Lauren

I read a six month old Vogue as Vicki looked through MP3 players for her favorite songs.

"Damn it, L, don't tell me you never tried heavy metal?" Vicki frowned at me.. You can't tell me witches really go for some kind of hippy shit?"

"My parents kind of did. You're seventeen, what do you know about music?"

"The only cool thing about being a druggie is the music. I mean, besides the drugs," Vicki explained. "Loud music is expected for the bad influences. Ooh, Iron Maiden!" Vicki held up one of the MP3 players in triumph. "Thank you miss..." She paused and looked at the back. "Caroline Forbes? Really? You're supposed to be a blonde!" She chided the MP3 player.

"Don't underestimate blondes," I assured Vicki. "My people are a proud and noble one."

"But Caroline is like, really blonde," Vicki explained. "You have no idea just how blonde we're talking. This is shallow, bring your inner slut to the car wash, organize the decade dance blonde You are cool witch blonde."

"I speak for the blood of Scandinavia and tell you not to fuck with the blondes. Before we decided on being nice, slutty and friendly we were the viking warriors who raided down into your helpless British ancestors." I paused. "Or well, wherever your ancestors were in Europe, I'm sure mine raided them."

"The Originals are so not good for your ego." Vicki shook her head. "Okay, I want these five marked with that little squiggle to keep them from resetting."

"Be sure to plug them in every morning before power goes out." I smiled and pulled out a marker. "Also, there might be stupid DRM shit on them that kicks in after it can't log into the right servers, or maybe there will be absolutely no problems? I don't know how a computer will react to the time warping issues so expect error messages."

"Thanks!" Vicki beamed as I finished. "It was such a pain grabbing other people's shit from the same houses every day." She paused. "Also, I think Scottish and Irish ancestors, so vikings definitely hit them." She smiled devilishly. "That justifies my taking bloody revenge, right?"

"Oh no. Now that this comes up I discover an attitude of ignoring the past and reminding you of the cycle of violence. You must forgive your ancient blood enemies or else be forever doomed." I laughed.

"No fair. You make me a super vamp right after everyone stops threatening us, and now I can't use it for bloody revenge on the person who made me a super vamp." Vicki sighed dramatically.

I heard a knocking on the door. "Come in, Jonas," I said. The black man, the only person I'd ever met who considered himself a warlock, walked in, looking slightly happier than usual.

"Hey, dude." Vicki looked up. "Are you Elijah's dead pet witch, or did I mess up again?"

Jonas Martin looked surprised that she'd addressed him, nodded at her, and looked to me. "I am bringing this back," He handed me the ring Emily Bennett had made for the Jonathan Gilbert. "This is a fascinating device. I spoke with Emily's spirit about its creation."

"Thanks." I spun the ring in my palm. "I'm glad Emily's speaking to you."

Jonas smiled again. "She really doesn't like you much."

"Bitch killed everyone who liked her. Makes sense she'd be weird." Vicki shrugged.

"Victoria," Jonas frowned. "You really shouldn't judge. It was a different time, and she was under enormous stress when she was alive."

"Bitch didn't stop vampires from killing people. She got all the vampires killed to stop them. Then she died, and the vampires she saved killed a ton of people. No matter how you look at it she was a hardcore fuck up."

I laughed. "She made this, though," I pointed at the ring. "One thing she could do right was magic. There's full covens that would take a year to make this even if they knew how. Emily made two of these things without anyone even noticing in about a month along with all her other side projects."

"She made them both together. She told Katherine it was a failed experiment in making vampires immune to wood," Jonas explained. "She actually gave a working version to Katherine."

"Really?" I perked up. "Where the hell did that end up?"

"She traded it for survival at some point, according to Emily." Jonas told me.

"Why are vampires weak to wood, anyway?" Vicki asked me curiously. "It's the weirdest weakness, too. I mean, we don't regenerate well when the wood's in, but it's not like it's better at cutting us, and when you pull it out we're fine. What's the point in such a shitty curse?"

"It's not a curse, actually," Jonas explained, either not realizing Vicki was talking to me or assuming he knew more than I did. "Not the way vervain or the sun is a curse. It is a consequence. The spell that sustains you is regenerating dead tissue, and wood is dead flesh. The spell doesn't realize you need to be revitalized."

