Chapter 004

Should Have Thought Twice

Monday, December 06, 2010, around 6:30 a.m.

Damon's Bedroom in the Salvatore Boarding House

Kol opens Elena's eyes and looks over at her sleeping boyfriend. He leans his borrowed face closer to the younger vampire and holding his breath lifts Damon's arm from around his shoulder, and then he waits a moment.

When he's convinced Damon is still sound asleep, Kol slowly sits up and then scoots to the edge of the bed before he sneaks out of bed and heads to the bathroom. He moves in front of the mirror, and then he looks at himself in the mirror and whispering as quietly as he can manage he compels Elena, "You will not try to kill yourself until The Hunter's Curse is broken. Then, and only then, will you try to meet the sun the following morning and every morning after that until you're successful in killing yourself. If anyone asks you're to say, you're trying to kill yourself because you're so overcome with grief over having killed poor Jeremy."

Kol's borrowed body quietly repeats everything he just said so we're both certain the compulsion worked.

Walking back into the bedroom he thinks, 'Yes, making Elena kill Jeremy will be perfect because then Jeremy will be dead after feeling betrayed by his sister, Elena will suffer The Hunter's Curse, and poor Damon will be forced to watch while the woman he loves suffers from the curse and pure unadulterated guilt. I hope it'll be years before she breaks the curse. Then again because Silas is now apparently dead maybe there won't be any more hunters called. An eternity of the curse would be fabulous.'

While I definitely think the Gilbert siblings were way out of line killing Kol, I can't bring myself to be as happy as Kol is at the prospect of any of my granddaughter's friends suffering in such ways. They made a mistake or two, yes, but my friend is currently making a few of his own.

I'm brought back from my thoughts when Kol walks around the bed and then leaning in close again determines that Damon is still fast asleep. Standing back up he walks to the armoire and after taking a shirt off one of the hangers throws on another of Damon's button-down shirts and then walks out of the room and down the hall to Jeremy's room.

Entering the room, we find the boy still tossing, turning, and crying in his sleep. He moans my grandbaby's name a couple times, and Kol vaguely recalls that Jeremy and my now dead granddaughter used to date.

He smirks and thinks, 'Well no worries, Mate, you'll be joining her on The Otherside momentarily.' Walking to the side of the bed, Kol climbs onto it and then wraps Elena's borrowed and smaller than he's used to hands around her brother's neck and squeezes.

Jeremy's eyes pop open almost immediately, and my old friend straddles the other teen's waist to keep control of him while Jeremy scratches at his sister's arms and tries to buck her off him. Kol can clearly see the question, 'Why?' written all over the young man's face.

Kol decides to answer his former friend's question, so he leans down to Jeremy's ear and tells him, "I'm not Elena, Mate. I'm Kol, trapped inside your sister. So, you see this is just a bit of payback. I kill you and then when I leave your sister's body she'll be stuck with the nasty Hunter's Curse. Win-win, well for me anyway, not so much for the two of you."

He pulls away and sees the shock in Jeremy's wide eyes while his struggling slowly weakens. Ten seconds later the boy's hands, which have been gripping his sister's wrists, fall to his side when he becomes unconscious. However, the ever knowledgeable Kol holds on for a good ten minutes just to be sure the teen is dead because if you let go too soon the person will get oxygen and eventually wake up, possibly brain-damaged, but they'd still wake up.

When Kol is satisfied that Jeremy is dead, he climbs off the boy and tells his dead body, "Should have thought twice about killing me, Mate."

Then Kol thinks, 'Hmm, maybe I should reenter Damon and go find that commoner my sister brought to mother's ball. The whelp betrayed my baby sister's trust by helping to kill Finn in cold blood, so he deserves whatever horrible fate I can dream up for him. Hmm, I seem to recall my brother's annoying hybrid is close to the quarterback too. Now, what was his name because I certainly can't compel the boy's nearest and dearest to murder him if I can't recall the peasant's name? Scott, Pat, no Matt. Yes, I'll go visit young Tyler and compel him to kill his best friend because I understand the boy my sister was so fond of has been remarkably close to young Ms. Elena their whole lives. I think they even dated at one point, so I'll kill several birds with one stone if I get Mr. Lockwood to rip out his best mate's heart.'

Satisfied with his plans Kol goes downstairs and waits for Damon to wake so he can tearfully tell the other vampire what he's done and manipulate Damon into touching him again. He considers just going back into Damon's bedroom and jumping into his body while he's asleep, but he's not sure if he'll end up asleep because Damon is, and he knows better than to leave Elena unattended, especially if there is even a slight chance she might figure out the game he's playing. So instead, he goes downstairs to wait for Damon to wake naturally.

