Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of L.J. Smith and The CW except Anthi Bennett (O.C). No copyright infringement is intended
This fic is dedicated to iheartmurphy bc it was her idea so props to her! Give it a shot!
Enjoy!
Alliances
Old Witches House
Damon huffed for the hundredth time "Just cut the crap Stefan, I know you had something to do with the Original's deaths!"
The other spat the blood that was lodged in his mouth "I had nothing to do with it; it was only Klaus I wanted to get rid of!" he dusted off his clothes "And why the hell do you want to know who killed the rest of them? They're fucking dead, that's all that matters!"
Damon pushed Stefan roughly against a wall "Because if you're not lying, then there's a huge chance that whoever killed them will come after us and I will not live my last day in Mystic Fucking Falls!"
Stefan freed himself from his brother's hold and chuckled "That's your problem, not mine Damon."
The elder Salvatore chuckled "So this is how it will be huh? You can act like you don't give a fuck Stefan but I can see right through you"
Stefan narrowed his eyes "Look at that; you sounded just like Elena, could you be any more ridiculous?"
Damon waved a hand in the air "Yeah yeah real funny Stefan" he moved fast and faced his younger brother "Just don't forget that whoever comes for me will come for you too brother, so instead of acting like a little bitch you could cough up some info" he smirked
Stefan rolled his eyes "I'm not scared of anything brother. I always have a backup plan plus you know damn well I'm at my finest when I have no emotions" he smiled showing his canines
"Yeah I know" he then vervained his brother "Which is exactly what I don't need" and fled the scene
Salvatore Boarding House
She was at the cemetery, it was nighttime and she was running, her feet barely touching the ground. She had no idea why she was running or from whom she was running but her instinct was telling her not to stop until she reached some safe place.
There was snarl behind her, she looked back for a second but the only thing she could see was darkness, pure darkness. She ran as fast as her human legs could but whatever she was running from was getting closer and closer.
Air was coming in and out of her lungs fast, her muscles were turning into jell-O and she was positive she could hear the pounding of her heart. The girl came to an abrupt stop when she felt something icy on her back, she was about to brush her fingers on her lower back but decided against it and kept running. However, it was too late, before she had realized, she was lying on the ground and a piercing pain shot in her head.
"Aaarrrrghhhhh!" she cried out "Ahhhhrrrgggghh!"
"Bonnie, wake up!" someone said with a concerning voice "Bonnie!"
The teen witch slowly opened her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh "Not again"
Elena and Caroline sat beside her "What happened? You were screaming while sleeping" the latter said
Bonnie played with her hands "It's nothing, just a bad dream"
Anthi shook her head and leant against the guest room's door "You're a witch Bonnie and that means that your dream was more than a bad dream"
The other got up quickly "But that's just what it was! Anyways, we have more important things going on"
"Still, I think we should talk about this Bon, we can help you" the doppelgänger smiled "You don't have to hide anything from us"
Bonnie sighed. She knew she could tell her friends about this dream she had been having for a while now but, like she had told them, there was so much going on and their problems seem to get bigger and bigger by the minute. So, if she could solve this on her own, she would.
"I know Lena but trust me on this; I know what I'm doing"
Carla clapped her hands together "Okay then, you said there were more important things going on, mind sharing with the rest of us?"
Bonnie had her game face on "We need to—"
Before she could finish her sentence someone knocked on the door anxiously as if they couldn't wait any longer. The girls followed Bonnie downstairs and when she opened the door it revealed a blonde girl with big brown eyes. The girl barged inside the manor like it was her own house and immediately she recognized the dark-haired girl.
"YOU!" she accused with her slender finger "Where are Bill and Eric?"
"What are you doing here Sookie?" Anthi asked confused. How the hell did Sookie find where she lived and how did she find the Boarding House?
The blonde balled her hands into fists "Answer me!" she yelled "Bill and Eric never came back and—"
Anthi was getting more and more confused "Who are Bill and Eric?"
Sookie couldn't hold her rage any longer so she tried to slap the other girl but Anthi caught Sookie's hand and spoke lowly "I know you weren't trying to hit me!"
The Bon Temps girl retrieved her hand "I just want to know where Bill and Eric are and if they are safe!"
"Okay" Caroline said loud "Who are Bill and Eric and who are you?"
The other blonde huffed "I'm Sookie and Bill and Eric are the vampires that came with her vampire friend Steve!" she pointed to the hybrid
Anthi shook her head "I don't know any—" she stopped herself as realization hit her "You mean Stefan?"
Sookie nodded her head "He left with Eric and Bill four days ago and they haven't returned home nor answered my calls or texts! I know them and I wouldn't be here if something wasn't adding up!"
Anthi shook her head trying to understand what was happening. She hadn't seen Stefan since she and Damon had confronted him at the Old Witches House; she reached her phone and dialed the young Salvatore's number.
