p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"uCh.4: Let The Games Begin/u/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After many years of running and being put in an asylum for a little bit, Aurora De Martel arrived in New Orleans. Her reason? To reunite with Nik, as well as to seek vengeance upon Elijah. Elijah had compelled her to say anything to Klaus to make him leave without her back in the castle days. She figured it had been the first time he'd ever compelled a human, but because he hadn't undone it after realizing what he'd done, she wanted revenge. And after centuries, she was still angry enough with him to kill him. And because she and Nik had been inseparable back then, she knew every detail about Originals, including how to kill them for good. And so, after having an ally start creating White Oak bullets for a gun, knowing better than to get up close to an Original if she was going to kill one, she headed for the compound, once she knew where they were living at. Her plan was quite simple in her mind. Warm herself back into Nik's heart and life, kill Elijah, and live either with or without Nik, depending on his mood after she killed his brother. She figured after centuries though, he'd probably get over it and go back to her, and she also assumed that no matter what she did, he couldn't will himself to kill her. And she was feeling quite confident about it, really./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"That night, Aurora entered the compound, expecting just an Original or two, but found someone unexpected there. She didn't know who she was, but one thing was for certain. She was most certainly a doppelganger./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You're a new face. It's been centuries, but Nik never mentioned any doppelgangers running around."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Probably because I'm the only one that survived his wrath. Who are you? None of them ever mentioned a red head running around, looking for any of them," the human wanted to know, standing not far from the stairs./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora pinned her against the closest wall./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Aurora. Now, where's Nik? Maybe even Elijah?" she threateningly told her and asked./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You don't know me, so let me enlighten you. I'm Katherine Pierce and, human or not, I don't allow myself to be threatened without consequences. You want Klaus? Leave. He's not here at the moment. And while you're out there, why don't you learn some manners."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora gave a growl at her not so nice response, before sensing him and then hearing his voice. A voice of the past she wanted revenge on. Even after all these centuries, his presence hadn't changed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I'm going to ask you just once. Let her go, Aurora. Katerina has nothing to do with our past."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She turned around with a hand on her arm./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""She has everything to do with you. That means she has everything to do with the past."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""What is this about?" he inquired./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You. You're supposed to be this honorable Original, but you weren't, were you? When you compelled me to say anything so Nik would leave without me, you ruined our happiness."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Your insanity would've jeopardized our survival. I couldn't allow that. We had to stay ahead of our father. And you're clearly still the same. Maybe even more insane than when you were human."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""So you left Tristan, Lucian and I on our own to distract him, while you all fled. If it weren't for my plan, you would've gotten us killed. Glad you've admitted that. Now, an eye for an eye. You took my happiness from Nik. Since you care so much about Katherine here, I'm going to take your happiness from you, too. And worst."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Aurora, don't," he warned./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Oh, don't worry. I'm not here for Katherine yet. But I will be. If you survive this."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She pushed her half a distance away, before pulling out the gun with a white oak bullet and shooting him. Then, since Freya had come home just then, and since she was her other goal, she shot her with a few normal bullets, before enacting her plan, while Katherine was distracted with saving Elijah. Then she left with Freya. She was going to turn this into a game. If Elijah lived, the game would be to see how long it took for him to find Katherine, once she took her, and at the same time, it was a game as to how long it would take them all to find Freya./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"When Kat was pushed by Aurora, she landed on her knees on the ground. Obviously, this vampiress didn't care about humans. She was clearly insane as well, and not just because Elijah had stated that. She barely had time to recover from pretty much getting thrown to the compound floor, when she heard the ear-piercing sound of gunshots. Then Elijah in pain. Since she knew vampires couldn't be truly hurt by being shot by normal bullets, the sound made her assume the worst./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"As she got to her feet, she saw Elijah on the floor in pain, a distance away. Then she also saw Freya injured and Aurora speed off with her. She couldn't do anything right now for Freya though, so she had to do the only thing she could in this situation. She'd always help Elijah when he needed it of course, and would always choose him, but at this point, she wished she could've helped them both at the same time. She had to admit though, she was only human, active Traveler magic or not. She was too slow for a vengeful vampire./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She rushed to his side, kneeling by him, right now, afraid of what was wrong. Even with magic, she didn't know if she even knew how to summon objects out of anyone yet. And she was more afraid for him than anyone else right now. With all of those emotions, she wasn't sure she was the best person to try and pull out a