Thirty-seven
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"Orh, bummer, I did specify no mushrooms."
The Gemini leader winces and uses a fork to get rid of the unwanted ingredients. He is sitting at the Salvatore's kitchen table, feeling a lot like it's his home, and the others are staring at him, arms folded across their chests for the most part, not quite happy with his easiness. "Dig in," he says, nodding toward the untouched boxes piled up next to him, "shy people die thin."
Elena walks in and comes to a halt when seeing the witch. She tilts her head in suspicion and glances at Damon, confused.
"I thought we were only getting Andy back; what is he doing here?"
Damon opens his mouth but Kai beats him to it, "Surprise, surprise, Elena; turns out Bon-Bon was more into leaving me in than letting her out. And people are glaring at me for some reason. Miss me?"
"That's not exactly what happened," Damon objects sternly.
"Isn't it?" the witch asks, his mouth full of pizza. The vampire winces and Bonnie sighs.
"Kai hijacked Andy's ride," she explains.
"Of course, I did," he whispers wearily, not losing his smile but focusing on his pizza.
"That's it, I'm out of here; I can't stomach to watch him gloat while Andy's still back there."
Bonnie makes for the door but it violently shuts closed before her. They all start and imitate her when she turns her face to Kai, who is patiently sucking some tomato sauce off his thumb.
"Actually, you're not leaving just yet."
"What do you think you're doing?" she grits, and Elena and Damon imperceptibly shift their position so as to be ready to lunge and protect her from him if needs be.
"Relax, I'm not going to attack Bonnie; though it did break my heart when you stabbed me in the back, repeatedly, before leaving me to die."
"Why does that scenario sound familiar?" she wonders, obviously faking.
"I did apologize for that. Anyway, all I need is your blood. Not all of it; I'll settle for a phial or a mug, I don't care in what kind of container you put it."
"Are you crazy?"
"Look, you had one job today, it was to retrieve Andy from 1903 and keep me trapped; final scores? I'm over here and she's over there. Now I'm not taking the chance of you not showing up in twelve days, for whatever reason you might have. Hand over the blood."
"I'm not giving you my blood."
"Jared? A little help here?"
The stern Lightbringer furrows his brow and assesses the witch for a moment. Kai holds his gaze in a very confident way, like he knows he's right anyway, and Jared dislikes that very much, but he's been here long enough to know anything could get in the way of a well-orchestred plan. Arms still folded, he exhales and slightly nods to the Gemini.
"He's right; we can't be too reckless with this. Give him your blood, Bonnie; I'll make sure he stays out of your way and sticks to the plan."
Bonnie frowns at him, then looks at the others for help. Damon and Alaric look to the ground, which means they agree with Jared – shocker –, Liv is busy glaring at her brother, and Elena gives her an unsure shrug. She finally complies, grabbing a knife in a drawer and cutting her hand over a clean mug. The Gemini grins at her and gives Jared a conniving wink.
"Now what I'm dying to know," he says, pushing a pizza box toward Alaric and one toward Damon, who both eye it with envy but won't condescend to eat with him, "is why in the worlds did it take you so long to come and rescue us. I mean– her."
Some of them exchange uneasy glances but they won't speak. Kai turns to Liv, offering her a slice of pizza, which she declines with despise. "I don't really blame the others, I don't know how much you guys care for her, but I must say I am disappointed in you, little sis. I mean, your friend goes missing and after a reasonable amount of time – let's say a week or even three – you realize she's stuck in a prison world with your evil big brother. How do you not come sooner?" The curly-blond witch glares at him.
"It wasn't easy," she grits, casting a glance over at Bonnie.
"Easy?" he repeats, arching an eyebrow. "Come now, Livvie Pooh, I taught you how to play Gator Golf when you were a kid and you wouldn't settle for less than a crushing victory – which never happened, of course."
"Thank you, for the trip down Memory Lane," she spits with sarcasm, ignoring the pang in her chest, "but I'm done talking to you." She gives a circular look and says, "I'll come back tomorrow to work on fixing the ascendant more permanently."
"No, you won't."
"Excuse me?"
"We'll come to why this world's ascendant is a mess in a minute, but I'll take care of fixing it. You are to blissfully resume school and work, and not mind whatever happens here. You'll come back to help on operation rescue 2.0 in twelve days but in the meantime, I don't want to see you anywhere near this house." Brows raise at this tranquil command and Liv gapes at her brother, half with surprise and half with anger.
