A/N: Welcome back! Time for a new update, guys and gals!
A few chapters will be a little dark until Klaus, Stefan and Grace return to Mystic Falls, but please hang in there. If you've seen the TV series, you know that it does get better eventually. :)
Please leave a review, and no flames are necessary, or needed AT ALL.
I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) are owned by author L.J. Smith.
Enjoy ;)
HYBRIDS ANONYMOUS
"You try. You fail. You try. You fail. But the only true failure is when you stop trying."
~Madame Leota (Walt Disney's 'The Haunted Mansion').
The next afternoon the three of us found ourselves walking through the Smoky Mountains; aptly named for the fog that hung over the alpine regions. Stefan was carrying Ray Sutton over his shoulders. He was still unconscious from whatever Nik had done to him back at the Southern Comfort bar. I had wondered off ahead of them, just observing my surroundings. I love hiking; probably because of my past life where I used to live in the wilderness like this all the time with other Viking families, and hiking was a necessity if we wanted to survive.
Nik turned to look at Stefan curiously. "You okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" He asks earning a glare.
"I'm fine." Stefan mutters, equally as cool as Nik. I rolled my eyes as Nik continues needling him.
"You sure about that? You know, we've been walking for quite some time now. If you need some water or a little sit-down…" He smirks as Stefan starts to bristle.
"You know, I get that we're, uh … stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great." Stefan suggested. I turned to look at them, feeling annoyed. They've been doing this for a while now, and it was getting tedious.
"Or you could both stop acting like children. That would be even better." I insisted. They both ignore me, and I throw up my hands and give up; deciding to just let them continue.
"So much brooding. Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend." Nik observes with interest. Stefan leaps over a moss covered log.
"Maybe it's 'cause I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves. We've been at it all summer." He complained. I scowled at him.
"We found Ray and have his pack. I think we've done plenty." I corrected him. Nik smiles at me approvingly, then pauses, placing a hand on my shoulder to stop me from moving. "What?" I asked him.
"Werewolves." Stefan reported, and Nik's smile broadened before he continues walking towards a group of werewolves. Heads swivel in our direction as Stefan puts Ray on the ground. A woman in the group immediately gets to her feet and rushes over to Ray's unmoving body.
"Ray! Oh, my God. What's going on?" She glares up at Stefan and then at me when I walked up to Stefan's side. Stefan put out his arm to stop me from walking closer. "Who are you?" The woman demanded, then pales when Nik joins us. It's obvious that she knows who Nik is.
"The important question is who am I? Please forgive the intrusion." Nik says pleasantly. "My name is Klaus." He adds. The woman gets up and backs away from us.
"You're the hybrid." She stated, looking scared. Nik smiled.
"You've heard of me. Fantastic." He walks over to a nearby log and takes a seat, beckoning Stefan and me to follow his example. I came over and was about to sit down when Nik seizes my wrist and tugs me to sit down between both Stefan and him. I threw him a questioning look, but he responds by frowning slightly and shaking his head. All the werewolves are standing opposite us, looking extremely wary and ready to bolt. "It's fascinating, actually … a werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun. A true hybrid." I smiled at the excited look on Nik's face; like a kid at Christmas.
I need to stop being so negative, and just accept that Nik has to do this for personal reasons, and get with the program. So I got comfortable and laid my head on Nik's shoulder, smiling wider when I felt him kiss my head and wrap an arm around my shoulders. Suddenly, Ray gasps for breath as he wakes up, in transition to become a vampire and thus a vampire-werewolf hybrid.
"Woah…" I blurted out, shocked by Ray's violent resurrection.
"Excellent timing, Ray. Very dramatic." Nik compliments Ray, who winces and flinches underneath the sunlight.
"What's happening to me?" Ray demands, groggily.
"You're in transition." I responded, matter-of-factly. Nik turns towards Stefan.
"Stefan?"
He gets to his feet, and addresses the group of werewolves looking at Ray with horror. "Are any of you human? Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die." Stefan queries.
"Doesn't take much, just a sip. Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?" Nik explains. One of them frowns and pointed at me.
"What about her?" He said.
I raised an eyebrow at him, offended. Nik and Stefan immediately frowned.
"What about her? I'm surprised you didn't offer yourself." Nik correctly guesses that the guy is a human as well. The guy pales, shocked. Then Nik rushes at him and bites his forearm, causing the rest of us to flinch or scream out with horror. Stefan then grabs the bleeding man and tosses him at Ray's feet. The woman who was openly concerned about Ray, immediately protested, but is strangled by Nik. I was feeling uncomfortable again, especially when Stefan addressed Ray.
"If you don't drink it, Ray, I will." Stefan promises. "Problem is I don't know how to stop." He confesses, causing the wolves to pale. Nik's attention lingers on the woman he is strangling.
"It's the new order, sweetheart. You join us, or you die." He insisted. The woman's eyes narrowed.
"I'd rather die than be a vampire." She vowed. Nik smirked.
"Wrong choice." He declared and bites down on his wrist, feeding her his blood forcibly. Ray gives in to his instincts and drinks from the man Nik had bitten on the forearm. "She'll thank me for that later. Heh." Nik echoes what he told Ray back at the bar to the woman before he snaps her neck, killing her and beginning her transformation into a hybrid. Nik looks up, and my eyes widen in shock: his eyes were yellow and his fangs were out, making him look feral and extremely dangerous.
"Holy shit…" I muttered underneath my breath.
"Okay, who's next?" He asked for volunteers. I got to my feet, feeling unsafe despite the fact that I was not any of Nik or Stefan's intended victims.
