Chapter 7: Experiments
Naruto and Stefan were walking in the mountains with Stefan carrying Ray, unconscious, on his shoulders. Naruto turned to Stefan and asked, "You good? Is Ray getting heavy?"
"I'm fine." Stefan grunted.
"You sure about that? You know, we've been walking for quite some time now. If you need some water or a little sit-down..."
"You know, I get that we're, uh...we're stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great." Stefan interrupted as Naruto smirked.
"So much brooding. Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend." Naruto said.
"Maybe it's 'cause I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves. We've been at it all summer." Stefan sighed.
"And thanks to our pal Ray, we found ourselves a pack. There." Naruto said as they stopped a bit away from Ray's pack who were making camp, "Time to introduce ourselves aye."
Stefan entered the camp, causing everyone to stop and look at him, before he put Ray on the ground. A woman rushed over to him immediately.
"Ray! Oh, my God. What's going on? Who are you?" The woman asked looking at Stefan.
Naruto joined Stefan, "The important question is who am I. Please forgive the intrusion. My name is Naruto."
"You're the hybrid." She said in fear.
Naruto smirked, "You've heard of me. Fantastic." he said
Moments Later
Naruto and Stefan were now sitting on a small bolder as the werewolves stood still, looking at Naruto and listening, "It's fascinating, actually...A werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun. A true hybrid." Naruto said just as Ray gasped awake, "Excellent timing, Ray. Very dramatic."
"What's happening to me?" Ray asked looking up at the two immortals.
"Stefan?" Naruto asked causing Stefan to sigh and stand up.
"Are any of you human? Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die." Stefan said.
"Doesn't take much, just a sip." Naruto said standing up and looking around, "Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?"
Pausing Naruto turned to the woman's friend, "You!"
The mans eyes widened and made to run but Naruto grabbed him and bit his forearm, before he tossed him to Stefan who caught him, and slammed him into the ground front of Ray.
"No!" The woman protested but Naruto strangled her.
"If you don't drink it, Ray, I will. Problem is, I don't stop til I rip their heads off." Stefan growled.
Naruto looked at the girl, "It's the new order, sweetheart."
""I'd rather die than be a vampire." the woman spat as Naruto chuckled
"What makes you think you have a choice?" Naruto asked before he bit his wrist and forced the woman to drink it as Ray drunk from the man.
Naruto squeezed the woman's heart, killing her, before he dropped her, and put a bloody finger to his lips as he vamped out, "Okay, who's next?"
Smoky Mountains
Alaric and Elena were walking along a river, after getting information from Tyler about a pack gathering in the mountains,
"In a couple hours, the full moon's gonna rise just above that ridge. If Tyler's right, that's where the pack'll be." Alaric said.
"You were a boy scout, weren't you? A boy scout, slash vampire slayer?" Elena asked smiling.
"Slash whiskey-drinking all-around lost cause." Alaric said causing Elena to sigh before Alaric stop and she saw him open his bag, and saw a lot of weapons inside.
"Wow. You came stocked." Elena said.
"Well, we aren't exactly bird-watching. Here. Put that in your bag." Alaric said handing her one of his homemade grenades.
"Vervain grenade?" Elena asked putting it in her bag.
"Wolfsbane." Alaric said before Elena removed something from her bag.
"Well, since we're exchanging gifts..." Elena held up a ring to Alaric.
"That's John Gilbert's ring."
"It was yours once. Go ahead. Take it. I'll protect you from whatever supernatural danger we're about to get ourselves into." Elena said.
"He gave it to you." Alaric frowned.
"Yeah, but I'm a doppelgänger. It's not gonna work on me. He left it for if I ever have kids." Elena sighed.
"Yeah, well, then why don't you save it for future generations of stubborn, relentless baby Gilberts?" Alaric asked.
"Okay, and how 'bout you borrow it until after we survive this? I'd feel bad if I got you killed before happy hour." Elena said before after a long moment Alaric took it before Elena smiled and got closer to the hill overlooking the river, as Alaric looked around kneeling down to his backpack, "I don't know why you think that you're a lost cause."
Damon arrived and pushed her off the cliff into the water, as Alaric aimed his crossbow, and saw it was Damon putting it down, as Elena gasped as she resurfaced and saw Damon smirking at her, "Damon! How are you even here?"
"Thanks for the tip, brother." Damon said.
"You sold me out!" Elena frowned as Alaric sighed.
"You think I'd take you to a mountain range of werewolves on a full moon without backup?" Alaric asked.
Meanwhile
Over in the camp, Naruto gave his blood to the human and compelled him, "There. Good as new. Now you relax, okay, mate? We're gonna need you when the rest of them wake up."
Ray was sitting on a rock nearby, grabbing his body and shivering, as his pack was all dead, "They're dead. They're all dead."
"Temporarily Ray." Naruto said turning to see Ray shivering, "Ah, he's through his transition. He should be feeling better soon."
"So is this your master plan? Build an army of hybrid slaves?"
"This lot is only a trial run. My real pack has been waiting for this as long as I have." Naruto said.
"Your building an army. Why?" Stefan asked.
"Oh, you don't arm yourself after war has been declared, Stefan. You build your army so big and powerful that only brain dead fool would pick a fight. Not that my army isn't big enough already, I just figured throwing in some Hybrids wouldn't hurt." Naruto lectured.
