Chapter 2

Salvatore Boarding House (Next Day)( 3rd person POV switches to Caroline POV w/out warning)

Everyone was gathered in the living room, with the Mikaelsons on one side and everyone else on the other, with everyone exchanging glances with those on the other side of the room. Every individual could feel the tension and knew one wrong move would result in a fight; the Mikaelsons knowing they would win, but it would be bloody. Rebekah kept looking towards Matt but he wouldn't look back so she stayed between Elijah and Klaus while Kol sat there and twiddled his thumbs to visible show his boredom. Damon had already begun drinking and Klaus gave him a look before Damon gestured to the bar behind him and told everyone to help themselves before going to sit by Elena. When Klaus looked around to see everyone waiting to hear what he had to say he stood and went to pour a drink for himself before turning and facing everyone.

"A few centuries ago my family and I came across a hunter that killed vampires for a specific purpose; not only did it please his type of hunter, but each kill brought them closer to their goal."

"And what goal would that be?" Damon asked cockily and Klaus sent him a glare.

"Do you want to hear the story or not?" Klaus asked impatiently and Damon rolled his eyes before returning to his drink. "These hunters were different… they couldn't be compelled, they were stronger, and they had been made into a hunter by a witch. They each had a mark that cannot be seen by anyone besides another hunter; a mark that grew with each kill."

"What's so special about the mark?" Stefan asked as he tried to figure out where all of this was going.

"All in good time mate… you see, my dear little sister began courting one of the hunters; and he told her about his and the other hunters' purpose. The mark grows with each kill… but when it's complete it's used to track a location; the location of a cure."

"A cure for what?" Stefan asked and looked around at all the Mikaelsons.

"A cure to go from being a vampire to a human again." Rebekah cut in as her temper flared with her figuring out what her brother was up to.

"Ah yes… like Rebekah said… you can see why it would benefit both sides. Those who wish to take the cure can do so and I will destroy the rest; but once the doppelganger is human again her blood will be willingly given."

"And if I don't want to be a human again?" Elena asked as Stefan and Damon turned to look at her.

"Well Elena it isn't going to be a choice for you…" He started and Stefan and Damon both stood to move in front of her. "Me requiring her blood is the only reason she doesn't want to be human again and all of you know it; otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"If she doesn't want to go back to being human she shouldn't have to just so you can make more hybrids…" Damon said, but Stefan stepped in with his own comment.

"We've always let this be her choice… she didn't want to be a vampire when she was human, but now that she is a vampire it should be her choice again if she wants to be human…"

"Nik you don't need hybrids… you have us…" Rebekah cut in to hopefully bring her brother back to them since she was still on his bad side, but he glared at them all.

"Enough! This is what's going to happen… either become human again or stay a vampire is the option for everyone but the doppelganger; she will be human and I'll get my hybrids."

"Niklaus this is not the way to settle discord between everyone…"

"Oh Elijah I care not for the discord… you speak of family yet you've even lost hope in us, all of them are scrambling around to protect the doppelganger of the woman that destroyed our family in the first place, and everyone knows the consequences of going against me."

"So it's either we do this your way or you take away our lives? You'll kill whoever stands in your way or lock us in a box?" Rebekah asked even though she knew the answer.

"That seems to be the gist of it, yes." Klaus summed and poured him another drink before continuing. "Although you should be happier about it all… you were the one that wanted to be human again long ago; I doubt that's changed."

"It hasn't but you wouldn't look for it for me; your sister. Yet you'll make the doppelganger human so you can make more hybrids and push your REAL family away."

"I don't have to push you all away… you're set on leaving on your own little sister." He replied and the Salvatore brothers looked between Klaus and Rebekah, both wondering when Klaus would pull a dagger out to use on her.

"As much as I would love to see you begin daggering your siblings I don't want to have to clean up another mess in here so can we get back to the point?" Damon asked sarcastically as he looked around to see if anyone disagreed with him. "This isn't something that anyone is going to agree on so why don't we talk about this hunter that's in town."

"What would you like to know? That you are not allowed to kill him? We'll need to capture him alive so we can get him to finish his mark so we can find the cure." Klaus spoke and watched as Stefan looked to Damon and Elena before looking back to him.

"How are we supposed to do that? You said he's stronger… he's probably got an arsenal of weapons for his use to so he wouldn't be your average run of the mill hunter."

"Quite true… but killing him would be worse for his killer; trust me on that one mate."

"Why would he blow up the council though? They're human… and they go after vampires like he does; so it doesn't make sense for him to blow them up."