Because I'm still trapped in this nightmare unable to stray far from Kol's side I go with him and stare longingly at the alcohol cart. What I wouldn't do for a stiff drink after everything I've borne witness to thus far.

Due to my wayward friend's ever-present short amount of patience after sitting in the living room for a few minutes, he gets up and rifles through their things. He doesn't find anything particularly interesting, so he pours himself a glass of scotch. Then he sits back down in the living room comforting himself with the knowledge that not only has he killed Jeremy and saddled Elena with The Hunter's Curse but he's also putting a rather sizable dent in Damon's alcohol stores. Two hours and a decanter and a half of the good stuff later Stefan comes sneaking in the front door.

He's apparently fallen off the wagon even further than Kol pushed him earlier. He has, for the time being at least, given up eating Bambi because the blood and cum of several people once again covers him if the stench Kol smells coming from the front hall is any indication.

My friend walks his host's body out to the hallway. Smiling at the knowledge that poor Stefan has completely fallen off the bandwagon Kol asks, "Have fun?" Stefan sure looks like he did because he's covered in even more blood this time. Kol's borrowed nose, though much less sensitive than his usual nose detects the blood and sex of at least four women on The Ripper of Monterrey.

Stefan's eyes widen, and then he charges his former girlfriend's body yelling, "Mind your own fucking business, Elena!"

Just when his hand wraps around Kol's throat, my friend jumps into Stefan's body and squeezes Elena's neck tighter. Her eyes widen when she comes back to herself, and we can both clearly see her wondering what the hell is going on and how she wound up in the entry hall with her ex-boyfriend strangling her.

A moment later arms wrap around Stefan's body from behind and pull him off Elena before throwing him across the hall and into the living room.

While Damon stalks towards his brother Elena says, "Damonnnn, waaaaait, I think it'sssss Kollllll."

He stops and turns his head just slightly looking at her from the corner of his eye while still keeping an eye on his brother and asks, "What do you mean?"

The very inebriated teen frowns and slurring slightly says, "Stefaaan lost timmme and obvvvviously killlled at leassst two peoplllle after havvvving sex wiiiith themmmm. Thennnn while you and I were having sexxxx you called me Darling twicccce and as soon as I said the name 'Kollll' I lost time. I just caaame back to myselffff to find Stefan's hands wrapped around my neckkkk, and I don't remember anything after saying 'Kol?' I thinkkkk I might be veryyyy drunk toooooo."

Elena pauses to take an unnecessary breath and wobbles a little on her feet before she then continues by saying, "Plussss, Klaus saiddddd Kol possessssssed himmmm and killed Carolinnnnne. At the timmmme, I thought he waaaas full of shitttt, but now I thinnnk he might havvvvve been telling the truthhhhh, and Kolllll is somehow possesssssing all of usssss and causing usssss to do things weeee wouldn't normally doooo. Who knows what he had meeeee do while he was inside meeeeee."

The ancient man in question smirks and tells her, "Not as stupid as I thought you were, Darling, though I'm afraid you're a bit too late to save your precious brother."

She comes at the body snatching original while she shrieks, "What did you do to Jeremy?"

She never reaches the other vampire though because Damon reaches out and grabs her, holding her tight before he tells her, "If you're right, and I'm inclined to think you are, then he probably needs to touch us to switch bodies so touching him is a bad idea."

Kol smirks deeper and tells her, "Oh poor Jeremy just ran out of breath."

The still very drunk Elena reaches for Kol despite her boyfriend's warning, which causes Damon to sigh before he snaps her neck. When he places her gently on the sofa, he says, "Sorry, Elena but I need both hands to deal with Kol."

Kol smiles his not nice smile and asks, "And how exactly are you planning to deal with me, Mate?"

Damon smiles and then without notice jumps, and that's the last thing Kol knows until he wakes still inside Stefan's body but in the basement cell of the boarding house.

The original looks towards the door and sees Damon looking in but studiously making sure not to make eye contact, "Ah good, you're awake. I was kind of surprised I hit you exactly right to knock you out without you being able to jump into me. I figure that was a once in a million lucky shot, but I'm grateful for it. Then the whole time I was bleeding you I figured you'd wake up, but you never did. Now you stay here while Elena and I try to figure out how to put you back in the correct body."

Kol's borrowed hazel eyes narrow and his lips thin out while he thinks, 'Dammit! Even if it was a once in a million lucky shot the fact I allowed him to make it is embarrassing.' His fists clench, and his borrowed teeth grind before he continues his thought, 'How the hell am I going to get out of here without allowing them to put me back into my burnt corpse?'

