AN: Thanks to those that reviewed.
Story lover: I am so missing them together too! But only one more chapter, I promise! I hope you like this!
Sophia's outfit: ( grey_black/set?id=60665146&lid=2198158)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to The Vampire Diaries.
Chapter 11: Pictures of the Past
"Maybe we should just let this go. I mean, Klaus hasn't done anything to us and if we go after him, Sophia'll never forgive us." Sophia's ears perked up at the sound of her sister's voice, pulling her attention away from the mirror.
"That doesn't mean he won't or that the rest of his family won't. And this may be the only lead we have on how to kill one of them." Alaric's deeper tone answered. Brow furrowing, Sophia grabbed her silver cardigan and purse before quietly leaving her room, wanting to get closer to the conversation.
"But—"
"We should at least check the caves out, Elena. There's no harm in at least looking, right?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Sophia vamped down to the kitchen, leaning casually against the door before they noticed her arrival.
"What caves?" Elena spun in surprise at her sister's voice, hand coming up to her racing heart.
"Uh—"
"It's nothing, just a school project." Ric spoke up.
"Well, shouldn't I be included in this too? I am in your class, after all." Sophia smiled sweetly at the older man, who glanced between the sisters before sighing. Damon was not going to like this. Although, he didn't really care what Damon thought anymore.
"D-Don't you have plans with Rebekah?" Elena questioned, fearful her twin had heard their conversation.
"We were going to go dress shopping for homecoming, but I can reschedule. So what's in these caves that's so interesting?" The witch asked as she took her phone out of her purse to send a quick text to her friend. Elena and Alaric shared a look, not really sure what to say as they didn't think she'd take kindly to them looking for a way to kill an Original.
"Archaic drawings, as much as I could tell."
"Ah, neat. I'm all set if you guys want to head out. Do we have enough flashlights? Maybe we should take some lanterns."
"I've got everything." Ric held up his bag, resigning himself to the fact that Sophia was not going to take no for an answer. Good thing Jenna and Jeremy were already at work, or else this would have been a family trip.
"Cool. Let's go. Shot gun." Elena rolled her eyes and Sophia just grinned.
"Maybe you should change your shoes, Soph. This is an underground cave we're talking about." Sophia glanced down at her 4 inch black ankle boots before giving a little shrug.
"I'll be fine." Elena rolled her eyes again but followed after her sister, knowing there was no point arguing with her. There really was no winning when it came to arguments with Sophia, especially not over footwear.
/*/
"How'd you say you found this place?" Sophia questioned as she followed the other two into the Lockwood cellar and through the broken brick wall, her own flashlight shining in front of her.
"Uh…I stumbled upon it?" Ric asked more than stated, making the twins give him identical looks of skepticism.
"Yeah, that sounds believable." Sophia snorted, making Elena bite back a chuckle. Their relationship might have been strained since Sophia returned, but they were still sisters and could make each other laugh.
"Mason Lockwood took Damon down here yesterday." The human doppelgänger revealed.
"Didn't Damon kill Mason?"
"Yeah, and he got his revenge on him, trust me."
Sophia hmmed behind her, not going to bring up the whole "kill an Original" thing, as she really didn't want to get into another argument. She loved Elena, despite how frustrating she could be, and really just wanted to get back to a relaxed relationship. Plus, they still needed to talk about Stefan and whatever Lexi had put him through, and she was sure that would make its own drama.
"So the Lockwoods have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" Elena questioned.
"Yeah. Careful where you shine that thing. Bats hate the light." The twins both stopped in their tracks.
"Wait. What?"
"Excuse me?" Alaric turned with an amused look, finding the dynamic between the twins interesting.
"Elena." They pivoted around, Sophia's hand snapping out on instinct, sending Damon to his knees in pain.
"God, Damon." Elena huffs and Sophia releases the spell, glaring at the vampire.
"Just ignore him. That's what I do." Alaric said and turned back to continue forward.
"Excellent advice, Ric." Sophia said and pushed past her sister, not wanting to be too close to idiot.
"So you really can't get in?"
