A/N: I was just minding my business watching some Kol clips to refresh his characterisation in my mind for separate works and instead I made myself mad about 'a View to a Kill' again so here's a lil something where the Mikaelsons don't act so ooc and are actually the big bads they were advertised to be ily
Stefan should've known it was going to blow up in his face the second Klaus suggested he help dagger Kol. Particularly after how everything went down the last time he'd helped Klaus to dagger one of his siblings. That creeping feeling of trepidation had only grown when Elena too had come to him with her own plan. Two conflicting plans all to put down one Original for a cure that had apparently already led to two separate massacres. He was starting to wonder whether it was worth it if it demanded such a high price just to find it. What would happen when it was finally within their grasp?
-༺₊⋆ ⁺₊༻-
"I don't wanna just dagger Kol, I want Jeremy to kill him." Elena's words had already registered before Stefan foolishly tried to disguise them with the revving of his bike.
Really mate? You should know better, had the 20s taught you anything? He wasn't some common halfling vampire that could be stumped by mere parlor tricks. It appeared he'd grown soft, let the Mystic Fools believe they were safe from retribution after all their plots against him, especially Finn's death. Well, it was time he rectified that. He'd already lost one brother after keeping him safely tucked away for 900 hundred years, he wouldn't let their hubris take another from him.
Damon's death had been swifter than he'd liked but the young vampire had never seen it coming and that was what had mattered in the moment. Time was of the essence to save his little brother, he'd already lost his youngest, the Other Side wouldn't claim Kol as well. So one second he'd been beyond the barred door and the next he was in front of the weakened vampire. Damon had barely enough time to turn at the sound of the door screeching open before he was dead, and Klaus was gone.
"If you're going to threaten me again Klaus, you can save your breath." Were the first words out of Kol's mouth before he'd even had a chance to speak.
"It seems your paranoia has gotten ahead of you, brother." Klaus ignored the scoff and muttered 'You'd know' that followed. "The Gilbert's are planning to kill you."
The line went deadly silent as Kol came to a stop, Klaus could just hear the grinding of his brother's teeth over the line but that was enough for him to picture the murderous expression he must be adorning.
"Are they now?"
For all the Mystic Falls bunch believed him to be the biggest monster, it was Kol that had garnered the more volatile and bloodied reputation in the supernatural world of the two. It was Kol that the older sirelings feared. The ones that were old enough to have seen the Originals in the flesh, to have watched the myths about them be born. The ones that knew if Kol had appeared at your door then no amount of pleading would save you. Kol was no wolf, he had no need for the extended chase that Klaus had subjected Katherine to. The hunt only served to amp up the fear and apprehension in Kol's eyes.
Because Kol had been a witch - not a wolf - before their turning he knew that the torment was what really made the death significant, it was the suffering beforehand that ensured the earth would be scorched with the magic of their death. And it was something that Kol specialized in as a vampire.
"Well, you can forget about suggesting I return the daggers for my own safety. With the way you've all been fumbling over yourselves for this cure for your darling former blood bag, I don't trust that you won't just serve my daggered body over to them. This cure has clearly blinded you to any sibling loyalty you once felt." And with that, the line went dead.
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Kol hated this blasted town. As if it wasn't sickening enough to return to their twice birthplace, then all that he'd endured while here was more of Klaus' infuriating games. He was sick of playing a role in everyone else's games. Don't kill the quarterback, don't kill the Salvatore sirelings, don't harm the doppelganger, don't speak of the sirelines. Well fuck that. He wasn't going to die for Nik's precious ploys like Finn. Honestly, the arrogance of a fledgling vampire and a baby hunter to think they could take on him? He'd decimated whole villages before their supposed founders had even been born.
And when did they become so certain he wasn't their sire that they thought they could just kill him? Clearly, he'd missed something while he'd been ignoring this godforsaken town in favor of experiencing this century. And now those bloody children had gotten conceited when they'd survived killing Finn without facing the consequences, it would seem. If Kol hadn't been in bloody Denver playing his part then he would have corrected such a mistake.
It was unfortunate for the Gilberts that he'd already been on his way to their quaint little house before Elena had called before even Klaus had called. After the Bennett had escaped, the Hunter had been his next best bet. The Bennett line was old and extensive but there could only be 5 active hunters at a time. So if he could only get rid of one vital ingredient, the Hunter it would have to be. He would have preferred to watch the doppelganger grapple with the grief of watching her baby brother be torn apart by her sire. Sirebonds always did make for excellent entertainment, but it seemed he would have to settle for fixing this mess himself.
