NEW ORLEANS

"Okay, so where are you guys now?" Buffy asks Enzo as she moves around her room in search of the chains she was going to need, considering that she now had to go capture a damn vampire to feed to Damon so that he didn't rip off Enzo's head the second she met up with them.
The sound of Enzo shuffling around makes Buffy sigh impatiently "Enzo!"

"Farmhouse. I've just sent you the address."

Buffy groans as she finally finds the chains in a case near her bed, pulling them out she shoves them in her duffle bag before zipping it up "Okay, so run me through everything."

"So after we killed Aaron Whitmore...oh dear, I don't know if I was supposed to tell you that."
Buffy rolls her eyes, she so did not care right now, she had enough to worry about, some kid Elena made friends with who's family had funded experiments for Augustine was the least important thing on that list right now "Already knew don't care."

"Oh. Sorry, color me surprised. Last I heard your sister was rather annoyed by that."

Buffy scoffs she had no kind words for Aaron given the kid despite knowing that Elena wasn't a vampire still left her down in a cell leaving her for Wes's torture "Eh, he left my sister in a cell knowing Wes was holding her hostage and he shot Damon. I don't care. Old me would have, new me... too many problems. Like how Wes is still big with the breathing. That counts as a problem."

Enzo chuckles in amusement at her words clearly enjoying their conversation while she on the other hand was just wishing for it to be over already "Damon was right. I do like you Luv, you're a little dark. I also hear you have a thing for accents."

Buffy groans in disgust as she grabs her platform boots and begins slipping them on, she couldn't help at cringe at yet another British vampire giving her pet names "Nope. That is too many people calling me Luv."
"How about Pet?"

Images of Spike repeatedly calling her 'pet' filled the blonde's mind and she couldn't help but shudder in disgust why could people not just call her Buffy? It wasn't exactly a hard name to pronounce!
"Stop please stop." She practically begs as she stands and grabs her leather jacket off the chair by her vanity. "No more British vampires with the nicknames." She mumbles before glaring at the sky cursing the powers that be "Seriously!" She huffs unable to tell why they kept sending British Vampires that do nothing but flirt with her and make her life a pain in the ass her way "Back to the filling Buffy in part of this conversation. How the hell did Wes get a jump on you?"


THE FARMHOUSE

After filling the lovely Buffy in on what exactly had happened Enzo comes downstairs where Damon was pacing back and forth in front of the currently dead owner of the farmhouse they were inhabiting. Clapping his hands together he draws his dear friend's attention as he walks down the steps "Somebody's cranky. It's been almost eight hours since you last fed, so that's about right."
Damon frowns and finally tears his gaze off the soon to be vampire to look over at Enzo, not bothering to wipe the blood from his face he arches an amused breath "You're timing me?"

"You feed on vampires now." Enzo points out before gesturing at his very vampire body "And I am a vampire. The only way to assure my safety is to know how long you can last before your next fix."

"Or you can just leave."
Enzo scoffs "I don't abandon my friends Damon. Besides if you hadn't come with me to kill Dr. Wes...he wouldn't have stuck you with that nasty virus."

Suddenly the dead farmer on the floor gasps and shoots up into a sitting position before looking around the room in a panic. Enzo grins and turns to Damon "Ah, just in time. Vampire delivery service won't be here for a while. So hopefully he lasts." While Damon frowns in confusion as to what that meant Enzo crouches down in front of the farmer who was newly in transition "Hello."

"What did you do? What's happening?"

"Ah, you died." Enzo explains simply "But luckily, you had my blood in your system, so when you drink this..." He says moving to grab the blood bag off the couch before turning back to him "...you'll feel much better." With that, he shoves the blood bag into his face watching as he quickly downs it.

As the newly turned vampire consumes the blood Enzo turns to Damon "Now the lovely Buffy won't be here with your next fix for a while. So make this one last." As Damon's eyes widen in shock Enzo merely shrugs clearly he had forgotten to mention that little detail "Oh by the way...I called Buffy."

"You did what!"


NEW ORLEANS

"Remind me again." Buffy states as she walks down into the dining room of the Compound where Klaus was currently stood with Elijah, when Klaus turns to face her the blonde grabs a donut off the table before arching a brow "Why while I'm on a rescue mission for a vampire feasting ripper Damon, you can't watch your own child."
Klaus chuckles in amusement turning away from his brother watching the blonde carefully "Hayley offered to watch her while Elijah and I dine with Freya. So I sent her and her husband off to spend the day with their werewolf brethren...to test the limits of their new abilities."

Buffy groans in annoyance and takes a bit of her food before rolling her eyes however before she could speak Elijah pipes up "With Rebekah's situation having taken a turn we may need Freya's assistance."
"You already have one evil witch sister." Buffy points out making Elijah clasp his hands together in frustration knowing that she was referring to his younger sister "The reason my dear that Marianna doesn't come to New Orleans often is not just because she hates us all. Her history with the ancestors and ancestral magic, puts her in danger every time she is here. The longer she remains in New Orleans the more chances the ancestors can break through the magical barriers she has surrounding her to try and take her magic. Which would kill her. So for now...as long as Niklaus doesn't do whatever he is planning here, we will have to rely on Freya's help."

Buffy groans in annoyance and turns to glare at Klaus "I'm going to be gone for 12 hours. Can you not...you now...start Mikaelson world war in that time."
"It's a simple chat with a long lost relative." Klaus argues but that couldn't hide his sneaky smirk, spotting the blonde roll her eyes he merely sighs "What I don't understand is why you're going to help? Go in remove Damon's head, problem solved."

