Chapter 45
Warning: this chapter contains some parts from the transcripts of Vampire Diaries, Season 3 Episode 3, 'Bringing Out the dead'
October 21, 2010.
The first thing Kol saw upon leaping out of the coffin was a scantily clad Rebekah whose red dress looked like some vulgar lingerie. It was a wonder - and a relief - her breasts weren't popping out of it. While he was glad to be out of the damn box, she didn't need to interrupt her time in bed to pull out the dagger. At the very least, she could have put on a shirt instead of trying to flash her own brother! There were some parts of his sister he didn't want to see, alright?!
Kol suppressed the urge to comment on his sister's choice of clothes and retreated his gaze, only to still in shock.
Finn was there, standing and alive and sucking up blood from some weird, transparent box… or bag? Several of those things already lay on the floor, empty of blood and forming a quickly rising heap at his feet.
Rebekah tossed one of those strange bags to Kol and his hands caught it instinctively.
"Drink it, Kol, it's a blood bag."
If his throat hadn't been that parched, he would have thrown it back to her traitorous face. Instead, his teeth sank into the strange fabric and cold blood gushed out into his mouth, soothing the fire in his throat.
The transparent bag itself tasted strange and disgusting, and the blood was too cold to be anything but bland. When he was done, he wiped off his mouth with a grimace and ignored the hopeful look of his sister, choosing to turn to Finn instead.
"Finn, brother, how are you feeling?"
It had been centuries since his elder brother was last alive and it would make sense for Finn to feel lost. After all, the last thing Finn remembered was getting drunk with his brothers-in-law and then getting a dagger in his heart. And yet here he was, several centuries later.
Kol didn't know why Finn was suddenly awake but it would be better to bring him far away from their siblings and find Sage.
"Fine." Finn's answer was curt and there was a cold, unfamiliar glint in his eyes.
Kol opened his mouth to tell him about Sage but Rebekah cut him off, "We woke you up last Kol so you don't know yet but Elijah is the one who pulled out the daggers, not Nik. Nik… is the one who killed our mother. And last but certainly not least, Mikael is finally dead."
Kol drew his lips back in a sneer as he processed the information. Mikael was dead. And? Was he supposed to feel surprised or amazed?
"So? The old man would have died far sooner if you had tried to kill him earlier."
As for their mother, who cared? He had always known the truth.
The only interesting news was Elijah being the one who freed them. Had his guilt got too strong? Good for him.
Elijah's voice suddenly filled the room when the door opened. "Kol, there is no need for your pointless comments. Best to keep them for yourself."
A dark-haired man with blue eyes stood behind Elijah with a smirk that couldn't hide well the caution in his gaze. Elijah's posture was enough for Kol to guess that his brother didn't trust the stranger. The same could also be said about the blue-eyed man though. Since they dared to work together in spite of their mistrust for each other, they were probably working together against someone. Most likely, Niklaus, seeing as the other Mikaelson siblings were suddenly all alive and kicking.
Kol leaned back on the coffin, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Elijah. His fingers twitched. Just seeing this face was enough for him to be filled with the strong urge to rip out his brother's heart and crushed it until there was nothing left but blood.
He had learned his lessons though. Last time, he went mad with his desire to create a gold dagger and it ended badly. He wouldn't repeat the same mistake. He couldn't afford to do it.
"At long last, we are all here together," Elijah said in a pompous tone as if he had never helped Nik to dagger them. Or keep them daggered, for Finn. "It's true, Niklaus killed our mother and, very recently, Mikael. He also found the doppelganger and broke his curse, making him the first hybrid to walk upon the Earth. Now, he can't use the same logic to dagger us again. He can't say he's doing it to protect us. We don't have to accept his tyranny anymore."
How did Niklaus find the doppelganger? Weren't Katerina's descendants protected anymore?
Deciding the answer could wait, Kol put on a bored mask and yawned.
"Are you done? I just woke up and you're already boring me to death."
"Kol, I thought you would be the first to wish to take revenge on Nik," Rebekah commented with a drawl. "Why not hear Elijah's idea? I'm sure it's marvelous."
"Yes, well, we never know when someone will stick a dagger in my heart to protect the family's dog."
Rebekah sucked in a breath and stared at him with a hurt look on her face while Elijah simply ignored his comment with a wave of his hand, looking as righteous as ever. Seeing these two really did wonder to his mood. He couldn't wait to grab Finn and leave to find Nora and Sage.
