Hello guys! There comes the new chapter! Nothing much happens in it but I still hope you will like it! Again, a huge thank you to all my readers, reviewers, to all of you who enjoy this story and show it!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Helen is mine, Aaron belongs to HubrisP.

XXI.

"What?" Kol articulated, still shocked.

His ears were tricking him. There was no possibility whatsoever that this stranger was related to him! Even remotely. He would have known it!

"I am well acquainted with all the siblings I happen to actually have! We grew up and died together! (Save for one...) I'd know it if there was another Mikaelson out there! I've been roaming this world for quite some time, now," he paused, assaulted by a thought he had not yet contemplated, "Or are you another result of my mother's infidelity?" The bitch! A second bastard was the only coherent explanation he could think of as of yet.

Aaron shook his head, "I assure you that I am perfectly legitimate! Born from Mikael and Esther, more than a thousands years ago," he explained, perfectly composed.

"Impossible," Kol prompted in a whisper.

"Is it? Think about it Kol, your parents had had a child before they fled to Newfoundland with the colony. Before Elijah. A child who supposedly died from the plague. Me. I was born in Scandinavia fifteen years prior to your birth. Mother bore me almost as soon as she married Father. Don't you remember me? Aaron, your oldest brother?" his voice was nostalgic, almost broken.

The more Aaron spoke, the more memories sprung back in Kol's head. Aaron. The brother who had died too soon for them to be acquainted with. Rebekah even insisted to have his name carved along with the rest of theirs on the wall of their favorite cave.

Aaron.

This was impossible.

He looked up. No wonder he had felt an odd familiarity about him. He was a combination of all of them. Finn's angular face, Elijah's and his chestnut hair, the same shape of eyes as Rebekah's. He was a Mikaelson. In every trait, every tone, every gesture. It laid there, just at the surface, and one only had to reach forward to grab it. He was one of them. The oldest one. The one they pestered their parents to learn more about. The mystery child.

And he was standing right there, in front of him. It made no sense.

"I'm dreaming. This is impossible! Aaron died a long time ago from the plague as a child. My mother was heartbroken. I remember it. You can't be him. You're lying." It's impossible.

"I swear to you, I am not. I'm telling the truth."

"It makes no sense..." Kol repeated, more confused than ever. "What's the sarcophagus about? And how can you be here? It was a thousand years ago! It is technically improbable for you to have survived all those years," he was dreaming, it could not have been otherwise. "Unless you're dead. But the ghost said you were not. Are you dead? What are you?" he was losing his mind.

He just wanted to wake up from this whimsical dream.

As if on cue, Aaron began to speak again, "Let me tell you a little story, about a boy and his cursed family."

The settings around them suddenly changed. They were standing outside what looked like a medieval human camp, "Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was born in a loving family of the Daner tribe."

Before them, a younger version of Esther and Mikael was cooing over a gurgling newborn. Kol felt a lump form in his throat. Aaron spoke again, "His mother was a very young witch, aged not older than sixteen. She was a sweet gentle thing but her husband, the little boy's father, was not a nice man. He was a vile and vindictive brute, caring only for his pride and power."

The settings changed again. The baby was now a small child. Sat in a wooden chair, he was laughing and clapping his chubby hands together happily while various objects floated about the room, "Very soon, the little boy showed an extraordinary gift for magic. The more he grew, the more powerful he became, able to perform difficult spells with an astonishing facility."

The boy was now a bit older, lazily playing with a ball of fire in his hand, "His mother was very proud of him but his father, the power-hungry man, began to see his son as a possible threat. He did not appreciate having someone stronger than he."

The scene altered again. "One day, the little boy – now aged fifteen – witnessed a terrible scene between his parents on his behalf." Although Kol and Aaron were still in the same handcrafted house as before, the little boy had vanished only to be replaced by his parents who appeared to be in the middle of a very vivid argument. He could feel his blood boil. His father would always be the same brute, no matter what epoch. As he was about to hit a crouched and crying Esther, the door burst open and a teenager entered. His eyes were pitched black. He used his magic to throw his father to the other side of the room with extraordinary force, "Willing to protect his mother from his father's wrath, he lost control of his magic and set the village on fire." They were propelled back outside the camp. Huge flames were raising up the night sky, enclosing the village in its orange glow, licking at the houses while panicked-stricken villagers ran in every direction or try to extinguish the fire with buckets of water.