"Huh." Vicki shrugged. "Weird."

"White Oak is different," I explained. "It kills the whole vampire at once, ends the spell. Nature cursed vampires against the best thing to use for immortality spells."

"Really?" Jonas looked at me curiously. "I was unaware White Oak had such properties. It was all gone before anything I have studied was written. I have only read speculation based on the ashes, which are transformed and largely depowered."

"Esther's grimoire talks about it. You should read it. The tree is naturally immortal, and even the smallest cutting can grow into a new tree. The older the tree the better. If you channel that life and that age, you can protect anything." I paused. "Even without much left, I could probably reproduce an immortality spell using the wood in the sign."

"How?" Jonas stared at me. "Even with Esther's grimoire, she used an immortal tree. The fragments left should be almost as weak as the ashes. It would only still kill Originals because of their own curse."

"Of course it's depowered. The properties can be restored with enough power, though." I argued.

"What kind of power..." Jonas shook his head. "Don't try to prove this to me by making that spell. I am convinced you're strong enough to do it."

"Yeah, Lauren. We all know you have the biggest dick in the room. We don't need it measured," Vicki giggled.

"I could do it," I pouted, mostly for Vicki's benefit. "Magic power, daylight, White Oak sawdust." I paused. "It would be easier with doppelganger blood or maybe Esther's blood? Yeah, we need something to sub in for Tatia's blood." I frowned. "Maybe Jeff's blood? We couldn't use it to sub in for Emily's artifacts. The reason Tatia's blood works isn't power, it's that it binds all the parts together..." I played with a strand of Vicki's hair as I pondered.

"Lauren, please cut out the nerd." Vicki said carefully. "We were having fun."

"Sure, but I have to nerd out later."

"Why?" Vicki asked sadly.

"I will leave you to this. I have much to discuss with Esther." Jonas said, and he left. I was happy he was gone.

"So, remember Jeff talking about how in his show and future, how Esther turned the protection ring's spell into a spell that made the White Oak Stake nearly indestructible and deserving of heavy capital letters? So I am doing something similar with the compass she made that tracks vampires. First I transform the spells on the watch and then I us the new device to break through whatever cloaking spells Klaus had his witches put on his family's coffins, and then we can find where the coffins are."

"That helps us how?" Vicki asked.

I decided to make it very clear in case Vicki got distracted. "Klaus is in hiding and on the move, so we can't find Esther's coffin otherwise. I think he lugs his whole dead family around because he's creepy, and Esther's friends put a spell on her coffin to protect it after she died so Klaus didn't burn it or eat it while angry. It's great for keeping the body around, but it means Esther also can't get out if she enters her body and brings it back with magic. I need to siphon off the spell protecting Esther's coffin, then she gets into her preserved body and finally she starts helping us on Earth."

"You're trusting Esther a lot, there," Vicki pointed out.

"Huh." I nodded. "That's a good point."

"I mean, she's very manipulative and ruthless. We need eyes on the ground when she gets through, right?" Vicki sounded like she was leading up to something.

"Do you have an idea?" I asked, feeling a bit excited.

"We've got the bodies of three Originals next to Esther's, and you've said before you could put me in a convenient, available body if there was one around. Why not put me in Rebekah's body? I can keep watch on Esther and make sure you guys get out." Vicki's voice was low, hopeful, but subdued.

"Huh." I thought things over and pulled my own electronic grimoire out. I paged through my notes on Esther's possession spells, taken from her grimoire and Jeff's summary of episodes.

"Could it work?" Vicki asked.

"Esther would need to prepare the body and cast the spell," I mused. "It wouldn't be too hard I think, on a daggered Original."

"Daggered? Did I zone out when Jeff was rambling?" Vicki laughed.

"Probably." I smiled. "Ashes from the White Oak used on a magical dagger can kind of freeze Originals with poison. Their will is strong, as is their mental strength, but if they're asleep due to the dagger and there's no reason they should be able to resist."

"Why do we need Esther, then?" Vicki shrugged.

"I could do it, if I was there. I can't do it from this realm. You'd need a focus, maybe amaranth or a magical talisman. This is why we need Esther on the physical plane. There are a lot of spells based on going from one body to another. It's very dark magic, but it is too useful to ignore."

