No pairing
*Please note that there are alternations in the plot from Seasons 3/4 in this universe. For example, Vicki was never turned by Damon or killed by Stefan. She is alive.
**Also, this story is NOT connected with other stories. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Mystic Falls, Virginia
March 23, 2012
Night
Klaus tried to retire for bed, but something was nagging at him. He had checked on Rebekah and found her sleeping peacefully.
The Original Hybrid then checked his cell phone and tried to call Damon, but it went straight to voicemail. He didn't leave a message as it was only around 11pm. He figured the boys deserved to have some fun.
Sage had taken Finn to her apartment in town to get a few things. The house felt too quiet suddenly. Klaus looked in on the children in his bedroom. Elijah was sleeping in a nearby chair by their bed. Klaus quietly shut the door and felt at a loss as to what to do with himself for a moment.
He remembered that bourbon from earlier and thought he deserved a night cap. As Klaus descended the stairs, his sharp vampire eyes spied the cardboard box Elijah had mentioned earlier. He descended and picked it up from the table. The label read "To Klaus Mikaelson, from your friends, A."
The "A" was shaped into an elaborate symbol that he'd never seen before. He lifted it and it wasn't too heavy, about ten pounds.
Forgetting about the drink, Klaus took the mysterious box into his own study. It grated against him that he had given up his art studio to give Elijah his own office, but he knew his brother. He needed his own space. Klaus figured he had plenty of room in his quarters to make a studio, he just needed the time to do so. It was just that the north facing light in that room was perfect, yet Klaus knew he had to make some sacrifices for his family. Family above all.
Klaus grabbed a silver letter opener and slit open the box. He saw the hair and knew what it was before seeing it.
It was his Greta's head, wrapped in one of her silk scarves.
Klaus bit off a scream with his fist and backed away from the box in horror and sorrow.
Undisclosed Location
Whitmore College
Kol woke up first. The vampires had shot him and Damon with some kind of vervain sedative bullet. He strained and found himself strapped to a hospital gurney.
"Blasted hell," Kol whispered. There was some ambient lighting from wall shelving and some dim overhead lights. His eyes searched for Damon. He found him in the next gurney.
"Damon! Mate, wake up," Kol hissed, as he struggled against the straps. The vervain in the leather sizzled as it ate into his wrists like acid.
Damon stirred and groaned.
"Oh, Stefan, it's too fucking early," Damon mumbled in a slur.
"Damon, it's me, Kol. Wake the hell up! We've been kidnapped," Kol ordered. He didn't think he could compel someone with his eyes closed, but at this point, he was willing to try anything.
A bulky guard with a buzz cut sauntered over from the shadows.
"Shut up!" the guard yelled, kicking the gurney wheels and causing it to shift closer to Damon.
"Do ya know who I am, mate?" Kol asked in a conversational tone.
The guard looked closer at Kol and snickered, "A dead man?"
"You will undo our straps and...-" Kol started strongly, lifting his head to compel this fool.
"Jokes on you. I'm a vampire, too," the guard laughed, full of bravado.
"Look at me!" Kol hissed. "You will undo my chains and Damon's. Do not speak or call out. Now."
The guard looked confused for a moment and then started to undo Kol's hand. Only an Original vampire could compel another vampire. Other vampires could compel humans and everyone aside from witches. Kol was relieved that they didn't know who or what he was. He had the advantage.
"I will undo your straps and Damon's," the guard repeated dully and with confusion. "I will not call out..."
"Frank! What the hell are you doing?" another guard yelled, rushing over. But it was too late. Kol's hand was free. He grabbed the big guard with his free hand.
"Shoot him and free me!" Kol demanded, looking in the man's panicked gaze.
The nearby guard shot the other one with a dart in the chest and the other vampire faltered. His own gun falling uselessly to the ground with a clang.
"Kol! We have to get out of here," Damon exclaimed.
"Give me a minute," Kol said, as the guard freed his other hand. "Now, free him!"