bullet./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Elijah," she tried to calmly say, but you could still tell that she was frantic about what was happening, even if she tried to hide it./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""White oak," he told her through the pain. After many centuries of her knowing him and some of his family, he knew he didn't have to say anything else. She knew what he meant./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She rested a hand on the side of his face, clearly upset, but trying not to let it show./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I can try to magically get it out," she stated./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She rested her other hand on where she assumed it to be, since she couldn't feel for it like she'd be able to if she was a vampire still, and tried to concentrate to will it to come out./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"A few minutes later, as she was trying to concentrate, she heard a familiar voice, which she was thankful for. After all, sometimes, especially when you didn't know how to make magic happen all the time, a hybrid or vampire were the quickest and best solution./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""What happened?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She looked at him, as he approached./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Some vampiress came here looking for you. You weren't here, so she shot Elijah with it appears, a white oak bullet."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"He gave a growl, before going to help save Elijah./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After Elijah was well and Katherine wasn't in magical turmoil, and after she'd calmed down, Klaus looked at her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Enlighten me about this vampire."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""She's angry. I guess Elijah compelled her decades ago when she was a human. She thinks she can get her revenge and her happiness with you all in one go. She said he compelled her to say anything to make you leave without her. She seemed older than I was as a vampire. She also threatened me. She seemed insane," she explained./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Did she tell you her name?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Aurora. I never got a last name, though. There's more. While I was recovering from her throwing me, Freya came home. She shot her and then fled with her. I don't know where to."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I'll look for Aurora. She was my fiancée once, long ago. You're right. She's completely insane. At the time, the monster in me enjoyed that about her. We were exactly the same. I haven't thought about her in centuries. I never dreamed I'd see her again. I won't tell you what to do, since I know you won't listen, but try to stay out of trouble. Rebekah. Elijah. You two go look for our sister."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You can't possibly think I'll stay out of this. She tried to kill Elijah, and she threatened me. Who knows what she's done to Freya. And her threat about coming after me if Elijah lived...you can't just leave me here," Katherine argued./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Fine. You can go to the Bayou. The wolves can protect you, whilst the rest of us are busy with Aurora and finding Freya."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She wanted to argue some more, but she obviously was outnumbered./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Kat was alone, heading for the Bayou to spend some time with a friend of hers, while the rest of them dealt with vampire business. Jackson. She just hoped she'd make it there without any interference. She knew how vengeful vampires could be, but an insane and old vampire was the most dangerous. Especially, to a human. She didn't even have control enough to pull things out of people. Freya had worked some on helping her, but the best Katherine could do was healing others. She hadn't had the chance to try that out for herself./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After a long while of walking around, Rebekah and Elijah had gone to search in the Bayou. They couldn't find Freya anywhere else, so this was their last resort. And it didn't take all that long for them to smell the very familiar scent of blood. The drawback was that there was a lot of vervain plants. One vervain plant was on each pile that looked to be covered up holes. Any one of those could be where Aurora had left Freya at, so they knew they had to work quickly./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"It felt like she'd been in the ground in a wooden coffin for a long time. She could've healed herself if not for her tied up hands, but she couldn't do anything. She knew from how she was feeling, that she'd lost a lot of blood. All she could think about was how much she needed to get rescued, as well as whether or not Elijah was okay. She knew her time was running out, though. There was only so long she could be in here, injured like this. She was weak from the blood loss and possibly from even the low air now. And as the minutes continued to go by, she felt tired./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora pinned her against the wall of an alley, this time, a hand around her throat./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You're coming with me."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Before the human knew it, she was thrown into what looked to be a basement./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"The vampiress approached, once she'd closed the door./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I told you you'd be my next target if Elijah survived. I assume Nik helped save him, so you're my target now."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""What are you going to do?" the human inquired, getting to her feet./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I can't compel you, since you're always prepared enough to have vervain in your system, as I've learned, so the only thing I can do is torture you or feed you to wolves or vampires. Maybe I might do all three. Depends on my mood."