The News


Rebekah headed straight to the elevator of the Waldorf-Astoria, and waited as it ascended. Soon, it rang and slid its doors open. She stepped out, and into the penthouse, where she saw her brother, Niklaus, and a lady who was wearing a dark mauve dress, with nude platform heels. Rebekah narrowed her eyes as she walked towards them and Klaus looked up at her with a smile on his face.

"Good morning," He said, standing up, and he turned to his companion. "Anne, you remember my sister, Rebekah." Anne flashed her white teeth at Rebekah as she stood up and gave a little wave.

"Hi, nice to see you again," She said and Rebekah only gave her a small smile, but still wondering what the hell was going on here. It was barely in the afternoon and Klaus was already having a fun morning talk with his friend.

"Anne was only helping me plan a dinner party tomorrow." Klaus said, matter-of-factly. Rebekah arched her eyebrows. Oh, so that was why little good friend of Klaus, Annie, was here to pay him a visit. Since she is a well-known socialite, Klaus knew that she can handle a pretty dinner party for him. Well, of course she was compelled, that was why she was so willing to oblige.

Not that she can really refuse.

"Yes, well… Klaus gave me a call earlier, and so I thought it was a good idea to host a dinner party. I mean, what is a better way to meet new friends is to throw a party right?" Anne said, enthusiastically. Klaus only gave her a pleased smile. Rebekah only nodded, still maintaining that small smile. Really, this thing is getting into her nerves. Why was Klaus planning on such thing? Clearly, he's going out of concentration when they should be plotting a more planned scheme to finally put an end to Elizabeth's life! But of course, she should maintain her composure. Otherwise, little miss socialite here might grow suspicious. "Anyway, I should go. I'm meeting a friend for brunch." Anne suddenly said as she turned to Klaus. "I'll call you later as soon as I've made some calls?"

"Yes" Klaus nodded. "That would be wonderful." He said, smiling gleefully as well. Anne then made her way towards the elevator. Soon, they heard it ring, and she was gone.

"So is this what you were planning all day when you could've planned for a better scheme to end Elizabeth's life?" Rebekah said with all the sarcasm she can muster. She made her way towards the couch and sat down with a sigh. "You are only wasting our time."

"Think of it as an early farewell party." Klaus said by the liquor table, and already served himself a glass of bourbon. "Right after we kill Elizabeth, we'll leave the city." Rebekah quickly gave him a sharp look right after he said it.

"Leave?" Rebekah repeated in disbelief. "Well that'll just be too soon. I mean, we're still getting used to be here. I thought you were getting Elizabeth out of the way so we can live and have fun here, free of her vengeful ways?" She watched Klaus took a quick swig on his glass as he looked straight to the wall-sized windows.

"Well, it's that or we can go on our separate ways, sister." He said, rather bitterly. "I'd rather leave this city for a better and bigger one." He then looked at her as he added, "And what you need to learn is how to trust me. Tomorrow, right after the dinner party, Elizabeth will breathe her last." Rebekah looked at him, and they held that gaze for a few moments. Before Rebekah gave him a smirk and turned away.

Right after lunch time, Elijah came in with Kol. Klaus walked towards the living room, with Rebekah behind as he smiled at his other brothers. "Kol," Klaus said. "I believe you have already found the stake that's why you're here?" He asked. Kol smirked as they all stopped in their tracks to face each other.

"I have." Kol said with his eyebrows arched in an amused look. He then took out the white oak stake from his leather jacket's breast pocket and handed it to Klaus. Elijah and Rebekah both looked at it with such fiery, since it is the only weapon that can kill them. "Don't I get a grateful greeting?" Kol commented with a smirk as Klaus looked at the stake in his hand then smiled. He looked up at Kol.

"Thank you, brother." He said, nodding. Kol shrugged as he went to the liquor table. "Now, does mother know you're here?" He asked.