"You don't get to tell me what to do–"
"Actually, I do," he smiles, "I'm your leader now, and as your leader, I order you to go back to your life until D-day. Now don't challenge my authority, little sis, because I'll have to make it very unpleasant for you and you know you're gonna end up obeying me anyway, so…"
He takes another bite, unbothered, and tilts his head, watching her until she leaves, definitely angry. Right after that, Bonnie abruptly sets the mug with her blood on the table and grabs Elena's hand before leaving as well. "Look at that," Kai rejoices, "we're on for a guys' night. Come on, don't scowl like that, you know you want some of that pizza. And we don't have to share with the ladies now."
Jared scowls, assessing, and Kai starts thinking this might be a Lightbringer trait, while Alaric and Damon share a glance, before the latter shrugs and opens a box. "So. What's the deal with the ascendant?" Damon takes a bite while Alaric gives in and steps forward, opening a box as well.
"It went under a little destruction spell," the blue-eyed vampire explains.
"Huh. Cast by whom?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Come on, Damon; Andy and I have bets going on." They all look up and frown, processing his words, and the witch shrugs, focusing on his slice. "You didn't expect us to divide the world in two and each take half, did you?"
"Maybe not, but you've been awfully intent on helping her out tonight. What are you up to?"
"The same thing I was up to when I helped you give Bonnie that message in '94, or when I helped Jeremy save her. I actually risked my life for that," he specifies to Jared.
The Lightbringer arches a brow and finally accepts the slice Alaric is offering him.
"If you're trying to win me over," Jared warns calmly, "it's not gonna work."
"Yeah, I know, impartiality and all that. I'm just helping you get the bigger picture here, since you'll probably end up monitoring me full-time when this is all over."
"Are you?" Damon arches a brow at the hunter.
"Things might turn out that way," Jared carefully answers and Kai rolls his eyes.
"According to Andy, she'll get suspended as soon as she comes back. Alice will be left with no one she can trust but her sweet husband here to watch me. Aren't I a lucky little witch?"
All three men wince in incomprehension and disbelief across the table, and the leader chuckles.
"How in the hell do you know so much about clan stuff?" Alaric asks, "You and Andy were never friends."
"We learned to compose with each other," Kai smiles to himself.
"Last time I checked, you were trying to kill each other," the professor points out.
"Come on, Rick, that was first, second and third date. We're basically BFFs now." Damon snorts and glances converge to him.
"Just saying, you merged with her actual best friend until death did them part, I'm not sure where any kind of friendship could stand in the midst of that – assuming friendship is a concept you know about." The witch gives him a look.
"Well, you experienced it yourself, Damon. One minute, you and Bon-Bon are at each other's throats and the next– or rather, after four months of captivity and bickering in '94, you guys are best friends."
"Not comparable," the vampire squints.
"Back to the ascendant, please," the witch calls for, "or to the story of how it took you forever to react; your choice." Damon cracks his neck left and right and grabs another slice of pizza, watching the melted cheese stretch until it cuts.
"Let's say it took us a while to realize she was trapped. We didn't know she'd come at all, we thought she'd stayed back in 2013. When we got back and didn't see her, we assumed she'd just left–"
"With which car, we carpooled on the way here."
They all ignore Jared's arched brow at Kai's words and Damon continues.
"I know, I know; Jared here gave us a proper dress down because it's not like her, she would have seen her witches through the end and blah blah blah, we get it. The thing is, we had a lot on our plates, with my mother being back from the dead, Stefan and Caroline's humanities to trigger back on–"
"Oh, how did that go?" the witch asks, genuinely interested.
"Will you stop interrupting me?" Damon snaps, "It went as bad as it could; bottom line is: we got them back. In the meantime, your little sis Twinderella started asking around about Andy, after going a few days without seeing her or having news." The vampire walks up to the fridge, pulling out fresh beers: first three, and then another one. He comes to settle back on his stool and starts sipping his beverage.
"And?" Kai asks, taking one.
"And nothing. The last we'd seen of her, she was in the living room and now she was nowhere to be found. Her car was at her dorm, her things were over there, her suitemates didn't know anything about an unexpected trip home and it's not like we could reach out to her family. When Liv suggested she could have went through to 1903, I laughed at her."
The witch clenches his jaw when remembering the moment; that moment when he saw them all disappear in that flash of white light, leaving him alone forever in the snow. He pushes the memory away and focuses on Damon's voice. "…started to think she might actually be there. Now we discussed getting her out but things were a little tense."
"Do explain."
"First, in order to get my mother to agree to help trigger Stefan's humanity back, I had to relinquish the 1903 ascendant to her for safe keeping. She wanted – and still wants, by the way – to let her crazy friends out of jail. Now I was thinking about maybe suggesting a deal for another trip or something, just to get Andy back and leave everybody else to rot, obviously," he gives Kai a fake smile and the witch returns it, "but when Bonnie ended up stealing it back from my mother, she made sure no one could ever use it again."
