Elena frowned, looking at her phone.
"Something wrong?" asked Stefan, softly kissing her shoulder as they lay in bed together.
Elena looked over at him. "Thea's not answering her phone. Neither is Elijah or Luka or Jonas."
"It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday," murmured Stefan. "They're probably just sleeping in."
Elena looked skeptical. "All of them?"
Stefan smiled at her. "I guess we can stop by the Martins on the way to the Grill for some coffee."
Elena smiled and threw back the covers.
o – o – o
Thea watched Alaric leave the apartment, trying to keep her boiling anger in check. The handcuffs encircling her wrists had a longer-than-average chain and were surprisingly light, so she spent a few minutes banging around, trying to get them off.
"Do you know the definition of insanity?" drawled Katherine, who was perched on a stool in the kitchen.
Thea just rolled her eyes and ignored Katherine. There was certainly no love lost there. Katherine had killed Jonas, after all. Had threatened Luka's life. And for what? Just to hand over the moonstone to Klaus, knowing full well what he'd do with it, just to save her own skin.
After another few seconds of Thea trying in vain to free herself from the cuffs, Katherine suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Stop that!" commanded Katherine, snarling at her.
"Fuck you!" Thea shot back. "Excuse me if I haven't given up hope. Or maybe you're content to just wait around for Klaus to do as he pleases."
Katherine growled. "You heard his compulsion. I can't leave. I can't let you leave. I can't break your cuffs. What do you expect me to do?"
Thea clenched her jaw, hating that Katherine was right. Thea angrily grabbed the bag of food Alaric had given her earlier and started chomping down.
Katherine just rolled her eyes. "What do you care? At least you're making it out of this apartment alive."
Thea scoffed. "How can you be so sure?"
She didn't pretend to understand Klaus' reasons for keeping her alive. Perhaps he was planning to somehow steal the power she was channeling and put it into another witch? Was it not to upset Greta? Thea refused to believe her sister didn't care if she lived or died and maybe had somehow bargained with Klaus for Thea's life.
A part of her thought maybe there was some sentimentality underneath Klaus' gruff exterior. That maybe the friendship they'd once shared was enough to spare her.
"You're still breathing, aren't you?" said Katherine, dragging Thea out of her thoughts. "You were lying there unconscious for hours. He could have killed you, but for some reason both the Original brothers have this massive hard-on for you. Why is that?"
Thea narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean 'both the brothers'?"
Katherine laughed. "You don't think you were the only one Klaus took down last night, do you?"
"What did he do with Elijah?" gasped Thea.
Katherine shrugged. "Poked him with a spare dagger."
Thea frowned. "In Alaric's body?"
Katherine just smirked. "Elijah was only too willing to fall into Maddox's magical trap... when he thought you were in danger."
Thea groaned. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"Well, Elijah does love playing the white knight," said Katherine, tilting her head. "Though you don't strike me as the type who generally needs rescuing."
Thea raised an eyebrow. "Careful, Katherine. That almost sounded like a compliment."
"I don't do compliments," said Katherine, cocking an eyebrow.
They lapsed into a slightly uncomfortable silence while Thea ate her meal. After searching the apartment top to bottom, looking for tools of some sort, she reluctantly concluded that there didn't seem to be a way she could free herself.
She plopped back on the couch, closing her eyes and trying to relax, hoping to think of a solution.
"Giving up already?" asked Katherine's mocking voice.
"Can you just be quiet?" demanded Thea. "I'm trying to think. There has to be a way out of here. Every spell has loophole."
"Trust me, there's not," said Katherine, glumly. "Nothing to do but wait until Klaus comes back to feed me to the wolves. Literally."
Thea rolled her eyes. "You expect me to feel sorry for you, Katherine? You killed my father!"
"Out of self-defense!" snarled Katherine. "I was trying to buy my freedom from that monster."
"And how'd that work out for you?" snapped Thea.
Katherine scoffed. "I didn't ask for any of this. Just because I was born with this face, my entire life and my family's lives were ruined."