"How can there be a bunch of different ways to do the same spell?" Vicki was smiling.

I considered the best way to answer. "Well, I don't know everything there is to know about magic. But think of it like swimming. You have the butterfly, the dog paddle, the back stroke and different crawls. That's like the different styles of magic. Some styles are more taxing than others. Sometimes you don't use one arm because you are carrying someone, like how I don't always use incantations. A really good swimmer knows a bunch of styles naturally, and can use them in different conditions, while some people only know one. So say, if you want to possess someone, there are a lot of paths to, though some might almost always be better than others for you."

"Huh." Vicki nodded thoughtfully. "So it's like, if you can put in gestures, incantations, and stuff into it then you're swimming with your whole body, while just using an incantation would be kind of just kicking with your feet, which someone might do casually, but they won't swim their best that way."

"Exactly." I smiled. "If you have flippers, you might go faster. If you're a bad swimmer, you might feel safer with something to keep you floating. So that's a lot of magical tools in this analogy. Someone handicapped might be a better swimmer than most people even without all the skills, because they put in the effort and understand what they are doing. It's all very messy even if you can sense magic and channel properly, and a lot of knowledge has been lost. Sometimes you get something like the spell that pops a vampire's blood vessel, which probably comes from a tradition that no one fully remembers but was so useful it spread far. I'm a crazy mutant super-witch so I can learn to do things safely that most people can't do easily, and most witches you will meet won't have my skills."

"Crazy mutants are awesome." Vicki giggled, then she blushed. "You know I don't want to leave you, right?" "Like, I want to possess Rebekah to help you, not to get away?"

"It's okay if you want to go home," I assured her. "Your family's still alive. I understand that you don't want to leave them."

"Matt needs me to watch his back. But Mom and Dad don't care. Lauren..." Vicki swallowed. "You know, when I was alive, I was treated like crap by most people. People looked through me like I wasn't there and the only people who hung out with me sucked." Vicki looked away. "The only person who wanted to screw me and didn't want me to be gone in the morning was Elena's kid brother, and that was kind of great, but still, he was Elena's little brother. And then, well, after the crappiest bit of my life, you and Jeff show up."

"They had no idea what they were missing." I assured her. "You're awesome."

"I know." Vicki smiled. "You like me. Sparkly super witch and her crazy psychic boyfriend swoop in and act like I deserve all of your help, from superpowers to life to food. I owe you guys big time. I don't want you two stuck in weird Groundhog Day planet."

"Of course, Vicki." I stretched outward a bit. "You know my life went to hell before I met Jeff, and then you. I went from boring normal life to horror film to destined soulmate drama in a couple days. You make me feel normal. I like helping you. I'll miss you if you go home for a while, but I trust you to help get me home."

[hr][/hr]

Wyld

I stalked the Other Side with Damon's ghost. The two of us were in Caroline's room, watching her go to bed.

"Sniff," Damon ordered, and I did so. From the Other Side I smelled a soft perfume in Caroline's hair. Candice Accola was the twenty something actress for the supposedly teenage Caroline. Candice and Caroline were beautiful women, blonde and bright and cute. Smelling Caroline's hair felt good.

"She smells nice," I admitted.

Damon smiled. "She really does."

"This is helping me, how?" I asked.

"You're learning," Damon explained. "This is just step one. You have to get comfortable with the stimulation. If the first time you smell someone good is in the wild, then you might bite. You should get used to it."

"Hm," I said out loud. "Who smells best? Should I sniff Elena and Katherine?"

Damon frowned. "Hey there, don't get on my nerves if you want to learn. If Barbie's not enough for you we can check out Bonnie the Teenage Witch. Heck, can your crazy witch BS get us into Brittney Spears's bedroom?"

"It would take a while to find a connection, either an object connected to her or a place near her that I can transmit us to. It's probably not worth it if this is all about smell. It might help me from freaking out when meeting a celebrity for the first time. I'd rather not kill Miley Cyrus if I meet her by surprise."

"Hannah Montana, really?" Damon frowned.

"Oh no. Miley Stewart is Hannah Montana's secret identity. Miley Cyrus is the actress of Miley. I believe the role was originally going to be Chloe or Zoe, but she was like twelve and having trouble keeping the names straight."

