Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any songs/quotes used in this story.
diggin' my own grave
"With a thousand lies
And a good disguise
Hit 'em right between the eyes
Hit 'em right between the eyes
When you walk away
Nothing more to say
See the lightning in your eyes
See 'em running for their lives."
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"Kol, I don't have time for your nonsense. I'm on my way over to Professor Shane's office at Whitmore," Bonnie said as Kol tried to accost her in the kitchen.
"But I have to tell you something," Kol whined. "Come on, darling. It's important."
"Well, Shane is teaching me to control my Expression," Bonnie retorted. "It's important." She grabbed her purse and adjusted the shoulder strap and headed for the door.
"I'm coming with you," Kol declared and followed after.
"No." Bonnie went to her car and buckled herself in, and to her exasperation, so did Kol. He ran a hand through his hair, making the ends stand up as he pouted at her. "Why do you want to come?" She demanded. "You'll be bored the entire ride over because your attention span is the same as a child's."
"I need to talk to you. And I would like to practice my magic," Kol appealed. "You can tell this Shane character that I'm a witch friend. Which I am." He grinned at her cheekily.
"I wouldn't go so far as to call you a friend," Bonnie muttered and started the car. Kol turned on the radio and adjusted the volume to a louder level.
"I love twenty-first century music," He mused and started to sing along. Under other circumstances Bonnie reluctantly admitted his voice would have been nice to listen to. Unfortunately, listening to him belt out Beyoncé lyrics was not exactly a pleasant experience.
"No." Bonnie shut off the music. She sighed. "Tell me whatever it is, then."
Kol grinned. "How would you like to talk about the Cure for vampirism and Silas, the Original Immortal?"
"I'm listening."
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Jeremy had needed a job to take his mind off of things, in addition to helping provide for himself. No one said anything, but he knew that Damon and Steph were currently the Gilbert's financial backers in everything from groceries to school supplies, and it rankled. Jeremy wanted to be able to pay for his own things instead of taking charity from Elena's boyfriend and Jeremy's ex. So he started to work at the Grill with Matt and Anna.
It didn't hurt that April was a frequent visitor.
He enjoyed spending time with her; she was his own age, pretty, smart, and a little bashful. They could relate to each other on a few different levels; both had dead parents and were only siblings (or in Jeremy's case, a mostly now absentee sibling). April was living with her aunt now; a stern woman who'd Jeremy hadn't met in person yet, though April spoke of her relative fondly.
However, hanging out with April came with its own set of complications. One, he knew she had a crush on him. Like a major crush. And he kind of felt stirrings of sexual attraction in return, as well as some romantic feelings that Jeremy was sure would grow if things continued as they did. Things got complicated though, considering the fact that April didn't know a thing about the supernatural world and Jeremy's life was submerged in it. (Like the fact that he was some kind of potential hunter, which, why was this stuff his life?). Also was the fact that Steph was back and (mostly) sane and as beautiful and kind and intelligent as ever. Sometimes he was pretty sure he still loved her.
But then he thought of the horrendous murders she'd performed, ripping people's bodies apart, being in a relationship with Klaus (willing or no) who was a total dick, and the fact that she'd almost killed Jeremy. What hurt a lot though was the fact that she'd never come and got him in Denver. Which, yes, didn't make a lot of sense, but love was stupid.
He wondered if she felt the same conflicted feelings over him or if she actually did love that evil hybrid dick. All that Jeremy knew was that he enjoyed being around April (soft, supple, sweet April), and right then even thinking about his past (and present) relationship with Stephanie hurt him deep inside. And so he avoided Steph and grew closer to April. (He never said he was particularly smart).
Jeremy was in the Grill at that moment, and he went to the back to open another box of napkins for the lunch rush. He was tearing the plastic when he heard a creaking noise behind him towards the freezer. Jeremy paused. He turned and crept towards the freezer, but saw nothing. Jeremy sighed and told himself he was being paranoid.
