Immortal Diaries
Chapter 8
AN: Hello all welcome back. It's been quite a while since my last update I know so thanks for your patience with me. Now then as always first and foremost thanks to everyone who reviewed and those who would PM and ask about status updates for this project. I'm pleased to inform you that I am now in a new job, have been since April one that leaves me with more time to myself and as such more time to work on my stories. As such be on the look out for more often updates to this and other stories going forward.
Now then this chapter is a bit longer than usual and that's because this is the last chapter of season one of the series. Because of this I gave a bit more detail to some things than I usually would. I'm already making some mental notes for things I could do with the next part of the story including a couple of spin-off series that I could do a bit down the line. While I won't say much about that I do lay some seeds with this chapter. With that said here's the new chapter.
Start Now:
It was a beautiful night. From his position of his penthouse balcony and under the light of the full moon Niklaus Mikaelson took in the sights and sounds of the city he called home. Las Vegas, Nevada; known as the gambling and entertainment capital of the world and Sin City with a population of over 583,700 people and still growing. It had been almost a century since he'd come here and in that time under his hand the city had grown and flourished. He had come here and his vision that he'd had for New Orleans had been realized on an even grander scale than he had even imagined and he was King.
"So this is where you have been all this time." Came a new voice breaking him from his observation.
Turning towards the voice he found himself looking upon a man who stood at 5'11" in height possessing a thin, yet muscular body. He possessed short cut brown hair to go with his hazel brown eyes and appeared to be perhaps in his mid-twenties. He stood well dressed in a black dress suit with a white shirt, a slim neck tie and a pair of black leather oxfords.
"Elijah, it has been some time." Said Niklaus moving away from the balcony.
"Indeed, though I must admit I was surprised by your invitation." Stated the newly named Elijah.
"My last project was something I felt I needed to do on my own. The artist in me needed to be free to design without worry or distraction." Said Niklaus motioning the man to follow him.
"I see. Then for what purpose would you call me now?" questioned Elijah following Niklaus as he left the main room.
"Patience dear brother there is much to discuss; however it is not a discussion meant for just you and I."
For several minutes after this they walked in a companionable silence with Elijah taking in the design of the penthouse. Finally they stopped in front of a hallway wall on the second floor of the penthouse. He watched silently as Niklaus lifted the frame of a picture before pressing his hand to the spot causing the wall before them to open inwards. Following him inside Elijah found himself within a well-lit room with three half closed caskets resting inside. In the center of the room rested a table upon which a metal bucket rested and a closer inspection revealed it full of ice and blood bags.
The figures within the caskets were some he was intimately familiar with. In the center was a young woman with pale blonde hair he knew she stood 5'7 and had blue eyes behind her closed eye lids. On her right was a young man who appeared to be about 18 at just the cusp of adulthood. Like Elijah he had brown hair though his eyes were also brown and he knew that the young man stood at 6'1". Finally on the left was a man who appeared older than Elijah by a few years definitely in his late twenties. Like Elijah he also has brown hair and hazel eyes though his with a green tint to it. The most stunning thing about their appearances aside from the grey skin were the daggers embedded in their chests. While Elijah was taking this all in Niklaus made a quick lap around the room easily removing the daggers and placing them on the table before removing three blood bags from the bucket.
"You know over the last eight decades of isolation I have had much time to think things over. Eight decades; the blink of an eye to those like us but living though it unbothered by Mikael was quite liberating. I was free to paint to my heart's content, free to build what I liked without fear of it burning down around me and once more being forced to flee. Over time I'd thought about waking them, especially Rebekah but I could never quite bring myself to. There was still much to be done and Rebekah much like me yearns for freedom as does Kol and I would bet even Finn to some extent." Said Niklaus as he walked around calmly opening the blood bags and putting it to the mouth of each coffins occupant's.
"Unfortunately unlike you Rebekah and Kol have not yet learned patience. I would hand Rebekah the world for the asking and Kol has not yet learned to rein himself in while having fun. Then there is dear Finn who while not as fun I feared would be an even bigger threat if awakened. If for no other reason than he hates what we are, I feared he would even team with Mikael if it meant freedom from what he views as a curse.
Regrettably while it meant they would have to stay here it also meant our creations were free to run around unguided. They need leaders and I cannot do so. I may be an original but I'm the original hybrid, and I cannot lead the lines. That is where you all will come in, it is time for you to take the children in hand." Explained Niklaus returning back to the center of the room and leaning against the table.
"A nice sentiment but you and I both know it is one doomed to failure. Aside from that what's to stop you from daggering one of us whenever we disagree with you again?" Stated Elijah quickly following up with a question.
"It's simple, soon enough those daggers will no longer work. Even the white oak stake would not kill us permanently." Said Niklaus enjoying the shock he read from the widening of his brothers eyes.
"You'd really give up such a thing as control over us?" questioned a new voice.
Turning towards the right they were just in time to see they younger man move to sit up in his coffin whom Niklaus tossed another blood bag which was easily caught.
"To be honest I'd happily be rid of them. As you have been here so have I. My work office is on the floor right under this apartment. I have literally not gone anywhere since the three of you were moved here." Explained Niklaus.
"And how is it you can accomplish this feat?" questioned the young woman also sitting up from her own coffin.
"Do you remember my mentor Naruto?" questioned Niklaus.
"Nik the guys pretty hard to forget even if I've been asleep for some time." Stated the young man.
"Naruto is an immortal, though a higher level existence than our own. Technically speaking he is classified as a God. Anyway one of his sons is a different breed of vampire unaffected by the white oak. Naruto has come up with a way to combine the lines. This would give us a boost in the physical department and limit our weakness to the white oak. This would also in turn give them our magical abilities." Explained Niklaus.
"Nik we don't have magic, trust me I would know." Stated the young man somewhat bitterly.
"Well it turns out we still have access to some magic. Compulsion, dream manipulation, illusions it's part of what he calls mind magic. The rest of our magic is tied up in maintaining our youth and physical abilities. The theory is should this work it could give us a bit more access to magic." Explained Niklaus.
"I could have my magic back?" questioned the eldest man in the room.
"Not sure yet it's still just a theory at this point. Before we get into any of that there are more important discussions that need to be had. You Finn will tell us what you know about someone named Freya. You Elijah will tell me the truth regarding Aurora. We will all bare our souls this day. No more games, no more deceptions this family feud ends today."
Meanwhile in Mystic Falls another figure was also peering upon his surroundings from a balcony. It had only been a few days since the Founder's party and Naruto could tell that things were coming to a head. From what he gathered from the clone squad he had guarding the tomb vampires it looked as if they were close to recovery after the beating they'd taken at the hands of Utakata. Considering that a few of them had robbed the hospital's blood bank just a few minutes ago he knew that their recovery would be completed soon.
At the same time he knew that with John Gilbert still in town the founder's council would still be up in arms about vampires. No doubt a meeting would be called in the morning because of this latest action but that didn't really bother him as he could use that to his advantage.
In fact to be perfectly honest he was actually putting in more though to the meeting between the Mikaelson's and the Corvinus vampire leaders. According to the reports he'd received Marcus, William, Michael, Selene and Amelia had gone home and immediately but brakes to everything. William and Michael had rather easily taken control of the Lycan den while Marcus and Amelia had returned as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
From what he'd learned the only difference now was that it was now Selene in the position of Regent. More importantly his mind was with the scientist working on the formula that would bond the two bloodlines together. From what he'd read the last few tests had gone pretty well as with the addition of a small bit of pure Corvinus blood the two distinct strains were able to combine into one more powerful strain. His thoughts on the matter were cut off as his phone began ringing.
"Hello." Answered the blond before a frown covered his face.
"There's a safe house at 1643 west 36th place. When's the funeral?" answered and questioned the blond only for his frown to become more pronounced.
"Okay I'll be there. Listen the feds are going to be crawling all over that place looking for you so be careful."