Thea shook her head and sighed. "What happened to you wasn't fair. But you're not the only one whose choice was taken away." Thea stood up and looked Katherine in the eye. "And some people would rather die than let the rest of the world burn in their place."
"Those people are stupid," said Katherine angrily. "I..." She trailed off. "He's coming back."
Thea looked at the door and a few seconds later, Alaric and Maddox walked in.
"Hello, my lovelies," smiled Alaric. "You two didn't get into any trouble while I was gone, did you?"
o – o – o
Damon knocked on the Martin's door. "Hello!"
No answer.
Damon looked over at Stefan and Elena.
"Can you hear anything?" asked Elena.
Damon activated his vampire hearing. "No."
"Get back," said Damon, backing up a few feet, intending to knock down the door.
"Wait!" exclaimed Elena. "What if they're just out?"
Damon rolled his eyes. "What's the point of coming over here if we're just going to walk away?"
"What the hell are you doing?" came Jonas' voice from down the hall.
"Rescuing you," smirked Damon, turning to see Jonas and Luka walking towards their apartment.
"We were worried because no one was answering their phones," explained Elena. She looked past Jonas and Luka. "Where's Thea?"
Jonas sighed, unlocking the front door to his apartment. "Invite them in, son."
Five minutes later, Damon, Elena and Stefan were in shock after hearing what had happened the night before.
"Elijah's been daggered and Thea is..." Elena trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"We don't know what happened to her," said Jonas in a strained voice. "We just know that she isn't returning her calls and locator spells aren't working."
"She could be cloaked or she could be..." Luka clenched his jaw. "That's why we were out. There are some herbs that will help boost a locator spell, even if the subject is cloaked."
"We'll know more in a few minutes," said Jonas. "Just let Luka work."
Damon nodded and they all left Luka alone in the living room. Jonas passed around a few coffees and everyone just sat around the kitchen table in tense silence.
A few minutes later, Luka came into the room with a big grin on his face.
"She's alive," he said. "Somewhere in Mystic Falls. I can't get any more specific than that. But she's alive."
"Well that's great," said Damon, sarcastically. "All we have to do is check every building in Mystic Falls. It's not like the full moon is tomorrow night or anything."
"That's not helping, Damon," said Elena, shaking her head. "Is there no way to get more specific?"
Everyone looked at Jonas. Even though he was a vampire, he was still the expert on all things magic.
Jonas tilted his head. "There is one thing we could try..."
o – o – o
"I'll be back as soon as I can," said Maddox, walking out the door.
"Yes, do hurry," said Alaric. "I'm anxious to get out of this body. And if you get hung up, call me. You know how impatient I get."
Thea just sat on the couch, listlessly gazing out the window. Besides his initial greeting, Alaric hadn't said two words to her since he had returned with Maddox. Alaric and Maddox had talked about the ritual for a while before Maddox got up to leave.
"Where is he going?" asked Katherine, handing Alaric a mug of coffee.
"To retrieve me," answered Alaric. "So I can get out of this bad hair-do."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Klaus?" asked Katherine.
"Well, the full moon is almost upon us," said Alaric. "I've taken care of the witch. I have the moonstone, and the doppelganger is waiting in the wings. I am ready to break this curse."
Thea's teeth clenched, but she didn't say anything. She was still furious that she was stuck here, rendered useless by Klaus and his fucking handcuffs.
She tuned out the rest of their conversation until she heard Alaric casually mention how he slaughtered Katherine's family and she saw the look of hurt and anger on Katherine's face.
Thea still hated Katherine, how selfish she was, how Jonas had paid the price for that selfishness, but she couldn't help feel a little sorry for her.
Thea's thoughts were interrupted by Alaric's cell phone ringing. He looked at the caller I.D. and left the apartment quickly.
Katherine's head was tilted and Thea knew she was listening to the conversation.
"Who is it?" asked Thea.
"Damon," answered Katherine. She paused. "He's asking Alaric if he knows where you or Elijah are."
"I doubt he'll be of any help," muttered Thea.
The best they could hope for was someone noticing something was off about Alaric's behavior.
Katherine rolled her eyes. "He just offered to help them find you."
