Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or The Originals. Otherwise both TVD and TO would be written very differently. As for Twilight, it's owned by Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: This fanfic will be loosely based off Season 1. In any case, Kol was never killed by Elena and Jeremy; he survived but got daggered by Klaus. We also won't be seeing the Cullens or Jacob either. I'll explain in-story why that will be the case.
A/N: Feedback and constructive criticism are strongly encouraged. I won't tolerate trolls or flamers. Now on to the story.
Lifeblood
A Twilight and the Originals Crossover
Isabella "Bella" Swan was two things now: a soon to-be high school junior and a stepdaughter. Though she was more than happy to see her mother happily married, Bella felt as though she didn't need her anymore. Which was why Bella was going to move to Forks, Washington, to live with her father Charlie. At least she would be able to find her place in the world while taking comfort in the fact that her departure paved the way for Renée's happiness. They were family after all and family looked out for each other, right?
Bella drew her hand away from the huge box she had packed with the last of her belongings. She wiped her profusely sweating brow with the sleeve of her shirt, breathing inward and outward. Bella hadn't known how much stuff her mother and she had until they had begun the process of cleaning out their home, which had taken a little over a week. Then they had to figure out what they wanted and what they didn't - a difficult task for Renée to accomplish. Luckily Bella had an innate understanding of her mother, so figuring out what she truly wanted was rather easy.
"With that, everything is packed," Bella noted. "I just have to tell Mom that we're ready for the big move now and mention that I want to go to Forks. I don't like Forks all that much but there's really nowhere else for me to go. Even so, I might actually miss Phoenix."
The sound of shuffling footsteps resounded through the barren living room and an older version of Bella marched into the living room, looking uncharacteristically serious. One supple hand was cupping Renée's chin as she sighed. All thoughts of leaving Phoenix for Forks immediately left Bella's mind; she was much more concerned for her mother right now.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Bella asked curiously. "You look as if you'd received bad news; is Phil all right?"
Renée nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Phil's fine, honey," she assured Bella. "I just got off the phone with him and it looks as if - as if - well, it turns out that Phil isn't being traded to Jacksonville."
Bella's heart dropped as she dropped her eyes to the ground. Did this mean they weren't moving after all? She couldn't help feeling disappointed at that; she had barely gotten used to the idea of moving to another state and starting anew. Bella wasn't exactly a popular child back at school; she was one of the uncool ones, the social pariahs. So dropping old friends for new ones wasn't an issue for her. A new school and a new town, however, were different stories altogether. Phoenix was a rather large city - large enough for neighbors to feel distant from each other even though they lived so close together.
Renée must've seen the look on Bella's face because she forced a smile.
"We didn't pack for nothing," she promised Bella. "Phil's being traded to the New Orleans Baby Cakes instead of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp."
Bella's mouth dropped open. She wasn't much of a sports fan (being the klutz that she was) although it wasn't terribly uncommon for trades to fall through; the sports industry was a business first and foremost. Bella just didn't think it would happen to Phil, who was looking forward to playing for the Jumbo Shrimp. She could only imagine how Phil must feel right about now.
"So, let me get this straight," Bella began, "Phil's headed to New Orleans instead of Jacksonville, right? New Orleans isn't as sunny as Jacksonville; it's - it's -"
"Rainier than Phoenix," Renée finished. "It's also a pretty dangerous place to live too. All big cities are dangerous to live in as a matter of fact. What's with that look, Bella? Are you - did you really pack the last box? Talk about great timing!"
Bella patted the box as if it were a kitten. New Orleans, Louisiana. It wasn't an ideal place to live - especially since Hurricane Katrina had descended on the city almost a decade ago; Bella remembered all too well the disaster footage broadcast on the news and how her heart had broken for those homeless. However New Orleans was home to quaint architecture that was much older than Phoenix itself. Bayous surrounded the Crescent City, no doubt filled with venomous snakes, leeches, alligators and crocodiles. Forks was starting to look like Heaven on Earth right about now.
"Yeah," Bella agreed. "You know, Mom, I've been thinking . . . I don't want to move halfway across the country with you and Phil. I know what you're going to say, and I'm not staying here," she added quickly, "I've been thinking about this long and hard, and I've been thinking that - that - I want to move in with Cha - I-I mean, Dad instead."
Surprise flitted across Renée's face and she stepped back a few steps, looking as if a pile of bricks were falling on her. Bella tore her eyes away from her mother, feeling as though her heart was being squished by an invisible hand.
