Chapter 50 - Alibi
alibi. noun. ~ a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically criminal, has allegedly taken place.
KLAUS' POINT OF VIEW:
Approximately twenty-seven minutes and eight seconds had passed since Elijah and—much to my dismay—Finn had departed for Mystic Falls. Staying behind was torture, but my noble brother was convinced that it was for the best, that my daughter would be safer if I stayed away until they were sure that Mikael was not among the bodies back from the Other Side. I'd begrudgingly agreed and told Elijah that he had better not screw it up. I'd also threatened the censorious Finn with a miserable fate should he fail in his task to rescue my daughter. Elijah seemed to have adopted a relatively neutral sentiment towards our eldest brother; however, I remained entirely displeased. He had sided with Esther against his own siblings, he'd been willing to watch us all die. I would never trust him, and I certainly would never tolerate Finn inserting himself into Fiona's life. If he considered vampires an abomination of nature, then my tribrid child would be seen as downright blasphemous.
I paced the length of the living room, in somewhat of a trance as I pondered over contingency plans and waited for Elijah to call with an update. I knew it would be hours before I heard anything, but that didn't keep me from maintaining a vigilant eye on the phone. Every drop of my self-control went to the effort of refraining from slipping into a violent madness, and I questioned several times why I even bothered resisting. Then, I looked to my right and was reminded of the answer. Camille was perched at the end of the couch, close enough to bring me comfort but also giving me space to think. She knew I was struggling with this, and I knew she was going to get me to talk about it. I hated the idea of conversating my woes, but she was a skilled therapist that cracked my resolve every single time. Her prying—however gentle—made it all the more difficult to not go off on a bloody rampage.
"Something on your mind?" Cami gently inquired.
"Nope," I replied stiffly.
She looked doubtful. "Really? There's nothing you want to talk about?"
"Some weather we're having."
She rolled her enchanting green eyes. "Don't get cute. What about your daughter? She's out there right now."
My heart squeezed painfully. "A fact that weighs upon me every second I'm forced to stay away from her. I feel mad, and like I'm doing the wrong thing by not making haste to Mystic Falls, but Elijah, the brother that has made my salvation his personal quest in life, seems to think I wouldn't be any help. If Mikael has indeed crossed over into the living realm, he'll torment Fiona mercilessly just to antagonize me, and I refuse to let my child suffer at his hand."
"If it's any consolation, I agree with Elijah, and I think you're right to listen to him," Cami said. "You said it yourself, your presence could provoke Mikael into hurting your daughter. Elijah and Finn are the two oldest Originals on the planet, they will protect her. She'll be home before you know it."
I shivered vehemently. "My skin is crawling. I don't know how much longer I can sit here like a bloody bump on a log. I've never reacted well to imprisonment."
"This isn't imprisonment, Klaus, this is you struggling because you're not in control of the situation," Cami pointed out. "I'm thinking that not being able to run to her isn't your problem. Do you want to hear my theory?"
"I'm sure you're going to tell me."
"I think you're afraid of losing her," Cami said.
"No shit, Camille," I retorted with a sour expression.
"Watch it," she chided. "I meant that it's more than just the normal desire to protect her. I think you're afraid of who you would become if she was gone, you fear what that kind of loss might do to you. You surround yourself with immortals because you are terrified of death."
"I'll tell you what I know about death, Camille. Death dances silently in everyone's shadow, and she doesn't give a damn," I said earnestly. "Why give a damn about her?"
"Don't do that. Don't go into your dark and twisty place and invite the demons that allow you to numb yourself from the pain back into your life," Cami said. "You need to feel things, Klaus. You need to feel pain, you need to feel fear…"
"I am feeling everything!" I shouted at her. "Pain, fear, worry… Most of all, I am feeling my incompetence! My daughter is out there, as you've pointed out, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it unless I go against my brother, which I wouldn't have a problem doing if I could be sure that it would be right! You aren't a parent, Camille! You don't know what it's like to have to scrutinize your every decision, fretting what weighty burden might befall your child if you choose wrong! You are out of your depth here, Camille, stay out of this one!"
"Don't you snap at me!" Camille responded sternly. "I know that you are angry and scared, but that doesn't mean you get to yell at me until you feel better. I am trying to help you, keep you from losing your mind. You have come so far from the angry, violent, controlling man that used to compel me to spy on people and write your life story. I'm disappointed by how quickly you seem to slip back into that mentality."
"If I tell you who I really am and you refuse to believe me, then I can hardly be blamed for your disappointment," I hurled back.