"Great," sighed Thea. "I'm sure he'll lead them all on a wild fucking goose chase."
o – o – o
"Hey, Stefan," said Alaric, smiling as he walked into the Grille.
"Ric," nodded Stefan as Alaric sat in the seat across from him. "Thanks for getting here so quickly."
"Of course," said Alaric. "So, what's the plan? None of the witches can find them?"
Stefan shook his head. "It seems like our only choice is to physically look for them."
Alaric frowned. "You can't be serious. Klaus could have Elijah anywhere. Thea's probably dead."
"Luka thinks she's alive."
"Really?" asked Alaric, looking at him curiously. "How does he know that?"
"From a spell," shrugged Stefan. "Are you sure you don't remember anything from last night that could help?"
Alaric tilted his head, thinking. "She did mention something about practicing some spells alone. Somewhere she couldn't destroy anything."
Stefan's eyes lit up. "Like the woods?"
Alaric shrugged. "Could be."
"Great," said Stefan. "You and I will take the woods behind the school and the cemetary. I'll ask Damon and Jonas to do the ones by the witch house."
Alaric nodded. "Whatever I can do."
Stefan smiled. "Thank you, Ric."
o – o – o
"I still can't believe this," said Damon, shaking his head as he, Jonas and Luka approached the apartment.
"Why is it so hard to believe?" asked Jonas.
"I've seen magic do some crazy things, but..." Damon sighed.
He stopped when they reached the front door. Jonas and Damon both listened, but didn't hear anything inside the apartment.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Damon.
Jonas shrugged. "If we're wrong, what does it matter?"
Damon didn't reply, just knocked on the door.
"Hello?" he called.
The door opened and a surprised Thea and Katherine stood there. Thea tried to go towards the open door, but Katherine quickly grabbed her and sped her away.
Katherine and Thea both groaned. Thea pushed Katherine away.
"Thea!" exclaimed Luka, moving into the apartment. "You're alive!"
Jonas and Damon tried to follow, but were stopped by the invitation barrier.
Thea nodded. "Klaus is in Alaric's body."
Jonas sighed. "We suspected as much."
Katherine frowned. "How'd you figure it out? I watched Maddox cloak Thea."
"Traditional locator didn't work," explained Luka. "But we still had the salt circle that witch Maddox used to trap Dad and Elijah."
Thea blinked, surprised. "You tracked Maddox down using the remnants of the boundary spell? Wow. That's impressive, Luka. That's really advanced magic."
Jonas smiled. "That's my boy. Once we realized Maddox was here, in Alaric's apartment, we realized we'd been fooled by a body-hopping spell."
"Well, congratulations," drawled Katherine, rolling her eyes. "But I've been compelled to keep both of us from leaving and I can't break her anti-magic cuffs, so..."
"So I'll do it," shrugged Damon.
"How?" asked Thea. "You can't get in and I can't leave."
Everyone frowned, clearly trying to think of a way around the compulsion.
"Get ready to run, Thea," said Luka, breaking the silence. "Now!"
o – o – o
"I think this place is a bust," said Alaric, looking around at the trees.
Stefan sighed. "Just a few more minutes. I want to make sure we've checked everywhere."
Alaric frowned. "We've been over this place twice. I'm pretty sure your vampire hearing would have picked up if she was here."
Stefan nodded, hoping it wasn't too obvious that he was stalling Alaric/Klaus.
"I guess you're right," said Stefan. "Should we head to the cemetary?"
"Sure," said Alaric. "Still no luck on her phone?"
Stefan looked up from his phone. "No. No answer. Maybe you're right. Maybe she's dead."
"You think Luka was mistaken?" Alaric asked as they headed to Stefan's car.
"I think Luka wants her to be alive," said Stefan. "Belief can be a powerful thing."
"Just like you believe you can save Elena?"
Stefan narrowed his eyes. "What's the alternative?"
Alaric looked like he wanted to say something, but just shrugged.
"Mind if we stop by my house?" asked Stefan. "I could use some blood."