Or perhaps not. From the feeling he was getting from her, the Nora of this time was still quite young. She had yet to go through the ritual binding their two souls and had never met Finn before. Better to hand over to Sage his brother and only then go find his little darling.
"Enough!" Finn said harshly, snapping Kol out of his thoughts. "Where is Klaus?"
"Waiting for us, though he doesn't know it," Elijah answered good-naturedly just as a woman dressed like a waitress stepped into the room with a blank expression on her face and a tray in her hands. Elijah placed the dagger on the tray before gesturing towards the door. "Let's go, shall we?"
He led them through the maze of long, wide halls and only stopped once they reached a luxurious antechamber illuminated by a crystal chandelier. Niklaus' voice could be heard from beyond the door and Kol lifted an eyebrow when his hybrid brother didn't come barking.
"Niklaus cannot hear us," Elijah explained with a faint smile and then turned to the door. "Wait a moment here. The staging of this little play still needs a bit of work. I'm sure you will know when to make your grand entrance."
With that said, Elijah, the blue-eyed vampire, and the compelled human walked out of the antechamber into the room where Niklaus was.
Elijah, Elijah… Kol wanted to sigh. There was truly no need for such a staging. He didn't mind repeating Buda and beheading Niklaus.
"Rebekah, I just realized I never asked you a very, very important question before," Kol said with a wicked gleam in his eyes and a smirk. "How long does it take for a head to grow back?"
His sister shivered, clearly feeling uncomfortable.
"A while," she answered, wincing.
"Wonder I never tried it again."
Especially when Niklaus was just the kind of people who needed a reminder here and there. Otherwise, he tended to grow too confident and forget to be afraid.
From the other room, Niklaus' voice sounded, "What have you done?"
"What have you done?" Elijah snapped. "You see, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now."
Kol smirked. Glancing at Rebekah and Finn, he grinned darkly, "I believe that's our cue."
Slamming the door open, Kol strode into the room, immediately spotting Niklaus, Elijah, the blue-eyed man, and another one though he only gave the last two a brief glance.
"Kol," Niklaus gasped out, fear etched on his face.
"Long time, brother."
Before Niklaus could even think about backing away, Finn rushed forwards, stabbing their brother through the hand with one of the daggers.
"Finn, don't!" Niklaus cried out as he tried to escape Finn's anger. Rebekah stopped him though, stabbing him in the chest.
Although it was quite a beautiful sight, an uncomfortable feeling started creeping up Kol's spine. It got so strong he felt like someone was squeezing his heart.
"This is for our mother," Rebekah growled angrily before shoving Niklaus in Kol's arms.
Ignoring the foreboding feeling, Kol restrained the blond vampire and dug his fingers into his brother's arms, crushing his bones.
"You're free to go. This is family business," Elijah told the two unnamed men.
Who, standing side by side, strangely looked like the brothers in the photo Katerina once sent Nora. Could they be Katerina's boytoys?
"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik", Rebekah said mischievously, throwing a vase in a painting.
The frame broke loose from the wall and fell, the canvas tearing. As the sound echoed through the room, Niklaus pushed Kol away from him.
"I wanted it to be for all of us. A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone."
Kol couldn't help but sneer when he heard his pitiful plea. "Who said Finn and I were alone before you decided to ruin our lives? As for Elijah and Rebekah, don't forget they have been standing by you since our human days. You sure are a shameless bastard to even dare suggest the contrary. As for your pathetic 'we could all be a family', let's face it Nik - you destroyed our family. Just find some hole to hide and be your 'lonely' self and leave us alone. You'll see, everyone will be better after that."
"We're leaving you, Nik," Rebekah added. "Right after I kill that doppelganger wench, then you will be alone, without any new hybrids. Always and forever."
Oh? The doppelganger was still alive and Nik needed her to create hybrids? Now, that was worrisome. Niklaus was already a jerk on his own. No need for him to have his own clique of mangy, rabid dogs.
"If you run, I will hunt all of you down!" Niklaus shouted furiously.
"Then you'll become everything you hate," Elijah retorted. "Our father."
"I'm the hybrid! I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you!"
"You will when we have that coffin!"
That coffin? Damn, Kol truly hoped that his brother hadn't been carting the corpse of their mother around with him ever since he killed her centuries ago. The mere idea was as disgusting as it was creepy.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the door opened and the stench of putrefaction spread through the room like a thick fog, choking them. Even Finn's clothes smelled better.
