The Card's Legacy

As soon as he opened his eyes, Klaus stared down at him. He smiled slightly and said, "Good morning, Klaus. How did the night treat you?"

Looking around the room, the furniture was disorganized and broken. Behind Klaus, Hope shook her head, disappointed in her father, while Caroline was busy on her laptop, occasionally glaring at Klaus.

"Nature has a delicate balance and whatever loopholes you find will end in tragedy." Elijah, who was fixing the button on his suite, came forward. "We once thought to be the loophole and look where it ended us."

Hope, fed up with theatrics, stepped forward. "What we are essentially saying is, your magic is not without drawbacks is it?"

"You might not notice it, as her father i did." Klaus ignored everyone's looks and continued. "Compared to yesterday, she appears older. Every second I spent with her throughout the night, I could tell she was getting older. You have one second until I..."

Lucius sighed and ignored Klaus's usual threats. "You are correct. My magic is not divine. I need to steal someone's time so that I can use it. But what's the issue? Aren't vampires immortal?"

"She hasn't awakened her vampire side yet!" Klaus roared, giving Lucius a surprised expression that suggested he was being mocked.

"I did not know. But don't worry, she'll notice if she uses it that it's stronger." When Lucius got out of bed, he sighed. "And I had no other option. To her broken body, I naturally had to put her healing factor to work. I do want to make it clear that I did not steal any of her time."

"Then who did you steal it from?" As soon as the question came, Hope regretted Lucius' innocent look at her father, who threw a chair across the room in anger.

"What's wrong, aren't you a thousand years old?" Lucius knew that the older the vampire, the stronger it becomes, and based on what Hope said, her father is as old as New Orleans. 'I get that he is irritated because stealing time to make him younger makes him less powerful but still...'

"Unfortunately, there is no other way. I am deeply envious of your father's sacrifice and Hope." Lucius rubbed his eyes and put his hand on Klaus. "You have my respect sir."

Klaus quickly slapped his hand away and turned back. "I told you that we should have transferred the Hollow in me while she was in midst of transition. Now we have to wait for the next full moon."

'Is he suicidal?' Lucius decided to keep his thoughts to himself. He has no idea why Klaus is constantly going in the direction that will turn him into ash. "I believe that triggering her vampire side will help her body heal faster without making her too old. She should be a little stronger, so we'll have more time."

"Her emotions are already hightend enough. It's best not to let her vampire side out until she can control her werewolf side." Caroline, who was sitting across the room in a single-sized bed, spoke before returning her headphones and returning to work.

"Alright. Are we just going to ignore what he just said?" Alaric's serious demeanor perplexed everyone, making him grit his teeth. "How much time have you stolen from people up until now? You didn't know about the supernatural side, so you're taking innocent people's lives?"

Lucius frowned as Alaric made human the only innocent ones while completely alienating them. "I've only used a little of my time before coming here."

"That's some dangerous magic; no one could detect when you stole or the spells you cast on Hope. What kind of magical system is this again?" Alaric didn't seem happy at all. Instead, he had a sour expression after spending the entire night attempting to study the spell Lucius had cast on hope. He used almost all of his favors with the witches to learn more about this. 

At the same time, he was wary because if anyone knew what kind of magic Lucius was capable of, it would spark a supernatural conflict. Technically, he could use his magic to steal all of someone's time, effectively killing any lifeform. Such power in the hands of a mysterious 17-year-old boy spells disaster. 

A disaster he will not allow to happen. 

"What are you implicating?" Lucius directly asked, prompting the man to shake his head and back away. Which, of course, caused him to frown and feel slightly uneasy. Alaric felt like the kind of man who would say, 'If you can't control it, destroy it before it controls you.'

"Klaus, you being here isn't helping when you could be out searching for a cure." Alaric spoke and thought he meant goodwill, but inside he was plotting ways to get this psychopath away from his school and daughters. 'I used up all my vampire stakes for the crossbow trying to stop him all night.'

"He's the right brother. I'll keep an eye on her." Elijah moved forward and looked into Klaus's eyes. They have less tense air now than they did yesterday. "I swear on my life, Hope will not be harmed."

"No, this is my school and I don't want any of you in the school or near my students." His grip around the crossbow was tight.

"Hey, what did I do?" A shout came from the corner of the room, prompting Alaric to turn towards him.

"Why are you even here, Kol?" Alaric spoke. He simply pointed to Lucius with a smile and hugged his shoulders. 'Should I get the FBI involved?'

"I will fix this." Klaus spoke before Hope, who looked surprised. "What do you think, Hope?"

A bright smile appeared on her face as she saw her father for the first time ask her opinion on something like this rather than making decisions without consulting her. "I think it's time for you to relax, dad. You have been through a lot. Just go out and explore, and Elijah will handle Lucius."

"I know how to keep him 'fed'," Elijah said, pinching the tie around his neck.

Klaus turned to his daughter and pulled her into a tight hug, whispering. "In a few days... I'll stay for a few more days."

Soon, everyone leaves Caroline in bed, with Lucius scrolling through his phone, trying to see how different this world is from his old one.

"For how long do you plan to stare?" 

Caroline frowned and removed her headset to respond to Lucius' abrupt words. "Are you talking to me?"

"No you, but the other cute blonde outside the door waiting." Lucius's words prompted the one behind to step forward, and the woman's gaze moved to Caroline before returning to Lucius. "Do you want something from me? Ms. Rebekah."

"I want to talk to you in private." Caroline immediately put down her laptop and appeared in front of them when Rebekah asked. 

"It's not happening. I will not leave my student alone with you." Veins pulsed beneath her eyes, causing Rebekah to sigh and nod.

"You said you could steal time, make people younger, older or whatever right?" When she saw him nod, she continued. "Then... can you turn a vampire into a human by stealing all the 'time' they were before they became a vampire."

"Rebekah...." Caroline froze at the obvious ruse. She tried to say something, but realized that, unlike those who are satisfied with themselves, Rebekah had no choice in her life.

"It is possible." Lucius hummed, preparing the woman to ask for her request, but when she noticed a 'but', she paused and waited. "You're asking too much from me. Even stealing and using time is taxing on my mental health. It's not as simple as waving my hands; instead, I have a number of complex mental tasks to complete."

They knew what he meant. Yes, he could do it, but not right now, especially since he is motivated to even try for someone with whom he has no connection.

And what benefit would be even get?

"Excuse me." Rebekah vanished, leaving Lucius bewildered and Caroline heartbroken. She considered asking Klaus about what Rebekah had said, but that would be betrayal, and she did not have the right.

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The next episode will be a massive time jump to the beginning of Legacies canon.