A/N: Hey guys, I posted this in the comments section but here it is again. I just wanted to answer one of your questions, or... clear something up rather. Stefan was the one that suggested they start taking Vervain. I went back and checked and realized the way I typed it out it seemed as if Bonnie was talking. I'm sorry I didn't make that clearer. Sometimes I forget you guys aren't in my head with me lol. Also, I hate that no one finds it weird/jarring that Elena is with two brothers. In this story, I plan to make that an issue and you will hear the originals' views on it, and what Bonnie has to say about it. I have a scene in my head that will address that so don't you fret. I'll also include Stefan and Damon's thoughts on it as well. I'm still trying to form it all in my head. But thanks for pointing out some things to me. I really appreciate it because hearing from you guys helps me along the way when I'm planning things and sorting through what I want to happen for this story. I'm also trying to incorporate a flash back or two that gives some background on Stefan, Damon and Bonnie since they are so non-canon like lol. Anyway, keep the inputs coming, I enjoy reading them more than you guys will ever realize. That feeling you guys get when I post a chapter? That's how I feel when I read a comment lol. The longer the better. :D
Four stern faces stared back at one another in total silence, safe for the light drumming of fingers on the large oak table separating opposing forces. Damon and Stefan both sat shoulder to shoulder; Stefan slouched slightly in his seat with one hand atop the table drumming lightly while Damon sat up right and alert. Across from them, Niklaus's position mirrored Stefan's but only his hand was fisted underneath his chin. The smirk on his face was juxtaposed to the dip of his furrowed eyebrows. Stefan couldn't help but think that they guy truly resembled Lucifer; heaven's most deadly and beautiful creature. Elijah sat next to Klaus, picking at invisible lint on his suit jacket seemingly not at all affected by the less than comfortable silence that fell in the room right after the stiff introductions.
"We aren't getting any younger so how about you two tell us what you want with us so that we can leave." It was no surprise that Damon was the first to speak, candid as ever.
"Ah yes, of course. My siblings and I would like to enquire about a business proposition on the east coast with you guys. There seems to be a group of rogue vampires wreaking havoc amongst us and I think it'd do the world a great favor if humans remained in the dark about our existence. While ignorant, they can be vile little creatures and genocides have never worked out well on their behalf." Elijah had elected to be the speaker of their group. He had a better handle on his temper than Niklaus and always chose his words carefully to win people over. He watched the two Salvatore brothers and could tell out the two which was the thinker and which the impulsive one was. Stefan seemed to mill about in his head the situation while Damon simply rolled his eyes. He wasn't worried about Damon's opinion however because it seemed as if though younger, Stefan made all of the decisions.
"That seems like a personal problem that doesn't involve us. Why should we stick out noses where it doesn't belong?" Elijah slowly turned his head to face the elder Salvatore, not at all daunted by the snippiness in his tone. To him, the guy was no worse than Klaus; a bark bigger than his bite.
"Should word get out about our existence, you'll have bigger things to worry about besides us. Humans are vile but don't underestimate them. They can be quite creative." Klaus had spoken up, itching at the chance to shut the arrogant little brat up. He had never met anyone with a mouth smarter than his own and quite frankly, he could see why his siblings were often annoyed.
Not giving Klaus chance to add on to the growing fire, Elijah spoke: "We come simply asking for your cooperation. We'd like to expand your production of Her Essence to the East and in turn we offer our assistance to the betterment of your… 'company'." Elijah ended his sentence with air quotes earning a scoff from Damon.
"Yeah, because this isn't a shotty deal. Thanks but no thanks, Mr. Planters. I think we're better off on our own." Though Damon spoke with finality in his tone, even going as far as to scoot back from the table and rise to his feet, Elijah's gaze remained on Stefan who had been silent the entire time and waited for his voice in the matter.
"Damon's right. We don't seem to be getting much out of the deal. What kind of assistance are you talkin' about?"
"Along with monetary value and the chance to increase production at a faster rate, we know about the werewolves encroaching on your territory and we have something that could help." Elijah was smart. He'd only reveal all of the details if they agreed to their terms. It was his way of evening out the leverage since they had most of the clout; after all, he needed their help, not the other way around.
At the mention of werewolves, both brothers perked up. The two of them hadn't spoken out loud about the growing problem since it arose but the threat was very real. The reason they moved to California was to get away from the wolves but it seems that they have followed which wasn't a good sign. A bite from a wolf meant certain death for a vampire. They hadn't believed it until they saw it in action exactly one full moon ago. Bonnie knew nothing of this however, and they preferred to keep it that way. Up until now, they hadn't heard of any defense against the wolves except for running like hell; so hearing this definitely got their attention.