"Nik?" He looks over at me, giving his undivided attention as his eyes slowly reverted back to his usual blue-green. "I'm gonna go for a walk." I told him.
"Okay. But don't wonder off too far." Nik warned me, protectively. I nodded, and stepped over the log and walked back the way we first came, while Nik and Stefan resumed their 'fun'.
Walking through the trees of the Smoky Mountains made me feel homesick for my former life. Back before Henrik had been killed, and we had a harmonious relationship with our werewolf neighbors. Eventually, I stopped underneath a tree on a hill, overlooking the gorgeous view of the surrounding plains and various mountain peaks, as well as a running river. I was dangerously close to brooding.
Thinking about werewolves, especially now that Nik was searching for them to create his hybrid army, made me question where Henrik was, and more importantly, why he wasn't here. The last time I had actually had contact with him, was the night when Elijah had been daggered and when Stefan and I were bargaining with Nik for the cure to save Damon from a nasty and premature death.
I missed my younger brother, and hoped that he would come back soon as I looked up at the fading light and suddenly yawned, realizing how tired I was. I was about to turn and head back to the campsite, when approaching footsteps made me freeze like a deer caught in headlights. Something was out there, and I doubted that it was either Nik or Stefan checking up on me; I hadn't been out that long to invoke a search.
"In a couple of hours, the full moon's gonna rise just above that ridge." My eyes widened when I recognized Alaric's voice, and started to panic. Nik would not be impressed if I was spotted. I quickly ducked behind the tree that was thankfully wide enough to hide behind and squatted down. "If Tyler's right, that's where the pack'll be." Pack? I sincerely hoped that they weren't talking about Ray's pack. They would be walking into a death trap, and probably used to feed the transitioning wolves. Alaric continues speaking and I peeked out from behind the tree to crawl closer to the voices so I could hear the conversation better.
"You were a boy scout, weren't you? A boy scout, slash vampire slayer?" I groaned in frustration when I heard Elena's voice. I should've known she'd be here.
"Slash whiskey-drinking all-around lost cause." Alaric added on to Elena's description of him. I frowned, shouldn't he be trying to reconcile with Jenna, and help Elena and Jeremy help their aunt adjust to her new status of vampire? I watched as they stopped walking and Alaric opens his bag, looking inside.
"Wow. You came stocked." Elena observes, earning a derisive snort from Alaric.
"Well, we aren't exactly bird-watching." He reminded her, before reaching into the bag and pulling out a grenade. "Here. Put that in your bag." Elena takes the dangerous pineapple-shaped ball. I swore underneath my breath. I should've known that Elena would be too stubborn to stay the hell away. Nik didn't know that she was still alive, and Stefan seemed adamant that he remained ignorant. But this was a plan that was doomed to fail; Nik was going to discover Elena's return from the dead eventually. Elena frowns down at the grenade.
"Vervain grenade?" She asked him. Alaric shook his head as he continues digging around in his bag of weapons.
"Wolfsbane." He corrects her. Elena nodded, and starts digging around in her pocket for something.
"Well, since we're exchanging gifts…" She pulls out what looked like a ring; specifically John Gilbert's magical ring. Come to think of it actually, I wonder what happened to him?
Alaric frowns down at the trinket. "That's John Gilbert's ring."
"It was yours once. Go ahead. Take it." Elena holds out the ring to him. "It'll protect you from whatever supernatural danger we're about to get ourselves into." Alaric shakes his head and closes her hand around the ring.
"He gave it to you." He said.
"Yeah, but I'm a doppelgänger. It's not gonna work on me. He left it for if I ever have kids." I frowned. John left that stupid ring for her and her children? But wouldn't he need it? What's going on here?
Alaric continued to stubbornly reject the ring.
"Yeah, well, then why don't you save it for future generations of stubborn, relentless baby Gilberts?" He suggested, and Elena rolled her eyes.
"Okay, and how 'bout you borrow it until after we survive this? I'd feel bad if I got you killed before happy hour." She presses the ring into Alaric's hand and then turns to walk towards the edge of a small hill beside the rushing river. After making sure that I would not be noticed, I quickly moved to a different hiding spot further up hill and hid behind another tree. Elena was still questioning Alaric's hesitance. "I don't know why you think that you're a lost cause." She mused, and I had to bite down hard on my knuckles to avoid laughing out loud when Damon appears from out of nowhere and launches a screaming Elena through the air and into the river. Alaric instinctively raises his crossbow and aims it at Damon, but then lowers it when he registers who it was, and rolled his eyes. Elena resurfaces from the water and glares at Damon.
"Damon! How are you even here?" She demanded, angrily. Damon simply turns and nods at an unrepentant Alaric.
"Thanks for the tip, brother." He says to the vampire slayer, who shrugged nonchalantly. Elena glares at Alaric, while I mentally applauded his actions.
"You sold me out!" She accuses him, and Alaric just gives her a hard look.
"You think I'd take you to a mountain range of werewolves on a full moon without backup?" I snorted at his question.
"Only if she has a death wish." I muttered underneath my breath. Then I focused on Damon, and felt my stomach flip over unpleasantly as I observed how he looked. While he looked as immaculately dressed as ever in his usual black, I could tell that he did not look like he had been sleeping very well. And there was obvious signs of strain in his blue eyes; possibly due to worry and frustration that he wasn't getting anywhere fast in his search … and Elena going off on one of her suicidal missions probably wasn't helping the situation either.