I still can't seem to leave Kol's side, so I sit in the straight-backed chair in the corner of the cell and wait. A few hours later the original hears the ever-annoying Damon tell Tyler, "Okay, so we know where Katherine was staying, and my source says Elijah has been sniffing around there, so Elena and I are going to go track him down. No matter how pissed you are at Kol don't go down there because even though I bled Stefan as much as possible, we're not sure if Mini-Klaus can compel you even from Stefan's body. And if he can, all it would take is one glance, and he'd be out again and inside you, so don't do it no matter how tempting it is, okay?"

I see in Damon and Elena's thoughts when Tyler nods and says, "Yeah man, I got it. Believe me, I know there is at least one more person he could use me to hurt, and I owe it to Caroline not to get Matt killed, so I'll just stay up here no matter what."

Damon nods back and says, "Good," and then him and Elena head out to the Camaro. My eyes widen when without trying I find myself sitting in the back of Damon's car. Apparently, I finally get to leave Kol's side, but I still can't seem to leave this nightmare.

Even in the car, I hear Kol think, 'Fuck, if there is one person who can put an end to my fun it's Elijah. He has enough contacts in the witch world that he could easily get someone to put me back where I should be. Dammit! Well, here's to hoping he finally does right by me. As if that'll ever happen.'

Despite once calling Kol my friend I find myself praying Elijah does right by Elena and not his brother. I sit back when Damon pulls out of the driveway and wonder where exactly we're heading. I try to think myself back into the cell with Kol just to see if I can, but I stay firmly seated in the Camaro, so I resign myself to going along for the ride to where ever Damon thinks Elijah is.

After just over five hours in the back of the Camaro watching Damon watch Elena silently argue with the imagined ghosts of her friends and family, I turn my head to look back out the window at the setting sun and passing scenery and the next thing I know I find myself standing in a richly appointed apartment. Based on where Damon and Elena were heading and the fact that I'm now staring at Elijah I figure I'm in Katherine Pierce's apartment in Pennsylvania.

My suspicion is confirmed when I hear the original think, 'I've been waiting in this small town for Katerina to call and inform me that she has managed to get her hands on The Cure for a week now. I've got a foreboding feeling something has happened.'

When he heard that Kol died, he thought that was what the bad feeling was trying to tell him, but the feeling has only grown since Kol died, so he has been trying to reach Katherine all day, but she's not picking up her phone.

Elijah gets up from the couch in the apartment she keeps here and buttons his jacket before he walks to the door. When he opens it, his eyes open wide because he finds Damon and Elena on the other side about to knock.

He silently laments, 'Young Elena is but a poor man's copy of my Katerina.' His face does not give away his rude thought because the moment he realizes he's not alone he schools his features and hides his surprise. Pausing he looks the pair over and notices that the usually snarky vampire looks weary and the bright and typically happy doppelganger, well she looks like but a shadow of her old self.

He frowns ever-so-slightly while he wonders, 'What could have possibly put that haunted look in her eyes that refuse to meet mine. I sincerely doubt it's guilt over killing yet another of my brothers.'

He knows he'll never find out if they all just keep staring at each other, so he clears his throat slightly and asks, "Well, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

Damon, rude as always, pushes his way inside before he turns and says, "We need to talk."

Elijah decides to be the bigger man and not call Damon on his lack of manners, mostly because he knows anything he might say on that subject would most definitely fall on incredibly deaf ears and would be a waste of Elijah's valuable time and energy.

Figuring this visit is about Katherine he asks the pair, "Where is Katerina?"

The shock on both younger vampires' faces tells him more than any words ever could that they have no clue where his preferred doppelgänger is. Elena's words just confirm it, "Why would we know where Katherine is?"

The usually brash Damon speaks up, "Uh, probably because this is her apartment."

Smiling just a little, Elijah tells Damon and Elena, "Your faces when I asked her whereabouts is enough to tell me that you don't know where she is. So, what do you wish to discuss with me, and might I ask how you found me here?"

Damon frowns and says, "I was actually hoping to find Katherine and ask her if she knew how to get in touch with you. Actually, finding you here just saves me from the annoying task of having to negotiate with her."

Elijah nods and waves his hand in a hurry up gesture before saying, "You wish to discuss…"

Damon's next words shock him, "Kol. Uh, you do know he died right?"

Despite his eyes narrowing and his back muscles tightening up Elijah keeps his face and voice neutral and nods before he says, "Yes Rebekah called and informed me that your group had killed him in defense of Mr. Gilbert. My younger brother always was rash and acted before thinking things through. If he is dead, what do you wish to discuss?"

Damon's frown deepens before he says, "He's dead but not gone. He seems to be possessing people and doing things they wouldn't want to do before jumping bodies and doing the same to the next person. We know he possessed Klaus and forced him to kill Caroline. We're pretty sure he fucked and then killed two women while in Stefan's body. And he killed Jeremy while in Elena's body."

