AN: Been a while, but it's an extra-long update (for me), so hopefully that makes up for it. We start with some Tyler, which I actually really enjoyed writing, and then get some Caroline, before heading back to Mystic Falls. I'm not sure on the show time line, but in this story I'm assuming Tyler's been gone for a couple of months. So in honor of premiere night (which I have yet to watch), please enjoy…
Ten. Radioactive
"I'm breaking in, I'm shaping up, then breaking out on the prison bus. This is it, the apocalypse." ~Radioactive, Imagine Dragons
Caroline would've loved California.
That was the thought that crossed Tyler's mind every morning, when he went on his job along the beach. Caroline, who was full of light and loved to laugh and have fun, she would've loved California. She would've loved everything about it, from the heat to the night life.
There was a time, not so long ago, Tyler would have been positive that he would be the one to show Caroline all of that. Now? Tyler knew that chance was lost. Lost to time and circumstance and Klaus Mikaelson. It's difficult to keep a love strong when you spend most of your time apart and out of contact.
Still, Tyler allowed himself to think of the beautiful blonde he had loved and lost every morning as he took his jog along the beach. Then he put her away, firmly in the back of his mind, not to be brought out again until the next morning or, sometimes, in the middle of the night when he missed home and had fallen too far into maudlin thoughts.
In the mornings he thought of her fondly. He thought of quick kisses and bright smiles and a personality so big that Mystic Falls would never hold it, not for eternity.
At night he hated her. He thought of a picture kept hidden in a drawer and smiles that were too real given to a man who had destroyed everything.
If she ever snuck in between those morning runs and those late night binges, Tyler only thought of her with regret. Because if they had truly loved each other, if they had truly been meant for eternity, Tyler knows that Caroline would be with him right now. And it hurts to think that they had changed so much in so short a time that eternity for them could only be spent as friends. It was so bittersweet, because it meant that Tyler was maturing and growing up, even though he'll never actually grow up, and the fact is that growing up sucks.
Those thoughts only leads to anger, so that's why Tyler tries to keep thoughts of Caroline to the mornings and nights when she refuses to be kept locked away.
He's kept those thoughts locked so tightly away, that he never let himself think what would happen if he was found. If he was found not by Klaus, who wanted his death, but by someone else. Someone who would take him back to Caroline.
Someone like Stefan Salvatore.
It comes as a shock to the system, arriving at his apartment to see the younger Salvatore brother leaning against the door to Tyler's apartment, chatting amiably with his pretty across the hall neighbour, Amy, who Tyler had considered asking out in one of those nights of dark thoughts before deciding that no one deserved to be drawn into the mess his life currently was.
"And here he is now!" Amy says brightly when she sees Tyler. Tyler bites back a curse, because he had briefly hoped to turn around and leave before Stefan saw him, but now the vampire's serious eyes are locked on Tyler, so instead he pastes a fake smile on his face and greets Amy.
"Hey Amy. I see you've met my old friend. I wasn't expecting you, man!" Tyler said, grasping Stefan's hand in a shake that was just a little too hard, and filled with a lot of warning. This was Tyler's life now, and it may not be much, but he was content, and considering all the people Tyler's lost since the supernatural entered his life, contentment is good. Contentment means peace, and that's all Tyler really wanted any more.
"Hey, Tyler. I was in town for some business, and I thought I'd look you up. It's been a while. I have a lot to catch you up on. About Caroline and Matt."
Tyler looked sharply into Stefan's eyes and felt a ball of dread form in his stomach at what he saw there.
It was pity.
STILL-DOLL
Tyler had been remarkably easy to find once Elijah had offered his assistance. Stefan had really thought that would be the hardest part of this whole thing, simply finding Tyler.
He hadn't factored in that he would be destroying the boy's life in the process.
"Matt…" Tyler whispered, his voice choked. "You've gotta be kidding, Stefan. Matt can't be dead. Care… Care isn't capable of that. She can kill to protect her friends, but actually killing a friend? Not possible."
"She just watched him kill Liz, Tyler. And Silas had been torturing her for days at that point. She just… she lost it. Remember when you chased us in your wolf form after… after your Mom? It was like that, only the friend was the person who had killed her." Stefan leaned forward. "Look Tyler, I know this is hard. Believe me, I was there dealing with the fallout. It's hard for everyone. But Caroline needs you right now. She is lost, utterly and completely. And we don't know how to find her, or to bring her back."
