I do not own TVD or TO
It might be a few days before I update again. Got a busy weekend ahead.
Bonnie heard the unmistakable sound of desiccated leaves crunching underfoot. The sound held a note of finality, a precursor for imminent death. She thought it was fitting considering what would soon transpire in the yard; she could already see the pentagram drawn out with salt and other herbs.
"Who's the creepy, lurky guy?" Abby nodded across the lawn to where Esther was stepping from the dilapidated mansion.
Bonnie followed her mother's eyes. "That's Esther's son, Finn, he's a vampire so…" she looked at her mother and pointed to her ear.
Abby nodded and held in her sigh. "Wonder what your Grams thinks about the part we're playing in all of this balance of nature stuff."
"She's probably on the other side," Bonnie smirked, "screaming about getting involved in vampire business."
Abby cracked an involuntary smile before sobering and facing Esther. She could feel the energy of her entire ancestral line as it was drawn through her body to the Original witch.
"Thank you for coming," Esther's smile was tight, concealing a secret in the corner of her mouth. "I can think of no better allies than the woman who sent Mikael into his long sleep and the girl who fought Niklaus so bravely."
Stop shaking!
Elena continued to scold herself in her mind until her muscles gradually relaxed. It wasn't like Elijah had hurt her. She had been certain he was going to. She had been sure he was going to knock her head from her shoulders or tear her heart from her chest for the part she had played in his mother's ritual, but he hadn't. His head had tilted to the side for a beat before he had grabbed her and stomped a hole in the earth.
She tilted her head up toward the waning light and stared at the jagged opening. There was no possible way she could climb back up; the walls were too steep, the dirt too loose. Even if she could find a toe hold she would just slip back down and probably injure herself in the process.
She whipped out her phone and stretched her arm as high as it would reach in search of a signal, but there was not a bar to be found.
Admitting defeat she tucked the phone back in her pocket and repositioned herself in what she thought was the place she had stood above ground. She closed her eyes and tried to pull up an aerial view of Mystic Falls to try and place herself in relation to the Lockwood Mansion where she knew the tunnels eventually let out. She was pretty sure it was to the right.
She took a deep breath and started down the tunnel, making no attempt to stay quiet. It would have been impossible anyway with the various rocks littering the floor. She tripped more than a few times before hugging the wall and slowing her steps.
She swallowed nervously when the tunnel curved around and opened into a small cavern. There were three branching passages. She walked up to each and stood at the opening for a moment before feeling a cool breeze coming from the last.
She was just about to start down it when there was a whoosh of air and suddenly the path was blocked by a familiar blonde.
She jumped back and stifled her shriek.
"Going somewhere?" Rebekah tilted her head.
"What are you doing here?" Elena willed her heart to settle down, but the organ had a mind of its own.
"Not much," she sighed, as if being in the tunnels was the biggest inconvenience of her life, "unless you try to run," her lips lifted in an excited smile, "in which case I get to kill you."
Fear curled down her spine. She curled her gloved hands into fists to keep them from trembling and reached for her flat stomach.
"I can't find her anywhere," Stefan called, entering the Boarding House. He froze at the entrance to the living room when he spotted Elijah sitting in front of the fireplace talking to Damon.
"Hello Stefan," the Original smiled.
"He has Elena," Damon gritted his teeth.
"Actually, she's with Rebekah," Elijah stood up and fastened his suit jacket. "She has a predisposition to dislike doppelgangers – not the best history I'm afraid – so as you can imagine, my sister is just dying to tear her throat out. If you want to save her life, I need you to help me stop my mother."
He highly doubted his sister would cause lasting harm to Elena. She would terrorize and perhaps threaten to maim, and even wish to maim, but in the end Rebekah would hear the same thing that had stilled his own hand. The Salvatores, however, didn't need to know that. All they needed to know was that he held Elena's life in his hands and if they wanted to save her they needed to cooperate.
He knew the moment he had them, but Damon being Damon needed to make everything difficult.
"I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but when it comes to killing thousand year old resurrected witches, I'm a little rusty," Damon scoffed.
"Yes," Elijah sighed. He ran the tip of his finger over the mantle, picking up a letter opener to twirl between his fingers. He would not have been opposed to burying the point in his mother's throat. "Unfortunately, even when killed my mother doesn't seem to want to stay dead – not with the witches of nature on her side."
