Many thanks to MusicLuver246 and RainySmithCullenSalvatore X for reviewing! You guys are great! As for the rest of you... Come on!
Anyway, Klaus is in this chappie quite a bit, so enjoy!
He had seen them again. The apparitions of his dead siblings. They were driving him insane, and yet he wondered why Finn wasn't with them. Did that mean that when vampires died, there was no where for them to go? He'd never given it much thought, but now, having seen the ghosts of Anika and Henrik laughing in the forest, he had to think about it.
Would it be like it was for Anika and Henrik? They'd been hunting, and had seemed so happy. The first time, they had just been standing there, but that was in broad daylight. Maybe the humans were wrong to think that all of the things that went bump were restricted only to coming out at night. Maybe that was when Anika and Henrik were free to enjoy their afterlives. Or maybe he was just hallucinating.
But she'd looked the same, his effervescent sister Anika, so much harsher on the edges than Rebekah ever was. Henrik had been whole, his chest no longer marred by the gashes that had cost him his life. They'd had modern clothing, but that could have just been his mind playing trick on him. Whatever they were, he couldn't let them cloud his judgment. They were long dead. He'd had a hand in burying them both.
He had other things to deal with, and Stefan was going to help him.
"It's just you and me in this, Stefan. Some secrets are stronger than family." Niklaus said, looking at his desiccated sister.
A female voice snapped through the foyer of the Salvatore Boarding House, "Niklaus, un-dagger her right now."
"Anika?" Niklaus said, staring at her.
Just like he remembered, Anika was beautiful when she was angry, "Yes, now you take that dagger out of our poor little sister." She was shaking she was so mad, "Niklaus, I never would have taken you for cruel. Kol, undoubtably, but you? I've never been so disappointed in my life. Un-dagger her or I will. And when I take it out, I'll shove it in your heart. And believe me, I will find a way to make it stick."
"You couldn't do that." He said, "You're dead."
"Not anymore, Nik. I think you should be well aware that not everything stays dead." She flexed the fingers of her right hand, for the first time since she'd returned to life, pulling true magic into her body. This wasn't a trick of the mind like her attack on the Hunter had been. This was the real deal, and if she had to, she would shock the frozen expression right off of Niklaus' face, "You have ten seconds." She said in warning, he didn't move. "Nine...eight...seven...six...five...four..."
Niklaus got a good look at the sparks lancing across his sister's fingers. "Alright!" He yanked the dagger out of Rebekah, tossing it away.
"Thank you." Anika said, walking forward, the sparks fleeing from her hand. She sat next to Rebekah as she stirred, "Beka, there you are, sweet heart. You worried me being gone so long. You didn't tell me you were coming to see Nik. I'm sorry we've got such a frightful older brother." She wiped tears off Rebekah's face, glaring viciously up at Niklaus, "It's alright, Beka, Ani's here now. I'll protect you."
"You shouldn't have come here." Rebekah sniffed, but Anika just smiled at her.
"You were in trouble. I shouldn't be anywhere but here." Anika said, straightening Rebekah's punctured shirt as best she could.
"How are you here?" Niklaus asked.
Anika's eyes snapped to him, "I wasn't talking to you, Niklaus. It seems Rebekah's not the only one who's manners have degraded. Magic, Nik. How else does anything wonky happen?" She looked past him at the door, "Hen, I told you not to follow me."
Niklaus turned around just as Henrik threw himself at him, "You hurt Beka!" He started clawing and punching at his hybrid brother.
Nik grabbed the back of Henrik's shirt and turned to look back at Anika, "Will you get him to stop?"
Anika shrugged, standing. "Why? I'm fairly certain he's the only one of us you wouldn't hurt. Might as well let someone try to put you in your place." Niklaus and Stefan both gawked at her. Anika let the child's assault continue for a while longer before stopping him, "Hen, come on. You're only tiring yourself out. I think Beka could use a cuddle right now."
Henrik glowered, but did as he was told, curling up next to a dazed Rebekah. "It's alright, Beka. I won't let him hurt you again."
Anika surprised both of the men by embracing Niklaus. "It's good to see you, brother." He put his arms around her after a few seconds, breathing in her scent and marveling at the solidity of her body. She was real. Anika was alive. She squeezed him slightly, whispering into his ear, "That night wasn't your fault, Nik. It was mine. That's not your guilt. And if that is the reason for your unseemly behavior, then put it all out of your head right now."