"No. Seems even the ancient Lockwoods were anti-vampire. I didn't know the she-witch was coming." He glared at the retreating witch as he got back to his feet.
"Be nice Damon. And what do you mean ancient?" Elena asked in confusion as she followed the vampire.
"See for yourself. This is as far as I go."
Sophia followed Alaric into a large cavern, feeling the thick pressure of a barrier spell as she crossed into the room. Her breathe caught as the beam of her flashlight illuminated some of the drawings, Klaus's memories shifting in her mind until she was caught between both worlds.
"What is all this?" Elena asked as she looked at the pictures, giving her sister a questioning look at her strange behavior.
"Well, as far as I can tell, it's a story. In simple archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story. That right there is a moon cycle. A man. A wolf."
"A werewolf." Elena said in surprise.
"Yeah. It's the Lockwood diaries, Pictionary style."
"No. Not the Lockwoods." The three turned at Sophia's quiet words, seeing the witch tracing an etching in wonder.
"You know what these are?" Elena asked, coming to stand next to her twin.
"The Native Americans were the werewolves." Sophia revealed, eyes jumping from one drawing to the next.
"So werewolves have been here that long?"
"Yeah. A long time." Ric nodded in agreement.
"But they weren't the only ones here. Show them, Ric." Damon said, eyes on the witch, suspicious of how much she seemed to know.
"Names, and they're not native." Alaric said, shining his light onto a wall.
Sophia stepped back and closed her eyes, focusing on the water molecules in the damp air. She forced them to reflect light until the cave was suddenly illuminated. She pushed the molecules up until they hovered above their heads so that they were out of the way but still lit the cave. It was harder than lighting a torch, but since there was no wood around, she had to make do.
"How did you do that?" Elena asked in wonder, staring up at ceiling.
"Magic." The twins shared a smile.
"I see you're good for something other than torturing people." Damon said snidely, earning a glare.
"Don't tempt me, Damon. You won't like the outcome, I promise." The two glared at each other before Sophia turned her back on him and refocused on the wall of names, reaching out to lightly trace them.
"Anyway, they're written in runic, a Viking script." Ric continued, clicking his now pointless flashlight off.
"Vikings?"
"Didn't Elijah tell you they were Vikings?" Sophia questioned, getting a head shake in reply.
"No, he said his father owned land in Eastern Europe, but that was it."
"He did, but then they moved here after they lost a son to plague. They'd heard of the wolves and hoped their family would be safe from any future illness because of them." Sophia revealed, her audience captivated.
"How do you know all this?"
"Why should we believe you?" Damon cut in, getting an eye roll from Elena.
"I know a lot of things. And I really don't give a damn if you believe me Damon."
"This name here, when translated, it reads…"
"Niklaus." Sophia finished for him, getting another surprised look.
"Yeah. How'd you—" Sophia just smiled.
"Rebekah. Elijah. Finn. Kol. Henrik. Esther." She said as she pointed to each name.
"These are the names of the Original family?" Elena asked, walking closer to her sister.
"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls. Or even the entire New World, for that matter." Ric added with a nod.
"You wanna tell them what that last name up there is, Sophia? Since you seem to know so much about this." Damon quirked a brow, giving her a challenging smirk. She bit her lip as she stared up at the etchings.
"What's the name, Sophia?" Her sister asked, reaching out to grip her hand. Sophia glanced over at her before sighing.
"Mikael."
"Mikael?" Her twin asked in surprise, eyes swirling to meet Alaric's.
"Yep. I like to call him Papa Original." Damon said in amusement.
"You knew he was Klaus's father?" Elena demanded. Sophia shrugged in response.
"Course I did."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Oh I don't know maybe because you've been too busy trying to find a way to kill my boyfriend to have a good sisterly chat." Ric and Damon shared a look, both sensing a Gilbert row was threatening to brew.
"It's not like you've been away from Rebekah long enough to have a talk either." Elena retorted.
"Excuse me for trying to get her integrated into high school so that she doesn't feel neglected and go on a killing spree."
"If you redaggered her, she wouldn't be a threat."