When he turned, there was a knife to his throat. Jeremy's heart hammered in his chest and he met the wild eyes of the Hunter, Connor Jordan.
"Jeremy. Let's talk about vampires, shall we?" Jeremy swallowed thickly and thought that his tongue had somehow grown three sizes too big. Unable to speak, he nodded almost imperceptivity. A slow grin grew onto Connor's face. "That's a good man."
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"Man, you are half an hour late, so get your ass over here," Matt grumped and he flipped his cell phone closed.
"What was that? The third message you left him? Someone woke on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Anna said wryly as she slid a chair off of one of the tables and set it on the floor. She took out a rag and wiped down the table.
"I just want Jeremy to show up to work on time, is all. I'm trying to look out for her since Elena's AWOL," Matt explained tiredly. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm really trying to understand Elena right now, but she's so different . . . it's like I can't even talk to her anymore."
"It'll be a transition," Anna agreed. "But if you're really as close friends as I think you are, you guys will work something out." Matt smiled at her and Anna kissed the corner of his mouth.
"Excuse me?" The couple turned to see April wandering inside hesitantly.
"We don't open 'til eleven," Matt told her.
"I wasn't trying scare you or anything, I was just wondering if you'd seen Jeremy. I don't want to seem like a stalker or something, but he said he'd call and I know he started working here and so I thought I'd drop by . . ." April trailed off.
"He's not here yet . . ."Anna's eyes widened as they focused on something coming out from behind the bar and the backroom. Matt and April turned their attention to see what the problem was only to find Connor holding Jeremy at knifepoint and gently nudging the teen forward.
"Oh my God," April whimpered.
"Sit down! All of you sit down!" Connor yelled and put a little pressure on Jeremy's neck with the knife. April's eyes were round with fear, but she complied without a sound. Anna's eyes were narrowed and her fists clenched, but she as well slowly sat on a chair at a round table with both April and Matt. Connor shoved Jeremy into a chair next to them. "Kids, one of you give me a cell phone."
"We'll do whatever you want, just please, let April go," Jeremy begged. "She has nothing to do with this. She doesn't know anything about it." He handed the Hunter his phone even as he spoke, hoping his compliance would get him this one thing.
"She has everything to do with this," Connor disputed. He gave her a suspicious glance, "Her and her father. Besides, she and I have history."
"What?" April asked, fear bubbling up and showing in her voice. "What are you talking about? I've never seen you before in my life!"
"Maybe all you children should wear some vervain," Connor suggested as he turned to dial the phone. "That way, none of you could be compelled by those nasty vampire vermin."
"Vampires?" April demanded. "Are you crazy?" She turned to Jeremy and asked, "Is he for real?"
Jeremy panicked and shrugged. "He must be on drugs or something."
"You have to know that our friends will come for us," Matt snapped loudly. He ground his teeth agitatedly and tapped his fingers on the table. Anna put her hand next to his. Her eyes narrowed as she came to a realization.
Anna's nostrils flared. "But that's what he wants. He's expecting all of the vampires to come running to our rescue. He plans to take them out in one fell swoop."
"You're smart," Connor tipped his head towards her.
"Now, who should I text first? Damon Salvatore? His sister, Stephanie? Tyler Lockwood? No . . . how about all of the above." He sent out the blast text and then picked up a stake and smashed the cell phone. "There we go. Let's see who comes running first. I'm a little curious, myself."
Jeremy nearly growled in anger. "They won't fall for it," He snapped, but Connor only laughed. They all knew that was a lie.
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"So, I say we each take a different entrance, and hit him all at once," Damon proposed. He paced the length of Tyler Lockwood's living room, while Stephanie, Caroline and Elena sat together on the couch and Tyler stood behind it with his fists resting on its head.