Alaric looked like he might be suspicious, but he nodded and followed Stefan back to the road.
o – o – o
Luka held his hand up and Katherine immediately dropped to her knees, holding her head in agony. Thea raced to the open door and managed to get her hands through the barrier long enough for Damon to remove the cuffs from one of her wrists before Katherine dragged her back inside.
Thea grinned as she pushed Katherine away once again.
"Got it," she smiled, feeling her magic flow through her.
She looked down and the cuffs immediately fell off.
"Just like that?" asked Katherine, surprised.
Thea smiled. "One broken link is all it takes." She turned to Luka. "You need to get out of here. Maddox will be back soon, with Klaus' real body. Once he gets here..."
"You'll be long gone," said Jonas gruffly. "You're not taking him on until after the sacrifice." He held a hand up to Damon's protesting face. "We'll make sure Elena stays alive."
Thea frowned.
"I'm serious, Thea," said Jonas. "You take him out after the sacrifice. When it won't kill you. I'm not losing two daughters to that man."
Seeing the heartbroken look on Jonas' face, as well as his mention of Greta, and Thea sighed.
"Fine," she agreed.
"Then come on," said Luka, tugging Thea towards the door. "Let's go before he comes back."
Thea lifted her hand to snap Katherine's neck, but then she stopped.
"Thea, honey, what's wrong?" asked Jonas.
"Seriously," said Damon. "Stefan can only distract AlariKlaus for so long."
"I can't," said Thea. "He'll know. If he comes back and I'm gone, he'll know."
Damon rolled his eyes. "So?"
Jonas sighed. "She's right."
"I'm the only person powerful enough to take him on prior to the sacrifice," said Thea. "There's no predicting what he'll do if I escape. The best plan is to let him think I'm still subdued."
"We're not leaving you here!" exclaimed Luka. He looked desperately at Jonas. "Dad! Come on."
"It's for the best, Luka," said Jonas.
Thea nodded. "It's not much longer. The full moon is tomorrow night. I can make these cuffs appear like they're still working. Once he leaves for the sacrifice, I'll follow him and we can end this."
"What about Elena?" asked Damon. "You said you'd save her."
"Luka can do a protection spell," said Thea.
"I'll help him," said Jonas. "Keeping Elena alive will be the easy part."
"And what about Elijah?" asked Thea. "If I'm cloaked, I'm sure he is too."
"We'll worry about finding him after Klaus is dead," said Jonas.
Thea frowned, but didn't argue. Finding Elijah shouldn't be the priority, even though she missed him and desperately wanted him with her in this fight.
"There's still one problem," said Katherine. "Me. He could compel this whole plan out of me and I'm fresh out of vervain."
"Ah," smirked Damon, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small vial. "Drink this and prevent any future compulsion. Hell, you might even make it out of this alive."
He tossed it to Katherine. "Be careful with that. If he finds out you have that..." Damon smiled devilishly. "I don't wanna know what he'll do to you."
o – o – o
"I don't think there's anything here," frowned Alaric, looking around the cemetary. "Maybe we ought to look in town."
"Let's check the mausoleums one more time," said Stefan uncomfortably.
Alaric frowned. "She's not here, Stefan."
"Right," said Stefan, nodding.
"Is everything okay?" asked Alaric, scrutinizing Stefan's face.
"Uh, yeah," said Stefan, trying for a nonchalant shrug. "Why?"
Alaric was silent for a moment before responding. "Nothing. I should get home. Papers to grade and stuff..."
"Okay," said Stefan. "Thanks for your help."
Alaric nodded. "Call me if you hear anything."
Stefan cursed inwardly as he watched Alaric walk away. He picked up his phone and dialed Damon.
"Damnit!" he exclaimed when the call went to voicemail. "Damon, Alaric is coming back towards his apartment. Get out of there now!"
o – o – o
"We should probably go," said Damon, leaning against the doorway. "I..." He trailed off. "Someone's coming."
"I thought you said Stefan was keeping Alaric distracted," hissed Thea. "If he catches you here..."
"Where are we supposed to go?" whispered Damon. "Alaric lives at the end of the hallway."
"Just make something up," said Thea. "Say you're here to check on the search progress or something."
