I hope you like it, be sure to take a peek at the dress I chose if you'd like, it's the Unique Vintage Burgundy & Gold Sequin Lina Fringe Flapper Dress.
"I don't understand why I'm here," Brenna whined as she flopped down onto the couch.
"It's a momentous occasion, love, stop whining," Nik smirked at her as she glared.
"Yes, it will be momentous when it actually happens. But Bekah has been gone for a couple of days dealing with Ric's alter ego, who knows when she'll be back with the stake."
"Don't you like my company?" he smiled at her as he painted.
"Well, I love it, but I'm bored. I've been here for 2 hours and you won't let me do anything fun."
"Just because I wouldn't let you paint clouds on my art with shaving cream, doesn't mean I'm depriving you of entertainment."
"I just wanted to spice up your picture, they're all dark and twisted."
"I'm dark and twisted."
"No, you're not," Brenna scoffed, making him turn to look at her. "You're kind of like a carebear."
Nik then scowled and stormed out of the room and Brenna raised her eyebrows, she didn't think he'd crack that easily. One minute after leaving he came back into the room and tossed her a book that she scrambled to catch. "There, entertain yourself."
"Inferno? Really?" she huffed as she looked over the cover.
"Well it's where you're headed, best familiarise yourself with the environment," he joked at her and she faked laughter right before Rebekah walked in.
"Oh thank god," Brenna said excitedly.
"What took you so long?" he asked.
"Alaric didn't want to hand over the stake," she shrugged as she sauntered into the room.
"You didn't hurt him did you?" Brenna asked.
"No," she said holding the last white oak stake in the air. "Luckily I'm quite the charmer," she said and Brenna snorted slightly.
"Hush," Nik chided Brenna while he smiled at her. "That's it?" he asked his sister.
"The last of the white oak stakes that can kill us," Rebekah said holding it out towards Nik. "Do you want to do the honours or shall I?" Nik then grabbed the stake from Rebekah and threw it into the fire. "Well, that's that then," she said as she turned to walk away.
"Pack your bags, we're leaving," Nik said to the both of them.
Rebekah froze. "Today?" she asked worriedly. Brenna frowned as she studied her friend, something wasn't quite right with her.
"Why not? There's nothing keeping us here. Brenna's finally agreed to come with Kol, all we need to do is grab the doppelgänger and be off by sunset."
"What!" Brenna snapped standing up. He had not filled her in on this detail.
"But tonight's the decade dance," Rebekah complained.
"So?" Nik asked.
"Excuse me? Can we revisit the whole Elena thing please?"
"So, I'm head of the committee. We have to go."
"I'm not going to any dance," Nik refused.
"Brenna will be there," Rebekah enticed. Brenna turned to look at her friend in shock. She was acting strange.
Nik's eyes flicked nervously over to Brenna. "Why would that sway me on wanting to go to a dance?"
"Please?" Rebekah asked. "I have big plans for tonight. Besides, Brenna here needs a reasonable escort. She texted me saying she was going with her brother."
"Hey," Brenna whined. "Jeremy's cool."
"It's your brother dear," Rebekah smirked at her. "Surely Niklaus will do better, seeing as Kol left to go council some witch about your condition."
"My condition? Seriously? You're being a little rude, Bex," Brenna frowned.
Rebekah pulled a sulking face at Nik. "Just go so Brenna doesn't have to take her brother to a high school dance?"
Nik turned to her with a wide smirk. "You aren't really going with your brother are you?"
"Him, Matt and I were going as an awesome threesome."
"Well that's embarrassing," he laughed. "I'll take you and save you some humiliation if you'd like."
"You can come if you leave Elena here?"
"I'll take it under advisement," Nik lied. "I'll go. One last hurrah."
"One last hurrah, Nik," Rebekah smirked before walking off.
Brenna slumped back down onto the couch. She'd have to speak to Nik when he was in a better mood. "I don't have a dress."
"You're telling me this because?" Nik asked as he went back to start painting.
"Well, seeing as you are being blessed with my company for the evening, the least you could do is pull a lovely 20s dress out from your closet of history."
"You were always going to ask me to get you a dress weren't you?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Brenna smiled.
"The dance is tonight. You should already have a dress."
"Well, I figured what was the point in finding my own dress when I knew you'd have one tucked away somewhere?"
"You are sneaky. I'll find you one later," he laughed. "Read your bloody book," he smiled before returning to painting.
"Ew that's gone all yellow," Brenna whined as Nik pulled out dresses for her to choose from.
"Are you enjoying this?" he asked. "I've shown you 20 dresses."
"I am not enjoying this," she said and he raised his eyebrows. "Ok, maybe a little."
"Can I ask you something?"
"That depends."
"Why is Kol not coming tonight?"
"He is back to tracking down witches to remove my curse."
"But you're not happy about that? Usually, you support him, but now you're…"
"It's been a thousand years Nik. If there was a way to stop me dying don't you think we would have found it already? He's wasting his time."
"You don't expect him to give up do you?"