Buffy scoffs "If life was as simple as removing someone's head, don't you think I would have removed yours by now?"
As Klaus' smirk drops at her teasing question Elijah does chuckle "She does raise a fair point brother."


WHITMORE

After another unsuccessful day of trying to use her abilities as a Banshee Katherine was hitting her final straw, she needed Nadia to find a Traveler or a witch they could trust to figure out what she couldn't access her Banshee side. Or to at least explain why every time she tried voices would start screaming in her head, leaving the ex-vampire with nothing more than a headache and a bloody nose.
It was like the Banshee inside of her knew that she wasn't the rightful owner of this body and it was infuriating, she just hoped no one asked her to use her screams anytime soon.
Heading upstairs she unlocks the door to Elena and Xander's apartment only to halt as she spots Stefan, Caroline, and Xander all huddled in the kitchen looking over maps and what looked like police reports.

"What's going on?"

Stefan glances up at the Banshee waving her over before gesturing to Caroline "Liz sent all of these. Damon's off the rails. Which means missing persons and animal attacks."

"Exactly." Caroline pipes up before reaching down into the box her mother had given her "But there was something else. All the victims were found inside their homes without their heads...and their skin was desiccated. I talked to Jessie showed him a few of the photos, given he almost ripped off Damon's head it's safe to say..."

"Damon's been infected with the same virus." Xander mumbles before rubbing his forehead in frustration "And given we still haven't cured Jessie..."

"We have no cure for Damon." Stefan finishes before sighing this was just getting worse, they had been at a loss for curing Jessie for weeks and now they had another ripper hungry vampire.
"Maybe dumb question." Xander pipes up "But anyone tried calling Buffy?"
Katherine nods in agreement, however, hers was more, maybe Buffy will kill Damon then he's out the way and it's one less person who may figure out the truth "Makes sense." She tells the group "If Damon went crazy...she'd be the first person he would call."


Buffy was driving down the highway in the middle of nowhere carefully following the directions that Enzo had sent her.
As she listens to music she tries to keep herself distracted, not only from the current issue of Freya and Klaus possibly making a powerful enemy, she could only hope that Elijah acted like a good buffer. But mainly she was trying to drown out the sound of the vampire currently chained up in her back seat.

"My God will you shut up." She hisses glaring back at him while he merely growls through the Vervain soaked gag in his mouth, if she had known this guy was going to complain so much she would have staked him and grabbed a different vamp after she left Louisiana.
As he grumbles under his breath probably throwing some choice words at her the blonde sighs and turns her focus back to the road. The quiet only lasted for a minute though before her phone began buzzing "Hello?" She answers leaving the phone on speaker, she wasn't the best driver as it was, she couldn't risk crashing because she was talking on the phone, especially with an annoyed vampire in the back seat.

"Buffy, it's me." Stefan says making Buffy wince, how do you talk to your sort of boyfriend/ex-boyfriend about the fact that his virus-infected brother's crazy friend had called asking for vampire food delivery "What up?" Wincing at her own words she slaps her forehead before glaring at the vampire in her back seat who chuckles at her misery "Shut up." She hisses before turning back to the call.

"Hey we're trying to track down Damon, we think he's been infected with the same virus as Jessie..."
"Yeah, he has."

There is silence for a moment before Elena's voice pops up "Buffy, how do you know that?"

"Enzo kind of called me...at like 5 am. I was having a rare Slayer free dream then low and behold the powers that be send me another annoying British Vampire my way. I feel like it's karma for having a child with Klaus."

There is a small quiet argument on the other end and Buffy was pretty sure she could hear Caroline in the background mumbling something like 'Probably'.

Sighing the blonde cuts in "Guys!" She yells before running a hand through her hair "Enzo called from Damon's phone and filled me in. I'm on my way there now. Look he's craving vampire blood he won't hurt me. Plus I bought food. Speaking of..." Pausing the blonde turns to glare at the vampire that was kicking her seat "Stop that!" She hisses before snapping his neck.
"You kidnapped a vampire?"

At Stefan's words Buffy shrugs "Technically vamnapped. Get it?"
Stefan clearly didn't share her amusement at this point "Text me the address I'll meet you there."

"We will." Elena pipes up making Buffy sighs in annoyance, great now more people to deal with, this was supposed to be a quick trip.
"Fine." She huffs "See you soon."


NEW ORLEANS

As she takes a seat at the table Freya looks in-between her two young brothers who were waiting to hear all about her life with Dahlia "The first thing you should know is that Dahlia is the most powerful witch I have ever seen. And she craves more power still." She explains the fear evident in her voice from the ever so slight quiver that came with just saying Dahlia's name "Right now, she is like me, limited to one year of life in a century. Our sister, Marianna was granted eternal youth by the ancestors, but as you know she is not truly immortal. When she started using dark magic and angered the ancestors she became bound to her necklace and her power. That's not enough for Dahlia. She wants to be free, to gain true immortality."
Pausing she turns her focus over to Klaus who was watching her curiously, listening intently to every word "This is why she will come here, drawn by your daughter...to take the child's power for herself. And she will kill anyone who would defy her."


