Two weeks after he'd last left Selina, Klaus finally got a good first batch of hybrids. He'd get more later, but now he was starting to miss the comforts of home. He loaded everyone into his car and they drove back to his house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He led everyone inside, and before they could start wandering around the house aimlessly, he decided to give them direction. "I've decided to put all of you on the third floor. That was previously storage space, but the rooms are big enough and I'm sure my wife would be willing to go out and buy sheets and blankets for the beds and whatever other knickknacks would make you feel at home." They nodded to him and headed upstairs. He began walking toward the kitchen when he noticed water dripping down the walls. He looked up. It was coming from a crack in the ceiling. Curious, he headed upstairs.

"Lovely?" He called to Selina. "Lovely, I'm back! Are you here?"

He didn't get any response from her. He figured she'd gone out for the day, maybe taken Roxie with her. He went into their bedroom to take a shower and maybe change his clothes, but groaned as he stepped onto the carpet and his shoes made squishing sounds, sending up unabsorbed water. He looked further along the carpet and saw that a stream of water was coming from under the bathroom door. "What the hell?" He muttered under his breath. As he reached the door, suddenly, a piercing shriek echoed from within. He backed up a little and when his ears were no longer ringing, he cautiously opened the bathroom door, his eyes widening at what he saw on the other side. The entire room had flooded because the bathtub was overflowing. He looked up, and there sat Selina, waist-deep in water and paying no attention to it whatsoever. Her face was blank, and she wasn't wearing anything except panties and a bra. The black ones. He groaned. His favorite ones, ruined.

He inched toward the tub and turned the water off. "Darling, are you all right?" He asked her, waving his hand in front of her face. She screamed again, and then seemed to come back to herself. "There wasn't any warm water," she said, her teeth chattering, and her voice hoarse. "I thought if I kept the water on long enough, there would be some, but I was wrong. And all my clothes are missing. She took them."

Klaus got down on his knees. "Who took them?"

He had to lean forward to hear Selina's next word. "Vanessa."

His knuckles went white as he gripped the side of the tub. "What about Vanessa?"

Selina seemed to be having trouble speaking. Her voice seemed to echo around the room. "She's come here. She moved in."

"What do you mean 'she moved in'?" Her expression was still glassy so Klaus went to the kitchen, grabbed a pitcher, filled it full of water from the bathtub and dumped it over Selina's head. Some of it went in her nose and she began to cough and sputter. "What?" She asked, holding her hands up in a futil effort to protect her hair. "What did you do that for?"

He gave her a look. "Darling, look at yourself. Does this seem normal to you?"

She looked at him confusedly for a moment, then looked down at herself and around the bathroom. "Damn it! What in the hell happened here?" She boosted herself to her feet and even more water sloshed onto the floor. Klaus just rolled his eyes and gave her his hand to help her out of the tub. Then, she sat on the edge. "We'll have to call a plumber and someone who can remodel this whole thing," she sighed. "But I suppose we were due for one of those anyway, right?"

Klaus waved her concern away. "Can you focus on the real problem for just a second?" He snapped. "What did you say about Vanessa?"

"Oh," Selina removed her underwear, throwing it in the trash and putting a bathrobe on instead. "Vanessa moved in about a week ago. Didn't bother to call or anything. Just showed up at the front door with her bags."

"And why did you let her in?"

"Well," Selina threw her hands up. "She wasn't the one I was expecting. I didn't know what to do. So I let her in, told her she could stay the night because apparently Enid deprived her of her magical powers and threw her out of their house and now she has no place to live, and since we're the only other people she knows, she picked us for her alternative lodging."

Klaus nodded. "So why were you in the bathtub?"

Selina rolled her eyes. "Vanessa's taking over! I woke up this morning and all my clothes were gone. Every drawer and every closet was empty. When I asked Vanessa, she said my wardrobe could stand to be 'improved' so she's going to buy everything new."

She turned around to leave the bathroom and he followed her. "And what's so bad about that?"

She got on her knees on the bed. "I like my clothes, all right? And I don't need some bitter, powerless witch to tell me that I'm dressing wrong. won't take it from your mother and I sure as hell won't take it from Vanessa."

"Then why are all your clothes gone?"

Selina growled. "She took them this morning, while I was asleep, that sneaky vixen. And all that's left...isn't much." They went over to Selina's closet and opened it: all it contained now were long dresses in neutral colors.

Klaus winced. "If you ever wear any of those, I am divorcing you."

She smirked. "Nice to know you aren't shallow." She paused in front of the closet and ran through the dresses again, wrinkling her nose. "This is Vanessa's idea of an appropriate wardrobe for me. What bullshit. I see how she dresses around you. Way sluttier than any outfit I've ever put together."