Camille breathed deeply and redirected the conversation. "You stepping into your parental role is a fairly recent development. How has it been?"
"You know, the truth be told, it's been bloody awful," I admitted, making a point to speak in a softer tone. "I mean, it was bad enough when I had to keep my distance and give her time to heal, but now, the desire to keep her close, the desire to, to protect her, the constant worry… I've never known such pain."
"Congratulations, you just became a father," Cami said with a compassionate smile.
"Just as she became a runagate." I shook my head. "Why? Our relationship was finally beginning to mend. Why would she do this?"
"Have you thought about sitting her down and laying out some boundaries?" she asked. "Fiona needs to know what you expect of her, and you need to make it clear to her when something she does is not okay."
"You don't understand what it's like, Camille!" I spoke sharply, ardently frustrated. "I abused her! I threw her into walls, told her she was pathetic and weak! I spilled her blood! I can't just make a list of rules and demand that she follow them! She doesn't trust me! It's going to take time for me to earn her trust, time that we don't have! Silas, a two thousand-year-old immortal monster, claims to know how to kill my child, yet I am advised to refrain from going after him! This is just absurd because I'm the person best equipped to put him down! I'm a hybrid!"
"Do you have the Cure?" she asked.
I remained silent, but my blood was boiling.
Cami raised her eyebrows. "No? Well, then I'd say you're probably not the best person for the job right now."
My eyes blackened. "There is no one better to protect my daughter than I."
"Right now, there is, and that man is Elijah." Cami placed her hand in mine, comforting me. "I know helplessness isn't something you're used to experiencing. As a human, not being able to do a damn thing about a problem is a circumstance I'm quite familiar with. I could try and help you through it, bring your mind to a better place."
"Well, this uselessness is eating me alive so, by all means," I conceded.
"Okay, we'll start off easy. Discussing the person you're distressed over can be a helpful coping technique. Tell me about her, what you feel when you look at her. What's it like to hold her the way you were the other day?"
I smiled at the fond memory. "It's amazing. When I look at her, I see the best parts of myself in her. Aside from the residual heartache, it's the greatest feeling in the world, being a father. Knowing that by some stroke of luck I was able to make something so beautiful, something truly unreplicable. Holding her, breathing in her sweet scent, it calms me down. Reminds me of when she was a baby, that precious time in our lives before I hurt her in ways that can never be undone. When she lays her head on my chest, I feel like the most vital part of me is present. Even if for a moment, in my arms, I know that she is warm, and I can safeguard her from any monster. I can feel her still, and it's painful. That which makes me most vulnerable is a thousand miles away, and my burning desire is to run straight to her. But I can't. In my arms, I know that she is mine, and I am hers, always and forever. When she's gone, I don't know what to think."
"I see I've succeeded in training you to expound on your feelings, that's great progress. Now, I want you to envision what it's going to be like to see her again. What will happen when she returns home? How will she react to you?" Cami prompted.
I looked at her indignantly. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous now, Camille."
"Humor me."
"When I see my daughter, she will run into my arms. She will look at me and know that I love her. I would do anything for her," I spoke, emphatic.
"That's what every parent says," Camille replied. "But, in the day-to-day, what are you actually doing to show your love? Actions speak louder than words, you know."
My eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at?"
"There's something you haven't dealt with yet regarding fatherhood, something that's keeping you from going a hundred percent in."
An involuntary growl sounded in the back of my throat. "That might have been the case six months ago, but my position has changed. I love my daughter, and I am more committed to her than you could possibly imagine."
"You wouldn't be so fervidly defensive if I was wrong," Cami said calmly. "I'm trying to help you, Klaus, remember that."
"Fine. I will admit the truth. I do not wish to be the father I had, nor do I wish to be the father Marcel has come to loathe. He and I may have rekindled our friendship, but he will never see me as a father figure again despite the decades I spent trying to make up for what his father did. Now I'm trying to make up for what I did to Fiona, and it's not going so well. Everyone keeps telling me to "just be her father" like it's that easy, when most of the time I can't bloody do that because there is nothing simple about our relationship, plus she darts out the door every twelve seconds. I don't want to just be Fiona's friend, but perhaps she would be better off if I left everything parent-related to Elijah because, let's face it, I haven't exactly broken the cycle. Perhaps she would be better off without me all together." I gave Camille a harsh glare. "Is that enough? Are you satisfied with the demons I have shown you? Or do you want more?"