"Do you even hear yourself? Rebekah does not deserve to be daggered, and I expected you of all people to see the goodness in her. Has the last year warped you so much that you don't even give people a chance anymore?"
"I do when they deserve it."
"Rebekah hasn't done you or anyone else any harm. Seriously, what is your issue with Klaus and his family? You don't even know them!" Sophia gritted out, her temper getting the better of her.
"They've killed thousands, maybe millions, of people, Sophia!"
"When you live for over a thousand years and feed off human blood, that tends to happen! Jeez, I thought we already covered this yesterday! What's your real problem with them?" Sophia demanded.
"Stefan likes her!" Elena said before slapping a hand over her mouth. Sophia's jaw clenched before she forced herself to relax.
"You're doing all this because you're worried about Stefan hooking up with Rebekah? Seriously?"
"I've seen the way they look at each other. It's—"
"I cannot believe this, Elena. How dare you threaten their lives over simple jealousy! Stefan loves you and the fact that you can't see that is sad. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since you're so distracted by the douche over there that killed our brother, Alaric, Vicki, my friend Maddox."
"That's not true." Elena refuted, not looking at the vampire.
"Oh please, you're just like Tatia and Katherine, torn between two brothers. It's ridiculous, Elena. Either you love Stefan or you love Damon, not both. It's not fair to either of them, no matter how big a douche they are. You need to make up your mind and pick one and let the other move on with their lives."
"You don't know anything about it! You haven't been here."
"No, but I spent the summer with Stefan and I saw firsthand how much he loves you and how much knowing you're drawn to his own brother hurts him. I never thought I'd ever be ashamed of my own twin, but I cannot believe you've become this person."
"You don't—"
"I'm not arguing with you anymore, Elena. You need to make a choice. Everyone deserves to find love and happiness, so just let one of them go before you destroy their relationship." Sophia said, waving her hand and plunging the cave into darkness as she headed towards the entrance, where Damon was leaning, eyes glued to the ground, all cockiness gone.
"Oh, and I'm releasing Stefan from the Forbes' holding cell. He needs to learn self-control, not to just jump back on the bunny diet. But you should know that the longer you string them both along, the worse things are going to get for everyone involved." Sophia said quietly as Elena and Alaric clicked their flashlights back on. She sent her sister a disappointed look before disappearing into the darkness, her heels clicking on the stone ground.
"I'm uh, gonna take pictures." Alaric said after a minute, the air thick with tension as the other two avoided each other's gazes. The morning certainly hadn't turned out how any of them had thought it would. Things had been a lot simpler when there was only one doppelgänger, that's for sure.
/*/
Sophia pulled the heavy metal door open with a creak, eyes quickly adjusting to the dim light to make out Stefan sitting slumped in a chair, restraints holding him in place. The vampire looked up at the noise, expecting to see Elena, or even Lexi again. But he knew instantly that it was Sophia, both by her scent and her wardrobe.
"You look like shit, Stefan." Sophia muttered as she stepped into the cell, quickly reaching out to pull the clamps and chains off his wrists.
"Does Elena know you're here?" His voice was raspy, his throat dry.
"Yeah, we kinda had a fight earlier and I decided I'd be the one to help you. I don't want her and her issues to push you towards the dark side." She gave a little grin, making him roll his eyes at her choice of words as he stood.
"So what now?"
"Now we get you something to eat." The witch smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him from the dark room and up the spiral staircase.
"I-I don't want human blood, Sophia. I don't think I could control myself." Stefan admitted as he followed her up and out, squinting in the bright sunlight.
"I'm not gonna let you kill anyone, I promise. C'mon." She tugged on his hand again before speeding off towards the woods, the vampire following quickly behind her. They came to a stop in the same clearing that Sophia'd started her training in.
"So, since we don't live in the Buffyverse, you're gonna have to catch your lunch the old fashion way. Once you've gotten your hunger handled, we can work on your self-control. I figured I'd give you a little human blood each day until you're not driven crazy by it. Does that sound good?"
"Uh, yeah I guess. Elena and I actually tried that last year. Before everything got out of hand." Stefan admitted, eyes scanning the trees as his ears strained to hear any movement.