It was then that Selina abruptly turned away from the closet and gasped, grapping Klaus by the lapels. "What if she wants to steal you away?" She asked him, sounding panicked. "What if this is a scheme to make me look bad so you'll like her instead?"

Klaus smirked and detached her. "Well, for one thing, in order for that to be something to worry about, I'd have to be susceptible to her charms, which I'm not, and for another, even if she could use magic to make me susceptible, you said that Enid took her powers away. I don't see what you're so worried about. Relax. Let it go. Everything will be fine."

She scowled at him. "I think you're taking this far too lightly. I think there's something to worry about here."

He shook his head. "No there isn't. I promise."

Just then, there was a knock on Selina's bedroom door. "Roomie? While I was in town, I bought some stuff for you. Would you like to see it?"

Without waiting for Selina to respond, Vanessa entered the room, shrieking as the water soaked her leather boots. "What did you do?"

Selina grinned. "Had a little plumbing accident. Sorry about your boots. I'll call a plumber tomorrow."

Vanessa's eyes were angry for a moment before her face smoothed out. "No matter." She put a bag on the bed and began pulling out bulky sweaters in dull colors and putting them in front of Selina's chest, checking to see if they fit. "I noticed the house was a bit drafty, so I bought these for you to keep warm."

Selina took one from her. "Well, thank you. But I have enough clothes."

Vanessa looked up at her. "No you don't. They seem to be missing. Now, I'll leave these things for you to look over while I..." She trailed off, finally noticing Klaus, her heavily made up blue eyes widening. "Niklaus! How wonderful that you're back! I had no idea!" She ran at him, jumped into his arms and kissed him soundly. When she pulled away, he looked shocked.

She ruffled his hair. "So what have you been doing, you naughty boy?"

He was still trying to gather his composure. "Well," he said at last, "Adrian's girlfriend passed away recently, and I thought I would take him on a trip to get his mind off it. It hit him hard. But it didn't go the way I planned."

Selina's eyes widened. "Has something happened to Adrian? Did he come home with you?"

"He's fine," Klaus said. "He told me that he and Helene have 'things to do' but that they will take care of themselves. And he promised to call every so often to let us know that he was alive."

"You let him go off by himself?" Selina yelled, punching Klaus in the arm and causing him to drop Vanessa on the floor. "What were you thinking? Do you even know where he is?"

Klaus shook his head. "Not precisely. But I have no doubt he's okay. And don't forget that I'm here. And I brought friends." He grinned playfully.

Selina narrowed her eyes at him. "He better be all right." Then she strode into the bathroom, grabbed the hair dryer, and went to the downstairs bathroom to dry her hair.

Adrian gripped the wheel tighter. "So where are we going again?"

Helene fiddled with the skirt of her dress. "Nowhere special. Just to visit some friends of Dad's."

Adrian gave her a look. "Why are we going to see your dad's friends? Why can't we just ask him? And if the original event happened hundreds of years ago, how are any friends he has now going to be able to tell us anything?"

Helene gave him a look. "Will you just trust me? I know what I'm doing, okay?"

She instructed him to drive aways until they reached a small house that was deep in the woods. "And witches live here?" Adrian asked skeptically. "Way to keep with a stereotype."

"Hush," Helene said. Then Adrian went around to open the car door for her. She got out and they went to the front door. "Won't they think it's weird to see me standing at their front door by myself?"

Helene knocked him lightly on the head a few times. "We're dealing with witches, remember? They can see me without any extra aid!"

Adrian's brow furrowed. "Oh, yeah." She strode up to the cabin and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, a young woman with red hair wearing a long purple cape opened the door. She looked at Helene for a few seconds. "Yes?" She asked in a monotone. "What do you want?"

Helene cleared her throat. "I'm Helene Fale. I assume you've heard of me? Or at least my name?"

The girl let her hood down, her eyes a little wider now. "Come in." She looked at Adrian. "And your friend, too."

Once they were inside, the woman watched Helene as if she were an animal about to bite. "How did you get here? Were you killed?"

"Yes," Helene nodded. "I was hit by lightening. And I drowned."

"Well that's not surprising," the girl said. "The leader whose life your father destroyed had great power over the weather. We always leave him offerings so we won't go hungry."

Helene frowned. "It seems rich to say my father destroyed him. He could have had it coming!"

The woman, whose name was Bridget, bowed her head. "You must not speak of him that way."

Helene scoffed. "He's already killed me. What more can he do?"

"Well, nothing to you," Bridget said. "What's been done to you has been done and there's nothing that you can do to fix it. Nothing that doesn't involve dark, dangerous and illegal magic. And I suppose your father has shared with you the consequences of using dark, dangerous and illegal magic?"

Helene shook her head. "Not really. He hasn't talked about what happened when he was a kid. He tends to keep that quiet. I know what I know because my mother told me."