"You hate Forks, honey," her mother said finally. "Why go live somewhere you hate?"
Bella jutted her chin.
"Whenever Phil goes on the road, you get all miserable," she answered. "I know we have each other but I also know it isn't quite the same. If I were to go to Forks, then that wouldn't be a problem; you'd be able to go on the road with Phil and not worry about me any longer. And also - and also, I'd like to know my dad more."
Even as Bella mentioned getting to know Charlie much better, she knew straight away it was a lie. Bella and Charlie were very different from each other, meaning living in the same household might mean a lot of adjustments. Bella's mother always said that Bella was more like Charlie although Bella couldn't exactly see how. Then again, Bella hadn't seen her father for years.
Renée smiled understandingly - her smile was a little too understanding for Bella's taste personally. Bella had a gut feeling that Renée had seen through her front; she had to.
"I understand where you're coming from," her mother said, "but you're my rock, Bella. I don't know what I'd do without you, darling. I want you to come with me to New Orleans; don't make that face please. Just try to live in New Orleans, Bella. Try. If you end up hating it, then I'll send you to Forks."
Bella glanced at the door, biting her lip. She didn't want to live in New Orleans or Forks; she preferred Phoenix. However, the Valley of the Sun was no longer her home as of today. No more scorching hot summers where the temperature soared to the hundreds. No more sudden onslaughts of rainstorms that flooded parts of Phoenix for days. Bella wasn't sure if she'd miss the legendary Phoenician summers but definitely the warmer parts of the year, however few they may be.
Bella swallowed as she regarded her mother. She couldn't leave Renée after all; Bella was chained to her mother and vice versa. Besides, who would look after her mother while Phil was gone? Bella didn't mind it although she was bummed out that she couldn't go live in Forks. Then she chided herself for being so inconsiderate; she might be stubborn but she liked to think of herself as fair. Even so, Bella felt as though these metaphorical chains barred her from freedom and independence.
"Fine," she decided. "I'll try."
It might feel like forever, but it's only until I turn eighteen and graduate, Bella reasoned with herself. As long as I'm with my mother, then I guess life will be okay. Starting over somewhere I don't know with someone I know is a lot better than starting over with someone I don't know.
Endless, dreamless sleep brought upon oneself by a fluid stroke of a dagger dipped in white oak ash. Kol Mikaelson had spent almost nine hundred years being daggered on and off for his disobedience toward his elder brothers Niklaus and Elijah Mikaelson. Judging from the sensation he was feeling through his body, Kol had guessed that Klaus had removed the dagger from his white corpse. A small part of Kol wondered how many years Klaus had left him daggered this time while the rest of him felt his fury and chagrin burning through him like a wildfire. Did Jeremy Gilbert manage to complete the Hunter's Mark and release Silas? How could Klaus allow Silas to roam the Earth and raze it to the ground? Elijah too! The existence of Silas threatened the existence of the Originals themselves!
"Time to wake up, little brother," Klaus said softly.
So the coward was in the room with Kol? Good. Kol was going to let Klaus have it. Kol hadn't been this incensed since Klaus and Elijah had daggered him at Christmastime in 1914. Now that wouldn't have happened if Rebekah hadn't sold him out. Kol had wanted to get back at Rebekah for that until he learned Klaus had daggered her eight years later after almost leaving him over Stefan Salvatore. How ironic that Stefan had forgotten and rebuffed Rebekah once she had awakened from her slumber; what goes around comes around.
Kol moved his fingers slightly, his ears picking up on every sound within several miles. Klaus's steady breathing, children's peals of laughter, mindless chattering rippling through crowds, footsteps shuffling through the streets, cars drifting elegantly on the asphalt, thundering heart beats and countless other sounds. The intoxicating, mouthwatering smell of blood wafted from nearby and entered his nostrils. Kol's tongue licked his lips, his heart pounding excitedly. At least Klaus was sensible enough to bring sweet, delectable blood. His throat was so dry that it burned.
Light tickled Kol's eyelids and streamed through. It wasn't sunlight but rather artificial light generated from electricity. Kol fluttered his eyes, milky cobwebs stretching over them. He used all his willpower to banish them from his eyes, thus enhancing his eyesight. He heard the shaking of a bag, the intoxicating smell witching him - inviting him to tear through human flesh and indulge his thirst.