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You've clearly had vengeance on your mind for many centuries, so I know I can't talk you out of it, but I do know one thing. Klaus and Elijah both won't stop until they find me. They'll both kill you if you hurt or kill me. As for winning back Klaus? That'll never happen. You tried to kill Elijah. That's a mistake he'll never forgive you for, just as it would have been if I had killed Klaus all those years ago when I had the chance."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora blurred towards her, pinning her against a wall with an arm keeping her there, once she'd grabbed a knife from a table./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I can see why most people can't stand you. You talk too much. You're annoying. However, we'll see if any of them can find you in time. You had your games as a vampire. I have my own."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora was in the Quarter after she'd left a human Katherine injured and locked in an old, small bunker, when she was pinned against a wall./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Well, hello, lover," she greeted with a smile./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but this stops now," he threatened her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Oh, come on. You enjoy games, as I recall," she reminded him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Not like this. Attacking my siblings? That's unforgivable. That was also a mistake. But maybe if you leave now, I'll let you live. What do you say?" he replied and offered. He didn't want to kill her if he didn't have to./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I'm not playing yet. Who knows. Maybe they've found your eldest sister, but it was you that decided that Katherine could take care of herself. Face it. She's just a weak, worthless human now."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Klaus was immediately angry at what she was insinuating, and demanded of her, "What did you do to Katerina?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Let's just say that you're wasting time with me. She might be lucky if she lives in the next few hours," she replied with a smile. "I can't wait to find out if you actually succeed in saving her."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You'll never get the chance," he replied to her, before ripping out her heart. Then he called Elijah, informing him of everything whom told him that they'd found Freya, and that she was alright now./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"It was dark outside, although Katherine didn't know that due to the state she was in. She lay on her side, injured from when she'd gotten stabbed almost a few hours earlier. Everything was blurry and starting to go gray. She knew she'd lost a lot of blood, and probably still was. All she could do was hope one of them found her in time./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Suddenly, what felt like a few minutes or so later, she heard a voice. She wasn't sure who it was, since she knew she was close to dying again, but she was sure it was one of them./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Each of them had separated that day to search in different directions for her and, at last, Rebekah smelled the very familiar scent of blood, accompanied by Katherine. Before searching, she'd grabbed some things just in case, knowing Aurora, and because she was the only Original with the knowledge. As soon as she smelled those scents, she followed them, which led her to an old bunker, which had been locked. Since she was a vampire though, she was easily able to break the lock. Then, once she'd gone down some stairs, she opened a door. That door led to the actual bunker section, as well as what appeared to be a former lab. She then saw Katherine on her side, injured, and pale from blood loss./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"In a blur, she was knelt at her side, behind her. She saw that she was barely awake with a bad lower stomach wound, as she used a towel she'd brought with her to apply pressure, trying to stop the bleeding./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Stay with me, Katherine," she called to her, as she used her other hand to get a breathing mask on her. "Keep breathing for me." She then took out her phone to tell Elijah where they were, and that they needed to get her healed by Freya soon, or she was going to die./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Not long afterward, Rebekah followed him, as Elijah rushed into the compound with her. The breathing mask was helping, but her heart was slow from the massive blood loss./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Elijah gently layed her down on the table. He then stayed by her, a hand on the side of her face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Katerina, I need you to stay with me," he called to her, as Freya began magically healing her lower stomach wound. "Please, Katerina," he added. He looked and acted calm as usual, but feared that he'd lose her again./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After Freya's healing and Rebekah getting her blood restored, Elijah was seated on her bedside, waiting for her to wake up. As a precaution, due to what Aurora had done to her, Rebekah had hooked her up. After what had happened, he wasn't planning on leaving her side any time soon. No matter what happened, he wasn't leaving her on her own. He knew this was his past self's fault, though. If he hadn't given Aurora a reason to want him dead, Katerina never would've been in this situation in the first place./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"He rested a hand on hers that was on the bed, as well as his other hand on the side of her face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I need you to wake up for me, Katerina. I can't lose you again. I won't. I need you here. Come on, Katerina. I lost you once. I won't allow it again."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"When Kat woke up, she was healed and in Elijah's room. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but she saw that her favorite Original was seated on her bedside, obviously having been waiting for her to wake up. She was sure it had been a little while, at the least, because she knew that he was worried about her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She gave a smile, before sitting up in bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You're awake," he commented to her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I am," she replied, and then they hugged, before pulling away and kissing. And so, they got back together again./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After many years of running and being put in an asylum for a little bit, Aurora De Martel arrived in New Orleans. Her reason? To reunite with Nik, as well as to seek vengeance upon Elijah. Elijah had compelled her to say anything to Klaus to make him leave without her back in the castle days. She figured it had been the first time he'd ever compelled a human, but because he hadn't undone it after realizing what he'd done, she wanted revenge. And after centuries, she was still angry enough with him to kill him. And because she and Nik had been inseparable back then, she knew every detail about Originals, including how to kill them for good. And so, after having an ally start creating White Oak bullets for a gun, knowing better than to get up close to an Original if she was going to kill one, she headed for the compound, once she knew where they were living at. Her plan was quite simple in her mind. Warm herself back into Nik's heart and life, kill Elijah, and live either with or without Nik, depending on his mood after she killed his brother. She figured after centuries though, he'd probably get over it and go back to her, and she also assumed that no matter what she did, he couldn't will himself to kill her. And she was feeling quite confident about it, really./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"That night, Aurora entered the compound, expecting just an Original or two, but found someone unexpected there. She didn't know who she was, but one thing was for certain. She was most certainly a doppelganger./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You're a new face. It's been centuries, but Nik never mentioned any doppelgangers running around."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Probably because I'm the only one that survived his wrath. Who are you? None of them ever mentioned a red head running around, looking for any of them," the human wanted to know, standing not far from the stairs./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora pinned her against the closest wall./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Aurora. Now, where's Nik? Maybe even Elijah?" she threateningly told her and asked./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You don't know me, so let me enlighten you. I'm Katherine Pierce and, human or not, I don't allow myself to be threatened without consequences. You want Klaus? Leave. He's not here at the moment. And while you're out there, why don't you learn some manners."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora gave a growl at her not so nice response, before sensing him and then hearing his voice. A voice of the past she wanted revenge on. Even after all these centuries, his presence hadn't changed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I'm going to ask you just once. Let her go, Aurora. Katerina has nothing to do with our past."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She turned around with a hand on her arm./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""She has everything to do with you. That means she has everything to do with the past."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""What is this about?" he inquired./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You. You're supposed to be this honorable Original, but you weren't, were you? When you compelled me to say anything so Nik would leave without me, you ruined our happiness."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Your insanity would've jeopardized our survival. I couldn't allow that. We had to stay ahead of our father. And you're clearly still the same. Maybe even more insane than when you were human."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""So you left Tristan, Lucian and I on our own to distract him, while you all fled. If it weren't for my plan, you would've gotten us killed. Glad you've admitted that. Now, an eye for an eye. You took my happiness from Nik. Since you care so much about Katherine here, I'm going to take your happiness from you, too. And worst."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Aurora, don't," he warned./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Oh, don't worry. I'm not here for Katherine yet. But I will be. If you survive this."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She pushed her half a distance away, before pulling out the gun with a white oak bullet and shooting him. Then, since Freya had come home just then, and since she was her other goal, she shot her with a few normal bullets, before enacting her plan, while Katherine was distracted with saving Elijah. Then she left with Freya. She was going to turn this into a game. If Elijah lived, the game would be to see how long it took for him to find Katherine, once she took her, and at the same time, it was a game as to how long it would take them all to find Freya./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"When Kat was pushed by Aurora, she landed on her knees on the ground. Obviously, this vampiress didn't care about humans. She was clearly insane as well, and not just because Elijah had stated that. She barely had time to recover from pretty much getting thrown to the compound floor, when she heard the ear-piercing sound of gunshots. Then Elijah in pain. Since she knew vampires couldn't be truly hurt by being shot by normal bullets, the sound made her assume the worst./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"As she got to her feet, she saw Elijah on the floor in pain, a distance away. Then she also saw Freya injured and Aurora speed off with her. She couldn't do anything right now for Freya though, so she had to do the only thing she could in this situation. She'd always help Elijah when he needed it of course, and would always choose him, but at this point, she wished she could've helped them both at the same time. She had to admit though, she was only human, active Traveler magic or not. She was too slow for a vengeful vampire./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She rushed to his side, kneeling by him, right now, afraid of what was wrong. Even with magic, she didn't know if she even knew how to summon objects out of anyone yet. And she was more afraid for him than anyone else right now. With all of those emotions, she wasn't sure she was the best person to try and pull out a bullet./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Elijah," she tried to calmly