Even without Nik's warning, Elena's plea for a truce had rung unerringly false even without him being able to hear the telling skip of her pulse over the line as she lied. These children needed to be taught why his family was so feared and he would gladly clear up any confusion for them. But the scratching of chalk and clicking of latches only further infuriated him. Did they really think he couldn't tell what they were plotting? They'd gotten too used to Klaus' game of cat and mouse that they hadn't even realized they were being toyed with. But he wasn't his brother. And his games tended to end bloodier.
Regardless, he'd let the quarterback and Hunter slip away with only a taunt about bravery. He'd let them think he was unaware of their little plot. It would make it all the more satisfying when he tore it all apart. He let her see her the decoy stake, let her play at her little distractions, let her spin her little lies. But he was a thousand years old and he'd seen empires rise and fall in that time. He'd killed far more cunning adversaries than the little doppelwench. He enjoyed the little spike of fear she couldn't hide when he'd unexpectedly appeared, again when he spoke of his innumerable victims, when he'd told her people no longer know whom to fear, and when he'd made that first move. Enjoyed the way she'd tried to run as if there'd ever been any chance of her escaping an Original. Enjoyed showing her exactly what a difference a thousand years of vampirism made. Enjoyed the way her screams had echoed through the empty house. Enjoyed the way her blood looked seeping into the wood and splattered over the slowly melting bowl of ice she'd procured as part of her little distraction routine, but he'd never seen the allure of the doppelgangers for it to be effective anyhow. And he enjoyed the way the life had drained from her eyes when it was all said and done.
It was easy enough to lure her brother back. Mobile phones were such a convenience. Not only did he have the means to get the Hunter back but he also now knew that the Bennett witch had been their play. One little 'Get here NOW' text and he was rushing through the front door, panic dimming his inferior supernatural instincts. It had always been thrilling to Kol to watch how panic and fear clouded the mind, and dimmed even the sharpest of senses. In his mind, that was all the chase was good for, that heightened state of fear right before the end.
He had no appetite for Nik's wolfish chases, nor the patience to hunt his prey for 500 years the way he had the doppelganger. Manipulation and toying with his victims was all fun and games but he had no reason to let them believe they'd won for long. False victories were supposed to be fleeting things that you tore from them the moments you stole their lives from them. Not something you let fester as they got bolder and more daring, only becoming more convinced that they had an upper hand, the way that Nik had let these small-town supernaturals believe.
He'd acted quickly. Not because he didn't think he couldn't handle a single untrained hunter who ran on instinct alone. But because he was bored with this particular game; it was time he moved on to the next round. The swift punch to the nose to knock the boy out had been satisfying enough but the resounding crunch as it had given way, had only made it more so. He'd played along with Klaus' rules in Denver, he had no qualms following his siblings' rules when he had no game of his own to entertain him, it was by no means the first time he'd been sent to charm a target by his siblings. Friends, allies, lovers, they were all the same to him, he'd play whatever role was needed to get what was wanted, it made no difference to him what the relationship he was cultivating was. But Jeremy's friendship had been one of the more tedious chores he'd had to cultivate in his time.
It had been easy of course, the boy was desperately lonely and Damon's compulsion made him just that bit more vulnerable. The boy seemed to have no awareness of just how unnerving he was to those who had no knowledge of the supernatural, sure he kept a lid on talking about it but he'd yet to learn the skills for navigating around it in a way that didn't make him seem suspicious or make others uncomfortable. It was only because Kol was aware and there with a purpose, that he'd let it slide. But hearing his nose give way beneath his fist, and dragging his unconscious body through to the kitchen - and subsequently through his sister's blood - had been immensely gratifying.
But he'd meant what he said, he had no wish to deal with the Hunter's curse. And if he'd had a little more time, perhaps he would have heated the blade to cauterize the boy's arteries as he hacked off the two limbs in two definitive swings. He would have preferred to rip them off with his own hands, leave him a mess of torn muscle tissue and sinew - it would have been more gratifying that way - but sometimes practicality had to be favored over art. As it was, he would be surprised if the young hunter didn't bleed out, but he'd done what he needed to and no longer cared what state he was found in.
The witch had arrived soon after, likely expecting her two friends to still be walking about to greet her. But if there was anyone who should know better, it was a witch, particularly one of the Bennett bloodline. Oh well, she'd learn with time. He didn't give her the time to see the scene he'd left though, he had plans after all. There were still traces of magical knockout herbs around her mouth when he sent her back into unconsciousness.
