The wind picked up and leaves rustled on the ground.
Kol looked around with his eyes and looked at Klaus then leaned his head towards him. "Is this a good idea?"
"Yes" was Klaus said in return.
Nuntius spoke to the door in Latin "It ends where it started, and I will destroy you" He swung the axe and struck the the door. The axe went through the wood rather easily and if he wasn't so mad, he'd be rather surprised. He continued to chop at the door. Every swing, every strike, held the anger, pain, and sadness he'd felt for a thousand years. He broke through the door and put a decent sized hole in it before tossing the axe aside. He started tearing pieces of it not caring if he got cut or splinters.
Kol watched him rip apart the door like an animal would prey. He took a step forward to go and talk to him and Klaus put a hand on his chest to stop him.
"Leave him alone"
Kol stopped and watched Nuntius chuck out piece of the door from the dirt untill there was only the panel with the handle left stuck in the side of the hole. He huffed and climbed out of the hole.
"Mind the handle, the book should be in the hole somewhere Kol."
Kol nodded and went into the hole, he dug around a little while and then found a wooden box. "Got it!" Klaus walked over and offered his hand to Kol.
Kol took it and climbed out of the hole.
"Ill get that last panel out" Klaus said and then he dug around and pulled the last panel from the dirt and added it to the pile.
"Now what?" Kol asked dusting off the box
"Now I burn it" Nuntius made Logi and then put him on the pile of wood.
The wood started to burn, then the whole pile caught fire. Nuntius then dropped to the ground on his knees in pain like, he, was on fire.
"NUNTIUS" Kol and Klaus both shouted and ran over to him.
"Put Logi out!" Klaus said pulling Nuntius in his arms.
Nuntius slowly lifted his hand and Logi went out but by now, the pile of wood had become a pile ash.
"Damnit" Nuntius said weakly. His claws slowly receeded and so did his fangs.
"Nuntius…." Klaus said worried.
"I broke the door…."
Kol quickly opened the box and tossed it aside and put the book on the ground to start flipping through it. "Hold on Nuntius"
"I'm sorry Niklaus"
"Don't you dare" Klaus said angerly but he felt tears trying to betray him.
"I'm sorry Joy, I love you"
Klaus growled and watched Nuntius slowly change to look more Elijah.
"Don't, leave me, Nuntius"
Nuntius touched the side of Klaus's face "My Joy" his arm dropped and Elijah now laid in Klaus's arms asleep.
Klaus lowered his head and clung to Elijah.
Kol sat back on his knees and wiped away his own tears. "He's, not, he's apart of Elijah now, isn't he?"
Klaus took a shakey breath in and out "I don't know"
Elijah stirred and nuzzled into Klaus. "Niklaus"
Klaus looked down at Elijah "Elijah"
"Did you, find the book?"
"We did…..do you remember anything?"
Elijah shook his head.
"The red door, is it, still there?"
Elijah looked up in his headspace and where the red door used to be was just a white wall with a black table and a piece of parchment laying on it and a box. Elijah pulled the letter forward into his mind. "You will not suffer" was written in blood and Nuntius's hand writing.
Elijah swallowed hard and then curled into Klaus "He's gone…..the door, the memories, their gone"
"What do you mean their gone" Klaus snapped.
"There's just, a white wall, and a note, and a box"
"What's in the box?" Kol asked frantic.
Elijah closed his eyes and opened the box and he was flooded with all the memories Nuntius had gained of him and joy, and klaus. It contained all the memories that Elijah had lost of him falling for klaus, or forgetting that he was in love with Klaus. Elijah started crying and Klaus clung to him tighter.
The field Joy sat in went dark, cold, rain fell from the sky and Joy's tears fell with them. He hugged his knees burying his face in them.
Kol swallowed hard trying not to cry himself, he sniffled and picked up the book. "We'll…we'll get him back…." He tried to say but it was broken.
Klaus pet Elijahs hair tears ran down his face and he buried himself in Elijahs neck. "We'll find a way" he forced himself to say.