They all turned around, only to see a very much alive Esther walking in. The crazy witch was back from the dead, making her way towards them with her stiff and awkward gait and an odd glint in her eyes. Most people would believe it to be due to her resurrection but Kol knew better and had a hard time holding back his laughter.
All those years, Mikael fought against the curse that was slowly destroying his body, mind, and soul bit by bit. As a vampire, his resistance was stronger than a human and his body somehow managed to endure in spite of the pain. Esther, however, was no vampire and the years spent on the Other Side must have been especially painful for her soul, her madness growing a little every day. And now, even her body was rotting from the inside, only held together by strong magic.
Was it even Esther inside that body?
"Mother?" Rebekah gasped, her hands shaking as her tearful eyes fell on the woman she hadn't seen in centuries.
But Esther ignored her and walked to Niklaus instead. Kol narrowed his eyes and discreetly moved closer to Niklaus.
"Look at me!" Esther ordered Niklaus when the latter's gaze shifted away from her. "Do you know why I'm here?"
Yes, it was Esther. No doubts about that. Apart from Elijah, she was probably the only one who could speak in such a haughty yet righteous way.
Did she find a way to slow down the curse on the Other Side?
"You're here to kill me," Nik whispered.
"Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again."
Seeing such a touching scene of a caring mother and her beloved son, Kol clapped loudly.
"Bravo!" Kol cried with a wide grin, "Mother, it seems like all these years being dead weren't for nothing! Look at you, you even learned to forgive. Tell me, did you also learn to ask for forgiveness?"
"You…" Esther paled when she saw him. "You…"
When she didn't say anything else, Kol leaned in, still grinning. "Me? What is it, mother? You look a little peaky. Are you scared?"
"Kol, stop it," Finn scolded him sternly, which earned him a glare.
While Kol preferred Finn over his other siblings for very obvious reasons, it didn't mean his elder brother could order him like a dog.
"What? I'm only saying the truth. She should ask for our forgiveness. Have you forgotten what she did to us?"
Kol peered at Esther. "Let's assume that you spent all your life as a submissive wife and thus never dared to oppose Mikael, even to protect your children, then it's fine. I can forgive you for that. But don't try to lecture us about how bad we are and how you forgive Nik for what he's done. Especially when he had been rather nice to you. I mean, your death was clean and fast. If it was me… Well, let's just say no magic would have made you look like you do today."
His words stunned his siblings and a heavy silence fell upon the room. They were all staring at him as if it was the first time they saw him. As if he suddenly turned into a weird creature.
Finally, after a long while, Esther swallowed her saliva and nodded, her lips curling up into a sad smile. When she spoke up, the guilt and shame she was pretending to feel caused her voice to tremble. "My son, you are right. I owe you all an apology. Back then, I failed to protect you. It has been my deepest regret for the last thousand years. I won't ask for your forgiveness though. Because I know I don't deserve it. All I hope is that you know that I love you… and that you would be willing for us to be a family again."
"Oh Mother," Rebekah cried out, throwing herself into the woman's open arms, "I do forgive you. I missed you so much. And I love you too!"
"We should hold a ball to celebrate our reunion with the people of Mystic Falls. We need to show them that you are not monsters."
"Anything you want, Mother. We can even hold it tomorrow if that's what you want."
As they spoke, Kol remained rooted on the spot, Esther's words spinning madly in his mind.
A thousand years?
The 'Always and Forever' trio's clothes did look quite modern and similar to what he saw in Nora's memories but what year exactly was it? Surely, it couldn't already be 2010.
"Hold on," he interrupted them, his foreboding feeling back in full force, "We aren't in New Orleans? And what year is it?"
Elijah was the one who answered, "No, we left New Orleans ninety years ago after Mikael found us and… killed Marcel."
"I couldn't care less about that runt," Kol cut him off urgently, "just answer the bloody question. What year is it?!"
Elijah pursed his lips, displeased. "As Mother said, we are now in Mystic Falls. It is now 2010. The twenty-first of October, to be precise."
Kol's heart missed a beat. October 21, 2010. This was a date he knew all too well. It was all but carved in his mind.
"I need to go. Elijah, give me your phone. I'll give you a call later and will be back tomorrow for your little party. I really need to go now."
Elijah stared at him, flabbergasted. Seeing that he didn't react, Rebekah pulled out a phone from her bra and handed it to him.
"Don't be late," she whispered in his ears in a voice so low he was the only one who heard it.
He didn't bother to give her a response. Once the phone was in his hand and Rebekah stopped talking, he turned around and left, running so fast that a vampire younger than four centuries would only see a blur as he ran past them.