What is this? An update? Yep, sure is! Turns out there was a scheduling conflict at my work, and I actually don't start my shifts again until a few days from now, so I thought I'd get this in here to kick off Season 3.

So, a couple of things to note: Val is now responsible for the lives of two little ones that she loves very much, meaning that she wasn't super involved in the first few episodes of season 3 cause she was still learning how to take care of them. So, this chapter includes episode one, a little bit of her helping out in episode three, and then it picks up again at the start of episode five. And we shall go from there! And another thing: I remember I put in like chapter eight I believe that the siblings birthdays were in June, but I've changed that to September, instead. It just works better with the story line I've got planned.

So, I've been reviewing your votes, and it appears that Klaus and Elijah are the top contenders for Val's romantic interest. Like I said before, there won't be much romance in here until near the end of this season, but that doesn't mean there won't be lots of flirting ;) however, Kol was a big contender at first, and I do kind of want to explore interactions between him and Val and see how everyone feels. If you're new here or you haven't voted yet, remember to do so in the comments! Enjoy!

The blaring of the alarm made Val groan, but she immediately reached for her alarm clock, slapping her hand on it. She couldn't run the risk of the loud beeping waking Hector or Alex, it had taken two hours to get the Tasmanian devils to bed last night.

Rolling out of bed, she landed rather ungracefully on the floor, but shifted herself into laying on her stomach, hands on either side of her chest, curling her toes under and straightening her spine. With a deep breath, she pushed up directly, breathing out on the way up, and repeated it. Fifty push-ups later, she rolled up, shimmied across the carpet until her toes were under her nightstand, folded her arms over her chest, and began to curl up.

Fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, and fifty squats was her normal morning warm-up before she moved onto the bag. And if the new apartment was good for anything, it was space. Hector and Alex had been offered their own rooms, but both of them had begged to sleep in the same one, having done it for most of their lives. She'd relented pretty quickly, wanting them to be comfortable in their new home. Plus, it left an empty room for her training and some storage space.

That had been almost three months ago, and the children had blended in the Mystic Falls gang seamlessly. Since she and Rick had taken it upon themselves to watch after Jeremy and Elena, he and the teens themselves had jumped straight into helping her with the kids. Elena normally babysat whenever Val needed a break or had to close at the Grill, while Val normally brought her siblings over to the Gilbert's a few nights a week to help cook meals for everyone. The kids didn't mind, the absolutely loved being around everyone else.

Joe had retired. It had been a sad day, and she knew the old man would be bored stiff, but he had given Val his blessing about taking up the mantel of being the head coach, and she was determined to prove she could lead the team to the state finals.

Once her workout was done around eight, she made sure the kid's cereal was out and bowls on the breakfast counter before she rushed to jump in the shower. She didn't have practice that day, but Damon had called her; they had a lead on Stefan. That meant dropping Hector and Alex with Caroline for a few hours while they went to check it out, up in Memphis.

Now out of the shower, she yanked on a loose, thin red tank and some daisy dukes, throwing on her crucifix and some makeup before heading into the kitchen with a hairbrush in her hand.

"Hey, baby," she crooned at Alex, who was happily munching on some Cheerio's. "Did Hector get you breakfast? Where is he?"

"Shower." Ally responded cutely, and Val had to admit, she was extremely proud of how well she was getting at pronouncing her R's.

"Alright, well, let's do your hair, ok?" She told the toddler, beginning to part it into two sections while making a mental note to get it trimmed soon. Unlike her older sister, Alejandra loved it when her hair was long.

As she was finishing the last French braid, the six-year-old boy came into the kitchen, clad in a Batman t-shirt and some jean shorts. Val leaned forward, placing a bowl, spoon, and some milk in front of him as she kissed him on the head. "Morning, mijo, did you sleep good?"

"Yeah, but Freddie got into the room and started licking my face." He told his sister. The cocker-lab mix perked up from his spot on the living room couch, having heard his name.

"Alright, we'll just have to keep it closed." She told him grabbing a mug and the coffee pot as it beeped at her. He looked up from his bowl, eyes wide with excitement.

"Do we get to hang out with Caroline today?"

Val chuckled around her mug; the six-year-old had a serious crush on the blonde vampire, which Caroline thought was absolutely adorable. Alex, on the other hand, (and much to Val's dismay) had basically attached herself to Damon. Whenever the eldest Salvatore was around, Alex would clamber onto his leg and giggle hysterically as he tried to shake her off. Not that he'd admit it, but Val had caught him smiling at the little one several times, (which he denied vehemently).