Tyler thought back to when Klaus had killed his mom, and the way Caroline had held him as he broke in front of the memorial dedicated to her. She hadn't really said anything, just held him as he let himself finally feel. She had known exactly how to help him, surely he could do the same for her?
"Klaus," Tyler muttered, running his hands over his face. "I want to come back, Stefan, but how can I if he'll kill me? I'm no help to her dead."
"Klaus is willing to make a truce, Tyler. You're allowed back to help Caroline, and if you can, he won't hunt you. He won't let you stay, either, but as long as your paths never cross again you'll be free."
"My mother's murderer offers a truce, and I should just accept it," Tyler gave an incredulous, humourless chuckle. "When did you guys become best friends with him anyway?"
"At around the time Caroline lost everything and we realized that Klaus loved her," Stefan replied, completely serious. "Look, you have every reason to hate Klaus. We all do… but he does care about her. And right now, we need all the help we can get, because Silas is the most dangerous creature alive, and he is obsessed with Caroline."
"She always attracts the monsters, doesn't she?" Tyler asked, his voice sad. "Me, Klaus, Silas. Hell, even Damon. I wanted her to be happy when I left, Stefan. To have her prom and grad and every happiness in the world. I thought if I left, maybe she'd get a break. But that doesn't happen to good people, does it? They don't get breaks."
Stefan thought of twelve witches dying and the shock on Caroline's face as she realized what she'd done. He thought of the blank look in her eyes in the diner. And he remembered the blood in the catacombs where Silas had tormented her; the ruined bodies of Matt and Liz and the manacled chair where Caroline must have sat as Silas decided to completely destroy her.
"No," Stefan replied, agreeing with Tyler's statement. "They don't."
STILL-DOLL
Galen Vaughn was pretty sure it was just a matter of time before he was dead. He cursed himself for being a damned fool, and cursed the day he ever met Katherine Pierce.
The mighty Hunter brought to his knees, and his eventual death, by a vampire? It was pathetic, no matter how wickedly perfect her smirk had been.
For good measure, Galen damned Damon Salvatore and Rebekah Mikaelson as well, for leaving him here to his death.
"This is a depressing place to die," a voice commented idly from amongst the trees, and Galen tried to drag himself to his feet, but his injured knee gave out under his weight and he was left to merely glare in the direction of the voice. A pretty blonde, not Rebekah Thank God, stepped out from the trees and approached him. She was dressed in heeled boots and skinny jeans and a simple tank top, and Galen had to roll his eyes at these women who had no idea how to dress for the woods.
"Not the ideal outfit," the blonde said, as if she had heard Galen's thoughts. "But I'm not exactly here to rough it. My name is Caroline Forbes" – She reached down and pulled Galen up, so his toes barely touched the ground and Galen bit back a curse, because he did not need another vampire in what was left of his life thank-you very much – "and you're going to help me kill Silas."
The blonde pulled what could only be the cure for immortality out of her top and Galen stared at it for a moment with surprised eyes before turning that gaze back to the blonde.
Well, perhaps he could handle one more vampire after all.
STILL-DOLL
Katherine groaned as she woke up, and she muttered a curse at the pain she felt in her neck.
"Well, look if Sleeping Beauty hasn't awoken."
Katherine's eyes snapped open, because that voice didn't belong to the little Bitch Barbie who had broken her neck, but rather to the Hunter that Katherine had used to get the cure, and then discarded because his usefulness was up. Galen Vaughn was probably in Katherine's top ten of people she didn't want to see.
And Katherine? She had a lot of people competing to be on that list.
"Dammit," Katherine muttered, keeping her eyes closed in the hopes that perhaps she was just having a really really bad neck-snap induced dream. "This can't be real."
"Oh, but it is, Katherine. Don't tell me you didn't miss me. After all, we were going to take down Silas together, remember?" Katherine opened her eyes to see Galen looming over her, his expression filled with something dark. "Of course, then you abandoned me to Salvatore and the Mikaelson bitch. A harsh way to break up with a man."