Esther needed to be stopped, not killed – at least not until she could be properly contained.
"What are we supposed to do, then?" Stefan crossed his arms. He remembered Rebekah to be both loving and vindictive; he wouldn't have been surprised to see the blonde go after his ex-girlfriend for the fact that she was his ex-girlfriend, and in spite of everything he still wanted to keep Elena alive.
"The witches that released my mother are providing her with power," he fiddled with the letter opener, "she's drawing it from their bloodline, so that line needs to be broken."
"Broken?" Stefan frowned, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yeah, he means…" Damon dragged his finger across his throat.
"You want us to kill them," Stefan's eyes narrowed.
"You know I'd do it myself, but I have absolutely no idea where they are. Besides," he waved a hand, "seeing me, they'd immediately know my intent. They will not expect to be harmed by either of you, so you have until six minutes after nine to find them."
"Specific," Damon glanced at his brother.
"Well," Elijah smirked, "by 9:07 the moon will by full, and my mother will have the power she needs to kill me and my family. If she is not stopped before then, Rebekah will kill Elena."
"Alright, love," Rebekah held up her cell phone, "look into the camera."
"What are you doing?" Elena stared at the phone, a line between her brows.
"Shooting a picture to inspire your boyfriends," she shrugged.
Picture, Elena took half a step back, how long was she in the box?
"Why don't you tell them how delightful it is being stuck in a hole with me?" Rebekah smiled, the very picture of innocence.
She reminded Elena of that one quote from Shakespeare about being the snake beneath the flower. She hardly knew Rebekah, but she knew she was dangerous.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Elena met Rebekah's eyes. The blue was nearly black in the dark of the cave. "I've never done anything to you."
"Yet," she sneered. Tilting her head she busied her fingers relaying the text message. "You know, I don't know what I want more, to find out we're saved or to find out it's alright to kill you."
"This isn't my fault Rebekah," Elena shook her head. "Your mom forced me to go along with the ritual. I tried to leave when she told me…"
"Sure," Rebekah scoffed, "you tried to leave. You didn't want to do it." She sauntered around the brunette slowly as the hunter stalks its prey. "Do you really think I want to spend what could very well be the last hours of my life having idle chit-chat with you?"
Elena swallowed. She moved with Rebekah to ensure her back was never to the Original.
"Of course not," she went on, "but for some reason, everybody seems to want to bend over backwards to save your life, which is incredibly annoying, but makes you the perfect hostage. So sit down and shut up before I ruin everything by ripping your head off."
Her grin was feral when Elena braced her back against the cave wall and slid to sit cross legged on the floor. Once the doppelganger was still and silent Rebekah was able to hear herself think, along with the distant rush of the waterfall, the scurrying footsteps of some small animal, and the rapid thrum of a hummingbird's wings somewhere nearby.
Elijah had hardly opened the door to the mansion when he was slammed into the wall and held by his throat. The force of the impact dislodged several picture frames and cracked the back of his skull. It healed before he could work up a good headache, but he could smell the trickle of blood on his collar along with the blood now adorning his brothers' necks.
"Niklaus?" He grunted around the hand now restricting his windpipe.
Klaus' eyes widened when he felt his own airway cut off and immediately loosened his hold. He growled when he could speak again.
"Where is she?"
"There are many women you could be referring to," Elijah straightened his shoulders, "I'm going to need you to be more specific."
"Elena!" He snapped.
"Ah yes," Elijah brushed off his sleeves, "the doppelganger," his lips twisted around the word. It was the first time he had referred to her as such since they had struck their first deal in her bedroom. "I've tucked her away to ensure the support of the Salvatores in our current endeavor. Mother…"
"Is planning on killing us all," Klaus cut him off.
"We know," Kol glowered.
"How did you two find out?" Elijah frowned.
"Guilty."
The feminine voice drew his attention to the stairs where Caroline Forbes. She had been leaning over a map of Mystic Falls and fiddling with her cell phone, but now she had him fixed with a glare that – had she been a witch – would have killed.
"You abducted my best friend?" Her voice was deadly quiet.
Kol leaned against the banister. Part of him wanted to try and calm the baby vampire, but another part wanted to watch her take a good chunk out of Elijah. There was something truly terrifying about her stance, and he hadn't felt true fear since the fourteenth century.