"Every parent is afraid of screwing up," she said. "Well, at least the good ones are. Klaus, Fiona needs you, now more than ever. You've defied the odds already by repairing the damage you caused, don't give up now. And Fiona deserves her father, not just Elijah, don't you think? Yes, history could repeat itself, and if you're not careful, it will. But you owe it to your daughter to try and change the narrative, for her and for you."
"This isn't about me, Camille."
"No, but this has everything to do with you," she said. "Have you considered that maybe you should be less focused on fixing Fiona's pain and more interested in healing from your own? If there's one thing about your past that you've always been candid about, it's the damage that Mikael did to you. You've told me many times that his actions molded you into who you are."
"Yes, they have, and I'm haunted to this day."
Camille's beautiful eyes flared with ferocious intellect. "If a thousand years wasn't enough time for you to get over Mikael's abuse, then why are you so adamant about Fiona needing time to forget yours? You said it yourself, the hurt you caused cannot be undone. She'll never be able to forget your cruelty any more than you'll be able to forget Mikael's. If you know all of this, then why do you try so hard? What makes you think it's any more possible for her than it is for you?"
"Because it has to be!" I bellowed. "Because I can't live with what I did to her!"
"Seems to me that your daughter can," Cami replied evenly.
I opened my mouth to respond but realized I didn't have a good counter. I paused, mulling over her words. Camille had a point, as usual. It appeared Fiona was indeed overcoming what I'd done to her, she'd found a way to live with it, so why couldn't I? Was I projecting my own conviction that my sins were unforgivable onto my daughter, who had already forgiven me? Was the biggest problem standing between Fiona and I really that I could not forgive myself for abusing her? Perhaps I was holding back a bit on being a father when space wasn't actually what Fiona needed from me. It had been my idea for Fiona to go live with Elijah and get away from me, she hadn't requested that distance. All suggestions of time and space were my own, I'd never asked her opinion. I had done what I thought was best, but my judgement had been wrong. I should have gotten Fiona's input on what she needed rather than deciding for her.
Cami placed her soft fingertips on my cheek as she spoke. "Don't you see, Klaus? Your daughter has forgiven you, but you haven't forgiven yourself, and therein lies the problem. You won't accept her forgiveness. I understand that you will always regret what you did to her, as you should, but you need to let it go for it to stop affecting the present, because I think that's what's keeping you from fully stepping up as her father. Continue to be cautious, my word, be cautious, but don't get in your own way of being a parent. Fiona may pull away from you at times for some reason or another, but right now it seems to me that you are the one creating estrangement."
My love's words hit home, struck an emotional chord, and I felt my self-control slipping again. "None of this chatter means anything if Fiona isn't here!"
"I know how hard it is for you to sit out of the fight, I see the effort you're putting in not to crumble in front of me right now. You need to believe that Fiona will be back in your arms before you know it. Elijah, the brother that vowed to stand beside you always and forever, the man that loves your daughter at least as much as you do, is on his way to make sure that girl comes home safe. He is smart, he is strong, and he will have the support of your vigorous siblings. Elijah promised that he would call the moment there was anything to report on your little girl. You need to trust," she insisted.
I exhaled deeply. "How is it that you always manage to talk me down off the ledge?"
"Because I couldn't bear to see you go over," she said, pressing her lips to mine.
Camille's company was appreciated, and her kiss was a welcome distraction, but I was losing my mind waiting for that damn phone to ring.
FIONA'S POINT OF VIEW: (24 hours prior)
A bus of human prisoners, a coven of sacrifice-happy witches, and a pack of renegade werewolves later, the Expression Triangle was complete, and I had my metaphorical Charybdis. I looked in the bathroom mirror as I washed up, mildly annoyed that a splotch of blood had gotten in my hair. The prisoners had been very dramatic at the prospect of death, making the job a bit nasty. I wasn't too bothered, but one would think that a bunch of felons would go out with some shred of dignity, rather than scurrying for cover like scared little rats. One man did attempt to thwart me, but his prowess was comparable to what you'd expect from a petty catfight. I made a face as the water ran a dark pink stream against the white marble sink, disgusted by the blood of an overconfident serial rapist that had been splashed across my body. The wanker's gore was staining my hair. Ugh, why did human blood always have to splatter like an egg dropped from a New York City skyscraper?