"No, I know him, he would never. I just wish… I tried to explain that, what I would rather is he spend our time apart looking for a magical fix rather than our time together since it is so short. He got upset at that. He's travelling to Greece to talk to a coven of witches on an island. It's a waste of time."
"I know. I understand both sides," Nik sighed.
"You do?"
"All his life he has dedicated to finding a cure for you. He can't stop, it's the only thing he knows how to do apart from reaping destruction. I paint, Rebekah socialises, Elijah studies philosophy and you read and annoy everyone in your general vicinity."
"Hilarious," she glared.
"My point is, we know how to occupy ourselves. He doesn't. His whole purpose is to help you. And when he's not doing that he's tearing through villages," he said making Brenna look down. "He has to find a way to enjoy life outside of you. His happiness for one thousand years has been tied to you, it's a hard habit to break."
"If his happiness is tied to me, why does he keep leaving? We spent a few weeks away together and that was great, but… what's the point in being together if we aren't actually together? It's exhausting Nik, I'm so tired," Brenna's eyes filled with tears. "Living this way, it's exhausting. And I could never tell him this, but when Finn told me that your mother was looking to end my reincarnation spell, I was a bit relieved. I've been living this cycle for a millennium, I'm stuck. I'm not moving forward, it's just stagnant."
"You can talk to him you know, about how you're feeling," he smiled at her. He always knew these emotions were just below the surface. They were kindred spirits in that sense, they always understood each other's darker emotions. "I understand that you get upset, but Brenna, there is a cure for you somewhere out there. If anyone is going to be able to find it, it's him. And when he does, you can move forward, and you can be happy again. Like we used to be."
"Thanks, Nik," Brenna said softly.
"Alright, a dress. How about this?" he said pulling out another.
"Wow, actually, I really like that one," Brenna said walking forward.
"Finally," Nik sighed as he handed her the burgundy dress with gold sequins.
"Yes, yes, this is it," Brenna smiled.
"Amazing. Now, you've done your hair, you've done your makeup, so why don't you pop it on so we can get a move on, love."
"Fine, bossy," Brenna said snatching the dress and walking out of his room to hers to change.
"Wow," Nik smiled at her as she exited her room. "Brenna… you look beautiful," he said.
"Thank you," Brenna smiled doing a spin. "Suit me?"
"Everything suits you," he smiled at her sadly.
"I wonder where Bekah is. She promised me a week ago she'd help me get ready. What a no-show."
"Perhaps she left early for the dance? She is the 'head of the committee' is she not? Besides, is it such a bad thing she's not here? She was quite snappy before," he asked holding out his arm.
Brenna laughed and looped her hand through the crook of his elbow. "Yes she was but that probably had something to do with you mocking her dance. I'm glad she's on the committee. She may deny it but it has certainly helped her assimilate into society better than if she had continued sulking around here like she was. Plus if Bex organised this dance with Caroline, you can be certain it will look spectacular," she laughed as they left for the dance.
"This looks intolerable," Nik said as they walked into the dance.
"Oh come on, it looks fun," Brenna laughed. "Besides you owe me big time."
"Oh, do I now?"
"Indeed," Brenna nodded. "You may recall, the last decade dance this school held, you spent the whole time in Ric's body taunting me, tried to kill Bonnie, scared Elena and ended up drugging me."
"I do owe you don't I," he laughed. "Come on, let's get you a drink," he said walking her over to the drink station. Brenna smiled and looked him up and down. "What?" he asked sceptically.
"Nothing," she smiled. "I just like the white suit. It looks good, very dashing," she teased before looking up to see him smiling down at her. She took a deep breath and turned away slightly. "So, who are we going to pick on tonight?" Brenna asked when he gave her a drink.
"Feeling troublesome are we?"
"Sure am," Brenna smirked. "Who looks annoying tonight?"
"Brea," Jeremy said coming up to her in a huff.
"Him," Brenna said pointing at her brother "He looks annoying enough to hassle."
"What?" Jeremy asked confused. "Brea, I need you."
"Hey, you ok bud?" Brenna asked putting down her drink, realising something was wrong.
Jeremy quickly looked at Nik before looking back at Brenna. "No, can I talk to you please?" he said looking behind him. "Now?" he asked when he saw Elena enter the gym and run after him.
"Yeah," she said. "I'll be back," she said turning to Nik before following Jeremy outside the school. "Hey, what's up?"
"Ric's not taking the herbs Bonnie made him," he said walking quickly.
"What?" Brenna asked, struggling to keep up. "But that means…"
"I caught Damon, Stefan and Elena discussing options. Damon wants to kill him, he calls it a mercy killing."
"No!" Brenna gasped as she ran faster. "We can't let that happen. This is Ric, we can't let him get hurt!"
"Jer! Brea! Stop!" Elena yelled as she followed them out.
Jeremy quickly stopped and spun around to face Elena. "This is Alaric we're talking about," he snapped. "He looked out for us. We need to do the same for him."
"No one's going to hurt him," Elena assured and Jeremy rolled his eyes walking off.
"Then what's all this about a mercy killing?" Brenna asked.