Bonnie came closer to the girl with a serious look "You have to calm down so we can help you find whoever you're looking for" Sookie held a finger in the air and before she opened her mouth the petit witch added "If you want to find them, I suggest you do as we say because this is our town and there's no one who knows Mystic Falls as well as we do."
Sookie pressed her lips mad and huffed "I swear if something happened to them you will pay!"
Caroline made her way to the intruder "Excuse you! You have the nerve to come to our town and threaten us because your boyfriends got missing while standing in a room with a vampire, a hybrid and a witch? How stupid are you?"
"Say that again bitch and I'll fry your vampire ass in no time!" Sookie hissed.
Before things got way out of hand, Anthi intervened "Stefan's not answering my calls"
"I'm not going anywhere without Eric and Bill!" the blonde stated "I'll wait forever if I have to!"
"All this talk about Eric and Bill and Stefan and I still don't know why there were in Mystic Falls in the first place" Elena shrugged
"They forged an alliance with Stefan" the Bon Temps' girl said flatly
"An alliance? Why?" Bonnie asked suspicious. This could not be good at all.
"Oh no!" Anthi whispered as she prepared herself to hear what Sookie was about to say
"They had a deal" Sookie started "They would help Steve – I mean Stefan – with something and in return he would help them with something"
Elena scoffed "Vague much?"
In that moment, Caroline gasped as she remembered that Stefan was the one that brought the army that tried to kill Klaus and the one that got her bit. She got closer to Sookie "Stefan was the one that brought that army to kill Klaus wasn't he?"
The Bon Temps waitress only narrowed her eyes and kept her mouth shut.
"Answer her!" Anthi demanded
Sookie was breathing hard now "I will tell you everything you want to know after I know for sure that Bill and Eric are safe"
Bonnie rolled her eyes "In case you haven't noticed, we have no idea who they are or where they are, so the faster you tell us what deal they made with Stefan, the faster we can find your friends"
The other folded her arms "I stand by what I said"
The young witch narrowed her eyes a bit and then Sookie was holding her head with both hands "I'm not playing" she warned.
Sookie hadn't felt pain like this before but she wasn't one to be easily intimidated so, with a twist of her hand, she casted a beam of light knocking everyone inside the room unconscious for a few minutes. She struggled to get up, her head was still hurting but still she made her way to the door.
"Going somewhere?"
Meredith's House
"Are you sure we they can crash here?" Matt asked Alaric "I mean, this house is still for sale and I'm pretty sure everyone knows what happened to Meredith, at least that she was killed"
Alaric smiled "I took care of everything. Mikael and Esther can stay here for as long as it takes"
Mikael fixed himself something to drink "That's good news. I reckon we'll stay in Mystic Falls for a while"
"This could be our home." Esther entered the living room with books on her hands "After we rid the town of all the monsters that is" she put the books on the table
Matt came closer to the table and inspected one of the strange books "What's with the sudden reading urges?"
The Original Witch retrieved the book from Matt's prying hands "These are gremoires and you must not touch them!"
Both Alaric and Mikael rounded the table "Why can't he touch them?" the latter asked
"Because those aren't normal gremoires, are they?" the teacher chimed in "Those enclose the most powerful spells ever made"
Esther nodded with a small smile that she hoped no one had seen "Mr. Saltzman is correct, these gremoires have very dark and powerful magic, and therefore they cannot be handled lightly"
Matt scratched his chin "When you say very dark and powerful, what do you mean exactly?"
"Expression" Alaric answered "That's what she means"
Mikael put his hands on Esther's lower back "Are you sure you want to dabble in this kind of magic?"
She craned her neck so as to face him "I can do it Mikael"
"I know you can, I just wanted to be sure" he added a smile "I'm done being a teenager, I really want to get back to my body"
She turned completely to him "And you will" she turned her back on him "After everything's settled"
The other huffed and was about to argue with her but Matt had something to say "I need to go and you need to work on your plan to help me kill Damon" and then he left
"I think someone should tell him that we have to kill his friends first" Alaric suggested but the looks he earned from the couple made him shiver "Or not"
Esther came by Alaric's side and touched his arm gently "If we tell Matthew the next stage of our plan, he will sabotage the whole thing and I worked too hard on The Other Side to let him ruin everything."
He nodded and placed his hand on top of hers "Very well then, what are we supposed to do with him in the meantime? We both know he won't be able kill Damon on his own right now and I know Damon enough to know that he'll be expecting someone to come after him."
Mikael watched the display of affection carefully "Not to mention the filthy vampire has a Bennett witch on his side"
Esther smiled "Don't worry about her; I have something special planned for her. All that power shouldn't be wasted with a teenager that barely grasps the concept of true magic"
"Then what do you suggest we do now?" Mikael asked
The Original Witch's smile grew "We do what we know best: we throw a party"
The Grill
Tyler Lockwood downed the rest of his drink in one take as he tried to understand what the hell had just happen in the last seventy two hours. He had come back to his hometown with a goal set: he would take Klaus' empire and make it his own; he would make his uncle's vision come true.
