A/N: This is the continuation of Mikael's last stand, which will start off with Damon's explanation as to why he has been seemingly on Elena's side. My apologies if the beginning seems a little long and a bit boring, but it was the only way I could think to bring Damon back into the story without him being against Grace and Klaus.
Please review, and no flaming.
I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) belong to author L.J. Smith.
I also don't own the quote made by Madame De Pompadour in the Doctor Who episode: 'The Girl in the Fireplace' (Season 2, Episode 4 [2006]).
I will leave an asterix beside the quote when I write it in, to let you know.
Enjoy!
Xx
WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!
"Oh, you're so condescending.
Your gall is never ending.
We don't want nothin', not a thing from you!"
~Twisted Sister: 'We're Not Gonna Take It' (Stay Hungry [1984])
~:Flashback:~
Damon was reluctantly attempting to teach Elena some basic self-defense moves as part of her combat training, while Alaric stood behind his desk in the history classroom, poring over the photographs of those runes.
"These images tell a story … to learn the story, you have to decipher these images." He explained. Damon had disarmed Elena who was trying to stake him, and it was becoming obvious very quickly that her inexperience with gaining the upper hand over Damon, was getting her increasingly frustrated with him.
"Sloppy!" Damon stated, bored.
"Shut up! I'm new at this." She shouted, making a grab at the stake that Damon had taken from her half-heartedly. But he was more interested in what Alaric had to say so he willingly gave her back the stake.
"The 'Ghost of Christmas Past' Mason Lockwood set up the cave and led us to a weapon that can kill Klaus." Damon said. Elena frowned at them.
"But doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" She asked. Damon scowled.
"Considering the type of man he is; very likely." He replied, blocking Elena's attacks easily. Elena raised an eyebrow in astonishment.
"You know him?" She asked.
"Hell no! I caught a glimpse of him via Grace's memories when she was sleeping upstairs in my room." Damon shuddered. "Let's just say, I can understand why Klaus is scared of him, and why he has been running for as long as he has been with his family. Mikael's not winning awards for 'Father of the Year' any time soon." He revealed. "Which means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who has reportedly been found already … and lost." Damon dodges and disarms Elena.
"Damn…" She curses, as Damon overwhelms her.
"Bang! You're dead!" He leans in to pretend to 'kill' her by biting into Elena's jugular, but she pushes him away and walks over to join Alaric at his desk going over the photographs. Damon follows.
"These images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is." Alaric theorized.
"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean." Elena looked relieved and triumphant at the same time, presumably believing that Mikael was their saving grace. Damon snorted.
"Or, we can leave well enough alone and abandon that idea altogether." Damon protested. "Not all of us can be as irritatingly optimistic like you two." He added. However, he was immediately ignored by both Elena and Alaric – although you could tell that Alaric was having doubts about the chances of success also – who carried on as though Damon hadn't even spoken.
"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here, then we go straight to the source!" Elena decided, with a reckless determination in her eyes that Damon didn't like.
~:Reality:~
"Ah, that explains why Elena was so insistent that Rebekah reveal her family history with her." I said. Damon shrugged.
"Apparently, this is – in Elena's warped little mind – her world; and we're just spectators in it, expected to just toe the line and go with what she believes to be the correct course of action." Damon said, rather flippant.
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Rebekah and I learned that the hard way, unfortunately." I confirmed. Damon blinked at me with confusion. "Suffice it to say, Damon, Rebekah eventually caved and revealed hers and my family history to the annoying little bitch." I translated.
"So, Elena's prediction payed off? Why am I not surprised by this?" He wondered out loud.
"You tell me. What happened before she came to annoy us during Rebekah's cheerleading practice?" I demanded, having to shout to be heard over the live band playing loudly in the background.
I so couldn't wait for this night to be over…
"'Search me. I was paying a visit to dear old Stefan whom Elena had been attempting to wean off the three month (and then some) blood binge he had gone through with your boyfriend." He recalled, and I shuddered at the memory of watching Stefan losing control the few times I wasn't quick enough to leave the room when the frenzy began.
"Yeah, don't remind me." I mumbled, trying to fight down the bile that was creeping up my throat. "But that also explains why Stefan never showed up to class when Henrik 'returned' from the dead. How did that visit pan out?" I asked him, only mildly interested.
Damon snorted.
"About as successful as trying to raise the Titanic with tweezers. My baby brother has always been an incredibly stubborn asshole, even more so sloshing with warm human blood and not ever wanting to stop bingeing on it." He stated. "But why stop a good thing?" He asked, rhetorically.
"Why indeed?" I agreed.
~:Flashback:~
Damon stepped into Stefan's cell in the City Jail, and paused taking in the image of his brother shackled down and slumped over in a chair. He didn't have to wait for very long before Stefan raises his head and glares at him. The youngest Salvatore brother had already had to endure his ex-girlfriend and the ghost of his dead best friend torturing him non-stop, over curing him of his human blood consumption 'issues'.
He wasn't about to endure his older brother's mocking.
"You know, if you two are gonna keep me locked in here for the next decade, I think we can skip the routine visits." Stefan growled, as Damon rolled his eyes and walked over to him.
"You know I'm not a big champion in this whole Lexi-Recovery-Plan … but Elena thinks – naïve as she is – that this place is gonna weaken you up, break you down and make you feel again-"
"And we should all listen to Elena, right? I mean her plans always work out so well, don't they?" Stefan's voice practically dripped with sarcasm. "Why are you here?" He demanded.
Damon grinned. "Well, for once we actually agree on something regarding your ex-honey. I do believe she is clutching at straws." Damon stated brightly, causing Stefan to frown at him with suspicion. "As for why I am here? Well, it's Family Day at Vampire Rehab! Yay! So, I'm paying a visit to my baby brother." Damon explained, smiling falsely at him. Stefan glowered.
"Go away."
Damon ignored him. "Nahhh. I thought we could hang out, a little brother bonding. How've you been, Stef? Huh?" Damon asked.
"Like you give a shit." Stefan bit back. Damon offered Stefan a dangerous smirk that indicated to his brother that he was pushing his luck.
"Humour me." Damon requested, insistently.