"Wait, does your psychic power actually include Miley Cyrus in your third eye?" Damon asked, sounding confused.

"Nope. Academic interest and poor taste in sitcoms." I smiled.

"Never bring this up again." Damon said flatly.

I grinned at Damon. "No promises."

"So, think your girlfriend would be pissed if you stalked Bombshell here into the shower?" Damon changed the subject. "See your first tits outside of porn so you don't freak out next time you get a woody?"

"I think Lauren would have the right to be pissed about that," I answered. "Maybe, probably about this too. I mean, even the best girlfriend would be upset she didn't come with me even if she was okay in principle..." I trailed off.

"Hot tip, do not invite your girlfriend to your training sessions. This is going to be you at your creepy worst so you aren't like that with her."

Lauren

Jeff returned with Damon. Jeff was subdued, looking strained.

"Thoughts?" I asked Jeff.

"I think we need him," Jeff admitted.

"Why?" I asked.

Jeff looked down. "He might stop me from eating you. You or anyone else."

"Huh." I nodded. "Is he really the best person to help you with that?"

"Best I know we can get. Elijah or Lexi, maybe they'd be better. Damon is in control, he's just evil. That's more than I can say about most vampires. He raises a lot of good points, and he sounds like he knows his stuff. If we find a better option I will take it, but right now he is looking really good."

"If you think he can help you live with blood lust, that's easily worth tolerating him." I nodded.

"So how has it been without me?" Jeff asked.

"It's been productive," I explained. "We should be finding Esther's coffin today or tomorrow. Jonas spoke to Emily, and I think I am sure about the spell to turn a vampire detector into an Esther detector. Depending on where Klaus was hiding Esther's body we're looking at somewhere between tomorrow and a few days from now to get her up and active in the land of the living."

"Ooh." Jeff smiled. Then he kissed me. I let him. "That's great."

I giggled. "Oh, so Vicki had a thought about this. She wants to possess Rebekah's body once Esther is there. I think Vicki's right. We can't trust Esther completely, but if we had Vicki on Earth to watch her and help, well, that's different."

Jeff sat down, looking thoughtful. "If anyone goes it should be me, I think," He said. "I figured out how to transfer my spirit while keeping all of my psychic abilities, since Klaus had a witch do that for him in the show. I'd be stronger and be more likely to notice things she won't."

I sat next to Jeff. "I just got you back," I said, my voice going whiny and a bit plaintive.

"I know. I'll miss you if I go. But I think this is our best option if we want to get out, and if we want to beat the Thirteen. I want that for you. I want a future with everything, especially for you."

"Making choices sucks." I frowned.

"If we fail, being here forever won't be so bad, if I'm with you. But you deserve more than roaming this repeating day." Jeff sounded very serious.

"You should go with Esther and Vicki." I sighed. "I want out of here."

"If Vicki comes with me, then who will look after you?" Jeff asked. "You're a great witch, but threats have come here before that needed physical power to fight. Damon doesn't really measure up."

"I'll think of something. Witches can live without constant supervision, you know."

[hr][/hr]

"I am ready for the spell," Esther told me. She had gathered a simple bowl of water and a candle for the spell, along with the Gilbert Watch. She had read my notes on the spell from Emily's grimoire and her own. I had also done some additions from the magical practice called Kemiya that had originated in Arabia and spread through the United States. With the two of us working together, that would be enough.

"We need to plan things out, first." I told her. "So, your coffin is with Rebekah's, Kol's and Finn's. That's three Original Vampires. I've been reading your grimoire on possession spells. Finn is depressed, and the other two won't help us. I think we put our people in at least Kol and Rebekah's bodies, maybe Finn's if you don't think you can control him."

Esther stood there, looking shocked. "What's the point? I can do anything you need on Earth."

"You're one witch. Three Originals is too much power for me to give up before we get home. Coven of the Thirteen dies first."

"You promised me we'd kill them." Esther glared. "There will always be a reason to justify leaving them alive. As long as they do, vampires will be a scourge on mankind."

I agreed with them being a scourge, but pressed my argument. "The Thirteen are immortal body snatchers and a plague on all witches. We haven't ever quite defined our deal. I want to be out of here and safe. Without me you're stuck on the Other Side. We play this to the end."

"Who do you even think should possess my children?" Esther frowned.