"Damon, be serious," Stephanie chided. "That's not a plan." She twisted her hands in her lap. Damon and Elena were still being a little frosty towards each other because of last night, but otherwise acted like nothing was wrong. There had been no talks of trying 'moderation' again for a while. They might have, but then three out of the five of them received a blast text message from the Hunter, trying to lure them to the Grill.
"No, my plan involves me taking Connor's heart out of his chest and feeding it him," Damon corrected with a savage expression that promised a severe amount of pain.
"It's still not a valid plan." Steph arched a brow at her brother, unimpressed and unwilling to take the unnecessary risk. "It's dangerous for the hostages that Connor has, including Jeremy and who the hell else knows."
Caroline's phone bleeped and she looked down. After a few tense seconds of rapid finger swiping, she said, "My mom has squad cars blocking the road, so we can do whatever needs to be done."
"No cops, no witnesses, sounds like a plan to me," Damon called and he threw up his arms, "so let's do this."
"Damon," Stephanie stood and glared. "We can't go into this half-cocked. Connor is smart and strong. I'm sure he has a back-up plan in case we all come at once. We need to think this out carefully to make sure we assess all possible dangers."
"We don't have time for that!" Tyler spread his arms. "We have until sundown."
"And it's early afternoon," Steph snapped. "Plenty of time to think about this rationally."
"Well, what do you suggest, your majesty?" Damon sneered.
"Don't be ugly, Damon," Elena sighed. "She just wants to make sure we all get out of this okay." She made an aborted motion towards Damon, but ended up just slouching into the sofa a little farther.
"Did you call Bonnie?" Stephanie asked.
"She's all the way at Whitmore visiting Professor Shane about her Grams," Caroline explained. "She told me she was going last night over the phone. She's not answering her cell, and I don't think Kol even knows how to use one."
"Okay, so that's out," Stephanie nodded and then pushed her fingers into her eyes. "I have another idea, but no one is going to like it."
"Let's hear it." Tyler crossed his arms.
"I think we should call Klaus," Stephanie said firmly and the room exploded into vehement protests.
"Are you kidding me?" Damon shouted. "That guy is not going to help us. And anyway, I don't want his help." He put his hands onto his hips.
"Yeah, well, none of your plans are going to work, considering none of us are indestructible," Stephanie snapped back. "Honestly, Damon. Connor probably has more werewolf venom and the only one here who won't get laid out flat on their backs is Tyler. And no offense to Tyler, but I don't think he's experienced enough to take Connor out on his own. So we need Klaus."
"What makes you think he'll help us?" Tyler demanded lowly. "The guy is a dick."
"He's in love with Steph," Damon waved a hand angrily. "He'll do whatever she asks. Come, Klaus, heel Klaus."
Steph glared.
"It's kind of true," Caroline coughed and Elena looked at the floor.
"So is that the plan?" Stephanie asked and no one said anything more in protest, so she pulled out her phone and dialed the hybrid.
He answered in the second ring. "Hello, love," Klaus murmured. "Miss me?"
"I need a favor," Stephanie cut to the chase. "We have a hostage situation with the Hunter and we need you to help us get them out."
"I'd love to, really, but I'm out of the country at the moment," Klaus said and Stephanie thought he really did sound remorseful. "But I do have some helpers that would love to come to your aid."
"Who?"
"I have some hybrids in Mystic Falls just for this purpose."
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"I can't believe you wrote a book," Bonnie grinned as she flipped through the pages. She'd arrived at Whitmore and turned off her phone, eager to be away from the troubles of Mystic Falls for a day. Kol was snooping around after not introducing himself. She and Kol and talked about what the Original had discovered about Silas and the Cure, but Bonnie had promised to talk about it more in depth when they left. She wanted to learn about control that afternoon, and it needed her full attention.
"I did," Shane said and shuffled some things around on his desk. "I've written three, actually."
"How grand," Kol said dryly.
"You never did tell me who your friend was," Shane said a little meaningfully. He looked at Kol curiously, and Bonnie thought she saw something in Shane's eyes that was interesting . . .