"What makes you so sure that they'll be loyal?" Stefan asked.
"Well, considering they're families have served me for 900+ years, I don't think I'll have a problem. It's not difficult to be loyal when you're on the winning team. That's something you'll learn once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder." Naruto said smirking as Stefan laughed slightly.
"That's why you're, uh...you're keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?" Stefan asked as Naruto looked to Ray and saw her was crying tears of blood and sat next to the trembling man.
"You're not here by force, Stefan. You made a deal. A life for a life. You can always leave." Naruto said as Stefan frowned knowing what it meant if he did leave, "God damn it."
Stefan leant forward and saw Ray's eyes, "That shouldn't be happening, should it?" he asked.
"Well, obviously." Naruto grunted in annoyance before with a trust of his right hand, the dead pack members disintegrated as red lightning struck each of them, chaining from one dead werewolf to the next, causing Stefan to jump and look around in shock and fear as he glanced to Naruto who was glaring at Ray.
With Elena
Elena was still in the water, "Get out of the water, Elena." Damon frowned.
"If I get out of the water, you're gonna make me go home." Elena said.
"Yes, because I'm not an idiot like you." Damon replied.
"Right now, you're both acting like idiots." Alaric said.
"You gave up on him Damon." Elena frowned.
"I didn't give up on him, Elena. I faced reality. Now get out of the water." Damon said.
"No!" Elena yelled.
"What's your big plan, Elena? Huh? You gonna walk through a campsite full of werewolves, roast a marshmallow, and wait for Stefan to stop by?" Damon asked hopping into the water and walking up to her as she backed up.
"My plan is to find him and help him. Damon, this is the closest that we've been to him since he left. I'm not going home." Elena said.
"Naruto thinks you died when he broke the curse. That makes you safe. This, this is not safe." Damon said.
"I'm not leaving before we find him." Elena replied.
"It's a full moon tonight, Elena." Damon stated.
"Then we'll find him before then. Damon, please." Elena pleaded.
"Okay. Okay. But we are out of here before the moon is full and I'm werewolf bait." Damon frowned.
"I promise." Elena said.
Back at the camp
In the camp, Ray was shaking and his eyes were still bleeding, as Naruto was leaning on a tree with a beer, scrolling through his phone as Stefan watched.
"You said it was gonna feel better. Why doesn't it feel better?" Ray asked sickly.
"Some master race." Stefan commented.
"Stuff it." Naruto said as he got on the phone before Ray snarled and ran off jumping acrobatically over a large bolder.
Stefan looked to Naruto who simply sipped his beer, "Go get him." Naruto said causing Stefan to sigh before he headed off, as Naruto's call was answered and he smiled, "Rebekah?"
Ray paused looking around when Stefan tackled him, but Ray quickly thrashed and bit Stefan's forearm causing Stefan to scream in pain before Ray blurred away.
Stefan got up and was about to go after him but he heard Damon and Elena's voice, "How you doing?"
"Fine." Elena said.
"You know, I could help you." Stefan walked over to a line of trees to see the three walking in the plains.
Stefan turned to see Naruto walking over still on the phone, and quickly started walking in Naruto's direction so Naruto wouldn't see them, "Where did he go?" Naruto asked Stefan.
"He, uh...he got away. Forget him. Let's go." Stefan said making to head back to camp but Naruto grabbed his arm.
"A fatal werewolf bite. Ouch."
"Yeah. I'm gonna need your blood to heal me." Stefan said.
"Well, I tell you what. You find Ray and put him down, then I'll heal you." Naruto said.
"You can't be serious." Stefan said only for Naruto to look at him.
"Can't have a faulty and rabid hybrid running around, Stefan. That'd be against my laws. You better hurry, 'cause that bite looks nasty." Naruto said walking back and turning his attention back to his phone call.
Later
The sun was setting, and Damon, Elena and Alaric were still walking, "We got about a mile left." Alaric said.
"The sun's about to set." Damon said.
"I can see that, Damon." Elena grunted.
"I'm just saying." Damon shrugged.
"The moon doesn't reach its apex for a while. We have time." Elena said before they heard some twigs snapping, and Ray staggered out and immediately Alaric aimed his crossbow at him.
"Stay where you are!" Alaric ordered.
"Vampire." Ray said catching a scent getting a small shrug from Damon and immediately Ray rushed him but another blur tackled him and rolled before he and Stefan were standing and glaring at each other.
"Stefan." Elena gasped smiling.
"Ray, calm down." Stefan said.
"You did this to me!" Ray yelled before he rushed Stefan who caught him and slammed him into a tree.
"Stefan?!" Elena yelled.
"Stay back!" Stefan yelled as he grabbed Ray's mouth holding his cheeks tightly so Ray couldn't open his mouth and bite him, before Ray's eyes began to smoke as he suddenly groaned before he began to release a muffled scream as his eyes caught fire as Stefan burned him from the inside out.
Stefan dropped the corpse and turned to the three, looking at Elena for a moment before he looked to Damon, and Alaric, "Get her out of here, before Naruto comes looking for me."
"Stefan," Elena said walking forward.
"Don't get any closer, Elena." Stefan frowned causing Elena to pause, "You have to leave."
"Not without you. Now's the chance to get away from Naruto."
"I am here of my own freewill, Elena." Stefan said causing Elena to gasp.
