Chapter 68: The Killer
November 24, 2010
Ellie woke to the sharp sound of her ringer. "Oh god make it stop." Bonnie groaned as she pulled her covers over her head.
"Sorry, sorry." Ellie apologized. As she reached for her phone, she lost her balance, rolling in a twisted mess of blankets to the floor. "Hello?" She groaned as she answered the call.
"Ellie, hey it's me. Are you ok?" Stefan asked.
"Fell out of the bed answering the phone, but yeah I'm fine. What's up?" She replied as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"I need you to come over. We have a problem."
"How bad?" She asked as she sat up.
"Definitely not good." He replied vaguely.
"I'll be there soon."
As she hung up, Bonnie had sat up in the bed. "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, just the same old drama I guess. Don't sweat it. Go back to sleep if you want, but I should get over there and see what's going on." Ellie replied. She dressed quickly and once she was sure that Bonnie was alright, she headed for the Salvatore boarding house. "Stefan?" She called as she let herself in.
He appeared at the foot of the steps, looking stressed. "We have a problem." He repeated.
"Yeah, you mentioned that on the phone. What kind of problem?" She asked.
"The hunter escaped." Stefan admitted. She hesitated mid step as she turned to look at him. "And to make matters worse, he killed one of the hybrids and took his head."
"So he's running around Mystic Falls with werewolf toxin… again." Ellie deduced.
"And with Klaus out of town-"
"If he gets one of you guys, you're going to end up dead. Great, that's just… that's just great." Ellie sighed. "Have you told Elijah and Rebekah?"
Stefan shrugged. "I'm not sure if Klaus told them or not." He replied. "But we need to find the hunter before he makes a move."
"Do we have anything of his that I could track?" Ellie asked. The two of them got to work going through the hunter's things that Damon had taken to try and find something that might hold enough significance that a locator spell would work. "Damn it did Damon grab nothing of importance?" She complained.
"I think he was more preoccupied with trying to figure out what the hell The Five was than getting personal items." Stefan confessed.
His phone buzzed loudly, vibrating against the table. Spotting her brother's name displayed on the screen. She reached to pick it up. "Why's my brother texting you?" She asked curiously. Her stomach dropped at the text message before her.
Hunter at Mystic Grill with hostages. They all die at sundown.
"Ellie, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. Stefan moved behind her, reading the text over her shoulder. As she started to shake slightly, Stefan pulled the phone from her hands and turned her to face him. "Ellie, breathe, breathe. It's ok. It's going to be fine."
"That son of a bitch is holding my brother and who knows who else hostage, Stefan. He's going to kill them, it's definitely not ok."
"He said that it would happen at sundown. We have hours before then to get them out ok, but we have to make sure the hunter stays alive. If he dies, then we have nothing ok and we can't help Elena. We will protect both of your siblings I promise you." He swore. His grip on her arms was tight. Not enough to bruise her, but enough to help anchor her back down again. "Are you with me?"
"I'm with you." She replied as she managed to calm herself. "We need a game plan. That text was sent to both Damon and Tyler. They will go in guns blazing and kill him without a second thought. Ty has always had anger issues because of his wolf side and that asshole shot him, repeatedly. I promise you he didn't forget about that."
Stefan nodded. "You're right. We need a plan. Think that boyfriend of yours will help out?"
The heat made her cheeks feel like they were on fire. Stefan grinned, entirely aware of why she reacted that way. "I hate you." She huffed.
"Love you too." He sassed.
"I'll call him and see what he says." Ellie glared at him and his stupid smug expression.
"Hello, Eleanor." Elijah greeted as he answered the phone.
She cursed the butterflies in her stomach and the ridiculous stuttering beat of her heart as Stefan snorted quietly to himself. Despite her being incredibly stressed with the threat of the hunter, her stupid heart still wanted to race at his voice. "Hey, Elijah. Have you talked to Klaus today?"
"No, why?"
"We have a problem, and Klaus could probably be helpful."
"What's happened now?"
"The hunter somehow escaped and took a hybrid head with him and now he's holding my brother and some other people hostage and he's threatening to kill them at sundown and Stefan and I are currently trying to figure out how the hell to keep Damon or Tyler from, well, killing him." The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush as her anxiety started to overpower her emotions for Elijah.
There was a brief pause as Elijah took in the information. "I should have never left the mansion." He said it more to himself than to her. "Where are you?"
"The boarding house."
"I'll be there shortly." He assured her.
After she hung up with Elijah, Ellie gave Stefan a look. "What is it?"
"I just, I don't know. I was kind of expecting you to be more against the whole me and Elijah thing." She admitted.
"Maybe I would have if I didn't know you better, but I do. If he makes you happy and he's good to you, I guess I can't really complain." He replied.
The topic shifted back to the hunter and the two of them were deep in discussion about what they should do, ignoring the multiple unanswered texts on both Stefan's phone and Ellie's, when Elijah arrived. "Hey." She greeted as he kissed her quickly. It caught her somewhat by surprise, since they hadn't really done any kind of public displays of affection before.
"Hey." He replied. "Now, this hunter, he's got Jeremy?"