WHITMORE

As she packs her things to head on the road trip with Stefan to meet Buffy Katherine listened intently to her daughter before freezing at the next reveal "Matt found out about you."
At her daughter's words Katherine throws her jacket on the bed in frustration and rage, this was the worst possible time for this to be happening "He what?!"
"Tyler gave him Vervain."
"Kill him." The Banshee practically growls as she continues shoving clothes into her bag.

"Katherine. He doesn't need to die. The Vervain will be out of his system soon and I've kept him out of sight, he hasn't told anyone. Right now you need to focus on gaining control of Elena's abilities before the others get suspicious about why Elena can no longer fight or protect herself."

Katherine rolls her eyes in frustration at her daughter's clear affection for the idiot blonde human "I'm working on the Banshee bit. I'm on my way out of town to meet Buffy with Stefan so we can...help Damon." She mumbles the last part rolling her eyes.
"I thought you wanted Damon and Stefan out the picture."

"Ugh. I do." She mumbles before zipping up her bag "Look the plan is to go back to New Orleans with Buffy. Pretty sure there is a witch there that can confuse whatever Banshee bitches are in my head to make them think I'm Elena. Then zoom I have my powers."


THE FARMHOUSE

Pulling over into the garage of the farmhouse Buffy grabs her bag before climbing out, throwing her duffel over her shoulder she then grabs the still unconscious vampire letting his body drop with a hard thump to the floor.
However before she could head to the entrance the blonde frowns as she hears familiar voice, peaking out from behind the garage door her eyes widen as she spots Wes surrounded by Travelers while he spoke to Damon and who she guessed was Enzo.

"Now that you're trapped with your only source of food..." Wes continues his monologue smugly "...how long can you go before you feed on your best friend?"

Buffy smirks before in a blur she moves past all the travelers, as their bodies begin to drop Wes jumps before staring in shock as Buffy appears behind the last traveler and swings the scythe at her head.
"Hi boys." Buffy says sweetly as she wipes the blood off the axe before arching a brow at Wes "I'm guessing you have more creepy chanty people, but they are not here right now. So...how about you have a nice sleep?" before Wes could say another word Buffy speeds over to him and slams his head against the wall knocking him unconscious. With that Buffy moves back into the garage grabbing the still unconscious vampire and bringing him up to the farmhouse door facing a now trapped Damon and Enzo.

While Damon was staring at her stunned Enzo merely grinned in fascination.
Buffy smiles brightly as she steps inside dragging Wes and the vampire with her "So...who ordered takeout?"

"This is Buffy?" Enzo asks glancing at Damon who nods as he catches the vampire she tosses him still stunned to silence. As Buffy moves to drag Wes inside the house and begins tying him up Enzo smirks over at her "Hello gorgeous."
Buffy groans in disgust, while very cute yes, she had enough of that damn accent "Ew."


NEW ORLEANS

"Your stories are fascinating." Klaus tells Freya as she finishes another one of her little tales about her time with Dahlia "And Dahlia does indeed sound dreadful...but Elijah and I have killed our fair share of evil witches." He points out still unsure of how Dahlia could be so much worse than some of the other dreadful witches they had faced over the centuries.
Freya merely offers her brother a knowing smile "Not like her." She argues.
At her words, Elijah takes a sip of his tea before watching her curiously "What are her weaknesses?"

"She's paranoid." Freya explains "Obsessed with power. She hungers constantly for what's been denied her...be it love or revenge."

Elijah couldn't help but glance at his brother, Freya's words and description seemingly familiar "Yes, I'm familiar with the type."


"Any wiggle room?" Buffy asks as she turns to Damon who was attempting to get through the barrier the Travelers had placed on the farmhouse.
"Nope." He tells her "Those travelers sealed this place uptight."

"Which means there's more than the ones...laying all dead and icky outside." Buffy mumbles before turning to the still unconscious Wes who was tied to a chair. She was trying to think of how exactly to get the information for the cure out of him...and she was pretty sure she had an idea.

"What exactly is the goal of bringing him in here Luv?" Enzo pipes up making Buffy turn and smile brightly at him "Simple." Buffy tells the boys as she takes the bottle of booze out of Enzo's hands before moving to sit on the table.
As they wait for her explanation she frowns "Oh you want me to tell you?" Sighing she folds her legs out from under her looking in-between the two vampires "Surprisingly or not living with Klaus for the past month has touched me up on some torture facts. That and I did date the scourge of Europe."

"You dated Angelus?" Enzo pipes up curiously before shaking his head in amusement "Haven't seen him since right after I was turned. God, he was a cocky bastard."
"Still is." Damon argues as he holds out his hand for Buffy to toss over to the booze.

Buffy sighs before gesturing to Wes "The plan is to shove vampire blood down his throat. And if he doesn't tell us where the cure is. We turn him, and then I bleed all the Vervain out of his system. Compel him to give us the cure, then feed him to you." She says with a shrug making Enzo stare at her with wide eyes before he laughs loudly and turns to Damon "She's bloody nuts. I love her."


As they drive down the highway Stefan glances at Katherine curiously, thinking about how she had been very happy to get as far away from Xander as humanly possible. Normally they were the picture-perfect couple, but since he and Xander had been working together he had come to learn that wasn't the case as of late.
"Is everything okay?" He asks her worriedly breaking up the comfortable silence they had been in as he drove and she wrote in her journal. When she looks at him in confusion he quickly clarifies "With you and Xander?"