Once I was clean, I headed back downstairs to hang out with Kol and learn more about the controversial art of Expression. For a vampire who hadn't been able to practice magic in over a millennium, he sure seemed to know a lot about witchcraft. I was a little apprehensive about the whole "manifestation of my will" thing, but the countercurrent of power I felt swirling within the triangle was quickly making me a believer. To channel the energy source in full, I would need to activate it using a celestial event or some other magical element, but Kol told me that I should hold off on that until we came into contact with Silas. Apparently, a woman named Katherine Pierce had the Cure in her possession, and we wanted Silas to have it with him when we subdued him to ensure it couldn't be used on anyone else, so for right now, this operation was a waiting game.
The problem with waiting games? They require self-restraint. I lacked patience already, and on top of that, my poorly suppressed emotions were popping up, which brings me to the other problem with waiting games—they allow a person way too much time to think. Apparently, Uncle Elijah's moral influence was strong and effective, because though he was miles away in New Orleans, my headspace was largely occupied with mulling over my recent choices. I didn't want to be thinking about my questionable behavior, but Elijah had trained me well, it seemed. I knew it was wrong of me to use magic against my own family, but was it really so wrong if by doing so I saved them from Silas? Was it really so wrong of me to keep them bound to the Crescent City for Kol's sake? Klaus and Elijah were famous for strong-arming their little brother, was I supposed to let them do it again? If I could trust them to listen to my voice of reason and not immediately jump to smite my youngest uncle, I wouldn't have had to force them to stay away. I wouldn't have had to lie.
Amidst the justification achieved during my personal reflection, there was also a fair amount of self-doubt. Regardless of the righteous motives behind my actions, taking away my father and uncle's freedom was never okay. There's a specific degree of liberty that should not be messed with for any cause, and I was afraid I'd crossed the line yet again. Uncle Elijah was probably worried sick by now, and Klaus would be angry beyond words. I'd made it so there wasn't a damn thing either of them could do for a while, and they had no way to make contact. Elijah frequently got on me about my penchant for rash decisions, surely he would see this as recklessness. He was going to be so disappointed. I stared at the ground, ashamed, my stomach aching as I imagined his disappointment. I hated falling short of Elijah's expectations, he could reap contrition from even the most evil of creatures. He rarely displayed his anger to me, but he expressed his displeasure with a cold, stoical demeanor and often stonewalled me until he was no longer upset, which never failed in making me feel like the crappiest person on the planet. He likely believed that being disconnected and unemotional was better than flipping out at me like Klaus tended to do, but I'd honestly prefer he yell at me versus harden his heart.
"Something the matter?" Kol asked.
My face must have given me away. "Just ruminating on how badly Klaus and Elijah will react to everything I've done today. They're going to be even more pissed when they discover what we've been up to, and what we're about to do."
"Come now, Pipsqueak, chin up," Kol encouraged. "Think of how proud they'll be when they hear that you defeated Silas, thus saving the world from a doom of apocalyptic proportion."
"He's not dead yet," I mumbled.
"No, but he will be," Kol replied. "Soon we will lure him out and finish him off. Because of that Expression Triangle, you will be more powerful than ever before."
I gracefully laid my forearms across the railing. "Two diabolical Originals against one ancient, suicidal immortal… I rather like those odds, don't you?"
"Actually, the plan became a little more dimensional whilst you were primping," Kol informed me.
"Oh?" I inquired, resting my chin on my hand.
"Don't get angry with me, Love, but we're joining forces with Team Salvatore."
I blinked. "Why the hell would we do that? We're sharks, they're minnows; how could they possibly be of any use? Seriously, I've eaten vamps like them for breakfast… and lunch."
"Sharp teeth or not, they know Katerina Petrova better than we do. They know her habits, her hiding places—they can retrieve the Cure. Now, they want to feed it to Elena, and if that happens, our amazing plot to desiccate and kill Silas goes kaput. I did a little wheeling and dealing, and I got them to agree to meet with us before they go after Katherine. They're on their way here, and I want to convince them to work with us instead of against us. For that to be a success, I need you to tell them that you'll Cure their precious Elena as soon as Silas is gone."
"Why can't we just steal it from her before they do?" I asked. "Let's cut out the third party and get this show on the road."
"Because, Fiona, there's no guarantee they won't get to it first," Kol said. "There's only one dose of the Cure in its current form, and I'm not willing to risk it. Also, they aren't happy to have two members of the Mikaelson family in their town. Of course, the Salvatores aren't a threat to us, but they could get in our way. If we can work together, we'll be less likely to trip over them."
"Fine," I conceded. "The more the merrier, right?"
"That's the spirit."