"You mind telling us what that is?" The edge in Damon's tone was still there but turned down several notches out of sheer curiosity. He wasn't sure if the vampire with the outdated hair cut was speaking the truth or yanking their chain.
"Before we reveal our assets, how about an agreement first," Klaus spoke. Damon and Stefan exchanged looks for a second. Damon smirked and shook his head, flopping back down in his seat.
"Nice try princess, but we're not that gullible. How about you cough up whatever you're sitting on and we'll think about it," Damon smirked. Klaus glared at the dark haired vampire and rolled his eyes.
"Keep it up and your brother will be scraping pieces of you from off of the walls," Klaus responded, smiling when the smirk on Damon's face dropped. Elijah decided to intervene before things between the two of them escalated any further.
"I suppose a show of good faith would help to persuade you," Elijah buckled. "We have in our possession the cure to a werewolf bite. That in turn with us buying into Her Essence, I'd say is a good deal."
"By buying in, you mean owning half of what we built from the ground up to make it, 'more profitable'. What's to stop us from refusing this offer and finding our own cure," Stefan asked with one eyebrow slightly raised over the other.
"I assure you, that won't be possible. There is only one way to cure a werewolf bite and you would need us to do it," Elijah informed, gesturing at his sighed exasperatedly while Damon sat silently, having checked out of the conversation long ago.
"We'll think about your offer and call you tomorrow with our answer."
"Which will be a definite no," Damon chimed in as the two brothers stood to their feet and made to exit. Elijah stood as well, buttoning his suit jacket before extending a hand to Stefan.
"I assure you, we come in peace. Despite my brother and his antics, of which I apologize for," Elijah said, referring to the less than welcoming tape Klaus had sent them in his jovial attempt to put fear in the young men. Damon rolled his eyes heavenward while Stefan simply reciprocated the hand shake.
"Like I said, we'll think on it." And with that, both brothers exited leaving Elijah and Klaus to themselves. Elijah turned to see his brother still seated with a phone pressed to his ear.
"I want you to follow them for the rest of the day. Find out everything you can about them and report back to me." After ending his conversation, Klaus smiled up at his older brother and shrugged his shoulder at the displeased look he received. "You have your way of doing things and I have mine."
"That video of you tearing off the head of a vampire was a bit over the top, Niklaus. What were you hoping to achieve?"
Klaus shrugged. There really had been no real point behind the video. It was simply him and Kol being bored and creative. Things would go better if the Salvatore brothers thought they didn't have a choice in the situation, especially if they knew what Klaus was capable of. "Lighten up, Brother. It's all in good humor." Klaus chuckled as Elijah shook his head and exited the hotel room they had rented for the meeting.
"I will never understand you, Niklaus."
:::
"I don't see how this is even a question, Stefan! If we give in to these bastards, that is IT! There is no peace, no matter what we decide from here on out. What the fuck do they want with us? They can make their own synthetic blood. They don't need us." Damon vented, pacing back and forth across the balcony terrace while Stefan sat silently, deep in thought. Everything Damon was saying was true but really, what other options did they have that didn't lead to bloodshed.
"We could always pack up and relocate. A different country. We could quit all of this together. Sell everything over to them and start over. We don't need the stress. It started off as a means to pass time but now it's becoming more of a burden. We could just stick to daylight rings or something." Stefan wasn't in to unnecessary violence. If there was a way he could settle things peacefully, he'd always take that road. Damon wasn't this simple. He'd fight a cow if he thought it was threatening him or his beliefs in anyway way. Some days Stefan admired it, others, it irritated the hell out of him.
"Close your legs Stefan, it's showing," Damon retorted, earning an eye roll from Stefan for his insult. "You basically want us to roll over and quit. Let those fuckers take what we've built. To hell with that! You know how this thing goes, Stefan. They are savages! We start running now we'll be running for fucking ever." Stefan hated how much sense Damon was making but he knew that if they picked a fight with these guys they didn't stand a chance. They already knew more than what they were letting on and they didn't look like the type to fight fair.
"We should probably talk to Bonnie about this. She's always better at thinking clearly in these situations," Stefan smiled slightly.
"You can't be serious right now. Bonnie left this to us to handle—"
"But yet here we are, not handling a damn thing," Stefan interjected.
"I say you get rid of the bastards. Stake them, burn them, rip out their hearts, decapitate them. Whatever it is you guys do best." Both Stefan and Damon turned to face Alaric, who they had both forgotten about. Alaric bit into his sub sandwich idly and sipped from his large fountain drink, looking as if he was in the middle of a really good soap opera. "It's always easier to work with someone when their dead; unless it's me of course." Damon cracked a grin while Stefan simply rolled his eyes.
"We do not need a higher body count guys, come on," Stefan reasoned.
"It's not like they're human," Damon countered. Stefan shook his head.
