Dear Appreciated Reader,

It's been one hundred weeks, seven hundred and one days, to be exact, since Chapter 64, and I have received every single one of your questions about and requests for more. It took me two long years to get in the headspace to write and complete this chapter, but I have one more chapter for you, just this one, and it is a thank you for checking up on me.

Please, receive this Valentine's Day surprise present as my update on my state of mind and proof of life. I would like to express myself and appreciation in more words, but I have no words other than I'm still breathing, I'm alive and I'm better.

As long as I live and I am able, I will continue working on finishing this story. No matter how long it takes. Fortunately, you don't have to wait for Chapter 65 anymore. Please, read on, Dear Reader, knowing that you're appreciated.

Your Finger-tied Fellow Reader

IAmKIM

PS Sia – Alive "I'm still breathing / I'm alive!

PPS Happy Valentine's Day!

~

Chapter 65

The Strix Mansion

"What took you so long?" Tristan questioned as Madison entered the room.

"I..."

"Shut him up already!" Aurora interrupted Madison's response, having had enough of Snipe's cries.

Neither she nor Aya or Tristan mentioned that Snipe was protected by the golden chain mail as Madison directed her hand in Snipe's direction and cast a non-verbal paralyzing spell targeting his neck, specifically his vocal cords. To Madison's confusion, however, the spell didn't take effect. Instead, full-body golden chain mail armor glowed around Snipe.

"What is this?" She asked no one in particular, her confusion audible.

"Something I want you and the Sisters to reverse engineer and undo," Aya responded, intrigued, and she wasn't the only one.

"Y-ou have t-to ask K-King Alp...!" Snipe struggled to say.

Tristan couldn't help but speed over to the table, pick up a fork and throw it at Snipe with all his might, interrupting Snipe and causing him to shield himself, only for the fork to rebound off the golden armor back to Tristan who avoided being hit by sidestepping.

Snipe cried harder as he realized that there was no escaping his pain.

"What have you done, Tristan?" Aya asked worriedly.

Tristan didn't know what to say, for this was the first time he saw something like this, and that scared him because if Scott was capable of casting such a spell, it meant that he was trained. That meant he had a skilled witch mentor who knew what they were doing and could seek vengeance for their mentee's death and who knew what they were capable of.

"You heard Aya," Tristan said, addressing Madison. "Take Snipe and go study this spell and reverse engineer it."

"My Lord," Madison acknowledged and moved to telekinetically raise Snipe and bring him with her, but the armor protected him again.

"Use the carpet to move him," Aurora advised.

Madison followed the advice, and it worked, although the armor appeared to protect Snipe. As she left the room with Snipe, and the guards revived, Aurora, Aya, and Tristan returned to their seats, and a tense silence reigned for some time with the trio unsettled.

~

Gilbert House

While the morning found Aurora, Aya, and Tristan unsettled, it also found Bonnie and Caroline telling Alaric and Stefan about what happened last night.

"So, Scott isn't the person Klaus ran away from," Alaric concluded afterward, disappointed.

"He's not," Bonnie confirmed.

"He's definitely not," Caroline agreed. "If anything, Klaus wants a 'great and long friendship' with Scott and their packs."

"What about Scott?" Stefan asked, unsettled by the idea of Klaus and Scott becoming friends, allies. "What does he want?"

"He wants to know where he stands with you," Bonnie answered, and stilled her resolve. "Especially after we tell you about something he did some time ago."

"What did he do?" Stefan asked, and braced himself. "Other than take away my powers."

Bonnie and Caroline shared a nervous look, and the latter decided to just get it over with.

"Katherine is dead," she revealed.

Stefan stared at Caroline, processing what she just said, and asked slowly, "Katherine is dead?"

"Yes," Caroline nodded, and avoided his eyes.

"What does Scott…?" Alaric started to ask but stopped as he realized what Bonnie and Caroline were saying, but he asked anyway. "Are-are you saying that Scott killed Katherine?"

"Wha-wha-what?" Stefan found that hard to process.

"I compelled the PIs to contact me first because you were… well…"

"You were reckless and would do anything to avenge Elena, regardless of the cost," Bonnie found the words Caroline couldn't to describe Stefan. "Even risk bringing someone probably worse than Klaus to Mystic Falls."