Bridget's hands were shaking. "You must ask him," she told Helene. "Ask him to tell you about his mistakes because otherwise you will make those same prideful mistakes that he made and bring pain and suffering to those you love. Do it! Do it now!"

Helene slowly backed away. "All right," she said. "All right, I'll ask him!" She turned around and strode out the door. Adrian went to follow her, but Bridget put a hand on his arm. "Be careful," she said. "Otherwise you'll find yourself way over your head. Especially if you keep company with that one. Forget about her. Let her seek the light. You'll regret it one day if you don't."

Adrian pulled his arm away. "Thanks for your concern," he snapped. "But I think I know what I'm doing."

He left, slamming the door behind him and was about to go back to the car when he heard a whisper behind him and then felt something grab his collar and pull him behind the house. When he looked around and saw nothing, he figured that Helene had faded away. "That power burst ended quickly," he remarked.

He felt a sharp whack on the back of his head. "Shut up!" Helene whispered angrily. "I'm invisible because I chose to be. I have a plan, but if anyone hears us out here, we're screwed."

"What is it?" He whispered back.

"Well, you see that girl coming toward the house?"

He leaned forward and saw the dark shape of the tiny young woman coming toward the house. "Yeah, I see her. What about her?"

Helene cleared her throat. "Well, the witch lady said I should ask my father about what happened when he was a kid, right? Well, Daddy's not going to tell me if I just showed up and asked him, so I thought I might have a better chance if I was someone else...someone from his old clan? A young woman asking cause she's interested in clan history sounds a lot better than a daughter asking cause she's interested in making the same mistakes."

Adrian nodded. "Works for me."

She giggled, gave him another cold kiss, and then he watched as the young woman nearly reached the front steps. Then, she suddenly dropped the bucket of water she was carrying, and fell to the ground herself, twitching and choking, trying to get a scream out. Eventually, she became still for a few seconds as Adrian felt another chill in the air. Whereas he associated Helene with a pleasant, breezy cold, this was a biting, desperate winter chill, so cold he actually shivered. Then, a second later, it disappeared. The young woman's body began to twitch and convuls again, getting unsteadily to its feet, stumbling a couple of times as it tried to walk toward him before finally stabilizing. As she reached him, the girl's face broke into a smile.

"Helene?" Adrian asked, stunned.

"Yes," Helene nodded. "Not the prettiest body in the world, but I won't be in it forever. Just until I get what I want out of Dad."

Adrian was still looking at her in amazement. She let him for a few moments because it felt kind of good, and she doubted the actual girl had ever had any such opportunities, but then she shook his shoulder and he came back to reality. "We should go, shouldn't we?" He asked.

"Yes," Helene nodded. "Let's go home."

They got in Adrian's car and this time, Helene took the wheel. It felt so good to actually be able to feel things again. The solid steering wheel in her hand, the leather seat against her neck, the warmth of the heater on her face. She drove much slower than usual. She knew that Adrian could compel any police officers that pulled them over in to ask about Helene's lack of license, but she didn't have any time to waste. Eventually, they reached her house. She was about to open the door of the car and get out when Adrian put a hand on her wrist. "Remember," he said, "don't call your dad 'dad', otherwise it will be a dead giveaway that it's actually you in there. Call him sir, or Mr. Fale, or anything else."

Helene nodded. "Good reminder. I hope I can remember it." They went up the steps to Helene's house and then Helene knocked on the door, but not before turning to Adrian. "Would you mind going home? You'd be a giveaway too. No offense or anything."

He nodded and slowly backed down the front steps. "None taken. I should probably see what's going on at home. With Mom and Roxie by themselves, it's probably a mess. Good luck!"

Helene watched him drive away, and then knocked on the front door. When her father answered it, his eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

She straightened up. "Hello, Mr. Fale. I'm sorry to be calling so late, but I have a favor I need to ask. I hope it won't be too much trouble."

Alistair shook his head. "Oh, no! Come in, come in!" He was actually grinning at her. "Have a seat," he said. "I didn't think anyone else from the clan would come down to these parts. Are you on your leave?"

She nodded. "Yes. I was most eager to have the opportunity to leave the clan and go to a place where someone was successfully living among humans while still practicing magic. My parents are traditionalists and they really didn't want me to go. I said that I should because I didn't want to be in the dark. I wanted a chance to be really able to live my life. Do you think there's something wrong with that?"

"No," Alistair shook his head. "I think it's quite reasonable."

"Thank you," Helene nodded. "Now, may I ask you something?"

Alistair nodded. "Of course, anything."

Helene waited a moment before speaking, brushing her body's dull brown hair out of its eyes before saying quietly "Could you tell me what happened when you took over the Clan?"