"That's ridiculous," Damon whispered. "I... shit, he's coming."
They all watched as a dog emerged from the top of the stairs.
"Really, Damon?" asked Katherine. "You heard Fido?"
An elderly woman followed the dog. She smiled as she opened the door to the apartment next to Alaric's and shut the door.
"Thanks for the heart attack," said Thea, sarcastically.
Damon just rolled his eyes. "Come on, Papa and Baby witch. You owe me one live doppelganger."
Luka shook his head and left the apartment, but not before giving Thea a big hug.
"Stay safe," said Luka. "And if you see Greta..."
Thea tilted her head and looked over Luka's head to the pained look in Jonas' eyes.
Thea smiled sadly. "I'll see you tomorrow. You stay safe too, Luka."
o – o – o
"I don't like leaving her there," said Jonas, shaking his head as he, Luka and Damon left Alaric's apartment.
"Thea can take care of herself," said Damon. He turned to Luka. "You ready to do the protection spell?"
Luka shook his head. "I'll need some supplies from our apartment. I can meet you at your house in, say, an hour?"
Damon nodded. "I'll make sure Elena's there."
"I'll meet you both there," said Jonas.
Luka frowned. "Where are you going?"
Jonas looked uncomfortable. "We're out of blood."
"Perfect," said Damon, clapping a hand on Jonas' shoulder. "We're nearly out too. We can make a supply run together."
Jonas looked like he'd rather do anything than get blood with Damon, but didn't say anything as Luka got in his car and left.
"Come on," said Damon, tilting his head and heading down the street.
Jonas frowned. "The blood bank is that way."
He looked in the opposite direction.
"True," said Damon with a hint of a smirk. "But I know a shortcut."
Jonas narrowed his eyes, but followed Damon. He went down the street and turned into an alley. Jonas was shocked to see Damon standing in front of a woman, compelling her.
Before Jonas could say anything, Damon sank his teeth into her neck.
"What the hell?" shouted Jonas, speeding forward and yanking the woman away from Damon. "What are you doing?"
"Ah, come on," smiled Damon. "Don't tell me you haven't had a taste of fresh blood yet?"
Jonas looked down at the woman's bleeding neck, clearly trying to retain his human features.
"She won't remember a thing," cajoled Damon.
"No," said Jonas, shoving the woman away.
But she didn't leave, she just stood there.
"Just a few sips won't hurt," said Damon. "I'll even heal her up afterwards."
Veins appeared underneath Jonas' eyes and his teeth began to elongate as he stared at the woman's neck.
"You need to relax, Jonas," continued Damon. "End of the world is tomorrow."
Damon lifted the hair from the woman's neck who continued to stare blankly into space.
Finally Jonas could take no more and sped forward, sinking his teeth into the woman's neck.
"There we go," smiled Damon approvingly. "So much better than a blood bag, right?"
Jonas didn't respond, just continued to feed. And feed and feed.
"Ugh, Jonas?" asked Damon, frowning. "She's young and healthy, but..."
Jonas pulled away and the woman dropped down. Jonas looked down and was horrified.
Damon knelt down and grimaced. "Yeah, she's dead."
"What have I done?" gasped Jonas, stumbling back. "What..."
Jonas disappeared.
"Sure," said Damon, sarcastically. "I'll take care of the body." He rolled his eyes. "No problem."
o – o – o
As soon as Damon, Luka and Jonas left, Thea quickly got to work repairing the handcuffs. She smiled when they snapped closed. She muttered another incantation and they snapped open. She performed the trick a few more times just to make sure she really was free.
"Neat," said Katherine sarcastically. "What are you going to do for your next trick? Pull a rabbit out of a hat?"
Thea narrowed her eyes. "You know, you'd think you'd be nice to me. Klaus' compulsion prevents you from hurting me, but it doesn't work the way around."
Katherine clenched her jaw, but managed a small smirk. "If you do that, you'll never get Elijah back."
"What are you talking about?" asked Thea.
Katherine's smirk just got bigger. "I'm the only one that can find Elijah."
Thea raised an eyebrow. "And you're just mentioning this now because...?"