"Hey you do what you got to do. Just don't hesitate to call if you need something alright. Later Dom."
As he hung the phone up a pair of arms snaked themselves around his waist and he felt a head leaning into his back.
"Did I wake you?" questioned the blond.
"No, I couldn't sleep. I'm not sure I can deal with those two yet." Said Bonnie.
Frowning himself Naruto turned so that his arms were wrapped around her and she could rest her head on his chest.
"What you're feeling right now is a natural part of the stages of grief. Anger is a natural part of the grieving process and Stefan and Elena are more than a little deserving. When he learned the two of you were losing your grip on the spell Stefan panicked and ran inside thus trapping himself. When this happened Elena panicked and begged and pleaded until the two of you reopened the cave. Now looking back on it what would you have done differently?"
"I'd have left them both down there until she was ready to get them out." Said Bonnie.
"Exactly. Take this as a lesson never over stress yourself unnecessarily. Though you have some power at your disposal you still run the risk of harming yourself by overdoing it."
With that Naruto led her away from the balcony and back to the bed. It took a few moments but eventually they settled with Naruto wrapping his arm over her side and Bonnie sighing in contentment at the security she felt in the position. Once they were settled Naruto unknown to Bonnie ran through a quick series of one handed seals before sleep overtook her. That done the blond allowed his own eyes to close breathing in her scent before slowly sleep took hold of him as well.
The next morning the two were up bright and early as they set about returning to their regular schedules. For Bonnie this meant returning to school which she'd taken some time away from. After a quick shower which they each had to take separately for fear they wouldn't leave it the duo had quickly gone about preparing for the day. Though they hadn't planned it the two dressed matching each other with Bonnie wearing a blue skirt and a black shirt to match Naruto's blue jeans and black shirt. The only difference between the two was that Naruto's had a large skull logo on the front the logo of the comic book character known as the Punisher.
"Do you have any plans for later today?" questioned Naruto as they pulled into the schools parking lot.
"No, not that I can think of."
"Ok there's some people I want you to meet while they're in town. I'll call and set up the meet and we'll go after we get out." Said Naruto.
"Alright. I'll see you in class I have to go see Turner and get my new schedule." Said Bonnie leaning over and giving him a quick kiss before hopping out of the car.
A little further in the parking lot Stefan had just climbed out of his own car when he was met by Elena.
"Nice car."
"Well I thought it was a waste to leave it sitting in the garage." Replied the vampire before giving her a kiss.
"I didn't know you were coming back today."
"Well I woke up this morning and I was feeling great and decided it was time for me to get outside." Said the Salvatore.
"So you're okay right, no cravings?"
"Well the worst part is over with. As for cravings they never go away completely, comes with the territory. However now it's easier to manage and I figure now I could spend as much time with you as possible."
"I'm okay with that." Said Elena giving him another kiss
"So how are things with you?" questioned Stefan wrapping his arm around her waist as they began the walk towards the buildings.
"Still pretty much the same. Bonnie and Matt are pretty much ignoring me for the time being. Jeremy is speaking to me now, if barely."
"Well at least there's a slight improvement." Said Stefan with a frown.
"I talked to Naruto yesterday though." Said Elena causing Stefan to give her a questioning look.
"We had a good talk. He says I need to start thinking rationally though. I hate to admit it but he's right it's pretty much my fault Sheila's gone." Said Elena.
"I got the same speech. According to Cordy though he's being tough so we don't make even bigger mistakes like he did when he was younger."
"She told you something." Said Elena looking at him with wide eyes.
"Nope. His original life is a mystery to her too. She says she prefers it that way though as there are no spoilers." Said Stefan.
"Damn it."
Meanwhile Damon found himself once more within the Founder's Hall preparing for yet another meeting. However he was currently in a private meeting with the Sheriff who had pulled him over to the side.
"There was a disturbance at the hospital blood bank last night; some of the supply was compromised."
"You mean stolen." Said Damon with a sigh.
"We almost missed it. The inventory records were altered but when the night manager was questioned he had no recollection of changing them." Explained the Sherriff.
"Meaning the vampire who stole the blood used mind control to hide the theft." Stated John Gilbert making his way over with a drink in hand.
"I know what she meant." Stated Damon barely keeping his irritation from his voice.
"We wouldn't have noticed had John not alerted us to recent discrepancies in other hospital blood banks in the county." Continued the woman.
"How lucky for us, we have John." Said Damon with false cheer.
"We're stepping up security at the hospital, giving the guard vervain to prevent this from happening again." Said the Sherriff.
"Sheriff, may I offer a suggestion? Why don't Damon and I put our heads together? We can track down whoever is doing this." Said John.
"Truthfully I can use the extra hands. Is that something you would be willing to do?" questioned the woman.
"We already know who's doing it." Said Damon shocking both of them.
"What?" questioned John.
"The battle of Willow Creek. In September of 1864 during the midst of the battle the council at the time led by your namesake Johnathan Gilbert captured and detained a group of vampires within Fell's church and burned it to the ground. The fire was used as a cover instead they approached a witch who in return for the protection of her family agreed to seal the vampires inside thus creating a tomb. The spell used would ensure as long as there was a matriarch around the tomb would remain sealed. Unfortunately the last matriarch recently passed away with no successor. The tomb was opened and the vampires escaped."
"How do you know this?" questioned John with a frown.
"The deal was made by Giuseppe Salvatore." Said Damon.
"How many vampires?" questioned the Sherriff.
"At least two dozen according to what I was told."
"Told?" questioned John.
"Zach has the journals I talked to him a few days ago. I just didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure." Said Damon.
"And you know for sure?" questioned the Sherriff.
"Not one hundred percent about the number. I was going to ask you to look into the tomb actually. I don't particularly want to go in there on my own and you have the manpower." Said Damon.
"Yeah, I'll put a team together to check it out."
Later in the day found Elena and Bonnie standing in a darkened room. Of course while both of them had known of the room's existence neither of them had even ventured inside before and both thought it was a little weird they were in there together.
"You hurt me." Said Bonnie breaking the silence that had descended on them.
"I know, I never thought something like that would happen, or even could happen for that matter."
"Elena I love you like a sister, but we will never have this conversation again. Wise up because if something like this ever happens again because of your selfishness you and me, we're done." Said Bonnie causing Elena's eyes to widen.
"Our families go back over a thousand years. Your ancestor was once a friend to mine and eventually we always meet back up. Bennett and Petrova or whatever name we go by then. Don't ruin things between us."
For a moment Elena was stunned before Bonnie opened her arms and Elena stepped in to a hug. They held each other tightly and after a few moments stepped outside where Caroline was waiting and all three walked off with arms linked.
"So what did it look like in there?" questioned Caroline as they walked.
"It was dark." Said Elena.
"Seemed a bit cramped too. There was junk all over the place." Said Bonnie.
"Maybe I'll take Matt down there one day." Mused Caroline.
"Can't you keep that in the bedroom." Said Elena with a sigh.
"Well you have to spice things up sometimes." Defended Caroline.
Later in the day found Naruto, Bonnie and Caroline moving down the streets of Virginia Beach. What had started out as just a trip for Bonnie and himself had ended up adding Caroline as both she and Bonnie needed to go dress shopping for the Founder's Court. During which they would be deciding who would become the next Miss Mystic Falls. Bonnie had promised Caroline to go dress shopping before everything had happened with her grandmother's passing and Caroline hadn't wanted to say anything due to said event. Now however as they were coming to the deadline Naruto had relented to allowing Caroline to tagging along with them.
"Okay here we are. Before we go in make sure your phones are on silent or turn them off. Also when we get inside keep your voices down as there are a bunch of people working in here." Said Naruto taking his own advice and quickly switching his phone to silent.
Seeing the girls ready Naruto hit the buzzer before looking up at the camera above the door. A moment later a buzz was heard as the door was opened and the blond allowed the girls through before following and closing the door behind them. The girls followed him as he walked the halls nodding to the guard as he passed by him until eventually they came to a dead-end hall with only a single door in the center. Moving towards the door Naruto held it open allowing both girls to precede him inside.