"Kol," The Original introduced. "I'm a witch. Warlock, whatever." He waved a hand, uninterested in terms.
Shane's eyes widened a little but otherwise gave no reaction. Curious. "Professor Shane." He stuck out a hand. "How long have you been practicing?"
Kol didn't shake his hand. "My mum taught me everything she knew, started when I was almost a babe."
"For almost your entire life then," Shane said, visibly impressed.
"It's been a while though, so I thought I'd come with Bonnie to visit," Kol continued. He gave the teacher a shark like grin. "Is that going to be problem?"
Genuinely, Shane shook his head. "Not at all, Kol. Not at all. Who wants some tea? I've got a recipe from some Aborigine spirit guides in Australia a few months ago on sabbatical. It's better smoked, but considering you guys are under age . . . we'll drink it instead." He winked.
"I'd love some," Bonnie smiled.
Kol cocked his head. "Maybe," He said noncommittally.
"Great!" Shane disappeared for a moment and reappeared with three cups and teapot. "Sit, sit." He gave Kol a sidelong glance. "Does he know about . . . ?"
"I know all about the Expression, mate," Kol said smoothly.
"Good, good," Shane nodded as the two magic folks sat across from him at the desk. Bonnie sipped her drink and Kol sniffed his. "Listen, what I have in mind may come off as a little unorthodox . . . what do you guys know about hypnosis?"
"To not to mess with it," Kol said easily.
"You believe in hypnosis?" Bonnie asked the men she was sitting with, uncertain and a little nonplussed.
"You practice witchcraft, but you don't believe in hypnosis? Come on, Bonnie," Shane grinned.
"How is hypnosis going to help with Expression, anyway?" Bonnie wondered aloud, curiously.
"It won't," Kol said sharply. "Personally, I find it a little distasteful. Too much like a vampire's compulsion." Bonnie gave him a sharp look, though Shane appeared even more interested in Kol.
"Really? I'd love to talk about ethics with you one day," The Professor admitted. "But I have to say that I disagree. Compulsion is just that – the people are compelled, bound to follow whatever instruction they are given. People under hypnosis are said to have heightened focus and concentration with the ability to concentrate intensely on a specific thought or memory, while blocking out sources of distraction."
Kol replied, "But suggestions can be made and the person under the trance will oblige. They wouldn't be able to help it. What if you're a psycho and try and get Bonnie alone or something? I'm afraid I'd be a little upset, mate."
Bonnie glowered, but Shane laughed a little. "I won't try and hypnotize you, Kol, I promise. Just Bonnie."
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"You've got to be kidding me," Damon growled. They'd moved to Alaric's apartment to get a few things and organize themselves because of its close location to the Mystic Grill. He was roughly pulling out some maps while muttering under his breath about dirty hybrids. Elena stood over by the window, eyes peering out onto the street. She was intently focused on Stephanie's form standing next to a new hybrid, while Tyler and one of his friends he'd yet to introduce hovered nearby. Elena didn't have to be there to see the tension in the set of the group's shoulders.
"At least he's helping," Elena sighed and wrung her hands. "I still want to go in there myself."
"Connor doesn't know you're a vampire yet, so it's not a good idea," Damon retorted. "We went over this."
"Damon –"
Elena's phone rang. Her eyes met Damon's and she scrabbled across the room for it. "Hello?"
"I can hear everyone in the Grill from the street," Steph's voice carried over the line. "It's Jeremy, Elena, and Matt, Anna and April. They're all stuck inside with the Hunter."
"What?" Elena gasped.
"Danger magnets, all of them," Damon grouched huffily.
"I'm going in there," Elena declared and she peered at the maps Damon had pulled from Alaric's cabinet. "What are these of? They look like they're underground . . ."
"They're tunnels under the Grill, but you're not going," Damon snapped. "Like I said, this guy doesn't know you're a vampire. Let's please keep it that way."