Kol opened his eyes and brought his head up, noticing the white oak dagger laid atop his chest. Beside him sat a ginger young man with deep blue eyes, who clenched a bag filled to the brim with coppery liquid. Kol took one look at the dagger on his chest, swept it into his hand and flung it at Klaus as though it were a dart. Klaus caught the dagger in his hand easily and began twirling it around as Kol rose out of his coffin.
"You have some nerve undaggering me, Nik," Kol said through clenched teeth. "Don't think that just because you have blood bags that I'll forgive you for daggering me like that!"
Klaus stopped spinning the dagger in his hand as he stared at Kol.
"I wouldn't have to resort to such measures had you heeded my request," he explained. "But then, asking you not to do something is a lot like asking the sun not to shine. Why can't - ?"
"I was trying to save us all from Silas!" Kol cut across Klaus. "If Jeremy Gilbert or another member of the Five raises him, then Silas shall bring hell to Earth! I wanted to save our family from destruction, Nik. That's why I did it."
Klaus said nothing for a while and Kol wondered if his brother was about to dagger him again. Then Klaus sighed, threw the blood bag at Kol and reached behind him for a white shopping bag. Kol glowered at Klaus as he sucked on the tube, downing the fresh blood. Type O positive. Kol hated to admit it but he was unbelievably parched; he inhaled the blood before he knew it.
"Am I supposed to thank you for your consideration?" Klaus said in a high voice. "Your unexpected gesture of familial loyalty which, I hate to say, is a tad bit skewed. It matters not what you were thinking, little brother; I saved your life in the end."
Kol drew the tube from his lips.
"By daggering me?" he said disbelievingly. "In what world does daggering me protect me from death? Speaking of death, where's my white oak stake?"
"You mean the weapon of mass destruction you foolishly armed yourself with to defend yourself from me?" Klaus huffed. "I saw to it that it was burned to cinders, Kol. No one - not even my own brother - should wield a weapon which ends the life of an Original. Our family faces countless threats as you well know, and to have you turn on me when we need to appear strong will inspire Rebekah to do the same - especially now out of all times.
"As for saving your life, Elena and Jeremy had engineered a plan to lure you into the Gilbert home and drive that dear stake of yours through your heart," Klaus continued. "If it had worked, then you'd be dead and I would've been forced to maim Jeremy and Elena right where they stood."
Kol snorted; he seriously doubted Klaus would take on the Hunter's Curse for him. Once upon a time, when they were human, Klaus would do anything for him. It was a shame the same couldn't be said for him now that they were Original vampires.
"Surely you didn't let them get away with attempted murder," Kol ventured.
"No," Klaus agreed. "I had to jump through hoops but I had managed to kidnap Elena, drain her of vervain and compel her to kill Jeremy by her own hand. Of course I had to leave Mystic Falls, but that's a tale for another day. Actually make that day today, Kol. I need your - your -"
Klaus looked as though the next word he wanted to spit out was poison.
"You need my help?" Kol finished skeptically. "See, I'm not one to help out megalomaniac people who dagger their siblings in order to control them. Now, no amount of begging would change my mind and that's final."
Klaus pulled the shopping bag in front of him and tossed Kol another blood bag.
"What if, pray tell, we were to travel to New Orleans?" he asked innocently.
Kol flung the empty blood bag skyward as he caught the new one, his heart swelling at the mention of New Orleans. He had made his home there while scouring the globe for magical artifacts and a means to reconnect with magic; Kol had found and lost much in the Crescent City.
"Us? New Orleans?" he said in the same skeptical tone. "I had heard we fled from it in fear of our father from Rebekah. What possible reason do we have to return to New Orleans now? The witches there hate us, Nik. They would never roll out the carpet and welcome us with open arms, smiles and all. Unless you'd managed to procure my Dark Objects - ah, there's a lovely idea! You know what? I think you should venture there and procure them for me. Then I'll help you with whatever you desire."
Kol slurped the coppery liquid, the plastic bag in his hand crumpling in on itself like paper. Meanwhile Klaus intertwined his fingers, a savage smirk planted on his face.
"Wonderful! I suppose this means having your full cooperation might happen after all!" he exclaimed.
Kol lowered the tube from his mouth, on guard. Didn't Klaus just hear him say that he wouldn't help him out?
"What do you mean?" he asked carefully. "Spill, Nik."
"Haven't you guessed it yet, Brother?" Klaus smirked. "We're already in New Orleans. We've returned to our city at long last."
A/N: I'm sorry this chapter's a little bit short. Drop a review on the way out; favorite or follow if you like it. This is ExaltedLight signing out!