"Yeah, buddy, she is." She confirmed with a smile. "Alright, speaking of which, I need to meet her in just a few minutes, so grab your stuff as soon as you're done eating, alright?"

Rick's SUV crunched along the dirt road, slowly pulling to a stop in front of the farmhouse. The Memphis scenery was beautiful, but the heat of the summer was so intense, it was hard to enjoy it. Val and Damon hopped out as their friend put it in park, coming to walk around beside them. "I don't know why you won't just tell Elena what we're doing." He chastised Damon, sounding both tired and annoyed.

"Cause Andie said this was a half-lead, and I don't want to get her hopes up." Damon reasoned smoothly, but Val only shook her head.

"You know she's going to be pissed when she finds out; you can't hide her from everything, Damon."

The blue-eyed vampire rolled his eyes at the small hunter as Rick spoke up. "Yeah, well, they're all half-leads. What do you want me to say to them when it comes up? I mean, I'm practically living there."

"Are you still sleeping on the couch?" Damon inquired, and Rick nodded solemnly.

"You know, I keep waiting for them to kick me out, but they don't; I don't know why, it's not like I'm helping or anything." He told his friends, shaking his head, and Val's face softened.

"You're helping, Rick, in more ways than you understand." She reassured him before the trio hiked up to the front door.

On the outside, things looked perfectly normal, and Val's necklace was alerting her to any danger. But something was definitely off, and the friends all realized it. Knocking yielded no results, so after Val picked the lock, Damon stuck his foo slowly through the door, wiggling it a little before successfully setting it across the threshold.

"Oh, yeah." He confirmed, fully stepping into the house. Val and Rick followed, and the smell of gore hit them like a wave. Val raised a hand over her nose, looking around at the destruction. Blood was splattered like a disgusting, abstract painting along the walls, with random stains of it across furniture, the floors, and even near the ceiling. Everything around them was either broken turned over, or completely unrecognizable.

Her skin crawled when she saw bloody handprints smeared across the French door panes and knobs, but the real shock came when they looked into the living room.

Sitting on the couch were two bloody, clearly dead corpses.

Val's eyes widened in horror as she slowly walked over to them; their deaths had clearly been violent, and from what it looked like, extremely slow.

"Vampire for sure." Rick commented, but as she was nodding in agreement, Damon's voice cut them both off.

"Stefan for sure." He corrected darkly, and the two hunters turned to him in shock.

"How do you know?" Rick wondered aloud.

"Cause he's a ripper; when he feeds, he blacks out. But when he wakes up, he feels remorse." Damon paused. "It's the damndest thing." He added in a quiet voice as he walked over to the one of the bodies; a young, blonde woman who didn't look much older than Val. "He puts the bodies back together." He told them, and as he nudged the dead girls foot, her head rolled off her shoulders, hitting the carpet with a sickening thud!

"Back together?" Rick asked in a shaky voice, but Val couldn't even make a comment, she could barely tear her eyes away from the graphic scene in front of her. She knew her friend had a problem with human blood, and he had some violent tendencies once he got a hold of it, but this?

This wasn't an addiction, this was a desire; this was fucking serial killer.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Damon suddenly threw a blanket over the bodies and started walking away. "What are you doing?" She called after him, and after several seconds, he returned, carrying a large can of gas.

"Covering their tracks." He responded grimly as he splashed the fuel over the bodies. "Clearly they have no interest in staying in the dark, but I do."

As Rick shifted, a loud creaking noise made all of them share looks with one another, before Val bent down and swept the rug away, grabbing onto an older silver handle sitting on the floorboards and pulling at it roughly.

A large hatch swung up, and a damp, musty scent filled the room as they all peered downwards. A sizeable room, or maybe a more appropriate term would be a cellar, was sitting beneath them, and what was it filled with? That's right, long, rusty chains and cuffs; clearly meant for something strong.

"Well, what d'ya know?" Damon commented wryly.

"Werewolves." Val finished, and they all stood. Reaching into her back pocket, Val lit the lighter she had been carrying before tossing it onto the bodies, watching as the flames leapt to life, and slowly burned away everything around them.