As they entered they were assaulted by a wave of music however it was the people sitting out bobbing their heads that caused both girls to go speechless.
"Timbo!" called Naruto as he entered causing the man to look up.
As the man looked up Bonnie's guess was proven true as the man revealed himself to be none other than super producer Timbaland. Upon seeing him the legendary musician got up and actually gave Naruto a bro hug before the two stepped away from each other. The other person was a woman who both girls recognized as none other than Missy Elliot who Naruto proceeded to pull into a hug before releasing her.
"Sup bro, when'd you get back in town?" questioned Timbaland.
"Been a couple of months now. I've just been taking the time to relax mostly." Answered Naruto getting an understanding nod from the man.
"Anyway introductions, this is my girl Bonnie and this is Caroline." Said Naruto motioning to each of them.
"Bonnie, she's the one with the golden voice you told me about?" questioned Missy looking at Bonnie.
"Yup, I figured I'd bring her to you guys and let you check her out." Said Naruto causing Bonnie's eyes to widen in shock.
"You're a Bennett witch aren't you?" questioned Missy.
"How'd you know?" questioned Bonnie taking a half step back.
"You've got the features of the Bennett line that and your grandmother was quite proud of you. My condolences by the way I really liked her."
"How'd you know about witches?" questioned Caroline.
"Well both Timmy and I come from old magic lines ourselves, not as old as the Bennett line but our families have been around. We just prefer music over magic for the most part." Explained Missy.
They ended up sticking around for a little over an hour. During which times the girls learned that Naruto was a very popular song writer who had written for artist at the very elite levels. Apparently he had written for Usher, Destiny's Child, Beyoncé as a single artist, Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown just to name a few. By the time their visit ended however Timbaland was very interested and Bonnie to the point where he wanted to sign her to a development deal.
By eight o'clock that evening Elijah Mikaelson found himself standing outside of an apartment complex in Brooklyn, New York. Before he could wonder too much on why he was there a rather familiar figure came out of the building and stepped up to him.
"Elijah it's been some time." Stated Naruto in his adult form.
"Indeed it has. I must admit I was rather intrigued by this particular invitation however." Said Elijah following Naruto as he turned and motioned him into the building.
"Yes well as you were always the most level headed of the bunch I decided you were the one that would have to be here tonight."
Elijah said nothing following this admission and instead followed Naruto as he headed down to the basement raising an eyebrow as the blond placed his hand against the wall to reveal an elevator. As they got off of the elevator the two found themselves within a non-descript hallway with simple white walls and a grey marble floor.
"Ah Lord Naruto just in time."
"Lilah, thank you for joining us." Stated Naruto.
"Sir after all you've done for me this is the least I could do." Said the newly named Lilah.
"Elijah, this lovely young woman is one of our lawyers Lilah Morgan. She will be acting as mediator today."
Elijah took a moment to look over the woman. She stood in business attire consisting of black pants and a purple top that had a fairly deep neckline exposing just a hint of cleavage. On her feet she wore a pair of black heels that were perhaps three inches in length which would put her around 5'7 height wise. True to Naruto's word she really was quite the looker with brown hair that fell just past her shoulders and deep brown eyes that were quite captivating.
"Mr. Mikaelson as Lord Naruto has just stated I will be acting as mediator today as from this point forward I will be taking over all legal duties concerning the Mikaelson's as a family as well as the legal affairs of the Corvinus family. However before that I will be flying out to meet with the rest of your family so that we can iron out all of the details." Stated Lilah.
"You're human, curious." Stated Elijah.
"That I am. However before you get any ideas you should know that I have danced with players much bigger, scarier and far more powerful than the members of your family." Stated Lilah.
"She's not kidding there. I stole her from one of the biggest law firms on the planet who did business with serious players. I'm talking guys who could bring on an apocalypse level of power. A lot of those players she really helped out over the years so you don't want to be getting on her bad side." Said Naruto.
"I meant no threat however it is curious to me that a human would deal knowingly with vampires." Stated Elijah.
"That sentiment there shows that you haven't stepped into the big leagues yet. A word of advice there are plenty of humans who know about the supernatural. My last law firm was all about dealing with them from witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and demons of all kinds. The fact you don't know about it means the firm still hasn't seen enough to approach you." Stated Lilah.
"You can fill him in later, let's get down to business shall we." Stated Naruto.
"Very well this way please gentlemen." Said Lilah.
The two followed her down that hall for about three feet where she placed her hand on a wall causing part of it to slide upwards revealing a doorway. As she motioned them to enter the two did so before she followed them inside. Seated already they were greeted by two more people already in attendance. One was a man with long red hair and blue eyes who stood wearing black slacks and a collarless dress shirt. The other was a woman with black hair and dark eyes who was clad in a deep red dress.
"Lord Marcus, Lady Amelia this is Elijah Mikaelson who will be representing the Mikaelson family." Stated Lilah as she took a seat at the head of the table putting her between the groups.
"Lord Naruto is here as a witness only. As such by his very presence should all terms be agreed upon with the addition of your signatures everything becomes binding. Violation of the terms of this agreement will cause immediate and harsh reprisal for the violating party."
Seeing she had the understanding of all three she placed her briefcase on the table and from within drew forth two folders handing one to Elijah and one to Marcus. For several minutes the two men were silent as they set about reading the contents of their respective folders.
"Lilah, I'm confused. This bit about property it was my understanding that vampires could not own any without the wards that create the barrier failing."
"Ah yes that's a new discovery. As it turns out a Corvinus vampire isn't dead. Marcus as the first of his kind was bitten by a bat which turned him due to the special properties of his blood. Considering he never died he can own property and the barrier would stay in place. Once everything is settled and you take the formula you will be revived working organs and everything and thus would become a living vampire." Explained Naruto.
"Wait so they're not demons?" questioned Lilah in curiosity.
"No. The Mikaelson vampires were created by magic and thus it is magic that is sustaining them. As for the Corvinus vampires the proper term for them I am told is biologically immortal transgenics. Their bodies aren't inhabited by demons nor are they sustained by magic. Instead their genetic structure was altered due to the mutated virus contained in Marcus's blood." Explained Naruto
"So say we agree to this and merge our bloodlines, what exactly will happen?" questioned Amelia.
"Well we ran some test on vampires from both bloodlines. After the serum was applied the Corvinus vampires developed the mind magic abilities of the Mikaelson's. On the other hand the Mikaelson vampires developed physical changes. Increased physical abilities and their organs returned to a functional state. For the basic serum we thought it was pretty good." Said the blond
"Basic, as in more than one?" questioned Elijah.
"Indeed. You see while the serum may have been good it didn't do everything. I needed something that would put all of you on the same level as Marcus. This second serum does that giving you all of the perks that Marcus enjoys. This serum will basically work giving you boost to match your age. As for Amelia and Marcus I needed something that would put them on the same footing as you.
This was accomplished by tweaking the immortality spell that was applied to their serum. It will have similar effects for them as yours will for you with all the perks as well including creating a sire bond with each person that they have sired until now and each one they sire going forward.
"However as Marcus is my son there were some other things needed as well. As such the serum will unlock parts of him that had until now remained dormant. To give you equal footing I altered your serums just slightly so that you could receive that as well. Because of that I'll have to have someone come and teach you to use those abilities." Explained the blond.
Meanwhile at the Gilbert house could be found within the kitchen phone in one hand as she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and closed the door.
" I'm sorry for the short notice. I didn't even remember that the contest was coming up much less that I would be in it."
"Its fine, I'll be happy to escort you anyway." Came Stefan's voice over the phone.
"My mom was really into this Founders' day stuff. She was even Miss Mystic in her day. I kind of want to do it for her." Explained the girl
"It'll be great, we'll have fun." Responded Stefan causing her to smile.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, I love you."