Katherine inhales tightly trying to think of exactly what to say, something that would be the best way Elena Gilbert may describe a struggling relationship. Shutting the journal in her hands she sighs and leans against the leather of her car seat for a long moment as she contemplates her words "Yeah...I just..." Running a hand through her hair she looks over at him putting on her best-worried girlfriend look "...after what I did to Jessie. I'm worried. My powers are growing and I don't know how to control them. I'm worried I'm gonna hurt him."

Stefan lets out a small breath before nodding in understanding and offering the girl he thought was his close friend a small smile "Talk to him. Xander's a great guy Elena. If you need time to figure this out...he'll give it to you. The guy shipped his entire life out of California for you. Giving you space to control your powers. Not such a big deal."


As Enzo chains Damon up in preparation for what could be a long night Buffy was currently on a conference call with the Mikealsons, all of them listening to Rebekah's tale of losing hours of control over her body.
"It was this witch. Eva." Rebekah huffs through the phone making Buffy sigh as she pours herself a drink, something she was finding herself doing more and more as the stress of her life continued to rise.
"The nasty little cow is inside me, trying to bust her way out."

"Is there any way to shove the happy kid slaughtering witch back down into special hell?" Buffy asks curiously, her own body-swapping experience had swapped her soul with another, so she never had to deal with two people in one body. Both of whom were extremely powerful and stubborn.

"Marianna is not answering her phone..." Elijah informs them all "...however Freya is still downstairs. Perhaps—"

Suddenly Elijah is cut off as Klaus pipes in making Buffy sigh, Woohoo arguing sibling drama that wasn't even her own "Have you lost your mind. We barely trust the witch sister we grew up with! We're not opening Rebekah's head to someone we barely know."

Buffy sighs in annoyance "What other choice do you have?" She points out "Mary's gone. Other witches pretty much hate you. You have a power-hungry witch who is just as stubborn as Rebekah, no offense Bex's fighting for control!"

"Hey!" Rebekah yells through the phone making Buffy groan "I said no offense!" She argues before groaning as spots Enzo enter the room "Luv the doctor's awake."
"Uh crap."
"Buffy who in the bloody hell are you talking to?!" Klaus explains in frustration clearly not liking the fact that her full attention was not on him and his issues.

Buffy huffs and glares at Enzo who merely grins happily at her, shrugging ever so innocently "Another British man making my life a pain. Look we need Rebekah back. So either find a witch who doesn't hate your guts or let Freya give it a shot. Now excuse me, I have to go torture and threaten a doctor. I'll call back."

Without another word she hangs up and begins walking downstairs with Enzo. As they head into the living room Buffy chuckles as she looks over at Damon who was currently chained up to a chair "Chained is a good look on her."
"Thank you, Buff, for enjoying my misery." The vampire snarks before looking in-between his only two friends in worry "There is no cure guys."

Buffy and Enzo glance at each other before both of them cross their arms glaring at Damon in annoyance which immediately made Damon wish the pair had never met, he could not deal with these two teaming up against him "It's been two days." They say at the same time making Damon wince.

Yep, this officially sucked.

Buffy sighs glaring at Damon "Jessie's been dealing with this for weeks. So shut up and suck it up."

Wes who was still a little groggy turns to Buffy and Enzo in confusion before panic quickly fills him as he begins yanking against the binds "Let me go."
Enzo snorts before glancing at Buffy "Should we let him out Luv?"
"Mmm." Buffy moans tapping her chin playfully as she pretends to contemplate what to say "Nah, but I'll be nice. Enzo should we get him something to drink? He looks thirsty."

Enzo tilts his head at Wes before nodding and grabbing the cup of Damon's blood off the countertop and moving over to Wes "I'd say he's parched." With that Buffy speeds over to Wes forcing his mouth open while Enzo moves to stand over him and pours the blood into his mouth.
Before Wes could spit it out Buffy clamps his jaw together with her hands forcing the blood down his throat. Once she was sure it was all gone she smirks sweetly at him and leans her hands on the armrests of his chair "You remember me right?"

"Hank Summers's daughter. Powerful Original Slayer/Demon hybrid. Gave birth to the tribrid."

At the mention of her daughter Buffy clenches her jaw grabbing Wes's chin forcefully, she didn't play games not when it came to keeping her little girl safe "See, I'm running short on time." Buffy tells him "I have a friend who currently has an evil witch whispering evil thoughts in her head. So here's how this going to go, either you tell me how to cure Damon...and Caroline's maybe-boyfriend Jessie or..." She smiles gesturing to Enzo who wiggles his fingers at Wes happily "My newfound friend Enzo is gonna snap your neck. Now when you wake up in transition...I've gonna drain the Vervain out of your system. And given I'm an Original and all you should know, I can compel vampires. So I'll compel you to tell me where the cure is...and then just for the heck of it. I'll feed you to Damon. Everyone in agreement?"


NEW ORLEANS

Freya sighs as she listens to Klaus' still untrusting words about her intentions to help Rebekah with her body's owner Eva Sinclair.
Turning to look in-between her three siblings she throws them a begging look "I know I appear as an outsider...but I have dreamt of you all for a thousand years." She tells them before focusing on Elijah a small smile cursing her lips "Elijah when you were in Esther's womb she would ask me to sing to you." She tells him "I would feel her belly as I did. How you would kick. She would say it was as if Thor himself has raised his hammer..."