Stefan sighed. "You know, Klaus may wanna keep Elena alive, but that doesn't mean that she's safe with Rebekah…"
"Liar, liar. Pants on fire, brother." Damon interrupted. "Klaus compelled you to protect Elena, and if you thought for even a second that she was in danger, you'd be working a lot harder." Damon pointed out. "Besides, Grace will be there also; and while I'm pretty sure the ship has well and truly sailed on Grace and Elena's friendship, I highly doubt that Grace would allow Rebekah to harm Elena."
More's the pity… Damon thought aside, as Stefan considered his brother's words.
"Took you long enough to work that out, huh?" Stefan drawled. "You got me. You got me!"
"Yep." Damon said, popping the 'p'.
"You got me. You're good. Congratulations! You can go now." Stefan requested sullenly, staring Damon down. His brother actually looked surprised, if not disgusted with Stefan.
"You've actually given up."
Stefan smirked, "Actually this is my 'happy' face…" He trails off when Damon makes an impulsive move and breaks through the chains shackling his feet and hands together, thus freeing Stefan from his imprisonment in the cell. "What are you doing?" He demanded, confused and wary. Damon turns on his heel and goes to leave the cell.
"You know what? Screw this Lexi-plan. I think we could both use a drink." Damon stated.
~:Reality:~
I eyed Damon, questioning his intelligence with what he just told me.
"You sure that was a wise move?" I asked, doubtful. Damon shrugged carelessly.
"As it turns out, no it wasn't. But what's done is done." He said, dismissively. I made a face at his remark.
"Yeah, you look real broken up about it. Those lives Stefan probably snuffed out obviously don't matter either." I stated, acerbically.
"You have your boyfriend to thank for that." Damon felt the need to remind me and I glowered at him for it.
"But you're the bright spark who set him free in the first place. Don't go pointing fingers, dude." I fired back, and Damon raised his hands in the 'surrender' gesture.
"I knew what I was doing." Damon insisted.
"Really? Can't wait to hear about this." I drawled. "But at least I've got an idea of what Elena was going on about when she received that phone call, while she was interrogating Rebekah and me about our lives a thousand years ago." I said. Damon's eyes darkened, and he even looked a little bit guilty too.
"Yeah, that was probably not my finest hour, I admit." He confessed, and I smiled and shook my head at him.
"You wouldn't have been you, if you hadn't done what you did." I said. Damon considered that and nodded.
"That bar we both went to, was the second time I paid witness to 'Fun-Stefan'." He said.
"Fun-Stefan?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow at the terminology.
"Well, 'Fun-and-deeply-sarcastic-Stefan' but details." Damon confirmed, waving a hand around dismissively.
"And what were you trying to prove with Stefan?" I asked.
"Strangely enough, Stefan had asked me the exact same question too." Damon told me.
"And? What answer did you give him at the time?" I prodded, a little impatiently.
"Nothing. There was no catch to my actions." Damon admitted.
"You took your brother to a bar so that he could sample not only the liquor and spirits, but also the vein of some luckless waitress, and there was no motive at all?" This seemed really strange to me. Damon shook his head.
"Of course there was a motive, but I had to say something in order to get Stefan to actually come out with me to the bar." He explained. "If I revealed that I wanted something from him, he wouldn't budge." He added.
"What were you trying to do?" I asked, questioning if I really wanted to know.
"Trying to get him to remember what his freedom was like before your boyfriend stole it from him to achieve his goals." Damon replied.
"Clearly it didn't work because Stefan is just as unpleasant as he was when Nik made him switch off his emotions." I sighed, sadly.
"Actually, I didn't get a chance to help him do something about it. Mikael chose that opportunity to butt into our private conversation." Damon retorted.
My eyes widened.
"What the hell did he want?" I asked, worriedly.
"Same thing he wants to do now; kill Klaus. And he was offering his services. It definitely seemed like Stefan was tempted to take him up on it." Damon replied. I bristled angrily.
"Goddamnit, Stefan." I growled. I eyed Damon with concern, hesitant to learn what happened next. So far, it truly did appear that Damon had no hand in bringing Mikael into town, or had any intention of siding with him tonight. But I had the feeling that Damon hadn't finished his explanation just yet. "What happened next? Considering that it's Mikael we're talking about here, it cannot be good." I prodded him for more information.
"He interrogated Stefan. But apparently Klaus had compelled him not to reveal anything that could betray him." Damon revealed.
I grinned, "That's my man; always one step ahead as usual." I praised Nik, proudly. Damon glowered.
"I had to learn that the hard way. I made the foolish decision to mouth off to Mikael and he retaliated by shoving his hand into my chest cavity and threatening both me and Stefan by squeezing my heart and threatening to yank it out." Damon said.
"What good was that going to do? Stefan wouldn't have cared if you lived or died, he had his emotions switched off." I pointed out, seeing the flaw in Mikael's plan.
Damon snorted, "Didn't stop him from making Stefan try and call his bluff. Luckily, Stefan managed to stop that psychopath before he could kill me." I clenched my fists, in anger.
"Just one more reason why Mikael is a dead man." I stated, darkly. Damon smiled warmly.
"Didn't know you cared that much for me, gorgeous." Damon sounded charmed, and I rolled my eyes and reached for his hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
"I've never stopped caring about you, Damon. You're one of my best friends, and it hurt me when I believed that you were plotting against Nik and me with the one person I truly despised." I reminded him.
"Like you, Grace. I choose life over death every time, and it would suck if Mikael drove a stake through my heart. So I played along as much as I could without drawing suspicion." Damon reassured me. "On the plus side, I finally managed to get through to Stefan the importance of his freedom from Klaus. Downside, he believes that can only happen if we wipe him out completely." Damon stated, regretfully.
"Over my dead body." I stated, coldly.
"For all our sakes, let's hope that doesn't happen. I don't think any of us would survive a heartbroken and distraught Original Hybrid ripping through town causing bloodshed in his grief." Damon said.
"There's just one thing I don't get." I said, frowning.
"What's that?" Damon asked.
"Why does Elena believe that you're on her side, when you made it clear since Nik came to town to rid himself of his curse that you were on his side?" I asked him, suspiciously. Damon looked pained.
"Probably because I went over to her house to let her know about Mikael, so she didn't get suspicious that I wasn't on board with everything." He explained.
"Since when have you given a shit about what Elena thought?" I asked.