Neither Alaric nor Stefan could deny that, giving Caroline the chance to continue.

"Yeah, you were that," she said. "So, I did what I did and I'm glad I did it because about two weeks ago one of the PIs contacted me with new information."

"What new information?" Stefan asked.

"He found Katherine's last sighting," Caroline replied. CCTV footage. Katherine… You know what? Maybe it's better to just show it to you."

She proceeded to take out her phone and showed Alaric and Stefan the video of Katherine's last sighting moments before her death.

~

Donovan House

"Good morning," Alexis-B welcomed Malia into the kitchen where the MPGs were preparing breakfast he bought.

"I wish," Malia responded with a heavy sigh, taking a seat.

"You wish?" Mira asked, a little confused and curious.

"We have to return to New Orleans," Malia explained. "Without Scott."

"Oh."

"You can't exactly walk around with a dead man," Alexis-B reasoned. "All eyes will be on you as soon as people hear that you're in New Orleans."

"Whatever," Malia said. "Where is the dead man, anyway?"

"Right here," Scott answered for himself, entering through the backdoor. "Just went out to call my mother. She doesn't like the plan."

"Of course, she doesn't. I hope you told her that I don't like it either."

"I didn't," Scott responded, sitting beside Malia, "But I did get a call from Doctor Innocent. I think he got a breakthrough because he told me to drop everything and fly over."

"Who's Doctor Innocent?" Rebekah asked, entering the kitchen with Cora and immediately went to sit by Scott's side.

"Um, he's a scientist," Scott answered, and tried not to think about the fact Doctor Innocent experimented on Rebekah's father Mikael's body.

"A scientist?"

"Yeah. He used to work for Lucien until we took over. He works for us now and he has something he can't wait to show me."

"He can, and he will wait," Malia stated firmly. "I just got you back, and I'm not letting you go a moment sooner than I have to."

"I second that," Lydia said, entering the kitchen.

"You don't have to," Scott told her. "I don't want to leave you either, but we have a plan."

"What is it?" Cora asked, having not been able to speak with Malia and Scott after their meeting due to everyone being tired. "What's the plan?"

"We have a situation," Alexis-B suddenly interrupted with urgency. "Klaus has seen Tristan's video and he's talking about going to the apartment to offer Rebekah, and by extension Malia, their help in avenging King Alpha's assassination."

"What video?" Lydia asked.

"The assassin took a video," Scott explained, and showed everyone the video on his phone, adding fuel to their vengeful fire.

~

The Strix Mansion

"Aya, please find everything you can about Scott, the McCall Pack and New Beacon Pack," Tristan requested after a while. "We have to prepare for war."

"No," Aya told him.

It took a moment for Tristan to comprehend her response, and when he did, he looked at her in confusion, and asked, "No?"

"You screwed up, Tristan," Aya pointed out, meeting his eyes, and added. "Royally."

Aurora stifled a giggle at Aya's play with words because she knew Tristan wouldn't appreciate it, especially if her suspicions about what was about to happen were correct.

Tristan frowned at the addition, getting the double meaning, and said, with restrained annoyance, "Scott McCall was no King."

"He was to his people," Aya countered. "And you had him assassinated and told the world about it, and you called out his pack while you were at it. Let's not forget that you did all that for nothing, because Alexis got herself captured by Niklaus's pack and it presented her and Snipe at King Alpha Scott McCall's feet and…"

"Wait," Aurora interrupted her, her hands out to stop Aya as she processed what she said. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Nik was there?!"

Tristan sat a little straighter and waited for the answer, clenching his fists hoping against hope that Klaus wasn't there.

"Good question, Aurora," Aya said, and then folded her arms and looked at Tristan. "Was Niklaus there, Tristan?"

"How am I supposed to know if that beast was there?" Tristan questioned with barely hidden annoyance and anger.

"Didn't you send two assassins there? At least one of them surely reported everything that happened."

Tristan's annoyance turned to irritation, "You obviously had them followed, so why don't you enlighten us, Aya?"

"The fact that I have to enlighten you about something like this should concern you as much as it concerns me, Tristan," Aya pointed out. "The Tristan I…"

"Was Nik there or not, Aya," Aurora interrupted her, too impatient to wait. "And where is 'there' exactly?"