"I love you too." Came the immediate reply before Elena let the call end.
"Well, well, well and here I thought you were sad before." Came a voice causing Stefan to frown as he hung up the phone.
"What do want Damon." Said the teen an exasperated sigh escaping him.
"Oh I don't want anything. I was just passing by when I stumbled across your latest sad attempt to ignore reality." Stated Damon leaning casually against the doorway.
"Really?" questioned Stefan the sarcastic tone of his voice not going missed by Damon.
"One hundred and sixty nine years you've been walking this Earth and you still don't see it. Love is a lie Stefan. It is a cosmic joke played on the gullible and the weak. People are selfish creatures I thought by now you would have figured it out." Said Damon.
As he finished he pushed off the doorframe and left the room while Stefan could only shake his head at his brother. Katherine had really done a number on him that he had come to this point. If there was only one thing to take away from the one hundred plus years that he had walked this earth it was that without love there was no reason to do so. However right now Damon was still hurting frOM Katherine's betrayal of him, he would give him time and perhaps one day they would have this conversation again.
The next morning the Salvatore house had the rather unwelcome fortune of receiving a visit from John Gilbert. As he opened the door Damon found himself rubbing the bridge of his nose at the sight of the man. John meanwhile raised an eyebrow finding Damon to be from all appearances covered in sweat apparently from a workout.
"What do want John?" questioned Damon in no mood at the moment for the man's antics closing his door after the man casually walked inside.
"You haven't returned any of my calls." Stated John.
"Most people take that as a hint." Stated Damon
"Where do we start looking for vampires?"
"How do you act John? You obviously don't care about catching vampires, you're here talking to me."
The fact that John knew that he was a vampire was something of a sore point with Damon. In fact John had revealed his hand and told Damon he knew so at the Founder's Ball. John had been rather blunt and heavy handed after his conversation with Naruto and as such Damon already in a bad mood had made his displeasure known by killing the man. Unfortunately the man had pulled an Alaric and risen from the dead as if nothing had happened. An action which he now knew was due to a ring he now wore on his finger.
"Actually, I care very much." Stated John.
"What's Isobel say about that? I mean, considering that she is one."
The man's relationship with Isobel was something he had let slip when they had begun this little game they were currently playing.
"Isobel and I share a mutual interest. The original Jonathan Gilbert has an invention that was stolen by a vampire. That vampire was then burned alive in Fell's church, or so Jonathan thought and the invention was lost forever. But then the vampires got out of the tomb which means the invention is retrievable." Stated John.
"What is it?"
"The only thing that matters is that I want it back and you're going to help me if you want your secret safe." Stated John smiling pleasantly despite his words.
"Why bring me into it John? I mean, I don't know what you are talking about much less who has it."
"Oh come on Damon! You were around back then, you know who these people are, what they look like. He was friendly with a woman who turned out to be a vampire. Her name was Pearl. Does that ring a bell?
After these words there was a long pause in conversation the two men staring each other in the eye before Damon's facial expression once covered with slight amusement turned serious causing John's expression to shift as well.
"I'm not playing anymore. Get out. Get out." Stated Damon turning and motioning towards the door.
"I beg your pardon?" stated John surprised.
"You know, I only entertain this whole blackmail scheme thing of yours because I thought that you and Isobel could lead me to Katherine but see, now I know you've no idea where Katherine is. Because if you did you would know that Katherine and Pearl were best friends. The fact that you just said that tells me you don't know everything or even have much of a clue do you John?"
"I'll tell the entire council what you are." Stated John taking a few steps forward.
"Go for it! I'll kill every last one of them. Then I'll sever your hand, pull your ring off, and I'll kill you too. Do you understand that?" stated Damon taking his own steps forward until he was right in the man's face showing just how serious he was.
Once the man was gone Damon sighed before removing his phone from his pocket and calling Naruto, he would need to learn about their latest hiccup.
"So according to Naruto you've got a good grasp on a few things but no grasp at all on others. That's not so bad you're in a better position than I was when I started and younger to boot so that will definitely help." Stated a woman as she sat in a chair across from Bonnie.
The two of them were currently seated within the living room of the house that Bonnie had inherited from her grams. Initially Bonnie hadn't wanted to set foot in there but Naruto had managed to convince her that for these purposes it would be worth it.
The woman stood at 5'3" with dark brown hair that fell down to her shoulders and deep green eyes. She had tanned skin though she wouldn't be mistaken for anything but white. However it was the power that this woman exuded that really caught the attention if one could feel it, the woman was clearly a very powerful witch, one who went by the name of Prudence 'Prue' Halliwell.
Unknown to Bonnie however they weren't the only once there for his lesson as the presence of this legendary witch had many departed members of the Bennet family watching them from the other side. Apparently Prue was once part of the legendary Charmed Ones a group of sister witches and the eldest of the sisters. However about three years into their stint Prue had been killed. However unbeknownst to anyone at the time Prue had been saved by Naruto and taken to his home where he had explained the situation to her.
Apparently the Angels of Destiny had decided that she wasn't meant to be the leader of the Charmed Ones, she was meant to teach them to be strong. Once she had accomplished her task she was supposed to be killed. Naruto however had taken exception and stepped in on her behalf and simply removed her from the board of play. Deciding to stay with him in his realm she had eventually been apprenticed under his wife Hinata who would teach her much about magic.
Eventually she too would fall in love with Naruto and with Hinata's consent had mothered three kits of her own in the process becoming a hybrid half witch and half kitsune. Basically she was for all intents and purposes another of his wives. The fact that this remarkable witch had consented to stepping in and training her for the time being spoke quite a bit.
"So I know you recently begun training under your grams. However the magic your family knows is incomplete. You see your family has been around for a long time and is what is known as a Traveler family. Now the traveler's while quite powerful have missed a lot when it came to Magic's evolutions over time. While the only witches powerful enough to override traveler magic would be my younger sisters working together the travelers have missed other important facets of magic." Explained Prue shocking not only Bonnie but all of the ghosts currently watching their session.
"Because of this I want to start off at the beginning. Now then Magic, also referred as the Craft and the Occult, is a supernatural energy that originated from The All and can alter the fabric of reality and defy the laws of nature. Being a mere act of manipulating reality, magic is amoral though its users can be split into either the Good, Evil and Neutral categories. That is the textbook definition of magic. In true magic is the pure spiritual energy of both oneself and the planet. As you know one who is born with and practices magic is usually called a "witch". However, aside from witches, there are many other magical beings that exist such as demons, warlocks and whitelighters. We'll cover all of them in more depth later down the line. Now what are the three essentials of magic?" lectured Prue finishing with a question.
"I've actually never heard that phrase before." Stated Bonnie frowning.
"Not surprising like I said earlier your family; like many traveler families missed a lot of magic's evolution, even after you deserted them. Anyway the Three Essentials of Magic are as follows, Timing, Feeling and Phases of the Moon."
"Uzumaki Hinata created magic and championed so that magic would take up the void left by the loss of chakra. It is because of Hinata that the Phases of the Moon are so entwined with magic." Explained Prue.
"Now then I know you've been mostly focused on the usage of magic so that you could learn control of your active power. However while having an active power is all well and good a truly powerful which is one who has mastered the basics which include potion and spell creation. Now my sister Piper is a renowned Potions Mistress as far as our society goes while my sister Phoebe is a master of spell creation.
This stems from Piper's love of cooking and Phoebe's gift of creativity. I was always more of the muscle of the group, my active power were stronger and the spells I used had greater effect. Now my youngest sister Paige she has her own special skill but she's no slouch when it comes to potions or spell creation from what I'm told and considering she was taught by Piper and Phoebe I believe it."
"Now then most witches believe that spells have to be done in Latin or other old languages. However this is a false belief, neither I nor my sister started out with spells outside of the English language. This brings up the second essential Feeling. Magic is about intent, you have to want something to happen, the language used is simply a tool used to aid in bringing your desires to life."