The scene switched to Mikeal and the villagers, a tired Esther in the background. Young Aaron was clutching at his mother feverishly, "The father used the unfortunate event as an argument for his cause. The boy was too dangerous, he said, and had to be put out for the survival of the community. The mother – who did not want to lose her son – tried to argue with him. We do not have to kill him, she said, I can find a way to diminish his powers. But the father would not listen. He was adamant to see the threat disappear and refused the simple constricting spell she proposed. The mother was a sweet thing but she was weak and lived in fear of her husband. Thus, she gave in."

They were now standing in the very cave they actually were. Esther was at a small fire, throwing herbs in it and chanting. Across the fire pit, Mikeal and some villagers were forcing a crying Aaron into a huge Sarcophagus. "Nevertheless, she knew the secrets of dark magic and was able to find an alternate solution; instead of death, she would lock him out of time and space, in a consecrated sarcophagus. The boy would never die, only sleep for all eternity, his magic forever annihilated. The boy cried and pleaded for mercy but received none. His father and some men of the village whom he had known his whole life buried him alive whereas his mother performed the needed incantation." Kol gulped, this reminded him too much of Niklau's fate.

The scene altered again. Kol recognized the place immediately. It was the village he was born in. Esther was teaching baby Niklaus to walk while young Elijah and Finn played around with sticks. "The parents fled to create a new family on a new continent afterwards, far away from the poor forsaken boy, buried forever under the Sea. To make sure the situation never duplicate, the mother cast a spell on every of her new children, ensuring their magic gene would remain dormant always. Meanwhile, the boy albeit asleep kept some of his mental abilities and managed to follow the life his parents had replaced him with. A happy and fruitful life full of joy and hope. Until one day."

Henrik's death replayed in front of Kol's powerless eyes and he wished he could have left this Hell already. He had not seen his youngest brother in centuries and to see him again, mauled and sprayed in the dirt next to a devastated Niklaus was just more than he could bear.

Aaron's voice resonated again, "The youngest child was killed by a bunch of beasts. Once again, the mother – weak and submissive – obeyed her husband's command and she used the same dark magic as she had to immortalize her son twenty-two years before. Only this time, her despair made her go even further." He saw Ayana argue with Esther, "Her friend tried to put some sense into her. You will create a plague, she warned, but the mother did not listen."

He saw himself along with his siblings drink the cursed wine. He saw himself try to escape his father's folly as the latter began to murder them all. He saw Niklaus step forward to protect Rebekah. He saw Mikeal win. He saw himself fall. His human self. He felt bile raise in his throat. His breath had gotten irregular, "And the boy saw his mother cast the most horrendous spell there ever was, unable to intervene from his sealed Sarcophagus. She thought she was protecting her children instead of which she doomed them all for all eternity, turning them into ravenous monsters." He saw Niklaus, Rebekah, Finn, Elijah and himself drain innocent humans of their life.

"The end," Aaron finished with a sarcastic smile.

Silence ensued as the settings went back to normal. Every nerve in Kol was throbbing. His head was buzzing. He felt on the verge to faint. All those memories suddenly pierced through the thick layers of cracked blood under which he had buried them for so long he could not even remember when the changes in him precisely started. The sensation was unpleasant and made his head swim, as if a twister had sucked him up. The face of his human's self still haunted him. It mocked him with its innocence, its virginity; this human version of himself filled with dread at the mere idea to kill – miles away from the character he later became. He felt inwardly violated and shameful, as if a traitor to his own persona. Not to forget all the answers Aaron's explanation had provided for the dozens of questions he had spent centuries musing about.

His mother was a witch and yet, out of the six children she bore, none of them cultivated the magical tradition. Oh! It had seemed odd to them, of course. He clearly remembered Rebekah naively ask their mother why her powers had still not developed. No wonder why they never did! Esther had restricted them to make sure it never happened! The bitch! One could say she wanted to protect her children and spare them her first born's tragic fate but he knew better! As for the immortality spell, it obviously was a simple modification of the spell she had used on Aaron; an improvement – a folly.

"Do you believe me now?" Aaron's soft voice cut him off his thoughts.

He looked up, startled. The wizard – his brother – was watching him expectantly.

He had probably heard his thoughts for he said, "I am positive Mother was convinced she was doing the right thing, that she was protecting you."

Kol looked down, "Whatever..." he remained silent for a short while, "Why keep your existence a secret? Why only reveal yourself now?"