"Since she became a martyr and a stubborn danger magnet. If she hadn't been kept in the loop, she would've found out another way and gotten herself into trouble in the process." Damon pointed out.
"So basically, Elena believes that you're helping Mikael with his plans to kill Nik?" I stated, annoyed.
"Basically, yeah." Damon confirmed.
"Wonderful. Can't wait to see her face when we finally get rid of Mikael and she learns you were our own personal cheerleader for our cause." I said, tiredly.
"Let's not get carried away." Damon smirked. I made a face at the mental image of Damon wearing a cheerleader's uniform and waving pompoms while doing high kicks. "I don't really care what she thinks. She's become just as bad as Katherine was, if not close to it." Damon stated. I pause for a moment, mulling over everything as the sounds of the dance continued blaring loudly from inside the mansion.
"So after you revealed all to Elena, am I correct in assuming that that was when you all got the bright idea to fake kill Mikael, and then get in contact with Nik to lure him back here?" I deduced. Damon looked surprised and a little suspicious that I seemed to know that.
"How did you know that we called Klaus to lure him back here?" He asked, cautiously.
Fuck! I almost spilled the beans about the fact that Henrik and I eavesdropped on the conversation Nik had with the four of them a couple of days ago. I tried to paste a neutral expression on my face while I wracked my brains trying to think of a good lie.
"Rebekah told me when she came home later on that day." I lied. "She's my sister, we tell each other everything. Always have." That part was true. A thousand years ago; there were no secrets between us up until the night and the subsequent days afterwards when she withheld the knowledge that she and her brothers had been transformed into vampires by their parents. As far as I know, that was the only lie Rebekah ever told me. "By the way; did you know that Elena foolishly decided to dagger Rebekah this evening?" I asked him, feeling sly. I had expected him to look shocked or maybe even a little guilty. But I was surprised to see anger on his face. "It's probably a good thing that Henrik and I arrived and witnessed this literal backstabbing." I told him, watching his eyes narrowing with every word I said. "And I suppose Elena should be relieved and grateful that my brother held me back from beating the shit out of her. If she believes that Nik is a cold-hearted and ruthless arsehole, then she has not seen nothing yet and she better stay away from me." I warned.
Damon was silent for several minutes, which made me think that he had snuck off, leaving me speaking to thin air. But to my relief, he hadn't disappeared but looked like he was barely holding back his anger.
"Can't believe that little bitch ignored me…" Damon muttered to himself, and starting to pace agitatedly.
"You've lost me completely." I said, frowning with confusion. "Care to share?" I requested. He shrugged, almost dismissively.
~:Flashback:~
Elena barged into Damon's bedroom, where she found him in the middle of preparing weapons. He glanced up for a microsecond and grunted to acknowledge that she was there before finishing with the weapon in his hands and setting it aside. Elena watched him for a few minutes, looking like she wanted to say something and hesitating. Finally, Damon got frustrated with her and decided to speak up.
"Something you wish to share with the class?" Damon quipped, impatiently. Elena frowned at him, and moved forward to help him with the preparation.
"We can't trust Rebekah not to turn on us." Elena finally said. Damon raised an eyebrow at the randomness of the topic.
"Oh, really? Cause these Original Vampires are usually so reliable." He responded. Elena ignored him, obviously lost in thought.
"Bonnie was right. Rebekah may be mad at Klaus now but – he is her brother." She said.
Damon snorted, "Her lying, mama-killing, dagger-happy brother." He holds up the wolfsbane grenade he had been working on. "Wolfsbane is ready." He announced. "But yeah, I agree. Their family is everything to them. Can't see why we can't let them be." Damon added. Elena looked at him strangely, questioning why he was suddenly pro-Mikaelson all of a sudden.
"You've changed your tune." She observed.
Damon shrugged, "Let's just say, I've observed what they're really like from Grace's memories. I think they're just like any other family; just trying to survive in any way they can." He suggested. Elena looked disapproving.
"So you're just going to ignore the fact that they've most likely killed loads of innocent people to continue 'surviving'?" She retorted.
"And your precious Stefan and I haven't over the years? Nobody's perfect, Elena." He reminded her. "You're letting witchy's judgey attitude rub off on you." He said. Elena looked aghast.
"Klaus is never going to stop coming after me, Damon. My blood is the only thing he needs to make his hybrids. And I'm pretty sure that Rebekah can still turn on us and side with him, despite what she says." Elena insisted. Damon rolled his eyes, setting aside another completed vervain grenade. "There are too many things that can go wrong with this plan. Too many people that can make it go wrong." She added.
"Well, I am formulating a secret contingency plan." Damon told her. Elena instantly brightened; believing that Damon had caved and was agreeing with her.
"Really? What is it?" She asked, immediately. Damon smirked at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was getting thoroughly irritated with her and seriously questioned why he had developed feelings for this girl in the first place.
"Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret." He told her.
~:Reality:~
We both paused as a couple of drunken teens went passed, laughing and leaning on each other to stay upright. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of beer clinging to them like a perfume, and we glared at them for their ill-timed interruption.
"I gather you told her that the idea was stupid." I guessed, the second they were out of earshot.
"Yeah, that was the very first thing I said to her; then right afterwards she agreed and dropped the matter." He responded sarcastically. I narrowed my eyes at him, unamused.
"If you're going to behave like a jackass, I'm gonna head back into the mansion and get myself ready to kick Mikael's proud Viking arse into the Other Side." I said, and turned to head back towards the dance. However, Damon reached out and easily grabbed my arm to stop me from going anywhere.
"Sorry. But you and I both know that Elena doesn't think things through. Yeah, I did tell her it was a shitty idea; but since when has Elena listened to any of us? Even Elijah couldn't convince her when we last saw him." He said. "Speaking of, do you know what happened to him? We could really use his help during this showdown against Mikael." Damon enquired out of interest.
I froze. The last time I had actually seen Elijah, was directly after Nik had broken his curse and both he and Elijah had found me and decided to regroup and plan their next attack in Alaric's apartment. Only until Elijah received the business end of a silver dagger Nik had on his person. He is currently, tucked safely away in one of the four coffins Nik totes around with him wherever he goes.
"No idea." I lied, but Damon seemed to buy it for now.
"Well, I'm glad that Rebekah's okay." He said, sincerely.
"So am I. She's having the time of her life in there." Then the smile on my face slowly faded. "Hope it lasts the night."