"Oh, well…we'll have better luck because I don't tolerate failure and I can zap your brain anytime you get unruly. Now go kill bambi." The vampire gave a small chuckle before he zoomed off, teeth already elongating at the thought of blood, even animal blood.
Sophia kept her distance, not wanting to scare away his prey. But she watched to make sure he really did only go after animals, keeping a look out for any people that may unknowingly wander into the forest.
Luckily for them both no one seemed inclined to take a trek through the woods that afternoon, which meant Stefan wasn't tempted, making her job of babysitting him that much easier. So after one doe and a hare, Stefan was sufficiently sated, his brain able to once more be in control of his actions.
"Now that that's taken care of, I need to go do something. You're welcome to tag along if you want." Sophia said as they walked back towards the house Klaus had under construction, needing to check on the progress.
"I think I'm actually gonna head home, get some sleep. Being tied down to a chair isn't really that comfortable." The two shared an amused look as they stepped out of the tree line.
"I'll catch you later than." Sophia waved before dashing towards the house, doing a quick walk through to make sure everything was still on track before heading back to the underground caves. She had a story to work out.
/*/
"What are we doing here?" Elena asked in irritation as she watched Rebekah flounce around the boutique.
"I need a homecoming dress." The blonde answered with a shrug as she held up a blue mini dress and a dark red cocktail dress for inspection.
"I'm not here to help you shop. I'm here to talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael." Elena said with her arms crossed. Rebekah gave a little smirk before vamping behind a sales clerk, tilting the compelled woman's head to the side to reveal her bare neck.
"You're here to help me pick out a dress for myself and Sophia. Now be a good girl and pick one." Rebekah said, arching a brow at her as her fangs glistened.
Elena glared at her before going to a rack and going through it, trying to find something her sister would wear. She settled on a white lace and beaded dress that she figured Sophia would go for. Holding it up so the vampire could see, she continued to glare.
"There, that wasn't so hard. You do not threaten me. You will learn what I allow you to learn. Now go try it on and help me pick my dress."
Rebekah smirked as the doppelgänger stomped into a dressing room, enjoying herself immensely. Served the bitch right for thinking she could just demand answers about her family, as if she had any entitlement to know such things.
/*/
"Look who got sprung." Stefan closed his eyes tiredly at his brother's voice, having wanted to be alone for a little while longer.
"What do you want Damon?"
"Can't we have a little brotherly bonding time?" Damon arched a brow as he leaned against Stefan's door, the younger Salvatore lying on his bed.
"No." The older brother gave a careless shrug and stepped into the room.
"I thought you'd be happy to be a free man." Stefan sighed and sat up, knowing Damon wouldn't leave him in peace until he'd said whatever it was he wanted to.
"What do you want?"
"Let's go out. You need to relax, get drunk; and that's not gonna happen here." Damon said with a grin.
"You want to go out to drink when we have plenty of alcohol here?"
"Oh c'mon Mr. Broodypants, let's go."
Damon smirked before sauntering out of the room, knowing his little brother would follow, no matter how much he said he didn't want to. Now was the perfect time to start teaching him how to properly feed and Damon wasn't going to lose the opportunity. Plus, he had to find out where his brother stood on the killing Klaus plan.
/*/
Sophia took pictures of all the drawings she found on her tablet, thankful the entire cave was lit so the photos were actually pretty good. Once done, she sat down against a wall and went through the snapshots, slowly identifying what each symbol meant. When she properly recognized one, she edited the picture and wrote the name next to it.
The story as she remembered it was told through pictures, chronicling the arrival of the Viking ship that held the Mikaelsons through their change into vampires. She felt her heart squeeze in pain when she traced Henrik's name, remembering the horror and loss Klaus had experienced. The feeling of failure that he hadn't gotten his baby brother to his mother in time to save him.
Sophia was reassured however, that the 'weapon' the wall spoke of was the white oak tree. She knew that Mikael had to have a stake made of the wood, as he wouldn't have chased Klaus for so long unless he could actually kill him; but with the tree burned, there wasn't any known way to kill an Original.