"But I can help!" Elena argued. "I can offer to trade myself for the hostages." Damon's hand shot out and he grabbed Elena as she began to walk toward the door to leave, maps in hand.
His brows furrowed and his voice was incredulous as he said, "No. Best case scenario, you're a hostage now. Worst case, the Hunter kills you."
"Stop treating me like I can't handle myself, Damon," Elena shrugged out of his grip. "I'm a vampire now. I'm strong."
"But you're way too inexperienced to go in there and take on a trained killer," Damon argued. "Let the damn hybrid brat do the dirty work."
Elena glared. "You don't understand, Damon, that one of the only things holding me together right now is my little brother. If anything happens to him . . . I don't know what I would do."
Damon sighed and slowly walked over to his girlfriend. He cradled her face in the palms of his hands and gently kissed her. Resting his forehead onto hers, he said, "And I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. Nothing will happen to Jeremy. I promise."
Elena sighed. "Isn't what we sent Jeremy to Denver for? To get him away from all of this?"
"Yeah, but like you said, you need him," Damon pointed out gently. "He's helping you to keep your humanity, whether he knows it or not, by just being here."
The door opened and the couple turned to find Stephanie walking in. "Klaus' hybrid is here and I've talked to him. He'll be taking the front, while you and me," She motioned between herself and Damon, "will be taking the tunnels. Do you have the maps?"
"Found in them in a cabinet behind some liquor," Damon confirmed with a nod. "So I say let's get this party started."
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"He's clearly delusional," April said to their little group sitting at the table, "I mean, listen to all of his talk about vampires! No sane person believes in that stuff. And what about that stuff he said about my dad?"
"Listen, the guy's a nut job," Matt reassured her firmly. He folded his arms onto the table and leant toward her. "Don't let him get into your head."
"Jeremy, did he say anything to you about why he's doing this?" April asked frantically.
"No. But I'm going to try and find out," Jeremy said gruffly and pushed himself away from the table. He stalked toward Connor and slammed his hands down onto the counter. "Let us go. Please."
"No can do," Connor shook his head. "But if you like, I'll show you my little craft project here. See, I picked up a lot of stuff throughout the years from the hunter's trade."
"What is all that?" Jeremy furrowed his brows as he took in the things strewn over the counter top of the bar.
"It's the components of a bomb." Connor explained, "The fluid is derived from werewolf venom and there's a wire, so if someone trips it, it goes off. It'll deliver lethal amounts of the venom into the bloodstream, effectively taking out whatever vampire trips the wire."
"What's the point of all of this?" Jeremy demanded sharply. "What do you get out of this?"
"You I used to think that there was no 'get' that I was just supposed to do; kill vampires. That is, until I realized that the mark on my arm held the answer to the question of what I am. The more I kill, the more it grows. And once it's complete, all of this will have meant something. Hey! We're going to have visitors soon. So get up! Move!" Connor moved away from Jeremy and waved his hands at the trio still sitting. "And before you even think of trying escape, I want you to know that I have every exit wired. Now move!"
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"Look man, I know you don't know me, but this guy is highly dangerous." Tyler was a short distance from the others, far enough that they couldn't hear him. Hayley was on his right hand side, arms crossed and brows furrowed as she listened to Tyler speak to this new hybrid, Dean. Hayley was restless, and alternated between glaring at the ground and her old pack mate.
"I can handle myself," The newbie defended, "besides, Klaus asked me personally to do this for him."
"This is a really bad idea," Tyler said shortly. "Do you think Klaus cares about you? This is a sire bond talking, man."
Caroline, who'd just arrived on the scene and was initially going to go over to Rick's old apartment, detoured towards her boyfriend. She started over to them, hesitating only a little when she saw Hayley. When she arrived, she spoke to her first. "Um, who are you?"
"Who are you?" Hayley snapped.
"Caroline," The blonde vampire replied, startled at the hostility.