Suddenly, Henrik comes running up to us. He had an anxious look on his face that we immediately reacted to.
"Grace, something's about to go down. I can feel it." Henrik insisted, then narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Damon. "What's going on?" He wanted to know. I placed a calming hand on Henrik's shoulder.
"Relax, little brother. He's on our side." I reassured him, but decided that if this was going to go down without any serious hitches, Damon still needed to act the part. "But I think you should still continue pretending that you're out to kill Nik." I said. Damon looked at me with concern.
"You sure?" He asked.
"Positive. I have the feeling something is about to go down that I don't think even Nik has planned for." I predicted, uneasily.
Damon nodded.
"Works for me. I'll see you in there." He promised, and moved to head back to the front of the house. But not before placing a chaste kiss on my cheek, which I blinked at him for in astonishment. "For luck; I think we're gonna need it." Damon said.
"That's not feeling me with a lot of confidence, Damon." I grumbled back, and Damon chuckled half-heartedly as he disappeared around a corner. I tugged free the vervain/wolfsbane coated baseball bat and handed it to a surprised Henrik. "Better to be armed than vulnerable, mate." I told him. Henrik nodded, and tucked the bat underneath his arm for safe keeping.
"Shall we?" Henrik asked, offering me his other arm like the gentleman his mother had raised him to be. I smiled warmly at him before taking it.
"We shall. Let's go teach your father a lesson he won't soon forget." I said. We both made our way towards the backdoor and weaved our way through the crowd. It was then that what Bonnie had said before: "Who are these people?" suddenly made more sense as Henrik and I accidentally bumped into a dancing couple that looked way older than seventeen or eighteen-years old.
"Hey, watch it!?" The male turned away from his partner to swear or have a go at me. He looked like he was at least in his mid-to-late twenties, and his partner, in her mid-twenties. But the weird thing was, the very second he saw me, the anger and challenge in his eyes disappeared in a split second, and he couldn't be more apologetic. "Oh, sorry. Our mistake."
I blinked at him in confusion. "Uh, don't worry about it." I responded, glancing over my shoulder at Henrik who looked just as weirded out as I did by this guy's sudden personality change. "Do you know me?" I asked, politely.
The guy looked nervous, looking at something over my head and in the distance. He gulped.
"Only by reputation. Gotta go." He responded, seizing his partner's wrist and disappearing through the crowd of high school students. The couple could not get away from Henrik and me fast enough.
"What the hell was that all about? We only just bumped into them." Henrik wanted to know. I glanced around the crowd of students before spotting Nik looking in our direction, smiling pleasantly. It appeared that he was having a one-sided conversation with a calm looking Elena. I groaned.
"I think it might have something to do with your brother. He hasn't taken his eyes off us the second we collided with those two." I told Henrik, nodding in Nik's direction. "Overprotective sod." I muttered, and noticed Nik frown at what I said. Suddenly, the music changed into a slow number and I noticed Henrik shuffling his feet, looking awkward. "Okay, what now?" I asked him.
"I was just wondering…" He trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"What's the matter?" I asked, confused. Henrik looked like he was debating with himself, and I was getting slightly concerned at how flustered he was becoming. "You're kinda scaring me here, bud. Come on, spill." I insisted, impatiently.
"Would you like to dance with me?" He asked, going red. I blinked at him in astonishment, then glanced up when I heard soft laughter coming from Nik's direction. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he responded with a 'go ahead' gesture which indicated to me that he had heard exactly what Henrik had just asked.
"I don't think now's the best time, Henrik." I told him. "What brought this on now of all times?" I asked, kindly. Henrik looked like he wanted to die – again - on the spot rather than admit what he wanted to say at this point.
"Well, I never got the chance to have a dance with you at Aemilia's wedding. I was hoping that you would like to." He said, bashfully.
"Aemilia?" That name sounded oddly familiar to me, and I was about to enquire exactly who this woman was, when Henrik beat me to it.
"Yeah, she was a friend of both you and Rebekah. Her wedding was the same night that Niklaus proposed to you. Remember?" He prodded. Remember? That memory was probably one of my more favourite memories to remember since returning to Mystic Falls and reuniting with family I was supposed to be officially marrying into. It just surprised me that it took forever for me to remember the name of the woman whose wedding I had attended that memorable night.
I glanced at Henrik's hopeful face, and sighed; realizing that one dance with my little brother couldn't hurt just this once.
"Why not?" I agreed and immediately wrapped my arms around Henrik's shoulders as he awkwardly, but eagerly grabbed my hips. We swayed on the spot for several minutes, and I couldn't help but glance over at Nik for his reaction. To my surprise, he was smiling at me tenderly and mouthing 'thank you'. I shrugged and smiled back at him before returning my focus upon the youngest Mikaelson. "You're not a bad dancer, sweetie." I complimented him, causing Henrik to blush a little.
"Thanks." He replied. "Be thankful I haven't stepped on your toes yet. I used to do that all the time with the girls I learned to dance with." I giggled at the thought, earning a slightly affronted glare from my brother. Then Henrik got back at me for the giggle by surprising me with a spontaneous twirl on the spot, and finishing with a cheeky little expert dip that momentarily sent all the blood rushing to my head.
I scowled at him.
"Now you're just showing off." I protested, a little bit flustered at the unexpected dance move. Henrik straightened me up and grinned playfully at me.
"Sorry." He said, not sounding sorry at all. Thank god we both knew what we were doing, courtesy of compulsory dance lessons begun the second we were capable walkers a thousand years ago. Otherwise, I'd have been flat on my arse.
"Woah…" A nearby teenager muttered, as both he and his girlfriend looked at us with wide eyes. I rolled my eyes and scowled at the pair, causing them to scarper. The song finished, and everybody started clapping and cheering at the band giving Henrik and me ample opportunity to escape to a more secluded area to regroup and focus upon why we were really here.
"Thank you, Grace." Henrik told me sincerely, and wrapped me up in a tight hug. I squeezed him back.
"You're welcome, sweetheart." I replied. Then spied Nik in the middle of a game of beer pong … and it looked like he was winning. "Look, there's Nik." I had wondered where he'd disappeared off to, after he observed us dancing. The both of us started to walk over to him, when one of his hybrids suddenly approaches. I put out a hand to stop Henrik from coming closer. "Wait, hold on." I said. Thankfully, we had come close enough to hear the conversation; but not enough to be noticed.