"It's not going to happen. I won't let it happen," Elena said before touching Brenna's elbow, ushering her to follow. "Hey, hey. Look at me," she pleaded with their brother. "I promise."
"Brenna, Elena," a familiar voice called from behind them. Brenna's eyes went wider than they'd ever gone before and she grabbed onto Jeremy's arms in fear.
"I'm going to be sick," Brenna stuttered before releasing Jeremy's arm and she and Elena turned to face Esther.
"If you wish to help your friend, Alaric, I suggest you both come with me," Esther asked of them.
"Jer, you need to leave," Brenna pleaded.
"Yeah, you do," Elena agreed. "Jeremy, go inside and get Stefan and Damon. Now."
"I'm not leaving you," Jeremy said grabbing Brenna's wrist.
"Jer please, go get help," Brenna pleaded with him and he reluctantly nodded before sprinting off.
"I mean neither of you any harm, but willingly or not, you will come."
"You've tried to kill us both before, so I'm not going willingly," Brenna said.
"Very well," Esther smiled softly before holding up her hand and Brenna and Elena's feet began sliding across the ground and towards Esther.
"Ah bugger," Brenna groaned, trying to resist. "Bloody witches. Ok, fine, we'll walk, we'll walk," Brenna snapped and Esther released her hold on the twins without turning to look at them as she continued. Brenna grabbed Elena's arm and went to make a run for it. As she tried to take her first step, she fell flat on the ground with a groan. "What the hell," Brenna moaned as she sat up to see she could not lift her left foot from the ground.
"You cannot escape my child. I recommend we do this the easy way," Esther said as she stopped walking, still not facing them.
"It's ok Brea," Elena said helping her twin up. "I know I've been a bad sister, but I swear I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, but we have to follow."
"But Elena," Brenna whined quickly looking to see Esther still wasn't looking at them, and she pulled out her phone.
Elena nodded and started rambling to try to keep Esther unsuspicious. "You have to trust me this time. Trust is key…"
Brenna began texting Nik.
B - I'm with Esther, you have to run. I'll be fine. Please just go.
As soon as Brenna clicked send, Esther clicked her fingers and Brenna yelled out, dropping her phone as it got extraordinarily hot. "That was a new brand phone," she snapped.
"Follow me, your friend Alaric is eager to see you," Esther ordered before continuing walking. Elena and Brenna sighed before they followed after her.
After walking from the school to the old cemetery in near silence Esther finally spoke. "You'll forgive me for taking you from the dance this evening."
"Actually I do not," Brenna replied sarcastically but was ignored. "Mikaelson's always ruin school dances," Brenna stomped her foot pettily.
"That's the burden of you each being, one, a doppelgänger, and the other the perfect lure for all my surviving children. The doppelgängers blood is a potent binding agent for a witch's spell."
"Just please don't hurt Alaric," Elena begged.
"She's not hurting me," Ric said emerging from behind some trees.
"Ric!" Brenna said relieved, and she took a step forward eagerly before her face fell and she quickly backtracked to stand slightly behind her sister. "This is stabby Ric, stabby Ric," she said tapping Elena's arm panicked.
"No need to fear my child, he will not harm you now," Esther assured.
"Last time he was in this state he plunged a knife into my leg!"
"What's going on?" Elena asked as Ric advanced towards them. "What are you doing with him?"
"I'm going to remake him."
"Remake him?" Elena asked shocked.
"He's a person, you can't do that. He's not Frankenstein's monster. He has family, people that need him, please don't hurt him," Brenna stuttered.
"I only want to make him strong. Fast. Like my children. Indestructible."
"Oh no, oh no no no, didn't you learn the first time?" Brenna asked. "This is a bad idea."
"For one final time, I'm going to tap into the dark magic I used a thousand years ago. Like my husband, Mikael, before him, I will make Alaric into a true hunter. I will then use Brenna to draw out my children, who will run to save her. He will be the vampire to end all vampires."
"You can't create another Original," Elena protested. "What if he turns out to be a bigger monster than your children?"
"Hey," Brenna scowled.
"Sorry," Elena whispered.
"He won't, now that he's embraced his darkest aspect. His hatred for them will become more pure and uncompromising."
"His hatred of vampires is what made him try to kill me the last time! And he's killed multiple humans. Ric's not exactly reliable."
"In death, his hatred of vampires will become more magnified. His sole aim will be to end them. He won't target humans, that I promise you."
"You can't know that," Elena snapped. "You don't know anything about him."
"Alaric is a good person. He looked after my family when we had no one else left. This isn't him," Brenna agreed as she frantically looked over at the mute Alaric, hoping he'd come back to himself.
"That is where you're both wrong," Esther argued. "Each time he died with the ring, during his brief journey into death I was there, on the other side. I spoke to him, I nurtured him, knowing that every death brought him closer to his true self."
"You poisoned him. You poisoned his mind!" Brenna said in disbelief.
"Perhaps," she agreed. "Vampires took everything from him. Now he's getting his vengeance."