It was around ten o'clock that night; she was sitting there on her couch with her legs curled underneath her, reading The Alchemist. Her eyes were growing heavy, and she really needed to get to bed soon, but she was just enjoying the peace and quiet. Where she wasn't training, wasn't worrying, wasn't going over every single possibility of their lives that could kill them and destroy everything in such a short amount of time. Her fingers drifted unconsciously over her crucifix, growing distracted from her reading. Freddie was curled up next to her, his head resting on her feet.

Was Stefan truly gone? After all the death and loss they'd suffered through, had they now truly lost their friend, boyfriend, and brother?

"Tina?"

The small voice startled her, and she jumped, nearly dropping her book. But it was only Hector, standing in the doorway to the living room, clutching his blanket. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and placing a hand over her chest in an attempt to slow down her heart rate.

"Oh, mijo, you scared me." She murmured as she set the book down beside her. "What are you doing up?"

Her baby brother shrugged, playing with the edge of his blanket. But it was clear in his brown eyes that he was upset at something; Hector read like a book, it was something all the Garcia children had in common. Not that Val had a problem with that, she'd rather be easy to read than the manipulative bitch that was their mother. She got up from her spot and walked over to him, kneeling down in front of the boy to put her hands on his shoulders. "Hey, come on, you can tell me." She gave his cheek a playful, gentle pinch. "You can tell me anything, always. You know that, right?"

To her surprise and slight fear, his eyes began to water and his little bottom lip started trembling, followed by some sniffling. Val slid down to sit on the floor, pulling him into her lap and holding him against her comfortingly, quietly shushing him as she rubbed his back. After several minutes, his sniffles started to slow, and she looked down at his face. "Now what's going on?"

"Tina, I miss mommy." His statement didn't surprise his older sister in the very slightest; unlike Val and Ally, Hector had always truly loved his mother. Alex had never really known her, and Val and Esperanza probably had the most dysfunctional and hate-filled relationship that ever existed, so that was out. But Hector had loved his mother, not like he'd ever had the chance to know any better. He didn't understand why his mother acted so different from the other women in his life, like his older sister, and his old foster mom. Unfortunately, he thought it was because of him, that he could bring her around again.

But it didn't work that way.

"I know, buddy," she soothed, rubbing his back some more. "I know, it's ok."

"I know she was really mean, Tina, but I really miss her. Is she ever going to get better?"

His tear-filled question made her pause, not because she didn't know the answer, but because she didn't want to tell him the answer. The chances of Esperanza getting sober were always there; she, of course, always had the chance to change. But, even if she did get sober, that didn't change some of the more horrible aspects of her personality. Pathological lying, narcissistic, her constant need for attention from men, and last but not least, her complete disregard for her children's well being.

But how did you explain that to a child?

"Maybe. It's hard to know, but until then, I want you to remember something, ok?" Turning him around, she smiled gently at him as she rubbed his shoulders. "You are such an amazing kid, Hector. You are so kind and loving and brave, and nothing she does is because of you, ok? She's a big girl, she makes her own decisions."

Hector nodded, his tears starting to slowly subside. Picking him up, she walked down the hall, hearing Freddie's collar jingle as he jumped off the couch and followed them. Gently nudging their bedroom door open, she quietly slipped across the floor, not wanting to wake Ally's snoozing form. She laid her brother down in his bed, giving him a gentle kiss on the head and pulling the covers over him. As she turned to leave, though, Freddie jumped onto the foot Hector's bed, turning in a circle before curling up.

"You're on guard dog duty tonight, huh?" She whispered to the dog, who looked at her with large, adorable eyes. Smiling, she scratched him behind the ears before quietly slipping off to bed.

THE END OF THE AFFAIR

Val sighed, rolling her head in an attempt to crack her neck. She had been on shift for the past nine hours; only one more to go. Rick was watching Hector and Ally since Elena and Damon had gone off to see what they could find about Stefan after they got a lead about Chicago. She'd asked them to keep her updated, but unfortunately, both told her they hadn't found anything solid yet.

Ignoring some of the lecherous looks an older male customer was throwing her way, she grabbed a rag and started wiping off the bar, grabbing glasses along the way. A familiar head of blonde hair caught her eye, and she looked up to see the sheriff coming towards her, dressed in civilian clothes.

"Liz," she greeted, "almost didn't recognize you without your badge and gun." However, her joke fell flat when she saw the terrified look on the woman's face, and she felt her stomach drop a little. "What is it?"

"I can't find Caroline." The mother told her, clearly anxious, "I just got done pulling an all nightery, and Tyler came by to tell me he hasn't see her either since the night before last."

