Endgame ? Sweet but Psycho

16. three

New Orleans, Louisiana 

Marcel's Loft 

Poppy walked with the help of Marcel into the loft, and shakily kicked off her shoes. She wobbled to the couch and sat down, leaning back into the pillows and cushion. Nearby stood Josh, who was drinking. 

"It's funny, you know, I missed out on the whole binge drinking thing in college, but, ah, guess I'm making up for it with the drowning my sorrows thing, so, cheers." The young vampire took a drink.

Marcel placed his hand on Josh's arm from behind. "Hey, you should slow down." He said before walking to the table and opening a bottle of blood. 

"Maybe you should slow down." Josh said, watching as he poured some in a glass and handed it to his sister. "Hey, how about that little declaration of war you made this morning? Yeah, you might want to pump the brakes on that plan because, the Mikaelsons? They aren't exactly known for letting bygones be bygones." 

Poppy looked down at the blood and took a drink, finishing it quickly. 

"Maybe I don't care. Maybe it's the Mikaelsons who need to worry about me." Marcellus held up a bottle. 

Josh furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that...?"

"Lucien's serum." Poppy replied. 

"Oh, cool." Josh spoke with sarcasm. "So you're gonna die soon too, well, that's good to know, I'll make sure I get this suit cleaned stat."

"This'll make sure I can't die." Poppy's brother said. 

Josh finished his drink. "Marcel, if you take that, you will be the last thing on earth that can kill a Mikaelson. That's like open declaration of war. I mean, how'd that work out for that Lucien guy, huh?" 

Poppy frowned. "He has a point, Marcellus. We have to have a plan for this."

"And you know what?" The young vampire continued. "Best case scenario, what are you going to do? Hmm? You gonna kill all of them? Klaus, Elijah, Freya, Kol? Yeah, he's mad at them now, but when push comes to shove, even Hayley chooses them over you. How about Poppy? So are you really going to take down everyone? And do you think that's what Davina would have wanted?" 

Poppy stood up. "Push did come to shove, Josh. They shoved me. They don't care about me like I thought they did." She felt her lip tremble, and her voice cracked when she spoke. "I was a fool for standing with them. Look where its gotten me, where its gotten all of us. And you, Josh, are a fool to think that I'd ever betray you." She took a breath before plopping back down on the couch, clearly exhausted. "We're doing right by Davina, we just have to be careful."

Josh only rolled his eyes and left the room. 

Marcel looked at his sister. "You have to be prepared for when I take the serum. I have to die before it takes effect."

Poppy looked up at him. "How am I supposed to prepare for that?" She asked quietly. 

Marcel frowned a bit, averting his eyes as he tried to think of an answer. But was there an answer to it? How do you prepare yourself to watch someone die? You don't. He sighed and looked at her, holding his arms open a bit. "Come here, sister." 

Poppy stood up once more and walked into his embrace, pressing her cheek against his chest. "Two is enough this week.." 

"I know, and I know it's a lot for me to ask of you, to ask you to be okay with it." He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Just know that I'll bounce back."

Marcel was sitting with his sister when their father entered the loft. He held a drink in his hand, and an arm was wrapped around Poppy.