However, I couldn't let Damon's current frame of mind distract me right now, despite the guilt and remorse I was feeling for abandoning my best friend and causing him emotional pain. Alaric was quite right, it was getting darker; even more so because it was a full moon, and it was definitely time for me to turn and head back to the campsite before Nik had to send Stefan out to go and find me. I just hoped that his hybrid project was coming along smoothly.
The conversation down by the river was continuing and I couldn't resist continuing to eavesdrop.
"Get out of the water, Elena." Damon orders her. I stood up behind the tree and peered out from behind it. Damon was standing beside Alaric, looking down at Elena; who was still splashing around in the probably freezing cold water. Or so I believed. I couldn't see her from my vantage point.
"If I get out of the water, you're gonna make me go home." She correctly guesses.
"Yeah, because I'm not an idiot like you." Damon agrees, with Alaric backing him up.
"Right now, you're both acting like idiots."
Or not…
"You gave up on him, Damon." Elena accuses him, and that's when Damon suddenly stiffens. Possibly, he was remembering his last encounter with both Stefan and myself back at that warehouse in Mystic Falls.
"Grace was there also, Elena. And I didn't give up on him, I faced reality. Now get out of the water." Damon insists, sternly.
"No!" Elena yells back at him, like a child. Damon snarls in frustration and heads down into the water himself to fish her out.
"What's your big plan, Elena? Huh? Are you gonna walk through a campsite full of werewolves, roast a marshmallow, and wait for Stefan to just stop on by?" He asked her, facetiously.
I scoffed. What was more likely to happen in that scenario would be that Elena would run up to the campsite; expecting to find Stefan. Only to come across Nik, who at first would be completely shocked that she had somehow survived dying; then either attempt to kill her again or sic one of his new hybrids on her before she could get the chance to even say 'hi' to Stefan … if he even was there and not feasting on what was left of that man Nik compelled, or out looking for me on Nik's request.
"My plan is to find him and help him." Elena retorted, passionately.
I winced.
I think Stefan is a little beyond help at the moment. I just barely get through to him most days, but I have a feeling it's only because Stefan had wanted me to because I was a friendly face that he could trust, and I was his friend; otherwise, he'd shut me out as well. Stefan would have to want to go back, and even if he could; Nik wouldn't let him leave until he was through with whatever he needed him for.
Elena continued trying to make Damon understand … and was failing rather badly. "Damon, this is the closest that we've been to him since he left. I'm not going home." Elena said. Damon looked like he wanted to strangle her.
"Klaus thinks you died when he broke the curse. That makes you safe. This-" He gestures around the area with his free hand. "—this is not safe." He insisted. But Elena closed down again.
"I'm not leaving before we find him." Elena stated. Damon sighed.
"It's a full moon tonight, Elena." He reminds her. Elena splashes about in the water, probably heading towards the shoreline so she could get out.
"We'll find him before then. Damon, please." She begs. I started to walk away from the tree to go and find Stefan, and warn him that Alaric, Damon and Elena were nearby.
"What about Grace?" I paused mid-step. "She's bound to be out here too. Aren't we going to save her as well?" Damon asked, probably out of curiosity. I waited for her reply. "Isn't she your friend, as well?" Damon pointed out.
"Who cares? She made her choice, and decided to go along with Klaus." I saw red, but I didn't dare budge from my hiding spot to go and confront that selfish little cow. Nobody spoke for a few minutes. Then finally, Alaric broke the silence. He sounded both angry and very disappointed with Elena's reply.
"That's not fair, Elena." I turned back to look down at them all, and was shocked to see Elena backing away from Damon, looking like a skittish rabbit staring down a hungry fox. I couldn't tell what Damon looked like from where I was standing, but I suspected that he was probably glaring at her. His posture was ramrod straight.
"We are out of here before the moon is full and I'm werewolf bait." Damon eventually spoke up, and sloshed his way out of the water himself.
"Thank you, D-"
"Don't!" Damon said, sharply. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for me, because I want to bring Grace back alive in spite of what Stefan said and what you think." He vowed. "And nobody, not even Klaus is going to stop me." He declared. Both of them got out of the water, and I continued walking back the way I came from to the campsite and ended up nearly running straight into Stefan in the process.
"Stefan?" I gasped, mostly out of surprise and laughed in embarrassment out of instinct. He looked at me urgently.
"Are you alright?" He demanded, searching me. I frowned, not liking the question.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, worried. But before Stefan could reply, he pushes me behind him. I didn't bother questioning his actions, as I knew that he could hear Damon, Alaric and Elena in the distance.
"I guess threatening to turn you into a vampire hasn't worked." Stefan mused to me, and I nodded. "Geez, why can't they take a hint?" He growled.
"I suspect that this might be Elena's handiwork, Stefan." He stiffened and I regretted putting forward the idea. "I was coming to tell you, but I got lost." I fed him a white-lie, and Stefan nodded, probably not believing me entirely, but accepting it nevertheless.
"Grace! There you are!" I turned and saw Nik, walking towards Stefan and me with a very serious, and very grave expression on his face.
"Nik? What's wrong?" I asked, walking towards him so that he didn't see Damon, Alaric or Elena … especially Elena. He ignores my question.
"Are you hurt?" Nik questions me, cupping my face in his hands and physically checking me for injuries.
"I'm fine. What the hell is going on?" I asked, getting annoyed and brushing aside his hands.
"Everything is going wrong." He explained, furiously. "Then Ray ran off." My eyes widened when I realised just how much danger I could've been in if Stefan hadn't found me on my hike back to the campsite.