Sighing in relief, the witch gathered her things and quickly released the lighting spell, making her way back to the Lockwood cellar. Now that that was out of the way, she could focus on coming up with a plan to get the dagger from Mikael and kill him herself. She was not going to let that monster anywhere near Klaus or Rebekah if she could help it.
/*/
"I'm not here to feed, Damon." Stefan said in irritation as the black haired vampire tried to get him to nibble on a waitress again.
"You're such a buzzkill little bro." Damon said before sauntering over to the bar and signaling for two more shots.
"Is that why you brought me here, to try and get me to feed? You know Elena would hate you for it and we both know that you care about what she thinks."
"You have to learn control sometime; now seemed as good a time as any." Damon shrugged and slammed back his drink.
"Sophia's already thought up a plan—"
"Please, you're going to trust the girl that's in love with a psychopath to help you learn control?"
"You don't know anything about her." Stefan ground out, irritation at his brother spiking. Not only was he in love with Stefan's girlfriend, but now he had issues with Stefan's best friend.
"I know she'd kill every last one of us to keep Klaus alive, including you."
"No she wouldn't. Besides, I wouldn't get in her way when it came to Klaus, so I wouldn't be in danger."
"Oh I don't know about that." The two turned at the voice.
"The Salvatore boys, I presume."
"Mikael." Stefan said, mind racing. He had to warn Sophia and Klaus.
"So you're friends with my son?" Mikael arched a brow in question.
"I don't see how—" Stefan was cut off when Mikael's hand suddenly shot through Damon's chest, fingers wrapping around his heart.
"I plan to kill Klaus, with or without your help. But if you wish for your brother to live, then you'll help me." Stefan stared at his gasping brother in shock.
"So what say you, Stefan? Will you help me kill Klaus or not?" Mikael asked, giving a small tug so Damon's body jerked forward and he groaned in pain.
"Fine. I'll help you." Klaus may be his friend, but Damon was his brother and as hurt as he was about the whole Elena thing, he couldn't let Damon die.
"Great. Get Klaus back to Mystic Falls and I will gladly drive a stake through his heart. Fail...I'll drive it through yours." Damon dropped to the ground as the vampire hunter was suddenly gone.
"What is it with people trying to rip my heart out?" He gasped.
/*/
"Hey Beks." Sophia called out as she let herself into the apartment with her key. She set her purse on the table next to the door and made her way towards the living room, ears picking up the faint sound of crying.
"What's wrong?" She rushed to the vampire's side, sitting next to her on the couch.
"I…Klaus killed my mother." Rebekah whispered, clutching the pillow to her chest tightly. Sophia's breath caught in her chest for a moment as her entire body froze, not knowing what to say or do.
"H-How do you know?" The blonde gave her a miserable look.
"You're sister was all too happy to tell me. Apparently the villagers drew the story of the creation of vampires and it showed how my mother died. By the hybrid ripping her heart out." The end of the sentence came out strangled as more tears leaked down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." Sophia mumbled, throat tight as she tried to come up with something to say.
"Why…why don't you sound surprised?" Rebekah asked, red eyes meeting hers.
"I…"
"You knew this?" Rebekah shot to her feet and glared at the witch, betrayal surging through her.
"Uh, maybe?" Sophia slowly got to her own feet, guilt eating at her insides.
"How could you not tell me?"
"Beks, it happened over a thousand years ago."
"She was my mother."
"I know, but there's nothing I can do to change it."
"But you should have told me! I've believed Klaus's lie for centuries."
"Beks—"
"How can you claim to be my friend and keep this from me?"
"Okay, so maybe I should've said something. But how do you just bring something like that up? Besides, do you even really remember your mother?" Sophia demanded.
"Of course I do! She was my mother."
"Really? You remember what she was really like? Not just to you, but towards Klaus?"
"She loved us, and was a good mother. What are you trying to say?"
"Here, I'll show you." Sophia gripped Rebekah's head tightly and pushed the memory into her head.