Now that Klaus and his family were gone, things would be a lot easier except that he'd have to win the hybrid's trust and lead them which, honestly, wouldn't happen any time soon. They had just gained their freedom back which meant that they wouldn't follow him blindly but that wasn't the objective any ways. He wanted them to trust him, to see him as someone above them but that they could trust; kind of like a father and the hybrids would be his family and they wouldn't have to be sired to him because they would love him, with no magic involved.
However, the one thing that was keeping him from starting to build his empire was something he left at Caroline's house back when he was a just a werewolf, something that he hid in the hopes of not looking at it again until Mason returned home – the moonstone that he had disguised as a necklace.
Never in a million years would Tyler think that a small stone, a white almost transparent stone, would be so damn important. The hybrid went back to the time when Mason told him something that would change everything. He went back to the time when Mason told him the truth.
Tyler had just arrived home exhausted from practice and headed straight to the shower. The hot water hitting his back was soothing and he took some time to think about how crazy the last few weeks had been. Now, he was a werewolf thanks to some poor decision but he didn't regret it, what was occupying his thoughts was a certain blonde that had helped him through it all.
He was grateful to at least have one friend that was acquainted with the supernatural world and though he was aware that the Salvatore's were supernatural as well, he liked the bond he had with Caroline. She was cool for a vampire and it certainly didn't hurt that she was gorgeous and had a killer smile.
Tyler smiled without even realizing it as he went to his room but quickly the smiled faded as he was pinned against a wall. Immediately, he flashed his canines but relaxed immensely when he saw that it was only his uncle Mason
"Damn, you scared the shit out of me!" Tyler said trying to breathe normally
Mason smiled "Scaredy kitten"
Tyler couldn't help the smirk "What you doing here?"
His uncle sat on the edge of the younger werewolf's bed "I need to talk to you but first get dressed; I feel uncomfortable talking to my nephew when he's only wearing a towel"
Tyler threw said towel at his uncle's face, the other ducked his head but laughed anyways "Meet me downstairs when you're done"
"What do you wanna talk with me?" Tyler asked entering the library after he got dressed
Mason had a serious face "I need you to listen to me carefully Tyler. I have a plan for us, for all of us actually"
Tyler crossed his arms "You are serious…"
"Of course I am!" Mason replied and rested both of his hands on Tyler's shoulders, looking him dead in the eye "I have a plan that can change the whole thing for us!" he reached a small box hidden in one of the shelves and opened it revealing a stone "This is our ticket to freedom, to peace, to power, to everything we ever wanted"
The teen looked at it skeptically "Well it's a stone, a rather small one; I had no idea a stone could do so much for us" he mocked
Mason smiled "A stone that it's filled with supernatural power, there's a reason why I kept it hidden in here. This stone will help me – us – build our empire, a werewolf empire. We will be on top of the world! We no longer will have to hide, we can stop the werewolf on werewolf murders, we can end the on-going war between vampires and werewolves, we can help other people and guess what?" he chuckled "It will all be ours!"
Tyler was a bit overwhelmed with the information but at the same time he was curious "Hmm… What about Mystic Falls?"
"What about it?"
He shrugged "Well, this is our town and let's not forget about all the supernatural people living here"
Mason smiled "We'll protect them. Now, are you in or not?"
Tyler gave it some thought; what his uncle was proposing was a good idea, good things could come out of this empire so why not give it a shot? "Yeah, I'm in"
"Good, you won't regret this. Now, on to the plan" Mason rubbed his hands together happy
"Is this seat taken?"
The hybrid emerged from his thoughts and looked at the girl next to him "Help yourself out"
She smiled and moved her hair to her right, leaving her neck exposed "I was hoping you would at least offer me something to drink"
He knitted his brows together "Why should I do that?"
The girl chuckled and ran her fingers through her red hair "I could say because we've known each other since we were five or I could say because I want you to"
Tyler narrowed his eyes trying to remember who this random girl was but came up empty "I really don't know who you are"
The girl sighed "I'm Lana; it is a pleasure to see you again Tyler Lockwood"
The hybrid looked at her confused as he tried to remember her. The only Lana he had ever met was nothing like the one seating next to him but still he asked "Lana? As in Lana Rodriguez?"
Lana smiled brightly "I know that I lost aton of weight and I guess puberty wasn't so bad on me"
He chuckled "Now, I'm buying you a drink" he signaled the waitress he had an order and asked for Lana's drink "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Washington"
She nodded "I was, actually I just got back. I got tired of the routine in DC and of college so I quit."