The pure fear and concern in the woman's voice made Val pause; Caroline was impulsive, but she wasn't stupid. Leaning forward, she cast a look around her and lowered her voice. "Ok, do you know what may have happened? Or who may have taken her?"

Judging by the look on Liz's face, she did. And it wasn't pleasant.

The door creaked open, but it didn't appear to alert anyone as Liz stepped onto the winding, metal staircase as Val followed her. Both had their guns drawn; Tyler was waiting for them to call him in. Val got the feeling the older woman didn't want to run the risk of accidentally shooting another teen.

They both stood there, muscles tense, ready to action. And they weren't disappointed, as not even five minutes later, the large metal door squeaked open. An adult man in a button-down blue shirt stepped out, face solemn. He closed it behind him, sighing, but he didn't even take two more steps forward before both women raised their weapons and clicked the safety off, almost in sync.

"Hello Bill." Liz greeted darkly, and the man slowly rose his hands into the air, looking a little annoyed.

"Put the gun down, Liz, and call off your friend." Bill tried to soothe, "I know what I'm doing."

"That's our daughter in there." Liz shot back, "She looks up to you, she loves you."

"Then she'll trust me to do the right thing." His easy answer made Val's blood boil, but she kept quiet. This wasn't her place to speak, she was here as support. "Let me do this, Liz. Not because she's a monster, but because we love her."

Liz was silent, then raised her voice. "Tyler!"

The door at the top of the steps opened, and the dark-haired boy stepped out. Keeping her eyes on Bill at all times, Val holstered her own gun and gestured for the boy to follower her, the two of them heading down the stairs and towards the door.

Seeing this, Bill stepped forward, face going hard. "You're not going in there-"

Before Val had a chance to tell him to fuck off, a gun shot rang in the air, causing the three to duck. Liz had fired off a warning round on the wall next to Bill.

"Go ahead." She ordered the two firmly, and they shot glares at Bill before Tyler pulled harshly at the latch and shoved the door open.

It was like a torture chamber, and it was disgusting. The room smelled like burning flesh and vervain, and Val's heart clenched when they saw a familiar blonde figure sitting, strapped to a chair.

"Tyler, Val…" she whimpered, and both shot forward, the werewolf breaking the shackles that bound her to the chair.

"Shhh, it's ok, Care, save your strength." Val soothed the girl.

"My ring…" she told them softly, and Tyler grabbed it, slipping it back onto his girlfriends finger before scooping her up into his arms.

THE RECKONING

Val bit her lip, watching as Hector and Ally held onto Liza and Gil's hands. They had walked through security, and were now on the escalator. Both kids turned around and waved enthusiastically at her, and she returned it, keeping a smile on her face. But once they'd disappeared from view, it dropped.

Seeing as things were starting to get a little bit tense again, with the drama of Caroline's dad and Damon's sudden drop into being a douche again, as well as the fact that she was insanely busy with bartending at the Grill and preparing for the school year with the team, she had decided now was a good time to allow the kids to go on a little vacation with their old foster parents. She was still close with Liza and Gil, and she knew the kids missed them. She also knew this was the right decision, but that didn't' make it any less painful.

It's just one week, Val, you'll be fine, she reminded herself as she walked back out to her car.

Right?

The school's fluorescent lights made her head hurt, but she ignored them. The sound of young voices giggling and whispering made her smirk, and she rounded the corner just in time to flip on the light and catch the culprits.

Several of the girls from the soccer team were in her office, replacing all her pens, pencils and Sharpies with crayons, as well as tinkering with her chair. She knew that trick, she'd done it to several of her foster moms; it would give way as soon as she sat down.

"And what have we here?" She asked lightly, smiling at their sheepish faces. "Senior prank night, huh?"

"Coach Val, how did you know we were here?" The teams co-captain, Jessie, asked. Val shook her head.

"Guys, I was raised in foster care. Whatever you have planned, I've done to an adult and several other kids at least some point in my life. Now," she stepped aside, gesturing her head, "go get Mr. Saltzman, but leave my office alone, and I won't tell anyone I saw you here, yeah?"

The girls all smiled at her, and filed out, returning her pens to her outstretched hand with some sheepish smiles and apologies. Finally, they had all left, and the huntress chuckled, walking over to place the writing utensils down when it happened.