By this point in the lecture all those present were listening to Prue's lesson with rapt attention and none would notice the passage of time as they listened and learned, with many like Bonnie actually taking notes.
Time moved on and before most realized it the day for the judging of who would become the next Miss Mystic Falls was upon them. Elena and Caroline along with several others had been made to attend several classes including dancing and etiquette lessons. Elena and Jenna had been driven to the even by Alaric surprising John who had thought that he would be the one driving, the he had ended up taking Jeremy. Alaric had cleaned up quite nicely in his black suit and though both were still unsure as to their own relationship Alaric and Elena were clearly growing closer.
Jenna actually thought it was a good thing as Elena needed a father figure and Alaric whether he had known or not had become her stepfather the moment he married her mother. At the moment Elena could be found getting ready for the event which was taking place at Founder's Hall. At the moment Elena could be found sitting in front of her aunt as the woman set a curling iron to her hair.
"Thanks for helping me." Said Elena as she sat looking in the mirror and doing her make-up.
"Don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't gonna burn off." Retorted the aunt having never been one for doing hair.
"You know I remember when my mom and I were first applying for this, she was so excited." Stated Elena sitting her make-up brush down
"So were you if I recall." Said Jenna sitting down the iron.
"I was. She just made it sound like so much fun. A lot has changed since then."
"Well I hate to break it to you, but it's a little late for cold feet."
"I don't have cold feet. I just...I think I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here."
"Well I can tell you one thing' your hair would have a better chance if she was."
"Okay, I should go put my dress on. Be careful with that thing, don't hurt anybody."
With that said Elena stood and left to get dressed, neither of the two seeing Caroline looking sad as she sat alone in front of her own mirror.
"Well you look miserable." Said John as he approached Jeremy outside the venue causing said teen to chuckle.
"Are there really a whole month of these events that I'm supposed to show up at?" questioned the teen.
"You could fight it if you want but it's part of being a Gilbert."
"Yeah, you mentioned you know a lot about the family. You know anything about our ancestor Jonathan Gilbert?"
"Prolific writer, crazy inventor. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I read his journal."
"Is that right?" questioned John now very interested.
"Yeah, I actually found it in all dads' stuff."
"Well, that's surprising. Most of them are locked away." Said John
"There are more of them?"
"Jonathan Gilbert journaled his whole life. Right down to the bitter, insane, drunken end. He had a lot of demons."
"And did you read them?"
"I've browsed, yeah."
"What did you think about what he wrote?" questioned Jeremy causing his uncle to sigh.
"I knew we'd be having this conversation soon. I just didn't think you were in that deep that it was a rush." Stated John surprising Jeremy.
"Look there's a lot that you, Elena, Jenna, and I need to discuss. What I can say now is that a lot of stuff that was written in those journals are based in fact. However that's the most I'll say here, we'll discuss everything tonight once I get you guys home, deal." Stated John getting a nod from his nephew.
A few minutes later everyone was called into the entrance as the contestants were set to make her appearance. Of course not all things were fine, one of the contestants Amber had disappeared, Stefan had gone to find her to reassure Elena and was still nowhere to be found and finally Elena and Caroline were currently having a heated discussion after the former had mentioned quitting which Caroline was not about to allow rightfully pointing out that she was doing this to honor her mother.
"Ms. Caroline Forbes and her escort Matthew Donavan"
As Caroline appeared at the top of the staircase after her name was announced Matt found himself gasping as his breath caught in his chest. He had always known that Caroline was cute but it was only seeing her now in her dark green strapless dress that he really beheld her beauty. Caroline herself smiled as she spotted him dressed in a black suit only accented by the dark green tie that went quite well with her dress.
Standing at the base of the stairs the two met and the casual ease that the two stood together with Caroline easily slipping her left arm into his right had been noticed by many of the women present. Naruto meanwhile in the crowd had also noticed his younger brother's absence and after a quick word with Mayor Lockwood about the situation while Caroline was coming down shook his head at the man's look.
"Ms. Elena Gilbert and her escort Naruto Salvatore."
Upon hearing this Elena took a deep breath to compose herself before releasing it and moving to the top of the stairs where her appearance was met with applause much as Caroline's had been. As she reached the end of the stair case accepting the hand that he held out for her she had to fight to keep her smile in place.
"Still no sign?" questioned Elena in a whisper.
"No. I'd have sent Damon out but I don't want John following him and stumbling into something." Stated Naruto holding her hand and escorting her outside where all the other contestants and their escorts were waiting.
"What are we going to do?" questioned Elena in yet another whisper as the bowed to each other from their respective places in their lineups.
"Focus on the here and now, I've got the rest covered." Stated Naruto as they both stood to their full heights.
As the music played in the background Elena gave a subtle nod of her head both of them like the others holding their right arms up in a ninety degree angle palm out and hovering over the other before taking several steps until the circled into their previous positions. Once done they switched to their left arms and once again walked the circle only this one counter-clockwise and then once more with both hands now hovering. Finally they touched as they began the dance itself.
"Damn they look good together." Stated Bonnie from within the crowd.
"Regretting your decision?" questioned Prue both of them wearing grey dresses.
"No Elena's one of my best friends I just didn't think they'd look that good together."
"She'll be one of us one day." Stated Prue.
"How can you tell? I thought you didn't get premonitions." Returned Bonnie.
"I don't. But Hinata once said the same thing about me. Get used to it Bonnie if you plan to make a life with us. Our family is quite big."
"How many of us are there now?" questioned Bonnie.
"Not that many not that can say they are his exclusively. You actually make number six and a few who only had a passing interest or desire an itch to be scratched. Others were the results of drunken mistakes." Explained Prue.
"How do you handle it?" questioned Bonnie.
"I love him. Just like I'll eventually grow to love you. I make love to him just as one day I'll make love to you." Stated Prue.
"Are you proposing a student teacher relationship?" questioned Bonnie with an amused tilt to her lips.
"What do you think of her?" questioned Prue.
"Like I said she's one of my best friends. But she's also selfish and doesn't think at times." Said Bonnie.
"Can you see yourself with her, can you see yourself loving her?" questioned Prue.
"I don't know, I've never thought of us that way." Said Bonnie.
"Neither had I a few years back. But those are questions you need to answer for yourself. If you can one day answer that yes you could one day love her as more than a friend then we'll work with her and when it's time we'll invite her to join us." Said Prue
"John Gilbert." Called a voice causing the man to stop and turn to face it.
The man who called him appeared to be a little over six feet in height with oddly enough short cut white hair with. He wore a black suit and had quite fair skin with golden eyes with slit pupils. As he approached John watched as a large purple crescent moon appeared on his forehead along with two magenta stripes on each cheek and each eyelid.
"Who are you?" questioned John eyes narrowed.
"My name is Sesshoumaru, I believe you know my uncle Naruto." Stated the man causing John to take a half step back causing him to smirk.
"Truly you human's haven't changed much since I left this world. Alas that is not why I am here, I believe you have been enquiring about a woman named Pearl." Stated Sesshomaru.
"I have." Stated John warily.
"You will cease in your endevors at once. She has left this world in order to recover due to your ancestors blunder. After you contacted him Damon reached out to us. I am here to correct you on several points. First and foremost Pearl has not now nor has she ever been a vampire. Your insulation that she could be something of such a lowly stature is an insult to our family and we do not take insult well. Furthermore the fact that your ancestor imprisoned one of our mothers for nearly two centuries puts your family in a very bad light with mine." Stated Sesshomaru causing the human to frown.
"Furthermore I have been informed of the artifact that you seek. Pearl is no longer in possession of it. However I know where it is and if it will aid in the elimination of such abominable creatures as your world's vampires that I shall inform you of its location." Stated Sesshomaru.
"So I take it you have no love for them either." Stated John.