Damon got his hands free and the guard went for his gun. Kol had worked his feet free, but Damon snapped the guard's neck before he could shoot.
"Nice reflexes," Kol mused. "Now, where the hell are we?"
Damon got his own feet free.
"I've been here before...We need to go. I'm sure there are others on the way. These guys are relentless. Grab his gun. Let's go," Damon said breathlessly. "I think I know the way out."
Whitmore College
Occult Studies
"It's so weird to be back in my Gram's office," Bonnie noted. The teen witch smiled and sat back in the guest chair where she had spent many hours hanging out with her grandmother, Sheila Bennet. The room looked different with another professor's books and artifacts decorating the large room.
"I have more of her things for you," Professor Atticus Shane replied, pushing a grimoire toward her. The man was slender, about 5'9, and had brown hair with earnest green eyes. Bonnie thought he must have been over 30, but she just knew he was old.
Bonnie picked up the old leather bound book.
"This looks like an old grimoire, but I've never seen that before. It's not my Gram's writing," Bonnie observed, looking up at the curly haired professor with curiosity.
"No, it's not. I picked this little tome up in Barbados. My wife and I were on our honeymoon. She wasn't thrilled that I was working. Caitlin always says I'm a workaholic," Professor Shane smiled.
"Will your wife and son be joining you soon?" Bonnie asked politely, flipping through the book carefully.
"Yes, soon. I hope so," the professor said. "But the book you are holding is different. What do you notice about it?"
Bonnie laughed, "Always the teacher. You professors are all alike. Um, let's see. I don't recognize the language...But these triangles, huh, that's weird. These animals? Is this some kind of animal sacrifice? I don't like this."
Bonnie's mood turned sour. She suddenly shut the book and stared at teh cover. What was it made of? The words 'human skin' snuck into her mind, but she dismissed that as being too outrageous. The book almost seemed to emanate evil. Bonnie pushed the book back toward Professor Shane. He stood up.
"Bonnie, it's normal to be afraid of things we don't understand. Just because some magic is different, doesn't mean it's evil. Take another look," Professor Shane prodded.
"No, I-I, um, think I need to go home," Bonnie said, also standing. The attractive African American witch checked her wrist watch pointedly. It was late and she still needed to drive Caroline and Elena home from the party they were attending. Elena had met a college boy at the hospital while candy striping. He had invited all three of them, yet Bonnie came here first. This was a mistake.
"You said your father was away on business? You have nothing to go home to," the professor said in an odd tone.
"I have to get my friends and get them home. Just tell me what it is and what you want," Bonnie demanded as she wrapped her arms around herself. Despite her sweater, she felt cold.
"It's called expression. It's a form of sacrificial magic. It's nothing to be afraid of. Didn't your grandmother ever talk to you about it?" Professor Shane inquired, peering at Bonnie with his big green eyes. They calmed Bonnie and she shook off her discomfort.
"My grandmother barely even told me I was a witch. My father wouldn't allow it. I asked you what you wanted from me," Bonnie stated, more directly.
Shane leaned against the desk, saying, "I only wanted to pass on to you some of your Gram's things. That's it. I'm sorry if I overstepped. I know you are feeling blocked and I thought this would help. But if you aren't interested in becoming more powerful..."
Bonnie sighed, "No, sorry. I just got freaked. I do want to access more of my magic. But I'm tired. Can we talk tomorrow?"
"Sure. Let me help you to your car with this box," Professor Shane offered.
Bonnie grabbed the light box of odds and ends, many of them Whitmore College items stamped with the school's logo. Other items were personal, letters, books, and framed photographs.
"No, I got this. Thanks for the stuff," Bonnie said, hastily. She grabbed her purse, the box, and made her way to the office door with her car keys in her hand.
"Are you sure? It's awfully late," Professor Shane pointed out.
"I'm a Bennett. I can still fight off a mugger," Bonnie assured the older man.
"Oh, your grandmother taught you defensive magic?" Shane wondered.