"Shit…" Was the only appropriate thing to say right then. Stefan approaches Nik, looking troubled.
"Where did he go?" Nik demanded.
"He, uh… he got away. Forget him. Let's go." Stefan lied and moves to walk back towards the campsite. However, both Nik and I spotted something on his arm.
"Stefan, what is that?" I asked, taking his arm. Then swore loudly. "Oh, God…"
Nik takes his arm, then looks up at Stefan unsympathetically. "A fatal werewolf bite. Ouch." I raked a hand through my hair and started walking back towards the campsite, completely over this entire day. But Nik stopped me. "I wouldn't if I were you, darling." He warns me, not taking his eyes off Stefan, who was already starting to sweat due to the werewolf venom in his veins.
"Yeah, I'm gonna need your blood to heal me." Stefan requested. Nik looked at him, coldly.
"Well, I tell you what. You find Ray, and then I'll heal you." Nik said, angrily. I didn't bother to comment. Clearly, in my absence, both Nik and Stefan had had words. Stefan looked mutinous.
"You can't be serious." Stefan protested. Nik didn't blink. Clearly, he was.
"You better hurry, 'cause that bite looks nasty." He stated, before wrapping an arm around me and escorting me back to the campsite. I heard Stefan snarl with frustration and vamp sped away.
At the campsite, all the werewolves that I had last seen alive before my walk were all lying about in heaps, having obviously been killed to trigger their transformations. Derek, the human being used to help the new recruits finish their transition was sitting on one of the logs surrounding an unlit campfire, still looking hypnotized. I shivered as a cold wind picked up.
"I'll get a fire started." I said, and started wondering around the campsite for firewood.
"You don't have to look for firewood, love. It seems this group had planned ahead." Nik points towards a rather large pile of firewood stacked up neatly near some camping supplies.
"Right." I said, feeling awkward. I bit my bottom lip sheepishly and immediately wondered over to gather up an armful of wood before sifting through the long forgotten method of making a campfire from my past life and got to work, with Nik standing by to assist if I got stuck … after all, it had been awhile since I've had the necessity to construct one.
By the time I had a fully functional, roaring campfire up and running, Nik's transitioning werewolves were sitting up, and looking around with confusion. Nik turns towards a still blank faced Derek.
"Bad news, my friend. End of the road for you." He tells the human in a 'sorry, not sorry' tone before Nik feasts upon him and kills him. The female werewolf whom Nik had attempted to strangle before he fed her his blood and snapped her neck, suddenly vamp-speeds in front of him, growling like a wolf. Nik narrows his eyes at her, warningly. "Careful, love. There's only one alpha here." But there was something very wrong: all of them were staggering around their campsite, bleeding from their eyes and looking like extremely delirious zombies.
"Holy shit..." I whispered and started backing away.
"Bloody hell." Nik mutters, looking stunned at first, but then quickly shifted into extremely pissed off, and moved to shield me. I withdrew my dagger, and also instinctively grabbed a hold of Nik's arm for extra protection. "Don't worry, love. I'll protect you. Just stay where I can see you." He ordered. I didn't bother to argue, just started checking my corners for an obvious way out, should the situation go pear-shaped and I needed to escape before I could be mauled.
Suddenly, they all attack and converge on us both, and Nik and I are quickly separated. I immediately swing out and slice my way through the rabid-looking so-called 'hybrids' that Nik had been attempting to make. The blade of my dagger immediately causes their skin to blister and burn from both the vervain and wolfsbane impregnating the surface; but I knew that it wouldn't hold them off for long. I was still a very vulnerable human.
"Grace, look out!" I heard Stefan call out and I dove out of the way of a flying 'hybrid' and tucked and rolled so I could get to my feet again and plan for the next attack. But unfortunately, it seemed that Nik had everything under control, and within seconds; they were all lying on the ground dead, minus their hearts. I sighed with relief and walked back over to the circle, re-sheathing my dagger and sinking down on a log to bury my head between my legs. Stefan saunters up to the campsite with a literally heartless Ray hanging over his shoulders like a side of beef.
He dumps the corpse to the ground, and I jump in surprise before glaring at Stefan. He seemed indifferent to my annoyance. Nik turns on Stefan.
"They went rabid. Some of them, I killed. The others just … bled out." I looked at him, sympathetically. "In the end… they're all dead." Nik declared, and vents his anger and frustration by picking up a discarded beer bottle and hurling it against a tree. I jumped and flinched at the move, and looked at Nik, warily. He screams his frustrations to the night sky. "I did everything I was told!" He screams. "I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse. I killed a werewolf. I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelgänger-"
"And you drank my blood." I supplied, causing Nik to look at me, questioningly. Then my eyes widened in fear and realization. "You don't suppose that my blood—" I trailed off, mostly because Nik instantly comes over and crouches before me and shushes me.
"I doubt it. Your involvement in the curse was a one-time thing. Something that directly related towards me." He reassures me, and kisses my forehead as I sagged with relief and hid my face in my hands. But I could tell that Nik's rage had not simmered down, despite his attempts to reassure me that my part of the curse was over the minute Nik's lips retreated from the palm of my bleeding hand. He looks over at a visibly uncomfortable Stefan. "You look like hell."
Stefan frowned at him. "Last time I checked, I'm dying … and you don't want to heal me." He pointed out. Nik's eyes narrowed even further before shifting to Ray's corpse sprawled on the ground and looks up at Stefan for an explanation. Stefan sighs, regretfully. "I had to take him out, I didn't have a choice." He explained. "I failed you, I'm sorry. Do what you have to do." I immediately got to my feet, worried that Stefan was about to be killed for something that wasn't even his fault. None of us had an explanation for why the werewolves' transition into hybrids was failing so horribly. However, Nik seemed lost in his own thoughts, barely paying either of us any attention.