"Jeremy and others, but we don't know who. He's holding them in The Grill." Ellie explained. "But he's big on traps, if we go in blind, we might… well we might get blown up." Stefan produced a map of Mystic Falls as they tried to figure out the best way to get the hostages with as little injury as possible."
As they worked, both Ellie and Stefan's phones continued to go off. "Why are your phones buzzing incessantly?" Elijah asked as he glanced at the offending objects.
Ellie picked hers up first and groaned. "It seems Damon and Tyler are plotting away to kill the hunter. Caroline's been trying to get me there."
"Elena's been texting me as well." Stefan confirmed.
"You two should go." Elijah told them. "I'll try and contact Rebekah to let her know what's happening. Do you want me to go to the Lockwood's once I reach Rebekah?"
"Knowing Damon and Elena, that might not end too well. Once I find out what the plan is, I'll text you. Just try and reach Rebekah. It's strange that she hasn't answered you." Ellie replied.
Stefan had a slightly strange look on his face but she ignored it and the two of them quickly made their way for her car. When they arrived, they could hear Damon saying, "So we each take a different entrance, hit him at the same time."
"Stefan!" Elena said as she stood and moved over to hug him.
"Where the hell have you been?" Damon demanded.
"Coming up with a plan." Stefan replied as he returned Elena's hug.
"Yeah, we have a plan. The plan is I'm going to rip Connor's heart out and I'm going to feed it to him." Damon retorted.
Stefan pulled away from Elena and shot back, "That's not a plan. We need to be careful. Connor has Jeremy and who knows how many other hostages."
"Hence the open heart surgery." Damon replied.
"Damon's right. Connor's strong, but he's not going to be able to take all of us." Elena agreed.
Ellie frowned at her sister. Since when was she all about agreeing with Damon's insane plans? "I called in the hybrids to help, too." Tyler added.
"My mom put squad cars blocking the streets. They're saying it's a faulty gas main. We're good to go." Caroline said as she walked in.
"Good, great. No cop, no witnesses, no reason to wait around." Damon commented.
"All right, hold on you're not all going." Stefan denied.
Tyler, just as Ellie expected he would, piped up and said, "He shot me like nine times. If we're killing him, I want in."
"He's got Jeremy. I'm going." Elena told him.
"Listen, nobody is going anywhere until I figure out what we're walking into." Stefan insisted.
Damon pulled a face as he repeated, "Until you figure it out? Is that where you've been all morning, out buying bossy pants?"
"This guy's known for setting traps, right? We'd be pretty dumb to walk into one, especially if he has werewolf venom." Stefan said.
"Does he?" Elena asked worriedly.
Stefan, impressively, didn't miss a beat. "He's had it before."
"Stefan's right." Ellie agreed. "All it takes is just a drop or two of werewolf venom and you die. Ty, didn't he at least get a syringe full from you?" Tyler nodded reluctantly. "Then there's no guarantee that he's run out. He's smart with how he uses it. I mean he managed to spike the drinks at Bekah's party with ease. It almost got you killed Elena."
The reminder of Elena's near death experience seemed to be enough to get Damon on board. "Fine, fine. You want to take some time to do recon, you get one hour. But we're going to need some extra help, so where the hell's the Wicked Witch of the West?"
"She can't do magic." Caroline reminded him.
"Really? Well, call her, tell her Jeremy's life is in danger. Maybe that'll bring her out of retirement." Damon sassed.
Ellie rolled her eyes. "If you used your brain for five seconds, you'd realize that I am, in fact, also a witch. Leave Bonnie out of this."
"Fine, Sabrina. Figure something out." Damon retorted. His shoulder slammed into Stefan's as he walked past, but Stefan didn't react.
Elena had an odd expression on her face as she looked at Stefan. "You should hurry up and start your recon. You only have an hour."
He nodded before turning to Ellie. "Are you coming with me?"
She'd started to say yes before realization hit her. "Someone has to tell Jenna." She replied. "Shit, why did no one call Jenna? I will go get her and get her here and then meet you for recon, just text me where you are, ok?"
Elena was watching their interaction with confusion, but said nothing as the two of them went their separate ways. Surprisingly enough, Ellie found Jenna at Katherine's house, the two of them absorbed in their movie. Katherine was the first to notice her, grinning up at her. "Hey gorgeous, where have you been?" She asked.
"Dealing with a psychotic vampire hunter while the two of you apparently have a movie marathon without me." Ellie retorted. "Oh come on, you're watching Gossip Girl without me? That's just rude." For a split second her panic was pushed to the side as she frowned at them. It wasn't a movie, but in fact the first season of Gossip Girl.
"Nate is hot." Katherine commented. "I see why Serena got with him."
"Wait, we'll come back to that later, what's going on?" Jenna asked as she paused the tv.
Her question brought Ellie back to the present and her panic set in once more. "Jeremy is kind of being held hostage by that vampire hunter that shot Tyler." Ellie confessed.
Jenna's panic was immediate. "Oh my god, what do we do?"
"Jenna, breathe." Katherine and Ellie said at once. Katherine sent Ellie an amused smirk. "Everything will be fine, we both know Ellie would totally kick the hunter's ass to keep him safe." Katherine added.