say, but you could still tell that she was frantic about what was happening, even if she tried to hide it./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""White oak," he told her through the pain. After many centuries of her knowing him and some of his family, he knew he didn't have to say anything else. She knew what he meant./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She rested a hand on the side of his face, clearly upset, but trying not to let it show./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I can try to magically get it out," she stated./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She rested her other hand on where she assumed it to be, since she couldn't feel for it like she'd be able to if she was a vampire still, and tried to concentrate to will it to come out./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"A few minutes later, as she was trying to concentrate, she heard a familiar voice, which she was thankful for. After all, sometimes, especially when you didn't know how to make magic happen all the time, a hybrid or vampire were the quickest and best solution./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""What happened?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She looked at him, as he approached./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Some vampiress came here looking for you. You weren't here, so she shot Elijah with it appears, a white oak bullet."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"He gave a growl, before going to help save Elijah./p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After Elijah was well and Katherine wasn't in magical turmoil, and after she'd calmed down, Klaus looked at her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Enlighten me about this vampire."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""She's angry. I guess Elijah compelled her decades ago when she was a human. She thinks she can get her revenge and her happiness with you all in one go. She said he compelled her to say anything to make you leave without her. She seemed older than I was as a vampire. She also threatened me. She seemed insane," she explained./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Did she tell you her name?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Aurora. I never got a last name, though. There's more. While I was recovering from her throwing me, Freya came home. She shot her and then fled with her. I don't know where to."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I'll look for Aurora. She was my fiancée once, long ago. You're right. She's completely insane. At the time, the monster in me enjoyed that about her. We were exactly the same. I haven't thought about her in centuries. I never dreamed I'd see her again. I won't tell you what to do, since I know you won't listen, but try to stay out of trouble. Rebekah. Elijah. You two go look for our sister."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You can't possibly think I'll stay out of this. She tried to kill Elijah, and she threatened me. Who knows what she's done to Freya. And her threat about coming after me if Elijah lived...you can't just leave me here," Katherine argued./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Fine. You can go to the Bayou. The wolves can protect you, whilst the rest of us are busy with Aurora and finding Freya."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She wanted to argue some more, but she obviously was outnumbered./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Kat was alone, heading for the Bayou to spend some time with a friend of hers, while the rest of them dealt with vampire business. Jackson. She just hoped she'd make it there without any interference. She knew how vengeful vampires could be, but an insane and old vampire was the most dangerous. Especially, to a human. She didn't even have control enough to pull things out of people. Freya had worked some on helping her, but the best Katherine could do was healing others. She hadn't had the chance to try that out for herself./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After a long while of walking around, Rebekah and Elijah had gone to search in the Bayou. They couldn't find Freya anywhere else, so this was their last resort. And it didn't take all that long for them to smell the very familiar scent of blood. The drawback was that there was a lot of vervain plants. One vervain plant was on each pile that looked to be covered up holes. Any one of those could be where Aurora had left Freya at, so they knew they had to work quickly./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"It felt like she'd been in the ground in a wooden coffin for a long time. She could've healed herself if not for her tied up hands, but she couldn't do anything. She knew from how she was feeling, that she'd lost a lot of blood. All she could think about was how much she needed to get rescued, as well as whether or not Elijah was okay. She knew her time was running out, though. There was only so long she could be in here, injured like this. She was weak from the blood loss and possibly from even the low air now. And as the minutes continued to go by, she felt tired./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora pinned her against the wall of an alley, this time, a hand around her throat./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You're coming with me."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Before the human knew it, she was thrown into what looked to be a basement./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"The vampiress approached, once she'd closed the door./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I told you you'd be my next target if Elijah survived. I assume Nik helped save him, so you're my target now."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""What are you going to do?" the human inquired, getting to her feet./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I can't compel you, since you're always prepared enough to have vervain in your system, as I've learned, so the only thing I can do is torture you or feed you to wolves or vampires. Maybe I might do all three. Depends on my mood."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You've clearly had vengeance on your mind for many centuries, so I know I can't talk you out of it, but I do know one thing. Klaus and Elijah both won't stop until they find me. They'll both kill you if you hurt or kill me. As for winning back Klaus? That'll never happen. You tried to kill Elijah. That's a mistake he'll never forgive you for, just as it would have been if I had killed Klaus all those years ago when I had the chance."