"It should've worked." He muttered to himself, before turning around and grabbing another empty beer bottle from the ground. He bites into his hand and makes a fist, allowing his blood to drip into the bottle. "Bottoms up." He thrusts the half empty bottle of blood at Stefan, who takes it, looking at Nik guardedly; surprised that he had been spared when it was obvious that Nik did not tolerate unnecessary failure. Nik looks between Stefan and I. "We're leaving." He declared, seizing my hand and leading me away from the campfire. "It appears that you and Stefan are the only two that I have left that I can trust." He declared, bitterly.
I looked over my shoulder at Stefan with a questioning frown, only to receive a perplexed shrug in reply as Stefan drains Nik's blood from the beer bottle and tosses it aside before quickly following us.
"Where are we going?" I asked Nik when we eventually make it back to my car. Even Stefan looked intrigued.
"To the Windy City, my dear." Nik replied distractedly as he impatiently stows away our stuff into the trunk of my car and heads straight for the driver's side.
"Chicago? What for?" I asked, curiously.
"All in good time, Grace. Can't reveal all my secrets to you just yet." He tells me, dryly. I made a face and went to get into the passenger side. But Nik intercepts me before I could. "Not this time, sweetheart." Stefan claps a hand on my shoulder and I glanced back to see an apologetic look on his face. I pulled my hand away from the car door and moved to climb into the backseat, as Stefan gets in and Nik immediately puts the car into gear and drives us out of the woods the second we're both in the car. "Why don't you get some sleep? Stefan and I need to discuss something, and it's better that you don't hear the conversation." Nik suggested and I rolled my eyes, and nodded.
"It's not like I've got anything better to do." I muttered underneath my breath, making myself comfortable against the car window and allowing the car in motion to lull me into sleep. However, this wasn't entirely true; I could do some sketching, and this could give me the chance to catch a snippet of their conversation. But it seemed that both of them were serious about keeping me out of it because they didn't say a word, so I decided to just appease them and relaxed, eventually falling into a dreamless sleep.
I was rudely woken up when the car unexpectedly swerved and I smacked my head against the car window, jolting me awake.
"OW! Motherf-" I swore colourfully, and looked over and saw a concerned and mildly amused vampire and hybrid looking back at me when I had made that random outburst. I rubbed at the side of my head and glared at them. "If you wanted me to wake up, guys, you could've just shaken me. I'm not that much of a deep sleeper." I told them.
Nik just smirked.
"Oh, I'm very much aware of that." He winked at me and I felt my face heat up out of embarrassment.
"Okay… moving on." I bit back and realised that we had arrived and were parked in an underground parking garage. This immediately reminded me of the 80s movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off and I couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image that immediately came to mind: Nik as 'Ferris', me as 'Slone' and Stefan as 'Cameron'. For some reason it just seemed to work … in an insane world, of course. Nik, Stefan and I got out of the car and I leaned against it yawning deeply as we both listened to what Nik had to say, and our next move now that we had finally arrived.
"Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan. And welcome to Chicago, sweetheart." He [re]introduced us to the city. I paused, taking in the numerous skyscrapers and the general bustling city life I could see from where I was currently standing. Stefan frowned in confusion.
"What are we doing here?" He asked.
"I second that question." I agreed, shrugging on my jacket, while still rubbernecking around on the spot. Nik smiled nostalgically.
"This city used to be Stefan's old hunting grounds." He said, proudly. "I know how much you loved it here." Nik nudged Stefan, earning a slightly annoyed look from the younger vampire. "Does it bring back memories of the good old ripper days?" He asked genuinely, as he passed the attendant my car keys and sternly compelled him to take exceptional care of my car and to not go joyriding in it, or else. (That made me snort and stifle laughter, earning strange looks from both vampire and hybrid in the process). Stefan looked surprised for a moment before his eyes darkened and he avoided Nik's knowing gaze.
"Blacked out most of them. A lot blood, a lot of partying. The details are all a blur." Stefan admitted, grimly. I was intrigued, and wanted to know more about their past. Nik tsked with disappointment.
"Well, that is a crying shame. The details are what make it legendary." He said.
"When was this?" I asked, curiously. Nik linked our hands and started leading the both of us out onto the street.
"During the 1920s." Nik seemed very eager to take a trip down memory lane. My eyes lit up.
"The Roaring Twenties? Oh, wow!" I gushed, earning a chuckle from Nik and a very small smile from Stefan. "All the glitz and the glamour? I'm so jealous right now." I pouted.
"Well, word was the Ripper of Monterey got lonely, so he escaped to the city for comfort. It was Prohibition; everything was off limits back then, which made everything so much fun." Nik grinned at the memories.
"I'll bet it was. What did you both get up to?" I asked, as we continued walking down the street, following wherever Nik was leading us. Stefan took up the story, filling in the details that Nik was unable to give.
"Like I said before, I blacked out most of it. But of what I do remember, I recall making out with a girl in a car but halfway through I ended up draining her of her blood." My excited smile dropped slightly, and I gulped.
"Oh…" I said.
Stefan shrugged. "You asked."
"I know. Just still getting used to the fact that you're a lot more unpredictable when you're on human blood." I stated, quietly. I clear my throat uncomfortably. "What else happened?"
Stefan couldn't help but smirk at the memory. "I decided to check out the nightlife. Ended up going to a bar." He responded.