Despite still being panicked, Jenna nodded in agreement. "What do we do?" Jenna asked.
"Stefan's doing recon right now. We're going to go get them, but we have to be careful because that hunter is known for his booby traps." Ellie explained.
"Do you need my help?" Katherine offered. "I can kill him if you want."
"No, no I don't want him dead. But if I need your help I'll definitely let you know. I just don't have the time to deal with Elena's freak out when she sees you." Ellie admitted.
"Fair enough." Katherine agreed.
"Is there anything I can do?" Jenna asked.
Ellie shook her head. "Probably not. Stefan's trying to limit possible casualties because we don't know how far this guy is willing to go. He might hurt humans if pushed enough. Do you want to come to Tyler's house where the others have gathered? Apparently Sheriff Forbes has already got a cover up going and said that it's a gas leak."
"I'll go to Tyler's, see if there's anything that I can do." Jenna replied. "You should go help Stefan."
"Keep me updated." Katherine told them.
"We will." Ellie promised.
Ellie arrived in the empty town square and found Stefan as he paced. "Stefan, hey." Ellie called as she walked over to him. "Did you get anything?" She asked.
"Yeah." He confirmed. "The hunter has Jeremy, but he also has Matt and April Young."
"Shit." She swore. "What's the plan?"
"Damon and Elena are up in Alaric's apartment getting the tunnel maps. I was about to head over there."
"Are they ok in there at least?" She asked worriedly.
As they started to walk towards the apartment, Stefan replied, "Yeah, April sounds pretty freaked out, which is understandable, but none of them sound to be hurt." When they walked into the room, Damon and Elena turned to look at them. "Did you find the tunnel map?" He asked.
"Got it." Damon confirmed. "It was in his weapons drawer with seven stakes, a weird MacGyver crossbow, and the last remaining vervain in Mystic Falls. So, how about we get this party started?"
"Not yet. Klaus is sending one of his men. He'll take the front and you and I can take the tunnels." Stefan explained.
"Since when do we team up with Klaus and the lollipop guild?" Damon asked.
"Well, I already told you, Connor has werewolf venom. We need someone to draw his fire, the hybrids are immune to it, so they're our best bet."
"Well, how are you sure he even has werewolf venom? Why is Klaus involved, Stefan?"
Ellie sighed heavily. "We don't have time for this."
She immediately noticed the way Stefan stepped back. "Oh, stop being paranoid, Damon."
"Start telling the truth, Stefan." He shot back. "Why is Klaus involved? Did he compel you?"
"I am telling you the truth, this is the best way to get everyone out."
"Ok, what is with you two? We're wasting time!" Elena demanded.
Damon glanced back at her before saying, "You know what, she's right. Screw your plan. I'll kill Connor myself."
He and Elena moved to walk past Stefan, but he spun on his heel, stabbing a thing of vervain into Damon's neck. "Stefan!" Elena shouted in shock. He ignored her and instead carried Damon's unconscious body to the couch. "Why are you doing this?"
Ellie scoffed. "Oh come on Elena. It's not like you didn't have Stefan take Damon out of a plan before when he didn't do what you wanted." She reminded her. "Or did you forget what happened when you tried to kill all the Mikaelsons?"
"That was different." Elena frowned. "Damon's just trying to help."
"He was trying to help then too, but he wasn't doing what you wanted so you got him out of the way. Right now, Damon is being petty and wants Connor dead for personal reasons. He's going to get somebody killed." Ellie warned. "He'll wake up soon enough and he'll be fine."
"Damon had the right idea with the tunnels, but I'm not going to go in there if I can't count on him to do it my way." Stefan finally replied.
"If you can't count on him? You just vervained him!" Elena shouted.
"Which isn't a whole lot different than him snapping Damon's neck when you thought Damon wouldn't do things your way." Ellie retorted. "Or are you going to act like you didn't do that?"
Stefan grabbed a hold of Ellie's wrist. She knew exactly what he meant. They didn't have time for her and Elena to get into it. "Do you think he cares about April or Matt?" Stefan asked Elena. "He'll get Jeremy out for you, but then he'll go right after Connor no matter who gets hurt."
"Then I'm coming with you." Elena decided.
"You're not coming with me, Elena!" He denied.
"You need my help, Stefan!"
"What if Connor attacks and you have to defend yourself? And what if you kill him? The guilt will wreck you." Stefan tried to get her to understand.
"You don't think that I'm afraid of that? Of course I am. Stefan, I am barely holding it together. If Jeremy gets hurt-"
"We'll get Jeremy out, ok? I promise you. Elena, listen to me, listen to me. This is the most important thing that I have ever asked you to do. I just need you to trust me, please."
Elena looked torn as she asked, "But how are you going to let Ellie go with you? What if he tries to hurt her? She can't hurt him."
Ellie wasn't really sure why she was getting dragged into their argument. "Ellie could stop a bullet with the power of her mind if she wanted to. She doesn't have to risk hurting him to protect herself. And she's not going up against Connor. She's going to help get them out without Connor hurting them." Stefan explained. "What she can do is incredibly different than the options we have when it comes to protecting ourselves."