Previously at Mystic Falls Decade Dance
"I'll be back," Brenna said before following her brother out of the gym. Nik sighed and stared after her. She was the only reason he came tonight and she was gone. He looked around the room for someone to torment when his eyes landed on a certain hybrid. Smirking he made his way over to the dancing Tyler and Caroline. As he got closer, Tyler spotted him, his eyes widening.
"What is it?" Caroline asked noticing his change in demeanour.
"Where have you been, mate?" Nik asked as he walked up to them.
"I just got back in town," Tyler answered nervously.
"That's funny. I don't recall giving you permission to leave in the first place," Nik scowled. "You don't mind if I cut in do you?" he said walking towards Caroline.
"Yes," she snapped. "Actually, we do. Didn't I see you here with Brea? Go dance with her."
"Well, Brenna's been momentarily called away for some petty family drama no doubt, so until she returns I'm in need of some entertainment, if you will," Nik said looking at Tyler.
Tyler sighed before nodding. "It's fine," Tyler said, handing Caroline over to Nik.
"Why do you always have to prove you're the alpha male?" Caroline snapped, turning to face Nik.
"I don't have to prove anything, love, I am the alpha male." Caroline scoffed angrily. "Come on. One dance, Brenna should be back by then. I won't bite." Caroline turned to look at Tyler one last time before reluctantly taking Nik's hand and allowing him to escort her further onto the dance floor. "You would have loved the 1920's Caroline. Girls were reckless, sexy, fun. They literally used to dance until they dropped."
"I don't suppose that happened to their dance partners," she replied snidely.
"You should be nicer to me. I'm leaving town tomorrow."
"What?" Caroline asked.
"Brenna accepted my offer for her to come with me so she'll be departing as well."
"You're taking Brea?" Caroline asked shocked, her face falling instantly.
Nik shrugged. "You can't expect her to stay in this town, can you? I enjoy your company, Caroline, as does Brenna. Perhaps one day, in a year, or even a century, you'll come to us. We could show you what the world has to offer outside of a small town." Caroline chuckled nervously and looked away. "You mark my words. I'm telling you this as a friend, a small-town boy, a small-town life, it won't be enough for you," he gave her a small smile and walked off to look for Brenna or Rebekah. After walking around and not finding either he pulled out his phone to call his sister and walked outside, only for the call to go straight to voicemail. "Rebekah call me back immediately. I only came to this dance for you and Brenna and neither of you is anywhere to be found," he growled before hanging up. He looked down at the ground in front of him and found there was a trail of salt, encircling the school. "What is this?" he snarled when he felt Stefan approach him from behind. Surely this wasn't another attempt to kill him? When would they learn that it was impossible? Before Stefan could respond, Nik's phone buzzed with a text and he pulled it out to see it was from Brenna.
B - I'm with Esther, you have to run. I'll be fine. Please just go.
His eyes went wide and he spun to face Stefan. "Your mother's back," Stefan said.
"She has Brenna," Nik said holding up his phone to show Stefan.
"And Elena," Stefan added. "We're meeting to try to come up with a plan. Figured you'd want in."
"Where?" Nik snarled.
"Cafeteria, let's go," Stefan said jerking his head as they stormed off towards it. As they entered they saw Bonnie chanting as she tried to break the boundary spell Esther had cast.
"She does this all the time, right?" Bonnie's date, Jamie, asked.
"What's taking so long?" Nik snapped impatiently. "All boundary spells have a loophole."
Matt then came running into the room. "People are walking right out of the dance, past the barrier."
"If Matt and I can leave, we can stop Esther ourselves. We just got to find out where she is," Jeremy agreed.
"It's suicide, Jeremy," Stefan said dismissing his idea.
"Brea's there, Stefan. With Esther."
"What do you mean?" Stefan asked, wondering why Jeremy was so panicked.
"Esther just tried to kill her only a couple of weeks ago, we have to get her out of there. I can't leave her there."
"Suicide would be disappointing me," Nik raged as he flew at Bonnie's date and slammed him into the wall. "Now, work your magic, witch," he spat at Bonnie. "Or I'll start killing the people you fancy."
"Let him go!" Bonnie begged.
"Not until you get us out of here."
"Ah, don't be stupid Klaus," Stefan said trying to diffuse the situation. "Bonnie doesn't give a damn about us. The only reason she's helping right now is to save Caroline, Tyler and Brenna. Start killing the people she cares about, she'll tell us all to go to hell."
Nik looked at Bonnie before looking back at Jamie and reluctantly releasing his grip on his neck. "Hurry up," he said to Bonnie quieter and calmer. "So I can get my sister out of there." Despite the conversation the two had earlier, Nik knew she didn't want Esther to undo the spell, at least not yet.
In the Cemetery
"Ric, this isn't what you want," Elena pleaded with Ric, trying to reach the old him. "It's not who you are."
"You don't know who I am Elena," Ric said unfeelingly.
"Ric, please, Ric, we know you," Brenna pleaded. "We love you!"
"You both only know the weakest parts of me, the man who lost his way, befriending vampires instead of killing them."
"You don't mean that," Elena said in shock.