After looking for Klaus in vain for centuries, she couldn't wait one more moment to know where he was.

" Don't interrupt me, Aurora," Aya warned her. "Your brother just declared war against the pack that successfully invaded and captured two cities, in two countries, on two continents, in one day, without suffering significant losses, and as we speak, it is not seen as a conquering foreign force. It's seen as a welcome liberator, even by some local vampires.

" King Alpha McCall's assassination, and your little speech, has done more harm than good, Tristan. King Alpha McCall was generally seen as a hero, but now you've made him a martyr, and that's if he's permanently dead. If he isn't…"

"What do you mean by 'if' he's permanently dead?" Tristan asked. "He is dead. Didn't you see the video of the assassination?"

Aya sat back and shook her head at Tristan, and said, "This. This is why I'm challenging you for the leadership of the Strix."

"Com-come again," Tristan thought he was hearing things, but it sounded like…

"I am challenging you for the leadership of the Strix," Aya obliged, looking Tristan straight in the eye. "And you are going to forfeit without a fight. Before you ask why, I'll save you the trouble. You're going to be paralyzed in approximately five minutes, courtesy of venom from the third creature King Alpha McCall fought after werewolves and humans."

Tristan shifted in his seat so that he could get himself in a better defensive position. Aurora followed his lead by getting into a position to defend him.

"There's no need for you to get defensive now," Aya said when she saw them, and relaxed into her seat to emphasize her words. "The venom is already in your system, Tristan."

"You're lying," he accused her, although he doubted himself because Aya was a great fighter and strategist, but an even better poison mistress.

"Alright," she said in response, and relaxed further into her seat and smiled. "If you don't forfeit before you're paralyzed, I'm going to kill you and reclaim my rightful place as the leader of the Strix, and Aurora isn't going to do a damn thing because this is Strix business and an official challenge."

"You need witnesses for your little challenge to be valid and official," Tristan reminded Aya so that he could buy himself some time to think. "I don't see any."

"Strixes, get in here so I can reclaim what's mine!"

With Aya's command, the doors opened and in walked high ranking Strix members, to Tristan's surprise.

"The moment I learned about what you did, I made arrangements," Aya explained as the witnesses entered. "One of them was for your retirement, and I want you to live to enjoy it. I'm sure that your sister wants that too. But…"

"I accept your challenge," Tristan interrupted her through clenched teeth as he started to feel his fingers lose mobility and he was reminded of the one hundred years he suffered because of Elijah Mikaelson; he didn't want to lose control of his body again, so he gave in without delay. "And I forfeit the leadership of the Strix to you. Now, give me the antidote."

"Thank you," Aya thanked him with a small nod of the head. "Unfortunately, you started a war and I have to stop it, but a change in leadership isn't going to be enough to stop it."

"What are you saying?" Tristan asked anxiously as he lost more of his mobility along with his composure with every passing second, and looking at the witnesses to search for his supporters.

"The war you started will cripple us and leave the Strix vulnerable to our enemies and opportunists if I don't do anything to stop it. That's hundreds of our people's lives and millions of money lost, for nothing. I'm not going to let that happen under my leadership, and you are going to help me, starting with telling me how to find Sofya."

~

Gilbert House

Stefan remembered how Scott looked at Elena the day they first met, and a puzzle he didn't know was there finally became complete. Scott killed Katherine, and that was why he looked at Elena the way that he did when he finally took his eyes off her chest long enough to look at her face. But there was something else, other than the puzzle. It was a chain of events.

Stefan remembered Klaus giving Katherine his blood to cure Damon, and now he knew what happened after she left. Katherine decided to feed on a random person, and that decision was her last mistake, a mistake that was fatal to her and, most importantly to Stefan, Damon, because she chose Scott and Scott killed her and sealed Damon's fate with death.

Stefan watched the CCTV footage that showed Katherine walking straight towards Scott before she stood in front of him for a moment and then led him out of the sight of the camera. He noticed that Scott took a moment before he followed Katherine, but Stefan pretended it was Elena he saw and repeated the video over and over just to look at her.

He missed Elena and, despite the circumstances, he was grateful to have something other than his last memory of Elena to remember her by. In the video, she was alive and well, and Stefan wanted to hold on to the image.

"Er… Stefan, are you alright?" Bonnie asked with audible concern and confusion.