"No, but my dad, Rudy, taught me how to kick a guy in the balls and pepper spray him," Bonnie said seriously, jiggling her keys and pepper spray.
Shane raised his hands, smirking, "That's good. We'll talk soon, Bonnie Bennett."
Undisclosed Location
Kol and Damon fought off several more guards as they exited the hidden lab. Damon was fighting waves of exhaustion and memories. He knew he had been here before but it was blurry and disjointed.
"That bloke who we were running from in the pub? Your 'dead' friend? Who is he?" Kol asked.
"That was Lorenzo St. John, Enzo," Damon said. "We were both kidnapped by these pricks in the 1950s. They call themselves the Augustine Society. They hunt and torture vampires. I thought I had killed them all."
"A secret society? Bloody perfect, maybe I was safer in my coffin?" Kol muttered. They came to a steel door with a key pad.
Damon fumed, "Oh great, that thing looks solid."
Kol grinned, "Don't worry, darling. I have this."
Kol had Damon back up and kicked the door off its hinges, they saw that it lead to another hallway.
"Fuck us," Damon groaned.
They heard something behind them.
"Impressive," a slight, blond man in a lab coat said. "No one has ever made it this far."
Kol snarled, "You are messing with the wrong blokes, doctor."
Enzo was behind the man. He looked sweaty and disjointed to Damon, but it had been over 60 years still they last saw each other, aside from the bar earlier.
"Damon, this is Dr. Wes Maxfield. As you may have figured out, he's an Augustine," Enzo quipped.
"Yeah, that's obvious. Enzo, after all they did to us, why are you helping them?" Damon demanded, looking his former best friend in the eye.
"I have no choice, Damon. Plus, he offered me something I couldn't resist," Enzo began.
"What's that? A new haircut?" Kol jabbed, as he vamped to the doctor and grabbed him by the neck, ready to end the scrawny human.
Enzo shook his head, saying, "No, not quite. He offered me the chance to kill you, Damon."
Enzo vamped over to Damon and had a syringe pointed at his jugular.
"This contains a special virus that Wes made. He was going to use it on me, but I assured him that you would be the better candidate," Enzo whispered, injecting Damon with the serum. Damon gasped in shock. It had happened so fast. At first, he felt nothing.
Kol said, "Let him go or I'll kill this little human!"
Enzo smirked, "You kill him and Damon has no chance for survival...but he's my captor also. Fuck 'em. I care not."
Wes shrieked, "Enzo, I already infected you. You will die, if I die."
Damon fell to the ground, clutching the injection spot in his neck. It was starting to burn and spread throughout his body.
"What did you do to me?" Damon gasped.
"Injected you with the Ripper virus," Wes said. "But let me live and I'll make you a cure!"
Damon exhaled, letting go of his neck, begging, "Enzo, come with us. It doesn't have to be like this. I've never forgiven myself for what I did to you. Please, join us."
Enzo said wryly, "Looks like I don't have a choice. Take him with us. Maybe we will have a chance, but I doubt it. I gave up all hope the night you left me to burn, Damon Salvatore. Remember that?"
Kol grabbed the doctor and told Enzo to help Damon. The four made their way outside of the building.
"His car is there. I have the keys," Wes said, stumbling as Kol shoved him.
"At least my baby is okay," Damon said with relief as Wes tossed him the keys to his blue 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible.
"Can ya still drive?" Kol asked.
"Oh yeah, let's get back to the mansion and end this farce," Damon growled. "Wes Dickface, you better have my phone, too."
Wes quickly dug it out of his white jacket as Kol glared at him.
"Hand it over quickly. We're running low on patience," Kol warned. Kol took the phone and then tied up Wes using his newly purchased belt.
Whitmore Campus
Caroline yelled over the thumping music of the house party, "Bonnie is calling. I'm gonna take it outside. I can't hear."
Elena nodded and set down the red solo cup of watery beer that she had been sipping on. She followed Caroline out through the throng of young people, finally getting to fresh air after several minutes. Elena listened as Caroline put Bonnie on speaker.