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Information is power, Thea. And right now, you're the biggest power in town. Even Klaus can't match you. Yet. Guarantee me a ticket out of here, and I'll help you get your white knight back."
"How?" asked Thea, eyes narrowed.
"That's not how it works," said Katherine, shaking her head. "You pay to play... Freedom first, then Elijah."
Thea hesitated, her anger at Katherine's earlier actions weighing against her desire to find Elijah.
"I'm not an idiot," said Katherine, crossing her arms. "With enough power, it's possible to undo compulsion with magic. You can make it so I can leave here without Klaus' permission."
Thea clenched her jaw. "Fine. You have a deal."
Katherine opened her mouth to reply, but closed it immediately.
"Someone's coming." She paused. "It's him."
o – o – o
Thea ran to the couch and situated her hands in her lap, while Katherine sped to the counter, taking a somber seat at one of the stools.
When Alaric came through the door, Thea tried to calm her beating heart. Not that it mattered. Alaric's human body couldn't hear her heartbeat any more than it could compel her.
"What have you two been up to?" asked Alaric, eyes narrowed, looking suspiciously around for anything out of place.
"Just sitting around," said Thea, rolling her eyes, trying to act like the reluctant prisoner. "What have you been up to?"
"Your friends are annoyingly persistent," he growled.
"Do you want a drink?" asked Katherine, trying to distract him.
Alaric turned to face her. "No, Katerina, I don't want a drink."
"Come on," said Katherine, smiling with a bourbon bottle in hand. "It might loosen you up."
Alaric grabbed the bottle and threw it against the wall. Thea jumped. He grabbed Katherine and looked her in the eye.
"What I want," he compelled her. "Is for you to sit down and shut up."
Thea tensed, knowing with the vervain in her system, Katherine couldn't be compelled. It was all down to her acting abilities. Hopefully, her 500 years of hiding had been enough practice to fool him.
Katherine clenched her jaw, but demurely sat down on the stool once again.
At that moment the door opened and Maddox came through.
"Maddox, what took you so long?" asked Alaric, looking annoyed.
"You've got a lot of luggage," answered Maddox.
Thea just rolled her eyes as she watched a parade of minions come in with an assortment of bags.
Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Greta walk through the door. Greta didn't even notice her, only having eyes for Klaus, even if he was in a different body.
"Greta," said Alaric, smiling at her. "Finally."
"Hello, love," she said, returning his smile with an adoring one of her own.
"Hello."
Greta looked him up and down. "Nice body. You ready to get out of it?"
Alaric just smiled back. "Mm-mmm."
Greta's eyes finally flitted to something other than Alaric and Thea heard the sharp intake of breath when Greta finally noticed her sitting on the couch.
"What is she doing here?" Greta asked Alaric.
Thea felt anger flare through her. After two years of no contact, countless nights of worry, Jonas giving up his practice and Luka being put in a dozen different schools while Jonas fruitlessly searched for her, Thea wasn't going to let Greta's rudeness slide.
"I'm here to rescue you," Thea said sarcastically, standing up and rattling her chains for effect. "Hi, by the way. Good to see you, little sister."
Greta's face turned to anger. "I told you to leave this place. I don't need to be rescued."
"Well we Martins are a stubborn bunch," said Thea, cocking her head. "It's even worse now that Dad's been turned."
Greta gasped. "What?"
"Yeah, your boyfriend's minions didn't tell you?" asked Thea, looking at Alaric/Klaus with anger. "He got caught up in the fight for the moonstone."
"Katherine was the one who killed your father," said Alaric, angrily. "Or did you forget that?"
"Only because she was terrified of you," said Thea, almost believing it.
She hated Katherine for turning her father, but it's not like Klaus or Greta didn't have a part in it. She was just angry at Greta's rejection of their family and yelling at both of them was a convenient release.
Alaric's eyes flitted back and forth between Thea and Katherine. "Did you two bond in my absence today?"
Thea rolled her eyes. "Did you bring me anything to eat? I'm starving."
Alaric tilted his head towards one of the minions, who brought her a bag of food.