"He isn't working alone… whoever he's working with is the one to convince the pastor to blow them all up. For what I do not know right now… but I have my hybrids looking into it."

"So he's working with another hunter?"

"Not likely… if it's a hunter he's working with it's not a hunter like him." He explained as he walked back over to sit with his siblings. Stefan was about to ask something else but they heard a car pull up and they grew quiet to listen to the steps approaching the door.

"Everyone stay here… I'll check it out." Stefan said and walked to look out the door. Seeing the familiar face he smiled but then became worried since all the Mikaelsons were in the living room. "No danger… I'll be back in just a minute." He finished and opened the door to step outside to meet the newcomer. "Hey… what are you doing here?"

"I got all of Damon's messages… where is he?" Caroline replied as she handed him her bag.

"He's inside but it's a bad time… we got some vampires here that are dangerous." Stefan replied as he tried to get her to leave so she wouldn't be pulled into their mess.

"Oh I know… not the problem at the moment. I'll handle it… right after I handle Damon." She stated and pulled her lips tight as she tilted her head so she could give her angry smile and he knew Damon was in trouble again.

"What did he do now?"

"You'll find out in just a minute." She said sweetly and turned him to go inside ahead of her. He went back to the living room and set her bag down by the couch.

"I take it there's a visitor that'll be staying?" Klaus asked as he watched Stefan tense up.

"Family… it's our aunt… we haven't seen or heard from her in a while so it's not like I'm going to ask her to leave. Just don't start a fight with her… we don't want her involved in this."

"So why is she still outside?"

"She's texting… she knows we have… guests… so she's finishing up work stuff I'm guessing."

"You didn't ask?"

"She doesn't talk about work… if she has something to say she says it; if she doesn't tell me anything I've learned not to ask."

"Sounds secretive… should I expect problems from your house guest Stefan?"

"No… nothing like that… she's kind of aggravated with Damon at the moment though." Stefan said and noticed his brother had stood and started pouring multiple drinks before knocking them back. The next thing anyone knew was Damon was flung into a wall with a hand around his throat.

"YOU. STOLE. MY. CAR!"

"Nice to see you too…"

"Damon… my FAVORITE car. Where is it?"

"I'm fixing it… it'll be good as new." He replied and Caroline set him down before punching him in the jaw.

"That's for Lexi…" She stated and then snapped his spine so he would fall but stay conscious. "And that's for Zach." She finished and picked him up to toss him on the couch. "Will you never learn?" She asked tiredly before turning to Stefan and hearing the gasps on the other side of the room.

"Care?" She heard the female Mikaelson say and she knew her theory of knowing them was correct.

"So I did know all of you somehow?" She asked Rebekah and saw the girl drop her jaw further before flashing forward to look at her closer. Caroline raised her eyebrows at her signaling it was her turn to remember.

"Are you insane? Of course you knew us…" Rebekah answered half in shock and half angry until Caroline spoke up.

"When I was human?" Caroline asked curiously, wanting a little bit of an explanation.

"Oh my god… you…" Rebekah started and Caroline knew she had figured it out so she finished for her.

"Don't remember? That's a long story… probably best saved when there's not more important matters to discuss." Caroline stated and looked around the room at everybody.

"How do you not remember? What's the first thing you remember?" Rebekah asked as she ran a hand through her hair and looked at Klaus before turning back to Caroline.

"Well… the answer to your first question is that a witch took my memories away. And the first thing I remember is waking up to a witch saying my name that I found out I knew but couldn't remember."

"Ayanna?" Rebekah asked since she knew there had only been one witch left in their village after her brother had killed their mother.

"Yeah… but like I said; long story." She said, but Rebekah looked behind her at Stefan and Damon.

"How are they your nephews? You were an only child."

"I WAS an only child when I was human… Ayanna took me to the village she said I was from; turns out my father was kind of a man-whore. Yet only one woman he had been with besides my mother was alive… Stefan and Damon are descended from her and my father."

"How is this possible?"

"What?"

"You're alive… and the Salvatores are your nephews… and you don't remember us…"

"Listen… I get that you're confused. Ayanna couldn't tell me anything… the witch that took my memories away possessed her from the other side and then bound her so she couldn't tell me anything. What I know is what I could find out… which wasn't much."

"Who possessed Ayanna?" She heard Elijah ask and looked towards him. She could see they were all looking at her as if she were a ghost or she'd disappear but she didn't let it overwhelm her.