"Of all the vampire races the ones that plague your world are little better than vermin. True vampires are noble creatures and have no need to interact with such a weak species as yours. The lack of power in your blood would not sustain a true vampire." Stated Sesshomaru.
"There are different breeds?" questioned John in surprise.
"Indeed there are. The ones you are familiar with were created by magic. The other, well your best bet for finding information on them is located in England at this point, though I doubt they'll be very receptive of you." Stated Sesshomaru.
"If you don't mind me asking what are you? You're obviously immortal but I don't understand how that's possible if you're not a vampire." Stated John.
"There's a lot of information that you humans have dismissed over the years as inconsequential. I suggest you look my name up, it's all over the internet these days, my dear sister was quite accurate with our descriptions." Stated Sesshomaru before tilting his head and frowning.
They talked for only a few moments more before Sesshomaru ended their meeting and then proceeded to vanish in a ball of light. As the light shot through the ceiling John was brought back to Earth by a group of people rounding the corner.
"There you are, have you seen Damon?" questioned Liz as she saw him.
"He was still out with Elena a few minutes ago." Stated John.
"Good come with me." Stated Liz before turning and heading back down the stairs.
Back outside the festivities had been brought to a halt as the contestants were once again lined up. There were more than a few people eager for this bit as it was now time for the announcement of the winner. Jeremy had been quite surprised to have been joined by Anna who had informed him she had actually come just to see him.
She had also told him that she and her mom had been evacuated for home but she had jumped at the opportunity to see him when it presented itself. He had told her again quite clearly that he was still with Vicki only for her to inform him that if he ever made the transition she would not mind sharing him. Since then they had been engaged in conversation but nothing so heavy just getting to know each other better.
"Still nothing?" questioned Caroline quietly from her position in line next to Elena.
"No and I'm getting seriously worried."
"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Stated Mayor Lockwood getting a nice applause from the crowd.
"So, without further a due it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!" announced the man causing the crowd to applaud while Elena pulled Caroline into a hug.
"Damon." Called Liz quietly as she approached him getting the Salvatore to look away from the scene.
"Come with me, quickly."
They walked quietly with Damon developing a really bad feeling before several minutes later within a wooded area well away from the party area.
However upon seeing what they were headed to Damon found himself running as he spotted Stefan slumped against the trunk of a tree.
"What the hell happened." Snapped Damon.
"We don't know, one of our search teams found him and while one raced back to get us the other went further ahead in search of Amber." Stated Liz.
"They won't find her." Stated Stefan weakly opening his eyes.
"What happened?" questioned Damon.
"I found Amber. Vamp's weren't through with her yet and well you see this place there's really no cover. I was able to get one of them, don't know if I dusted him though." Stated Stefan.
"How long have they been gone?" questioned Liz.
"Don't know. I passed out almost as soon as I hit the tree."
"How bad was it?" questioned Damon.
"Bad enough I can't go to a hospital. I had to ingest."
"Shit."
"What's going on?" questioned Liz.
"Vampire blood has a healing property to it. During the fight Stefan was hurt bad enough he had to ingest vampire blood. Stuff's a miracle cure but if you die with that shit in your system you wake up in transition." Explained Damon surprising the group with him.
"How do you know that?" questioned one of the deputies.
"Stefan was in a car accident once. His best friend turned out to have been a vampire. When the doctors started doubting his survival she snuck in and fed him a bit of her blood. We'll need 24 hours for it to work its way out of his system. I need to get him home."
"Why not the hospital?" questioned Liz.
"Hospitals are public places. Stefan just faced off with a few vampires they could walk in there any time and finish the job. If I can get him home they have to be invited in, the three of us can keep ourselves in doors for a day." Stated Damon.
"Alright Johnson you and Rhodes help him get Stefan to their car. Be discreet, once done I want you to sit on that house. I'll have a squad relieve you in a few hours. Damon they'll only be there in case there's an emergency in which case they'll radio me and I'll have one of our doctors racing over." Stated Liz getting a nod.
"Alright buddy let's get you up and out of here. I'll have Elena come play nurse in the morning." Said Damon making a show of getting his brother off the ground.
The next few events that happened would be monumental and change several lives. Naruto, Damon and Stefan were forced to lay low within the boarding house. Both Damon and Naruto however had been impressed with Stefan's acting to explain the healed injury to his head; the back of which had been busted open as evidence by the blood staining the tree where his head had been resting. From what they later learned a meeting had been called by the council during which time a vote had been made to use vampire blood for critical injuries of which those whom injected it would be strictly monitored. The motion had only barely passed by a single vote.
Of course despite the fact that they were held up the world kept spinning. Alaric thanks to a friend had managed to get a trace on Isobel which led him and Damon to Grove Hill. While they hadn't managed to find Isobel they did find a tomb vampire named Henry who also apparently knew John. In the end Alaric ended up staking Henry when the vampire lunged at him, much to Damon's frustration.
Eventually being confined to such a small space as the house had also forced a sort of reconciliation between Damon and Stefan. Apparently Stefan had felt guilty that he had forced the transition on Damon after Katherine's apparent death, while Damon was being a dick simply because Katherine chose to turn Stefan as well instead of just Damon on his own.
Of course Elena had also gone through her own stuff in that time as well. As it turns out that while they didn't have it that night John had called the meeting the next morning and spelled everything out for them. The existence of vampires and the Gilbert family history for Jenna especially. Jenna had been pissed that such things had been kept from her for so long when there was apparently vampire activity going on around her. Both John and Jenna had been surprised to learn that Elena had already taken steps to protect the family.
John had then told them about the rings that had been spelled to protect the Gilbert men from vampires of which both Grayson and John had possessed. John had apparently lost his and had been surprised to see it being worn by Alaric. Grayson had worn his until his death upon which point John had started wearing it. However it had been when Elena had revealed her knowledge of the Petrova family that John had been floored. It was at the school the day after that when they had been informed about Alaric's meeting with his now ex-wife Isobel. Apparently Isobel had used him as a messenger stating that if he didn't arrange a meeting between her and Elena people would start dying.
The meeting had been devastating to Elena who had clearly been a wreck and had to be taken home by Bonnie. As it turns out Isobel was after the same device John had been after, which Anna had given to Damon during the Miss Mystic Falls stuff while everyone was mingling. Bonnie who apparently had been gifted with all of Emily's knowledge of magic had only needed to take one look at it in order to figure out what it did, the information just popping up in her mind. Upon finding out its effect Naruto had requested Bonnie not to take any further part of things and instead continue learning under Prue, something Bonnie was all too willing to do.
The next day while they were working on a float for the Founder's Day parade Isobel had made another appearance only figuring her point had not been made had sent one of her compelled servants to attack Matt within Elena's view. Matt had whipped his ass in everyone's view. After the man had literally tried to crush his arm, which Matt had only barely avoided he had needed to be physically pulled off of the man when he tried to attack him again. Eventually the man was taken away by the police unfortunately Jeremy was taken by Isobel. Of course this had only happened after he had allowed Damon to go and confront Isobel. At the end of the day they had ended up trading the device for Jeremy however.
At the moment Naruto could be found in a large room built underneath the Salvatore boarding house. On one wall could be seen a few sword racks each holding five swords. Another possessed a few staffs, there was a stand which held his hammer. There were also a few more swords that were unable to fit in racks as they were too big and as such were simply hanging on the wall. At the moment he was getting some last minute training in before he had to leave.
Today was Founder's Day and because of his clone spies he knew that today would be when both the tomb vampires attacked and when the founder's council activated the Gilbert device. Standing up after completing push-up five thousand. He had gone to both Stefan and Damon and sealed away their enhanced hearing so that when the device went off they would be unaffected.
Moving over towards the wall he allowed his power to flare for just a few moments and when it died down was satisfied he was completely clean. It was a little trick he'd picked up over the years flaring his power and quickly covering his body with water and wind chakra giving the effect he'd just taken a shower. As a bonus it also had the effect of washing and drying his clothes so he didn't have to change. Now standing before the wall he allowed his Rinnegan to flare his eyes allowing him to see the keypad built into the wall.