"Who knows how many people they know that would come looking for them if they disappeared. Who even knows how many of them there truly are? Either way we spin this, the situation is sticky. We need another opinion on this."
Almost as soon as the words left Stefan's mouth, the glass door slid back and out stepped Bonnie in a white halter monokini. The neckline plunged to her navel and while it was revealing, it covered just fine. All three men quickly forgot their argument at the sight of her, causing Bonnie to chuckle at the look on their faces.
"Stop drooling. I came to check on you boobs, I heard yelling," Bonnie noted with a slight frown. She leaned up on her tip-toes to receive both kisses Stefan planted on her cheek and her lips. Not a second later, Damon swiftly pulled her to him, planting a deep kiss on her lips. Forgetting everything for a second, Bonnie kissed him back with as much passion as he gave. Her smile finally broke the kiss and the two of them stared at each other for a moment before Alaric cleared his throat.
"Well, that wasn't awkward," he replied sarcastically, glancing at Stefan for any hint of jealously or disdain. What he found instead was a blank look on his face that made Alaric shake his head and scoff as he slurped the rest of his drink.
"Jealous, Rick?" Damon glanced over his shoulder at Alaric who eyed Bonnie for a moment before answering.
"Nope. Just uncomfortable." Bonnie rolled her eyes and shrugged, releasing her hold on Damon. She moved to take a step back but Damon held her in place almost protectively as he eyed Alaric with a look neither Bonnie nor Stefan could read. It was a mixture of amusement and irritation but not quite either.
"We were actually going to ask for your opinion on what we should do about this… problem." Bonnie swung her gaze up to Stefan who stood to her immediate right and sighed. He had a worried look on his face that made Bonnie want to wipe away all of his stress if it were that easy.
"Well, I only caught the end of your conversation but, I've been doing some digging in my grimoires. The dagger that can kill an original vampire has to be dispatched by a human or else the vampire that stabs them will die as well. It can be any silver dagger just, dipped in the ashes of the White Oak Tree. Which leads me to my next point; all but one white oak tree remains and it's in Virginia. It's where The Originals live so you know that it's either heavily guarded or they've already gotten rid of it. Based on my grimoires, the latest record of its existence is in 1995."
"That's 18 years ago. Good luck with that," Alaric chimed in after Bonnie was through.
"No creature can be truly immortal so I have faith that the witches that might be in the area took protective measures to ensure that tree survived or at least parts of it did. Otherwise the balance of nature would be off set," Bonnie explained, ignoring the sense of hope she felt at the thought of a possible solution to their problem.
"Great, then it's settled. We tell them no deal. Fly to Virginia, get us some stakes and if they start a war with us, we'll finish it." Damon summarized, hoping that it would appease Stefan. He waited on his brother to give in which only took half a minute of brooding and smiled as he lifted Bonnie from her feet and into his arms. "Now we can go terrorize the beach goers and snack on the sharks," he said to Bonnie, grinning as she rolled her eyes with a laugh. Using his vampire speed, he sped off out of sight, leaving Alaric and Stefan to themselves.
"Listen, just to be on the safe side, we may need to disappear for a while. I'll let you know if we need new identities. I don't trust these guys. If they truly have existed for thousands of years then they'll always be one step ahead of us and nobody is dying on my watch," Stefan said gravely. Alaric nodded, standing up to pat Stefan on the shoulder.
"I understand man. Now go. Have fun. Before you end up being the odd man out," Alaric chuckled. Stefan glanced over the balcony at the shore in time to see Bonnie and Damon run out on the beach. Turning to glance back at the house, Bonnie waved to Stefan, shouting for him to join him, just as Damon crept up behind her and grabbed her, dragging her in the water. The sounds of her shrieks and laughter made him blush and without a moment to spare, he bid Alaric a farewell and raced out of the house to join them.
A/N: Well, that's it lol. Shit is going down in the next few chapters so be ready. If this chapter was boring then, I'm sorry. I tried to shed light on a few things so it was more informative than action packed, as were the last few chapters. It took me a while to add to this because I lost all inspiration in TVD when they fucking KILLED BONNIE! Ugh, anyway. The Bonnie fandom always bounces back.
Anyway, what do you guys think about Alaric? Lol I wrote out how I thought he'd respond to this triangle and I look forward to more reactions out of everyone else as they enter the story. I said I wasn't going to incorporate Mystic Falls into the story but I may rethink that lol. Just, bear with me lol. Feel free to point out any plot holes or questions you have. As for why they didn't compel Alaric, I may do a flashback or I may just explain later in an author's note. In a nutshell, they need him on their side so they put him on Vervain to keep other vampires from compelling him. Him being on Vervain prevents them from compelling him as well so, yeah. That's all I'll really say for now because I don't want to talk myself in a hole. Bye bye!