"Mother does not know of my whereabouts." Kol said with a sigh as he looked at the three of them.

"But she does know you're here." Elijah suddenly said, addressing Klaus. "I assume?" He asked. Rebekah looked at him then Klaus looked at her. It was her who let Esther trace Klaus' whereabouts since he ran away into this city. And no, she does not regret anything. Mother wouldn't do anything to them. Yet, in her dream, that seems to be the entire opposite of their theories. Of course, she hadn't told Klaus and the other about it because she only presumed that it was just a dream. And dreams mean nothing but a fantasy – a lie that only the subconscious makes.

"She does." Rebekah replied. "But she won't do anything. Why are you even suspicious?" She asked, eyeing them suspiciously. Klaus and Elijah only shrugged. Like she thought, it was only an assumption, an instinct to secure themselves from all the supernatural species that can be their enemies.

"Then the only step we'll need to take is the act of surprise." Klaus said, giving them a knowing look. "Once we catch her off guard, we shall attack." He then looked down at the stake again. "And make sure that Elizabeth breathes her last." He then looked at Kol as he arched his eyebrows with a wicked smile. "I think it's time that we deliver the invitations. Kol, will you do the honors?" He asked, and Kol gave a nod as he got the invitations and immediately dashed away with his vampire speed.


Damon came in and he was smiling like an idiot. He wouldn't be if there was no reason behind that smile of his. In fact, he wasn't the "smiling" kind of guy. He's more of the smothering-"smirk"-kind. Still, he couldn't help it. The exercises that Elizabeth and Tom had given him were going fine now. He can read minds more successfully than he had a week ago, all thanks to their everyday routine of practice and his, of course, self-determination, and persistence.

Not to brag of course.

At first, when your mind has already been opened, and you can read everyone's mind, it can get pretty chaotic. With all the messages and thoughts sprawling all around in your head, he got so dizzy that he refused to go anywhere. In fact, he was stuck in Tom's apartment for days! Not that Tom can do anything about it, but Elizabeth had asked Tom to do Damon a favor – besides the whole teaching thing – and Tom, the kind of sucker he is for Elizabeth, couldn't refuse. "I'm rarely home anyway," He said with a shrug. So, Damon had stayed there until he at least got a hang of it. And today, Elizabeth and Tom were both there for their exercise. Damon was only successful on reading humans' minds, but not on vampires. Still, he can get at least a word from Elizabeth's head because they are bonded.

"How are you doing?" Elizabeth said, smiling and standing as he came into the living room. Damon pursed his lips together as he smiled and shrugged. He was playing it cool, although these facts are blowing his mind! It was awesome, no doubt.

"Good" Damon said, smiling now. "I finally got a hang of it." He added, and there, Elizabeth smiled warmly at him.

"Then we can move on to the next level?" She replied, sitting back down and Tom came in, giving Elizabeth a cup of coffee, as he got one himself.

"Yes" Tom said, eyeing Damon. "We can." He sat down, so Damon got an ottoman and sat down on it. "Now, if you can read a human's mind, then you must dig deeper for a vampire's." Damon then sniffed. Tom gave him a sharp look, as if he knew that Damon just mocked him.

And he did.

Damon has heard that before, lots of times. He didn't need to repeat it again. But of course, Tom did. Obviously this Frenchie doesn't like him, and vice versa. They've made it pretty clear when Damon was putting an effort to talk to him. And now, Damon's making it clearer. Not just to Tom but to Elizabeth as well. "I've heard that tons of times already." Damon said impatiently. His eyebrows furrowed. "When do we get to the good stuff?" He asked, and Tom inhaled deeply, looking at Elizabeth then back at him.

"Fine" Tom replied. "See if you can get to read the word in my mind." So Damon looked at him, and tried to dig deep into his head. But then, he couldn't get anything. Not even a single word or a flash of memory. Damon shook his head and tried it again. But there was nothing.

"I couldn't get anything." He replied.