"Really Stefan. Stop being an idiot and let's go." Damon frowned.
"If I leave, Naruto will kill you, and when he comes back he will find out that Elena's still alive. You got what you promised me all those years ago Damon. An eternity of misery." Stefan said causing Damon to flinch slightly, "My life in Mystic Falls is over, and I am never coming back unless he orders me to. So leave, and stop following us."
Stefan turned and grabbed Ray's ankle and was about to leave, when suddenly he blurred up and turned to catch Damon's arm as his brother tried to stab him with a vervain syringe, Damon looked at his arm in shock before he grimanced as Stefan applied pressure while smoke began to rise from his arm as Stefan slowly burned him.
"I said Go. Home." Stefan said breaking Damon's wrist before he kicked the back of his elder brother's knee causing it to buckle in before kicking Damon in the gut sending him flying into a tree.
Stefan glared at Damon who was groaning before he spat blood, and he looked to a sad, and shocked Elena, "Go home Elena. Please." Stefan said before he grabbed Ray again and left with the corpse
Camp
Stefan walked into the camp, as Naruto was leaning against a tree, "I don't get it. I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse. I killed the werewolf. I killed the vampire. I killed the doppelgänger. I know I did the ritual right. I must be missing something." Naruto pondered calmly, not seeing the uncomfortable expression on Stefan's face.
"I had to take him out. I didn't have a choice. I failed you. I'm sorry. Do what you have to do." Stefan panted.
"Stop being so dramatic, Stefan." Naruto said as he handed Stefan the beer in his hand, "Bottoms up."
Naruto kicked off the tree and walked off toward the car, and Stefan drunk the blood from the bottle, before seeing his werewolf bite wound heal, and tossed it aside before going to catch up.
"Where to next?" Stefan asked walking to the passenger side.
"Chicago, we're meeting someone who I need to consult with about my little hybrid problem," Naruto frowned.
Chicago
2 day later
Naruto and Stefan got out of Naruto's 2010 Dodge Challenger and walked out of the warehouse to see the city "Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan." Naruto said.
"What are we doing here?" Stefan asked as he looked around.
"I know how much you loved it here. Bringing back memories of the good old ripper days?" Naruto asked.
"Blacked out most of them. A lot of blood, a lot of partying. The details are all a blur." Stefan replied.
"Well, that is a crying shame. The details are what makes it legend." Naruto started
Chicago, 1920's
"Word was the Ripper of Monterrey got lonely, so he escaped to the city for comfort. It was prohibition. Everything was off limits then, which made everything so much fun." he continued
Stefan was in a car making out with a girl but then he started to drink her blood till he killed her, when he got out of the car and removed the blood from his lips before he walked away, as Stefan entered a bar, the singer and owner of the bar saw him "Guess who my eyes have just spied, ladies? Looking for a good time, Mr. Salvatore?" the woman asked while Stefan smirked
"Save me a dance, Gloria." he replied while she nodded and as he was about to grab a glass of champagne, a woman took it before he could "Ooh. Please, help yourself." he said as she turned to him smirking.
"Oh, I always do." she said as she got closer, and whispered in his ear, as vampire features appeared on her face. "Careful, Stefan. You're still wearing your date." She pulled back and smiled at Stefan before she turned around to leave but Stefan caught her arm.
"No, no, no. Who are you?" Stefan asked, as the woman smiled before she walked off.
Chicago
Present
"Chicago was magical." Naruto said smiling.
"Yeah, well, I'll take your word for it. Like I said, I don't remember most of it." Stefan replied.
"Going to get down to business, then?" Naruto said.
"Why am I still with you? We had our fun. Your hybrids failed. I mean, don't you want to move on?" Stefan asked.
"We're going to see one of my favorite witches. For a little consultation since I'm fairly certain now that I know what's wrong now, but a little extra advice never hurt anyone." Naruto said walking away.
Mystic Falls, VA
Gilbert House
Elena was in her bedroom, sleeping. As she moved around to get more comfortable she opened her eyes when she felt herself laying on someone's chest looking up she saw Damon and jumped back covering herself with the blanket as she screamed in surprise.
"Rise and shine, sleepy head." Damon said smiling.
"What are you doing?! Get out!" Elena shouted pointing toward the door.
"You know you were dreaming about me. Explains the drool." Damon said ignoring her demand.
"Ugh. Oh, my God." she sighed as she wiped her mouth before she looked at her alarm clock "6 A.M. seriously? Do you really have nothing better to do at 6 A.M.?"
"Fine, don't come with me to bring Stefan home. See ya." Damon said as he got up.
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. What? What are you talking about? Where is he?" Elena called out and asked before he could leave.
"Windy city." Damon answered.
"He's in Chicago? Well, how do you know?" Elena asked.
"It came to me in a dream. I was naked. You would have loved it. Start packing." Damon retorted.
"Is he ok?" she asked.
"Well, let's just say he's not there to meet Oprah." Damon said sarcastically as he went and opened one of her drawers and took out a pair of Elena's panties "Ooh. Put these in the "yes" pile." Elena hurried out of bed and took her panties from his hands and put them back in the drawer. As Damon walked out of the room.
Chicago
Bar
Naruto and Stefan entered an empty bar and looked around while Stefan felt nostalgic "Looks familiar, doesn't it?" Naruto asked.