"I can't believe she actually did it," Katherine said, sitting up and shoving Galen back several stumbled steps. "First the little blonde bitch snaps my neck, and then she brings you into our circle of trust. This is going to end horribly."
"Oh, don't be so pessimistic, Katherine," interrupted said little blonde bitch. She entered the room through a small wooden door, which lead to Katherine actually looking at her surroundings. They were sparse and bolted down, and she could hear the hum of an engine and the slap of waves, which meant they were on a boat away from the island. "Galen here is proving to be very useful. More useful than you, but I suppose I should have expected that. Doppleganger and all."
"What is the point of bringing me if I'm so useless?" Katherine demanded, standing and stalking toward Caroline. "I'm older than you, Caroline. I made you. Please try to remember that when you're insulting me."
"You're desperate to survive. I don't really care if I live or die. Can you see why your insult might not mean much to me, Katerina? As for why you're here… I didn't expect Galen to be so welcoming. I sort of thought I'd have to give you to him, to fuck or kill, I really didn't care. If you're so desperate to leave, then you're free when we get to mainland. Which we'll be reaching in five minutes, so it's good that you're up. I really didn't want to have to drag your corpse off the boat, and really, keeping your neck snapped has been a pain in mine."
Katherine wanted to curse the blonde and possibly rip some of her curly hair out. Katherine had always been able to get under others skin; it was what made her so good at her manipulations. But Caroline just ignored her methods and continued on with her plans (and what were her plans, exactly?) with a distant expression and vacant eyes.
It was the eyes that made Katherine uneasy.
She had met dozens of vampires over her centuries of life, and many of them had succumbed to the lure of the flipped switch. Despite supposedly turning off their emotions, those vampires had been full of life. They had thrived on the chaos and pain they surrounded themselves in. Those vampires were monsters; predators of the worst kind who lived for the kill.
Caroline, on the other hand, was simply… dead. Oh, she could throw out a quick quip that hit with the accuracy of one of her bullets, but her heart wasn't really in it. It was as if the lights were on in Caroline, but no one was home.
"How do you plan on forcing that cure down Silas' throat?" Katherine asked the blonde. "And even if you do, he'll still be a witch. How do you, a baby vampire, plan on taking him out?"
"You don't need to know that," Caroline responded coolly. "After all, you think this is foolish. Once we hit the mainland, you never need to see me again."
"You can't beat him physically. He's two thousand years old. So what is the plan circling in that pretty blonde head of yours?"
"Careful, Katherine. Someone might think you care."
Caroline left, Galen threw a smirk at Katherine and followed the blonde. Katherine imagined that the Hunter was salivating, now that he actually had someone on his team, someone whose goals aligned so nicely with his own.
Caroline was right. Katherine didn't care. Caroline was the baby vampire who had gotten too cocky. If she wanted to die in the name of a mad quest, then that was her prerogative. It was none of Katherine's business. Katherine didn't feel. She didn't care.
And she had absolutely no idea why she was listening to the phone ring as she made a call to someone who probably wouldn't answer anyway.
"Katherine. I hope the next words out of your mouth are good news."
"Miss me, Stefan? Oh, I know you'll say no. But I bet you're missing pretty little Caroline, who just drove off and left me behind. Rather rude of her, really. Come and get me and I'll tell you all about it."
STILL-DOLL
Bill Forbes had been an avid hunter. Looking back at her childhood now, Caroline wondered if he had really been shooting deer like she always thought, or if hunter had been referring to his vampire slayer habits.
It didn't matter anymore, that had been Caroline's mantra since she and Galen had abandoned Katherine.
"I hate to say it, but Katherine has a point. What is your plan for tricking Silas? Because it will have to be a trick. Your fools of friends woke him, so it's not as simple as just shoving it down his unconscious gull anymore."
Caroline looked at her new companion. He was wiry, muscly in a lean way. A swimmer's build. He also had a hardened look in his eyes that Caroline recognized.
Her father had had that look.
So had her mother.
Now they were both dead. Caroline wondered how many more years Galen had before his lifestyle caught up with him, along with an angered vampire.
"No trickery involved. I'll hand myself over, and then I'll shove it in his throat. Of course, I need your help with that. My dad figured out how to prevent being compelled. He managed to close his mind to vampires. I'd be willing to bet you know how to do that too. You're going to teach me." Caroline focused her gaze back on the road, a familiar break in the trees looming ahead. "And then you're going to teach me the best way to shove the cure down his throat."