At the familiar words, Elijah couldn't help but cut in as he stares with wide eyes at his older sister "And summoned thunder and lightning." Freya smiles brightly at his words, a smile he recognized. It was a smile Rebekah used to throw around so often when she was a human girl. The exact same.
"Mother rarely mentioned you." He admits thinking back to their human lives "When she did, she would say how enchanted you were by the prospect of my birth."

"How I wanted more brothers." The witch says with a genuine smile before glancing at Rebekah "And sisters. More than anything. But between Esther and Dahlia that wish was taken from me. I was ruined by those who raised me. If nothing else, at least we have that in common." She says glancing back at Klaus who was sat at the bar in the corner of the room, his back to her, sighing she turns back to her more willing siblings "There is nothing that can replace what was taken from us...but I hope we can make something better in its place." She admits turning to Elijah with desperation in her eyes, praying for him to believe in her words, for her younger brother to believe in her "All you have to do is trust me."

Suddenly Klaus speeds up behind Freya and with one quick movement, he snaps Freya's neck dropping her temporarily dead body on the ground "Well that's enough of that. Right. Now we can have a proper family meeting."


Buffy groans in annoyance as Wes remains silent refusing to speak a word, glancing at her clock she quickly decided enough was enough "Okay, I'm killing you now." Moving to snap his neck Wes quickly yells begging her not to however luckily for him the blonde is suddenly sent flying across the room.

"Buffy!" Damon exclaims pulling at his chains as he watches the blonde go flying through the air crashing face-first into the fireplace. Enzo's eyes widen as he glances in the doorway where there were now more travelers all of them focusing their energy on Buffy. Which clearly was taking a lot out on them because as she struggled to get back up to her feet every single chanting traveler had blood running down their noses.
Enzo moves to help the blonde only to groan as a bullet is fired through the air hitting him right in the shoulder, as the vampire stumbles the lead Traveler steps inside quickly untying Wes "We cannot hold her for long." She tells him wincing in pain from the power being drained from her as the blonde Slayer manages to get back to her feet but struggles to step forward, the magic pushing against her with every movement.

Wes rushes out of the door and past the barrier just as the Travelers all stop their chanting with each of them gasping in relief while Buffy stumbles slightly Enzo quickly catching her as she wipes the blood from her nose.
However that's when Buffy realizes what the travelers had done, Enzo's blood was driving Damon crazy to the point where he was beginning to rip through the chains.
Gulping Buffy pushes Enzo behind her knowing Damon wouldn't forgive himself if he killed the friend he had already abandoned once "Enzo run!" She tells him just as Damon now free leaps at them.
Catching Damon she grabs him by the throat and launches him away before pushing Enzo "Go!"

"She's right!" Wes calls out causing the pair to turn in confusion "I'd suggest you leave before the spell wears off."

Enzo is quickly moved away as Buffy shoves him pushing him out of the way as Damon jumps at him again, the blonde tackles him to the ground struggling slightly. He was a hell of a longer than usual and was in full blood lust mode.
Enzo clenches his jaw before turning to Wes "And go where? With you?"
"There's one more thing I need from you." Wes tells him "Then I'll let you go for good. The other option is to wait and see if Damon snaps her neck to get to you."
"Enzo go!" Buffy and Damon yell but Enzo shakes his head, Buffy sighs and grabs the back of Damon's head holding him in a chokehold as he continues to struggle against her "Go, just...bring back a cure sooner rather than later!"


NEW ORLEANS

After Elijah and Rebekah had left to pursue other options of keeping Eva Sinclair buried deep down in Rebekah subconscious, that left Klaus awaiting Freya to return to life. Which he was becoming impatient about.
"How long till you return?" He asks Buffy as they speak over the phone tearing his gaze from Freya's body and focusing back on the bourbon in his glass.

"Soon. Stefan is on his way to pick up Damon. But I can't risk knocking him out till the last second, if I snap his neck too soon, then he wakes up during the drive and rips his own brother's head off. So there's a timing issue."

Klaus merely sighs to be honest having both Salvatore's disappear from Buffy's life would be beneficial for him, they were the main force keeping her from fully committing herself to staying in New Orleans. In his opinion, their deaths would be nothing but a positive thing.

"So how did the family meeting go?"
"Well..."

"You snapped Freya's neck didn't you?" At her words the hybrid couldn't help but snort in amusement, she always had been more than a pretty face "Perhaps. If she really is immortal she'll wake." Suddenly there was a gasp behind him, looking over his shoulder he smirks as he spots Freya now alive and well "Speaking of. I'll call you back then you can tell me all about the torture of the doctor." With that he hangs up and spins on his chair to face the witch "Ah, you're awake. Clearly, your restorative powers are not renowned for their speed." He snarks with a bright smirk.

Freya merely glares at him in disgust as she pulls herself back up to her feet "You dare lay your hands on me?"
"Well, immortality is a bold claim. I had to make sure you were telling the truth."
Freya glares at him angrily before her eyes widen as she realizes they were no longer in the compound but the tower she and Finn had been reunited in, the place where Finn had discovered the location of Joy.
"Why did you bring me here?"

Klaus shrugs as he stands moving to circle the room as he speaks "I couldn't very well have you stay in my home. That honor is something I reserve for those I consider family."
"So you refuse me as your sister?"
Klaus grins in amusement "Well, you had a lovely audition. It just didn't seem to be the right fit."