"She destroyed it," Kai whispers.
"That she did," Damon confirms, watching the witch's reaction intently.
"That's why it looks like that."
The witch wipes his hand on a napkin and fishes the artifact out of his pocket. It looks like someone tried to force the wrong pieces of a puzzle together and called it a day. He tilts his head, noticing which pieces were assembled the wrong way, and nods to himself, knowing he can fix it. Damon slightly frowns: no rage, no explosion of anger. What's his game?
"Anyway, the ascendant was broken, the question was settled: there was no getting anyone out of 1903. And then," he says, clasping Jared's shoulder, making the latter start and freeze while he was about to take another bite, "our new friend here comes about, asking questions about Andy, and we all got a little busy trying to lay low while not triggering a major conflict between all of our species and the oh-so-deadly community of witch hunters. You get the picture."
"I tried to keep my cover rolling as long as I could," Jared says, holding his beer, "but it seemed like everybody here knew about Lightbringers and expected someone like me to show up. I tried to peacefully get your sister Liv to talk to me, but she disappeared on me–"
"And that's how you found out she wasn't the new leader after all," the witch whispers to himself.
"You knew Andy has been lying to her clan?" Alaric exclaims, voicing everybody's surprise.
"Even we didn't know that," Damon mumbles.
"I only found out recently," the witch admits, rubbing the back of his neck, while the others look at him with disbelief, "And lying is a bit strong here; she merely withheld information and Alice jumped to the conclusion that Liv was the new leader." All three gape at him from across the table. Is he defending her now?
"Anyway, they finally worked up the courage to send a pregnant woman to talk to me," Jared resumes, giving Damon the same sideway glance as Alaric's, "and explain that Andy was trapped in a prison world, with you."
"I can picture the big brother inside you stirring up to that," the witch jokes and Jared tilts his head in agreement.
"After a lot of talking with your sister Jo, I got her to help me get Andy back, if I made sure you stayed put–"
"Shocker," Kai whispers, lowering his gaze.
"So I procured her the broken ascendant and she started working on it. When she failed, I procured her your other sister, so she'd get help. They approximately assembled it back, saying it would hold–
"Loveliest days of my life," Alaric mutters with sarcasm and they all nod, picturing Liv and Jo working together on something.
"Then," Damon resumes, "it was all about talking Bonnie into this, which took time, and also keeping my lovely mother at bay so she wouldn't find out."
"And then," Alaric adds, "it was about waiting for a recurring celestial event to come up, while making sure everybody was kinda still on board. We missed one when Enzo tried to steal the ascendant–"
"Again," Damon cuts in at the insistent look his friend gives him, "I am not responsible for Enzo choosing to side with my mother. How could I have guessed she was the one to turn him in 1903?"
"Anyway," Jared says, growing impatient of these two bickering constantly, "we got the ascendant back and waited for our next shot. Since there were two in a row, Bonnie suggested we locate Andy first and then work from there."
"Hence the phone call."
"What were you doing at the swimming pool anyway?" Damon winces.
"Getting a nice tan for summer, obviously," Kai retorts. He crumples his napkin and throws it in his empty box, taking a sip before speaking. "So now, I'm gonna have to properly fix the ascendant and wait for Dee-day, all the while remaining discreet in the eyes of your mother." He nods to himself, thinking. "Actually, we never saw each other; my staying here wouldn't pose a problem, right?"
Damon opens his mouth but no sound comes out. Usually, he would not mind for an important ally to stay in his house for a little while, it's not like they overcrowd easily with seven bedrooms, but this is Kai Parker we're talking about; he's not even an ally.
"If he stays here, I stay here," Jared calmly announces and the vampire straightens up, rolling his eyes.
"Come on, Jar, you could ask more politely." The Lightbringer watches Kai before taking another sip. His brain is working full speed as he tries to figure out how in the world he ended up eating pizza and drinking beer with the one person he knew to be the enemy. The guy doesn't even look threatening or dangerous, and his reactions would lead a stranger to conclude he's friends with Andy and truly wants her back. This is beyond him.
"I don't own a hotel; you have your apartment downtown McKinley and you have… whatever you have."
"A room at a motel," Jared answers.
"Look, I'm not looking forward to living under the same roof as people who cordially loathe me, Damon, but you can't deny it's a strategic place when it comes to the cave and to setting up that portal. I'm gonna have to work on it, try stuff. Staying here is simply more convenient."