"Where he first met, Rebekah." Nik interjected, and I brightened immediately at the mention of my other best friend. I looked at Nik with wide eyes.
"Bekah?" I exclaimed, as I turned to look at Stefan. "You knew Bekah?" I asked, excitedly. Stefan frowned and looked at Nik for assistance, but my boyfriend feigned ignorance.
"The name sounds familiar. She must be that girl who I met not long after I arrived." He mused thoughtfully.
"Chicago was magical. Wished I could've shared it with you, though." Nik sounded depressed and I kissed his cheek, trying to bring him some comfort. Stefan snorted, unmoved by my show of affection towards Nik.
"Yeah, well, I'll take your word for it. Like I said, I don't remember most of it." Stefan reminded Nik, who sobered immediately from his depressed thoughts and stopped before a black Jaguar with two of his minions waiting for us. I raised an eyebrow.
"Going to get down to business, then?" Nik asked us, curiously; but was mostly looking at Stefan for confirmation. Stefan and I were confused.
"Why are Grace and I still with you? We've had our fun, but your hybrid's failed." He felt the need to point out and - metaphorically speaking – rub the salt into Nik's already raw wound. "I mean, don't you want to move on?" Stefan wanted to know. I nodded in agreement. Nik turned and nodded towards one of his minions who opened the backdoor and escorted me towards it.
"We're going to see my favourite witch." Nik explained, casually; seemingly not fazed by his hybrid army failure. "If anyone can help us with our hybrid problem, it's her." He insisted. I slid into the car, followed closely by both Nik and Stefan, before both minions got into the driver and passenger seats and escorted us to our next unknown location. Both Nik and Stefan continued regaling me with the glory days of their yesteryear. "The Rebekah that you remember, love, has changed dramatically – and I mean that literally – 910-years after you…"
"Died?" I supplied, bluntly. Nik scowled at me, and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yes." Nik reluctantly agreed. "Rebekah developed a bit of a rebellious side." I grinned.
"Way to go, Bekah." I said, approvingly. Nik scowled disapprovingly. "Oh, lighten up, sweetie. Are you going to be like this when she and I eventually reunite and spend some time together? A girl's gotta let down her hair every once in a while." I scolded him, playfully. "She may have changed, but remember so I have I. You seem to keep forgetting that." I said.
"Still, I'd rather you didn't encourage her." Nik responded, stubbornly. I rolled my eyes and looked out of the window.
"So what did she do that you disapproved of?" I asked, curiously.
"Dancing with complete strangers." Nik sounded overprotective. I looked at him blankly.
"Wow, brutal." I deadpanned. "I danced with Damon at the 60s dance and you didn't seem fazed." I pointed out. Nik bristled out of jealousy.
"Because doing so would've blown my cover, sweetheart. Otherwise, he wouldn't be around right now." Nik insisted, and I looked at him in horror.
"Seriously?" I protested.
"Let's move on, shall we?" Stefan interjected hastily. Nik and I scowled at each other, before reluctantly moving on from the subject. "Although, I do agree with Klaus that 'Rebekah' was a bit of a buzzkill at the time." Stefan sided with Nik.
"What were you doing that was pissing her off?" I wanted to know.
"Talking and laughing with some of my friends, while sharing a drink or two." Stefan responded. I paused, giving it some thought before conceding.
"Okay, sounds like Rebekah was being a little petty." I admitted. "What else?" I gestured for more, still fascinated with the history lesson.
"That's gonna have to wait a bit, we've arrived." Nik announced. I leaned over him and looked out of the car's tinted windows. We had stopped at a fairly unremarkable nightclub and bar with a neon sign that read 'Gloria's' in garish orange. Without another word, Nik opened the car door and hopped out, proffering me his hand like a gentleman to help me out. We walked in almost immediately.
Inside, it's dim, quiet and empty. Nik turns to Stefan, who was looking around with awe and recognition. "Looks familiar, doesn't it?" Nik said, knowingly.
"I can't believe this place is still here." Stefan admitted, walking around in a circle on the spot to take it all in. A middle-aged African-American woman with a blonde crew cut, whom I correctly assumed was the owner 'Gloria', walked out from a back room and stops dead when she sees Nik and Stefan.
"You got to be kidding me." She exclaimed in stunned recognition. Nik smiles warmly at her.
"So a hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender…" Gloria immediately cuts him off mid-sentence.
"You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny." She points out flatly. I sauntered passed him, headed for the bar.
"Don't quit your day job, sweetie." I teased him, and earned a flirtatious smirk from Nik in response. Gloria looks at Stefan, curiously.
"I remember you."
Stefan looked confused. "Yeah. You're Gloria. Shouldn't you be…?"
"Old and dead?" Stefan nodded. "Now if I die, who's going to run this place, huh?" She asked, rhetorically.
"Gloria's a very powerful witch." Nik cleared things up for both Stefan and myself.
"I can slow the aging down some. Herbs and spells. But don't worry, it'll catch up to me one day." Gloria explained. I just stared at her, disbelievingly.
"Seriously? Herbs and spells?" I was shocked. Gloria looked at me curiously from where I was perched casually at the bar.
"You I don't recognize." She stated, looking to Nik for clarity. He came over to Gloria, all smiles.
"She is my beloved. The one I lost a thousand years ago." He said, proudly. Gloria looked amazed.
"You're Graínne?" She said, looking surprised.
"Reincarnated, yes." I confirmed, feeling uneasy. Gloria looked oddly frightened by this. But I wasn't sure if she was frightened for me, or by the fact that I was even here in the first place. Either way, I didn't like the expression.