A startled cry left her lips as the burning started, searing and intense as the crucifix felt like it was practically melting into her skin. She scrambled to grab it, and finally managed to yank it over her head and drop it on the floor. Panting, she rubbed her chest and realized in dismay that it had burned her much more severely, this time; there was a cross now branded into her skin. Checking the mirror in the office, she saw it was light, and barely noticeable, but still there.

But that wasn't what freaked her out; what freaked her out was, on top of the burning, that little compass in her head was going insane. It wiggled, spun, and continued to spin like made, lighting her nerves on fire and making her anxious and tense, like she got whenever she was in the room with Elijah or Klaus. Finally, the needle stopped, pointing directly down the hall towards the gym. And that only meant one thing.

There was an Original in the building.

Her heartbeat was pounding in her hears, but she ignored it, yanking her necklace back on and slipping over to the closet on one side of the office. Opening it, she pulled the panel at the back downward, revealing the cavity she'd built into the wall. Multiple weapons, meant to kill witches, vampires, and werewolves alike were mounted inside. Since she was unsure which Original was there, she grabbed her barbed wooden dagger, her derringer, and her crossbow, ensuring the wooden tips were still wicked sharp. Shutting the closet, she crept silently into the hallway.

Despite having just seen the girls, it was eerily silent, and she prayed the students were safe from the predator in the building. With as much stealth as she possessed, Val slid towards the gym, keeping the crossbow level with her eyes. As she got closer, she heard voices. Or, at least a voice, and not one she wanted to hear.

"…and if Bonnie's successful, he'll live through his transition." She paused just outside one of the doors, ensuring she couldn't be seen through the windows. Klaus's voice got closer, and she tensed. "Go on, fetch your grimoire's and what not. I'll hold onto Elena for safekeeping."

Val's heart plummeted. Klaus knew Elena was alive; Damon had told her all about his inability to create new hybrids, and it was a safe bet that it was due to the fact that the teen was still breathing. Slowly, she lifted her head and peered through the gym.

Klaus was holding Elena by the arm, while Bonnie stood a few feet away. Two kids, Dana and Chad, were sitting huddled away from the croup by a large set up of solo cups, crying. A blonde girl she didn't recognize was walking towards Klaus and Elena, and Matt was sitting on the ground next to a very still Tyler.

Oh, no, the transition… if Klaus was trying to make a new hybrid out of Tyler, and if what Damon and Rick told her was correct, he didn't have long before he would start bleeding from his eyes and going rabid, which would force her hand. Taking a deep breath, she waited for an opportune moment; she couldn't beat two vampires at once, at least one of them would need to be facing away from her.

Bonnie and Matt took off through the set of doors across the gym as the blonde spoke, voice mocking. "So, this is the new doppelganger?" She had a British accent, and her facial expressions and movements reminded Val of Klaus by quite a bit. "The original one was much prettier." The girl continued in a bitchy voice.

"Enough, Rebekah." Klaus chided lightly, and the blonde, Rebekah, rolled her eyes. "Take the wolf boy elsewhere, would you?"

Val's heart jumped as she realized her chance, and she waited impatiently for Rebekah to grab Tyler's ankle, dragging him away like an animal. The scene made her hold on the crossbow tighten.

As soon as the blonde had left, the huntress wasted no time. Raising a foot, she kicked the door open, and it seemed to go in slow motion after that.

She rounded the corner, making eye contact with Elena as she raised the crossbow towards her target. Finally, her eyes fell on Klaus's, finger pressing down on the trigger. The wooden arrow sprang forward, flying straight towards his heart.

And he wrapped it fist around it directly before it touched the fabric of his shirt.

"Well, now, I have to say, love." He smirked at the huntress, "I was expecting more."

Val glared at him, "I know."

The shaft of the arrow exploded, a mixture of vervain and wolfsbane hitting Klaus directly in the hand, chest, arm, and face. He cried out in fury and pain, and she bolted forwards, whipping out her wooden knife. Sliding on her knees, she sliced at his leg, reveling in his pained grunt before jumping to her feet and going for his heart again. It wouldn't kill him, and she knew that, but that didn't mean it wouldn't buy them some time.

But her plan was short-lived. Klaus had recovered and grabbed her wrist as it came down towards his chest. Squeezing it to the point of possible fracture, he snatched the barbed, wooden dagger from her hand, angrily flinging it off to the side where she heard it embed itself in the wall. The air suddenly whooshed by her, and a yelp of pain left her as her back met the wall harshly, Klaus's hand wrapped around her throat.