"That's because his mind is blocked." Elizabeth said, looking at Tom, who only shrugged his shoulders. Damon eyed Tom, rather annoyed. This French dick is absolutely pissing him off. Clearly, this was a joke to him since he's already a pro, and for that, Damon wants to drive a stake through his heart. Of course, he made sure that thought was clearly projected to him. He then saw Tom give a smirk. "Now try it again." Elizabeth said the last word rather firmly and impatiently as she gave Tom a look. So, Damon tried it again. And this time, he got the word: connard. Damon frowned. He heard Tom's voice say it, and he knew immediately that it was in his native language.

"I got it." He said. "It's connard – whatever that is." Damon said the word the way Tom said it in his head, and only shrugged. Elizabeth eyed Tom who was clearly smiling in amusement. Damon quickly told himself to check what that word meant on Google.

"Alright," Elizabeth said. "That's good." She nodded, and so did Tom.

"Very good," He said, rather mockingly. "Now, you can also access anyone's mind through touch. May it be a vampire, a human, or even a werewolf; you can access it through touch." Damon nodded, absorbing this new piece of information.

"Yes, with just a single touch, there will be an interaction." Elizabeth said as she leaned of and laid a hand on Damon's wrist. "See…" She added, and Damon saw a flash of memory when Elizabeth had been talking to Katherine back in 1491. And with that single, yet quick touch, he already saw the memory. He had accessed Elizabeth's mind.

"Now, we should move on to more challenging exercise." Tom said, clapping his hands together. "If you can access a vampire's memory, so easily, with just a single yet very swift glance, then you will know that you can finally read a vampire's mind." He added. And Damon nodded, but then Tom put out a black strip of cloth, and he then said, "But for you to advance quickly. You are going to wear a blindfold."

That was when Damon frowned.

"A blindfold?" He asked in disbelief. "What? Are we going to play Marco polo or something?" He added, and Tom only gave a wry look.

"This will enhance your senses, and definitely enhance your mind." He said. Damon gave Elizabeth a look and she only gave him a nod as she sipped on her coffee. He then rolled his eyes and sighed. Fine, if he was this willing to learn something that not all vampires can then he can take shots.

"Fine." He said, but then he felt his phone vibrate in his jean's pockets. So he lifted a finger and said, "Hold on a second…" He then reached for it, and pulled it out. He saw on the screen that it was Elena who was calling, and he immediately rejected the call. He was busy. And he had no time for Elena begging him to come back with her faux concerns for him. She was with his brother, and Damon lived in a better life away from Mystic Falls. "Okay, let's do this." He said, but then felt it vibrate again as soon as he was about to put it in his pocket. This time it was Stefan, so Damon answered. "What now?" He said in an annoyed tone.

"Look, you're in trouble." Stefan said on the other end with a serious tone. "Esther is planning to kill Klaus. She made an ultimate weapon to destroy him, and Kol found another White Oak Stake."

"How are we in trouble?" Damon asked, still in irritated. "If Esther's going to kill Klaus, then let her do it. Now don't bother me, I'm busy…"

"– Because Kol found a White Oak Stake that Klaus and the other Originals will use to kill Elizabeth!" Stefan quickly interrupted before Damon can click off. "And Kol is already there. I know this because Esther saved Elena from Kol, and took a pint of her blood. Now, Kol threatened me with the White Oak Stake, saying that if we ever used his mother against him, he's going to kill us."

"So Kol doesn't know about the ultimate weapon that the Original Witch made?" Damon asked, still frowning. This time, curious. He hasn't heard anything from Mystic Falls, probably because he always rejected their calls.

"Not a clue." Stefan quickly said. Damon then nodded, even though Stefan couldn't really see him. "Esther will be leaving tomorrow to get the job done. Where the hell are you anyway?" Stefan demanded that surprised Damon, and made him smile.