"You have a visitor." The hybrid announced, almost robotically. Nik kept his eyes upon the drunken teen he was facing off against, barely even acknowledging her.
"Well, tell my visitor I'm on the brink of victory here." He ordered, watching his opponent bouncing the ping pong ball once and missing one of Nik's cups. The teens surrounding Nik all cheered loudly, while the ones surrounding his opponent groaned with frustration. Nik managed to grab the ping pong ball before it could roll away, and prepared to take his shot. The hybrid was persistent.
"He said his name is Mikael." She announced. Henrik, Nik and I all froze the second Mikael's name falls from her lips; although Nik is the first one to recover quickly, and somehow managed to look seemingly unaffected and more disappointed. He sighed and accurately throws the ping pong ball into one of his opponent's cups.
"Then we mustn't keep him waiting." Nik declared and turned to walk away from the table. His spot is quickly taken by one of the other drunken teens. Nik's face appeared to be completely calm, but his blue-green eyes told a different story: they were hard and determined. "Move everyone out back. I'm gonna have a little chat with my dad." Nik stated, 'pleasantly'. The female hybrid nodded once and darted away, and Nik turned to a second hybrid. "Tony, you know what to do." He stated. Then Nik made his way in the direction of the front door.
"Quick. Let's follow." I suggested to Henrik, who nodded and darted forward. I was about to follow when I heard movement coming from behind me, and saw something or someone darting into another room. Frowning, I went to investigate. "Is someone there? I don't think you're supposed to be in here." I called out, thinking that it was one of the students. There was no response, and nobody that I could see. Shrugging, I turned to leave and follow Henrik; only to come face to face with a tall, hulking man – obviously one of Nik's hybrids - who staring at me in a sort of trance. I let out an instinctive scream, and went to sidestep him; sensing danger, when someone grabs me from behind. "Hey!? Get off me!" I yelled angrily, trying to buck the person off. A solid fist suddenly clocks me in the face, and I grunted in pain going limp in the other hybrid's arms.
"Quick, grab her and let's go." I heard a familiar female's voice urging my jumpers hastily before the hybrid restraining me half-carries, half-drags me to another part of the mansion. That hybrid really must have rung my bell, because I felt dazed and confused; however, I could hear everything was going on and the next thing I knew, we had paused outside near some bushes that I recognized as part of the Lockwood's front yard.
Oh, shit… I was in deep trouble. That was when I heard the deep, harsh European male's voice that had haunted my nightmares for as long as I could remember.
"Hello, Niklaus." Mikael greeted Nik, sardonically. I shook with fear.
"Hello, Mikael." Nik replied, and I was surprised that his familiar casual voice wasn't bringing me comfort; only fear. "Why don't you come in?" He requested, before laughing darkly. "Oh, that's right. I forgot you can't." I struggled again uselessly, but the grips on my arms tightened and I received another punch to the face. It was a warning that I wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I could feel something warm trickling down the right corner of my mouth. The metallic flavor told me that it was blood.
"Or you can come outside if you want." Mikael retorted, pleasantly.
"Or I could watch my hybrids tear you limb from limb." Nik didn't sound like he was playing around now. I hear a low animalistic growl, then the sound of high heels running frantically up to where Nik was.
"Calm yourself, Nik. Don't let Mikael get to you, it's what he wants." It was Rebekah.
"Hello, daughter. Nice to see you again." Mikael greeted Rebekah cordially.
"I cannot say that the feeling is mutual, father. I eagerly anticipate your demise." Rebekah's voice dripped hate.
"Pleased that you chose the right side, Bekah." Nik greeted her, before returning his attention towards Mikael. "As I was saying, I would much prefer to watch my hybrids rip you apart." Nik sounded positively triumphant, and I wanted to yell in despair as several hybrids sprinted passed us and gathered behind Mikael, who sounded bored.
"They can't kill me." Mikael stated.
"True. But it'll make a hell of a party game. All I have to do is rub these two fingers together and they'll pounce." Nik explained, and I could picture him standing there with his hand in the air ready to click. I closed my eyes, trying to steady my nerves and attempted to calm myself down by breathing in and out slowly.
"The big bad wolf." Mikael drawled. "You haven't changed. Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward. You only forget, they maybe sired by you; but they're still part vampire." My eyes widened in horror, when I realised what had happened and why I was being held captive. "They can be compelled by me." Mikael pointed out Nik's mistake. I start to struggle again when my two hybrid captors move me forcibly closer to where this conversation was taking place.
I instantly saw Mikael; dressed in the exact same suit he had been wearing in my nightmarish memory, and just beyond him standing in the threshold of the Lockwood's double front doors was Nik, who was glaring angrily at his stepfather, and Rebekah who was standing a little behind Nik, trembling slightly, but also wearing a look of utter distain on her lovely face. They were surrounded by wide-eyed and bewildered high school students. The same female hybrid from before, who had told Nik of Mikael's arrival walks up behind Mikael and pushes a frightened looking Elena towards him. He grabs Elena by the nape of the neck and turns her forcibly in Nik's direction.
"Come out and face me, Niklaus. Or she dies." Mikael threatens Nik, who eyes Elena briefly, before shrugging.
"Go ahead. Kill her." He said, carelessly. Elena's eyes widened in horror.
"No, Klaus. He'll do it." She insists, obviously believing that Nik would do anything to prevent his hybrid-making blood bank from being killed. Mikael seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
"If she dies, this lot will be last of your abominations." Mikael didn't hesitate to remind him about his troupe of hybrids that he had spent the entire summer and then some 'recruiting'. Nik doesn't blink.
"I don't need them. I just need to be rid of you." He insists. Mikael sneers at him, roughly pulling Elena along with him as he advances towards Nik a little, trying to intimidate. And by the looks of both Nik and Rebekah; it seemed to be working. He pauses after walking about five paces forward.
"To what end, Niklaus?" Mikael sincerely wanted to know. "So you can live forever, with no one at your side? Nobody cares about you any more, boy!" My head shot up when I heard this, and I saw red. Slowly and cautiously, I reached for my dagger; trying not to make any sudden movements that could give me away. It seemed that Mikael had forgotten about me … and I was about to rectify this mistake. "What do you have other than those whose loyalty you forced? No one. No one!" Mikael continued to taunt Nik, and I saw my opportunity.