-༺₊⋆ ⁺₊༻-
Rebekah was with Stefan when she saw the message from Nik. Of course, she'd been wary of Stefan's intentions from the start when he'd suggested they head to the canceled decade dance anyway. She's gotten so used to playing human that it seemed that Stefan and his pitiful friends had forgotten just what sort of monsters she and her family were. She knew what Nik would say about that thought, would say that she loved too easily, that she leaves her heart too open and unguarded. But really what other choice does she have?
She'd been only a few years away from potentially being married off when she'd been turned. Her head had been filled with ideas of her future when she'd drawn her last breath only to open her eyes and have all of eternity at her feet. And what was she supposed to do with eternity? If not spend it with someone who loved her irrevocably. And despite what her brother claimed, she didn't expect all of them to last forever but perhaps just long enough for the weight of eternity to not feel quite so lonely. She'd not been granted her wish thus far and the only company she'd been permitted was that of her siblings. And now someone dared to take that from her. Well she couldn't have that now, could she? No one. Absolutely no one got to take her brothers from her. They were hers, she thought with a particularly vicious wave of possessiveness, they were all she had in this dark, lonely world and no one got to take that from her.
She took a deep steadying breath as she looked up from her phone to see Stefan across the balloon-littered hallway, desperately trying not to let any of her thoughts show on her face as she looked at him. She wasn't about to give anything away when her brother was on the line. These fools had already taken Finn from her when he'd only just been returned to them, she wouldn't allow them to make the same trespass a second time.
It may have only been a few months since she loved Stefan but it had been decades for him and he wasn't the same man she'd known. Not only because he wasn't in the Ripper's mindset right now, but because the Stefan she'd known would never have hurt her. Had been willing to go up against an unknown vampire for her when Nik had been his usual controlling self. He wouldn't have plotted to kill her brother. He wouldn't be stood across a school hallway using some ridiculous movie she'd never seen as a ploy to distract her while the little doppelganger tried to kill her brother.
She took another deep breath - that she didn't need, dead as she was - against the tidal wave of indignant rage that wanted to make itself known. When she was human it had been one of her lesser-liked traits. The temper that was a reflection of her parents. The possessive streak that was equally met only in Nik, that would rather Finn stay in his coffin with them than with Sage - who'd love Finn as a human and loved him still after too - of all people. She didn't fault herself for being eager to be loved. Not after the family she'd been born into. If anything it was her due. But she had resented those traits once upon a time. Then she'd become a vampire in a world that had seen only the face of the young woman she'd been when she'd died and not the monster beneath her skin. And she'd weaponized those very traits.
The supernatural world trembled at Klaus' name. Yet that same very brother wore a smile as he told their adversaries that her temper was even worse than his. Her brother that delighted in telling people that it was his little siblings they should fear. Because Kol had a penchant for cruelty that lacked Nik's patience, Elijah's careful manipulation, and Rebekah's swiftness. And now some simple fools thought they could take that brother from her. Thought they'd survive Kol of all people. And if by some mistake they did, then they'd have to deal with Rebekah with her temper and possessive nature that was rivaled only by Nik's wolf. And really that should be enough to make whatever fool attempted such a thing, realize what a mistake they were making.
The dagger weighed heavily in her boot now. She was all too aware of its presence having foolishly shown it to Stefan in an earlier half-hearted attempt to reassure him of his safety from Kol. Unaware of what he had planned on doing to Kol. She knew he couldn't use it on her without forfeiting his own life but the overwired instincts she'd gotten so used to tuning out after a millennium were now all too aware of Matt's very human breathing. Even with his attempts to quiet them, it was nothing against a thousand-year-old vampire's senses.
It seemed her heart had once again steered her wrong. It shouldn't still be so surprising when it still chose Nik after all his betrayals and daggerings but it didn't mean it ever dulled the pain of treachery no matter how frequent it was. She'd known she was unwise to leave the dagger at home and now it seemed she'd been unwise to think it was safe on her person. As it only meant easy access for Matt when they inevitably put their plan into action. Well, it seemed she better go ahead and make sure they never could.
She'd sped across the short distance of the hallway to Stefan with ease. His face fluttered in an expression of mild frustration (and a twinge of amusement that she chose to ignore) at her obstinately not following along with his game. Or so he thought it was obstinance.