"In New York" Damon said. "Where else?" He then looked at Elizabeth who already gave him a knowing look, and he nodded. She then gestured to talk to Stefan, so Damon gave it to her.

"It's a decoy." Elizabeth quickly said. "The one they found was a decoy. The real one is in your home. I hid it in an old Italian shoe box in Damon's closet." Damon gave her a sharp look, this time, really surprised. He then stomped his foot and waved his hand.

"What?" He quickly demanded in a hushed tone. So she hid the real stake in one of his old shoeboxes in his closet? She raided my closet? Damon thought, projecting that thought clearly. Who would even hide anything there? And why his closet of all the closets? But Elizabeth only ignored him.

"Go get it immediately, then follow Esther, and get here." Elizabeth said, and then clicked off. She then turned to Damon, who was still kind of pissed with the whole new information. She gave his Blackberry Torch back to him, and said, "They'll be here soon…"


"What did he say?" Elena asked as she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for Stefan to reply. He was clicking off, and looked at her.

"That was Damon and Elizabeth. Looks like he already found her." He said standing up, and Elena watched him.

"Obviously," She shrugged. Why else would Damon be cancelling their calls? Clearly, he's been busy with Elizabeth wherever they are. Which reminds Elena… "Where is he?" She asked.

"Here's in New York," He breathed. "And Elizabeth told me that the stake that Kol got was a decoy."

"A decoy?" Elena asked in disbelief. How can they not know it? Well, obviously because Elizabeth hid tons of secrets like her family. That shouldn't be a surprise at all. "Then where's the real one?" She asked.

"It's in an old Italian shoebox…" Stefan answered and Elena raised her eyebrows. "In Damon's closet." He finished which only raised her eyebrows more.

"So let me get this straight…" Elena said, pointing up her index finger. "She hid the real, White Oak Stake, the stake that is the only weapon that can kill an original, and hid it in an Old Italian shoebox in Damon's closet?" She finished, and gave Stefan a look, in which he only nodded as he sighed. Elena stared at him then swallowed. "So what we going to do?"
"I talked to Elizabeth on the phone, and she told me that we should get the real one and head over to the city." Stefan replied, and they locked each other's gaze for a while. Elena, was feeling slightly shaken with all the new information, and the fact that Damon was a thousand miles away from Mystic Falls. And for some reason, Stefan knew that. She has been worried of what might have happened to Damon. He trusted Elizabeth too much that Elena was afraid for him. Obviously he forgot about the fact that Elizabeth is an original, and definitely shouldn't be trusted. But as Stefan had said, Damon knows what he's doing. "He has lived for a hundred and seventy years already, and the fact that he's still alive, he definitely knows what he's doing." Stefan had said.

"So I guess were packing for New York?" She asked. Stefan went towards her and held her by her elbows.

"Damon's fine." He said. "And we're fine." Elena nodded as she gave him a faint smile. She needed words of encouragement, and she needed Stefan. Thank God he was there, and everything's fine between them. Everything's fixed. And she wouldn't know what to do if she was facing this alone. Caroline still has issues with Tyler, and Bonnie has issues with her mother, Abbey. She and Stefan were in this together. "We need to follow Esther. She'll be leaving in the morning. Why don't you go and pack up?" He suggested, since they were in Elena's living room. He came over to say about the information he had gathered. And obviously, Kol was stupid enough to reveal it to him. Not all, but still. They made their own investigations.

"Okay," She said. "Then we'll go at your place for you to pack up." She added, and Stefan nodded. He smiled softly at her and so did she. He then held her close and kissed her on the forehead.

"You should be excited." He whispered. "New York is a very beautiful city." Elena made a sigh. It was supposed to be a chuckle, but she only let out a breath. She had never been to New York, and Stefan knew that. But she was feeling excited and nervous at the same time. They were going to big city to deal with the supernatural again, when they could stay here and just enjoy life without all the evil that the Originals had unveiled in their town.

