Chapter 7.
Meredith's Fell's Home.
Elena walked up to the massive estate, pushed the doorbell and took a few steps back. She backed up another few steps as she heard voices behind the door. Moments later Rebekah stepped out with Meredith beside her.
Rebekah smiled the instant she saw Elena, all but forgetting Meredith was standing beside her, "I didn't expect to see you here. Do you know Meredith?"
"No. I found out that you were here and I really couldn't wait to talk to you. It's kind of important."
Turning to Meredith, Rebekah smiled and leaned in for a friendly hug, "I hope that I could help you in some way today. I'm happy you made the tests painless, that was a real plus."
"You helped more than you know. Thank you so much for coming by." Meredith said, giving Rebekah a warm hug, "I really enjoyed seeing you again."
"Well, I plan on sticking around for a while, so I'm sure we'll run into each other very soon. Goodbye Meredith."
"Goodbye Rebekah." Meredith added, smiling politely at Elena as she stepped back into her lavish home.
Rebekah quickly put her arm around Elena's waist and walked her down the long driveway, "So what's so important you tracked me down like this?"
"It's about your brother." Elena said, cringing at what she knew was coming.
Once again Rebekah surprised her by not reacting at all, "I can almost guess where this is going. Klaus has blackmailed you into doing his bidding, by asking you to put in a good word for him or asking you to deliver me to him. Is this where put another dagger in my back?"
"No. I'm not going to do that." Elena said, "He helped Jeremy out of a bad situation and now I owe him. I don't know how to get out of it. But yes he wants you to talk to him. That's all he asked me to do. I know I have no right to ask you anything, but it would mean a lot to me if you could do that. My slate would be clean with him and I would owe you so much more."
Smiling at the very thought of Elena's proposal, Rebekah leaned up against her silver Mercedes, "It would be so easy to take advantage of this situation. You must know that you left yourself open to most anything I could ask. Why did you do that?"
"I don't have much choice."
"You didn't wait for my answer, yet you willingly offered to do anything for me. Again you puzzle me." Rebekah said, crossing her long legs as she reached into her purse, "I should tell you something that I neglected to mention before and I feel bad about it. I don't like this feeling and I don't like that I kept something from you, so I need to tell you that I have dated before. Not a lot, but I was with Meredith for a brief moment in time. I don't know why I told you I had never dated."
"Thank you, but it's really none of my business. I appreciate you clearing that up. She's a very beautiful woman. I hear she's incredibly smart as well."
"Well, I don't want to talk about her right now." Rebekah pulled out a small notebook and handed it to Elena, "I write down many things in my diary, but a few weeks ago some of the pages had been ripped out. They were all dedicated to you. I feel a bit uncomfortable telling you this, but I think it might've been Klaus."
"Were there letters in that diary about me?"
"Yes. Did you take them?"
"No. No." Elena said shaking her head, "But someone put them in my mailbox the other day. I thought it was you."
"I would never do that. They were private." Rebekah said, quickly denying Elena's accusation, "I was told to write down my feelings because it was supposed to help me, but it really didn't. It just made them stronger. You must think I'm crazy feeling this way about someone who stabbed me and who's with another woman right now, but I am trying not to lie to people anymore. I just don't know how Klaus could've found them. He was not invited into my new house. But he does have a lot of people who are willing to do it for him."
"It seems as though someone was trying to cause trouble for us, but it doesn't feel like something Klaus would do. He doesn't seem to be the subtle type."
"I agree, but I don't know who else would do this." Rebekah said with a shrug. She paced back and forth in front of Elena, her mind working a mile in a minute until she finally stopped and looked back at Elena, "I want to say so much to you, but I'm sure you don't want to hear it, so I will go take care of my brother and your slate will be clean with him. You will not owe me anything. I don't want that." She smiled and turned to walk away.
Elena let out a sigh and chased after her. She stopped just behind her, reached out and grabbed Rebekah by the arm, "I'm sorry about all this. You are being so nice right now and I feel like I'm hurting you and that's not my intention. I don't know what to say to you, because I'm guessing it's not going to help, but I do like you. I think under different circumstances everything might've turned out different for us."
"Why do you keep talking about what might've been? Do you ever think about that? For us?" Rebekah asked, her bright smile quickly returning to her beautiful face.
"I sure walked into that one." Elena said with a slight smile. "I keep putting my foot in my mouth when all I'm trying to do is make this better. Maybe I should just shut up and say thank you."
"I see." Rebekah said with another heavy sigh, "Why is it so difficult to tell me the truth? It's clear that you cared about me before and I think you still do. Are you going to deny that?"