Without warning, I mule kicked the hybrid restraining me in the groin; feeling a sense of satisfaction when he instantly released me and cupped himself, going down for the count. Another hybrid advanced towards me, but I viciously slashed at his throat with my dagger causing him to grab at his gushing throat and look at me with betrayal as he fell to the grass. But I was beyond caring at this point, as I sheathed my dagger and pulled free my broadsword letting out a war cry as I charged at Mikael, cutting down hybrids as I went; aiming to dismember his arm from his shoulder.
What I hadn't anticipated was Mikael turning on the spot and easily grabbing my blade with his bare hand, uncaring that the steel was cutting into his palm and spilling blood from an ugly gaping wound. Stunned, I could only stare at him in horror before he ripped the broadsword from my hands and brutally slugged me across the face, releasing Elena who took that opportunity to run for safety. I sprawled clumsily to the ground, hearing gasps and screams. The loudest screams coming from Nik and Rebekah.
"GRACE, NO!" screamed Rebekah, terrified.
"MIKAEL, STOP!" I heard Nik roar. But Mikael ignored him, focusing entirely on me with a look of amazement and slight irritation.
"Hello, my dear. Forgive me, I had almost forgotten you were here waiting in the wings." He tossed aside my sword, and advanced towards me as I sat up and looked at him defiantly. "What has it been? A thousand years since we last saw each other, Graínne?" Mikael mused, thoughtfully.
"Not long enough." I looked to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood. "And it's Grace." I corrected him, wiping my mouth with my sleeve. Mikael raised an eyebrow.
"So I hear. I believe I heard Rebekah shout that out earlier." He glanced up at his seething and horrified children.
"What I am struggling to understand, Mikael, is this: how the bloody hell did you know I was here? Last I had heard, you were trapped and hidden away in some cemetery in Charlotte." I demanded. "That is until some fucking idiot got it in their head to wake you up. You couldn't have possibly known, or have managed to project that horrific nightmarish memory to me in my sleep if you didn't." I added. I didn't bother to look up to see the horrified expression on Rebekah's face, that would've suggested to me that she remembered when I told both her and Henrik about that nightmare several days ago about Mikael. He shrugged carelessly.
"That's hardly relevant right at this moment. Back to business." He advanced towards me, and in a moment of panic I kicked out at him. Unfortunately, Mikael easily grabs my leg and casually snaps it like kindling. I scream out in absolute agony, just barely holding on consciousness. I knew that this was probably killing Nik, to see this. Then Mikael forcibly pulls me to my feet, and holds me against his chest and faced Nik and Rebekah; both of which were tearing up, and I could see Nik was starting to morph into hybrid mode, he was so furious. I could clearly see his golden wolf eyes from here.
"Mikael…" Nik was visibly shaking so violently in anger, that I was worried for his sanity. Mikael was no longer pretending to be pleasant; and it was clear that both men were out for each other's blood.
"Come outside and face me, you little coward." Mikael ordered.
"My whole life you've underestimated me!" Nik roared, tears streaming down his face. "If you kill her again, I swear to you I will hunt you down and show you the true meaning of pain. And you will beg for death when I am through with you!" He vowed. Mikael laughed at him.
"Your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great." Mikael mocks him, and I feel the cold steel of my dagger – which I hadn't realised he had unsheathed – resting against my neck, ready to call Nik's bluff. I was terrified, and I couldn't help it; I actually started laughing. Truly; hearty belly chuckles that made both men stop what they were doing and look right at me in astonishment. "And what pray tell, could possibly be so funny, girl?" Mikael spat at me, with distain.
"You, fool." I stated, causing Mikael to freeze and listen to what I had to say. "Do you honestly think that you have won? *You think I fear you? But I do not fear you, even now. You are merely the nightmare of my childhood. The monster from under my bed. And if my nightmare can return to plague me, then rest assured, so will yours." I promised, whispering the last part of my speech. Mikael snarled at me, and moved to drag the dagger across my throat. But at this point, the adrenaline pumping through my system was all but spent, and black spots started blossoming before my vision and I started passing out. However, the last thing I heard before oblivion was the most unlikely voice imagined: Henrik's.
"Enough, father."
~:Damon P.O.V:~
It honestly took every fiber of my being to stay hidden where I was, and not burst in and snatch Grace from that dickhead's arms. But rest assured, the second this whole bullshit experience is over and done with; I'll be the first to throw that Henrik kid the biggest party he's probably ever seen. It was like he had come out of nowhere, and not a moment too soon either.
Mikael was seconds away from taking away the best thing that had ever existed in my 172-years on this planet, with one simple slash of her dagger across her throat. But before any of us – including Klaus, I might add – could even react; up strides Henrik, a baseball bat of all things, clenched tightly in his hands right behind Mikael; cocked back and ready to let fly. I was resisting the urge to yell out 'batter up!' and give away the surprise this fucker was surely about to receive.
"Enough, father." Henrik demanded, calmly and with enough coldness as he could muster filtering through that annoyingly cultured voice those Mikaelson's seem to have. Mikael seemed to turn into a statue; struck dumb by the sound of his late son's voice. "You will cease this pointless endeavor right now." Henrik insisted.
"Henrik." Mikael gasped, and quickly turned to face his 'dearly departed' child. Only to have his clock cleaned when the kid viciously swings the bat, colliding it with his face and knocking him right on his ass. The force of the blow Henrik had dealt his father, forced papa-Original to release his grip upon Grace out of shock and her limp body tumbled to the ground, unconscious and thankfully blissfully unaware of the shit storm occurring around her. I seized the opportunity to vamp-speed in – wolfsbane grenades in hand – and turned to grin at Klaus's kid brother.
"Nice swing, kid!" I complimented, before popping the pins on the grenades and hurling them at the hybrids. This was apparently the signal everybody needed to either get the hell outta dodge, or prepare for a possible showdown. I stooped down and scooped up Grace's seriously injured body, cradling it gently as to not cause her anymore unnecessary pain. "Let's go!" I told Henrik, who nodded grabbing Grace's dagger and sword, and followed me back to the safety of the mansion. We were greeted by a hysterical looking Rebekah, who immediately started fussing over Grace's slightly broken and bleeding body.