Fifteen minutes later, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum entered the foyer, not bothering to announce themselves as they already knew we would hear them coming from miles away, let alone when they arrived at our front door. They talked amongst themselves about a ball that had happened here several years ago. I gathered from their tone that there had been drama, and that, naturally, my family was to blame for their misery. Introductions weren't necessary, Elijah's history lessons had included the basics of the Mystic Falls Gang, plus I'd met Damon Salvatore on my first night here. I remembered his ice-blue eyes, perfect cheekbones, and flashy attitude all too well. We walked down the grand staircase to greet them, and I stayed a couple of paces behind Kol. I'd let him take the lead on this one.
Well, I was going to let him take point, but then Damon spoke to me.
"Long time no see," he greeted halfheartedly.
I smirked. "Don't tell me you missed me."
Damon snorted. "You almost exposed the entire vampire species to the general public last time I saw you, which was also the first time I saw you. Too bad, I thought I'd only have the misfortune of meeting you once. I hadn't expected you to survive the Mikaelsons, let alone become one of them. What are you, anyway? The unwanted redheaded stepchild?"
Stefan rolled his eyes. "Do you have to pick a fight with everyone, Damon?"
"You are awfully rude," I said to Damon, whose eyes flickered to look at me with zest that struck me like lightning. "One would think that you'd know better than to address a Mikaelson the way you just did."
"I can be a bit thick sometimes," Damon flippantly replied.
"Let's stick to business, shall we?" Kol suggested, clapping his hands together to obtain attention. "We best get rid of Silas sooner rather than later."
"In case you've forgotten, we were just on our way to get the Cure from Katherine. You're the one that put up the roadblock," Damon griped.
"But you two want the Cure for Elena," Kol replied. "You do that, and we're stuck with Silas until the end of time. The less time he spends on this planet, the better. Of course, you don't need me to tell you that, granted the chaos he's already brought into your lives."
"Kol's right, Damon," Stefan said to his brother. "Silas has put us through hell already, and he's nowhere near finished—spending three months at the bottom of a quarry taught me that much. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants, so it's in everyone's best interest to work together. The Cure is only one part of it, we also need someone to drop the Veil to the Other Side. Kol and Fiona have already done their part by completing the massacres, now we need to do ours so that she can lower the barrier."
"Wait, what do you mean drop the Veil?" I queried. "The plan is for me to desiccate Silas and then cure him of his immortality so he can be killed as a warlock."
"Silas would never take the Cure without absolute certainty that he could die and be with Amara," Stefan said. "That's why you created the Expression Triangle, isn't it? Once activated, you'll have the power to bring down the magical walls that separate the Other Side from the physical world and the dimension of the afterlife."
I turned to Kol. "You tricked me! You let me think that I needed to create the Triangle in order to practice Expression, but that was a lie! You never intended to help me desiccate Silas, did you? You knew all along that Silas could pass through to the Afterlife if someone brought down the Veil, and you chose to withhold that information? You were going to trick me into dropping the Veil, weren't you? You used me! I can't believe this! You deceived me, let me think that we were carrying out my plan to imprison Silas once again when in fact you were building one of your own!"
"Your plan was never going to work, Fiona," Kol explained. "I didn't tell you because I know that you are incredibly stubborn and wouldn't have listened. Desiccating Silas isn't as easy as it sounds, you would have failed. By creating the Expression Triangle, we have something to offer Silas and can get on his good side, safe from whatever horror he's capable of."
"Terrific. What about the rest of us?" Damon asked, pissed.
Kol smirked. "Your survival is of no concern to me."
"Kol!" I chided, smacking his arm. "Look, Damon, this benefits you just as much as it benefits my family. He may have bamboozled me, but Kol has a point, and we're after the same goal here. Silas' death will mean peace for all of us."
"Sorry, Baby Mikaelson, but your win-win statement isn't good enough," Damon replied icily. "This may come as a shock to you, but you aren't the only powerful witch in Mystic Falls. As a matter of fact, this town is lousy with them, and one is named Bonnie Bennett. I'm sure she can bring down the Veil just as well as you can, and if we go with her, then we won't have to hand the Cure over to any deceitful Originals. Put yourself in my shoes for a moment and tell me, which option would you choose? Does one path seem a little more clear-cut than the other?"
"Well, if we want to be strictly black and white about it, Fiona and I could just kill you right here, right now and remove you from the equation entirely," Kol said, grinning.
"I had hoped threats wouldn't be necessary, but I will do whatever it takes to ensure that I have your full attention and cooperation," I added, menacingly.