"Although my mind abilities still allow me to see the external world, I cannot communicate with it. It took me centuries to find a solution to get in contact with you. Without Merope's help, I might have never been able to achieve it."

"And what if Silas had never been an impending threat? What then?"

"Let's just say that Silas was a fortunate coincidence."

Kol remained thoughtful. Although he wished he could have said otherwise, the young man's story did make sense. His parents had highly proven how much of a parental disaster they were when they decided to turn their children into monsters only to circumvent a pride issue; locking their out of control first born in a cave did not sound that crazy.

"I'm your only chance, Kol," Aaron reminded him when Kol's answer took time to come.

The vampire turned his attention back on his brother. Aaron was right. Without the wizard's help, they were doomed. Yet, Kol could not help but be skeptical of setting the ancient warlock free. He had been considered too dangerous to be kept alive after all...

"Come on, Kol," Aaron tried to ease his mistrust, "My only fault was to oppose Father. You, more than anyone, know how vindictive he can be."

Point taken! Mikeal was a model of intolerance, nothing was new here. He thought about the whole surreal situation for a few minutes, pausing the pros and cons. On one hand he was about to let himself trust a complete stranger – who happened to be particularly hooked on voodoo tricks – but on the other hand, Aaron's help would be valuable in defeating Silas – the official threat.

That did not exactly leave him a wide range of choices.

He sighed and decided to cooperate, "Alright. Where should I find you?"

Aaron smiled, "I am kept prisoner in a cave, on the shores of the Baltic sea."

"Uh... That makes a lot of water!" Did he really expect the vampire to find him in such a spread-out area?

"I believe you call the land Denmark nowadays. But do not worry. I shall guide you to me. We are linked, remember?"

Kol's mouth twisted in a grimace, "Yeah..." he did not exactly appreciate the idea of being linked to someone – especially some obscure warlock who claimed to share a direct bloodline with him.

"It's only temporary," Aaron reassured him, "Until you find me."

"And then, what's next?"

A hard look crossed the warlock's features, "Then we shall pay Silas a visit on his island and I will destroy him for good!"

Kol nodded. In theory, the plan did not sound too complicated. Only one thing remained vague.

"What about you? Once Silas is destroyed, what will you do?"

Aaron offers a shrug, "I shall be free. Perhaps I could try to claim my life back... I have never had chance to live after all..."

Kol nodded again in understanding.

"So," Aaron spoke again, "Do we have an agreement?"

"I suppose we do..." he agreed reluctantly, "My, Elijah will go all family mush when he knows about you!" he huffed when the thought crossed his mind.

Aaron chuckled softly, "I look very forward to finally meeting you all as well! This has been my greatest wish for the past millennium."

Kol cleared his throat, feeling misplaced in the sudden surge of sentiment, "Yeah... That's... uh... sweet!"

Aaron smiled, apparently amused by Kol's nervousness, "I think it's time for us to part. I shall use our connection to guide you to me."

The vampire swallowed, "Yeah, let's do that!"

He saw Aaron's head bend as a goodbye and he was back in the room, Jeremy's concerned eyes looming over him.

"There you are!" Jeremy exclaimed when he saw him open his eyes, "You've been gone for hours, dude!"

Kol blinked in confusion. His head felt heavy, as if filled with lead. He stood up on his elbows and sent Jeremy a coy smile, "Oh! My little Jerbear's been all worried about his little Koldron! How sweet!"

Jeremy's concerned expression immediately turned ice cold, "Already told to stop with that damn nickname!"

Kol's smile widened, "Whatever you say, my Darling!" he winked at him and saw with delight the boy blush. He closed his eyes and hummed the sweet fragrance of blood that had invaded the air. Just then he realized how hungry he actually was. Starving, even! He also remembered Jeremy's offer and the force of his double appetite for the boy made him growl.

When he reopened his eyes, Jeremy had taken a few steps away and looked ready to flee. He was afraid. Kol's prominent dark veins probably could account for his sudden change of heart.

Unfortunately the boy's fear did not will his hunger and arousal away. Quite contrary so.

In a flash, he was mere millimeters away from the boy's flushed face, humming the delicious scent of his skin. His hands had gripped his forearms and their bodies were pressed against each other. He let his mouth trail along the boy's neck, feeling his fangs pierce through his gums.