"Stefan, why don't you go and fix us up a little something from behind the bar?" Nik suggested, and Stefan shrugged; for once not being a pain in the arse.
"Yeah, sure thing." He goes behind the bar and pulls out three glasses. I turned to Stefan and gave him a serious look.
"Do you know what they are saying?" I asked him, underneath my breath. Stefan nodded discreetly and craned his head, indicating that he was using his super hearing to eavesdrop for the both of us. I turned my head to look over at Nik, who looks at Gloria and turns on the charm. Stefan relays the conversation:
"You look ravishing, by the way." Nik tells her, and Gloria just gives him a flat look, while I stiffened and felt my eyes narrow with irritation.
Nik isn't the only one who can get jealous and possessive.
"Don't. I know why you're here." She stated. Nik's smile falls a little. "A hybrid out to make more hybrids? That kind of news travels fast." Gloria reminded him. Nik frowned, looking troubled.
"So what am I doing wrong? I broke the curse." He informed her. Gloria rolled her eyes.
"Obviously, you did something wrong." She shook her head and sighed. "Look, every spell has a loophole, but a curse that old … we'd have to contact the witch who created it." Gloria explained and I immediately stiffened at the thought of conjuring up Esther; who had conveniently neglected to reveal that I was the surprise ingredient in her stupid curse-breaker, and at the same moment forbade me from revealing this fact to the point that if I even opened my mouth to say her name I would suffer the mother of all headaches.
Nothing good would come from conjuring up Esther; especially because Nik had been the one to kill her in the first place. Apparently, Nik agreed with me as he also pulled a face at the idea as well.
"Well, that would be the original witch. And she's very dead." He pointed out. Gloria nodded.
"I know. And for me to contact her, I'll need help. Bring me Rebekah." She instructed. Where I all but did a jig in my seat at the thought that I'd be reunited with my oldest best friend and sister-in-law; Nik made an annoyed face. Rebekah and I had so much we needed to catch up on. Stefan finished making my drink and passed it to me. I thanked him, and raised an eyebrow when I saw him wondering over to a random photo on the wall.
"What's that, Stef?" I hopped off my bar stool and walked over to him to look over his shoulder at the old black-and-white photograph.
"What is this?" Stefan asked Nik, looking confused. Nik smiled warmly at him and clapped a hand on his shoulder when he saw the picture.
"Well, I told you, Stefan. Chicago's a magical place." He told him. But Stefan frowned, obviously very freaked out over discovering something that he had no recollection of.
"But this is me. With you." He stated, pointing at it. The photograph was a souvenir picture of both Stefan and Nik, both dressed to the nines with Stefan's arm around Nik's shoulder in a brotherly gesture. Stefan was wearing a black tie and dinner jacket ensemble, and Nik wearing the slightly more formal and well-to-do white tie and waistcoat tuxedo. I had never seen Nik looking so relaxed and genuinely happy in a photo before. I smiled warmly, and glanced up at both men.
"You both shine up like new pennies." I complimented them, before turning and returning to my bar stool and saluting them with my drink. Nik smirked, cocking an eyebrow at my choice of words.
"You stole that from a movie, love. But thank you for the compliment." He said, graciously.
Gloria's bar was rapidly filling up with customers ready for a night on the town with their friends or perspective dates, and it was becoming less likely that Nik could continue having a private conversation with his witch friend without somebody eavesdropping that wasn't supposed to. Nik knocks back his drink and places the glass back on the counter. "Let's get going." He said, and I follow his example and scull what remained of my own drink. However, I was immediately stopped by Nik. "Woah, woah. Where do you think you're going?" Nik asked me. I blinked at him with confusion.
"You told me that I wasn't supposed to leave your side. That I go where you go?" I reminded him. Nik offered me yet another brilliant smile that warmed me up better than the strongest of whiskeys, and steered me back to the bar stool I had just vacated.
"Not this time. You stay here, and Stefan and I will be back shortly. Gloria will take care of you until then." Nik insisted.
"What! Why?" I protested, grabbing his arms. Nik gently disentangled himself from my grasp and smoothed back my hair behind my ear.
"Where we're going is a little too dangerous for you right now, just stay here and have another drink." Nik said, firmly. I frowned at him.
"Nik, I can take care of myself. You know that." I protested once again, feeling a bit offended. Nik rolled his eyes.
"I know you can my elskede." He whispers into my ear tenderly. "Please, just trust me on this." He insists, and quickly kisses me before I could protest further and I reluctantly nodded when he pulls away.
"That was a dirty trick, Nik. Hurry back." I ordered him, sternly. He winked at me and gestures for Stefan to follow him through the thickening crowd. Stefan waves at me as he goes and I nodded and smiled slightly.
The very second I lose sight of both of them in the crowd, a drunken customer bumps into me and spills their drink down the front of my shirt. I grimaced with disgust and glared at him. His friend winces.
"I'm so sorry." He tells me, before leading his mate away and leaving me in a ripe and sticky situation.
"Fan-bloody-tastic." I drawled with irritation. A tea towel is thrust into my face, and I glanced up to see a sympathetic Gloria smiling at me.
"Isn't it always the way?" She asks me. I shrugged.
"Usually. Except with me, it's blood." I admitted. Gloria frowned at the admission.
"Blood?" She echoed.