"I think I saw Damon," Bonnie said into the phone. "He looked all messed up. He was with three other guys."
"Stefan said he was living with Klaus now," Elena added. "I'm going to try to call him."
Caroline snapped, "Are you serious, Elena? No, you two are done. You can't just call your ex."
Bonnie raised her voice over the phone, yelling, "Caroline, something is wrong. I can feel it. Let her call."
Caroline grumbled, "Bonnie, you hate Damon just as bad as I do."
Bonnie said, "Where are you guys? I'm picking you up now."
"No!" Caroline argued, flipping her blond hair. "Elena was just talking to a cute boy. You're ruining everything, Bonnie. First, you skip the party for some dumb professor and now you are-."
"Caroline, be quiet," Elena ordered. "What? Damon...What? Bonnie is picking us up. Yeah, no, I know where it is. Okay, we'll meet you there."
Elena shut her phone and looked up as Caroline told Bonnie where to pick them up.
"Bonnie, hurry up. Damon got kidnapped. He's sick," Elena said with a worried frown.
"Of course he is," Caroline snarked. "He'll do anything to get you back."
Elena undid her shirt from her waist and put it on over her skimpy tank top.
"I don't so, Caroline. He sounded different. I think Bonnie's right. Something is going on. He's still Stefan's brother and a friend. We need to try to help," Elena said bravely.
Mikaelson Mansion
Elijah examined the head carefully.
"It looks like this was severed by someone with great strength," Elijah noted. "I don't think a human did this."
Klaus could barely look.
"This is all my fault," Klaus opined. "Why did I let her leave? She was good to me, Elijah. Greta believed in me and now look at her!"
"This isn't the style of the New Orleans' covens. If they sacrificed her, they would have burned the body," Elijah observed. "This is something... else."
"I haven't trifled with those witches for decades. Who wants to hurt me? The list is still long, but no one comes to mind," Klaus said.
"The humans here tried to bury you in concrete and dump you in the ocean," Elijah asserted. "They couldn't get to you so...-"
"Humans? Greta was a talented and powerful witch. What human could tear her bloody head off!" Klaus snapped.
"The children are sleeping, Niklaus," Elijah said. "Please!"
Klaus nodded and grabbed the bottle of bourbon, pouring it into two glasses.
"You're right, of course. As always," Klaus said, handing him the glass. "Are there any clues on the body?"
Elijah grimaced, "There is one more please to look."
He took a pen and opened the mouth. Elijah had only met Greta a few times in passing after reconnecting with Klaus after their most recent estrangement. He didn't know her well, but he hated to see the pain on Klaus' face.
"Ah, hell. Greta, I will avenge you," Klaus moaned, hating the terrified expression the young witch's once beautiful face.
"There's something here," Elijah said. He carefully disengaged a piece of paper, unraveling it.
"What does it say?" Klaus asked, looking over his shoulder.
Elijah read, "'She would not help us. You are next.'"
Klaus paused, "Greta, loyal to the end...I hear Damon's car. I don't know if they should see this..."
Elijah put a reassuring hand on Klaus' shoulder.
"Brother, they need to know. If Greta was as powerful as you stated, we are in danger," Elijah confirmed.
"Aye, you are correct," Klaus said.
Kol, Damon, Enzo, and Wes came in through the front entrance.
Elijah and Klaus met them there.
"Bringing friends home?" Elijah asked wryly, surveying the scene and seeing Wes's hands secured behind his back.
Kol kicked the back of Wes' legs, knocking him to the ground.
"Hardly. This lot kidnapped us and injected Damon with something. Have a cell handy, Brother?" Kol asked.
Klaus looked at Damon, he was sweating and swaying.
"What did they do to you, Son?" Klaus asked, grabbing Damon's arms.
"I don't know," Damon said, faltering.
Enzo gulped, "Son? Your father is alive, Damon? Well, the plot thickens."
"Who might you be?" Elijah asked.