"Can't we just stay here?" Elena suddenly said, looking up at him. "We can't leave Mystic Falls…" She trailed off, and he only sighed.

"If you want to come with me, then it's your choice." He said, looking deep into her eyes. He knew what she thought of. She didn't want to leave Mystic Falls, she didn't want to leave her friends, and she didn't want to leave this town without her guard. What if something happens and they didn't know it? What if Caroline and the others get in trouble, and she wouldn't be there to save them? What if? But looking deep into Stefan's eyes, she saw a longing gaze into his eyes. He wanted her to come of course. He wouldn't want to deal with Damon alone, or maybe that was just what Elena was feeling? Maybe it was her who was having doubts? Maybe it was just her emotions, telling her that she has to come with Stefan to see if Damon's really okay and she had to know whether he was really safe. She might have chosen Stefan, but she still cared for Damon – and Stefan knew that perfectly well.

"No…" She suddenly said. "I'll go with you. I'll just pack my stuff and you can too. I'll see you early in the morning to follow Esther." She inhaled deeply as Stefan nodded. She then turned away as Stefan watched her. Once she was in her room, she knew that he already left to do what has to be done.


"You knew that they're planning to kill you?" He asked. Actually, he rather demanded. He was pissed. He didn't know about this at all. And Elizabeth hid this information from him. Now, his brother lets him in on the details, and Elizabeth's just cool when she knows that any second she can get killed… for good!

"Yes" Elizabeth replied, sharply.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" He asked. "I could've gotten a super awesome plan to take Klaus down! And you should've told me about the stake, and where you hid it! Somebody could've gotten it or something!" He was standing and walking around in panic and anger. Elizabeth let out a slight chuckle and Damon stopped in his tracks to give her a sharp look, which made her stop.

"I know that you are concerned Damon," She said, smiling faintly. "And that might have been the effect of the sacred bond, other than your real feelings for me, but I do appreciate it. The only reason why I didn't tell you is because you should know that I have it under control." Damon continued to frown as he narrowed his eyes. So, what she meant to say was he kind of sired to her or something because of the sacred bond? And did she just say she's got it under control? For God's sake! Klaus drove a dagger to her heart and held her captive in this city! And then she's going to say that she's got it all under control?

That's bull…

"I apologize for not saying anything to you…" Elizabeth quickly interrupted him and his thoughts. She read them, Damon knew it. Even Tom did. "But, it is true that I have it under control. You'll see. You have my word. And no, you are not sired to me. The sacred bond has the effect of making your feelings grow more to your bond partner –which is me. Since you have had a tinge of, let's just say, feeling – that grew and developed more." She explained. "Now, calm down, and just trust me. You should go on with your exercise," She then looked at her mobile phone. "And I have to get back to the penthouse." She looked at Tom who nodded knowingly, and then she looked at Damon and gave him a warm yet faint smile.

They heard the door shut, and Damon quickly asked Tom, "You knew about this?" He said in annoyance. Tom smiled and nodded.

"That's why I'm here." Tom replied, loving the fact that he knew something that Damon didn't. And Damon, felt quite the contrary. He hated the fact that Tom was shoving it in his face. He rolled his eyes, and soon, Tom was already in front of him, when he was standing across the room. And Damon felt Tom gripped his neck tightly as he drove him towards the wall.

"What… the… hell?" Damon struggled, looking at him, and still frowning. But Tom's grip only tightened.

"Let me tell you something, vous connard," Tom said his smooth and cocky accented voice was gone, and it was replaced with a dark and menacing one. "If you do something or even let something happen to Elizabeth, I will chainsaw your body limb by limb! Got it?" He added.

"Got… it…" Damon struggled. Tom then released his hold and turned away.

"Good." He replied. "Now, why don't you be a good chien and finish cet exercice sacrément." Damon swallowed as air burst into his lungs. Now, he doesn't know what that meant, but whatever it is, he's going to go with it.