While not an actual physical keypad the one he was looking at was made entirely of chakra and thus not visible to regular eyes, even his own enhanced ones. With the Rinnegan however its ability to see chakra allowed him to create hiding spots out in plain sight. For a moment he was still his thumb and index fingers framing his chin as he stood in thought before finally hitting a trio of digits. Once that was done a panel in the wall slid up showing empty space at least before a clothed old fashion mannequin shot up to fill the space.
On the mannequin was a white hooded jacket. As the hood was drawn over the mannequins head he could see that the hood had two red stripes on it that started from what would be the top of the head and went down to the edge of the hood getting slightly wider as they went. The center of the hood itself remained white and ended in a point the rest of the jacket was mostly white while the cuffs the center which framed the zipper and the bottom end were all red.
Removing the jacket from the mannequin he quickly threw it on noticing absently that the mannequin shot slid back and a mirror came up in front of which were a pair of shoes. Taking a moment to admire himself he was pleased with the selection of the jacket as it went quite well with his white polo shirt and the light blue jeans he wore. To finish the look he soon wore a pair of white and varsity red Jordan 4's.
"Now for weapons." Mused the blond.
While Naruto was still getting dressed the rest of the group was pretty much already prepared and present at the high school. Both Matt and Stefan were there in black suits as they would be a part of the parade with Caroline as Miss Mystic Falls and Elena as the runner up. The two girls were in period dresses apparently made to resemble the style of the 1860's. Carol Lockwood however was in full form throwing out directions to everyone in sight from those working to set things up to those who would be riding the floats.
"Well look at you, all retro." Came Damon's unmistakable voice causing Stefan to sigh.
"I'm surprised you came." Stated Stefan causing Damon's face to immediately become serious.
"Well you and I both know things won't get interesting until dark. By that point I plan to be home with a bottle quietly celebrating." Stated Damon.
"Really?" stated Stefan his tone intrigued.
"Think about it. There's over twenty guys out there that want our heads, guys that are older and stronger than us might I add. The council has a neutralizer; I say stay out of the blast zone and let them solve our problems for us." Said Damon.
"Well I suppose Elena and I could slip out early for a private celebration." Mused Stefan.
"See now you're seeing things my way. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off for a meal."
As he watched his brother go Stefan reflected on just how quickly things could change. He and Damon had been making each other miserable ever since they turned and yet ever since they learned the truth about their mother things had been different. Before Damon had always been purposely antagonistic but now it was almost as if they were settling back into their old relationship. Of course things weren't exactly the same as they were before as they were still distrustful of the other but no longer were they really set on killing each other.
"Stefan." Turning towards the voice calling him he was slightly surprised when Carol Lockwood came up to him.
"Listen I know about the hit you took the other night. While I'm sure you know a fair bit more about that remedy you took for your injury they'll be chairs on the float just in case. Caroline, Matt and Elena already know to watch you in case you move to sit so the three of them will as well." Stated the woman.
"Thank you for the concern, ma'am." Stated Stefan.
"No thank you for what you did. Still I'm sorry you got pulled into this mess, but it will be over soon hopefully." Stated Carol before turning away to issue out more orders.
While all of this was going on in Mystic Falls, in Las Vegas a meeting was taking place. In that meeting were the Mikaelson's, Lilah, and Amelia and Marcus. Lilah had been in town for the last two days taking stock of the family's holdings. Apparently while she specialized in law she was also qualified in estate management as well, she had been forced to admit she was impressed by the way Klaus had taken ownership of the city.
While he didn't own the hotels, Klaus made his money by owning the land as such he was being paid a rental fee by each property in the city. While she had seen the like of it before she had never seen it done to the level that Niklaus had done it, acquiring wealth quietly allowing the human hotel owners to act while he silently pulled the strings from behind the curtain.
As for Amelia and Marcus they had been in town for a few days before Lilah arrived enjoying the hospitality of the Mikaelson's as neither of them had experienced the place beforehand. The also had the experience of touring the place with the rest of the Mikaelson's who aside from Niklaus had never seen the place before. At the moment however none of that really mattered as all of them were now sitting and going over the particulars for their merger. As it was each of them had and was currently reviewing copies of the contract at their own pace.
"I believe everything is in order here." Stated Elijah
"I agree." Stated Marcus sitting down his own copy of the contract.
"We are in agreement that human feeding will be kept to a minimum going forward?" questioned Finn getting nods throughout the room.
"Your thoughts." Called Elijah towards his siblings who had been silent for quite a while.
"You realize of course this will change everything." Stated Rebekah catching the rooms attention.
"I do not mean just our family dynamics. Out there we are most feared due to our absence. If we come out now our enemies will confront us. Not just Mikael, but all of them." Concluded the young looking immortal.
"For nearly one thousand years Mikael has hunted us. Throughout that time due to his actions our list of enemies have grown and we have been forced to flee time and time again." Stated Klaus catching the room's attention himself.
"I am sick of running and hiding. It is high past time these fools were reminded we they fear us. My curse will soon be broken and once that is done all of them will learn what it is to truly fear my wrath." Stated Klaus.
"Where are we on that front?" questioned Elijah.
"The doppelganger and the moon stone are still outside of my grasp. The doppelganger has been found however Naruto has not disclosed her location to me."
"So we are in agreement. We will all take the serum and Niklaus will take his own once his curse has been broken." Stated Marcus.
"Agreed." Stated Klaus.
"Then there is only one last piece of business to conclude before we sign then." Stated Marcus causing Klaus to raise an eyebrow.
Meanwhile back in mystic falls the group was still waiting until it was time for the parade to begin. However while everyone else was for the most part running around and taking pictures Stefan had managed to pull Elena into a classroom for a very important talk.
"Are you sure I mean, John? Is that even possible?" questioned Elena.
"There's no proof, but both Naruto and Damon believe it. Plus he dated Isobel when she was a teenager and he was the one who brought her to your dad's office for the delivery." Said Stefan.
"My whole life I've never liked him and now you're telling me he could be my father." Said Elena
"I'm sorry. I just felt it would be better to tell you before Damon sprung it on you in some inappropriate way."
"No I'm happy you told me. I just really hope it's not true." Said the girl.
Outside of the classroom unknowing of the situation that had unfolded inside Caroline, Bonnie and Matt were taking pictures as they prepared for the parade. As she was not in costume Bonnie wore a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt with the 'Wonder Woman' logo in gold.
"Well now I see you lot are having fun." Said Naruto as he made his appearance.
"Hey babe, you're late." Said Bonnie greeting him with a quick peck on the cheek.
"Yeah, well I had to pick up something. Sheila bought it a while back but we had to wait for it to be done."
Wrapping his arm around her waist he guided her back towards the door motioning Matt and Caroline to follow with his head. Confused both teens began to follow after them while Bonnie was quietly walking alongside him in one part shock but mostly melancholy. As they exited the building through the front doors Bonnie stopped as she laid eyes on what was obviously her gift on the empty street.
"You're kidding me." Stated Bonnie.
"Oh my god!" exclaimed Caroline upon coming to the side of them and spotting it.
"We figured you'd like it. Have fun." Stated Naruto fishing a key out of his pocket and handing it to her.
As one the two girls squealed with Bonnie taking the keys and dashing for the car with Caroline hot on her heels.
"Camaro, nice." Stated Matt.
"Especially since it doesn't come out until next year." Stated Naruto smiling as he watched the girl.
The car in question was indeed a Chevy Camaro painted hotrod red with gold racing stripes along the hood. The decals however instead of sporting the Chevy emblem on the front grill instead sported the Wonder Woman crest in gold also replacing the emblem that would go on the trunk space as well.
"So what's the specs?" questioned Matt.