"Vicki, Jeff, and if we need to, Damon." I answered. "Jeff is non-negotiable. He won't rest until we're out. You know he is scared of Klaus and Elijah. He won't fight to keep an Original body, either, as he likes his own just fine."

"Being indestructible does have certain advantages," Esther admitted. "Being an indestructible witch, yes, he won't want to stay inside my children. What of Vicki? Your empowerment spells are limited compared to what Rebekah offers."

"I can talk her down." I assured Esther. "If Damon breaks his word, then I'll kill him. Damon in an Original's body would be a scourge equal to Klaus or Mikael."

"No." Esther said. "Perhaps he is my son's equal, but not my husband's. Niklaus has a cruelty and intelligence that make him terrifying, but Mikael's hatred is worse than anything Damon could muster."

"Interesting. You think Mikael is worse than Klaus. By how much?" I asked.

"You would say Mikael is genocidal. He enjoys hunting and killing werewolves and vampires. He thinks every werewolf deserves to die for crimes against his honor. He is right to hunt vampires, as his mistakes helped bring them into the world, but he is motivated to that far more due to hoping they can help him find his children. He hates his children more than anything else, for defying him. He is implacable and cruel. Niklaus is wrathful and selfish, perhaps more dangerous, but Mikael is far more of a threat to the human race." Esther's short speech made me worry. Jeff had told me that he was fairly sure Mikael would be motivated to kill him due to "jumpchain drawbacks" when he rose.

"I can't let anyone like Damon have the power of an Original. I promise you that he will die if he refuses to give up an Original body." I nodded at her.

"You are still stuck here. How will you enforce that?" Esther asked. "What if Jeff fails?"

"Jeff won't fail. But worst case, Jeff in Kol's body can beat Damon in Finn's. I am positive about that, due to the nature of Jeff's powers and what we can do to make sure he will be as capable as possible." I smiled.

"Last and least, what of Vicki? She is impulsive and her control over her blood lust is weak. How can you trust her with that kind of power?"

"She's my friend," I answered. "I take onto my own soul the fact that people will die if we do this, but I do believe fewer will die with my plan than if we simply had those three of your children staked an hour after you rose from the dead."

"I understand," Esther said after a moment's silence. "It is a good plan. I worry that there will always be reasons to keep such powerful weapons that will emerge in time, and you will refuse to dispose of them when the time comes. Still, this is a fair deal."

"Okay, let's do this." I put out my hand and Esther took it.

"Vescaram Anta Intacurum, Vescalis Dissendis Divinitum. Ex Tutum Tatum, Dimentum Talos. Dox Tribum , Nas Ex Veras." Esther started, calling on the strange dialect of Latin she used.

Esther put the Watch into the candle, and the whole body of it ignited. The fire did not smoke, it simply distorted and consumed. She then levitated the flaming object into the bowl, and we watched it melt into the water.

"Lim Ala dar ala dilj." I called on a separate tradition, the Arabian school of transferring power from nature into a single object. The water swirled, mixing the melted watch with itself, and then turned at once into a molten silver.

Esther nodded as she peered into the bowl. "Get me a map and I can give you the precise location of my coffin. This should be an excellent focus for the necessary divination."

[hr][/hr]
Wyld

I watched Esther spell the discolored bodies of her children as I lurked on the Other Side. Everything looked legitimate, so I returned to my body.

"So do we have to kill her?" Vicki asked cheerfully.

"Nope. I think we're going to Mystic Falls," I smiled at Vicki.

"Damn." Vicki shook her head. "It's been so long I wasn't sure if we'd ever make progress."

"So, we have a few things to discuss before we go to sleep," I told Vicki.

"Hit me," Vicki smiled. "Weird fantasy quest instructions that only make sense because you watched the show first, please."

"Of course." I smiled back. "If everything goes to hell, you take Matt to New Orleans. There's a girl there named Davina Claire. Whatever happens, you'll need a witch in the future, and Davina's one of the only people I trust in your dimension."

"Huh. What's so great about her?" Vicki asked.

"From oh, the first two seasons of the spinoff, she's ethical, reliable, and intelligent. She's also potentially very powerful. You need to tell her that if the Harvest goes according to plan she will come back from the dead just fine and grow significantly in power. Don't betray her, be nice to her, and she'll be one of the best allies you can imagine." I explained.