"Now, while I admire bravery, I think this would be closer to foolishness." He growled at her, tightening his hold on her throat. Her hands wrapped around his wrist and arms, glaring at him through her pain. He didn't get to see her scared, not after what he had done. "Now, at first, I was going to kill you, but not only would that pesky little crucifix of yours bring you back no matter how I did it, so maybe not just yet."

"Why?" She ground out, teeth gritted through the pain. "Have you already hit your number on murder today?"

He chuckled dryly, then stepped closer, moving his hand from her throat and bracing both of them on the wall off to either side of her head. She flinched when she felt his nose on her neck, taking a long inhale, but there wasn't much she could do except sit there, seething. Finally, Klaus pulled back.

"You smell absolutely divine, lovely." He told her, "And I'm starving."

Horror crept in her as she watched the familiar, black veins crawl around his eyes, but it was different his time. This time, they turned gold instead of red, and for some reason, it was so much more terrifying. He lunged forward and buried them in her throat, and she bit back her scream, shoving at his chest. After what felt like an eternity of intense agony throbbing up and down her body, but was probably closer to a few seconds, he pulled back, licking his lips and sighing contentedly.

"Nothing like a Rodriguez to satisfy." He whispered tauntingly before grabbing her arm and harshly yanking her towards the bleachers, where a stack of rope basketball nets was sitting. Grabbing one, he yanked at the knots, the loud snapping noises making Elena, Chad, and Dana flinch from their spots on the gym floor. Using the now several pieces of rope, he yanked her again, this time over to the railings at the side of the bleachers and yanked her leather jacket off, waving the weapons within tauntingly at her before setting it within view, but well out of reach and tightly bound her wrists. She winced slightly as he pulled them, feeling the circulation to her hands start to go down. "Now, you sit tight until this blows over. I can't wait for my sister to meet you, but I must warn you: she's even less of a fan of your family than I am." He smirked at her, and went to sit up further.

It hadn't even been five minutes as Val worked to pull her hands from the ropes, shooting some comforting glances to the teens across the room and avoiding Klaus's piercing stare when the doors to the gym opened. Her eyes widened in shock upon seeing Stefan walk into the room, shoulders tense and eyes roving hesitantly over the scene, pausing at she and Elena before moving to Klaus.

"Come to save your damsel, mate?" Klaus asked him softly from his spot on the bleachers. Stefan took several steps closer, his face growing impassive.

"I've come to ask for your forgiveness, and to pledge my loyalty." He told the Original firmly.

"Well, you broke that pledge once already." Klaus brushed off, but Stefan continued.

"Elena means nothing to me anymore." His voice was hard, but even Val could see it in his face; he was lying. "And whatever you ask of me, I will do."

Klaus stared at him for a beat before a smirk pulled at his face. "Fair enough." Standing, he came down the steps, mockingly running his fingers over Val's bare shoulder and causing the huntress to angrily flinch away before coming to a stop by Elena and the other two. "Let's have a drink on it, then." He pointed to Chad and Dana, "Kill them."

Val felt her heart drop, and she knew right then and there she had to do something. Straining against the ropes, she put her foot out and struggled to set it on her jacket, stretching her spine and leg. Almost there…

"No, Stefan, don't, he won't hurt me, he already said-AH!" Elena's protests were cut off as Klaus cruelly backhanded her across the face, and Val fought harder to reach her weapons, feeling desperation start to rise in her chest. Stefan raced forward to attack the man who'd hurt his girlfriend, but Klaus caught him by the throat, looking livid.

"She means nothing to you?" He snarled, "Your lies just keep piling up! Now, I didn't want to do this, but you give me no choice…"

It was like she knew what was going to happen before it even did. She saw him look into Stefan's eyes, and cold dread rushed from her chest into her veins and throughout her whole body. Redoubling her efforts, she pulled her hands against the ropes, biting back her pained grunts and cries as it roughly pulled on the skin of her hands and wrists. It was painful, but it wasn't the worst she'd ever had, and it was almost there…

"Now," Klaus's voice cut her off, and everything seemed to stop when she turned to see, "kill them, Ripper!"

Stefan's eyes went black, and before anyone could even open their mouths, he lunged at Dana, burying his teeth into her throat and successfully ripping it out, the young girls body collapsing to the floor. Horror and fury replaced Val's shock, and she continued to pull desperately at her ropes as Stefan lunged at Chad, the young boys screams fueling her on. She was losing all the skin on her wrists, but she wasn't any closer. Angry and frustrated tears came to the surface, but she fought them back as Chad dropped, dead. Klaus was crouched by Elena, clearly taunting her, but he was too far away to hear.