"I think Elijah felt otherwise." The eldest of the two argues as she takes a step towards her brother "Rebekah too. And no doubt Marianna would too had she been there. We do share the same passion for magic."
"Yes." The hybrid snorts unamused by her words "You did a fine job convincing them with your melodramatic tales. However, I suspect you were not entirely forthcoming." At the look on her face Klaus grins: he could see it, she was hiding something else, "The truth is, Elijah and Rebekah can be a bit naive...when it comes to family relations. Case in point, their unending faith in me. At least Marianna admits she hates my guts. You see I suspect there was a reason you sent the mother of my child away when you removed Finn from the witch's body." He tells her as he glares over at her taking a threatening step towards her not missing how she refused to look him in the eye.

"You are keeping something important from me." He hisses in a threatening tone, very prepared to rip her head from her body "And you wish to worm your way into my family. I want to know why. So, sister...I'm going to give you one last chance to tell the full truth. I suggest you don't muck it up."


Buffy and Damon were sat on opposite ends of the room in silence, him practically refusing to speak while she had grown bored and just wanted a damn nap. Glancing at her watch again her ears immediately perk up as she hears a car approaching "Stefan and Elena are here."
Damon groans in annoyance before standing, this was the only plan they had and it's not like they had any other options right now, giving the blonde a hand he pulls her up just as Stefan and Elena approach the doorway.

"Don't!" Damon yells noticing Stefan about to cross the boundary "If you step in you won't walk out."

Stefan sighs glancing over at Buffy who smiles sweetly at him making it clear she was okay, smiling back he then turns to his brother not noticing the eye roll Katherine throws at him before she turns to look at Buffy.
Damon however does notice and frowns, it was like Elena was looking at Buffy...longingly which honestly, a little creepy. However, before he could make a joke about it Stefan draws his attention "What happened?"

"Oh, you know." Damon pipes up "I wanted revenge. I got stuck with a vampire virus. Almost killed one of my two last friends. Tried to snap my other friend's neck. So she broke my wrists...which by the way..." He pauses turning to Buffy "Un-necessary to do it four times!"
Buffy merely grins happily "He cried it was funny."
"I did not cry!"

"You did a little!"

Katherine sighs at their childish banter before turning to Buffy "So what is the plan here?!"

"Okay so..." Buffy starts as she and Damon glance at each other before he pretty much pouts, but to be fair his part sucked just a little "...the barrier should be down now. So I'm gonna snap Damon's neck, Stefan's already got the cellar ready. And then it's up to you..." Buffy says turning to Katherine who merely frowns.
"Wait what?"
Stefan nods in agreement, at the moment the only thing they knew that worked on knocking the rippers down and keeping them down for at least a few days was a Banshee scream "Make sense, Jessie was down for the count for three days after what you did to him."

Not noticing the panicked look on Katherine's face Damon turns to Buffy in worry "Buffy I'm almost as strong as you right now. When you come at me, I'm going to defend myself. Can't help it."
"What?" Katherine hisses tearing her gaze off the floor to look at Buffy in shock "No...we can't risk it. Buffy if he hurts you..."

"He won't." The blonde argues frowning in confusion as to why Elena suddenly had such little faith in her abilities, it was weird.

Katherine merely shakes her head "Buffy no, my powers are unpredictable as is! If he hurts you, he'll then kill Stefan."
Buffy stares at Elena in disbelief, it was almost as though Elena was suggesting that killing him would be a better option, yet when Damon had asked Elena to kill Jessie she had saved him instead. Since when was Elena big for the killing? Buffy glances at Stefan who was seemingly just as confused.

As she watches her sister she couldn't help but frown something wasn't right here, Elena was looking at her weirdly and she was all for death and from what she had heard from Caroline, Stefan and Xander, she had been acting off with her boyfriend. Plus she had this weird energy coming off her, that had her Slayer senses going haywire.
As an idea hits her she arches a brow "Elena..." She says softly causing Katherine to look up at her with innocent eyes, taking a chance she clenches her jaw knowing this would either prove she was right or...she was seriously about to mess up her relationship with her sister "...in case I don't beat Damon...I want to tell you the truth...I ordered one of my wolves to hunt down Katherine's daughter Nadia, bite her, rip her shreds. I know it's petty but it was Nik's idea." She lies through the skin of her teeth but when Elena's eyes widen that's when she spots it...

Motherly instinct.

Speeding over to the barrier, Buffy reaches over and grabs Katherine by the throat pinning her to the wall "What the hell did you do to my sister, Katherine?"

Stefan eyes widen as do Damon's both of them staring at Buffy in confusion, when Katherine begins struggling in her grasp Buffy sighs in annoyance "Come on Katherine fess up. Do you really think I'm stupid enough not to be able to tell difference between you and my sister?" Pausing she turns to look at Stefan "I've trained Elena for years, she would be able to fight back. And Elena would try and use her powers! She almost died saving Damon from Jessie."
Buffy smirks brightly at Katherine who was staring at her wide eyes "You know Bonnie told me once, you can't be a traveler and a Banshee. So I take it that means even passengering into a Banshee's body...that rule stands." Pinning her jaw Buffy looks into her eyes "Where is my sister?"

Unable to stop herself from answering Katherine finally speaks compelled by Buffy "I had the Travelers make the possession permanent. Elena Gilbert is gone." With that Buffy slams Katherine's head against the wall knocking her out before spinning up behind Damon and snapping his neck.

As both bodies drop to the ground Buffy turns to Stefan who was staring at the body of his brother and Elena's currently possessed body in shock "This just got complicated."