"I miss her," Stefan said quietly just before a tear fell on Caroline's phone, and he realized that he was crying.

He furiously wiped away his tears and then the phone screen, only to slide to the next video, which was a video of Scott at the park, and it sobered him.

"You miss Katherine?" Caroline asked with a tone that Stefan couldn't place.

"Elena," he corrected. "I miss Elena. And Katherine too, I guess. I can't believe she's de…"

Stefan couldn't complete the sentence because it just sank in that Katherine, the last person who knew him before he became a vampire, was dead. He felt overwhelming grief wash over him just then, but he stubbornly held his tears back this time, not wanting to embarrass himself again and appear weak, and pressed forward.

"Are you sure Scott killed her?" he asked. "You know, Katherine is hard to kill. She survived Klaus for five hundred years."

"Scott didn't exactly kill her," Caroline said, and explained. "When he drove me home last night, he told me that Katherine's sunlight bracelet slipped off her wrist when she tried to run away and they didn't realize until she ran straight into the sunlight and it was too late. I guess when she realized that Scott is a werewolf, she tried to run away."

That made sense, but now Stefan couldn't believe how Katherine died after she escaped death for five centuries. He could see it, but it wasn't how he thought she would die because she was a survivor unlike any he knew or heard of.

"Do you believe him?" Alaric asked after a moment.

"I do," Caroline said, "because he didn't kill or try to kill Stefan and Greta and we found what he left on the tree in the second video."

She proceeded to take out a bracelet and Stefan realized that it was Katherine's sunlight bracelet. His undead heart skipped a beat at the sight of it and sank again, but he didn't allow it to sink too deep because he didn't know whether Katherine was going to take the cure to Damon or not.

That was the thing with Katherine; he never knew what she was going to do. And now she was gone. Because Scott probably decided to punish her like he punished him.

"What makes him think that he has the right to go around killing and punishing people?" Stefan asked. "Why doesn't he just mind his own business?"

"You can ask him tomorrow," Bonnie responded after a brief moment of silence.

Stefan nodded, but he didn't think that the answers, excuses, mattered. What mattered to him was that Katherine was dead and he had no way of getting back at Rebekah for killing Elena. All because of Scott McCall.

"How do you think Klaus is going to react when he finds out that Scott killed Katherine?" Alaric asked, and earned Stefan's attention before he could think about what to do with the information he just learned.

"Scott and Lydia attacked his brother to save Tyler's mother, and Klaus didn't retaliate," Bonnie responded thoughtfully. "I don't think he's going to do anything about Katherine's death. If anything, he might thank Scott, despite the fact that Katherine's death was an accident."

Alaric didn't like the sound of that. He wanted Klaus and Scott to be against each other so that Scott could help them kill the Mikaelsons, or at least make them suffer some kind of great loss. If they kill each other, well…

"Was it?" Stefan challenged, and then got an idea. "Was it really an accident? Are you just going to take Scott's word?"

"Stefan…" Caroline began.

"No, Caroline," Stefan cut her off. "You may believe him, but I don't. I would rather hear what happened from Katherine herself."

"Um…" Caroline exchanged looks with the others before she looked back at Stefan in confusion. "You want to hear what happened from Katherine?"

"She may be dead," Stefan acknowledged. "But we have a very personal item of hers and a witch to use it to contact her from the Other Side."

"When you said that ' we' have a witch, you looked at me," Bonnie called him out, folding her arms. "' We' don't have a witch, Stefan."

"I…"

"No, listen," she cut him off. "I am not going to 'contact Katherine from the Other Side' just because you want to speak with her and I can make it happen. If you trust Katherine more than you trust our judgment, fine, but find someone else to help you contact her."

"It's not that we don't trust your judgment, Bonnie," Alaric tried to assure her. "It's Scott we don't trust."

"I'm still not going to help you contact Katherine."

"You don't have to."

"Oh, I know," Bonnie told Alaric matter-of-fact, inciting an awkward silence, well, awkward for everyone but her; she felt good, great, like she just reclaimed something, and she was sure that her ancestors were going to be proud of her when she told them.

"Uh, here is the bracelet," Caroline broke the awkward silence and gave Stefan Katherine's sunlight bracelet. "You knew her best, so I think you should have it."