The next day at school, things started out as normal. Then, Miss Kendrick announced it was time for everyone to get out pencils and paper so they could practice their handwriting, because she was tired of straining her eyes trying to read sloppy work. Everyone got out their writing instruments and began writing words. When Roxie saw that Vince had a pen and was trying to write his name, she scooted her chair over beside him. "If that's supposed to be your name, your handwriting is horrible," she whispered. "I can barely read what it says."

"Who cares?" He asked. "Go away. I'm trying to write."

"Why do you even bother?" Roxie asked. "You probably can't even spell anything."

He wrote a word on a piece of paper. "Can you read what that word says?" He asked her, a grin spreading over his face. She took his paper and began sounding it out: "b-i-t-c- Hey, that's not very nice," she whispered.

He grinned. "It fits you well."

She grinned. "If you like writing bad words, I know a worse one."

She whispered how to spell it and then after he was done, she told him that he'd spelled it right and then she raised her hand. Miss Kendrick turned around and nodded at her. "Yes, Roxanne?"

Roxie cleared her throat. "Vince is writing bad words on his handwriting sheet!"

Miss Kendrick came to look and then grabbed Vince by the ear and told him to go sit in the corner. But he didn't go quietly. He casually pushed Roxie to the floor on his way to the corner, and then she pushed him back, and he threw paint on her and she threw blocks at him and on it went while the class watched, filling the room with amused giggles. Finally, Miss Kendrick clapped her hands. "All right, everyone. Back to work." She gave Roxie and Vince hard looks. "You wil both sit in the corner and you won't be going out to recess today. You'll be staying in here and cleaning up this mess. Then I'm calling your parents to take you home early."

Roxie shook her head. "My parents aren't home."

Miss Kendrick glared at her. "Well who can I reach to come pick you up, then?"

She sighed. "My uncle, maybe."

Miss Kendrick nodded. The rest of the morning continued as usual, and when it was time for recess, Miss Kendrick herded the rest of the kids out to the playground, but kept Roxie and Vince inside, leaving the two of them sitting on the floor on opposite sides of the room among piles of toys and art supplies strewn everywhere. A few minutes after Miss Kendrick and the kids left, Roxie got up off the floor and went to sit in Miss Kendrick's spinning chair behind her desk. Then, she peered at Vince. "You heard what Miss Kendrick said. We don't get to go to recess until you clean this room up."

Vince stood up. "That's not what she said. She said we both have to clean this room. You have to help me."

Roxie shook her head. "No. I don't want to. You do it." She turned away and then Vince came around the desk and began twirling the chair around several times very fast. Eventually, Roxie got so dizzy she fell off. She got up, stumbled toward the wastebasket by the door and almost made it before she threw up all over the floor.

"Ewwww!" Vince backed away. "That's disgusting!"

Roxie turned around. She was pale now. "It's all your fault," she said. "You made me sick!"

she just barely managed to avoid slipping in her own vomit and kept walking toward him. Once she reached him, she pushed his head against the sink until he was dazed, and then put his head in the sink, turning the water on. He struggled, but her grip was surprisingly tight. Finally, he was able to bring his hand back and punch her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her and making her fall to the floor. Then, he was able to free himself, coughing and sputtering, from her grasp.

When he turned around again, she began picking toys and throwing them at him. One grazed his eye, making a cut, before falling neatly into the toy box. Eventually, although he was cut and bruised, all the toys were in their containers and no longer on the floor. The same could be said of Roxie: bruised from being hit by the toys from his side of the room (which had mostly been stuffed animals), which rested neatly in their boxes.

When Miss Kendrick returned with the other kids, she was pleased by the state of the room, and after calling a janitor to clean up Roxie's mess, she called Elijah and Pete to come pick up Vince and Roxie, who gave each other good solid punches as they were led away by their respective uncles.

As Elijah pulled away from the school, Roxie looked at him balefully. "I'm in trouble, aren't I? Are you going to tell Mom and Dad? Vince is just a stupid werewolf, after all. Not really worth my getting in trouble for."

"Well who started the fight?" Elijah asked. "Was it him? Or was it you?"

"Well, he called me a very bad name, so then I got him back by getting him in trouble with Miss Kendrick, and then we got into a fight so she made us miss recess and then she called you."

"Well," Elijah said, "Generally, it's very wrong to start fights with people. I know you're fond of your father, but I don't want you to go looking for fights like he did."

"But...?" Roxie gazed at him intently.

"But..." Elijah finished, "If someone starts trouble with you, I would expect nothing less of you than to fight back and win."

"Cause we're superior, right?" Roxie asked eagerly.

"Right," Elijah nodded. "And don't you forget that."

Roxie grinned. "Don't worry. I won't. Not ever."

A/n- this will be the last chapter for a little bit as my family is traveling for Christmas and I probably won't have access to a computer for updates. If that's the case, happy holidays to all my readers and I will be back with more treachery and, trickery and sneakiness after Christmas!