"And if I don't agree to this?" Galen replied, watching the blonde vampire curiously. Her face bore little expression, but in her eyes was a tsunami of emotions, rolling about, waiting to be released. The little vampire was a ticking time bomb, and Galen wasn't sure he could teach her what she needed to know before she imploded.
"Then you're out a cure, have no vampire allies, and no map to help you anymore. You're just a regular human now, Vaughn. The fact is, we have the same goals. We need each other to achieve those goals. Why don't we skip the posturing and get to the important stuff… like how do I keep Silas out of my head?"
"It might not work," Galen replied. "Compelling and what Silas does are two very different things. What works for one may not work for the other."
"It's a starting point," Caroline snapped, her blue eyes flashing. "So we'll start there. Unless you want to give up, Hunter?" Caroline's smile is conniving and cold. "Roll over and let Silas win."
Galen turns his attention ahead to where they are breaking through the trees. There was a cabin ahead. It was made out of dark wood and stood there, silent and empty. It felt as though it had been empty for a while.
"What is this place?" Galen asked as the pair exit the vehicle and approach the cabin.
"My Dad's hunting cabin," Caroline replied. "He used to come here all the time. I came with him once or twice, so he could teach me to shoot a moving target. I always hated those trips. I was so not a hunter. Give me malls and theatres over guns and deer any day."
The door was locked, and Caroline didn't feel like hunting for the key, so she chose to break the door open with a well-placed kick instead.
It was a testament to how like Caroline was to her father that she caught the arrow her breaking act set off a millimeter before her heart.
"Your father seems like he must have been an interesting fellow," Galen commented, looking at the arrow with raised brows and (dare Caroline believe it?) an impressed expression, that the Barbie Vampire had caught it so easily. "You have the natural instincts. That will make this easier."
"So, we have a deal then?" Caroline asked, standing in the cabin doorway.
"We have a deal, Lass."
"Then welcome to Chez Forbes!" Caroline declared with a dramatic flourish and, turning on the light with a flick of a finger, she introduced Galen to a Hunter's wet dream.
STILL-DOLL
"And the prodigal doppleganger and hybrid make their appearance," Klaus drawled when Stefan entered the Mikaelson manor with his two companions. He is accompanied by Rebekah and Elijah, who is watching Katerina with an expression that perfectly mixes longing and distrust. His usual expression around the woman. "How blessed we all are."
"Stefan said that we're calling a truce until Caroline is back," Tyler replied. "I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here, but if you care about her at all then you'll work with me to bring her back."
Klaus flashed to his feet, and came to a halt mere centimeters from Tyler's face.
"I was here, mate, when she got away from him. I saw her expression in the aftermath, once she turned it off. Don't you dare come into my home and lecture me about what Caroline needs when you weren't the one who saw her with her light utterly extinguished."
"And whose fault is that?" Tyler demanded, refusing to back down. In this, he has the right, not Klaus. He never wanted to abandon her. "I didn't want to leave. You made me."
"And she remained behind," Klaus replied softly, his voice silky and dangerous. "How many times has that run through your mind? That if you hadn't left her behind, she might not be in this situation right now?"
"This isn't helping anyone, Nik," Rebekah interjected, the only one brave enough to come between the two hybrids. "Least of all Caroline. Look, I don't even like the girl, but we can't let her do… whatever it is she plans to do on her own. That means we work together to bring her back."
"Please Klaus," Stefan added his voice to Rebekah's. "I get that you guys hate each other, but think of Care. She needs us, all of us, right now. Where's Bonnie?"
"We don't know," Elijah replied, relieved that Klaus seemed to be listening to Rebekah and Stefan. The Hybrid stepped away from Tyler with a scowl, but he didn't seem inclined to rip the boy's head off anymore. "She hasn't been answering her calls. Damon and Elena have gone to her house to get her."
A ball of dread formed in Stefan's stomach. Bonnie going incommunicado so soon after Caroline's disappearance didn't sit well with the Salvatore. She was powerful, Caroline's best friend, and a prime candidate for whatever game Silas was playing.
"As fun as this reunion is," Katherine drawled out. "I'm tired. Anyone want to show me to my room… maybe you, Elijah?"