"Enzo. I was injected, too. You should probably chain us up. We've been infected with some kind of vampire virus," Enzo said, feeling a wave of heat and hunger sweep through his body.
Klaus went to Wes, growling, "Why are you still alive?"
"He's the only one who can make a cure," Kol said, pushing Klaus back.
Damon shuddered, "Bonnie is on her way with Elena and Caroline. Make sure I can't hurt them."
Klaus fished out a key, "I have cells in the basement. They are completed, but they should do for now. Let's chain them all up. Then, I will deal with you who dared to harm my son and capture my brother!"
"Hurry," Enzo said, his face darkening and his fangs popping out. "I'm feeling famished. If we feed, we trigger the virus!"
Elijah grabbed Enzo and Kol took Wes, as Klaus picked up Damon and carried him to the door to the cellar.
Kol looked into the living room.
"My God! Is that a head?" Kol exclaimed. Wes turned his head and fainted, but Kol just dragged him following the others.
Two Hours Later
Basement
Damon and Enzo were foaming at the mouth and ravenous. Damon was babbling about New York and Enzo was talking about a ship. Neither vampire was making any sense anymore as the virus coursed through them.
Elena dabbed at her eyes and said to Stefan, "I can't see him like this. Take me upstairs?"
"Of course," Stefan said, as Kol nodded that he would keep watch. Stefan walked Elena up to the living room, where the others were.
Bonnie was with Elijah, examining Greta's head.
"There has to be a connection," Bonnie said. "But I can't get a read on...the head. It's like blocked. I bet I do know someone who knows more about this: Professor Atticus Shane."
"That guy is creepy," Caroline blurted out. "He's up to something."
Klaus was pacing, "Why didn't Damon tell us about this Augustine Society?"
Stefan sat down on the couch, admitting, "He never told me. I thought he ditched me. It's funny but for once, I was the one who was late. It might have saved me a decade of torture. I think Damon feels like he deserves it. He always felt guilty about convincing me to complete my transition...and how I turned out."
Elena grabbed Stefan's hand. "Stefan, this isn't either of your faults. It's this damn society's. The Augustines...something about it is familiar to me. I just can't place it, though."
Caroline popped up as her phone buzzed.
"Um, Ty is picking me up. Sorry, guys, my mom is flipping out. I missed curfew again. Um, Elena, want a ride?" Caroline asked.
"I can explain things to your mum, Caroline," Klaus suggested. "And how is Tyler?"
"You just stay away from him," Caroline snapped. "You've done enough. I'll wait for him outside. I doubt he'd want to come in here again...He spent enough time in this house being your hybrid bitch."
"I'm going to stay here, if that's okay," Elena said. "Jenna is out with Ric and Jeremy is...I have no idea."
"That's fine," Elijah said.
Klaus looked offended at Caroline's harsh words.
"I made my amends with Tyler. He is free to come and go as he pleases," Klaus said innocently.
Elijah noticed the tension and said, "I'll walk you out, my dear. Your mother actually was here earlier this evening..."
"Maybe you can put in a good word with her," Caroline mentioned. "You never turned Tyler into a mindless slave, unlike your brother."
As they left, Stefan asked Klaus, "Is this Wes awake? Maybe I can question him?"
"He is being rather cooperative," Klaus explained. "He said he needs back in his lab to make the antidote. I tried to compel him, but he is filled with vervain or some other substance. That usually leaves the system in a few days."
"I'm not sure we have that much time," Stefan said. "Damon is going wild down there with hungry. I'm afraid I know the feeling. It is hell."
Klaus stood, "I'll speak with him. Maybe I can compel him to at least sleep. Thank you all for coming. Bonnie, do you think there is a spell you come do?"
Bonnie looked up from her efforts to ascertain what happened to this witch.
"Um, sure. It's just if it's a chemical substance, I'm not sure how helpful my magic will be. Professor Shane showed me a book tonight with spells doing sacrifice magic. Things with snakes and triangles," Bonnie recalled. "The grimoire he handed me gave me a cold feeling, it was like death."