"Elena, we really don't have time for this, ok. We need to get a move on, now." Ellie insisted. The panic over Jeremy's safety was starting to set in.
"It's too dangerous for you to go, Ellie." Elena said with finality. "You don't need to go."
She made a face at her twin. "Elena," Stefan tried.
"No, if I'm not going, then she's not going. I trust you to get them out but she's not going." Elena replied.
"I am not Jeremy or Bonnie that will do what you say when you say it, Elena. After everything the fact that you think I would is laughable. But like I said, we don't have time for this, so be mad at me later." Ellie replied.
"Mad at you for what?" Elena asked, but Ellie didn't bother to respond before there was a sharp crack. Elena's eyes rolled back as she collapsed.
Stefan caught her easily and moved to lay her in the recliner. "Did you just-"
"Snap her neck? Yes, yes I did. Was it the best option? Probably not. But I will deal with her being pissed at me later. I don't have the time for her to take control of everything when Jeremy's in danger. She can be pissed and yell at me later." Ellie replied. "Let's go." When they'd almost reached the entrance of the tunnel, Stefan called Connor. "Do you even think he'll answer?" She asked curiously.
"I guess we're going to find out." He replied. There was a pause before Stefan said, "I want you to free the hostages. What, so your hunter's mark can grow? Yeah, I know all about that. What it means. What you are." He tossed the shovel down and added, "Listen, you free the hostages and you and I can have a little chat. Maybe I can tell you about the Brotherhood of the Five."
Ellie moved closer to Stefan to hear what Connor was saying. "That's a weak move. You must be desperate."
"Think about it, Connor. Klaus saved your life. He needs you alive. Aren't you the least bit curious why?"
The call ended abruptly. "I don't think that went well." She commented.
"Probably didn't go as well as it could have." Stefan confirmed.
"Where's the entrance to the tunnel?"
Stefan led her down into what looked like one of the old Lockwood cellars. "It's through here, but they filled the entrance with dirt so people wouldn't know it was there." Stefan explained as he started hitting it with the shovel.
"Can I try?" Ellie asked curiously. Stefan paused and moved to hand her the shovel, but she didn't take it. Instead, she moved to the entrance and carefully put her hand against the cold dirt. It was like her magic erupted from her hand, creating an opening without causing anything to collapse. Behind the dirt was a tunnel created by rocks. She used her magic to make the opening a bit wider before grinning at Stefan.
"I didn't know you could do that." He told her.
"Neither did I." They headed inside the tunnel with Stefan taking the lead. As they walked, Ellie observed Stefan. She felt like he'd been struggling, probably because he didn't like lying to Elena, but she wasn't sure if that was actually what was bothering him. "Stef…"
"Yeah?"
"Has something been bugging you?" She asked curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you seem kind of stressed out and maybe a little more than normal. I hate to agree with Damon but earlier you did kind of sound like you had your bossy pants on."
Stefan turned back towards her slightly and confessed. "I just want to find this cure, no matter what it takes. Ellie, you didn't see her. She told me she didn't think she could survive this. She said she didn't like who she was turning into. She's a vampire and it's my fault. I should have protected her and I didn't. This is because of me and I owe it to her to help her."
Ellie's hand shot out, grabbing his shoulder to force him to turn back and face her. "This is not your fault. Elena being a vampire isn't your fault."
"All of this happened because I came back to town."
"No it didn't." Ellie denied. "Stefan, Rose and Trevor finding us and bringing us to Elijah would have happened whether you were in town or not. All it would have taken was one vampire making their way through Mystic Falls and recognizing Elena and I. Hell, that's not even Katherine's fault. It's not like she led Rose and Trevor to us. You are the reason Elena survived this long. You're forgetting that both Anna and Damon would have ended up back here anyways because of the comet. Didn't Anna's lackey, like, torment Elena because we look like Katherine? Had you not been here he would have killed her. Esther is the reason Alaric became a vampire, and she is the reason that Rebekah ran the truck off the road. You wanna blame someone for what happened to Elena? Blame Esther."
"Yeah." Stefan replied, though he didn't seem to really believe her.
She tugged on his shoulder again. "I'm serious Stefan. Do not blame yourself for this."
Stefan gave her a gentle smile. "I'm pretty sure you'd kick my ass if I didn't." He confessed.
"Oh absolutely!" She agreed as she looped her arm through his. "What are friends for if not to kick your ass when you need it?"
They continued on the way to The Grill and Ellie could feel the nerves starting to build in her gut. "You ok?" Unsurprisingly, Stefan knew exactly how she was feeling without her having to say a word.
"Scared that something bad is going to happen and we won't be able to protect them." She confessed.
Stefan reached out and took a hold of her hand. "We'll protect them. They'll be ok."
A sound caught their attention, bringing their focus back to the mission at hand. "What is that?" She asked.
"I don't know." He replied as his voice dropped lower. "Come on, let's go." They found the source of the sound before Stefan explained, "It's Matt, he's trying to break through to get them out."