"I can't believe this place is still here." Stefan said leaning against the rail.
A beautiful woman in her late twenties with medium brown wavy hair, blue eyes, unblemished pale white skin and rosy cheeks came up to the front. "Well well, been a while, handsome." she greeted as Naruto smiled.
"So, the hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender…" Naruto started.
"Stop. You may be invincible now, but that doesn't make your jokes any funnnier." she interrupted.
"Who are you?" Stefan stated asked.
"Names Jennifer Blake," She introduced.
"Jennifer here is a very powerful Darach." Naruto said.
"What's a Darach?" Stefan asked.
"A dark Druid." Jennifer clarified.
"Wait, didn't the Druids die out more than a 1000 years ago?" Stefan wondered.
"The druids faded into legend and, like other witches, we adapted to hiding in plain sights. A number of druids help large werewolf packs nowadays as advisor's. I'm the advisor for Naruto's pack." Jennifer explained.
"So, what happened to Gloria?" Stefan wondered.
"I found out she was working against me for an enemy group of mine, the Strix, so I killed her." Naruto said and Stefan hmmed at that.
"Stefan, why don't you go and fix us up a little something from behind the bar?" Naruto said
"Yeah, sure thing." Stefan said with a sigh he went to the bar, while Naruto looked at Jennifer.
"You look ravishing, by the way." Naruto commented.
"Thanks for the compliment handsome, but we can 'catch up' later. I know why you're here. A hybrid out to make more hybrids? That kind of news travels." she said.
"I broke the curse. Yet I can't make any werewolf hybrids. So, what the hell am I doing wrong?" Naruto asked as he knew that Stefan was listening.
"Obviously, something is stopping you. Look, you know how every spell has a loophole, but a curse that old... We'd have to contact the witch who created it. Either that or study the original spell." She explained while Naruto rose an eyebrow.
"Well, that would be the Original witch. She's very dead. Plus, she didn't write the spell down in her Grimoire before I killed her." Naruto said.
"We could try something else then. I could look at your memory of the event. Study the incantation and go from there." Jennifer said, Naruto nodded as she got up and went to start prepping the spell.
"Perfect. We'll go with that." Naruto said standing up.
Stefan was at the bar fixing him a drink when he looked up and saw a picture that surprised him "What is this?" he asked in shock holding the photo.
Jennifer and Naruto looked over to him and Naruto said "Well, I told you, Stefan. Chicago's a magical place."
"But this is me. With you." Stefan said as he showed Naruto a picture of them in the 1920s.
Apartment, Chicago
Elena, and Damon arrived at an apartment "Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago and he chose this?" Elena asked looking around.
"There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but it shut down for attendance issues. Weird." Damon said jokingly.
"If you're trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work." Elena said.
"Shh." Damon said as he broke the door knob and opened the door "Here we are. Stefan's second personality home." he said as they entered.
"He obviously hasn't been here." Elena said looking around at how dusty it was in the apartment.
"Tour is not over yet." Damon said as he went toward a wall and opened a hidden door, walking inside he turned on the light and Elena saw that there was a lot of alcohol inside.
"Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster." Elena said.
"Look harder." said Damon as he looked at a wall and Elena moved forward as she got closer and looked to the side and saw a list of names.
"It's a list of names." Elena said.
"Mm-hmm" Damon pressed.
"These are all of his victims?" she realized as she could practically hear them screaming in fear, and pain.
"Still handling it?" Damon said.
"What were you doing in the 1920s?" Elena asked.
"I was around. Chicago's a big city. Stefan was a cocky ripper douche. But I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanan's of my own." Damon answered while Elena looked disgusted while he walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Elena asked.
"His old stomping ground." Damon said.
"I'm coming with you." she said moving to the door but Damon stopped and turn back to her.
"No. You stay here and whip up an actual plan. I'll come back when I find him." he told her before he walked out.
With Stefan
Stefan followed Naruto down the street as he sipped his coffee, "This doesn't make any sense. Why don't I remember you?" Stefan asked as he followed Naruto with the picture.
"You said it yourself, that time had a lot of dark holes." Naruto answered looking at his phone.
"Then why haven't you said anything?" Stefan pressed.
"You didn't ask." Naruto said before Stefan grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around.
"What the hell is going on? Answer me." Stefan demanded.
Naruto took Stefan's arm off of him "Let's just say we didn't get off to a brilliant start." Naruto said.
Chicago, 1920's
Naruto and Aurora were dancing on the dance floor as Gloria sang but the two were growing increasingly annoyed with the obnoxious laughter from Stefan and his friends,
"Enough of this." Naruto said walking over to Stefan and his friends, "Hey!"
Stefan and his friends turn around looking at a annoyed Naruto.
"You are ruining my date with my wife. If you don't shut your mouths I will shut them for you." Naruto said as Stefan with a cocky smirk walked up to him.
"And how are you going to do that?" Stefan asked before his eyes widened as he looked into the cold eyes of Naruto as the blonde gripped his throat and lifted him into the air.
"Like this." Naruto hissed before the woman Stefan saw earlier grabbed his arm.
"Dad, don't." the woman said.
"Wait? This is him?" Naruto asked.
"Yes." the woman said before Naruto dropped Stefan after a moment.
"Keep him on a leash, Valerie." Naruto said walking away.