"Super Sport, V-8 engine, I gave it some work so it'll do 22 miles per gallon city, 30 highway. It can switch between auto and manual with a six speed transmission."
Before any more could be said Elena emerged from the building followed by Stefan. Seeing the girls hanging out of the car Elena ran to join them. Once the trio was gathered Bonnie started it up and took off.
Several hours later found the group gathered at the grill. While they were having fun for the most part Matt was not currently ignoring Caroline. The reason behind this was actually found at the pool table in the form of one Tyler Lockwood. As Matt and Tyler hadn't spoken since the night Matt caught Tyler making out with his mom and subsequently beat him up Caroline had been trying to get the two once best friends back on speaking terms. Bonnie had already left for home a while ago as she had another session scheduled with Prue while Damon had long since left for home.
From his position by the bar he had a good view of Mayor Lockwood entering and making a beeline for Tyler. Allowing a small bit of chakra to enter his right ear and sharpening his hearing nearer to his natural level he was able to easily hear the man badgering Tyler to go home. After a few moments Tyler was soon leaving along with Caroline and Matt. Nodding at that the blond stood from his seat and made his way over to Elena and Stefan.
"Get your things and wait for me in the back." Stated the blond seriously getting nods from both of them.
That done he searched the bar and found Jeremy in a group of his own friends. Making his way over he quickly had the teen gathered and as such the two made their way towards the back, spotting Stefan and Elena just outside the door.
"Alright looks like the party is about to start as such it's time for you lot to go. I'll be orbing all of you home so join hands." Stated the blond
Once they did so the blond surprised them by creating a clone who grabbed hold of both Jeremy and Stefan's shoulders before the group vanished in a swirl of lights. Naruto stood alone for but a moment before he pulled his hood over his head and vanished. Several minutes later the blond was positioned on the roof of a building overlooking the town square and Mayor Lockwood wrapped up his speech. As he stepped off the stage and joined hands with his wife Naruto watched them as they quickly walked away.
His eyes sharpened he watched as several people suddenly collapsed screaming and holding their heads. Eyes moving quickly he made a quick head count and was surprised upon seeing the mayor was one of the heads he ended up counting. Still he was surprised as there were several more than he had initially suspected as there were now almost forty counted. Still he didn't move instead watching as deputies were quickly leaning over the collapsed figures and injecting them with what was likely vervain which knocked them all out.
Before he knew it Naruto had followed the deputies to the Gilbert clinic where Elena's parents had worked. Knowing that the device had long since died the blond allowed his hearing to come out in full but suddenly paused as he heard a familiar voice. Tilting his head he could hear both Carol Lockwood and Liz talking, apparently Carol had found Liz unconscious and handcuffed in her office. He was about to move on when he heard Liz curse and immediately was in motion.
Meanwhile on the ground the two women were backpedaling as they found themselves surrounded. Liz was especially in a foul mood as John's plan obviously hadn't rooted out all the vampire's as the two of them were now surrounded by ten. As the creatures closed in on them one of them suddenly stopped before it toppled forward hitting the ground face first. Several of those present blinked at the sight of what looked like a shuriken embedded in the back of his head.
Before anything could be done however there was a loud thud and everyone turned to see a hooded figure crouched over two of the vampires behind Liz and Carol. As the figure stood those watching could see a pair of blades being removed from the back of the necks of his two targets before the blades retracted into the sleeves of his jacket.
"Bastard who the hell are you." Spoke the one Liz assumed to be the leader.
"Death." The word was spoken so softly Liz had almost missed it yet could only narrow her eyes at the familiar tone.
As if to make his point clear he drew his sword from the sheath at his left side. At the sight of this both Carol and Liz almost head to do a double take as they realized it was a real sword. When it happened it did so in an instant, there was no warning or signal given. He was simply there one instant and in the next he vanished before appearing behind the squad of vampires a few moments later. For a second it was silent before the two ladies watched in horrified awe as the group of vampires began to fall apart only for their vision to be blocked before it could get too bad. Still while he blocked that sight the two ladies were still able to see and hear the spray of blood his actions caused.
"Who are you?" questioned Liz while Carol was still trying to find her voice after what she had just witnessed.
"A friend."
:Sheriff Forbes: came the call from the woman's radio before she could say more.
"Go." Stated the woman pressing the button quickly and then releasing.
:Sherriff this is Daniel Bradley I'm part of the emergency response team with Mystic Falls Hospital. I wanted to inform you that there was an accident and we are currently bringing in your daughter along with the Mayor's son.:
At this both Liz and Carol went wide eyed and immediately began to double back towards the office. Neither of the two women noticed the hooded figure vanish in a plume of smoke.
Later that night found Elizabeth Forbes taking a heavy seat within her daughter's hospital room. Unlike Carol Lockwood she had been unable to drop everything and run to the hospital upon receiving the news. No, instead as the Sheriff she had been forced to try and get things in some semblance of order and figure out a plan. Thankfully there hadn't been too much damage done for the night's events though she'd had to wait until the Fire Department had been able to put out the fire that had been set to the Gilbert clinic. Of course one of the biggest problems with the night was that some overzealous idiot had mistaken Mayor Lockwood for a vampire. They'd found him in the basement of the clinic with his neck snapped.
They had found him surrounded by half burned vampire corpses, their bodies the only thing keeping the Mayor's from being burned as well. That had been horrible news to break to Carol and Tyler when she had arrived. Caroline had needed surgery due to internal bleeding; however unlike Stefan there would be no vampire blood to speed her healing up. The corpses she'd found with the Mayor she had already ordered destroyed before she'd arrived at the hospital, and it wasn't like they kept a supply of blood on hand.
Matt and Tyler had stuck around for a couple of hours with Tyler especially feeling horrible about what had happened. When he had explained that there had suddenly been this intense noise in his ear she had understood how it had happened. Still she couldn't help but wonder how a device designed to use against vampires had affected two people she had known weren't. As it was the doctors were telling her that Caroline may be staying for a while depending on how long it took her to wake up, and how she felt once she did as such she was now settled down to wait.
"Oh, you scared me." Stated John having jumped a bit upon seeing Elena standing there when he closed the door to the fridge.
"Sorry." Said Elena with a shrug.
As they stood there John felt slightly awkward with the silence between them. Earlier in the night while she had been away from Stefan he had tried to get her to leave and head home. She'd fought him eventually he had threatened to inform the deputies that they had missed a vampire. She had asked him not to and when he'd bluffed and said that meant nothing to him, she'd told him that as her father it should. The words had stunned him and he'd been even more stunned when she revealed it had only been a suspicion until he'd verified it. Finally he sighed and as Elena moved to start doing the dishes decided to speak up.
"You know...I first met Isobel when I was a teenager. I fell in love with her instantly; although now I'm pretty sure she never loved me. She was special. A part of why I hate the vampires so much is because of what she became, how it ruined her. And I never would have sent her to Damon had I known she wanted to turn." Stated the man getting her to pause in her actions.
"It's my fault. I'm telling you this because I hoped maybe you'd understand." Finished the man coming to stand by her at the kitchens center counter.
"Thank you." Said Elena, finally looking up at him.
"Can I help?" questioned the man as he turned around causing Elena to glance down for a moment before looking back up to him.
"Sure."
John smiled at the word however before he could react she was in motion using a butcher knife to cut off the fingers of his right hand, including the one that was sporting his ring causing him to scream before it stopped as she slammed him against the fridge.
"Katherine." Said the man in shock, she smiled at the name as veins protruded from her eyes and the whites bled red for a few moments.
"Hello John, good-bye John." Said Katherine before stabbing him in the stomach.
A few minutes later Elena entered the house calling out to see if anyone was home. Hearing no response she was about to head up the stairs when she heard groaning coming from the kitchen and began to make her way inside, in no way was she prepared for what she would find.
AN: That's it guys, chapter's done. I want to remind everyone if you haven't done so add this story to your alerts and favorites lists. That said thanks for reading and please review. Till next time LATER.