"What about me?" asked Katherine.
Alaric just ignored her.
"Now, love," he turned to Greta. "I'll need you to play nicely with your sister until tomorrow night."
"And then what?" asked Greta, looking at Thea.
Alaric shrugged. "Then we leave this sad, little town."
Greta looked haughtily at Thea and proceeded to ignore her while the minions brought in Klaus' real body.
o – o – o
Later that night, Thea just watched while Greta and Maddox put Klaus back into his own body. It took every ounce of restraint she had to do nothing. It would be so easy to disrupt the spell. But Klaus' body was still indestructible, whether his soul inhabited it or not and she knew she needed to wait.
Alaric stood next to the box where Klaus' body was. Thea knew the spell had worked when Alaric tensed and looked up.
He stared at Katherine, who was standing behind Maddox and Greta.
"Elena?" he whispered before collapsing to the floor.
Thea winced as he hit the ground hard. She forced herself to stay calm while Maddox rose and opened the box to reveal Klaus.
He smirked as he stepped into the apartment, looking down at the body he'd inhabited for the past few days.
"Now that's more like it," he said, glancing at Katherine briefly before his eyes fell on Thea.
She just fixed him with an unfriendly glance.
"Don't be so glum, love," he said, suddenly crouching in front of her. "Tell you what. I won't even kill the teacher."
"What do you want us to do with him?" asked Maddox.
"Take him back to the hotel," said Klaus. "Get someone to compel his memories away."
"You're not coming?" asked Greta, looking at Klaus and Thea with a frown.
"I need to make sure your big sister doesn't cause any trouble," answered Klaus, raising an eyebrow at Thea. "Send one of the donors up. I'm feeling peckish."
"I can put up a boundary," argued Greta. "You don't have to stay..."
Klaus snapped his head around. "Did I bloody stutter, Greta?"
Greta's face fell and she looked at Thea angrily before she grabbed her purse and left the apartment, followed closely by Maddox who used magic to drag Alaric with him.
"Would it kill you to be nice to her?" asked Thea, frowning.
Klaus chuckled. "She's ready to quite literally throw you to the wolves and you still defend her."
"She's my sister," said Thea. "I don't stab my siblings in the back."
Klaus' face darkened at her words. "I have done many deplorable deeds in my time, love, but never have I sought to end my family's existence permanently. Elijah is the only one who gets that honor."
Thea narrowed her eyes. "Cloaking them and dumping them in the ocean is pretty much the same thing, isn't it?"
Klaus' smirk fell. "He told you."
"Yeah," said Thea. "So don't you dare get all high and mighty, Klaus. He just wanted revenge because you took everything from him."
Klaus had the good sense to look slightly guilty before he masked his features once again.
"My, my, such a stalwart defender," said Klaus. "Are you sure my brother truly deserves your affection?"
"Elijah is a good man," said Thea, defensively.
Klaus looked angry. "I could tell you tales of Elijah's past that would make your skin crawl. He is far from the noble brother you think him to be."
"You're lying," said Thea in a low voice.
"If he's so noble, why did he send you to do his dirty work?" challenged Klaus.
"That was my choice," said Thea, icily. "I told you before. Any true servant of nature is duty-bound to stop you."
Klaus smirked. "Funny... You speak of duty and obligation. The Thea I remember did what she wanted, despite what others expected."
Thea swallowed. "Maybe I've changed."
Klaus glowered at her, getting right in her face. "Tomorrow, I will break my curse and sire myself a new line. Perhaps once I've built my army, you'll re-think your loyalty."
It took everything in her not to spit out the truth into his face, just to upset him. He was going to die, she was going to find and raise Elijah and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Instead, she said the second-best thing.
"I will never serve you," said Thea.
Klaus growled, leaning ever closer. "You forget how much I like a challenge, Thea Martin."
A/N: Klaus is here (for realz now)! Let me know what you thought- Kat/Thea frenemy allies, Jonas having bloodlust issues and Klaus/Thea interactions, plus ugh, Greta. I'm def missing Elijah though- think Kat will hold up her end of the bargain or will it be too late?