"A lot's happened in a thousand year, sister." Niklaus said, stepping away.
Anika laughed, "Don't you think I know that, Nik? You've changed, Beka's changed, and I don't know what to do about it. Do you know how horrified I was when I learned what mother had done to you all. There's a cure, and you aren't jumping to get it. What happened to my Nik?"
"He died. Mikhael killed me. He killed all of us!" He yelled at her.
To her credit, Anika didn't even flinch. "Deal with it Niklaus. Henrik and I both died too, but you don't see us going around making life miserable for everyone else." Klaus stepped towards her and Rebekah stood to lunge at him. Anika held a hand out, "Beka, sit. I will have no more fighting between the two of you. Gods help me, you try to harm each other again, and I'll curse you both."
"You wouldn't." Niklaus growled.
Anika glared at him, and Stefan found the family resemblance startling. "Yes, I would. Ayana was a much better teacher, and I a much better student than Mother was. Don't test me." She grinned, "Besides, Nik. You and I, share a father." She pointed to Henrik, "So does Henrik."
Niklaus stared at her, "We have the same father?"
Anika laughed, "Not as special as you thought you were, are you? Our mysterious father's DNA is suppressed by my magic, but I can still command some of it's power."
"What do you mean?" Niklaus asked.
"You're little friends outside. They were not very nice to me at first, but then I started talking. They like my voice. They're fighting each other to death for my hand." She shrugged lazily, "I figure if it works in one millennium, why can't it work in another? And once I realized they would do anything I said, all I had to do was ask."
Niklaus laughed, "I'm surprised at you, Anika."
"You shouldn't be. I will not let anyone else get hurt here. I was tired of it then, and I'm tired of it now. Beka, Hen and I will take our leave. I think we've had more than enough fun for tonight." Anika took Rebekah's hand and motioned to Henrik.
"Goodbye, Anika." Niklaus whispered.
She looked back at him over her shoulder, "Make no mistake, brother, I'll be by your place tomorrow, and you'd better still be there. You won't be the only Mikaelson on that plane. Beka and I will come with you. Understood?"
"Bossy as ever, Ani." Niklaus grumbled before nodding, "I'll be there, but I'm leaving at dawn."
Anika grinned, "I'm very good at getting places before dawn. We'll see you then."
Stefan walked out with them to allow Klaus time to get out of his house, "Did you really tell all the Hybrids to fight to the death?" He asked Anika.
Anika scoffed, "It's not the middle ages, Stefan. I told them all to go home." She rolled her eyes at Stefan, "We may share a paternal sperm donor, but I am not crazy. Hopefully those boys I sent away get home and Niklaus doesn't realize they're still alive. I'm sure their families miss them."
"You learned this deception game really fast." Stefan commented.
She laughed, "Sweetie, I invented deception. How else do you think I hid the fact from my Viking parents that I had a werewolf boyfriend I ran around with on full moons?"
"You did what?" Rebekah said, aghast.
Anika grinned, looking a bit like Klaus as she did so, "Yeah, all those full moons I said I was keeping Ayana company...not really what happened." Rebekah just gawked at her older sister. Anika couldn't wipe away the smile, "Stefan, do me a favor."
"Sure." He said, eyeing her wearily.
"Don't get caught up in Niklaus' mess alone. Trust someone with everything he tells you. Niklaus was always less than trustworthy when it came to people outside our family." She looked over at Rebekah, "Although it appears not even family is safe these days." She shook her head, "Anyway, what I'm saying is you need to be cautious with him."
Stefan shrugged, "I am."
Anika hissed slightly, searching for the right words, "You can't trust him. Even when we were children, Niklaus was erratic. He was kind back then, but from what I've seen tonight, that kindness is gone or buried so deeply even he can't feel it anymore. He is very dangerous like this."
"Are you going to try to kill Nik?" Rebekah asked softly.
"Absolutely not!" Anika yelled, alarmed by even the thought. "Why would you say that?"
"Mother did." Rebekah mumbled, "She came back from the dead and tried to kill us all. That's why Finn's dead."
Anika wanted to embrace her baby sister again, but Henrik beat her to it, fire in his eyes, "Ani, how could mother do that? She's the one who made them what they are. How could she try to kill them for something she did?"