Rock music started playing loudly from the other side of the brick, and Ellie used that opportunity to break the barrier. Her magic muffled the sound and with Stefan's help she snuck into the back room. They'd just stood up when a blast went off. Stefan's hand was around her mouth in an instant, muffling the cry of panic that escaped her. "Oh my god." Matt said in horror. Neither he or April had noticed their arrival. April was backing away in fear when she bumped into Stefan. Like with Ellie, he muffled her shout with his hand, gently shushing her to calm her down. "Thank god." Matt said in relief.
Stefan pulled out his phone, passing it to Matt. "Follow this map. Get out of here. Take her to Caroline's so she can…" He instructed.
"Ok." Matt agreed. He started to lead April away before turning back. "Stefan! That guy's armed. If you go out there, he's going to kill Jeremy."
"No one's killing anyone. Go." Stefan kept his arm outstretched, taking care to keep Ellie behind him. They crept along the wall, trying to get a look at Jeremy and Connor. Just as they spotted him, Connor noticed them as well. Stefan jerked her forward, pushing her down next to him behind the bar as shots were fired at the spot they'd just been in. "Connor, you don't have to do this!" He called.
A strange beeping noise caught Ellie's attention as Jeremy warily called out, "Stefan?"
They looked through an opening to see the red flashing lights that were attached to a glass jar that had to either be filled with vervain. "Oh my god." Ellie choked. "Stefan, oh my god. Oh my god."
Stefan forced her to look at him. "He is going to be fine." He swore. "Trust me." She nodded shakily before he called out, "Connor, we can end this right now. Just put down the gun and come with me."
"Sure, come out. I'll hand the gun over." Connor replied.
"Think about this. No one has to die." Stefan insisted. "I'll tell you everything you need to know."
"I don't make deals with vampires!" Connor screamed, causing Ellie to flinch sharply.
"Listen to me, if you die right now, then your whole life, all that killing, it will all be for nothing. I can give you the truth. Just put down the gun and let Jeremy go."
The door creaked and suddenly Elena called out, "Please! Don't hurt him!"
"You come any closer, he's dead." Connor told her.
"What the fuck is she doing?" Ellie whispered sharply.
"Elena, get out of here." Jeremy demanded.
Ellie turned to get a better look at what was happening. "He's my brother. Please, I've lost too many people. Please don't take my brother from me too. Just… just let him go."
Connor had the gun trained on Jeremy as he listened to her. "You hear that?" Connor called. "Your girl's watching. I will shoot the boy right in front of her! On the count of three! One! Two!" Connor screamed. Stefan stood carefully with his hands raised but as he did, Elena rushed forward, tackling Connor.
The gun went off and the next thing Ellie knew, she was watching in horror as blood soaked Jeremy's shirt. "No!" She screamed. Jeremy wobbled and Stefan rushed forward, grabbing him and pulling him behind a table. She shot her hands out as she dropped to the ground, using her magic to contain the blast. It went off violently and as it went off she let out a gasp of pain. The force of the blast had been so strong against her magic that it felt like she'd been punched in the gut.
"Jeremy?" Elena called. Everything happened so fast, but Ellie could feel the moment Stefan rushed off. Given that there were no more sounds of fighting, she assumed that he'd taken Connor with him. Ellie ran over to where Jeremy was collapsed and didn't hesitate to hold her hand over his wound. The bullet had gone straight through, making it easy to heal. Elena dropped down next to them as Ellie worked and when she reacted to the blood, she jerked away. "I'm sorry, I…"
"Hey, it's ok." Jeremy said soothingly. "You don't have to hide it, I know you're not going to hurt me."
Elena still hadn't turned around to face them. "How did this happen, Jer? Why did Connor come after you?"
"He said I was like him, because I could see his tattoo." Jeremy explained.
"His what?"
"His hunter's mark. It's invisible to everyone but me. Stefan and Damon didn't tell you about it?" Jeremy asked in confusion.
"No. Wait, who else knows about this?" Elena asked.
"Well, that's the thing. I don't even know. Apparently I was with Connor all day yesterday, but I can't remember." Jeremy told her.
Ellie frowned as she looked over at him. "Wait what?"
"What?" Jeremy asked.
"What do you mean you don't remember?"
"Someone compelled me." Jeremy shrugged.
Ellie swore under her breath. "I think I know who." Elena said angrily.
"Elena, no. You have no clue what's going on." Ellie replied as she stood.
"And you do?" Elena snapped.
"Yes, for once. It kind of sucks to be left out of the loop now doesn't it?" Ellie said as she felt her blood start to boil. "It's not so fun when it's you is it?"
Elena glared at her. "What the hell is wrong with you? We have to stop Connor!"
"We told you to stay away! If Stefan hadn't moved as quickly as he did, Jeremy would have gotten blown up because you rushed in!" Ellie shot back. "You should have stayed out, we had it handled."
"I don't have time for this. I'm going to find Connor, and I'm going to kill him." Elena said darkly.
"What the hell happened to being afraid of hurting him?" Ellie asked.
"That was before he tried to blow up Jeremy." Elena replied. "Though I guess you don't have any issue with violence either given that you snapped my neck!"
"We didn't have time to stand there and argue!"
Jeremy, though healed, was still woozy as he watched them fight. "And we don't have time to argue now. When I find Connor, he's a dead man."