"They're all monsters. The blood of their victims is on my hands. Jenna's blood is on my hands," Ric said and Brenna's face fell and her eyes filled with tears, this caught his attention and he turned to her. "Klaus killed your best friend. And all it took was one little apology and you went back to him," he said to her cruelly. Elena reached out an arm to wrap it around Brenna in comfort. "You forgave her murderer," he said as she began to shake.
"Hey, hey," Elena whispered, trying to pull Brenna's attention from Ric to her. "Don't listen to him. It's ok, it's ok," she said stroking her sister's hair.
Esther then walked past the two of them and the twins clung to each other nervously. "When you are ready," Esther said approaching Ric.
"No, Ric, please, don't," Elena begged.
"Ric, don't do this. We need you, please, we need you, Jeremy needs you, Elena needs you, I need you!" Brenna pleaded with her guardian, but he paid her no mind. "If you don't do this I promise I'll give you the $20 I owe you from when you beat me five times in a row at pool! I swear I'll pay you!" Nothing.
Ric took a deep breath before picking up the bowl in front of him and holding it forward for Esther. "I won't help you," Elena snapped. "I'm not going to give you my blood. You're going to have to kill me."
"That won't be necessary," Esther said turning to face them.
"If you do this, you'll be no better than your children," Brenna said to Esther, trying to make her change her mind.
"I disagree," she said before raising her hand towards Elena. Elena's face contorted in pain.
"Elena, Elena," Brenna said worriedly, as Elena reached out to use her sister as support to stay standing. "Stop! You have to stop!" Brenna yelled at Esther. "Ric! Please, help us! Where does it hurt, Elena!" Brenna asked as she held her sister. Elena choked out a groan, raised one hand to her heart and clutched her chest in pain. She let out another cry of pain before pulling the hand away and the twins watched as Elena's palm was invisibly sliced by a magical force. "Oh no," Brenna panicked. Esther made a move towards Elena and Brenna jumped in front of her sister, she couldn't let Esther do this. "I won't let you do this, I can't let you do this to our family!"
"Alaric," Esther called and Ric lowered the bowl before coming towards the twins, he reached out and grabbed Brenna, and using his strength, he pulled the twins apart and held Brenna away from Elena.
"No!" Brenna cried as Esther grabbed Elena viscously and held her hand over the bowl, allowing blood to seep from her palm, into the bowl. After enough blood had filled the bowl, Elena was released.
Esther turned to Alaric. "Drink. And let it be done," she ordered. Alaric released his hold on Brenna and walked towards Esther.
"No!" Brenna yelled and she lunged forward and slapped the bowl out of Esther's hand. "Ha!" she yelled victoriously, throwing her arms in the air as Esther's concoction spread over the crypt floor.
"You've stopped nothing, my child," Esther chided before she began chanting and the mixture she had made began to lift off the ground and back into the bowl.
"Oh crap," Brenna groaned. "Don't drink it, Ric, please! It's been on the ground, it's dirty, that's gross. You hate germs, Ric. Remember? You always told Jer to clean his room because things might be growing mould? That probably has mould in it! Don't drink it. Think about the mould!" Brenna desperately tried to plead with him.
Ric took the bowl from Esther's hand and raised it. "No. Ric, please, don't," Elena begged coming to stand next to Brenna. They couldn't reach him though and he raised the bowl and drank from it.
"No," they both sighed in despair.
Ric finished the bowl and looked up at Esther. "Is it finished?" he asked.
"Not just yet," she whispered before stabbing him in the stomach.
"Ahhhh!" the twins screamed at seeing Ric stabbed. At that moment they forgot all their fights and turned to each other and hugged and cried.
Back at the School
Bonnie ran into Alaric's classroom and tore the map of Mystic Falls off the wall. "Here," Damon said coming into the classroom with Nik hot on his tail. "Jeremy made a little Gilbert blood donation for your spell," he said handing Bonnie a vial of blood.
"Do I have to do this with you two lurking over me?" Bonnie asked.
"You're still mad at me for what happened to Abby. Let me apologise," he said sarcastically. "I'm sorry Elijah forced us to turn your mother into a vampire to save Elena's life, and from the sounds of what Jeremy just mentioned, it had the knock-on effect of saving Brenna's. Didn't exactly have a choice."
"There's always a choice" Bonnie snapped at him. "Whenever you make one, someone else suffers."
"Let's cut the dramatics and begin, shall we?" Nik asked stepping forward to stand next to the two at the desk. Bonnie turned away from the two of them, poured Jeremy's blood onto the map and began chanting.
"Esther's fighting me," Bonnie said in shock as she looked down at the map, the blood hadn't moved.
"Esther couldn't possibly have this much power unless she's channelling something," Nik said quietly.
"A hot spot," Bonnie suggested.
"Get the humans ready. I know where they are."
In the Cemetery
Elena rested Ric's head on her lap while Brenna knelt next to his side, holding his hand. Elena put her hands over the stake Esther used to stab him and shook violently before she collected herself, grabbed the stake and pulled it out of him. "He'll wake soon," Esther said, breaking the silence. "When he does, he may, for a time, be his old self."
"His real self," Brenna snarled.