"It's not about denying things." Elena said, doing her best to spin her way out of another awkward situation, "You can't live in the past Rebekah. Life isn't about what if's or what might've been's, it's about now. And right now I'm with Katherine and I'm happy. Nothing else matters. I'm sorry, but if I answer your question it's only going to give you false hope."
"You just answered it and I don't feel any hope at all. I know the truth. I can accept it. I'm not pleased by it, because I don't believe that Katherine will keep you happy." Rebekah said, not even trying to hide her disappointment, "I know all about her. She's a liar and she can't be trusted. In time you will find that out, but I just hope she doesn't break your heart before you do."
"I don't want to talk about her." Elena said shaking her head and turning away from Rebekah. She took a few seconds to compose herself and then turned and smiled at Rebekah, "I appreciate you helping me out and I meant what I said, if there's anything I can do just ask. I should probably get home, so I hope you have a good night and I'm sure we'll talk again soon."
"Very well. Goodbye Elena." Rebekah said with a half-smile. She got into her fancy car and sped off in a flash.
Meredith stepped out of her house the moment Rebekah drove away, jogging briskly down the long driveway until she was standing beside Elena's car. She motioned for Elena to roll down her window and once she had she knelt down beside her, "I was hoping you'd have some time to talk. I have some information about Klaus that I think you might want to hear."
"I really should get home now, but could we set something up for tomorrow?"
"I'm going to be in surgery for most of the day and I'd really like to talk to you personally. If you'd like to wait that's okay."
"I guess I can spare a few minutes." Elena said, the curiosity getting the better of her once again. She removed the keys from the ignition, opened her car door and walked back up the long driveway yet again.
Marshek Point.
19 miles SE of Mystic Falls.
Alaric slipped through the rough hillside until he came up to the familiar crack in the otherwise solid rock. He tapped the rock in a strange but rhythmic pattern and then stood back and watched as a portal appeared in front of him. He stepped inside and in a flash he appeared 3 miles deep in the rock, standing beside his number one source of information, "Well, that never feels good."
"Welcome Alaric. It's good to see you again." The beautiful brunette said with a warm hug, "I thought you said you'd have a guest with you?"
"It's good to see you again to Miranda. You look stunning as always." Alaric said with a smile, "I called Rebekah and gave her instructions on how to get here. I assume you'll be able to sense when she arrives."
"Yes, but I do wonder if it's wise to bring her here."
"She has many questions about her life. I didn't promise her any answers. That is up to you."
"Well, I am anxious to speak to her. I have known Esther for hundreds of years, it will be interesting to see her daughter."
"I came here because things are getting out of hand with Elena and I need some help dealing with it. Specifically a vampire named Vidar. I need him dead and so far nothing seems to work."
"That's because he's been spelled. He's protected by a very powerful witch." Miranda said, slinking past Alaric and over to her multitiered laboratory, pulling a small vial from the top shelf, "The one thing about witches is that they are very good at covering their own asses. Whoever spelled Vidar, also made him vulnerable to something else. I've been looking into the history of his time and there's only two witches powerful enough to have cast such spells on him. One was an evil shaman named Keklar and the other was an herbalist named Larindea. I don't believe the shaman would ever help a vampire, they don't get along, but Larindea, while being mostly a healer by nature, also knew dark magic."
"She can't be alive now, right?" Alaric asked.
"No, but her spirit is. If she is the one who cast the spell I will contact her, but you must understand that risks that come with such a request."
"What do you mean?"
"The spirit world is a dangerous place. Messing with death can have dire consequences. Evil doesn't just appear, it's usually brought on by someone messing with the spirit world. If someone leaves the spirit world, they will take over the soul of a human and will proceed to wreak havoc until they are killed again."
"Then maybe you shouldn't do this. Is there any other way to find out what Vidar is vulnerable to?"
"It's been centuries since this happened, so unless she wrote it down somewhere, this is the only way to find out."
"How can she have power if she's dead?"
"Only a select few have knowledge of the spirit world and the power to do something about it. Larindea is one of those people. Would you be willing to come into the spirit world with me?"
"Of course." Alaric replied without hesitation, "Whatever you need."
"Okay, it will take time to set up the link, but I need to prepare you for what you're about to go through." Miranda said as she took Alaric by the arm and led him into a side room.
Molten Fire Night Club
Los Angeles, CA.
Damon flashed some money at the bouncer, who happily waved him and Vidar inside. He looked around the jam packed club, searching for his enigmatic brother, finally spotting him where he fit in the best, alone at the back. He fought his way through the crowd, letting out a relieved sigh as he sat down beside his expressionless brother, "I see you're having a blast as usual."