"And Mystic Falls was first stop?" he asked entertained
Lana smiled and thanked the waitress "Yeah" she sipped on her drink "It was. There's no place like home"
Tyler could only agree "Indeed."
She took a quick glance around the small Pub and noticed it barely had any costumers so she inched closer to her childhood friend "Also, there's something else that made me come back to little old Mystic Falls"
His airways were infiltrated by her perfume and he tilted his head to the side, he wanted to see where this was going "Really, what is that?"
She ran her red nails all the way up his arm and then her fingers got lost in his hair; she spoke in his ear "I want you to turn me"
Tyler crooked his head to the side, had he heard right? This ordinary read head girl – Lana – wanted to be turned? "What?"
She smirked "You heard me werewolf, I want you to turn me"
Salvatore Boarding House
Fuck! Sookie thought as Anthi – the bitch – was blocking her way. She thought that like the others Anthi would be unconscious "Like I said I'm trying to find my friends no matter what!"
Anthi crowded her space "Assaulting the very people that want to help is not a smart move" she spat and came even closer to the Halfling "Try that shit again and I'll finish you"
Sookie shivered but still held her chin high "If you're going to threaten me then get out of my way, I have things to do" she said as she walked away from the hybrid but she caught her arm
"No, first I want to know about the deal Stefan made"
"I said" the blonde untangled from Anthi's grip "I'll tell everything after I know that Eric and Bill are safe"
Exasperated, the midnight haired girl pushed the blonde against a tree "Look, we can stand here and talk in circles; I want information that you have and you'll provide when you know your friends are safe but you can't do that without our help and I'll only do it when you tell everything you know. So you'll tell me what I want to know even if I have to make you and then we'll get to Erica and Bill"
Sookie breathed hard; this was not going the way she wanted! She didn't know if she could trust this person standing in front of her but at the same time she was the only one that could help her. "Fine!" she pushed Anthi away and made her way to the house "I'll tell everything but you have to hold your end of the deal!"
The other nodded "I will. Now, wake them up" she pointed to the four girls lying on the floor
She sighed but obeyed nevertheless. Moments later, the girls were coming to their senses
"Why do people keep knocking me unconscious?" Bonnie lamented as she tried to sit on the couch
"Sookie agreed to tell what deal Stefan made" Anthi explained as she helped Carla sit
The girl in question brushed her clothes and looked at Anthi "Don't forget, you'll help me as well"
Anthi huffed "I already said I will!"
Carla scoffed "What?! This bitch comes in, starts accusing people left to right and attack us and now we're supposed to help her? Unbelievable!"
"She has valuable information that could help us a lot" Anthi tried to reason but Carla wasn't listening
"You mean information that could help you right?" she accused "Because I don't see it affecting me or them" she pointed to Caroline, Elena and Bonnie
"Still, we should listen to whatever she has to say" Caroline intervened
Sookie stood up quickly gaining attention from the girls "Do you want to hear me or not?"
"Of course!" Elena said "What do you know about this deal?"
Sookie sat down again as she started "Well, it was when we were in Bon Temps on the night of the full moon when you turned" she said looking at the blue eyed werewolf and then turned to Anthi "You told your friend to take me home–"
"–Stefan" Anthi interrupted
Sookie nodded "Yeah, him. After we got to my place Bill and Eric showed up and after a rough start and learning that Stefan could walk in the sun, he started asking Bill if he had an army and when Bill said he had, Stefan started talking about a vampire named Klaus and how he wanted to kill him"
"So, all Stefan did was ask for help and they gave it to him?" Bonnie asked confused
The girl shook her head "Stefan said that if they could help him kill the vampire then he'd tell them how to walk in the sun. Like you two" she pointed to Caroline and Anthi "That's why they agreed to help him"
Caroline ran her hand through her blonde locks "So Bill and Eric agreed to help Stefan and in exchange he would tell them how to walk in the sun but they haven't come back" she tried to summarize the whole situation
"Pretty much" the other responded
"Okay, so the plan was to kill Klaus, just him right?" Bonnie asked Sookie who nodded in response "Then who the hell killed the others?" she asked aloud
"I don't care" Sookie said "I told you all I know now what are you going to do to help?"
Carla let out a growl "It's not like we have all the answers!"
"Well" Anthi tried "One thing we know for sure; both Eric and Bill came to Mystic Falls on a mission that took place at the Mikaelson's so I think our best shot at the moment is to go there"
The werewolf got up and crossed her arms "Oh yeah and do what? Stare at the bloodied bodies or at the cadavers that are the Originals?"
"She's right" Bonnie said and everyone looked at her "Not you Carla, Anthi's right. We know for sure that Sookie's friends were there so it's a good place to start looking"
"Yeah I mean it's the only lead we've got so far" Elena spoke up and then turned to Anthi "You don't have to come if you don't want to…" she trailed off
Anthi opened her mouth and closed it again. If she went with them to Klaus' mansion then she would have to look at Kol's corpse lying on the bed and she wasn't sure if she could handle it. He was such a jackass, an annoying son of a bitch but still, he was the father of her child and she just couldn't look at him and not feel a pang in her chest. But she wasn't ready to ask herself why.