Esther sighed. "If so, you can say your goodbyes before his transition is complete." Esther then bent down and handed Elena a handkerchief to clean up her palm.
"You said you wanted to undo the evil that you created, you made me believe…" Elena stuttered. "I know my sister. She loves them. She's not evil. She couldn't love evil. When she started loving them they were human, they were good. You turned them into monsters, but I've seen them around her. They have souls, they're not evil, you just made them cold to the world. You made them this way, you're the evil," Elena cried. "You tried to kill my sister! You killed Ric! You're worse than evil."
"I will admit, the way I went about helping Brenna was wrong."
"You weren't trying to help me," Brenna muttered.
"But Alaric will never be what my children became," Esther tried to reason. "I have granted him enough power to complete his task. Then, when the time is right he will die."
"How?" Brenna asked. "If he's immortal…"
"All you both need to know is when this is over, we will have rid the Earth of vampires once and for all. And when that has happened, Brenna, you will come to me, I will remove the spell on you and you can join my children in peace," she said and Brenna began shaking.
Elena slowly stood up and moved in front of Brenna. "But you'll be killing the good along with the bad. You're no better than Klaus."
"Am I not?" she asked.
"You are worse," Brenna responded, standing up next to her sister.
"I desire a world where both you and your human loved ones will not suffer at the hands of vampires like your aunt Jenna did. Brenna, you saw how the will of my son, Niklaus, twisted your sister Katerina. I watched her change, she was a sweet girl with a good heart. My son changed her."
Elena glared. "Don't you dare use Jenna as an excuse for what you've done."
"You have no right to mention either of their names. They both suffered because of a curse you placed on Nik. Your eternal damnation of Nik ruined him, it ruined Katerina and it got Jenna killed. You do not get to speak their names."
Esther looked at Brenna sadly. "You may draw comfort knowing that your aunt is not in the place that I was. She doesn't know the torment of the other side." At hearing this both Brenna and Elena's eyes filled with tears. "Though made a vampire, she remained pure. And she knows peace. Which is all any of us can hope for." Esther clearly didn't know Jenna was alive. She wasn't in the same place as Esther was because she was currently walking around her house with her little lawyer boyfriend. From outside the crypt, they heard a twig snap. Esther's face instantly hardened up, going from one of sympathy to one on guard. She turned around and made her way out of the crypt.
"Don't move!" the twins heard a voice yell.
"Is that Matt?" Brenna asked worried and Elena turned to her wide-eyed.
"Where are my sisters?" Jeremy demanded.
"Jeremy!" Brenna breathed and the twins ran out next to Esther.
"Jeremy?" Elena called out as they got outside.
"Let them go," Jeremy demanded. He was holding a crossbow and Matt had a shotgun. Both pointed at Esther.
"How foolish of you to risk your lives in defence of those who will kill you," Esther mused. "But if that is your choice." Esther raised her arms and both Matt and Jeremy's arms began to shake.
"What are you doing?" Brenna demanded. "What are you doing to them? Oh my god!" she yelled as she realised she was focussing Matt and Jeremy's weapons from her to each other. "Stop! Stop! You want to protect humans! Stop!" she screamed.
"Matt. Matt, drop your gun," Jeremy said shakily.
"I can't," Matt grunted as he tried to work against the invisible forces controlling him. "I'm not controlling it."
Elena was frozen in fear, she couldn't do anything. "NO!" Brenna yelled as she ran forward and stood in their path. If they were to shoot, they'd kill her. Seeing this Esther's eyes widened for a moment before they hardened over.
"Esther stop it!" Elena screamed when she saw Brenna standing in between the two, her hands in the air.
"Brea, get out of the way! Brea!" Matt yelled.
"Move Brea, move!" Jeremy screamed at his sister.
Brenna's eyes widened as she saw a figure run out of the crypt and up behind Esther, stabbing her in the back. It was Ric. As soon as he stabbed her, the spell she was using on Jeremy and Matt broke and their weapons fell to the ground. Ric yanked the stake out of Esther's back and she fell to the ground. "Ric," Brenna breathed as her body relaxed. "Oh my god," she cried. She ran forward and pulled him in for a hug while he panted in shock. She released him and he looked around confused. He saw blood on Elena's dress and grabbed her hand to see the large cut across it.
"Oh my god," he panted, looking down to see that the weapon he'd grabbed was a stake. He felt his chest where Esther had stabbed him, even though it had healed, he must have felt it. "Where's my ring? Tell me what happened," he said looking at them all. Elena and Brenna looked at each other, tears falling. They'd lost their guardian.
"Ric…" Elena started.
"It's not good is it?" he asked.
"Ric," Brenna started before she looked into his eyes. "No, it's not."
"Esther," Elena sniffled. "She manipulated the other side of you."
"The Badlaric," Brenna explained and he gave her a small smile.
"She used my blood, doppelgänger blood to… turn you."
"Turn me?"
"The final vampire," Elena cried.
"What does that mean?" he asked frantically.
"She said you're not immortal when your task is done, you'll… die," Brenna explained.
"What task?"