"I didn't come here to party." Stefan said calmly, "We have a job to do. What did you find out from Alaric?"
"A whole bunch of witch mumbo jumbo, but I think the best way to kill Klaus is with a big thick metal axe slicing off that smug little head of his."
Vidar smiled at the thought, "I will be happy to have his head in my hands where it belongs."
"Klaus isn't stupid. He's lived for all these years for a reason. He's not just going to stand still and let us kill him, so what are the other options?" Stefan asked.
Damon sat forward, "Alaric is working on a lot of things right now, but he has nothing that will help us kill Klaus. I think between the three of us we can kill him. He can't duck three blades for long. Law of averages says one of us takes his head off."
"What if he kills us first? Then who's going to protect Elena?"
"Probably Katherine and Rebekah, plus Bonnie might be the best defense she has. Alaric is no slouch and he'll do whatever it takes to protect her, so let's not worry about things that haven't happened yet." Damon said, taking a long hard look at his brother, "Are you afraid to fight Klaus?"
"I'm not afraid, but your plan is flawed." Stefan snapped, "Chances are Klaus would kill us first and then he'd find a way to deal with Vidar later on."
"Well, what do you suggest then? Giving up?" Damon said with a sarcastic grin.
"No, but Klaus does have other weaknesses, his family being a huge one. I say we use Rebekah against him." Stefan said.
Damon smiled at the thought, "Well, she did hire Vidar to kill him, so she clearly wants him dead, but I don't trust her. They're still family and if he has a chance to talk to her, then he'll manipulate her and then we'll have two originals after us."
"I didn't mean 'ask' Rebekah to help, I meant 'use her'. "Stefan said with a hint of a smile, "He wouldn't risk Rebekah's death for anything. We just need to incapacitate her for a while, show Klaus that we have her and will kill her unless he agrees to take his hybrids and moves to Europe or something."
Damon bobbed his head as he thought over Stefan's plan, taking a long drink before he sat back and replied, "Okay, in theory it's not bad, but have you thought about the reality that once Klaus gets Rebekah back he's not going to live up to his end of the bargain?"
"My thinking is that Klaus is at his most vulnerable when his family is danger, so Rebekah is still our best hope."
"Speaking of hope, weren't you supposed to bring Tyler here?" Damon asked.
"I did." Stefan said with little or no expression.
Damon mocked looking around the room before zooming back in on his brother, "Where is he?"
"He's in the trunk." Stefan said calmly.
Smiling at his brother's rare bit of humor, Damon couldn't help but laugh, "I take it he didn't come willingly?"
"No, he's still trying to break the sire bond, but we needed him here before that happened."
"So, who knows how to get in touch with our favorite hybrid?"
"I can, but are we ready?" Stefan questioned, "Just bringing him Tyler isn't going to change anything. It's going to buy us a small amount of time, but right now we're in his element. Whatever he's planning he's been doing it for years, if not decades, so we need to get him somewhere we call home and I don't mean Mystic Falls."
"Well, we spent a lot of time in Chicago, do you still have your home there?" Damon asked.
"Yes. I have a friend house sitting, but it's not really isolated. I was thinking of somewhere in the mountains, away from people."
"There is that witch Alaric always talks about. She's supposed to be in the mountains somewhere."
"No. I do not like witches." Vidar chirped in, "The one who made me invulnerable to vampires and werewolves also cursed me. I don't trust them and they are very hard to kill."
"As long as you don't do anything stupid she isn't going to be a problem." Damon said, patting the large man on his back, "You need to learn that you will be stronger with allies. You might've been able to rule the world on your own 100 years ago, but that's not possible anymore."
"I wish to go back in time, to my world again. I don't like it here." Vidar said with a disappointing groan, "How do I do that?"
Stefan looked at Damon who tried not to laugh, but quickly turned towards Vidar, "A witch is your only hope of going back in time, but I don't know if that's possible or not."
Vidar smashed his large hand on the table, "If there's a witch who can do this I wish to meet her."
"Not yet big guy." Damon said, "You need to kill Klaus first and then we'll work on sending you back in time."
"You haven't brought me to him yet, perhaps you should be working harder at that instead of sitting in this filthy place with half naked women running around."
"He has a point." Stefan added with a subtle smirk.
"Right he does." Damon said. He got to his feet and marched out of the club.