"Yep. I'm from Mystic Falls in Virginia. I'm sure you probably heard of it?" I questioned the old witch. Gloria's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Unfortunately." She said. "Come on, I've got something you can wear." She said, leading me towards the backroom. "And then while you're waiting for Klaus to return with Stefan from their 'errand', you can help me bus some tables and serve customers." Gloria suggested. I shrugged. I figured it was one way to keep myself occupied. I followed Gloria towards what looked like her bedroom. She wondered over to an en-suite bathroom and clicked on the light before walking over to a nearby chest of drawers. She turned and gave me a quick glance before opening the drawers. "You look roughly my height, so this should fit you." She said, tossing me a pair of skin tight jeans that hugged my hips and my bum in all the right ways and matched it with a studded belt to hold it up with. Then she went to her wardrobe and skimmed through the choices before eventually selecting and tossing me a tapered Rolling Stones Tank T-shirt with:'It's only Rock 'n Roll but I like it' printed on the front. I retained my Oxford Booties, while stuffing my soiled clothes into a garbage bag to clean later.
"Thanks. It's very generous of you." I told Gloria, who waved it off.
"Well, you can't expect me to just let you sit or stand around in dirty clothes do you?" She asked me, logically. Then she studied me further. "In fact, keep 'em. They were getting too small for me anyway." She suggested. I immediately protested, but it seemed Gloria could go spontaneously deaf when she wanted to as she immediately left the room before I could open my mouth to protest. About ten minutes later, after I had freshened up and replaced my clothes, I sauntered back downstairs. Gloria gave me an approving smile. "Much better." She said.
I still felt awkward taking somebody else's clothes, but Gloria stubbornly insisted and I eventually just shrugged it off and put myself to good use.
"They go great with that necklace you're wearing." Gloria pointed towards Nik's silver wolf tooth necklace.
"I'm gonna put a different song on. Is that okay with you, Gloria?" I asked the witch, who nodded giving her permission. I all but jogged over to the juke box and scanned the options before making my selection and choosing a Joan Jett song, since it turned out Gloria was a fan of rock 'n roll songs; judging by the T-shirt I was wearing. 'Cherry Bomb' came over the speakers and I immediately started dancing along and miming the words. I was so into the song that I nearly missed Damon of all people walking into the bar. Luckily, the crowd obstructed his view from me.
"Oh, bloody hell…" I swore underneath my breath and tried to move quickly and silently for refuge behind the bar. Gloria frowned at me with suspicion.
"Are you alright, honey?" She asked.
"Stefan's brother, Damon. He's here; but he can't find me here, or he'll attempt to take me back to Mystic Falls." I explained urgently to Gloria. "But that cannot happen. Nik will kill him if he tries." I warned her. "Please, you've gotta help me by distracting him so I can hide … at least until he leaves." But it was too late, Damon had already spotted her. Gloria pasted on a rather fake looking smile.
"When I give you a direction, head to the back. I'll let you know when it's safe." Gloria promised before stepping towards the counter to greet Damon. "Well, look what the wind blew in." I cursed and attempted to keep my back to Damon who had obviously strolled up to the bar counter to possibly interrogate Nik's witch friend for information on Stefan, Nik and me. "Last I heard, you hated this place." Gloria greeted Damon, as I took in the fact that Damon had apparently been in Chicago before, a long time ago.
"Gloria. Damn!" Damon sounded like he was flirting. But I knew he was fishing for information by laying on the charm. I recognised the technique from when he, Alaric and I were interrogating Jules, back when we were trying to figure out what was going on with the Lockwood Family. Damon's tone was purely professional with a hint of flirtation, nothing more. "If I knew you were going to age like this, I would have stuck around." He complimented her. If I had been looking in their direction, I predicted that Gloria probably would've been smiling a little.
"I always did like you better. But I see your brother is still running in the wrong crowd." I stiffened, hoping that she wasn't going to betray me despite promising to give me the opportunity to escape detection.
"You've seen him?" Damon got serious.
"With Klaus. Bad combo." Gloria confirmed, and I held my breath. Damon started interrogating her.
"Was there a young woman with them?" My heart leapt into my throat, and I busied myself serving a couple of customers. Gloria pretended to give the question some thought.
"Yes, I believe there was. Petite, black hair, heart shaped face with brown eyes and carried a sort of old-soul aura about her?" Gloria accurately described me.
"That's the girl I'm looking for." Damon sounded both triumphant and positively relieved. "You know where she is?" He asked, switching to anxious. Gloria paused; this was the moment of truth. Was she going to rat me out, or keep her promise?
"I haven't a clue. She could be with Stefan and Klaus, if I'm not mistaken." Gloria replied vaguely, and I sagged with relief.
"You know where they went?" Damon was getting a bit impatient with her. I looked at them out the corner of my eye.
"They'll be back later tonight. They're out running a little errand for me." Gloria explained, telling the truth, and not liking the tone Damon was having.
"Gloria…" He cajoled, and she responded by pushing a glass of bourbon towards him across the counter. Damon takes her hand as she turns to walk towards me. "Don't be a tease. What kind of errand?" Damon pressed for answers. Gloria removes her hand from his grip, scowling at him.
"I don't think so. You're cute, but you're still a vampire." She reminded him, before walking over to me. "Go around the tables and collect the dirty dishes and take them out back." She instructed.
I nodded, and retrieved the bussing bucket from underneath the counter and headed out onto the bar floor, scooping up random crockery and bar materials, and wiping down spills before moving swiftly for the back area. Part of me hoped that Nik would be back soon, before Damon could get hurt trying to play the hero and liberate me unnecessarily.
A/N: That's all folks. Stay tuned for the next update ;)
TTFN xx