"Hey, we agreed to work together on this one," Stefan spoke up to defuse the situation, making reparation for his brother's pigheadedness. "I think what Damon's trying to communicate is that we do need a more promising incentive. We simply aren't convinced that what you've proposed is worth the risk."
"Trust me, I'll make it worth your while. Having a tribrid indebted to you could serve you well should some problem or another arise in the future. And, I'll make sure to collect some of Silas' blood before he dies so that Elena can return to her human life." I glanced at Damon. "That's what you and Stefan are all about, right? Risking your lives to make this stupid Elena girl happy?" I mocked. "Tell me, who actually has her heart? Or does she love you both?"
Damon responded with a dark scowl, and a snarling sound came from deep inside his chest. Stefan wasn't much happier about my comment.
"Careful, Fiona," Kol cautioned playfully, insincere. "Seems the Elena card is a low blow."
"Can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I think I'd rather be hanging out with Katherine right now," Stefan muttered to Damon before turning to look at Kol and I. "We'll get the Cure, but you have to promise you'll get Silas' blood for Elena."
"And you have to swear that you and your murdery family won't come back to Mystic Falls ever again," Damon tacked on. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't welcome the Mikaelsons here."
"That's odd, considering we were born here," Kol said bitterly.
"The most unfortunate event in history," Damon hurled back scathingly.
I closed the distance between Damon and I, my teeth just inches away from his face. "I'll get you Silas' blood, but, I'm warning you, do not speak my family's name in vain. You don't have to like us, but the Originals are the reason you exist as a vampire. We can conquer anything, compel anyone and kill everyone. Respect the name, or I'll take your ass off this godforsaken earth."
His striking, light blue eyes flickered. "I thought the world's first and only tribrid would be brilliant, unique. Turns out, you're just Klaus' deranged carbon copy."
"Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet." I smiled wickedly. "Maybe after I cure Elena, I'll take a page out of my father's book and use her blood to create hybrids. Or maybe, I'll write a new chapter altogether."
"Okay, let's take it down a notch," Stefan intervened, pulling Damon away from me. "Everybody, let's just do our parts so we don't have any problems."
"Agreed," Damon spoke lowly, not taking his eyes off me.
"Then, it is settled," Kol began. "Fiona and I will present Silas with the Expression Triangle whilst you two steal the Cure away from Katherine."
Damon and I continued our staredown until Stefan persistently tugged at his brother's arm, convincing him that they needed to get going if they were going to catch Katherine in time. Damon's eyes were piercing, rigid as ice, but were nothing when up against the fire in mine. Really, it was purposeless for anyone to contest me. After all, I was a tribrid. However, Damon seemed interested in a different aspect of my genetics. Though we were currently participating in a rather hostile standoff, there was an anomalous chemistry between us, and it was quite possible that in another world he and I might be friends of a certain variety. Alas, we lived in this world, so there could be nothing beyond that mild hint of curiosity. Damon shot me a final nasty glare before leaving into the woods with Stefan.
It appeared I wasn't the only one who had noticed the bizarre intensity between Damon and myself, that rumbling, electrical feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on and would never confess to experiencing. The Salvatore brothers were barely out the door before Kol decided to strike up a rather personal and touchy conversation.
"Do I sense a spark of sexual tension?" he goaded, impishly wagging his eyebrows.
"Ew, never. He's not much younger than Klaus."
Kol smirked. "We're vampires, Darling, age is kind of irrelevant. Besides, if we're counting the years, you've got approximately four centuries on the sucker. Damon was born in 1839."
"Doesn't matter, I'm spoken for."
"Are you now?" Kol replied with keen interest. "And who is this Prince Charming of yours?"
"It's more of a Romeo and Juliet sort of thing, but hopefully with a happy ending."
"Clandestine, I like it," Kol remarked. "Well, whoever he is, he's not here, and he would never know it if you decided to have a little fun."
"Unless hate-banging Damon has something to do with getting rid of Silas, I don't see why we're having this conversation," I said, annoyed.
"Oh come on, you need someone to talk to about these kinds of things. Someone experienced whom you can ask questions, someone who will encourage you to explore without fear of judgement," Kol teased. "You can't possibly tell me that you'd rather discuss potential flames with Elijah."
I glared. "The only potential flames are going to be those licking your bloodless husk if you say one more word on this daft subject."
Kol chuckled. "All right, all right. We'll stick to wrathful brooding since that's what you seem to prefer."
"Thank you."
