The next morning, Stefan was in the living room of the boarding house drinking from a blood bag. He'd already checked on Elena and brought her food. He felt a twinge of guilt for what he was doing, but he immediately pushed it down. He couldn't allow any emotion besides hatred for Klaus right now. Besides, it was Elena's own fault this was happening. If she'd told them from the beginning that she descended from Klaus, they could've stopped all of this from happening. Stefan wouldn't have had to have been Klaus' puppet for months. It served her the right to be a bit uncomfortable for a while.
Speaking of Klaus, he'd called and left the original a message to meet him. It was time to let him know that he had more than just his siblings now. It was time to really see him sweat.
Just then, Damon walked into the room. He stopped short when he saw his brother. "What are you doing here. I thought you took off. You know, after betraying us all the other night."
"I live here. And you're one to talk about betrayal. You let Mikael feed from me," Stefan said before taking a sip of his blood.
"Because I didn't trust you. Apparently, I wasn't off base with that," Damon said.
Stefan shrugged. "I have my own plans for Klaus."
"And what are those? I'm pretty sure they can't be better than him being dead," Stefan said.
As if on cue, they both heard the front door open and close.
"You're about to find out," Stefan said as he lounged back in his chair and waited for Klaus to make his way to them. He didn't appear to have a care in the world.
Klaus made his way to the living room moments later. He had his trademark smirk on his face. "Stefan."
"Hey, Klaus. I see you got my message," Stefan said.
"Yes. I can only assume you've seen the error of your ways and have come to give me back what's mine. Since we go back so far, if you do so now, I will show you some mercy and only make you suffer a little," Klaus said.
Stefan chuckled. "Nah. You won't do anything, not when I have almost all of your family as leverage."
Damon looked at his brother in disbelief. He'd taken the original's daggered siblings? Had he lost his mind? That was more like something Damon would do, and even he wouldn't be so stupid. "What?"
"Yes, your brother has taken my siblings' bodies, which he will pay dearly for. Well, him and the rest of this town if he doesn't give them back now," Klaus said.
"I don't care about this town. Do whatever you want? Oh, but you've got one thing wrong. It's not just your siblings. It's them and Elena," Stefan said.
"Wait, what? What did you do to Elena?" Damon demanded to know.
Klaus, meanwhile, seemed mostly unfazed. Sure, it annoyed him that Stefan had taken his doppelganger, and it was another thing he'd make Stefan suffer for, but he didn't need her right now. Her only use was her blood, and he didn't need that for while still. His siblings were another matter. "Oh, I see. You think you've upped the stakes by hiding my doppelganger. Well, it so happens that I don't need that much blood to make a hybrid, and I still have quite a bit left over from taking Elena's blood the last time. I can still create at least a dozen or more before I'd need her again."
"I figured that. That's why I wasn't going to take her when I thought her only value to her was as a blood bank. It turns out though, she's more important to you than you know," Stefan said.
"You're lying. You wouldn't hurt Elena like that," Damon said, drawing other two vampires' attention to him. Even as he said the words though, he wasn't sure. The old Stefan would never harm Elena, but Stefan hadn't been the same in months. This Stefan was capable of just about anything, and now he was no longer compelled to protect Elena.
"Really? Why don't you call her then, brother?" Stefan asked.
Damon took out his phone to do just that. As soon as it started ringing, he also heard a ring coming from Stefan's person.
"Oh, that's right. I took her phone," Stefan said before taking the phone from his pocket and showing him the caller ID, which had Damon's name on it.
Damon dropped his phone and immediately grabbed Stefan by the throat. He then slammed him against the wall. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Stefan immediately shoved his brother off of him, causing him to fall to the floor. "Calm down. She's fine, and she'll stay fine as long as Klaus behaves."
Klaus chuckled. "I thought we'd established that I'm not all that bothered by this development, other than being mildly annoyed. Your brother seems much more upset about it than me. Although, I am curious about what makes you think I should care more."
"Because I know how much you value your family, and as it turns out, Elena is your family," Stefan said.
"Have you lost your mind? Elena is in no way connected to this psycho," Damon said.
"Other than being my doppelganger, I concur. I am finding this quite entertaining, however, so do continue, Stefan," Klaus said with amusement written all over his face.
Stefan looked at his brother when he spoke. "Actually, she's very much connected to him, and she's known it since before the sacrifice. She could've stopped all of this carnage by telling the truth. See, Elena is descended by a woman named, Tatia, who was apparently involved with Klaus or his brother, Elijah, maybe even both."
"So? That doesn't prove they're her family," Damon said.
"No, but this does," Stefan said before going to the coffee table and taking a piece of paper off of it.
Klaus immediately went over and snatched the paper from Stefan's hands. He examined it for a moment before laughing and turning back to Stefan. "This is proof of nothing. This is a drawing with some names on it, probably made by someone with a lot of presumptions."
"By itself, you're right, but I'm sure you'd know if you slept with this Tatia woman, or if Elijah did, wouldn't you? Maybe she disappeared right after you slept with her to make sure you didn't know she was pregnant."
Klaus considered Stefan's theory. He had been with Tatia, and he knew Elijah had too. And Tatia did disappear for a while, shortly after they'd been together. She hadn't returned until just before Klaus and his family was turned. This theory had merit.
If this was true, it changed everything for Klaus. He didn't know if Tatia had been carrying his child or Elijah's, and would probably never know, but it didn't matter. If all of this was true, Elena was his blood. Family was everything to him, just as it was to Elijah. He might punish them at times if they crossed him, but they were still his family and he'd do anything for them. That meant Elena now too. The difference was that, unlike his siblings, Elena could be killed, which meant he had to prioritize finding her.
Klaus swiftly grabbed Stefan by the throat and slammed him down against the coffee table, breaking it instantly. "If what you are telling me is true, you'd better tell me where she is now, or I will ensure the rest of your life is complete agony.
Stefan choked for a few minutes until Klaus loosened his grip to allow him to speak. "You can't do anything. I'm the only one who knows where she is. If you kill me, you'll never find her, and if you try to detain and torture me, she'll die of starvation."
"Listen carefully, Stefan. I will find her and then you will suffer for what you've done. And if there is so much as a scratch on her when I find her, I will torture you until you beg me to kill you, and then I will keep going for a while afterwards!" Klaus snarled before releasing his grip.
Stefan pulled himself up. "I'll be in touch with what I want you to do next. In the meantime, I know when I'm being followed, so if either of you try it, I'll let Elena die," Stefan said before walking out of the room with a smirk on his face.
"Unless you want your brother dead, I suggest you help me find Elena fast," Klaus said before storming out as well.
Damon could hardly believe what had just happened. Stefan had just screwed Elena over in every possible way. It wasn't just that he kidnapped her. Telling Klaus that Elena was related to him, which still baffled Damon, ensured that Klaus would never leave her alone. He was going to force himself onto her for the rest of her life, maybe even eternity. Damon had to find her fast, and hopefully before Klaus could.