End Flashback
"Valerie?" Stefan asked confused.
"Lovely girl she is." Naruto smiled as Stefan signed running his hands down his face.
"Look, why don't you just tell me what the hell is going on? I mean, you obviously want me here for a reason, right?" Stefan asked.
"Well, you have many useful talents." Naruto said.
"Do I?"
"In fact, I learned some of my favorite tricks from you." Naruto smirked
Flashback, Chicago, 1920
Naruto, Aurora and Rebekah was sitting in the bar on one side of a table with Stefan and Valerie Tulle on the other, "So Valerie, what do you see in this guy besides his funny hair style?" Naruto asked. Even though he knew the real answer. He said nothing though, because he had taken Stefan's memoires of the event all those years ago.
"Don't listen to him, Stefan. My father's an elitist." Valerie said.
"Am not. Aurora and I adopted Valerie when she was a child and whoever she gains an interest in has to be worth something, right?' Naruto asked.
"Hmm. And where's the rest of your family?" Stefan asked.
"1 is dead and another 2 are out and about." Naruto shrugged causing Rebekah to elbow him.
"What about you? Any siblings?" Rebekah asked.
"One, I don't really care for him." Stefan said as Naruto nodded before a man stormed over to the table.
"Where the hell's my wife?" the man asked as everyone looked up at him.
"I don't know. I give up." Stefan smirked.
"You think you're so tough? Hiding in your bar, drinking your liquor? A telephone call to Chicago P.D. might set you straight." the man threatened.
"Ooh!" Naruto laughed along with Aurora and Rebekah as the man laughed sarcastically along with them before Stefan called a woman.
"Lila? Lila, please. Come here for a second." he called out
"Oh, thank God. Come on, we're leaving." the man said after the woman came up to them, as they walked away Stefan grabbed the mans arm and compelled him
"Oh, no, no, no, no. No. You're sitting." he said the man with a blank expression sat down next to Naruto who smiled at him, and Lila sat next to Stefan before he took off her glove and pulled out a pocket knife as Naruto looked confused while Rebekah, Aurora, and Valerie smirked.
"Stefan, don't be mean." Valerie said.
"What the hell are you doing?" the man asked while Stefan took the knife and cut Lila wrist and made the blood pour into a glass.
"Thank you so much, Lila. Why don't you go and bandage that up?" Stefan said as the women got up and walked away
The man watched his wife walk away with no concern for him, before he looked back to see Stefan push the glass toward him, "I'd like you to join me for a drink." he said and Naruto gained a vicious smile.
"What kind of sick freaks are you?" the man asked
"I said, drink!" Stefan said leaning back into the booth, as the man picked up the glass and took a sip of his wife's blood before he started to gag slightly while Valerie, Rebekah, Aurora, and Naruto snickered "I didn't catch your name." Stefan said.
"Go to hell." the man growled causing Naruto to laugh.
"Do you want another sip?" Stefan asked.
"Liam. Liam Grant."
"Liam Grant! Have another sip, Liam" Stefan said as Naruto with a chuckle tapped his glass with Liam's who took another sip "Finish it." Stefan ordered causing the four to laugh harder as the man downed the rest of the blood.
Naruto looked to Valerie who gave him a look as he looked at Stefan with a smirk.
End Flashback
"I was your number one fan." Naruto said with a smirk as he walked toward the car.
"Why should I believe any of this?" Stefan asked.
"You think I'm lying, Stefan. You and I knew each other. You trusted me with some of your secrets and now I'm going to prove it to you by showing you one of them." Naruto said opening the door.
"How?" Stefan asked getting into the passenger seat.
"We're going to your old apartment." Naruto smirked before pulling off.
Stefan's old apartment
Elena was on the bed reading Stefan's diary
"April, 1922. Lexi found me last night, dragged me off the train tracks. Thinks she can make me care again." Stefan's voice said as Elena turned the page "June, 1924... Lexi's driving me crazy. More animal blood, more misery." she kept going till she reached the 80's "1982... cravings are there, but it's easier. Lexi's on to her next project... Getting me to laugh." Elena smiled at the last one, before she heard Naruto and Stefan coming.
Naruto walked to the door to see that the lock had been broken. Suspicious he pushed the door open and they entered "Do you feel that? Is anybody here?" He asked Stefan while Elena was in the hidden closet.
"I haven't used it since the 20's. People must break in all the time. Why'd you bring me here?" Stefan asked.
"Your friend, Liam Grant, the one who drank his wife's blood... I never could figure out why you wanted his name. And then you told me your little secret. It was all part of your special little ritual." Naruto said while Elena looked at the list and saw Liam Grant's name
"To write it down…" Stefan started
"And relive the kill... Over and over again." Naruto finished as he opened the hidden door, "You believe me now?" Naruto asked. Stefan entered the closet to see the list, as he turned his head Elena smiled at him as he looked at her in surprise, as she gave him a hopeful look.
Naruto smirked. "Are you going to kiss her, Stefan?" he asked causing the two to pale as Stefan turned to Naruto who looked at him, "I mean after missing her in the Smoky Mountains, you can finally hold her."
"You knew?" Stefan asked getting a nod.
"Since I healed Damon of the werewolf venom." Naruto said as Elena walked out behind Stefan.
"Why wouldn't you say anything?" Stefan asked as Naruto's eyes flashed red.