Katherine threw Elijah one of her best seductive smirks. Stefan recognized it; it was one he had seen often in the 1800s, and then again when she first returned to Mystic Falls. It irritated him, that Katherine was still up to her little games when Caroline was out there alone with her humanity turned off.
"Or you could tell me why I brought you here," Stefan interrupted. "You were annoyingly silent on the subject the whole drive here."
"Yes, Katerina. Why don't you tell us why you've graced us with your presence," Klaus instructed. "I certainly hope it's a good reason, considering that right now I would like nothing more than to rip out your heart."
"That's just mean," Katherine replied. "Especially since I was kind enough to come here and let you know what the little Blonde Barbie is up to."
Klaus had her by the throat, dangling in the air, in under a second.
"Where is she?" he growled.
Katherine let out a strangled, gasping laugh, looking at him with something akin to shock.
"I thought she was delusional, but she's not, is she? You really do care! Oh, that's so rich! Little girl turned to be the sacrifice becomes the Big Bad Hybrid's one weakness."
Klaus' response was to tighten his hold. Stefan met Elijah's gaze and could see that the elder Original wanted to step in but, like Stefan, was relatively sure the act would only get Katherine killed that much faster.
"It might be wise to let her speak before you kill her and her knowledge with her," Rebekah said lazily, obviously not sharing their fear. "Unless of course we've decided to just kill her and forget about Caroline."
Klaus released Katherine with a curse.
"Where is she?" he asked once more.
"She took off with Galen Vaughn once we got away from the island. And wasn't that cruel of you, Rebekah, to leave that poor man there like that?"
"Galen Vaughn?" Klaus demanded before Rebekah could respond. "Who the hell is Galen Vaughn?"
"He's a Hunter, one of the Five," Rebekah responded. "He was on the Island with us. I left him there for dead."
The news of Caroline's new companion took Stefan aback. What could Caroline possibly need with Galen Vaughn? With Silas' release, there was no mark. As far as any of them knew, he was a simple human now.
"What could she possibly want with one of the Five?" Elijah asked. "Are they even of any use now that Silas has risen?"
"Fighting," Tyler interjected. Everyone turned to stare at him, and he sighed. "Look, Care is tough, but she doesn't have any formal training. But this Vaughn guy, he'd know, right? A human who hunts vampires has to. On top of that, if the Hunter's mark led to Silas, then I'd bet he'd know more about Silas than any of us. Caroline is smart, guys. She's not going to face Silas unless she can win."
Klaus eyed Tyler up and down.
"Perhaps you may be of use after all," he commented idly. "Where is the witch? Surely to God her ancestors would know as much about Silas as a Hunter. If we want to catch Caroline, we have to get ahead of her. We're three steps behind so far."
"Sabrina is here. We found her wandering down the road. Apparently Silas tried to play some mind games. She's not in the best of shape," Damon said, entering the room with Elena behind him and Bonnie in his arms. He dropped her on the couch. There was a trail of blood leading from her temple and her eyes appeared unfocused.
"He looked like Caroline," she said to Stefan. "Then he was Jeremy. It was… surreal."
"Well, feed her some blood and let's get to it," Klaus said with a clap. "The sooner my house is emptied of traitors and Petrovas, the better. Perhaps Bonnie can start with a locator spell."
"She's hurt-" Stefan began, but Bonnie cut him off.
"No, he's right. I'm fine, just a little off kilter. We need to find Care."
"If you're sure…" Stefan began uncertain.
"I'm sure. Just get me the stuff I need. You know, right? Your Mom was a witch," Bonnie responded, looking at Rebekah.
"Yes. Let's get this started!"
As everyone trailed out of the room, Bonnie looked into the mirror across the room and smirked.
In its glassy depths, the face of Silas smirked back.
AN: So, Caroline is going to learn to be bad ass from a Hunter and everyone else has been Silas'd. Oh, and Tyler has arrived on the scene just in time for the shit to really hit the fan. Next chapter… well, right now I have a Bonnie return planned, some dramatic Caroline montages ala Rocky (because if I actually spent the time I needed on Caroline's training to make realistic we'd be here… a really damn long time). And maybe some ruminations from Klaus.
Please let me know what you think of everything that's going on.