Hayley leaned back a little and nodded knowingly. "Right. You're Tyler's girl; he mentioned you."
"Well, that's unfortunate, because he's never mentioned you before," Caroline crossed her arms and huffed.
"I've been staying with Tyler for a few days," Hayley shrugged a little. Her yes wandered back to Dean.
"Excuse me?" Caroline asked shortly. "What did you say?"
"What?" Hayley looked irritated. "I needed a place to stay, Tyler's a buddy, and he was nice enough to offer."
"How about you say we cut the crap?" Caroline asked sharply and took a step towards Hayley. The werewolf arched her brows and held up her hands.
"Listen, Caroline, I don't really do teen drama. Take it up with Ty, okay? Now excuse me." She stepped around Caroline and went to talk to Tyler, who wasn't having any luck at all talking with Dean. He was intent on doing Klaus' bidding, and Tyler wasn't getting through to him. Caroline followed her over to the boys and heard Hayley pick up where Tyler left off, trying to convince the hybrid that this was a suicide mission.
"What's going on here? I thought he was helping us get Jeremy and everyone out of the Grill," Caroline said.
"Yeah, well, I'm a little concerned for Dean, the guy who is taking on Connor alone," Tyler said shortly.
"He won't be alone; Steph and Damon are going in too, Tyler, and we'll all be waiting outside the Grill in case Connor leaves the building," Caroline argued. "That was the plan. We need him."
"See? The little lady understands," Dean said gruffly, and he shook off Hayley and Tyler's advances. "I've got a direct order from Klaus, and I have to carry it out. Now excuse me. I'm sorry, Hayley." He stalked over to the front door of the Grill, leaving the three other supernaturals behind.
"He's going to get himself killed," Hayley said flatly. "Because Klaus turned him and half of my pack from the Appalachians in less than two days."
"We'll get him back somehow," Tyler reassured her.
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Jeremy was the only one in the main part of the Grill left, besides Connor, when the landline rang shrilly. His head jerked up and Connor lazily picked up the phone and cradled it between his ear and shoulder.
"We're closed."
"I want you to free the hostages," Stephanie's voice echoed through the receiver and Jeremy tensed.
"Only after you've given me what I want; you and all of those like you in Mystic Falls, dead," Connor said lowly.
"That's not going to happen, sorry," Stephanie replied easily, confidently. "You free the hostages and we'll have a talk, okay? Klaus is interested in you; he told me, himself just today. You must be pretty important to him, a big bad Original. Aren't you the least bit curious why?"
Connor growled and slammed down the phone. Jeremy watched in silence as Connor prepared more of his toxic fluid to fill the bombs. He started forward, but Connor growled, "You may be a Potential Hunter, but you make one move and I will gun you down faster than you can blink."
"They're not all bad, you know," Jeremy said and swallowed thickly. Remembered Stephanie's fangs inches from his jugular, so different from her gentle caresses. "Some of them are my friends. One was a lover."
"Friends," Connor snorted. "I used to have a friend like that. She got turned by this vampire I was hunting. He thought it would be ironic." He shook his head.
Jeremy felt dread fill him, but he let none of that enter his voice as he asked, "What happened to her?"
"I didn't want to hurt her," Connor said quietly, "she promised she would keep it under control but . . . a vampire is like a loaded gun. Eventually it's going to go off. That's where I got this." He pulled his jacket off and showed Jeremy the beginnings of his tattoo.
"So you killed your own friend?" Jeremy pulled back, disgusted. He couldn't imagine . . .
"Listen!" Connor shouted. "If you're going to be like me, you need to understand; vampires kill humans, and Hunters kill vampires."
"I don't want to be like you," Jeremy hissed. "Twisted. Empty inside."
