The Doppelgänger Mikaelson

A cold wind swept through the woods, rustling the dead leaves and whispering through the branches like an omen. The moon hung low, casting silver streaks across the forest floor. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, breaking the silence.

Hayley stood near the edge of the clearing, hands stuffed into the pockets of her leather jacket. Her breath curled into the air, disappearing like smoke.

She had done it.

Her brother, Henry, was free.

For the first time since Klaus had turned him, he could breathe without the invisible leash tightening around his throat. He could think—really think—without the overwhelming need to obey clouding his mind.

But Henry was hesitant. Too hesitant.

She watched him now, pacing near the fire they had built in the clearing, his hands flexing at his sides like he was still getting used to the sensation of choice.

"You don't get it," he muttered, shaking his head. "I didn't break the sire bond to go against Klaus. I just wanted to serve the Originals by choice, not because my body forced me to."

Hayley leaned against a tree, crossing her arms. "And you think that makes a difference? You're still bending the knee to someone."

Henry's jaw clenched. "It's my decision now."

She exhaled sharply, looking away. She didn't understand. Not fully.

To her, Klaus' control was a sickness. A curse. One that needed to be wiped out, not just loosened.

Henry might have been content with his version of freedom, but Hayley?

She had other plans.

One by one.

She wasn't going to stop at Henry.

If he could be freed, so could the others.

And she was going to make damn sure they were.

---

First Approach

It started with the quiet ones.

The hybrids who lingered at the edge of Klaus' pack, the ones who hesitated before following orders. The ones who still had flickers of humanity left in their eyes.

Hayley moved carefully, slipping into their lives without raising suspicion. A casual conversation here. A shared drink there.

It was at The Mystic Grill where she made her first move.

Frank sat at the bar, nursing a whiskey, his fingers drumming absently against the glass. His gaze was distant, lost somewhere between duty and resentment.

Perfect.

Hayley slid onto the stool beside him, ordering a drink she had no intention of finishing.

"You look like hell."

Frank scoffed, lifting the glass to his lips. "You should see the inside."

She smirked, leaning in slightly. "You ever think about what life would be like without Klaus breathing down your neck?"

His grip on the glass tightened. "Thinking about it doesn't change anything."

"Doesn't it?"

Frank turned his head, meeting her gaze for the first time that night. There was something in his eyes—something that said he had thought about it. Maybe more than once.

Hayley lowered her voice, just enough to make him lean in. "What if I told you there was a way out?"

Silence.

A crack in his armor.

"I'd say you don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

She smiled. "And I'd say you're too smart to believe that."

A beat passed. Then another.

And just like that—she had him.

---

Spreading the Fire

Frank was the first to listen.

Then came Megan—a quiet, sharp-eyed hybrid who rarely spoke unless it was to warn the others about Klaus' moods. Then Logan, then Ava, then Nate.

Each one hesitant. Each one scared.

But each one listened.

She found them in the quiet places.

Behind the bar at The Grill. In the woods after a full moon. In the abandoned church on the outskirts of town.

She whispered to them about freedom. About choice.

She told them that Klaus' control wasn't absolute—that it could be broken.

Some laughed in disbelief. Some walked away.

But some?

Some stayed.

Some wanted out.

And those were the ones she led into the shadows.

---

Henry's Warning

The night she met with the last hybrid, Henry found out.

She had just returned to the cabin she was staying in, her boots still dusted with dirt from the graveyard where she had met Logan. The door creaked as she pushed it open, stepping inside—only to freeze.

Henry stood in the center of the room, arms crossed. His face was unreadable, but his eyes—those dark, knowing eyes—told her everything.

"You really think you can keep this from me?" His voice was calm, but there was something beneath it. Something dangerous.

Hayley sighed, tossing her jacket onto the chair. "I didn't think I had to tell you."

"You do."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because you're afraid of what Klaus will do if he finds out?"

"Because I know exactly what he'll do."

Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.

Henry took a slow step forward, his jaw tight. "You think you're saving them, Hayley? You're not. You're making them walking targets."

She met his gaze, unflinching. "And you think leaving them chained to him is better?"

"You don't understand," he hissed. "I saw what Klaus did to the last hybrid who stepped out of line. You don't just die when Klaus wants you dead. He makes you suffer. And then? He makes sure everyone suffers for it."

Hayley's hands clenched into fists. She knew the risks.

But that didn't change anything.

"You broke free," she said, voice low. "So tell me—if Klaus found out you did, would you run back to him? Would you beg for mercy?"

Henry's face darkened.

"I broke free so I could choose who I serve," he said coldly. "Not to become an enemy."

Hayley exhaled, shaking her head. "Then you're still not free, Henry."

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, without another word, Henry turned and walked out, the door slamming shut behind him.

Hayley stood in the silence, her heart pounding.

He wouldn't tell Klaus. She knew that much.

But this wasn't over.

Not even close.

And if Henry wasn't going to help her?

She would do it alone.

Because the war had already started.

And Hayley wasn't about to lose.