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora blurred towards her, pinning her against a wall with an arm keeping her there, once she'd grabbed a knife from a table./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I can see why most people can't stand you. You talk too much. You're annoying. However, we'll see if any of them can find you in time. You had your games as a vampire. I have my own."/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Aurora was in the Quarter after she'd left a human Katherine injured and locked in an old, small bunker, when she was pinned against a wall./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Well, hello, lover," she greeted with a smile./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but this stops now," he threatened her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Oh, come on. You enjoy games, as I recall," she reminded him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Not like this. Attacking my siblings? That's unforgivable. That was also a mistake. But maybe if you leave now, I'll let you live. What do you say?" he replied and offered. He didn't want to kill her if he didn't have to./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I'm not playing yet. Who knows. Maybe they've found your eldest sister, but it was you that decided that Katherine could take care of herself. Face it. She's just a weak, worthless human now."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Klaus was immediately angry at what she was insinuating, and demanded of her, "What did you do to Katerina?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Let's just say that you're wasting time with me. She might be lucky if she lives in the next few hours," she replied with a smile. "I can't wait to find out if you actually succeed in saving her."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You'll never get the chance," he replied to her, before ripping out her heart. Then he called Elijah, informing him of everything whom told him that they'd found Freya, and that she was alright now./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"It was dark outside, although Katherine didn't know that due to the state she was in. She lay on her side, injured from when she'd gotten stabbed almost a few hours earlier. Everything was blurry and starting to go gray. She knew she'd lost a lot of blood, and probably still was. All she could do was hope one of them found her in time./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Suddenly, what felt like a few minutes or so later, she heard a voice. She wasn't sure who it was, since she knew she was close to dying again, but she was sure it was one of them./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Each of them had separated that day to search in different directions for her and, at last, Rebekah smelled the very familiar scent of blood, accompanied by Katherine. Before searching, she'd grabbed some things just in case, knowing Aurora, and because she was the only Original with the knowledge. As soon as she smelled those scents, she followed them, which led her to an old bunker, which had been locked. Since she was a vampire though, she was easily able to break the lock. Then, once she'd gone down some stairs, she opened a door. That door led to the actual bunker section, as well as what appeared to be a former lab. She then saw Katherine on her side, injured, and pale from blood loss./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"In a blur, she was knelt at her side, behind her. She saw that she was barely awake with a bad lower stomach wound, as she used a towel she'd brought with her to apply pressure, trying to stop the bleeding./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Stay with me, Katherine," she called to her, as she used her other hand to get a breathing mask on her. "Keep breathing for me." She then took out her phone to tell Elijah where they were, and that they needed to get her healed by Freya soon, or she was going to die./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Not long afterward, Rebekah followed him, as Elijah rushed into the compound with her. The breathing mask was helping, but her heart was slow from the massive blood loss./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"Elijah gently layed her down on the table. He then stayed by her, a hand on the side of her face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""Katerina, I need you to stay with me," he called to her, as Freya began magically healing her lower stomach wound. "Please, Katerina," he added. He looked and acted calm as usual, but feared that he'd lose her again./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"After Freya's healing and Rebekah getting her blood restored, Elijah was seated on her bedside, waiting for her to wake up. As a precaution, due to what Aurora had done to her, Rebekah had hooked her up. After what had happened, he wasn't planning on leaving her side any time soon. No matter what happened, he wasn't leaving her on her own. He knew this was his past self's fault, though. If he hadn't given Aurora a reason to want him dead, Katerina never would've been in this situation in the first place./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"He rested a hand on hers that was on the bed, as well as his other hand on the side of her face./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I need you to wake up for me, Katerina. I can't lose you again. I won't. I need you here. Come on, Katerina. I lost you once. I won't allow it again."/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"When Kat woke up, she was healed and in Elijah's room. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but she saw that her favorite Original was seated on her bedside, obviously having been waiting for her to wake up. She was sure it had been a little while, at the least, because she knew that he was worried about her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"She gave a smile, before sitting up in bed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""You're awake," he commented to her./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;""I am," she replied, and then they hugged, before pulling away and kissing. And so, they got back together again./p