"That's too bad," Connor said and then his head turned. "They're coming. Get down." He flicked on the radio on full blast, turned the lights off, and made Jeremy duck down behind the bar. The door opened and they saw someone unfamiliar creep inside, set over the wire, but set off the landing mat in front of the door. A huge explosion went off, shoving the vampire off its feet and careening towards the floor. It slowly stood, red faced and bullet ridden. A hybrid, Jeremy slowly realized. Connor hopped over the bar and opened fire on it with his gun, shooting it in the chest. The hybrid fell to the floor and did not get up again.
The music was still blasting, like a bad action movie flick's soundtrack, and made everything feel surreal. Jeremy paced, angry, as Connor stripped his jacket and his tattoo visible grew up his shoulder. The Hunter flicked off the radio and the sudden silence was startling. Jeremy saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head in time to see Stephanie ghosting across the room. Connor picked up his gun and aimed.
Fired.
Missed.
"Connor! Connor you don't have to do this!" Stephanie shouted, but Connor opened fire again. She ghosted again and Jeremy ran and stumbled to keep out of Connor's way.
"Stephanie!" Jeremy called when Connor paused again. He looked down and swallowed thickly; he was standing on another of Connor's traps, a replica of the one the hybrid triggered.
"Connor we can end this right now!" Stephanie called from her hidden position. There was a tremor in her voice that told Jeremy she'd seen the predicament he was in. "Just come with me and we'll talk. This place is surrounded."
"Sure, come on out and I'll give you the gun," Connor promised and raised it. He shot a warning bullet at an overhead light.
"Just let Jeremy go."
"He's not going to listen Steph," Another voice joined Stephanie's and Damon and Connor both jerked to see Damon entered in from the back.
"Where'd the kids go?" Connor demanded.
"I got them out safe and sounds," Damon smirked. He raised his hands. "Now, let's talk about this like grown up, shall we?"
"I don't negotiate with vampires," Connor spat and his face twisted up into a nasty scowl. "I'm going to shoot him on the count of three . . . one, two, three!" The gun went off and Damon sped towards Jeremy and knocked him off of his feet. The bullet went wide and the bomb beneath Jeremy's feet went off, blinding nearly everyone in the room and left their ears ringing. Stephanie took advantage and went after Connor, ripping the gun out of his hands and sent it skittering across the Grill's dirty and now ashy, floor.
"You almost killed him," Stephanie hissed into Connor's ear and felt her fangs elongating and the veins popping out of her skin, eyes darkening. "Would you have done it?"
"If he's allying himself with vampires, the world is better off without him," Connor spat.
"Wrong answer," Stephanie snarled and her hand plunged into the Hunter's chest cavity and she squeezed the organ. Connor choked. "Your life is in my hands, dick. How does it feel?" Connor coughed and blood came up. Stephanie tore his heart from his chest and threw it across the room, where it made a squelching sound as it hit the wall and then the floor.
She sat back on the floor and listened as Damon helped up Jeremy and they stood together. "You okay, Jere?" Stephanie called quietly.
"Fine," He said shortly. "You?"
"Fantastic," She muttered.
"Well, that's everyone accounted for," Damon interceded. "Matt, Anna, and April are all outside in the loving care of Caroline and Elena; Jeremy's here with us, and Connor's lying on the cold, hard ground. Who's up for dinner?"
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"This isn't working," Bonnie sighed. "I still feel . . . full, overwhelmed. Like Expression is about to burst out of my skin. I guess I just can't get into hypnosis. I'm sorry."
"Bloody hell, Bonnie, you've been under for hours," Kol said shortly. "It didn't help?"
"It'll take time," Shane soothed them and poured some more tea. "It might a few sessions, but I think we'll get to a point where Bonnie feels in control. We'll try some exercises with your magic next time, I swear." He shot Kol an inquisitive glance. "And I would really like for you to come back, Kol. You can show me what you can do next time."
"Sounds great, Professor, but we really need to go." Kol stood and after a moment, Bonnie did too.
"Bye, Shane," Bonnie smiled at the teacher and shook his hand. "We'll come back soon, okay? Thank you for giving your time."