"To kill all the Originals, end the whole vampire race. When you turn, your alter ego will take over, your sole purpose will be hunting Originals," Brenna cried. "She made a stake out of your ring, a white oak stake, it can't be destroyed. She wants you to become a killing machine."
"Oh my god, no," Jeremy let out in shock. Ric was silent as he stumbled back slightly, taking in what had happened. After a couple of minutes of solemn silence, Brenna let out a yell when she felt hands on her shoulder.
"Relax, relax love it's just me," Nik said.
"Nik!" Brenna breathed turning around. She quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him a decent distance from her family. "Oh my god," she cried and threw herself into his arms.
"I've got you love, I've got you," he whispered. "Did she hurt you?" he asked and Brenna shook her head. "You had me worried."
"I need you to get Esther's body out of here, please. Ric killed her, I think she's dead for good but… something happened to Ric, I promise I'll explain but you can't be here. You're the last person they need to see her right now. Meet me at the car ok? I'll go to the car and meet you when I'm done, I'm going to need to stay at home tonight but my car is at yours…" she began ranting. "I just, have to help my family right now."
"Of course love. I'll get her out of here," he nodded before going to remove Esther's body.
Brenna walked back over to Ric and Elena and ushered them into the crypt. "We can't let him know," Elena whispered, just in case he was still in earshot.
"I know," Brenna nodded. "I know. He only needs to know she tried to make Ric into a weapon and failed."
"I can't do it. Turn, that is. You know that right?" Ric asked the girls.
Elena took Brenna's hand. "We know," she said shakily.
"Damon's here," Jeremy said coming into the crypt. "Klaus took Esther's body."
"Does he know about the stake?" Ric asked.
"No," Jeremy answered. "He didn't hear anything. He's waiting for Brea to talk to him." Ric looked at the twins, he wasn't sure how to break it to Jeremy. "What?" Jeremy asked, sensing something was wrong.
"Jeremy… I'm not going to complete the transition," he said sadly and Jeremy's eyes widened. "My dark side was dangerous enough as a human. I nearly killed Brea, what's to say I wouldn't hurt her or any other human?" he asked. "I can't be a vampire. My number one goal would be to destroy the Originals. I can't do that. I can't do that to your sister," he said sadly.
"So what? We're just going to lock you in here and let you die?" Jeremy asked angrily. Brenna sniffled, knowing that's exactly what Ric would want. He wouldn't want them to watch him die. Jeremy also came to this realisation. "No!" he protested. "No, we can't."
"Listen, Jeremy, it's the right thing to do," Ric said firmly. "Ok? After everything that's happened, after… after all that I've done. Maybe I had it coming."
"No! No," Brenna said, eyes full of tears. "Ric, you do not deserve this."
Jeremy scoffed at the entire situation before he began to storm out of the crypt.
"Hey, wait, Jer," Elena called as she went to follow him. Jeremy stopped and turned back around, he knew he couldn't leave his family now.
"Please, you guys," Ric begged, "let's not make this any harder than it already is. You three should go. Damon's here. He'll make sure it'll all go down the right way," he promised and they all drew a difficult breath. Jeremy went to leave again. "Hey, hey," Ric said after him.
"Don't," Jeremy argued back. "Don't give me some crap speech about how I need to be the man of the house."
"Ok," Ric nodded. "I won't," he said stepping forward and pulling Jeremy in for a hug, Jeremy's face crumpled, and just before he began crying, he pulled away and stormed out of the crypt.
Ric turned back to the twins, tears in his eyes. "This is all my fault," Elena cried.
"It's not," Brenna whispered.
"You moved out. You gave me your ring back. You didn't want any part of this and I… I forced you to stay and take care of us," she cried.
"Don't do that," Ric said sadly. "Ok? Taking care of you, Brea and Jeremy has been it's been… It's been the closest I've ever come to the life I always wanted," he said. As soon as he said this, tears came flowing out of Brenna's eyes. Elena stepped forward and pulled him in for a hug. "Elena you should go," he said and she nodded and wiped her eyes before exiting the crypt, leaving just Brenna and Ric.
"Brea…" Ric started before Brenna began sobbing. "Hey, hey," he said pulling her in for a hug. "Please don't."
"Ric… I… I've had a lot of families, but this one, it's something special," she said pulling away. "Despite all the crap that's happened, I don't think anyone in this life has ever made me feel so loved, so understood after they found out about my past."
"I love all you kids no matter what," Ric smiled.
"Well you're basically my uncle right?" she laughed.
"Right," he said pulling her in for another hug. "Did you get a chance to read the letter I wrote yet?"
"Not yet," Brenna said pulling back and grabbing her bag off the floor, pulling out the letter. "I've been carrying it around with me. It's just passwords right?"
"It's got the deed to my apartment in it," Ric smiled. "I transferred it to you."
"What?" she said looking up. "Why?"
"You need a place of your own. I don't know where you've been staying lately, but you deserve a place that you feel safe in. You can stay there with Kol. I want you to finish school, you're so bright and I know you enjoy it. I don't want you to give up. Stay in my apartment with Kol and be happy. That's all I want for you, and I know it's gotten all muddled up the last few weeks but I've seen you, I've watched you since he's been back, you know that. You need him, you need the Originals. They're your family."