"He has a point," Alaric agrees, his arms folded, "besides, if we unleash him in McKinley, he's very likely to run into Jo, or Liv, or Bonnie and that would get ugly."
The vampire winces unhappily, knowing his friend gave a low blow here.
"Alright," he gives in, "you can stay here where I can keep my eyes on you; and you get to monitor your witch."
"Just so we're clear," Kai points out, "I'm not his witch."
Damon gives him a look, signaling he doesn't care, and stands up, "I'll get two rooms ready for you."
"Also," Kai adds, turning to Alaric, "I'm gonna need to talk to my sister."
"Yeah, that's not happening."
"Says who?"
"Says me. And her, as soon as she hears of it."
"Look, I get that she doesn't want your munchkin anywhere near me–"
"You knew she's pregnant?" Damon asks in disbelief, before turning a scandalized eye to Alaric, "I thought I was the first one to know, what happened to bros first?"
"Technically, I'm her bro, and I was the first one to know," Kai smiles at him, "I'm the one who told Jo in the first place."
"Yeah, and Elena figured it out before you even knew, which makes you third."
"Actually, it makes him fifth," Kai points out and Damon frowns unhappily.
"Anyway," Alaric stresses with a look at Kai, "she's not seeing you."
"Look, I don't want to hurt her or whatever, I have no reason to. I just need her to pick up the phone and ask our dad about Lily's cellmates; I'm pretty sure there were vampires involved, rippers even, but I need to know more: who they are exactly, how many of them–"
"You won't need Jo," Damon cuts in, "we already know all that." The witch cocks his head, his attention now fully on the vampire.
"Jo did call her dad– I mean, your dad," Alaric explains, "and turns out Lily's friends–"
"She calls them her family," Damon snorts with a disgusted wince.
"…are not just regular rippers like her. They're Gemini heretics." They all see Kai's face fall at the news, and from that alone, they know he is well aware what heretics are.
"What?" he lets out.
"Relax, I saw them while we were over there," Damon easily says, "They're all desiccating in a dark part of the cellar."
"No, they're not." The vampire frowns at that and they all start suspecting the reason for Kai's sudden unrest.
"What do you mean, 'they're not'?"
"Andy and I searched the entire house when she heard them. There was no one in the cellar."
"There were six of them." Kai lowers his wide eyes to the table and runs a hand over his mouth, thinking fast, while Damon glances at the other two with discomfort, "Well, they couldn't have gone far, right?"
"Besides," Alaric adds, in order to reassure both the hunter and the witch, "they've been out of blood for some time; like Damon said, they were desiccating."
"But you said heretics could feed both on magic and on blood," Jared counters, "because they're vampires with the magical abilities of witches."
"They're siphoners, just like Kai," Damon explains, "who were turned into vampires. Their vampirism endlessly fuels their witchcraft. But hey, Andy isn't defenseless, okay? She's just like you, only tougher. She won't let nearly-dead witchpires best her in a fight."
"But there's only so much that we can do with our abilities–"
"She has the strengths, the speed, and she fights like crazy. Nothing's getting that woman down."
"Her advantages go null if she faces them," Kai realizes in a whisper, and the others look back at him; they almost forgot him. "They're fast and strong just like her, but they have the advantage of magic. If they take her by surprise and feed on her, or on magic–"
"Hold on", Damon interrupts, "there is no magic for them to feed on."
He knows that because Andy was the one to tell him once, when he asked why Kai hadn't thought about sucking out her magic. She told him her supernatural abilities were indeed the fruit of magic, but she didn't always have it with her, it was more of a spring she could choose to tap from, and though the siphoner could probably sense the magic inside her, it was too diffuse and going about too fast in and out her body for him to absorb it.
Damon tells them exactly that, because this is how he knows she is in no danger from the siphoners' abilities. Yet, he doesn't quite understand the horror shimmering in the Gemini's eyes. That's exactly what could get Jared to panic as well, and they don't need him to be more annoying than he's been. "You hear me? They don't stand a chance against her; they don't have magic to draw from."
"I need to get to 1903; now," the witch says, pale as a ghost.
His panic doesn't go unnoticed and as he gets up, Jared is the one to hold his arm with an inquiring look.
"Hey, what are you not telling us?"
"I warded the house with magic."
.
Aster's quick word: Hi! Boy, I had so much fun writing this one! I love to have Kai interact with other people, especially the guys, who can basically pick a fight and despise one another, and then eat pizza and share a drink xD
I hope you enjoyed today's chapter, I'll be seeing you on Wednesday for the next one!
Bonne journée,
- Aster