Still, this was not about her and her grief; it was about helping Sookie and finding whoever killed the Originals and could kill them all.
"I'll go" she said
"Good, show me the way there" Sookie said
Donovan House
Matt browsed through his contacts on his phone until he found the one he was looking for and dialed the number.
"Yes?"
"Hey, it's Matt" he said in a serious tone "I'm glad you haven't changed your number"
She laughed "What do you want Donovan?"
He smirked "So remember back when we were juniors and you asked me to go out but I said no?"
"How could I not remember? It was last year" she sighed "What? Now that Elena's not available you want to go out?"
Matt face palmed, this wasn't embarrassing at all "It's not like that. I kind of need your help with something"
"Oh" she said surprised "I guess I should've known better… What is it?"
He rubbed the back of his neck "Ummm... I can't really say on the phone so I was wondering if you wanted to meet at some place, you choose"
Sighs. The girl bit on her lip before answering "I know I shouldn't be doing this but whatever… Can you meet me at the coffee shop near my place?"
"Yes! That's perfect; I'll be there in a few"
She smiled "Perfect. Don't make me wait too long Donovan"
"Don't worry. See you Amber"
"Bye" she replied
The busboy sprinted all the way to his truck and drove like a mad man to the coffee shop where he was supposed to meet Amber Bradley. The only reason why he had contacted her was because she had seen a vampire face to face, in fact, she was a survivor and he wanted to use some of the things he was sure she knew in his favor to when he killed Damon.
By the time he got there, he noticed she was already sitting there with her hair in a blonde ponytail and a white top.
"Hey" he greeted her
She smiled "Hi"
"So, how are you?" he asked after he ordered his coffee
She tilted her head "We still go to the same school Donovan and you've had plenty of chances to ask me that in the many times we crossed in the hallways"
"Yeah…" he rubbed his hands together "I know, I'm sorry"
She sipped on her coffee "I'm just messing with you"
"Phew!" he pretended to wipe sweat of his forehead "I thought I was in trouble"
She pointed her finger at him "You're on probation" she joked "Well you said you wanted my help…"
He inched closer "I do." He said after thanking the waiter "Umm... Do you remember something unusual at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant last year?"
The girl nodded "Yeah I was one of five girls selected as the final candidates for the Miss Mystic Court. I was surprised to have been selected since I'm not from one of the founding families. I even remember Caroline being so bitter about it" she laughed lightly
Okay, that was not what Matt wanted to hear. He had to dig deeper "And besides that, don't you remember anything else? Something else?"
She was silent for a few moments before replying "No, not really"
He was not convinced "Not even about Stefan?"
Amber blinked twice but tried to remain neutral "What about him? He was Elena's escort"
Matt huffed "That's all you remember?"
"Okay, where are you going with this?" she asked a bit enraged "Where are all this questions coming from? I thought you needed my help Matt!"
"And I do!" he argued "Are you sure that's all you remember?"
"Yes Matt, that's all I remember!" she said through gritted teeth "Last year's Pageant was a beautiful event that I'm honored I was a part of, my parents were very proud and I enjoyed it very much! Any other question?"
He shook his head "You made yourself very clear"
"Good" she said as she grabbed her things and left
Matt glanced at her as she left the shop; by the way she reacted she was hiding something, he was sure.
The Lockwood Estates
"It's beyond me how you managed to throw your party here" Alaric commented as he helped carry yet another box full of decorations
Esther smiled and walked alongside the professor "When it comes to parties Mr. Saltzman, women have a tendency to, as you say nowadays, go with the flow" she smiled "Plus, Carol Lockwood is a very smart business woman, I told her that I'd invite some investors that may want to take interest in our little town"
"And how much of that is true?"
They reached a large room and she tapped the table where Alaric put the box "All of it. It is true that I will invite some investors to this party that is why the Mayor provided her staff to help but, of course, the main objective of this party is to get to know our enemy"
Alaric crossed his arms "We already know our enemy and it's called Damon and Stefan and Caroline"
"And that girl that Anthi" Esther said quietly
"Who?"
Esther smiled "Anthi is a girl that you don't need to worry about… for now"
He narrowed his eyes "Is she a vampire?"