"That would be Ester… and before anyone asks why, I don't know the answer to that; you all would know more than me it seems. But… now is not the time to figure out all those details. I've spent centuries trying to figure out everything myself, along with the different tasks Ayanna gave me, so until I'm sure that everyone in this room will not go after each other I think it's best that everyone comes to some type of agreement between them."

"And what type of agreement would that be sweetheart?" Klaus spoke up finally coming out of shock enough to ask, but he kept his tone cool.

"Well let's see… everyone here is from here so it's likely that everyone wants to be here at the same time. The only way that works without fighting and me having to intervene somehow would be to come to a truce of sorts. Because the tasks that Ayanna gave me were to ensure that everyone could be standing here today… and without anyone knowing it. You're welcome by the way." She stated and poured herself a drink while sitting on one of the barstools.

"Welcome for what?"

"You really do let your ego get away from you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you really think you got away from Mikael all the times he chased after all of you over the centuries on your own? Wasn't there always some sort of sign trouble was near? Not to mention… he wouldn't immediately follow all of you when you would leave town…"

"What are you saying?"

"I already said it… you're welcome."

"I never saw you…"

"You wouldn't have… I know how to get things done without being seen. The only one that would see me was Mikael… it was enough of a distraction so you guys could run."

"He chased you…"

"Yep… every time."

"How did you not get caught?"

"Who says I didn't?"

"What?"

"He only caught me once… and I got away. Now… all of you figure out a way to get along so I'm not having to step in. Ayanna told me to protect all of you, unless you sided with Mikael or Ester against each other." Caroline said as she pointed to every Mikaelson before continuing to point towards Bonnie. Her bloodline." She continued and turned towards Stefan and Damon "My family bloodline." She said with a smile before turning and frowning towards Elena. "And the doppelganger bloodline. For obvious reasons you can see why I would protect my family line and Ayanna's since she was the one to help me when I woke up, but as time passed I started to assume I knew all you somehow since I could compel other vampires and getting staked a few times didn't kill me." She explained and knocked back her drink before looking towards Stefan and Damon.

"Is that why you didn't come help when Damon called you?"

"No… Mikael and Ester could not die by my hands, but I was working on something else; too dangerous to risk getting all of you involved." She eluded to as she looked at Stefan. He looked over at the Mikaelsons before looking back to her wondering how exactly they knew each other.

"Okay I get that you don't know how you know them… but all of you know how you know her."

"Well… she was kind of related to us… through marriage." Rebekah said nervously and Caroline narrowed her eyes at the girl. She was an only child as a human and they were from two separate villages, so there wouldn't have been many people for that scenario to play out. She almost didn't want to ask but Damon beat her to it.

"How? Who was crazy enough to marry into your family?" Damon asked and Rebekah's eyes flitted to Caroline before looking towards the Salvatore brothers. "Oh dear god no. Do NOT tell us it was her." Damon groaned and Caroline sat back against her seat in mild shock; knowing someone was one thing but finding out you knew somebody because you were married and didn't remember it or who was a little disturbing.

"When we were trying to figure out everything about the sun and the moon curse and then all of you, not once did we ever hear anything about her. Now you're trying to tell us that she WAS a part of everything?" Stefan cut in looking confused and wary.

"It's a long story… and it isn't my place to tell it." Rebekah answered and looked to Caroline. "It's still really good to know you're alive… even if you don't remember us."

"Still processing some things over here but thanks I think." She answered turned to just grab the bottle of whiskey instead of pouring another glass. "We'll sort through all of this later… right now I can't have everyone killing each other. So does anyone mind telling me what the topic of discussion was before I got here?"

"Well sweetheart I was telling them about the cure for being a vampire… it seems we have a hunter belonging to one of the five in town and it's a start to finding it. But I wouldn't expect you to know the details about all of that…"

"I know more than you would think, thank you very much. Just because I don't have memories of being a human doesn't mean I'm clueless to everything else." She answered and chugged down some alcohol.

"What do you know of it?" Klaus asked with a smirk.

"I know that it USED to exist… but rather recently it was used, and there was only one dose of it; and the spell to recreate it was destroyed 2000 years ago." She answered and he lost his smirk while everyone else had a mixture of faces and emotions as they looked to each other.

"Well if it was used then do you mind telling me how that was possible?" Klaus asked as he grit his teeth; no cure meant no human doppelganger, and no more hybrids.

"It was used to kill a 2000 year old immortal… but you can guarantee that no one would have wanted it once they knew the effects; except for a recently turned vampire. However long someone has been a vampire would have caught up to them quickly… aging rapidly until the human body gave out."

"How do you know?"

"Because I was there… another long story so let's move on to the hunter problem."