"I got what I wanted. The deal was for you to come with me and do everything I say, not tell me your every little secret." Naruto said pulling out his phone and dialing a number as he walked forward and Stefan protected Elena but was confused when Naruto held his phone out to her, "For you."
Elena hesitantly took the phone as Naruto smirked, "Be downstairs in 30 minutes." he told Stefan before leaving the apartment
Elena placed the phone to her ear, "Hello?" she asked nervously
"Elena?" Jenna asked on the other end causing Elena to gasp and look to the shocked Stefan who was listening.
While they did that, Naruto sat cross-legged with his hands on his knees in another apartment, conjuring five balls of white fire that circled around him as he opened his whited out eyes, in a trance as he viewed his memory of when his werewolf side was sealed.
30 Minutes Later
A normal looking Naruto was sitting on the car when Elena followed by Stefan came out, "Where is she?' Elena asked.
"Safe and happy." Naruto said.
"You staked Jenna. I saw you so how is she still alive?" Elena asked
"Simple, I grabbed Jenna from the Salvatore house, compelled her and put her on a private jet to anywhere she wanted to go."
"Tell her to come back." Elena demanded as Naruto tilted his head.
"No. Only Jenna can decide if she wants to return to her life filled with liars, and vampires, or if she wants to stay in her dream place where she can live a safe, settle down with a husband, have some kids, and live a happy existence. Do you really want to take that away from her?" Naruto asked.
"...No." Elena said.
"Why didn't you kill her?" Stefan asked.
"I could never kill a woman who would drop everything and become the guardian of 2 kids that weren't her own. I have a certain respect for her." Naruto said.
"So who was the vampire that you killed in the sacrifice?'
"Some woman from a homeless shelter." Naruto shrugged before he smirked, "So can I take it as Ms. Gilbert will be accompanying us, Stefan?"
"No/Yes." Stefan and Elena said at the same time before they looked at each other.
"Uh oh." Naruto chuckled as he stood up, "Let's go back to Jennifer's, I need a drink. And you two need to have a talk."
Stefan with a frown opened the door and pushed up the seat so that Elena could climb into the back before he got in and Naruto drove away.
Later
Damon walked into the apartment with a dress for Elena when he saw the door wide open and he quickly blurred into the room and began to look around before he pulled his phone out and called her.
With Naruto
Naruto and Stefan looked back to Elena as her phone began to ring, before she answered it, "Damon."
Damon stormed out of apartment, "Where are you?"
"With Stefan and Naruto. He knew I was alive the entire time." Elena said.
"What? Never mind where are you?!' Damon asked
"Meet us at Gloria's old bar, mate." Naruto said loud enough for Damon to hear before with an snap of his fingers Elena's phone sparked, "No one is to know that Jenna is alive, except for your brother."
"Why?" Elena asked.
"Less people who knows about her the safer she'll be." Naruto said causing Elena to frown and nod.
"Why did you invite her?" Stefan asked.
"You both need to have a talk, my business with Elena is over so she has nothing to fear from me, unless something changes." Naruto said parking his car, "So have at it."
Naruto got out the car as Stefan and Elena watched him with frowns.
"We can go while he is gone." Elena said.
"I can't. The deal was that I stay with him and does everything he says. If I don't, Damon is dead along with anyone that tries to get in his way." Stefan frowned before he looked at her, "That part of my life is done, Elena. What we had, it can never be the same."
"I know that." Elena said.
" I don't think you do. I've left headless bodies scattered from Florida to Tennessee. Innocent people. Humans. I'm not some docile pet, I'm a vampire. Death is part of the package." Stefan said.
"Lexi found you like this before. In the twenties, and...and she saved you." Elena said
"And you know what I did after that? I spent thirty years trying to pull myself together. To a vampire, that's nothing. To you? That's half your life. I will not put you through that." Stefan said.
"I can't give up on you, Stefan." Elena frowned
"Yes, you can. It's done. That part of my life is done." Stefan said getting out the car as Damon came speeding around the corner and Stefan caught his brother and shoved him into a wall.
"Take her home." Stefan said before he pushed Damon and stormed off into the bar as Damon looked over to a sad Elena who got out the car.
"You okay?" Damon asked.
"Let's go." Elena said walking away as Damon sighed.
Later. Inside
Naruto and Stefan were at the bar, drinking Bourbon as Stefan looked sad, "What's with you? I thought Chicago was your playground." he asked a bit tipsy.
Stefan blinked and looked at Naruto, "So this is why you asked me to be your wingman? Because you liked the way that I tortured innocent people?" he asked.
"Well, that's certainly half of it." Naruto said.
"What's the other half?" Stefan asked as Naruto began pouring alcohol into two shot glasses.
"The other half, Stefan, is that you used to want to be my wingman." Naruto said as he slid one of the shot glasses to Stefan along the counter.
Flashback, 1920, Chicago
Naruto and Stefan are at the counter drinking, "They're jealous. Your enemies want you dead because they can never be what you are." Stefan said causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow
"What's that?" Naruto asked as Stefan grabbed his shoulder and with a serious expression said.
"A king."
Naruto smiled as Stefan laughed.
"Look at us. Two sad orphans." Naruto said as they looked over to Valerie, Aurora, and Rebekah who was with the other women staring at them from a distance, "Valerie fancies you, you know."