Elena was gone in a flash and Ellie swore again. "Damn it. Jer, are you ok?" She asked as she knelt back down to his level.
"Yeah, I feel better. Thanks." He said as he let her pull him up.
The energy in the room shifted as Elijah appeared. "Eleanor, are you alright?" He asked worriedly as he checked her over for any injuries. "I was on my way when I heard the blast…"
"I'm fine, Jeremy got hurt but I managed to heal him." Ellie explained as Elijah turned to glance over Jeremy as well.
"Ellie, what's…" Jeremy trailed off in confusion as he gestured at Elijah.
"We don't have time for that, I'll explain later I promise. We need to get out of here before the cops show up. Sheriff Forbes isn't going to be too happy with the whole explosion thing, but I guess it works with the gas leak story."
Jeremy looked her over. "Ellie, why did you react the way you did when I told you I'd been compelled?" He asked.
She grimaced, but after everything she'd gone through with dealing with Elena and her lies, she didn't want to do that to Jeremy. "I didn't know they'd compelled the memories away."
"Wait, but you knew I was with Connor yesterday?" He asked for clarification.
"I was there, yes, I knew. I called you to come draw Connor's tattoo. I swear I didn't know they compelled you." She told him honestly, she could only hope that he knew she was telling the truth. She glanced over at Elijah, "Did you know he'd been compelled?"
"No." Elijah assured her. "I wouldn't have seen a need for it."
Jeremy nodded tiredly, taking them both for their word. "Ok." He agreed. "But where exactly did Elena go?" He asked as they made their way to the entrance Ellie and Stefan had used.
"She's going to be looking for Connor. You need to get out of here, Jer. If she kills him…"
"It'll be bad." Jeremy agreed. "Go find her before she does something she regrets. I'll be fine."
"Come on." Ellie said as she took a hold of Elijah. With one last glance over Jeremy, she took off and let her magic lead the way. She could feel the pull of Stefan and Damon's signatures, but Elena's was closer and that was the dangerous part. Finally, Elena's energy stopped rushing around the caves. "This way." Ellie told him.
He took a hold of her, rushing through the caves towards Elena. Elijah let her stand when they were close enough and Ellie heard Elena shout, "You stay the hell away from my brother!"
"Look at you." Connor retorted. His voice bounced off the walls, making it easier for Ellie to hear. "So worried about your brother. And you're the biggest monster he'll ever meet."
"You missed." Elena hissed just as Ellie rounded the corner. Ellie's magic shot out instinctively, but Elena already had a hold on Connor and pulled him with her as she was thrown into the wall. Elena looked up at Ellie and glared darkly. "I told you he was a dead man."
"Elena stop!" Ellie pleaded, but Elena's grip was tight around Connor's neck.
"Let him go, Elena." Elijah demanded.
Elena cried out in pain as Ellie burst the blood vessels in her brain. For a moment, Elena's grip around Connor's neck loosened, her hands grabbing at her own head as the pain overwhelmed her. "Guess you aren't strong enough after all." Connor hissed angrily as he forced himself to stand despite the blood trickling down his forehead from getting tossed by Ellie's magic.
"Shut up!" Elena yelled and just as quickly as she'd let go of his neck, her hands shot out, killing him like it was nothing. Elijah had moved at the same time Elena did, but he'd been too far away from Elena to reach her before she reached Connor.
The sharp crack of Connor's neck was barely muffled by Ellie's panicked scream. "Elena no!" She dropped down next to his body. His eyes were wide open as the blood trickled out of his mouth. "Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god." She whispered in horror. "Elena what did you do?"
"He tried to kill Jeremy!" Elena yelled as she moved past Elijah. Elena moved forward and pushed the witch as she stood. "Why the hell did you try to stop me?" She asked angrily.
"That isn't in your best interest, Elena." Elijah warned as he stepped between the two sisters. "She was trying to protect you."
She frowned at Elijah, but it seemed her anger seemed to dissolve as the reality of what she'd just done set in. In an instant, her rage turned into panic as she started to shake while she tried to catch her breath. "I have to bury him." She said suddenly. "I killed him, I should bury him."
The young witch was in too much shock to stop Elena from picking up his corpse and disappearing with him. "Ellie?" Stefan called. She snapped back to reality as he moved before her, concern written all over his face. "Ellie what happened? Talk to me."
"She killed him." Ellie whispered. "She snapped his neck like it was nothing. She told me, she told me she was going to kill him but why? Before we left she said she was afraid of hurting him, how could she just… I tried Stefan, I tried to get here in time but I didn't. I couldn't… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have stopped her."
"Ellie, breathe. It's not your fault." Stefan soothed.
"Yes it is, Stefan, we needed him alive!"
"Come on, we need to find Elena. Do you know where she went?" Stefan's voice was soft and slow.
"She said… she said she needed to bury him." Ellie stuttered. "His neck, Stefan…"
He nodded as he righted her when she started to sway. "I know, I know." Watching a vampire get their neck snapped was one thing, they healed from it and they healed pretty quickly. But to watch someone get murdered and it happen so fast that she couldn't stop it? That was a hard pill to swallow. Had she been a second sooner, just a second, could she have stopped Elena? She should have run faster. She should have reacted faster. Now Connor was dead and with him went Elena's only chance.