Stefan led the way back to his car, where he promptly flipped the lid on the trunk and walked over to where Tyler lay squirming as hard as he could to break out of the chains wrapped around him. Stefan looked over at his brother, "Where did Klaus tell you to bring him?"
"I'm sure he'll send me another message soon. He's been doing it on an hourly basis for the last 12 hours." Damon said, "What's the plan? He's not going to come alone and if he has hybrids then we might need more than the three of us to take him out."
"Isn't that what Alaric is working on?"
"Yes, but we can't wait forever." Damon said. He took a long look at Tyler and his mind began racing. He leaned down, pulled the gag down from Tyler's mouth and stared at the angry hybrid, "How would you like to be rid of Klaus forever?"
Tyler stretched his arms and legs and put his hand over his mouth, "That's what I was trying to do when your idiot brother knocked me out and tossed me in the trunk."
Damon couldn't help but smirk, "Oh, well, we had to do that. Klaus would've killed Elena and Caroline and I'm sure you don't want that."
"What do you want?" Tyler asked.
"I want you to fight with us." Stefan said, "It's your only real hope of being free of Klaus."
Tyler looked down at his hands and then back up at the brothers, "Not to state the obvious, but I can't fight when I'm wrapped up in chains."
Damon looked at his brother, who shrugged back at him, "Well, I guess that's decided then." He quickly pulled the chains away from Tyler and then stepped back, "Let's just hope Klaus shows up with a small entourage this time."
Tyler happily slid out of the trunk, stretched his arms and legs and glared up at Vidar before switching his attention to Stefan, "Who the hell is that?"
"An ally." Stefan nodded. He checked his watch and looked over at Damon, "We need to get going."
Outside Elena's Home.
Katherine drove into the driveway, saw Caroline walking towards her and quickly wished she was back in LA. She got out of the car and met Caroline in the middle of the front yard, "What do you want?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Rebekah."
"I barely know her, so maybe you should talk to Stefan or Klaus about her." Katherine said while walking past Caroline and into the house.
Caroline followed, chasing Katherine down in the kitchen, "You might be interested to know that Rebekah has a bit of a crush on Elena. Well, more than a crush really. I think she might be in love with Elena."
Spitting out her drink, Katherine smiled at Caroline and calmly sat down in front of her, "Is that so? Why don't I believe you?"
"Probably because that would be easier to deal with. If you find out Elena didn't tell you about Rebekah, that might cause problems." Caroline said, doing her best to hold in her smile.
"Oh I get it now." Katherine said with a slight smile, "You just can't stand seeing me with Elena can you. I'd almost think you had a thing for her."
"No, I don't, but I do care about her and I'd prefer she stopped dating vampires altogether, because I don't see that ending well for anyone and when it's a choice between two psycho vampires, I just think she needs a third option."
"What would that option be?"
"I don't know, maybe Bonnie." Caroline said, happy to share her opinion, "They are incredibly close and I know Bonnie wouldn't do anything to hurt her."
Katherine shook her head at Caroline, "It's too bad that you don't get to pick out Elena's girlfriends, but you do have to live with her choices. Maybe you need to remember that there's more going on around here than your childish games. We are dealing with two vampires that are a very real threat to Elena's life and you're acting like a bratty kid who didn't get her way."
"If she'd stop dating vampires we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with." Caroline growled.
"Where does that leave you? If she gives up on vampires, you won't be part of her life either."
"No, I'm not a threat to her."
"Oh don't kid yourself. The minute you became a vampire you became a threat to everyone you know." Katherine said, instantly flashing back to her early days as a vampire, "All it takes is one moment to lose your temper and you kill someone. Just like that. You won't mean to, but it'll happen and you can't take it back. If you are so concerned about Elena's safety, you'd stay away from her to."
"Sounds like you had some experience with killing your friends, but I'm not like you. I would never do that." Caroline stated boldly.
"Let's hope not." Katherine said. She took a step towards the front stairs, but stopped and turned to Caroline, "Just one more thing. Why are you trying to turn me against Rebekah? I don't know her and I don't like what I do know, but it's like you want us to fight." A light went off in Katherine's head the second the words left her lips, "Oh, maybe that's it. You want us to kill each other. It's not bad plan, but it's not going to happen. Elena likes her for some reason and I'm not going to interfere with that."
"Really?" Caroline asked, flabbergasted at Katherine's nonchalant attitude, "I wasn't kidding when I said Rebekah was in love with Elena. If you think she's going to just happily move along you don't know her very well."
"I'll talk to Elena about this, but I'm not getting my information from you." Katherine turned and walked up the stairs and into Elena's bedroom.
End of Chapter 7.