"Ric," Brenna sobbed pulling him in for another hug, only when she was losing him did she realise just how much he was on her side. "I love you. I have something I need to tell you... You can't die not knowing."
"What is it?" he asked in concern.
"It's a secret. Nik made me swear. It's for the best. She's safer this way," Brenna breathed heavily before she leaned up to his ear and whispered. "Jenna's alive."
She pulled back to see his eyes as wide as saucers. "What?" he breathed in shock.
Brenna could only nod. "Witches. He couldn't kill her, he knew what it would do to me. He spared her. I saw her last week. She's happy. She's living in LA, and she's happy."
Ric smiled as his eyes filled with tears. Knowing this eased some of the guilt that had been looming over his head ever since he lost Jenna. "I love you kiddo," he sighed. "Come on," he said putting his arm around her and walking her out. As they stepped out Brenna and Ric both froze. Everyone was standing around holding candles. Stefan, Damon, Caroline, Tyler, Matt, Bonnie, Jeremy, Elena and Meredith.
Brenna smiled. "You're so loved," she whispered before she pulled away and walked over to Jeremy's side. She turned back to face Ric and Jeremy wrapped his arm around Brenna's shoulder and held her while her tears fell silently. Ric stood there staring at them, taking it all in one last time before he slowly turned around and walked back into the crypt one last time, shutting the door behind him. Brenna let out a sobbing sound and Matt instantly walked over to her and pulled her from Jeremy and towards himself for a hug. "Matt," she sobbed.
"Shh," he said.
She pulled herself together enough to look at her brother. "My car's at Nik's. I'm going to go get it and I'll meet you and Lena at home ok?" she asked and he nodded before the group started to disband in silence.
"Come on," Matt said, wrapping his suit jacket around Brenna's arm, "I'll walk you back to the school," he said as he placed his arm over her shoulder and guided her away. "Will you be ok?" he asked.
"I will be," she sniffled. "It'll just take some time. How about you? Are you ok? You've been on your own for a while."
"Please," Matt laughed softly. "Please don't worry about me right now." Brenna nodded gently at him and they walked in silence back to the school to see Nik leaning against his car. As soon as he saw her he stood up straight and walked over to them.
"I've got it from here mate," he said taking Brenna from Matt's embrace, he walked her over to the car and helped her into the passenger seat before he turned back to Matt. "Thank you," he said gently before getting into the driver's seat and driving them away. "What happened?" he asked softly after an extended period of silence. "I ran back to the house to put Esther's body in a coffin, she was inhabiting Rebekah's body this morning. I found Rebekah daggered."
"That would make sense," Brenna sniffed. "She was acting weird this morning. Esther tried to use Ric's dark side and manipulate it into a weapon to destroy our family. She failed, that's what matters. She failed, and she died. But so will Ric. She used Elena's blood to turn him into another Original. Mikael 2.0. He isn't completing the transition. Damon's watching over him to make sure it goes the right way. Esther killed him," Brenna cried.
"The history teacher?"
"Yeah, he was one of the only ones that always respected my past, no matter what."
"Do you want me to call Kol?" Nik offered.
"No," Brenna cried as she wiped her tears as they pulled into the driveway of the Mikaelson Mansion. "No. He should've been here. He shouldn't have left, I can only deal with one problem at a time and right now I need to be there for my family."
"Love, give me your keys," Nik said holding out his hand.
"What?"
"You're shaking Brenna, I'm not letting you drive yourself home. Give me your keys, I'll drive you and I can just run home after," he offered and Brenna wiped her tears and nodded before handing him her keys.
Halfway back to her house, she got a text from Matt.
M - Hey, I know you were headed home, Elena's at the school clearing out Ric's stuff. I'm with Jer at the Grill. Join us for a drink.
B - Will be 2 minutes
"Hey, can you do me a favour?" Brenna asked, breaking the silence.
"Of course," Nik nodded.
"Can you drop me at the Grill and my car at the house?"
"Of course," he nodded, turning the corner to pull up in front of the Grill. "It looks closed love," he said, noticing the Grill's lights were off.
"Jer and Matt are in there. Thank you, Nik. For everything. I mean it," she smiled before getting out of her car and walking into the Grill.
"Hey," Matt called out forlornly from behind the bar.
"Hey," she said walking up and taking a seat next to Jeremy.
Matt poured them all shots of bourbon and handed them out. "Mr Saltzman."
"Alaric," Jeremy toasted.
"Ric," Brenna said, holding up her glass and all of them drank. They put down their glass and Brenna looked over at Jeremy to see a tear falling, he did his best to wipe it away but it was too late, they were flowing. Seeing her brother cry made Brenna cry again as well and she turned towards him and they leaned on each other crying out the pain. Brenna looked up at Matt and gently nudged the glasses towards him and he nodded and filled them back up. Brenna picked up a glass and handed it to her brother who slowly sat up and took it. "I'm only condoning this once," she said sadly, and they raised their glasses again and drank.