Right as she felt like she was getting somewhere, the doors flew open loudly, and Rebekah stormed in, face dark.

"Where is it?!" She shrieked at Elena, and the teen met Val's eyes in confusion as Klaus stood.

"What are you talking about?"

"She has my necklace, look!" The blonde growled, handing Klaus a white phone, (was that Caroline's?)

Klaus zoomed in on a picture, a look of irritation passing over his features. "Well, well," he sighed, "more lies."

"Where's my necklace?" Rebekah asked darkly, taking a threatening step towards Elena. The brunette shook her head, trembling.

"I don't have it anymore." She told them truthfully, and Val was reminded of when Katherine had taken it.

But neither Original appeared to believe her.

Rebekah lunged forward with a shout, burying her teeth into Elena's neck as the teenager screamed in pain and fear. Klaus grabbed her, yanking her off the doppelganger furiously. "Knock it off!" He shouted.

"Make her tell me where it is, Nik!" Rebekah shrieked, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth, and Val had had enough.

"She's not lying!" She yelled angrily, still tugging at the ropes, "Katherine stole it! She's had it for a while now!"

Both Originals turned and saw Val standing there, muscles tense, ready for them to approach. A tight, irritated smile came over Klaus's face as Rebekah's eyes fell on Val's crucifix, widening in shock. It looked like she recognized it.

"Katerina," Klaus muttered, of course. Well," he turned around, voice raising, "that's unfortunate. If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?" He walked over to the table that held the buzzer control as he talked, hitting several buttons. A timer of twenty minutes came up and the buzzer sounded in warning. "Twenty minutes! If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again," he instructed Stefan, "only this time, I want you to feed on Elena." He leaned into the blood-covered vampire, whispering tauntingly. "You know you want to."

Pulling away, he and Rebekah started walking over to Val, who glared at them as Klaus ripped the ropes away. She winced when she saw her wrists; raw and bloody from pulling at the rough material so much, and had to bite her lip when his hand came down on the injury and pulled her towards him grabbing her arm and forcing her to walk in front of him. "I would kill you, love, but I know you'll just wake up, and I can't have you causing any problems for me, so you're going to stay with Rebekah." He instructed her as the trio walked down the hallway, Val a clearly unwilling participant.

"You scared of what human can do to you, Klaus?" She shot back, hoping to piss him off enough to give her a chance to escape. But, he didn't take the bait.

"After a thousand years, I've learned a Rodriguez is not an enemy I should underestimate, but nice try, Valentina."

Stopping outside a classroom, Rebekah threw the door open and Klaus shoved Val inside. The huntress nearly lost her footing, but righted herself as the blonde followed her in. Klaus shot her a smirk before speaking to his sister.

"Don't let anyone leave." He instructed firmly, and then he was gone, the door slamming closed behind him. It was then Val noticed that they weren't alone. Caroline was standing over Tyler's body, which was laid out on one of the chemistry tables. Ignoring the barbie vampire behind her, she went straight for them.

"How is he?" She asked the teen, but Caroline only shook her head sadly. Tyler was definitely dead, and would wake up in transition soon.

"So," Rebekah's voice had never been more annoying, and Val took a deep, calming breath before turning to face her. "This is the newest Rodriguez hunter." She sized her up, eyes pausing at the crucifix. "Just a little one, aren't you?"

Val didn't say anything, continuing to glare as the girl smirked at them and pulled Caroline's phone out, still pawing through it. It looked like she'd never seen one before, which was weird. Hadn't she been alive for over a thousand years?

A loud gasp made her jump so hard she nearly lost her balance, and she whirled around to see Tyler coming to, looking around him with a freaked out expression on his face. She and Caroline bent over him, attempting to calm the teen down.

"Hey, Tyler, it's ok." Val tried to soothe him, and he met their eyes, panting.

"What- what's going on? What's happening?" He fired off, and the two girls made eye contact, pausing as they considered what they should say.

"Don't be shy." Rebekah chimed in behind them, and Val rolled her eyes before Caroline looked back down at Tyler.

"You're in transition, Ty. Klaus fed you his blood, and then he killed you. He's trying to turn you into a vampire; a hybrid." She confessed, trying to stay calm, and the huntress across from them watched anxiously, biting her lip as the words sunk in.