NEW ORLEANS

Klaus remains stunned to silence as Freya finishes telling him of what had happened in her past, the one time she had allowed herself to love. Which had only resulted in the death of both the man she loved and her unborn son.
"She turned me into a monster..." Freya whispers unable to look at her brother as she speaks "...and I will destroy her for it. Tell me brother or not, is that the truth you wanted to hear" She asks turning to finally look at him tears streaming down her face.

For a moment the hybrid paused, as a father he couldn't imagine how that would have felt for her, while he had only had to send his child away Freya had sacrificed her own to protect it from Dahlia's horrors.
Freya sighs before taking a step forward "The mother of your child..." At her words, at the mention of the woman he still cared deeply for Klaus froze as Freya continued "Buffy is...very powerful. Any children Buffy were to have would be extremely powerful. Dahlia has been denied what she has craved for 1000 years. What our mother took from her. When she comes for your daughter, she will see the power Buffy has. Will see the opportunity to use Buffy to birth for her the coven of her dreams. Each child the Slayer births will have magic running through their veins due to Buffy's power. She will use the mother of your child to birth her an army."

Klaus clenches his jaw at the idea of Dahlia not only taking his daughter but then using Buffy as her own personal breeding factory for magical children. Glaring at his sister he shakes his head "I will not let you manipulate me by using Buffy and my child!"

Freya sighs knowing that her words were only making the hybrid more paranoid and rage-filled "Whatever you choose...one final truth remains. Dahlia is coming for us. With me, you have a chance to defeat her. Without me, she will take your daughter and make her a slave. She will force the mother of your child through unimaginable pain to birth her more slaves. They will suffer as I had...and Dahlia will have rendered you into ash."

As she takes a step towards him his jaw only tightens as he tries to restrain himself from snapping her neck yet again "Are you quite finished?" He hisses before taking a threatening step forward "If there is to be an alliance between us, it will be one of my design. And if you ever try to control me again, sister... you will spend the rest of your immortal life regretting it."


After pumping as much Vervain as possible into Damon to keep him asleep for the trip back to Mystic Falls Buffy slams the boot of Stefan's car shut before groaning as she looks over to where Katherine was currently laying tied up unconscious in the back seat.

"I still can't believe I didn't see it." He whispers his eyes landing on Katherine before he turns back to Buffy who looked disgusted still at the fact that Katherine was controlling her sister's body.
"She was convincing." Buffy argues "If she hadn't have come near me...just stayed with the phone calls. I wouldn't have known." Sighing Buffy runs a hand through her hair in worry, she wanted so badly to go back with Stefan, to stay in Mystic Falls till they found the Traveler knife and killed Katherine for good, getting Elena back. But she couldn't, which just made her feel all the more guilty.

"Hey." Stefan whispers wrapping his arms around her as he spots her having an internal struggle "Don't worry, I'll find Caroline and Xander fill them in. We'll get Elena back."
"But I..."
"No." He tells her cupping her face in her hands "This isn't your fault..."
"If I had been around more—"

Stefan couldn't help but sigh, she was doing it again, blaming herself for not being able to do the impossible and protect everyone 25/8 "I'll help her. You focus on Joy and New Orleans...and getting Klaus to keep his hands to himself."
At that Buffy lets out a small bubble of laughter before smiling up at the handsome vampire above her, leaning up she kisses him softly before pressing her forehead against his chest "Just..."

"I'll keep you updated. And when Damon's cured, Elena's...well Elena. We'll find time." He tells her wanting so desperately to be able to keep this promise. He actually wanted to be able to go start their lives together as they had planned all those months ago.
Buffy smiles sadly just praying that he was right but she couldn't stop the feeling in her gut that this stuff with Wes and the travelers wasn't over yet. Honestly, she just felt like everything was going to get worse and that terrified her more than anything, glancing back at Katherine's sleeping form she groans "Maybe I should take her to New Orleans till we find a way to get rid of her." She suggests before laughing, "Klaus might get a kick out of it."


NEW ORLEANS

"You will show him respect, Klaus!" Was the first thing Buffy heard as she walks back into the compound after a long ass drive only making the blonde let out a silent exhausted sob "Bad day. Bad bad day."
She mumbles to herself half tempted to run for the hills as she hears her werewolf advisor and the father of her child arguing. Yet again. How had her life turned into being the designated buffer for Klaus Mikealson and his frenemies?

"He is on our side!" Hayley continues, "He is fighting for Buffy's daughter! Your daughter!"

"You know..." The blonde hears Klaus pipe up "...I've spent all day with people who claim to be fighting for mine and Buffy's daughter. Some I trust, some I do not. But one thing is for sure. That there is only one person that I trust when it comes to my child's safety and Buffy's safety." At his words, Buffy freezes ever so slightly, since when was her life now on the line too?
"That would be me!" Klaus yells getting into Hayley's face not noticing the blonde as she walks into view staring at them unamused "You know, you all seem to think this is a democracy. I assure you, it is not. Your wolves pledged themselves to Buffy. She is their Queen. You are not equaled Hayley! If Dahlia is coming, then she is not only a threat to my child but to your Queen! Which means I decide how to protect them!"