Bonnie shuddered again and bit her lip.
Klaus lifted the head and put it back in the box in case the younger children came down. He excused himself and went to put it in Elijah's study. Maybe there were benefits to his brother having an office downstairs, he thought to himself.
Elena broke away from Stefan and went to hug her.
"Sorry, Bon. We never should have let you go with that asshole," Elena apologized. Her cell phone rang.
Bonnie sniffed, "I'm okay, Elena. You better get that."
Elena answered, "Ric? Hey, no, I'm fine. I'm at the Mikaelsons'...Here? No, I'm okay...Really? Okay, yeah, fine."
Elena hung up and looked anxious.
"Ric is coming to pick me up. He sounded pretty pissed," Elena shared.
Stefan walked over, saying, "We'll stay here with Damon. You go. I don't want you having problems with the family over this. Go home, get some sleep. I'll call if anything changes."
"But I want to stay!" Elena fired back.
Stefan looked around. "Would you excuse us?"
Stefan took Elena by the arm and escorted her to the front entrance.
"Elena, there is a severed head on the coffee table. Damon and this Enzo guy are infected with some Ripper virus. It's not safe here. Ric is right to be concerned," Stefan lectured.
"I am a big girl, Stefan. I can take care of myself," Elena fumed.
Stefan let a smile slip through, saying, "Yeah, you can, but I need to focus on Damon. Let me call you tomorrow, okay?"
Elena glared at him. "Fine, but I'm only going because I want to, not because you are telling me, too."
"Of course," Stefan conceded. "I wouldn't dream of it any other way."
Gilbert House
"Thanks for picking me up, Ric," Elena said, yawning, as she walked through the threshold of her house.
"Yeah, well, I don't want you wrapped up in anymore Mikaelson drama. After what Klaus did to Tyler, I just don't trust him," Ric confessed. "Any of them."
"You are just prejudiced against vampires," Elena smirked.
"Yeah, maybe, but I have my reasons," Ric stated. "Now, go to bed. It's late. I'll look in on Damon tomorrow."
"Night," Elena said, giving Ric a peck on the cheek.
"As long as you don't stake him," Elena called down, as she climbed the stairs.
Ric smiled but didn't answer. He trusted Stefan, but Damon was much more shady. He knew Elena was only his student and his girlfriend's niece, but he cared about her and her friends. Klaus had vowed that Elena was now under his "protection", but Ric didn't trust the guy as far as he could throw him. He didn't want to see anyone else get hurt by the Mikaelsons.
Ric went and got a beer, turned on the t.v. and settled on the couch. Jenna padded down a moment later.
"Ric, Jeremy's not in his bed. I told him he was grounded," Jenna complained, wrapping her robe around her.
Ric sighed, "Did you try his cell?"
"Yes, he's not answering," Jenna worried. "That kid is going to be the death of me! It's almost one."
Ric set down the beer he had just cracked open.
"I bet he's with Vicki Donovan again," Ric said wearily. "If he's at that graveyard with those druggies, I'm going to bust his ass."
"This time, I'm not going to stop you. He's going to get himself killed. He's only 15 years old," Jenna said.
"You go back to bed, honey. I'll go," Ric said.
"I can't sleep. I'll make a pot of coffee," Jenna said, coming into the living room. "He did the thing where he stuck pillows under his covers to make it look like he was sleeping. He must have gone out the window!"
Ric grinned, "He must have picked that trick up from his favorite aunt!"
Jenna grimaced, "I never should have told the kids about my sordid past. Go find him, Ric. Bring him home."
Ric got up and embraced Jenna. "I will, hon. But this is the last time that kid pulls this shit on my watch."
Jenna leaned her head on Ric's chest. "Just do what you need to do to bring him in line. I'm worried sick."
VOTING NOW IN SESSION:
**In comments, let me know what should happen to Jeremy.
Should Jeremy share with Ric that Elena was out drinking, too?
*Should Wes die or be disciplined and join the family?