"Don't leave out the hard part, sweets," Rebekah chimed in, "you'll only survive if your witch is successful. If not, well, you're pretty much dead."

Her words did little to calm the boy, obviously, and he sat up, breathing rate beginning to pick up speed. Val and Caroline both put their hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down.

"You're going to be ok, Tyler, alright? It'll be ok." Caroline soothed, and Val nodded.

"Yeah, it's Bonnie. She's good at what she does, if anyone can figure this out, it's her."

"I wonder how she's doing." Rebekah spoke up, and showed them the phone screen. Val saw in horror that they only had just over two minutes. "Tick-tock goes the gym clock."

It felt like they'd sat there forever, but it was only two more minutes and the timer sounded. Val's heart sank, and she stepped closer to Tyler, eyes flitting for a way out of their current situation.

"Well, the verdicts in," Klaus's voice interrupted her thoughts, and they all turned to see the hybrid come into the room, "the Original Witch says the doppelganger should be dead."

"Does that mean we can kill her?" Rebekah asked, looking excited, but Klaus shook his head.

"No, I'm fairly certain it means the opposite." He responded, and roughly grabbed a fistful of Val's hair, yanking her away and holding off to his side. Rebekah grabbed Caroline in a bear hug, holding the struggling blonde as Klaus held up a tube full of blood.

"Drink it."

"No, Tyler, don't!" Caroline cried, and Val started to move forward, but Klaus's grip on her hair made her yelp, staying in place.

"If he doesn't feed, he'll die anyway." Klaus told them, "Consider this an experiment."

The group watched with baited breath as Tyler, sweating and clearly starting to feel the effects of the transition, struggled to sit up. But the smell of the blood was so close, and he was quickly losing self-control. Finally, he lunged forward, grabbing the tube and draining it.

Val watched in horror as he suddenly groaned, spitting up the blood and began to write violently, rolling off the table and landing on the floor with a crash. Both Val and Caroline cried out in protest and started forward, but were held back by the Original siblings, both watching with wide eyes.

Tyler continued to shout and writhe in pure agony, holding his head. It was physically painful to watch how intense his pain was, but suddenly, it stopped.

Everything seemed to pause, and Val's heart actually seemed to stop as they waited for Tyler to raise his head.

And he did.

With a roar, his head shot up, eyes yellow and black veins crawling underneath his skin. Her lips parted, breath picking up, and Klaus only smirked.

"Well, that's a good sign."

By the time she got home that night, she needed more than a shower. She needed a whole fucking steam room. She'd be picking up Hector and Ally at the end of the week from the airport, and then Hector's school would start next Wednesday. That gave her a week to attempt to make the whole damn situation somewhat safe for her siblings again.

She had just started undressing when she heard the knocking. Biting back an irritated groan, she turned, heading to the door and standing on her toes to look through the peephole. Seeing who was at her door actually replaced a good fifty percent of her exhaustion with fury, and she yanked the door open.

"What the fuck?" She snarled at Damon, who nodded, holding his hands up.

"Look, I know, ok-"

"No, Damon, you don't know!" Her voice unintentionally rose, "Your little brothers now easily the biggest threat I've dealt with, on top of the fact that Klaus figured out Elena's blood is the key to creating his super race." She paused, then narrowed her eyes. "And where the hell was Jeremy during all of this, huh?"

His silence was clearly the answer, and she tilted her head back, mouthing a soft wow before shaking her head. Damon, upon seeing this, spoke up and looked just as angry.

"Hey, I got us the answers we needed."

"No, Damon, you ran from your problems with Katherine and just so happened to come across the answers!" She shot back, and started to step back to slam the door, but Damon's voice stopped her.

"His name is Mikael."

Val paused, opening the door again to see Damon staring at her, eyes hard.

"What?"

"The hunter, the vampire that hunts vampires, his names Mikael, and it seems like he's the only thing that really scares the big, bad hybrid." He told her, then cocked an eyebrow. "You still mad at me?"

"Yep." She quipped, then shook her head. "But, still, what else did you learn?"

"Well, that's the part I thought you needed to hear," he sighed, "we got in touch with Anna, Jeremy's old girlfriend. Apparently, Pearl knew about this guy. But Anna told us something else."

"What?"

"That when Mikael starts hunting Klaus again, he's going to come looking for you, too."

This is the season where we learn about how Val's family is connected to the Mikaelson's, so get readyyyyyyy