"I should find her…" Ellie said, but her voice was shaking. Even Damon seemed a bit concerned by her reaction.
"Relax, Sabrina, we can find her." He didn't say any more than that, but it seemed to be his oddly comforting attempt to reassure her. He glanced over at Elijah. "What are you even doing here anyways?"
"I heard the explosion." Elijah replied.
"And you were worried about your girlfriend. Cute." Damon retorted.
"Damon." Stefan warned. Damon looked back over at Ellie, who honestly looked like she was going to throw up. "Ellie, if you want to go, we can find her…"
Ellie faltered, part of her just wanted to go. She didn't want to deal with Elena and the inevitable blow out of Elena losing it over killing someone. Especially not when she and Elena were already kind of at odds with one another. But the other part of her had the annoying need to check on her sister. Ellie, unable to find the right words, just shook her head. That seemed to be enough for Stefan to lead them to try and find Elena.
Elijah didn't seem to mind Ellie's death grip on his hand as they walked, but her mind just kept playing the sickening sound of Connor's neck snapping and it was making her feel nauseous. Was his death affecting her this much because he'd been Elena's only hope? Or was it because she just watched Elena kill for the first time? They found Elena in the woods, and somehow she'd already made a lot of headway into digging the grave. "Elena." Stefan called gently.
Elena had yet to wipe his blood from her mouth. "I need to bury him." Elena repeated. "I killed him, I should… I should bury him."
Ellie moved closer to Elijah as Stefan moved forward, closer to Elena. "Hey, hey, come on." Stefan urged.
"Don't!" Elena snapped. "I heard you talking to him. Making some secret deal with Klaus? You said you were gonna protect Jeremy! Keep me from… this." She was staring at Connor's body as she panted. "You said that I could trust you, Stefan."
To Ellie's surprise, even Damon seemed bothered by what Elena was saying. "Elena, it's complicated."
"No, it's not complicated, Damon! You want to know why? Because, because he's dead now. You told me to kill him. So I did." Elena told him. It seemed to finally hit Elena what she'd done. "I killed… I killed someone." She started to shake as she repeated, "I k- I killed someone."
As Elena started to sob, Ellie felt overwhelmed. She looked over to Damon and just shook her head. Damon nodded silently before tilting his head back in the direction that they'd come from. She looked up at Elijah anxiously. One look at her was all it took to see how close she was to falling apart. She was pale and her breathing was shallow. Immediately, he turned and the two of them quickly left. It felt like the image of Connor's body was burned into her brain.
He led them to her car and as he drove, he rubbed soothing patterns onto the back of her hand. Unsurprisingly, he drove them to the apartment. Luckily, the lady at the front desk didn't seem to notice how upset Ellie was. When they got up to the apartment, Ellie still seemed to be in shock. "She killed him." She whispered shakily. She pulled away from him suddenly. "I should have stopped her. I should have done more. I… I…"
Elijah watched as she started to almost hyperventilate. "Eleanor, I need you to breathe." He urged. "I was there with you, Eleanor. You tried to stop her. It's not your fault."
"It is. It is my fault." She replied. "I didn't think she would actually go through with it. She let him go… I thought…"
"Eleanor, please breathe for me." He begged. He took a deep breath and she watched his chest slowly forcing herself to match his pace. When she started to come back down, Elijah pulled her into him. "It's ok."
"But it's not." Ellie sighed, but her voice was muffled from where she'd buried her head in his shoulder. "Did you ever reach Rebekah?" When he didn't immediately reply, she reluctantly pulled away. "You couldn't reach her?"
"No, I've been trying to reach her for a while now but she hasn't answered. I've tried to call Klaus but he also hasn't answered." Elijah admitted. "I even went and searched her house. She didn't seem to take anything so I don't know where she is." Ellie let out a tired, defeated sigh. "We will find her."
"I'm just… tired." Ellie confessed, but despite her desire to do nothing more than to curl into Elijah's side and sleep, she pulled away from him to find a map. Elijah watched her as she moved about the apartment. She did look tired, much more than she'd been when he'd seen her earlier in the day. It was something that he was starting to notice was a recurring problem. He knew it wasn't actual sleep that was the problem. On the nights that she'd ended up falling asleep in the apartment, she'd slept heavily and slept well.
No, he was sure the issue had to do with being around her sister. They, now more than ever, seemed to be at odds endlessly. The strain caused from fighting with a sibling was one he knew intimately and to see her struggling with it the way she was, it was hard for him. He wanted to help her, but there wasn't much he could do short of compelling Elena to act a certain way. Other than that all he could do was listen and try to make her feel better. She moved like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, but her concern for Rebekah was stronger than her exhaustion. "Here, let me." He said gently as he bit into his palm and the blood spilled onto the map.
"Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem." Ellie frowned when the blood didn't move at all. "What the hell?" The candles in the room shot to life and Elijah watched as she rolled back her shoulder and forced her exhaustion away. "Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem." This time the blood moved, but it went in all different directions.
"What's happening?" Elijah asked. He wasn't sure if he was more concerned about what that might mean for Rebekah, or if he was more concerned about why Ellie couldn't find her.