"Enough!" Buffy yells causing both the fuming werewolf and hybrid to go deathly silent as Buffy walks further into the room the tone of her voice leaving no room for argument. She was done playing nice.
"Hayley leave us." Buffy tells her not looking at the wolf as she walks over to Klaus, Hayley's eyes widen "Wh—"

"No!" Buffy tells her turning to face her friend "Hayley there is a reason, I am the thing that monsters have nightmares about. So let me speak to the father of my child. Alone. Now."
Hayley merely gulps slightly before nodding, as strong-willed as she was she also wasn't stupid, she was just a wolf both Buffy and Klaus could tear her apart if she wasn't careful.
As Hayley begins heading upstairs Klaus glares in her direction "Keep your husband in line Hayley. Or there will be consequences."

With that Hayley storms off and Buffy turns to Klaus and shakes her head in disbelief "12 hours." She huffs in annoyance "I was gone 12 hours. How could it have gotten worse?"
Klaus sighs clenching his jaw in anger as he begins pacing back and forth "Would you consider Dahlia's intention to use you as a human incubator worse?"

At his words Buffy's eyes widen and she stares at him her entire body frozen as she stares at him, he couldn't be serious.
He sure as hell couldn't be serious...however the look on his face was making it very clear that Dahlia very much was planning to use her as a baby factory "What the fu—"


MYSTIC FALLS

Stefan waits patiently for the freak out patiently as he sits in front of Caroline and Xander whom he had just informed of Katherine's possession of Elena's body. To say they were shocked and confused was an understatement. Caroline who could normally ramble on for hours on end had been stunned to silence merely continuing to down drink after drink.
"This explains the text you got from Matt." Xander tells Caroline who nods still silent as she grabs her phone showing the text she got off the now compelled Matt "It says help K." She says finally finding her voice again "Nadia was compelling him to forget things. He must have been trying to warn us."

Xander couldn't help but groan "I should have known when she didn't know what the snoopy dance was." He exclaims as he stands and begins pacing only to pause as he spots both Caroline and Stefan staring at him in confusion, rolling his eyes he waves his hands around madly "It's an important thing!"

"How did Buffy figure it out?" Caroline couldn't help but ask as she feels the guilt fill her gut, she must have had tons of conversations with Katherine and hadn't been able to tell. But Buffy had been in New Orleans since the day they thought Katherine died. This was the first time she would have seen her in person and she had been able to tell very quickly. Honestly, the blonde vampire felt like a terrible friend right now.
"Katherine was pushing Buffy to kill Damon." Stefan tells her as he pours himself a drink "Elena almost died saving him from Jessie. She wouldn't just be all for Damon dying."
Caroline runs a hand through her straight blonde locks and shakes her head still in complete shock, she still couldn't believe it "We should have known Katherine Pierce wouldn't have a change of heart about taking over someone's body. We should have known."

Xander clenches his jaw before downing the glass of booze in his hands and launching it at the wall "We need to find that traveler knife. I want my girlfriend back."


NEW ORLEANS

"Oh my god." Buffy mumbles for the sixth time in complete disgust as she follows Klaus towards Elijah's new home. Honestly, she couldn't even remember leaving the compound she was still in absolute horror over what Freya had revealed about this whole human incubator idea. It made her want to puke.
"Buffy, I know you're disturbed Luv. But please...for God's sake." The Hybrid sighs having heard nothing but profanities and curses since the second he had told her what he had learned.
Walking into Elijah's new home Buffy spots the suit-clad Original and nods "Booze?"

Elijah frowns in confusion and quickly hands her his own glass of scotch watching as without hesitation as she downs it "I take it your trip didn't go well?"
"Oh other than the fact my sister's body is being possessed by Katherine Pierce and Freya thinks Dahlia will want to use me like a supernatural baby factory...things are great."
At her words, Elijah stares at her in shock before moving her to sit on the couch "Perhaps you should sit."

"I'm standing?"
"Not anymore."
Buffy merely nods taking another glass of scotch as Elijah pours one for her, as she takes the glass she looks down and sure enough, Elijah had sat her down on one of his chairs "Yay. Good for me."

Elijah sighs in worry as he watches the young woman before turning to his brother "I take it Freya revealed this to you, Niklaus."

"Right you are brother." Klaus tells him with a nod moving over to the blonde as he continues to look around Elijah's apartment taking in his brother's new home "But my stance remains unchanged. I looked into her eyes and I saw only anger and fear. And a will to do whatever it takes to survive, no matter who she hurts." Pausing for a moment he glances at Buffy, honestly, he hadn't wanted to risk leaving her alone at the Compound, if he had he imagined she probably would have either drank everything in sight or started breaking things.

Probably both.

Sighing he turns back to his brother "I can use her to my own ends...but I could never allow so damaged a creature to have a say in my plans."

Elijah who was lighting some of the candles sighs in disbelief at his brother's words before grabbing a blanket out of the cupboard. As he moves to wrap it around Buffy he glances over at his brother "You may not trust her, but trust me, brother. We may have had our differences of late...but we shall exercise the same caution we've always demonstrated towards our allies."

"Do it." Buffy whispers looking up finally from her place on the floor "Get her to help but..."

"Shall she even attempt to betray us I shall bury her beneath a thousand wretched torments." Elijah finishes offering the small blonde a reassuring smile.

Buffy smiles back before sighing as worry and panic filled her, they needed to figure this out soon because she had a feeling deep down in her gut that they were running out of time "Dahlia is coming. And she's coming for Joy and me."
At her words, both brothers turn to face her worry etched all over their faces, with her words Elijah sighs "The only question...is when."