"Mmm!" Stefan said as he said, "I fancy her too. However…"
"What?" Naruto demanded.
"…I don't know. It feels like she's hiding something from me. There are times she looks at me with such guilt and sadness, and I can't understand it. I know it's not that she's cheating, because I'd be able to tell, but is something."
"Oh that," Naruto said as he had another drink, "Look, Valerie has a very tragic past as a human. She doesn't exactly like talking about it. It took her years to open up about it to me and Aurora. She'll tell you when she's ready." Stefan looked back at Valerie and smiled before he turned back to Naruto and nodded.
"You know Stefan, how would you like to travel around through the ages with me and the others? I could teach you all there is to know about Vampirism . We could have the world at our feet." Naruto offered.
"You know what, you're a good friend, Naruto. I'm glad I met you. I'd be happy to be your wingman." Stefan said as he held up his shot glass in cheers.
End Flashback
Naruto raised his shot, "To friendship."
Stefan clinked his shot glass as a voice sounded off, "Did you call me here to watch you and your old Ripper buddy get drunk?'
Naruto smiled as he and Stefan turned around to see Rebekah, "Actually, I called you because I missed you, and because I found something you might have lost some 90 years ago." Naruto said as he held up what was once Elena's necklace causing Stefan's eyes to widen, as he realized that Naruto must have snatched it from her.
"Mother's necklace." Rebekah gasped.
'Still don't understand why this trinket is so important to you, but here." Naruto said as he tossed the necklace to Rebekah who caught it, "Oh right.'
Naruto placed a hand on Stefan's shoulder, and compelled him, "Remember."
Stefan blinked before memories and emotions forcefully forgotten rushed back to him, as he remembered him and Naruto hanging out, hunting together and him and Rebekah having a drink and talking along with the two teaching him new things, he also remembered Valerie.
Flashback, 1920
Stefan and Valerie were dancing as Naruto and Rebekah were in a booth watching them with smiles, "So I hear you're going to be traveling with us?' Valerie asked
"That's right. I will go wherever it is you go. Forever." Stefan said before he and Valerie kissed.
Naruto and Rebekah suddenly sensed something and looked around and in that moment bullets start flying all through the room.
Valerie and Stefan jumped before Valerie was hit in the heart and fell down, and in a moments notice Naruto and Rebekah blurred to her side.
"No, no, no, no." Stefan said seeing the wooden bullets and trying to take the wooden bullet from Valerie's chest and Naruto placed his hand on her chest and used his magic to preserve her life while pulling the bullet out. When she didn't turn grey, he knew he managed to save her.
Naruto with a growl was about to go outside and kill Mikael when Aurora appeared and stopped him, "Naruto no, its just what he wants. He brought the entire Gemini Coven and the Travelers with him. This is a fight we shouldn't risk."
Naruto looked to Stefan and Valerie with a frown, "Fine go get everything ready, I'll catch up."
Rebekah looked to Stefan, "Do not forget her." she said before she hugged Stefan and kissed Valerie's forehead before she sped off, not knowing that her necklace had fell beside Stefan who saw it before he was picked up by Naruto.
"Stefan. I'm sorry, but the fun has to pause here." Naruto said.
"W-What are you talking about? Whoever tried to do this to Valerie has to pay." Stefan replied angrily.
"He will, I will see to that, but before that," Naruto said before he compelled Stefan, "You must forget Valerie, Aurora, Rebekah and me. Until I say otherwise, you never knew us, Stefan. Thank you. I had forgotten what it was like to have a brother."
When Stefan came out of his trance Naruto and Valerie's body was gone before he looked around before Mikael appeared in a few moments and questioned him.
End Flashback
Stefan came out of his memories to see Rebekah and Jennifer sitting near Naruto, engaging in a 3-way make out session.
"Kali and the others miss you." Jennifer whispered to him as she pulled back.
"I've missed you all too." He said.
Rebekah sat in his lap. "I have some news. Morgana, Tessa, and Jennifer found the anchor to the Other Side. It's in our custody."
"And the Traveler's?" Naruto asked.
"We killed them all." Jennifer said proudly.
"Good. I really hated those magic-hating assholes." Naruto said. Those annoying shits were a royal pain in the ass. He was glad to finally be rid of them.
"I also found someone who can lead us right to the Gemini coven." Rebekah said, to Naruto's surprise and elation.
"Then that means," Naruto started to say.
"We are close to finding them and getting them back," Rebekah said, and Naruto kissed her deeply on the lips.
"Thank you. That's the best news I've heard in 85 years. Where is this lead?" Naruto asked eagerly.
"See for yourself," Rebekah said as she offered her arm, and Naruto bit down as he saw her memories, seeing the lead she mentioned.
"A stray Gemini witch at Whitmore with no magic, and also ½ of a set of twins. What are the odds?" Naruto wondered as he licked up Rebekah's blood off of her arm.
"Naruto," Stefan said as he walked up to them and sat down while gripping his head. "I don't understand. Valerie was shot with wooden bullets, but she didn't die? And why am I seeing images of her one year before I met Katherine?"
"Suppose I should tell you now." Naruto said as he rubbed Rebekah's back affectionately.