He had to control himself! He was too hungry to be satisfied with only a few mouthful of blood. If he bit the boy, given his current predicament, he would not let him go alive.

He looked him straight in the eye. The kid's eyes were bulging. His lips brushed against his slowly. He could feel Jeremy's hot ragged breath enter his own mouth. He aspired and swallowed it, drinking him in. He brought his mouth to the kid's ear and touched his lobe with the tip of his tongue. Jeremy's breath caught in his throat. He could smell sweat perspiring from the pores of his clammy skin.

"Don't. Blush!" he articulated in a low voice in the boy's ear before abruptly tearing himself away from the warm body.

He heard Jeremy let out the breath he had been holding all their little exchange long.

"What happened?" the boy called after him, "Did you meet the guy?"

The heavy arousal which floated around the room suddenly fell flat. Kol's expression and mood turned sour. He wished his encounter with Aaron had been nothing but a bad dream.

"I did..." he replied grumpily.

"So?" Jeremy inquired.

So I learned my parents have deceived me yet another time. I saw myself as a human all over again and it made me want to die.

He stopped and buried his hands in his pockets.

"So, I'm leaving on a Silas chase with the man and you are free to go," he announced without turning back.

"So, that's it!" the boy replied behind him, "It ends, just like that?

"How is it suppose to end?"

"I don't know..." the boy stopped talking. Just as Kol set about leaving the room, Jeremy spoke again, "It's just weird! Who's that guy? How did he convince you to follow him?! And so fast? I mean, you don't even know him!"

He's my brother, "I don't want to talk about it. Just go before I change my mind!"

He wanted the boy to stay. He wanted him to say that he wanted to stay.

Instead of which Jeremy replied, "You promise that you won't go after my friends?!"

Seriously? The kid still distrusted him?

"Trust me, I have better things to do than going after a bunch of hormonal teenagers!"

He did not wait for an answer and left the room. He went out hunting. The kill would lift his spirit, he thought. However, although he fed on three people, his heart was not in it. He simply fed, swallowed blood, in a rather automatic fashion. For once, he did not revel in the kill. His thoughts were occupied by a much darker topic. He could not stop thinking about his brother, the forsaken wizard. The rage he felt toward his parents was unequaled. The betrayal eating at his heart felt as raw as the day he was killed and turned. Esther and Mikeal had lied to him, to them all! They had founded their family on a lie.

When he went back to the flat, it was silent. Helen was still working, Jeremy probably gone. He sniffed the air. The boy's scent was faint. He was gone. Kol felt his heart swell painfully in his chest. He went to the kitchen to feed a starving Chloe; the dog's warmth being a sweet comfort, her big butterfly ears tickling the bare skin of his arms. He then made his way to the dark living room with a pout and began to sulk as he slumped into the sofa still bathed in the ghost of the Hunter's presence without turning the lights on.

He remained like that for a while, pensive and dejected, plunged into the darkness of the cold and silent apartment. Jeremy was gone. Again. Those past two weeks had been a waste! They had been together twenty for seven and yet barely enjoyed each other's company! And now it was too late. How depressing! He suddenly felt very empty. But what other choice did he have? He wished the kid really had wanted to stay with him, on his own free will, without the excuse of being a prisoner. Of course, he had not. He had chosen to run away from the Beast as soon as the opportunity presented itself! Smart kid!

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely registered the click of the front door. It was probably Helen coming back from work. He sniffed the air and stiffened, slightly taken aback. What was the kid doing back there? Had he forgotten something?

He hardly looked when Jeremy sat on the couch next to him. What was going on exactly?

"You should be gone," he noted, annoyed to have mourned him for nothing.

"I was. And then I realized that I couldn't let you go on that quest without me! So I came back."

Kol frowned, "I'm an Original, Jeremy! I don't need a Hunter baby sitter!"

"I know that! But I need the cure! And I need to make sure you won't screw it up!"

Kol felt as if there were small characters in his heart, kicking it with sadistic delight, "Your precious cure..." Of course! He suddenly noticed his car keys on the coffee table before them, "You stole my car?"

Jeremy shrugged, "I needed to get home somehow!"

Kol frowned, outraged, "With my car?" How very rude!

The kid shrugged again, "You're a vampire! You don't really need it!"

"Still, I'm quite attached to it! It took quite some compulsion work to make it mine!"

Jeremy snorted disdainfully, "Whatever!" They remained silent for a while, glued on their respective spot, not touching nor looking at each other until Jeremy's voice raised again in the dark, "I'm coming with you!" he asserted.