Of course, it just wouldn't be my story if the plan didn't come completely undone before we'd even taken a single step. It didn't unravel at the seams, pieces didn't just start breaking off little by little—no, our plan crashed and then burned until it was as if it had never existed. Our plan imploded like a nuclear fission reaction, causing mass destruction that would change the life of the supernatural forever. Everything had happened so suddenly that my head was spinning from trying to process and recapitulate. One minute Kol and I were engaging in amiable banter, and in the next we found ourselves inebriated by a blast of magic so powerful it rivaled my own. Silas had gotten the Cure from Katherine, or rather he drank it from her, and now he was a witch of a different color—a two thousand-year-old Traveler. Prior to consuming the Cure, he had used his immortal psychic abilities to create this grand, perfect illusion that we all, to our severe peril, utterly believed.
Let me rewind and give you the summarized version of this dreadful nightmare. Having been drawn by the power of the Expression Triangle, Silas was already standing in the center of the three vertices when Kol and I arrived. We presented him with our offer to temporarily bring down the Veil when he was ready to die, but the Immortal had already formed a plan of his own. He wasn't willing to wait to be with his true love any longer, and he was having an impossible time trying to locate Katherine and the Cure. He had given us an ultimatum, we had until midnight to retrieve the Cure from Katerina Petrova or he would force me to destroy the Veil completely so that he would be safe from the Other Side no matter how long it took for him to get his hands on the Cure. We didn't want the Veil destroyed, of course, because then every supernatural would be able to come back into the world, permanently, and the Triangle wouldn't be able to hold them in forever, so eventually they would have free rein. I couldn't destroy the Other Side either, because it had been in existence for thousands of years and would take time to unravel, and in that time, ambitious supernaturals with unfinished business would reenter the world, wreaking unprecedented havoc upon my family. Additionally, if the Other Side fell apart, I would lose my access to ancestral magic, and no way in hell was I willing to give that up.
Midnight came all too soon. Despite Kol and Rebekah's best efforts, Katherine had vanished with the Cure. Half the town was out looking for her, and everyone had come back empty-handed. Kol, Rebekah, and I were now standing in the middle of the Triangle, staring down the barrel of a gun. And by gun, I mean the vengeful, wrathful, immortal Silas. For some reason, the woods felt colder than usual tonight.
"I'm disappointed, I thought for sure that three Originals would do the trick," Silas said.
"Katherine has evaded the Hybrid for centuries, her sense of self-preservation is unparalleled. We never had any hope of getting the Cure from her, but you already knew that," Rebekah said. "So why send us on a wild goose chase?"
"I have my reasons," Silas spoke cryptically. "Just like I have my reasons for making you believe that you must go somewhere far, far away."
Immediately after Silas had finished his sentence, Aunt Rebekah began following his orders somewhat robotically. He was using his psychic abilities to control her in a way that was similar to a vampire's compulsion, only this had a stronger foothold. No one had ever been able to influence an Original's mind before. My heart ached as I watched my aunt leave again, she'd literally just come back. I wanted to scream at Silas I was so mad, but I had been scared into silence.
"Now that she is out of the way, that just leaves him; however, Kol has actually been pretty helpful so, Fiona, I will give you one chance to cooperate. I know at first I said I wanted you to bring down the Veil, but now I'm thinking that something a bit more permanent would be a better idea," Silas said, his eyes alight with mischief. "I want you to destroy the Other Side."
"No," I said, which caused the situation to escalate rather quickly.
"Argue at your own risk," was Silas' icy reply.
Out of nowhere, Silas whipped out a white oak stake. My breath caught in my throat as he used it to drive Kol backwards into a wide tree trunk. I tried to run to them, but my feet were frozen to the ground. I discovered that I couldn't move at all, I was experiencing a strange paralysis. Certainly, it was another of Silas' pure immortal tricks. He had spent months consuming as much blood as he could, giving him dangerous skills that defied all plausibility. My brain registered that he was quite capable of killing Kol, which was enough motivation for me to regain the power of speech.
"Stop! Destroying the Other Side won't do you any good!" I shouted.
"What do you know that I don't?" Silas interrogated.
"Let go of him, and I'll tell you," I commanded.
Silas laughed. "You seem to believe that you're in control here. I assure you, you are not." He jabbed the tip of the stake into Kol's chest.
"Okay! Okay, I'll tell you! Please don't hurt him!" I begged. "Your true love, Amara, she's not in the Afterlife. In fact, she isn't even dead. Qetsiyah lied to you, she made Amara an immortal and desiccated her just like she did you, but that's not the end of it. In order to create the Other Side, she needed to bind it to something immortal. Amara is the anchor; you can't destroy the supernatural purgatory without destroying her too."