"To understand what is happening Stefan, I need to explain my connection with Valerie." Naruto said, "You see, Valerie was a member of the Gemini Coven, a coven of witches that have been a thorn in my side for 800 years. You see, they hate me because I am a hybrid, an abomination in their eyes, and 800 years ago when I killed Mikael in Constantinople during the 4th Crusade, I cut off two of his limbs and they were able to resurrect him roughly 280 years later, and they have aided him ever since. I've come close to killing him numerous times since, and every time, the weapon I need to finish the job always slips from my grasp thanks to a spell the coven put on it should it ever come into my possession."
"Anyway, onto Valerie, she was a member of this coven, until she was cast out at 10 years old. You see, the Gemini, due to their little Twin Merge Ritual, are a breeding ground for Siphoners. Those are witches that are born without Magic of their own and instead, absorb it from other sources. Anyway, Siphoners are seen as abominations, so they kicked Valerie to the curb when she was 10. Aurora and I came across her and took her in, adopting her as our child and raised her. This is where things get interesting."
"In 1858, we were heading back to New Orleans, when we stopped in Mystic Falls Virginia. Rebekah posed as a nurse in the TB ward. There she met your mother and fed her some blood, who later died of consumption, with Rebekah's blood in her system." Naruto revealed and Stefan was shocked.
"You mean that-" Stefan was tryig to say.
"Your mother was a vampire, Stefan." Naruto revealed, "But like you, she could not control her bloodlust, so the 4 of us traveled back to New Orleans. 7 years later in 1863, Lily wanted to check up on you, but we were a little uncomfortable sending her, considering that we were helping her through her Ripper problem, so we sent Valerie instead to check up on you. Now, obviously, her taking your V-card was not part of the plan, but it was no big deal."
"I remember that night." Stefan said in remembrance at his first time with a woman.
"Now, 2 months later, we discovered something. Valerie discovered she was pregnant with your child. I then left for a few weeks to handle some business in over in London." Naruto said shocking Stefan.
"Then why didn't she come back? I waited for her that summer when she sent me that message and she never showed." Stefan asked, trying to contain his raw emotions.
"That's where the problems begin." Rebekah said, "Your mother had, what we nowadays call a stalker. His name was Julian and back then, he was a 300 year old vampire who lusted after your mum. When she rejected his advances one time too many, he lashed out, beating the pregnant Valerie and raping your mother and killing her before fleeing. I found Valerie beaten and fed her my blood, but I was too late to save the baby. I found your mothers corpse and then, Julian stole one of my brother-husband's cloaking rings, and fled New Orleans so we could not track him."
"What…uhm, what happened to Valerie?" Stefan asked with concern in his voice.
"After she came to, and I explained what happened, she was filled with grief and sorrow. Her grief of losing the baby and the shame of not being able to face you made her take her own life by drowning herself in a bath. But because she had my blood in her system, she survived and became a Heretic, which is what we call a Vampire-Witch hybrid." Rebekah explained.
"In 1924, Rebekah, myself, Aurora, Valerie, and several more of my adopted Siphoner children were ambushed by Mikael, the Travelers and the Gemini Coven. The Gemini have this spell called the Prison World spell, where using the power of a Celestial event and the entire, they entrap you in a alternate world. It repeats the same day you were stuck in there, but there is no life in those worlds. Everything else is the same. We killed a number of them before they managed to activate the spell. I managed to protect Rebekah and myself from the spell, but Aurora, Valerie, and the others were sent to the Prison World got sucked into the Prison World. I killed most of the two covens after that, then trapped Mikael in the bottom of the Atlantic, but he managed to pull himself out 1 year before Elena's birth." Naruto said.
"A few years ago, we found Julian's body, but his soul was lost. There was a trail though, so I tracked it down and found it was housed inside the Phoenix Sword. It was a magical sword that traps vampire souls in a supernatural purgatory, where they are mentally tortured endlessly. I stole it from the original owner and reunited Julian's soul with his body before I destroyed the sword, and my people have been holding him captive ever since. We held off on killing him until we got Val back, as it is yours and her right to kill him." Naruto said.
"Are you going after them? The Gemini, I mean? Because, if you are, I want in." Stefan growled as he wanted to kill the Gemini so badly and reunite with Valerie, as his feelings of love for her had all rushed back to him, along with his memories.
"Excellent, then we will hunt down our lead tomorrow after breakfast. Go get some sleep." Naruto said. Stefan nodded and went to go sleep off his exhaustion from finding out about Valerie, their murdered unborn baby, and Julian.
"Wait, hold on. What about the ritual for your hybrid problem?" Jennifer asked as she closed up shop for the night.
"It's okay, I already took care of it. I did the ritual while Stefan was talking with Elena. Turns out there was a second part of the ritual that Esther put on me. It made it so I could not make hybrids without doppelganger blood, so I siphoned the curse away when I found it was centered on my heart." Naruto said.
"That was something I always wondered. Why didn't you siphon the curse away 1000 years ago?" Rebekah asked.
"I was hesitant to do it, because I was concerned that if I did that, it would cause problems for me, so I resolved to undo the curse with the sacrifice ritual, to avoid potential problems. I was only going to do it if the Petrova bloodline died out, which thankfully it didn't." Naruto explained as Jennifer finished closing up shop.
"Well ladies, we have the whole bar to ourselves. What do ya say we catch up?" Naruto suggested and his sister-wife and his lover smiled lustfully at him.
Chapter 7 End