"Where is she Elijah?" Klaus tried to swallow his rage. The only thing that helped was the knowledge that whatever damage he inflicted on his brother would also be inflicted on himself.
"As I've said," he straightened his jacket, "I've tucked her away. As soon as mother has been stopped she'll be freed and you can continue your quest for a hybrid army."
"You think I care about bloody hybrids?" Klaus roared, slamming his brother into the wall once more. He felt several of his ribs break with the impact, but he didn't care.
"Nik, this isn't helping matters," Kol spat out a stream of blood as it flooded his mouth.
A deadly sense of calm settled over the room as Klaus stepped back and brushed off his brother's sleeves. He took a deep breath and tilted his head, contemplating the options he had before coming to a decision.
His arm moved in a blur. The cries were simultaneous from Elijah and Kol.
"Was that necessary?" Caroline sighed. She frowned when he stumbled and fell to his knees. "Klaus?"
Elena's head whipped around when she heard Rebekah's sharp cry. Less than a second after locking eyes with the blonde she saw her skin turn grey. She leapt to her feet as Rebekah fell over, dead, and ran for all she was worth. She ran until her un-stretched muscles ached.
Elijah's eyes snapped open to meet blue ones. He might have attacked if the eyes had not been set in a feminine face, so instead he got to his feet and turned to where his brothers were mirroring his actions.
"Have you lost your mind?" He approached Klaus.
"I assure you brother I am in complete control of my mental faculties," Klaus got to his feet. His eyes flashed gold. "She is my mate, and she is carrying my child."
"That is impossible," Elijah scoffed.
"Actually…" Kol cut in, holding up a finger. He smirked when Elijah turned to him with an incredulous look. "Nik broke his curse, so he's not infertile anymore."
"Caroline, love," he turned from his older brothers, "have you found where they might be?"
"I've got an idea," Caroline cleared her throat. "Bonnie said your mother was channeling her entire family. Now, I don't know much about magic, but I'm pretty sure proximity is key."
"It would help mother's spell to be near the dead witches," Kol nodded. "Are you thinking the cemetery?"
"No," Caroline pointed to a section on the map, "I'm thinking of the place where a lot of the Bennett witches were massacred after the civil war."
Elena stumbled over a rock. Her hand scraped the rough stone wall and she hissed; blood bubbled to the surface. She cradled her injured palm and kept running.
"You can't hide, Elena!" Rebekah's voice echoed over the walls. She sounded like she was strolling along with all the time in the world to find her prey.
Elena took a sharp right and tripped. She felt her ankle twist, but ignored it and climbed to her feet. She limped a few steps before seeing something that made her heart leap into her throat.
Safety was a mere six feet away and she scrambled for it. She was at the entrance when arms curled around her waist and she was spun around.
"Boo!"
Her reaction was to head-butt Rebekah and jump backwards. She could see the faint outlines of Native American drawings on the walls as Rebekah shrieked and called her several names that she hoped the little one in her womb couldn't hear.
"What the bloody hell is this?" Rebekah tried to enter the cave, but found her way blocked by an invisible barrier.
"Sorry," Elena fell back against a wall, gulping in greedy breaths. "No vampires allowed."
"Kol?" Klaus' voice was strained when he turned his attention on his youngest brother. "Are you capable of handling Finn on your own?"
"I should think so," his eyes narrowed. "Mother's ritual failed and there is no white oak nearby." He could hear the sobs of the younger witch coming from the confines of the house, but she was unlikely to get involved now that she was quite literally on her own and their mother had fled in the chaos.
"Wonderful."
"Bonnie, I'm sorry," Caroline tried to comfort her friend. She reached out her hand, but it was immediately slapped away.
"Don't," she choked on her tears, "don't, Caroline, don't do that." She swiped at her cheeks. "You told them where to find us!"
"I had to," Caroline shook her head. She couldn't bring herself to look at Abby's body. "Esther was going to kill them all, and Elijah had Elena, and…"
"They were going to be dead!" She shrieked. "Dead, and gone, and out of our lives; that was the whole point. Elena would have been safe from Klaus."
"Elena was never in any danger from Klaus, Bon," Caroline sighed. "And this spell wouldn't have just killed them."