"Not a problem at all, Bonnie. Anytime," Shane grinned, and saw them out. Kol and Bonnie walked to her car, the vampire suspicious and grumpy from sitting in a stuffy office all day.
"Now can we talk about the Cure and everything that entails?" He grouched.
"Fine."
"The Cure is the ultimate weapon against Silas. It's a cure for vampirism and the bloody invisible tattoo on the Hunter of the Five is a map leading to it."
"Which is buried with Silas," Bonnie nodded and started the car. She turned on her phone again at the same time. "Which means that . . .?"
"You'd have to wake Silas to get the Cure, I imagine," Kol said grimly. "Klaus plans on using the Hunter to find the Cure and use it on Elena so that he can make more hybrids." He paused. "I won't let Klaus wake Silas just so he can have more hybrids, Bonnie. It'll be Armageddon."
"We're in total agreement," Bonnie said firmly. "Let's the apocalypses to Buffy."
"I'm sorry?"
"Don't worry about it," Bonnie waved his question away. "So the first thing we need to do when we get back to Mystic Falls is tell them about the Cure and everything you know about it."
"Right," Kol agreed, a little reluctantly. "Why do we need to do that? Won't they want the Cure for themselves?"
"Not if it means the end of the world," Bonnie argued. "Now, where's Klaus?"
"In Italy getting the sword needed to decode the tattoo's map," Kol explained. "Who knows when he'll be back?"
"Then we need to figure something out before he comes home."
.
.
.
"I'm so sorry about Dean," Tyler consoled Hayley at his house, holding he gently against his chest and rubbing circles onto her back. "I tried to stop him."
"I can't believe he's gone. We could have saved him."
"I apologize, am I intruding?" They broke apart to see a furious Caroline standing in the doorway. "I keep hoping you'll tell me some bullshit story so at least I can call you a liar."
"This isn't what it looks like," Tyler started quietly.
"I'll let you two talk," Hayley said quietly and she started to walk away.
"Oh thanks, how big of you," Caroline said, venom in her voice. She and Hayley glared as the dark headed girl left them alone.
"Caroline, you have to understand –"
"No. You don't tell me what I have to do, Tyler," Caroline pointed at herself. "I waited for you. I waited for you while you went off for weeks! And I was so happy when you came back! But this whole time you've been keeping this, this secret from me? You fell in love with some werewolf girl from the Appalachians?"
"Caroline, she saved my life! I almost died trying to break the sire bond! But she helped me through it, Caroline. We're not in love or in lust, or whatever. She's just a friend," Tyler defended. "Just listen to me, please. There are other hybrids that need to be set free. Hayley and I can help them. But if Klaus found out what we were doing, he would kill us."
"What do you mean, there are more?"
"You don't think that he just made one, do you? Obviously he kept some of Elena's human blood and had it hidden somewhere. Dean talked about them, and Hayley and I are going to find them. They were all a part of her pack, you know? We owe it to them."
Caroline bit her lip, but allowed herself to be held in Tyler's arms.
.
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.
Stephanie stood beneath the showerhead and allowed the scalding water to wash over her body. The blood was long gone and her clothes burned, but she could somehow still smell it clogging in her nostrils. Her hands trembled. She'd killed another person. (His name was Connor. She'd have to write it down). She'd lost control again. Stephanie wondered when it was all going to catch up with her – the killing, the torturing. Maybe it already had.
She stepped out of the shower and toweled herself off. When she looked up, her bathroom looked like a horror movie's scene. Blood was dripping off of the walls and her bathroom mirror had been written on with the stuff. Murderer, it said. Stephanie stepped backwards into the wall and dropped her towel. She blinked and the writing was gone. Slowly, she sank to the floor and thought, I'm finally going crazy.
Dimly, she heard someone else speak. "It's about damn time, too." Stephanie looked up.
Her father stood in the doorway to her bathroom, backlit by the moonlight.
"Father?"
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.
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tbc.