"Cool." Vicki nodded. "I think I can remember that. Davina Claire, best witch if you and Lauren aren't around."

The fun part out of the way, I got more serious. "Okay. Next, there's a guy named Tom who looks like Stefan. I think he's in New York." I paused. "I need to look up memory and divination spells before I go to see if I can remember the last name. I want to say it's Baker, but not sure. So, due to the complicated nonsense involving Silas and Amara, he's a doppelganger like Elena, so his blood is a source of powerful magic. I am going to try and find him as soon as I can, both because he's in danger and because he is an amazing chess piece whatever happens. Secret supply of doppelganger blood that Klaus and Elijah don't even suspect exists and potential mystic counterweight to Lauren's enemies. If I can find him then I have a major advantage. If I get neutralized, you should find him."

"Weird," Vicki nodded. "Okay, dude looks like Stefan, is super valuable. Poor guy."

"Okay. Next, if you have to deal with Mikael, here's some information that might save your life. His eldest child, Freya, is alive. I don't know exactly where she is, but Esther sold her firstborn to her elder sister due to more plot complications. I don't know if Mikael can be grateful, but he has a good chance of being willing to drop everything to go and rescue a child that was too young to defy him last time he saw her." I paused. "I'm sure there's more things, tricks that I will remember in the moment, resources that could save your life, but piecing it all together right here is hard. I think those are important and not too dense to be distracting."

"Okay." Vicki smiled. "We really need to find a memory enhancement spell, don't we?"

[hr][/hr]
Lauren and Damon showed up about an hour later. Lauren hopped out of the car.

"You really don't have to see us off," I said. Then I paused. Actually it was far safer if she did. "I'm glad you will, though."

"I'll contact you in your dreams every night," Lauren assured me. She turned to Vicki. "You will be stuck in there if the bodies get a dagger of desiccated, but if they die you should be back in the Other Side."

"Comforting," I shrugged. "

"Go kick ass in my name," Lauren said and hugged Vicki.

"Okay, Lauren. You should be able to channel my body just fine, since it's still a witch, but if you can't, I won't be able to help you much." I paused. "Worst case, see what you can Siphon off of my body's immortality. I don't know how well that will work, but it might be good."

"Noted." Lauren nodded a bit gravely. Then she hugged me. "I can't tell you to hurry back, but I will miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." I said.

"Vicki, take care of him. Jeff, take care of Vicki. Damon, if you fuck with us I will make you regret it." Lauren finished.

"What are you going to while we're gone?" Damon asked.

"There's an island on the east coast of Canada that contains, among other things, the cure for immortality, the tomb of Silas the Immortal, and possibly a rock of calcified blood from Qetsiyah, though that's less certain. The more power we can scrounge from there, the better. With a channel to the real world through Esther, amassing power in this dimension becomes a lot more useful." Lauren explained to Damon.

"Sounds handy," Damon nodded.

"See you on the other side, but not the one with capitalization," I told the others, and Lauren took my hand and Vicki's.

"Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Raverus En Phasmatos Ex Sonos. Resistamus Et Veram Vatus. Raverus Phasmatos Ex Sonos." Lauren recited the incantation, and I lost consciousness.

[hr][/hr]

I awoke tasting something disgusting. I choked and bit, finding myself drinking it compulsively. My throat and core were raw, and the grossness was everywhere. After a few minutes I gathered myself together and stood up in the tub.

"What is this shit?" Vicki asked next to me.

"No idea," I answered.

"What's with the accent?" Vicki giggled.

"I could ask you the same question," I pointed out. Her hand popped over her mouth. "Possession gives a lot of the host's muscle memory and subconscious. The exact amount can vary, but it makes it more useful," I explained. "Also more potentially dangerous."

"I can see why," Vicki nodded.

"Venez sanguis," I guessed, and I felt the blood leave me and saw it leave Vicki, cleaning us off. "So that's definitely blood." I looked around. We were in a storage locker full of old knick knacks that I guessed were Mikaelson crap that Klaus lugged around with his family.

"No, it's not," Vicki insisted.

"Not people blood," I corrected. "I'm guessing cow or pig."