"No you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

Kol huffed, "Look, if I have to set a very ancient and powerful warlock free in order to destroy an obscure Entity, I won't be able to look after you!"

It was Jeremy's turn to scoff, "I don't need a baby-sitter either!"

"You're human and you're sixteen! Of course you need a baby-sitter!" Kol replied matter-o-factually.

"I'm coming with you and that's final!"

"No! You're not! You're gonna get your cute little bum back home and stay there until I make of Silas a footnote in history!"

"And let you jeopardize the only chance I have to get my sister back? Forget about it! I'm coming!"

Kol put his fingers to his temples. The kid was giving him a migraine!

"Jeremy, my Darling, you are not coming!"

"And how are you gonna stop me? You can't compel me!" he replied smugly.

Kol's head pounded, the migraine had arrived!

"I can't believe it! I have set you free after two weeks of captivity and instead of enjoying it and running to hide under your sister's skirts, you're still here, pestering me like a little puppy in need of attention! You are very touched!"

"I have my reasons!" Jeremy replied – he sounded somewhat offended.

"Yeah, I know! The cure! Seriously, Jeremy! Did it never occur to you that maybe your cure was nothing but a fictional bait?! The only idea of a cure for vampirism being buried away with what could be the very first Immortal for thousands of years is ludicrous! We don't even know if he's a vampire!"

"Just because you're shit scared for your life doesn't mean I need to forsake the small hope I have to actually save my sister!"

"We've already had this conversion!" Kol moaned while rubbing his aching forehead.

"Besides, I'm one of the Five" Jeremy ignored him, "As such, it's my Hunter duty to go with you."

Oh! The treat! Now he was playing it all heroic!

"Yes except that you're a kid and barely able to hold a stake the right way up!"

"Damon trained me!" he defended himself.

Kol snorted, "Yeah! Just my point!"

Jeremy huffed, "Well, why won't you train me then?!" he proposed.

"Because we don't have time for that!" he replied tit for tat, although the prospect did sound pleasant.

"Well that's too bad! We'll have to make do with my current training!"

Kol sighed, exasperated, "I have done you a kindness," he began, fatigued. "That doesn't happen very often. Why can't you just enjoy it?!"

"Because I have other priorities and given that you can't compel or kill me you can't really stop me."

Cute, stubborn and arrogant! The kid really was building up his resume!

"I could knock you out for hours though..." he proposed warningly.

"Then do it, cause I ain't gonna change my mind!" Jeremy replied calmly.

The vampire sighed and shook his head in disbelief. Would have it been anyone else, he would have crashed their head against the coffee table without remorse or hesitation. But with Jeremy, nothing was never simple.

"And I'm the one who's supposed to be Evil..." Kol mumbled. When Jeremy remained silent Kol spoke again, defeated, "Alright! Let's go before my adorable siblings or yours find us!"

"But they'll be able to locate us anyway, without the salt..."

Kol rolled his eyes, unnerved by the boy's smart mouth, "All the more reason why we shouldn't dawdle here!"

He grabbed the car keys, the kid on his tracks. He could not believe he was dragging a human with him on a suicide mission; because yes, to blindly follow an "immortal" stranger claiming to be your long lost brother – and actually believe him – was a suicide mission.

"Where are we going?" Jeremy asked, sounding oddly excited – this kid really had issues.

"Europe!" he replied just before he briefly stopped.

"Cool!"

He turned to face the boy, "Jeremy, although I appreciate your rather inappropriate enthusiasm, we're not going on a honeymoon! This is a very dangerous mission and I can't guarantee we'll all make it out alive! So I will need you to do exactly as I bid! Got it?"

Jeremy scoffed, irritated, "I'm not stupid!" Kol sent him a pointed look, "What about Helen though?" he asked, "She will find us gone when she comes back!"

"I'll text her!"

"You have her number?"

"She's my human pet! Of course I have her number!" Kol replied as he rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the question.

He seized the doorknob and turned it. The door opened. He froze.

"Good evening brother!" a voice greeted him.

Kol gulped with difficulty as he took in the murderous looking man blocking his way out, "Elijah..."

Elijah's mouth stretched into a sardonic smile and Kol felt his blood run cold.

Oh! Bollocks!

Yeah! My baby has arrived! I hope you liked it! Stay tuned!