"Thanks," he said, although he thought that she was just covering the fact that she was siding with Bonnie.

~

Donovan House

"... New Beacon Pack, you have something that doesn't belong to you, and I want it back."

The New Beacon Pack members and Rebekah watched as the video ended before a tense silence reigned.

"What's the plan, Scott?" Lydia broke the silence with clenched fists.

"I know where Tristan is," Scott revealed, pleasantly surprising everyone, even Malia.

"You do?" Malia asked, having not found Tristan's location in Alexis's mind, and Scott nodded. "Why didn't you say so? We don't have to play games with him. Let's just go kill him."

"Tristan and the Strix are a lot more connected and powerful compared to Lucien and Kingmaker," Scott explained after shaking his head. "They've been around for hundreds of years and they took full advantage of those years. If we want to get our revenge and live to enjoy it, we have to play the long game, weaken them and get stronger ourselves, before we go after Tristan."

"How are we going to get stronger exactly?" Cora asked.

"Have you forgotten that the Beacon Hills Supernatural Community wants to join New Beacon Pack? I'm going to Beacon Hills to grow our pack, and then they are going to help me weaken the Strix to prove themselves."

"We are returning to New Orleans to keep the Faction in line and maintain our control," Malia added. "But the moment the Strix is weak enough, we're going after Tristan with Scott."

"And how long will we have to wait before that moment comes?" Lydia asked. "Don't forget that we're not done with institutional education. And I want to enjoy summer."

"So do I," Scott replied, "hence we're not going to kill Tristan when we go after him on the next new Moon."

"What?" Rebekah asked in disbelief. "You're not going to kill him?"

"I have a pack to think about, so I'm not going to kill Tristan because that would create a violent cycle. I have something better planned for him, but it can wait. I'm hungry. Let's enjoy one last breakfast before we leave."

"What about Klaus, King Alpha?" Oba reminded everyone about Klaus.

"Tristan and the Strix are our problem," Scott replied as Alexis-B placed his breakfast before him with a glass of blood and a straw, while the MPGs served everyone else, including Rebekah, who was served a glass of blood and a straw of her own, and Mira and Juan took the SPGs' breakfast to them outside. "And we don't need help to deal with our problems, do we?"

"No, we don't, King Alpha," responded a relieved Oba, and everyone voiced their agreement.

"What about the sleeping cougar succubus?" Luna inquired as everyone began to eat.

"Did you find her son?" Malia asked Alexis-B between bites.

"I did, Alpha," he replied after a swallow.

"And?"

"He's struggling, but getting by."

"So, he could use his mother's help," Malia concluded.

"Or not," Alexis-B countered, earning everyone's attention, and so he stopped eating all together to explain. "Kelly just found out what she is and she doesn't have any real plans to get her life in line to be any use to Matt at the moment. Getting her alcoholism under control was a start, but if he gives her a chance right now, she will likely waste it and ruin any chance of rebuilding their relationship later.

"If she wants to be back in Matt's life and stay there, she needs to get her urges under control, get a stable job, a place to stay and see a therapist and work on being a reliable and stable person."

As much as no one wanted to admit it, everyone knew that he was right.

"That's not our problem," Malia reminded everyone something else no one wanted to admit even though it was the truth. "We have bigger things to worry about."

"I agree, Alpha," Alexis-B was not one of those who didn't want to admit the truth. "But we can benefit from making Kelly's problems our problems and helping her rebuild her life."

"What would we benefit?"

"Knowledge about succubi, for starters. I spent all night looking for information about succubi and found nothing beyond myths, Alpha. We need to know facts about them so that we can defend ourselves should we encounter skilled succubi or incubi with bad intentions."

Malia looked expectantly at Scott, but he was busy enjoying his breakfast, particularly sipping his breakfast blood at that moment.

"Why aren't you saying something?" she asked him with a frown.

"Uh… I told Kelly that I don't want anything from her in exchange of my help," he said after a swallow. "This is all you and Bel-uh… Alexis-B. When Alexis-B wakes her up, I'm going to give her Miss Morrell's contact card and ten thousand with no strings attached. Whatever you decide to do, do it afterwards, and make sure she knows that it's all you two and I have nothing to do with it."