"Guilt." Anika answered after several minutes. "Guilt and pride. Mother's pride always held her back. Ayana said Mother feared failure too much to really thrive as a witch." She looked to Stefan, "Would you mind terribly taking our Hen to school tomorrow morning?"
Stefan looked down at the boy, "Sure, no problem."
Anika laughed, "Thank you, Stefan, but for heavens sake, don't let him kill anyone. The last thing we all need is a juvenile werewolf. They are terrors."
Henrik looked perturbed by her declaration, and Stefan looked a little closer at him. The wiry boy could be a killer. He was undoubtably far more dangerous than the average fourteen year old, having been raised in the Viking times. Henrik looked back at him with eyes that saw far more than most would think. A familiar smirk spread across the boy's face, "Don't worry, Ani. I won't kill anyone. It's just school. Remember, I was always the good one."
Rebekah snorted, "You just never got caught. We always took the blame."
He laughed, "I can't help that you all adored me. I'm cute."
Anika playfully shoved at his head, "Careful, Hen, you're getting a little pigheaded."
Henrik scrunched his nose, "Stop that, Ani, I'm trying to channel Nik." He let out an exasperated sigh, "It's just too hard. I can't keep up the pratishness for that long. Makes my head hurt."
Stefan couldn't help but smile at them. The three were acting like any other set of siblings, and he envied it. Henrik smiled at him, "I'll see you in the morning, Stefan." Stefan nodded, and went back home.
Klaus hung up his cell phone and looked over at his two sisters, "Well, it seems there's a slight bit of trouble back home."
Anika looked at him warily, "What is it, Nik?"
He continued in a blasé tone, "It seems the Hunter escaped and has taken some hostages at the Grill."
"Who?" Anika asked, standing.
Niklaus winced as he spoke, "Elena's brother Jeremy, some bint named April, and Matt."
Anika's heart jumped into her throat, "Matt?"
Klaus eyed her curiously, hearing her heart take off like a hummingbird, "Yes, Matt. What's he to you, Ani?"
"He's the reincarnation of my husband Mathias." She answered truthfully, not wanting there to be more deception between the two of them, "What's going on?"
"Stefan is taking care of it. I've loaned him some of my hybrids." Klaus said, studying his sister, "We're almost done here, if you want to go ahead and go back."
Although the words sounded kind, Anika knew he was baiting her, "And leave you here alone with Beka while you unbury a man she loved? I would never do that." She stayed, pushed back her racing thoughts and held Rebekah as she cried when they unearthed the fleshless body. She knew that it was her prescence alone that kept Klaus from setting the bones on fire after wrenching the sword from the Hunter's long dead grasp. He had thought about it, a lighter in his hands, but one stern look and he had pocketed the incendiary device, instructing his Hybrids to rebury the skeleton. "Thank you." Anika said to him as he walked past her.
Rebekah had already left to stand vigil as her beloved was reburied. "Don't thank me yet, sister." He handed her a folded cloth, "I want you to see what you can do with this."
She unwrapped the fabric square, gasping slightly, "What exactly do you expect me to do with a finger bone?"
Klaus shrugged, "You're the witch. It's just, I remembered that the older a witch is, the stronger the magic. Usually though, that means the witch is old. You are still very much a young woman, but I would take the gander that your magic is a thousand years old. If you could bring you and Henrik back then, just think of what you could do now."
"You want me to bring Beka's Alex back?" She asked steadily.
Klaus grinned, "There you are, Anika. You always were quick. The Five may still be around, but I doubt any of them know as much as the originals did. I don't like not knowing all of the rules when I play games."
Anika smirked, "So that's why you're still single? You haven't learned all there is to know about women? So sad."
He glared at her, "I'm well versed in how women work, Anika. Which is why I know you'll do as I've asked." He gestured to their sobbing sister, "You can't resist the chance to use some new magic to bring back your baby sister's beloved Hunter."
Anika nodded, "You're right, on one condition. If I do manage to bring him back, you must not kill him. Or order anyone else to." It took him a few minutes to scrounge up the words, which he nearly choked on, but he agreed.
Aww, Klaus had to make a promise! And what has Anika gotten herself into? Necromancy... not a stellar way to win Matt over! Let me know what you guys think!
Pleasant Klaus dreams to all!
-Jenn