The Original Witch smirked "When the time comes, I'll explain but right now I cannot tell you Mr. Saltzman. Before you protest it is not because I don't trust but because I'm following a plan that was carefully crafted"
He huffed "I'm choosing to trust you on this Esther; I just hope I don't regret it"
She smiled "You won't. Now, I can see all is going as planned as far as the party is concerned"
"I don't know how you were able to pull this off in just a few hours" he said referring to the fact the massive garden was decorated with lights on the trees and small but elegant tables
Esther chuckled "Actually, I had a meeting with the Mayor yesterday and she, being a woman that wants to impress the investors, snapped her fingers and got things done. The invitations are being sent as we speak"
"Do you think they will come?" he questioned. Mystic Falls didn't have the best record when it came to festivities; someone always died or was at least seriously injured.
"I'm sure they will, the founding families have to attend it and wherever Elena goes Damon and the others will follow. They have no idea who I am and since I am doing this with the Mayor they will not suspect a thing. Therefore, it will be the perfect time to make a move" she explained
Alaric spoke in a low voice as the room became crammed with maids "Damon will be gone today?"
"No, but I will do something to make it easier for Matthew to kill him"
"What?"
She led Alaric to an empty room and after closing the door she showed him a plastic bag with herbs inside
"That's vervain" he affirmed
"You're wrong" she said "This is something else, it's called Cerbera Odollam, or how I like to call it, The Suicide Tree."
Suddenly Alaric felt a bit uneasy standing in the same room as Esther "Remind me to stay away from that"
She smiled "This plant is quite toxic to humans. It contains a toxin called cerberin, a potent compound capable of disrupting calcium ion channels in the heart muscle, which can lead to an irregular heart beat that is often fatal if the toxin is ingested in high enough quantities. When applied to vampires, it has the same effect but because they are supernatural, they won't actually die instead they'll become weak and constantly in pain. Have you ever had a heart attack Mr. Saltzman?"
"Never" he answered as he looked closer to the bag
Esther nodded "Well, when a vampire is poisoned with high quantities of this particular plant, its toxins cause several heart attacks, which will lead to on and off states of consciousness. Can you imagine what would be like to constantly have a heart attack? It would drive one's mind crazy"
He shivered "No wonder it's called the suicide tree"
The Original Witch put the bag in her purse "And this is not even my best weapon"
Klaus' Mansion
They all got out of the car except Carla, Caroline and Anthi that used their abilities to get to their destination.
"This is it" Elena announced as she made her way to the door. She slowly pushed it open and it was like watching a murder scene. The huge living room was covered in red and had bodies scattered all around and body parts as well. The smell was too strong and she found herself, unintentionally, stepping on someone's arm that was detached from the rest of the body.
Sookie covered her mouth and nose with her hand to somehow block the smell of dead people and tried to look for Eric or Bill.
"How could I not notice all this blood before?" Elena muttered "We were here, on the night that…" she trailed off
Bonnie ran her hand on her friend's back "You were in shock, you mustn't have paid attention to your surroundings" she tried to explain but she too was finding difficult to watch the bloody scene
Caroline walked around the huge room as memories of that night flooded her mind, she couldn't stay here she had to have some air.
Meanwhile, Anthi went upstairs and found herself in Kol's room. Her hands were shaking as she stepped closer the huge bed and to his body. She avoided looking at his face as she knelt beside him. For a few moments, she just sat there, next to his bed, in absolute silence.
Her mind was a crazy mess. How could she be so upset that he was dead? He had tortured her knowing perfectly that she was pregnant and he had tried to kill her so, why was she so broken? Why was she feeling like a piece of her had been ripped when she barely knew him? Yes, they history together but it was nothing like an epic love story, if anything, it was based on poorly made decisions, lies and violence. How could she not be happy that that was over?
Anthi gulped down and fidgeted with her fingers as she tried to say something but what was she supposed to say? Goodbye? I'm sorry? I miss you? No. None of those options seated well with her so what was she supposed to do?
He was gone, in fact, she was staring at his grayish, dead corpse but she had to do something, right? She had to bring him back because… It didn't matter why she was bringing him back but the fact that she would make it happen.
"I hate you" she said lowly "You- you mess with me, you make me feel like- I don't" she stumbled on her words "You weren't supposed to be like this. I can't –" she tried to organize her thoughts "You hurt me Kol, more than once actually and I know that I hurt you too when I kept secrets from you but… I'm sorry" she whispered and carefully, she touched his cold hand "For everything."
She was silent for moments. She was not sure what she was apologizing for but she certainly feel like she had to do it for some reason.
She had to admit, it hurt seeing him like this. She thought she could handle it but she couldn't even form a proper sentence without stuttering, which was ridiculous. This bastard, the one that got on her nerves so much was the one that was crawling a hole in her chest for some unknown reason! He wasn't supposed to affect her like this!
She chuckled darkly "I have no luck. I really don't. I don't know what to do with you Kol… I'm certain about a lot of things but you are an incognita, I just can't figure you out" she said softly and swallowed the knot that was in her throat "I know one thing for sure; I'll bring you back" she nodded as if to assure him of that fact "I promise. I promise."