She shook her head. "I don't… I don't know. There's pushback. It's kind of like when Esther was blocking Bonnie and I. But this is different, almost like it's more random. I don't know." She explained before she started to chant again. She just kept going and Elijah watched as the flames started to creep higher.
"Stop, Eleanor, stop." He insisted.
The flames went out as she looked at him. She had lost some of her color, but he didn't know if she'd tried to push too hard against the barrier or if it was just a combination of everything that she was struggling with. He watched as she pulled out her phone to make a call. When he heard the sound of Klaus' voice telling her to leave a message, he sighed heavily. Apparently, Klaus was ignoring the both of them. "Klaus, I swear to god, when you get back I'm going to kick your ass. What the hell did you do to Rebekah? You told me you were just going to have Stefan talk to her. Why the hell can't I find her?" She asked angrily. "She better be ok, Klaus."
She hung up the call with a huff, tossing her phone carelessly onto the table. "Love…" He said gently.
Had she not been so exhausted, she would have realized that it was the first time he'd ever called her by a pet name like that. "Why is it that I can never save anyone? I'm supposed to be a witch but I can't protect anyone." She asked him. "What good am I if I'm never enough? I can never do enough. God have I even done anything to help?"
"You aren't some omnipotent god, Eleanor. You can't control everything. You can only do your best." He reminded her.
"But it feels like I've done nothing." She replied.
He didn't know how to give her peace of mind. He knew how dangerous that train of thought could be. The never ending 'what ifs' would drive her insane if she let them. "Come here." Elijah instructed softly. She moved to him sluggishly and didn't even bother to protest as he scooped her off her feet. She rested her head on his shoulder as he took her to the guest room. "Rest." He placed her gently on the bed, but before he could move away, she caught his hand.
"Stay, please." Her voice was soft and she already looked half asleep. "Please, Elijah." He didn't want to cross a line, but it wasn't crossing a line when she was the one asking him to. She rolled over slightly to make room for him and he moved to get on the bed. He didn't get under the covers, but she didn't seem to mind. Despite not being dressed for bed, she crawled under the covers before curling up to his side. "Thank you." She whispered.
"Of course." He replied. It was only a minute or two before her breathing evened out and she fell into a deep sleep. She was beautiful when she slept, something innocent and pure. All he wanted was to protect her and it was starting to seem more and more like the best way to protect her was to get her out of Mystic Falls and out of the never ending drama that seemed to surround her sister. But that was a battle for another day, for now, he was content to stay there in their safe space until reality came crashing back down once more.
Author's Note:
Did Ellie actually just force against Elena? Has she actually been pushed to the point of doing something about it? I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Someone needed to snap Elena's neck. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts!
To Junesquirrel: I don't know if you'll read to this point, but if you do, they did eventually go back to try and find her, but she and Elijah were gone by then. That was the point that when they returned to Mystic Falls again, they were trying to get Bonnie to find her.
To Gwenaria1: Yes! We also got some time with them this chapter as well. I'm so glad their relationship is healthy and that it makes you happy. Oh god the whole Shane mess is going to be insane. Especially when Silas comes into play. I do take a lot of pride in this story! I've been working on it for nearly two years now. I think Katherine and the Mikaelsons hold a special spot in my heart. But my favorite things to write are Ellie with her magic and then the really emotional moments. If it made you cry to read it, I assure you I cried writing it.
To brigitm28: Exactly! It's not all black and white, and Ellie sees that. Nik would agree that they deserved a break, plus it kept Ellie unaware of what he had planned for a while longer. Them getting teased is so fun to write. There is definitely a lot that was just left unsaid, but I think they did that for all of the older characters. Like they never explained how Kat went from an innocent girl to a ruthless vampire.
To Qewbix: I'd believe it. Working and packing is never fun. But congrats on the better apartment! If you're having trouble sleeping from the quiet, I'd recommend maybe playing something on tv while you're trying to sleep. The noise will help. It definitely was, but this is really the last TVD season before we move to NOLA! It is how you spell it don't worry lol. Getting away from the MF gang will definitely be a blessing.
To Charlie0925: Thank you so much! We won't go all the way through Silas before we leave for NOLA, but it's always possible that Ellie will make a reappearance in Mystic Falls from time to time. I actually haven't decided if she'll be there or not, but Kat being mother hen would be so cute. Elena throwing a bitch fit would be funny though. I can't wait for Katherine and Stefan to start interacting more.
To Crazy Devil Girl: Thank you so so much! I'm glad you're loving it! Seeing people be excited over their relationship is everything to me.
To AdiraBraelynn: I love it too. And yes, Ellie was pissed when she found out what Klaus has done. I think with Stefan she's more frustrated than pissed, probably because she doesn't doubt that it was on Klaus' orders that he compelled Jeremy. Definite big brother little sister vibes between them though. If the MF gang weren't the main characters, they would have been dead in like two episodes. A beat down on some of the MF gang, (Elena) would be so nice though. Elena and Damon in this chapter, but Ellie snaps Elena's neck and Damon's not totally an ass, so that should be a nice change of pace. Thanks for reviewing!
-Madame Magic
Posted: 5/8/21