"What are you talking about?" Bonnie stared at the awkward angle of her mom's neck. "Esther wanted to undo the evil she created."
"Vampires," Caroline looked down, "are a 'plague' on the earth. She was going to kill them all, Bonnie." Kol had explained the spell that had created them on the journey to the witch house, along with what would happen if any of them died.
The smell of gasoline was making her head swim, and causing bile to rise in her throat. She fought it down and focused on the match in Rebekah's hand. She was starting to think the Original sister was a little unhinged.
She could see the match getting ready to fall when Rebekah paused. A line appeared between her brows as the match burnt itself out.
Blue eyes dragged over the length of her body before settling on the layers that covered Elena's stomach. Under the fabric came the distinct thrum she had heard earlier in the tunnel.
Before she got a chance to swear, or groan at her misfortune a voice ripped through the stone caverns. It was loud and full of a rage that put her in mind of silver daggers coated in ash. She gripped her box of matches and turned around to flash him a smile.
"Nik," her eyes twinkled. "You're just in time to watch the doppelbitch burn." She heard Elena's audible gulp from the cave and smirked, but her brother's narrowed eyes made her falter.
"Leave, now," his eyes flickered from the matches in her hand to her face, "before I do something I regret."
"What's the problem?" Rebekah frowned.
"You're attempting to burn his mate alive," Elijah spoke so quietly that Elena didn't hear him in the cave.
Elena saw Rebekah look back to her with nothing but confusion in her eyes.
"Her? Are you bloody joking?"
"Rebekah," Elijah appeared and took hold of her arm, "come away now." He pried the matches from her fingers.
Elena was still staring at the space when Klaus took his sister's place. She felt a rush of pure hatred run through her followed by a shiver of fear.
"Are you alright, love?" He stood as close as possible to the barrier. He could see the fear and revulsion in her eyes; it was a light he had seen many times over the last thousand years, but never had such a look come from her.
"What the hell do you want? Haven't I been terrorized by enough Originals today?" Her eyes narrowed. She gripped the hem of her soaked coat.
Caroline's words came back to him then, and he found he now believed them. There was no recognition in Elena's eyes, no sign that he was anything to her other than the monster who had sacrificed her in his misguided attempt to feel complete.
"You've been compelled, love," he met her eyes.
"Tends to happen a lot in this town," she crossed her arms.
"Elena, please, listen to me?" He swallowed. He could hear the sound of a heart beating deep inside her body, and he wanted to kick himself for not figuring it all out sooner.
She weighed her options. There was no way she could get around him, and he was not going to step aside to let her leave until she heard him out so she nodded; the motion was stiff.
She shook her head as he spoke, refusing to believe his words.
"I've never…" she sputtered over the words. "I wouldn't…"
"You have," he met her eyes. "The child you're carrying is mine."
"No…" she shook her head.
"You were compelled to forget Elena, but there are ways to bring the memories back, spells," he searched her wide eyes, "you can even have your friend Bonnie go over them and cast them if that will make you more comfortable. Now will you please come out here?"
He saw the hesitation in her eyes and the small step she took backwards.
"You have nothing to fear from me, Elena," he stepped back from the cave opening to give her room, "and none of my siblings will harm you."
After the night she had endured she should have scoffed at the promise, but looking in his eyes she found she believed him, so she took hesitant steps until she eventually crossed the threshold. She tipped her head back when he didn't move, but blocked her path.
"Take off your jacket."
"Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed.
"It's soaked," he fingered the sodden pocket, "you'll be down sick if you stay in it much longer."
"Because my t-shirt is so much better," she muttered, but peeled the sleeves down her arms. She didn't get a chance to feel cold.
A warm jacket was draped over her shoulders and she dropped her coat to slip her arms into the too long sleeves. She hugged the wool closed and inhaled the heady mix of scents that instantly put her body at ease.
Klaus picked up her discarded jacket and caught a smell he hadn't noticed over the fumes from the gas. He looked at her with narrow eyes.
"Are you hurt?"
"I scraped my hand," she shrugged. Her mind told her to be revolted when he took her wrist and flipped it over, but her body warmed at the touch. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
He ran his thumb over the smooth flesh wiping away the dried blood until he could see her palm.
"That's because it's healed." He let her hand fall to her side and placed his palm on the small of her back. "This is the way out."
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