"Anthi"
The hybrid looked in the direction where the voice came from and quickly stood up while she wiped her tears "I-I just needed to say something, I had to"
Carla smiled and touched Anthi's arm lightly "It's okay. I just came to tell you that you were right, at least half right; Bill is here but Eric is nowhere to be seen"
"What?" she sprinted down the stairs only to find the Bon Temps' waitress crying her soul out.
Elena was trying to comfort the Halfling but she wasn't having any of it
"You will pay" Sookie threatened as she let go of Bill's dead heart "I swear"
"We had nothing to do with it!" Elena argued
Sookie cleaned her face and looked at the doppelgänger in the eye "I wasn't talking to you but one thing is certain: I'll get my revenge"
Caroline reentered the house after taking a break from all the memories of Klaus' attack "What about Eric?"
"I'll find him, I have my ways" was Sookie's reply before she hastily left the manor.
"Great" Anthi muttered "Now what?"
It was Bonnie that spoke "I have no idea"
Huffing the hybrid said "I have to go"
Mystic Grill
Tyler tilted his head to the side "Why?"
Lana shrugged a shoulder "You know why Tyler, I want to be powerful"
He shook his head "I don't believe you Lana. I mean, after all this time you're coming to me now to turn you and by the way how did you know what I was?"
Lana smiled but it was forced "I have my means, besides I haven't always been clueless about the other things inhabiting Mystic Falls"
"Still" he narrowed his brown eyes "It doesn't explain why you're asking me that now or why do you want it"
"The why doesn't matter Tyler" she was quick to reply "What I'm asking you is a simple task: turn me and then I'll disappear from your life, no harm done"
He chuckled "What you're asking is far from simple Lana. If I do what you want you'll be part of my pack so to speak; now, I can't have people I don't exactly trust inside my trust circle"
"But I don't want to be part of your pack or anything, I just want to be turned" she insisted becoming more and more anxious
Tyler sniffed the air and Lana braced herself – that was a very animalistic behavior. He looked around the pub and noticed no one was paying attention to them so he grabbed her hand and cut her with his claw
"What are you doing?" the red haired girl protested and retrieved her hand "Are you out of your mind?"
He tasted the blood that was on his claw and stated that "You are sick"
The girl tried to play dumb "What?"
"Don't play stupid with me Lana" he spoke in a low tone but still it was menacing "You are sick right? Don't lie to me"
Lana shook her head several times before hoping off the stool she was seating on "I'm done" and was about to leave but Tyler put himself on her way, blocking her
"If you want me to turn you you'll have at least to be honest with me at all time Lana, I'm not fucking around!" he said "You just have to tell me the truth"
She bit her lower lip before replying "I have a rare cancerous brain tumor called pleomorphic xanthroastrocytoma" his face revealed how shocked he was "And before you start judging me, I did search for the best doctors but there's nothing they can do. I've done radiotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor but it was not possible and it has returned."
He crossed his arms, he felt bad for her "I'm sorry and are you sure there's nothing more that can be done?"
She grimaced "I wish there was. The tumor wrapped itself around the main blood vessel in the brain, now making it inoperable. Nobody has enough info about this tumor so they can't give me a prognosis. Which is why I'm asking Tyler, please, turn me"
He took a deep breath and then said "Follow me"
Old Witches House
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Damon asked her as they made their way inside
Anthi nodded "Yes, I'm sure"
"And this Eric guy is still missing and you think Stefan has something to do with it" he hunched
She went downstairs "I'm sure he has something to do with it or that he's at least involved somehow, it can't be coincidence"
The elder Salvatore smirked and kicked Stefan's stomach "Wake up Cinderella"
Stefan winced in pain and spat blood "Fucker!" he stood up and as soon as he saw her he smirked "Oh, look who we have here! How are you Anthi?"
Her jaw ticked but she remained focused on her task "We already know about the deal you made with vampires from Bon Temps"
He was amused "Oh you do now? So fucking what?"
Damon walked closer to his brother "One of the vampires is dead and the other is missing, what would you know about that Stef?"
The other shrugged, not bothering answering the question.
Anthi came up to him "Where's Eric?"
He smiled "Oh so you moved on so fast? What would your dead baby daddy have to say about that awful treason?"
She breathed sharply "Stefan don not play with me! I asked a simple question: yes or no"
Stefan took a step towards her leaving no breathing room between them "Maybe"
"Do you think this is a fucking game?" Damon said mad "Where the fuck is the vampire?"
Stefan scoffed and looked at his brother "How can you even stand there and talk about games when you are the king of bullshit. Playing games is what you do brother, I'm just taking a page out of your own book"
Damon growled and launched himself against his brother "Whatever it is that you're thinking it has to stop. Use your brain goddamit!"
Stefan punched the other vampire hard in the face and managed to break his arm "Don't tell me what to do"
Suddenly, both vampires were shoved against opposite walls, making holes in the fragile structure of the house "Stop it now! Both of you! We don't have time for this!"