"Grace, you complete and utter moron!" She hissed at her, mad that she was unable to give Grace what for, for idiotically putting herself in harm's way. One glance at Klaus, told me everything I needed to know: that he too was also undoubtedly angry at his girlfriend for almost getting herself killed, but also and probably even more so absolutely relieved that she was not dead. Wordlessly, I immediately bit into my wrist and forced upon Grace's mouth; massaging her throat to get her to swallow my blood. "Thank you." I glanced up to see Rebekah smiling warmly and gratefully at me, and smoothing back Grace's hair with her hands. I glanced at her a little warily, before nodding at her in acknowledgement and refocusing my attention back on my fallen best friend.
"That's it, baby. Keep drinking." I urged Grace, soothingly. She eventually started taking pulls by herself, but she had not taken more than probably a couple of gulps of my blood before Stefan unexpectedly and randomly tackles me, pulling me away from her.
"Stefan!" Rebekah snarled angrily, but instead of attacking him for interrupting me in my attempts to heal Grace; she rips into her own wrist and continues healing her. Beyond pissed, I turned and seized Stefan by the lapels.
"What are you doing!?" I demanded. But Stefan was more interested in what was lying on the floor, and I turned and noticed that the white oak stake that Mikael had dropped when Henrik performed a home run on his father's face, had fallen from my jacket pocket and skittered across the foyer. Immediately, I tackled Stefan to stop him from diving towards the stake. A very familiar hand reached down to pick it up: Grace's. Apparently, Rebekah's Original blood was more potent than mine, so Grace was able to recover faster. But I did notice that she was still limping rather tenderly on the leg that had recently been broken.
"Grace, love?" Klaus suddenly spoke out, looking at her with concern and curiosity. She looked at him, coolly. Blood was smeared around her lips, before she cast her steely glare outside at Mikael.
"Let's end this." She declared.
~:Grace P.O.V:~
I woke up with the taste of something sweet and metallic exploding on my taste buds, and I sat up; coughing.
"Grace! Slowly now." I glanced at Rebekah, who was looking at me with wide, frantic eyes as she assisted me sitting up. I glanced down at my previously broken leg, now obviously healed from vampire blood.
"I'll live." I reassured her. It was tingling with pins and needles; but otherwise fully functional as I got to my feet shakily with some support from Rebekah. I glanced over to see Damon and Stefan wrestling violently on the ground, and frowned questioning why until I saw it: a stake whittled from an extremely pale wood that I recognized as white oak from my memories of a thousand years ago. My jaw set, and I strode determinedly towards the stake and picked it up; which caused Damon and Stefan to stop wrestling and look up at me in surprise.
"Grace, love?" I glanced over and saw Nik looking over at me with a look a combination of concern and relief. Then I glanced over at Mikael who looked apoplectic with rage as the hybrids he had compelled out of Nik's control, burned off in the distance. My hand tightened around the white oak stake.
"Let's do this." I stated, and Nik nodded before wrapping an arm around my waist and carrying me over to where Mikael was standing, restraining his stepfather to his knees before he had the time to react. Without hesitation, I used all my strength to drive the stake through Mikael's heart. There was a pregnant pause, before I leaned down to whisper into Mikael's ear. "Maybe you should've taken your own advice to heart, Mikael: "Never trust a Mikaelson"." I threw back the four poison words he had whispered to me a thousand years ago on my own deathbed, as Mikael looked at me with betrayal before crying out in pain as he spontaneously combusts into flames and dies; taking the white oak stake with him.
There was several seconds of silence as I slowly got to my feet, still a little unsteady because my leg was still healing. I stared unblinkingly at the charred corpse of what used to be Mikael Mikaelson, before jumping when somebody touched my shoulder. I turned sharply, dislodging the hand and looked at an extremely concerned and visibly hurt Nik, looking at me with wide eyes. Another hand cautiously took mine, and still jumpy I pulled away glancing at Henrik who didn't look hurt by my reaction, but merely smiled at me with understanding.
"You're gonna be okay, Grace." Henrik promised me.
I frowned at him, "How?" I whispered. But before either brother could answer me, Damon interrupted; sounding furious.
"What the hell did you do?" He demanded, presumably talking to Stefan who probably looked unrepentant. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Nik reluctantly tearing his gaze away from me and striding over to where the Salvatore's were. I bit my bottom lip, wishing to be anywhere but here.
"He's earned his freedom." Nik confirmed, before addressing Stefan. "Thank you my friend. You no longer have to do as I say. You're free." He un-compels Stefan, as I immediately started walking as fast as my bad leg could allow me down the expansive driveway.
~:Rebekah P.O.V:~
Well, tonight was a complete disaster. Trust my father and brother to go and ruin everything; it had been fast becoming one of my favourite nights ever, and Matt was being the perfect gentleman. But Grace had to go and cock it all up by almost get herself killed again! I truly love that girl dearly, but honestly; she has no sense of self-preservation at times.
But things seemed to go from bad to worse in a microsecond. Firstly, Nik un-compelled Stefan; which is fine, a deal is a deal, no matter what bargain they shook hands on. Except that soon afterwards, Stefan ran off which was a bit suspicious. But it wasn't until Damon suddenly spoke up that the dread suddenly set in.
"Hey, where did Grace go?" He asked, out of the blue. I pulled myself out of my thoughts and glanced around, looking for a sign of my wayward sister … and panicked when it seemed she had disappeared without a trace. "Oh, wait! There she goes!" I glanced over at Damon and followed where he was pointing to see that Grace was almost out of the driveway, thankfully with Henrik not too far behind her. It seemed very obvious even from here that Grace was not in good shape at the moment, and I didn't blame her one bit. Damon went to run after her, but I reached out and stopped him. "What are you doing? Somebody's gotta go after her!" Damon protested, angrily staring at us with accusatory eyes.
"Somebody already is." I told him, calmly, indicating towards Henrik who was following her a little ways behind; giving her the space she needed but not overcrowding her. Damon made another attempt to go after her, and this time I lost my patience with him. "Just leave her, alright?" I snapped at him.
"Don't tell me what to do." Damon retorted back at me, and I was about to turn and teach him some manners when Nik, unexpectedly, beat me to it; seizing the insolent fool by the neck and giving him the full force of his glare that only a handful of people have ever seen personally: myself, Mikael and Kol.