"No that's- That's cheati-" He never got the chance to finish his reprimand as she swiftly reached out to snap his neck. Letting him drop uncaringly to the floor with a dull thud. Unfortunately, for Matt, the sound hadn't been enough to disguise his horrified gasp, and one second she'd been looming over Stefan. And the next she was stood before him. The concealed dagger now pressed against his rapidly beating heart in one hand and the other hand wrapped around his neck holding him in place. Forcing him to look into her enraged and hurt eyes.
"It's unfortunate it's come to this Matt. But you did kill Finn and I won't let you take Kol too." She told him coldly before sliding the silver blade between his ribs into his heart. Silencing the organ in the same way he'd killed Finn and intended to put her out of commission tonight too. Because it was obvious that that had been their plan. To dagger her while the Gilberts finished off Kol, without his siblings able to come to his aid. It was that thought that had her twisting the dagger viciously in place.
She may not have loved him yet and he didn't seem to care for her the way she wanted him to but she had hoped to build something with Matt. If only to make this dreary little town a little more worth its while. It saddened her to know that was no longer a possibility but she was done playing human in a town that so clearly wanted her to be a monster. And Matt was human. There would be no snapping necks to keep him temporarily out of her way, his only option was to die. Fitting perhaps, as humans had no place in the supernatural world, she should end his life just as she shed her human persona—the ending of a chapter.
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Killing Kol had seemed like a ludicrous plan when Elena had first suggested it. Insane, in all actuality, because there was no way in hell the Mikaelsons would ever let them survive such a thing.
Elena had changed since she'd become a vampire. It was an irrefutable fact, it was why they were so desperate for the cure. She'd become obsessed with Damon and all rationality had gone out of the window. But then Kol had attacked her at the school, and she'd absently wondered if perhaps Elena wasn't the only one teetering on the edge of sanity all over some millenniums-old myth.
Then she'd woken up with a banging head and a cool hand in hers. It was the soothing smile she found - that trembled in place when Caroline had turned to look at her - terror so evident in her eyes, that had really driven home just how badly they'd fucked up though. Fear had slid like ice through her veins in that moment because no matter how hard Caroline had tried to hide it, she'd never seen her friend so terrified. And Caroline had been tortured more than once. She had sat up slowly from where she'd been slouched in what appeared to be the backseat of a moving car to see what had Caroline so frightened.
"Kol." She breathed fearfully.
"Ah, so the little witch awakens. Surprise, your friends failed, I'm not dead."
"And I suppose we're next, right?"
"That entirely depends on you, darling."
"And if we choose not to cooperate?" She asked, drawing herself up.
"Bonnie..." Caroline started tentatively beside her. "He did something to your magic."
Bonnie's head snapped to her in alarm, sure she'd misheard but she could tell from the apologetic expression on Caroline's face that she hadn't.
"What are you-" She began to dispute, but when she reached for her magic it wasn't there. At least that's what it felt like. At least at first. But as she began to panic, calling for her magic more desperately, she realized it wasn't gone, just kept out of reach somehow.
"He used some herb." Caroline stumbled to explain at seeing her friend's panic.
"What did you do?" She snapped, furious and terrified at once.
"Relax. It's a simple herbal mix, we used to use them all the time when I was a child."
"What on earth could you possibly need such a herb for?" She spat in a daze.
"Unruly witches prone to magical outbursts." He told her coldly, meeting her fevered gaze in the rearview mirror.
Bonnie gritted her teeth against the urge to give him an aneurysm as she was currently unable to do so. Wished to hear his bone crack and break as they had done earlier today when he'd ambushed her at the school. Seeming to sense her thoughts Kol spoke again, this time in warning.
"Perhaps now would be a good time to inform you of Caroline's role in all of this, which is that of hostage. Mortals are so fragile there's only so much you can take before it kills you. But vampires? Vampires can endure a lot of suffering before they black out from the pain. So I suggest you play nicely or sweet Caroline here will suffer for it." He informed them dispassionately.
"What do you want with us?" Caroline asked tiredly.
"Haven't I made that obvious?"
A/N: This is like the fifth episode rewrite I've written for this episode but coincidentally only the first you're seeing. I have a particular hatred for Big Bads being depowered so that the protagonist can kill them, like if you're going to do it, you gotta jump through the hoops for me to buy it. Kol's death remains one of the worst thought out plots so I had to rectify that with some good old Mikaelson murder. Rip Damon, Elena and Matt. This was also just an excuse to play with their family dynamic a lil because I try to restrain myself from posting Mikaelson - particularly Kol - headcanons on tumblr
Anyway, hope you liked it, if not that's fine, this was primarily for me