"My shadow self and his brother have Amara, don't they?" Silas figured. "Looks like your little alliance didn't quite go as planned, my doppelgänger had his own agenda. Very well, I can adapt. Here's what's going to happen. Fiona, you're going to drop the Veil. Now."
One look at the white oak stake positioned directly over Uncle Kol's heart, and I didn't think twice. I obeyed and started chanting immediately, the power of the Expression Triangle swirling around me. I didn't understand the spell I was doing, or how I was doing it, but I was. Silas must have put it in my head, I could feel him trying to control my thoughts. He'd done the impossible; he'd gotten inside the head of the Tribrid. The spell reached completion and I fell to my knees, gasping. Dead souls could now come back to life within the perimeter, and most would be enemies of my family.
"What did you do to me?" I whispered, disoriented. "What did you make me do?"
"Exactly what I wanted you to," Silas said, grinning. "Albeit, we're a bit behind schedule, but fortunately this delay provided a proactive pause, I was able to consider another error that I'd like to avoid. Originally, I wanted to destroy the Anchor, but these revelations make that endeavor out of the question, and I can't leave the Veil down for an extended period of time without risking Qetsiyah's return. Obviously, Amara can't die while being the Anchor to the Other Side, so here's what I was thinking: we find a new anchor."
"You say that like it's child's play," I replied, my head beginning to clear. "The Other Side is the most complex creation spell ever performed, it's the place that has held the souls of the dead supernatural for over two thousand years, you can't transfer that kind of magic to just anything. You need something indestructible and eternal. What could possibly be strong enough to anchor that magnitude of power?"
Silas' expression darkened, his wicked face sent chills down my spine. "You."
A blast of astronomical power collided with my body, knocking me into blackness. I found myself in a dark, confined space… a wooden box. At first I couldn't see anything, but then I felt Silas open his mind to me, letting me into his head so I could see and hear what was happening outside the casket. I was instantly perplexed, the first thing I saw was Rebekah standing next to Kol. How was that possible? I'd just witnessed him compel her to leave, or I thought I had… wait, what was happening? Was Silas inside my head? Was any of this real? Am I dreaming? Why am I suddenly stuck in my own thoughts? Why can't I move?
"Sweet dreams, Fiona," Silas' voice rang in my ear. "I'm saving you for later, after I have what I want. I've imprisoned you quite well, in more ways than one, but I recommend resisting any urges to escape. See, I know what leads to your death, and I know where to find it. In fact, maybe I have it. Yes, there is a weapon that can kill you, but it appears in the form of beauty, in the form of a gift. A single rose. One whiff, and you will become fatally undone."
I laid in silence for a moment, in nothingness, a state that was almost peaceful… and then the terror set in.
A/N: "Perfect Illusion" by Lady Gaga is now stuck in my head… I'm so sorry this update took forever, there's been a lot going on in my life, but it feels so good to finally be back in the FanFiction game. I have seriously missed you guys and writing this story, hopefully I haven't lost too many readers in the long break. Please come back! Story is not done, I promise! I hope you liked the scene with Klaus and Cami, I know this story needs more of those two! Of course, Klaus has yet to tell her about Hayley and the baby, so we'll see how that affects their relationship. Next chapter will pick up with Elijah and Finn taking off to rescue Fiona, then the timeline for the various perspective plots will all be synchronous and successive once again. I hope you don't mind that I'm sort of coloring outside the lines and straying from how this event went down in Vampire Diaries. I like to keep my fanfics as canon as possible, but I had to bend the rules a little to adapt the Silas bits to work for my story. My main reason for doing this is because I wanted Klaus to be faced with a problem that's bigger than himself, a battle he has to sit out of for the sake of his daughter and forces him to trust his siblings with doing what needs to be done. The Mikaelsons will realize that it will take all of them working together to conquer Silas, who is in my opinion the most pivotal big bad of the series—besides Klaus, of course. Klaus and Elijah are used to teaming up, but now they have to work with Kol and Finn. With any luck, Fiona won't be left in that miserable coffin for too long. ;) Please review, I'd love to hear from you! Also, make sure that you click those follow and favorite buttons so you are notified about new chapters! For those of you without accounts, check back in a week or two, I should have new content for you. :) Leave any questions in the review section, and I'll PM if you have that feature enabled, otherwise I'll answer them at the beginning of the next chapter. Thanks for reading!