Malia narrowed her eyes at him and then Alexis-B, suspicious of the two of them. She strongly suspected that Scott had something to do with Alexis-B's suggestion, but she decided to let it go.

"Fine," she said. "Wake her up."

-

When Kelly woke, she woke with a sense of urgency, like she was late for something, but she forced herself to stay still and take in the state of her body and her surroundings without opening her eyes or moving. The first thing she noticed after making sure that she was alright was that her bedding was familiar, and so was the smell of the room, to her momentary confusion, until she remembered last night.

Upon remembering last night and her companions, she checked her money next and found it untouched, to her relief. She was glad that she was right about the children she found in her house instead of her own child. And speaking of them and her own child, after she opened her eyes, Kelly noticed that there was no trace of her companions in the room and her heart sank.

She quickly got up and went about searching the house to see if they left anything behind, anything being the location of her son if they found him, but she received something even better when she reached the kitchen.

"Good morning," Alexis-B greeted her, and Alexis-B wasn't alone, everyone was still there. "How did you sleep?"

"I… Fi-fine. I slept fine," Kelly replied, and tried to remember the last time someone asked her how she slept and found that she couldn't remember. "Where are Hinata and the others?"

"Eating their breakfast outside. Speaking of, there's your breakfast."

"Thank you," said a grateful Kelly, sitting down and… she did a double take at Rebekah and Scott's breakfast. "Is… Is that blood?"

"It is," Rebekah confirmed like it was nothing, to Kelly's discomfort and disgust. "And it's quite tasty. Do you want a sip?"

Rebekah made a show of offering her glass of blood to Kelly, who leaned away and quickly shook her head and said, repulsed, "No, thanks."

Rebekah only shrugged in response and took a sip and savored it like a sip from a fine wine, causing Kelly to almost vomit, but she had a great gag reflex control and made good use of it.

"You get used to it," Lydia told Kelly sympathetically.

"You drink blood too?" Kelly asked with wide eyes, and looked at everyone warily.

"No," Lydia started to say, but then amended. "Well, sometimes. But that's not what I meant. I meant that you get used to the sight of them drinking blood."

"Or you pretend it's red wine," Cora added. "Rich red wine. That smells like blood. Sometimes your blood."

"I like it when Scott drinks my blood," Malia confessed with a smile sent Scott's way. "Especially when we're having sex and you bite me just before…"

"Too much information, Malia!" Cora interrupted her, but it was too late because Malia already painted the picture and it was in everyone's heads and their imaginations were already running wild.

"We should have sex before we leave," Malia suggested like Cora didn't say anything, her eyes locked with Scott's.

"Which room?" he asked eagerly.

"You choose. I just want to feel you inside me."

Kelly thought she saw Scott's eyes glow red for a moment, but then Juan choked on his own saliva and coughed violently as a consequence and when she looked back at Scott, his eyes were brown but wild with lust.

"You're not going off to have sex while we wait and…" Lydia began just as Malia and Scott moved to stand up and leave the kitchen.

"Join us, then!" Malia cut her off, standing up. "We're not leaving until we have sex. Which room, Scott?"

"Um…" he looked at the table, and then quickly at everyone around it before shaking his head. "Shower."

Malia took his hand and led him to the bathroom, leaving their breakfast unfinished. Everyone else watched them leave, some longingly.

"They're going to destroy that shower, aren't they?" Mira asked no one in particular.

"Yep," Luna replied after swallowing thickly, and everyone pretended to not notice that everyone was at least a little aroused.

"Aren't you going to join them?" Cora asked Lydia with a small smirk that just challenged Lydia to accept the dare.

"The last twenty-four to forty-eight hours have been very stressful, and I could use a release right now," Lydia contemplated.

"So could I," Kelly said to herself, crossing her legs to stop herself from following Malia and Scott, but that didn't stop her body from aching, reminding her that she hadn't had sex in too many days.

"But I need to preserve my energy in case something happens later," Lydia continued. "So, no. I'm not going to join them, Cora."

"In case something like what happens?" Kelly asked to distract herself.

" That is none of your business," Alexis-B responded, although not rudely. "What is your business is knowing that I found your son."

"You… You what?" Kelly asked to make sure that she heard correctly.

"I found Matt."

Kelly forgot about her appetite for both breakfast and sex, and asked desperately, "Where? Where is he?"