"Listen here, mate. My sister has already requested that you to leave Grace alone, and now I'm ordering you to." My brother growled. "Right now, the very last thing that Grace needs is a crowd suffocating her with concerns and offers of help. So if you'd be so kind, bugger off before I compel you to!" He said, assertively. I nodded, in silent approval as Nik finally released Damon and started to walk away.
Damon glared at his back, "And how would you know that?" He demanded, snidely. "I'm finding it hard to believe that you of all people wouldn't be attempting to do exactly what I have been trying to do for the past five minutes. So, what's the gag?" He demanded. Nik, remarkably, didn't turn and attempt to pull out Damon's trachea tube for back chatting him, like he would have previously. Instead, he sighed heavily and turned to regard him.
"I've been where she is, and I know how she is feeling right now." Nik stated quietly, but not completely simmered down just yet. "When Grace was killed the last time, I kept to myself; lashing out at anybody who tried to talk to me or help me come to grips with what happened. Over time, the only person I would eventually let in was Rebekah." He admitted, reluctantly.
Damon was quiet; obviously mulling this over in his head. My eyes widened, and I felt like berating myself for forgetting this. "Come, Rebekah. Let's get you home." Nik walked passed me, heading down the driveway after Grace. I nodded and started to follow when it occurred to me that I had arrived here with Matt, who had probably left with the rest of the guests when the fighting started.
"That might be a problem, Nik." I said.
"Problem?" Nik raised an eyebrow at me.
"Yes, I came to the dance with Matt Donovan in his car. He must've fled with the rest of the students when the fighting broke out." I explained, feeling completely over this entire evening.
"Did he now? That's a bit disrespectful isn't it? Stranding a lady without a way to get home. I think I might have a word with him about that." Nik looked a bit annoyed, and I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, be fair, Nik. I don't entirely blame him, to be honest. I'd much rather him flee for his life, than be caught up in the fight and be killed needlessly." I defended Matt's actions. Damon stepped forward.
"I can give you both a lift." He offered.
"Much appreciated, mate." Nik immediately said, clapping him on the shoulder and continuing walking down the driveway. Damon followed him, begrudgingly; despite the fact that he had graciously offered us transportation back to Grace's apartment. My phone suddenly buzzed, and I pulled it out and noticed that Henrik had sent me a text.
'Better come home fast, Grace isn't doing too good.' – H.
I glanced down at the words with dread.
"Oh, Christ." I swore, grabbing both Damon and Nik's attention almost immediately. "We'd better hurry. Henrik says she's not coping very well." We all sprinted for Damon's car, and the second we were in his car he peeled off down the highway.
~:Grace P.O.V:~
(A/N: OPTIONAL: Listen to Bush's 'Letting the Cables Sleep [1999]' while reading the following)
I reckon I spent what felt like ten minutes sitting behind the wheel of my car, just staring off into space. Henrik and I had just arrived back at the Apartment block, but I was having a hard time budging from the car; because my mind was still going over and over what exactly had transpired this evening.
"Grace?" I turned and glanced at Henrik who was frowning with concern, and holding onto my broadsword and dagger. Two things that I had almost forgotten about when Mikael had thrown aside or attempted to use them on me.
"Mmm?" I responded, absently.
"You okay?" He asked, almost gentle. I nodded, reaching for the door handle and opening it.
"Absolutely. Fit as a fiddle." I said, trying to smile and failing drastically. My words sounded false even to my own ears.
"Right." Henrik answered, also reaching for the door handle and letting himself out of the car. "So explain to me why I don't believe you?" He requested. I chose not to reply and locked my car, heading straight for the door to the Apartment block and letting myself in. I felt like I was on autopilot, because it seemed like my body knew what to do when I was still questioning what to do.
I should've been happy.
I should've been relieved that the man that had murdered me in my past life, was now gone from our lives and banished into the Other Side to hopefully endure eternal torment and suffering for all the crap that he had put not only his children through, but also me.
But all I felt was numb; like I had been thrown headfirst into a pool of freezing water and unable to surface. Henrik and I made our way to the second floor and I pulled out my keys to let myself in, and the very second afterwards; I kicked off my shoes, pulled off my jacket and dumped my purse on the island bench and made a deliberate beeline for my bedroom.
"Just let me know if you need anything, Grace. Okay?" I heard Henrik call out from the living room, still holding my weapons in his hands. I didn't respond. I just wanted a hot shower, dress in my white cotton pajama pants with simple navy blue vertical stripes and a black T-shirt, with a pair of woolen socks; and to have some peace and quiet for a while in my bedroom … by myself.
And within ten minutes I had done just that; and found myself sitting on my bed on top of my duvet, just staring into space.
I heard the knock at the front door – but I didn't budge to answer it.
"Where is she?" I heard Nik demand Henrik, as I heard the sounds of Rebekah's high heel shoes walking hurried and briskly towards her own bedroom. But I must've unconsciously moved my lips to grant Nik access to my apartment, because the next thing I saw was my boyfriend's agonized face staring into my own.
And that was apparently all I needed for the dam to break.
"Nik…" I whimpered, and almost instantly curled into myself and started sobbing into my knees. Nik toed off his boots and shrugged out of his jacket, and my senses were immediately invaded with his musky, but pleasant scent when he got onto the bed and pulled me into his arms. "Don't leave me…" I whispered, turning my face into his shirt and grabbing a fistful of his smoky grey silk button down.
"I won't, darling. I'm not going anywhere." He promised, rocking me like a child and gently wiping away my tears with his thumb. Somebody took my hand, and I glanced up see a worried Henrik sitting in front of me, trying to offer comfort; and two seconds later, Rebekah came in. Warmth at my back told me that my sister was now not only trying to comfort me, but now also hugging Nik as well who I realised was now crying into my hair; but also stubbornly trying to hide it.
"You don't have to worry about anything anymore, Grace. You are a part of our family now, and we will always protect our family. Always and forever." Rebekah whispered as she shushed both Nik and I.
That was the last thing that I remembered before I drifted off to sleep, safe in Nik's arms.
A/N: And another one bites the dust. Hope that you've enjoyed this chapter. Please review, and the next chapter should be out soon.
TTFN xx.