"What do you mean you were there? And might I add that we were all the first vampires made… so a 2000 year old vampire is not…"

"Possible? How do you think Ester would have known the spell to turn everyone a vampire? It was already written, but she would have changed a few things because the first immortal couldn't be killed the same way we all can."

"You keep calling this person an immortal… we're vampires."

"I know we're vampires but he wasn't technically a vampire… he was immortal; and now he's not, he's dead. The hunters belonging to the five are going to be wondering why their marks are disappearing because the spell set to create them could only be undone with the death of the immortal."

"I thought the mark was supposed to lead to a cure?" Stefan asked Caroline as he went to sit beside her.

"Not just the cure but the immortal that had it with him… he was kind of desiccated but the cure was with him the whole time."

"So he couldn't take it?"

"Not exactly… it's a long story. I've spent centuries figuring everything out about it… and it was only the past couple years that everything made sense. I'll explain the whole thing later… but right now all of you need to work together because the hunter is going to come for everyone now that his mark and his strength will be disappearing; he'll be desperate to stop it and he'll think making more kills will do the trick, but it won't."

"What about the curse that comes with killing one of the five?" Elijah spoke up knowing if Caroline actually knew what she was talking about they could prevent the curse from happening again.

"Until the mark disappears from each hunter you could still get the curse from them and the only way to stop it is to awaken another hunter… but this time that wouldn't work because the potential hunters wouldn't become a hunter with a kill."

"Actually sweetheart… if someone can endure the hallucinations they'll eventually stop…" Klaus cut in but she turned and looked at him thinking there wasn't a way someone could be THAT full of himself.

"Not true… you're welcome again by the way. The only way to STOP the hallucinations is to awaken a new hunter; in your case it was 5 because you killed 5." She answered with a tight smile.

"So you did what? You're telling me that you had 5 more hunters awakened?"

"Yes I did… and might I say that it is rather difficult to track down five potential hunters, five justifiable kills for them, and then make sure they completed those kills within the same area you were in; all without getting caught or killed." She answered with a toast before she took another drink.

"So time didn't stop them?"

"No… but I'm sure you could remember how every so often they would decrease in intensity before one day they just stopped. It took a while…"

"Over 50 years love…"

"I know… it was nearly 53 years; during which time I also had to keep Mikael from finding all of you while I tracked all the hunters down."

"All because Ayanna told you to protect us, right?" He asked feeling a little angry that everything he had thought or thought he knew turned out to be untrue. "Ayanna hated our kind… why would she have you watch over us?"

"Because she said she knew things would change eventually, but she didn't know when. There are so many things out there that are worse than any of you could dream of being…"

"Oh I doubt that sweetheart…"

"I've been fighting for centuries and I've seen creatures that most would think are myth; and I've killed every one of them I came into contact with. Do you really think vampires, werewolves, witches, and hunters were all there were?" She asked as she stood from her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. With everyone's expressions she laughed and retook her seat as she drank more. When no one answered her she tried to get them all back to the point. "Listen… the hunter will be desperate if he isn't already; and the only ones that could tell if his mark was gone would be a potential hunter or a really strong witch. You all cannot be fighting against each other when he comes… and with the cure no longer on the table it means there's one less thing to fight about."

"He wants me human so he can use my blood to make hybrids." Elena stated as she looked towards Klaus with hatred.

"Didn't I just say no more fighting? The issue is no longer an issue… you can't go back to being human. So therefore… he can't use your blood anymore; drop it. You can sort through all this crap later but right now all of you will get along; Damon that means you too."

"Someone had their bitch pill this morning…"

"Well Damon what can I say? I got on a plane and I hate flying, I just got done with a very difficult and draining job, you stole my favorite car and totaled it, and there is a hunter who is going to be pissed that his mark is disappearing and desperate to stop it; I think I'm entitled to a little bit of bitchiness."

"You forgot you found out you were married…" Damon replied cockily and she tossed a tumbler at him, smacking him in the chest because he still couldn't move.

"Can we stick to the hunter for now and figure everything else out later?" Caroline asked as she felt her stress taking over and she wanted to snap Damon's neck, but couldn't with a hunter on the loose.

"So… what's the plan?" Stefan asked and she was never so grateful for Stefan being one of her nephews.

"The plan is we all stick together… I'll handle the hunter."

"How?"

"Oh Stef… you forget… I know witches; there's a way to speed up the process for the hunter… a spell that can take away his hunter abilities." She answered with a smile as she propped an arm up on Stefan's shoulder and he smiled back before giving her a nod and looking around at everyone else in the room.