"Gross!" Vicki shuddered. "Can't she have just robbed a blood bank?"

"Now that we're out among strangers we can't just go robbing blood banks. Hospitals need that blood. Also, it might've been too hard for Esther to find one on short notice." I shrugged.

"Gah!" Damon screamed suddenly as he gained consciousness. I watched Damon thrash for a minute before he subsided.

"Venez sanguis." I repeated. "You got the tall one," I commented, seeing Finn's body once the blood cleared.

"Jesus, no wonder Stefan's a buzzkill." Damon growled. "Where's the Original Bitch and why'd she put us in cow blood?"

"I'm guessing she's a floor or so away from the killer vampires waking up in shitty blood," Vicki answered.

"Smart," Damon nodded and sniffed. "This way, kids." We followed him through a door and found a set of bathrobes.

"Thoughtful of her." I handed one to Vicki. I turned away from her to let her put it on.

"Now you turn your back?" Vicki asked.

"Huh." I hadn't really thought about being naked until now. "Good point." I put on another robe, and Damon went last, smirking.

"We can't go out in public like this," Vicki said.

"Sure we can!" Damon laughed. "We're indestructible!" Ah yes, the joys of giving Damon Salvatore more superpowers.

"I can make an illusion to make us look clothed until we hit a Target or something," I told Vicki.

"Target. No, we're going somewhere cool first," Vicki demanded.

"I'm with Bottle Blonde," Damon agreed.

"We should check in with Esther upstairs, first." I said. The three of us glided down the hallway, following the smell of Esther.

The Original Witch stood outside the building. She looked a bit pained, seeing the faces of three of her children, alive and standing together.

"So, Hot Mama, off to Mystic Falls?" Damon asked.

Esther frowned. "Yes. I believe that we should secure the doppelgänger before Niklaus does."

Vicki chewed her lip. "Um, not to be a buzz kill, but it's been like six months since you told me why Klaus wants to kill Elena?"

"Curse of the Sun and the Moon," Damon cut in. "Aztec shamans decided vampires and werewolves needed to be controlled, so we got the burning in daytime thing. Vampires break it, they stop needing daylight rings. Werewolves break it and they stop turning on the full moon."

Everyone looked at me as I started laughing. "Jeff, you okay?' Vicki asked.

"That's a story Elijah cooked up," I explained, still smiling. "He got vampires and werewolves hunting for the things needed to break the curse for centuries and killing each other over it."

"Wow." Damon looked at Esther. "Your kids are scary."

"They are," Esther said. "The truth involves a curse I placed on Klaus, in the early days of his transformation into a monster."

"Long story short, Klaus was born a latent werewolf, turned into a vampire, killed someone, became a full werewolf, and was still a vampire. He became the world's first Hybrid." I told Damon and retold Vicki.

"...that's dumb," Damon answered. Esther looked shocked while Vicki giggled.

"In the heady days of no one thinking clearly due to being vampires, and Esther dealing with her children becoming vampires, Mikael decided to curse Klaus to suppress his werewolf side. He got Esther and a few other people to agree, and they cursed him to bring him down to normal Original Vampire status."

"Huh," Damon looked confused.

"Mikael said he would kill Klaus otherwise." Esther looked saddened. "Of course his rage only grew after the curse, but I was desperate to believe it could make our family whole again."

"Pretty much. Klaus was pissed that he went back to being only an Original Vampire, so he killed Esther for the curse and told everyone else that their dad killed their mom. So we get the rest of the Originals running from Mikael ever since," I finished.

"Wait, isn't being a werewolf inherited?" Damon asked. He gave Esther a glance.

"Klaus's true father was a mighty warrior. My husband was a difficult man at the time, and Ansel was strong and kind." Esther said slowly.

"Ah." Damon looked back to me. "So, Klaus wants to kill Elena to become a Hybrid again?"

"I think he feels mutilated by his curse, and believes he will only be whole again if it is lifted." I told Damon. "Klaus does not care that the counter-curse requires three sacrifices including a doppelganger, a werewolf and a vampire. Elijah is just pissed due to family drama and wants Klaus dead. Elijah thinks that his best shot at getting Klaus dead is when he is turning into a werewolf for the first time."

"Alright." Vicki said. "Now we know what we need to do. Let's go to Mystic Falls!"