/*/
Niklaus chased Rebekah around the mud house, their laughter filling the small space as their mother looked on with fondness while she tended to Henrik. The two children circled the table, trying to be careful not to break anything as they played; Niklaus wasn't so lucky, however, and a clay vase soon crashed to the ground and shattered.
"BOY!" Niklaus's big blues widened in fear as he tried to find a place to hide, while Bekah dashed over to hide in her mother's skirts. Niklaus dove under table, hoping his father wouldn't find him; his hopes were quickly dashed as he was roughly pulled out from under the table by his furious father.
"What have I told you about running in the house, you good for nothing?" Mikael yelled as he backhanded the small boy, sending him flying. Esther turned away, keeping her infant son and daughter away from her husband's eyes. Not that he'd ever harm either of them.
"I-I'm sorry, papa." Niklaus's lips trembled as tears filled his eyes and pain lanced through his side where he'd hit the ground. Mikael pulled him up again, holding him off the ground by his tunic.
"Do not make me tell you again, Niklaus! Why can't you be like your brothers?" He asked rhetorically in disgust before pushing the dirty blonde boy away just as roughly as he'd grabbed him, causing Niklaus to trip and fall once more. Trying not to cry, since boys didn't cry, Niklaus bit his lips to try and stop their trembling while he watched Mikael place a kiss on Esther's head before he left.
"Niklaus, when will you ever learn?" Esther asked with a shake of her head. Not knowing why his father seemed to be angry at him all the time, Niklaus lowered his head before he hurried from the room, play with his sister forgotten as he dashed through the town and into the forest.
Running as fast as his small feet would carry him, Niklaus made it to his secret place with the speed of one familiar with the dense landscape. Crouching down, the boy slid into the small crevice he'd found in the rock face, which opened up into a larger cavern.
Sliding down to the cold ground, Niklaus brought his knees up to his chest and cried, desperate to understand why his father didn't love him. To understand why his mother let Mikael treat him like he did, even when she defended the rest of his brothers and sister. Feeling lost and alone, Niklaus buried his face against his knees and wept, wishing there was someone that would love him.
/*/
"Your mother was not the angle you remember her as, Rebekah. I'm sorry that he killed her, I am, but if you were in his position, you'd have done the exact same thing."
"I…" Rebekah shook her head, feeling dizzy.
"I know it's painful, but are you really going to hold something that happened a millennia against Klaus?"
"He…he still killed her, Sophia. Our mother."
"Yes, he did. And he's regretted it since, as unbelievable as that might seem."
"How…how could he do that?"
"Do you remember what it was like when you first turned? How every emotion was heightened 100%?"
"Yeah, so?" Rebekah asked, suddenly tired. She sat back down and rubbed at her temples, not understanding how her world could have turned upside down so quickly.
"Well you have to also remember that being a werewolf means you're born with more aggression and anger. Mikael may not have known for sure until Klaus triggered his werewolf side, but he had a feeling. Mikael never missed a chance to lash out at Klaus, even though it was your mother who cheated on him.
"Add all the heightened emotions with the knowledge that your mother let him take the abuse from Mikael over her betrayal. And then she cursed him after he'd just found out the truth, figured out who he really was. Can you imagine what that was like, because I can't."
"I…"
"I know you're mad at me, and rightly so. But if either of us were in his shoes, we wouldn't have been able to help ourselves either, no matter how much you would like to say otherwise."
"She was my mother." The blonde said sadly, tears once more in her eyes.
"I know, and you know I get the pain of losing your mother. It's something no child should ever have to feel. But you cannot hold it against Klaus when he was consumed by his intense emotions and the betrayal of your mother."
"But—"
"I know it'll take some time, but I know you'll forgive him because you love him. And I'm your friend, so I hope you'll forgive me too." Sophia slowly sat back down, Rebekah's head leaning heavily against her shoulder as she continued to cry.
"It's like I lost her all over again."
"I'm sorry." The two sat like that, both lost in their own memories.
AN: So…what'd you think? I'm really hoping to hit 200 reviews soon, as it'll be the first of my stories to do so. So please be kind! Thanks.