Elijah's eyes get progressively wider with each word out of Damon's mouth. When the younger vampire pauses Elijah interjects, "Well what did you expect? My understanding is that Elena and Jeremy conspired against him and then killed him when all my baby brother wanted was to prevent the destruction of the world. Of all my siblings, Kol is the one most prone to seek bloody vengeance, and I am certain, as you should be, that he won't stop until he has gotten revenge on all of you."

Damon nods and says, "We know, that's why we're here, we're hoping you can help us put him back where he belongs once and for all, so we can prevent anyone else from being harmed."

Elijah can't keep his face from frowning before he asks dryly, "Your group has now killed not one but two of my brothers in cold blood, so give me one damn good reason I should help any of you do anything except die long and excruciating deaths."

Elena has tears in her eyes and says, "Elijah, please, he forced me to kill my own brother, surely that makes us even."

Frowning, Damon adds, "Plus, Jer was a hunter, so now she's dealing with The Hunter's Curse, so that makes us doubly even."

Frowning back at the pair Elijah asks, "Where is Kol now? Who does he possess currently?"

Damon shifts slightly on his feet and crosses his arms over his chest and with his ever-present frown still deeply etched into his face he asks, "So you'll help us?"

Elijah straightens his tie and then nods, though, he's more inclined to make up his multiple failings as an older brother by assisting Kol, but he decides he won't tell them that, so he instead nods.

Damon looks at the original hard for a minute, and because the younger man is the only one in their entire group with enough wherewithal to figure out the game Elijah is now playing he schools his features into a disinterested mask. A moment later Damon nods and says, "He's inside Stefan and currently locked up in the cell in our basement."

The ever-proper Elijah nods and says, "Well, I might know of a witch that can help. However, first, call me crazy for needing to verify what you say is the truth, but I must see my brother and ascertain that you are indeed being honest with me, after all, you and your group do have an uncanny knack for lying or bending the truth whenever it suits your purposes."

Frowning again, or still, Damon tells the other man, "Hello, pot, this is Kettle, you're black."

Elijah doesn't even need to work awfully hard to keep a straight face because he is entirely unamused.

After getting no reaction out of the older vampire, Damon nods, mostly to himself and says, "I'll drive."

That gets a reaction. Elijah shakes his head and tells the incredibly annoying younger man, "I'll drive myself and follow you."

Damon looks at Elijah again, wondering if the older vampire is going to try to flee, but the truth is if he really didn't want to be here right now their being here would not impede Elijah's ability to leave.

After a pregnant pause, Damon nods once and says, "Let's go."

Elijah looks around once and then follows Damon and Elena out the door being sure to lock it on his way out.

I try to ride back to Mystic Falls with Elijah who was also a dear friend while he was on The Otherside after his brother daggered him following the reversal of the so-called sun and moon curse.

I manage to think myself into the front seat of Elijah's car, so I smile and wait while he gets in and settles himself. Once in the car, he puts on his favorite Dvorak CD, and then we both resign ourselves to the impending more than five and half hour conversation free drive.

Elijah spends the time considering his options. He's lost track of how many times he's helped Niklaus dagger Kol, a fact he is deeply ashamed to admit even to himself. He has not done right by his youngest surviving brother. He thinks, 'Granted he was usually leading Mikael right to us with his bloodbaths, but, still, I should have found another way. However, what is in the past is just that, in the past. I can't change what I did back then. I can only change what I do now.'

I was wrong to pray for Elijah not to help his baby brother. I may not agree with Kol's actions, but he is technically justified because Elena and company killed him first.

Elijah thinks, 'I can admit to having a slight soft spot when it comes to Elena. Therefore, I regret that her brother is dead, and she now will suffer The Hunter's Curse. Then again two of my brothers are dead at her and her friends' hands and only Kol has found a way to make those responsible pay for their crimes against our family.'

He smiles a bit. Kol always was a creative soul, and although Elijah doesn't know how his younger brother managed to avoid going to The Otherside or how he is able to possess people he has no doubt that Kol has done both things. He also wasn't kidding when he told Damon and Elena that his baby brother, out of all the Mikaelson children, is the most likely to seek vengeance. Frowning slightly, he thinks, 'I know most individuals think that title goes to Niklaus. It's true Niklaus is vicious in his pursuit of revenge, and he's certainly had more opportunities to go after his own brand of Justice than Kol has. However, it's Kol who has the deepest urges to seek out opportunities to perpetrate his own form of punishment against those who have wronged him. True he rarely has had an opportunity to show off his vindictive side but the few times he has it was spectacular, and this time is apparently no different.'

Almost six hours later and after several phone calls spoken in Proto-Norse to keep Damon and Elena unaware of his plans, he pulls into the driveway of The Salvatore Boarding House and parks his Mercedes. He schools his features into a slightly understanding and sympathetic countenance, though, not too much, or they'll know something is amiss, and then he gets out of his car.