The younger Salvatore got up "Yeah you're right so I suggest you get the fuck out of my air before I hurt you"
Her nostrils flared. Who the hell did he think he was to talk to her like that? "I'll leave when I have the answers I want!"
"Spill brother" Damon advised, losing his temper by the second. Still, Stefan doesn't say anything so Damon pierced his hand through his chest and gripped Stefan's heart tight "Now, I know this isn't a comfortable position for you to be in but, Stef, if you don't tell us what we want-"
"You'll do exactly what huh?" he spat "You'll kill me? Damon please, you've had centuries to do so and still here I am. You won't kill your only family"
Damon flashed his smile at his brother "Oh of course I won't kill you, doesn't mean you won't want to be dead after I'm done with you"
"And don't forget" Anthi added "That with just a blink of an eye I can make your life miserable!"
"Try me" he challenged
Damon gripped Stefan's heart tighter as Anthi snapped her fingers, making the young Salvatore shiver uncontrollably and gasp for air "So how about that answer?"
Struggling he said "F-Fuck you!"
Damon retrieved his bloodied hand from his brother chest and told Anthi to "Keep it going until he decides to speak up"
She nodded and followed him as he left the house "Do you think that the real Stefan will break through?"
Damon pierced his eyes at her "He has to. No humanity Stefan has caused nothing but trouble as always and ruins all the good things my brother is"
Later that night…
The Lockwood Estates
"Seriously, the last place I want to be his at a party" Caroline complained as she and her besties walked to the beautifully decorated gardens. There were white lights hanging in the trees, round tables filled with all the types of gourmet food and waiters catering the event. It was actually perfect
"I feel the same about this" Bonnie said "But being here gives us brownie points with the new history teacher" she tried to lightened the mood
Caroline scoffed "The only good thing that can come off of this whole thing is that at least I got to get dolled up, which he haven't done in a while"
The blonde was wearing a white pencil dress with a keyhole cutout on the stomach, her golden locks falling on her shoulder, and she paired her dress with silver shoes. The doppelgänger was wearing a pale pink spaghetti strap dress that was flow-y and feminine. She paired this look with metallic ankle-strap sandals and a high top-knot bun. The petit witch was wearing a beaded strapless white which she paired with pair of white pumps and had her hair donned in a ponytail.
Bonnie sighed "I just hope tonight is drama-free, we've had enough drama for the day"
Caroline clapped her hands together "We have to blend in and act like normal teenagers!" she then noticed that Elena was super quiet "What's gotten into you Elena?"
"Huh?" she replied "I'm sorry, it's nothing, I'm just stressing out for no reason. Blend in – act like normal teenagers – got it"
With that said the girls ventured into the party but before Bonnie could make it to the bar, as she had planned all along, someone snatched her arm "What are you—" she began protesting but stopped when she saw his face
He smiled "Oh hey Bon, cat ate your tongue"
She held her chin high "Let go of me Matt!"
"Aww or what?" he wiggled his eyebrows "I just want to talk. 5 seconds"
She rolled her eyes "I have nothing to say to you. Now, let go of me"
"Listen Bon, what happened the other day was a necessary evil but still I'm sorry" he smiled but it wasn't genuine
"I don't believe you Matt" she spat
"Too bad" he said before letting her go
Another girl came closer to him "Was that supposed to impress me or something?"
The busboy turned around "So you did come to the party after all Amber"
"You said you wanted to apologize" she stated
Matt had a sinister smile "I know you know that what Stefan Salvatore is and I know that you want him to pay for what he did to you. I can help"
She shook her head "I don't know why I keep falling for your tricks. I'm out of here" she turned around to leave but he caught up with her
"I know that you were not part of last year's Miss Mystic Falls because Stefan took you somewhere and attacked you Amber, that's why Damon had to cover up for Stefan and was Elena's escort—" he started
"Stop!" she interrupted him
"You were missing during the whole event because Stefan was hurting you! I'm sure you can still feel his fangs on your neck!" he continued
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" she yelled louder each time as she remembered the attack she tried so hard to forget
He came closer to her and held her face in his hands "He tried to compel you but he wasn't successful was he?"
Amber was on the verge of tears "I told me to not be afraid and he that he was hungry…" she trailed off
"He's going to pay for that but what I need to know is how you were able to fool him for so long, how you were able to make him think you were under compulsion"
She knitted her brows "Why? Why are you asking me this now?"
Matt's blue eyes became ice "Because that was the technique that allowed you to survive for so long while being in the presence of a very volatile vampire, I wanna use that. I want to be able to do what you did with Stefan" and then kill Damon when he least expects it, he wanted to add
"You're going to kill a vampire aren't you?" she questioned "I want in"
A.N.: Tell me what you think!