Elena and Rebekah made it to the Lockwood mansion just in time to see Stefan and Damon struggle with each other and Klaus reach for the white oak stake to kill Mikael. Elena raised her hand and the stake flew into her hand. She used her other hand to give Mikael an aneurism, which sent him to his knees screaming.
"Bloody hell," Rebekah swore. She didn't want to think about what might have happened if they were a second later. Hopefully, Nik would've been able to stop Mikael, but there was no way of knowing. He might have ended up dead.
"See, this is what I was talking about earlier. This nonsense is the result of wild cards," Elena said before eying Stefan and Damon. "And a touch of sheer stupidity.
Stefan and Damon both stopped fighting each other and stared at Elena. "Elena, what the hell?" Damon asked.
"Hello, Damon. This plan of yours certainly worked out, didn't it," Elena said sardonically before going over to Klaus, who was staring at her in shock. She put the stake in her pocket and grabbed his arm to pull him to his feet. "Come on. Stand up. You don't need to be afraid anymore."
Klaus was too surprised to do anything but let the doppelganger help him up. The girl had just sent his father to his knees with a wave of the hand and had spoken kindly to him. There was no trace of fear or hatred in her eyes for him. He didn't know what to do with that. He would almost wonder if he was looking at Katerina, but Katerina would never aid him this way, nor could she do magic. Not to mention that she was feet away herself looking just as shocked as he was. He looked to his sister for answers. "Rebekah?"
Rebekah shook her head, having no answers for him. She knew almost as little as he did. She'd only learned Elena was a witch shortly before this. The only thing she knew for sure was that everything they thought they'd known about the doppelganger was a lie.
Klaus looked back at Elena, who still had the white oak stake in her hand. He didn't think she planned on using it on him, but her having it unsettled him. He regarded her menacingly. "What do you plan on doing with that stake, doppelganger?"
"This," Elena said before dropping it to the ground and uttering a spell, which caused it to burst into flames. That stake was too dangerous to exist. She wanted it gone.
Klaus gasped as the one thing that could kill him literally went up in flames.
"No!" Damon screamed as he got up and went to grab it.
Elena used her magic to trip him. He fell to the ground once more. "Don't get up."
"That stake is the only thing that can kill an original!" Damon exclaimed.
"I'm aware of that," Elena said. Actually, it wasn't true. She had the power to kill an original, even Niklaus, but she had no intention of killing him, so there was no point in mentioning at the moment.
Meanwhile, Katherine inched backwards. She'd watched the scene in shock. Elena Gilbert had an original vampire at her mercy while casually using Damon as a ragdoll. Elena was apparently a powerful witch, one Katherine had ticked off on multiple occasions. If there was one thing Katherine was good at, it was knowing when to run. This was the time to run.
Elena could see Katherine out of the corner of her eye. She knew it wouldn't take long for the vampire's self-preservation to kick in. She let her go. She could always hunt her down if she wanted to take revenge on her. Right now, she had bigger priorities. If nothing else, she was fairly certain Katherine would never attempt to screw with her again.
Damon stood up again. The stake was now ashes, and he was livid. "What the hell are you doing, Elena? We almost had him! We were going to kill Klaus!"
"Not from where I'm standing. It seems to me that Stefan betrayed you, and Klaus was about to kill Mikael. But it's a moot point anyway because I don't want Klaus dead, if I haven't made that clear already," Elena said. She was pretty sure she'd made that point when she destroyed the white oak stake, but Damon was pretty slow on the uptake.
"What? How can you say that? He's a monster. Are you stupid? And since when are you a witch?" Damon asked. So much was happening that didn't compute in his mind. He was wondering if this was even Elena. Was there some third doppelganger he didn't know about? That was the only thing that would make sense to him.
"Since long before you were even born, little boy. And watch your tongue!" Elena said coldly. She'd put up with Damon's disrespect and verbal abuse long enough. It wouldn't be tolerated now that she'd dropped the façade.
Just then, Bonnie and Caroline came rushing out of the house. "What's going on? We could hear screaming from the other side of the house," Caroline said.
"Yes, it's annoying, isn't it?" Elena asked before turning to Mikael, who was still screaming from the aneurism she hadn't released him from yet. "Shut up already. I'll get to you soon enough. "
"Elena, are you doing that?" Bonnie asked as she stared at the vampire that she could only assume was Mikael. He was clearly having a magical aneurism, but if Elena was doing it, she didn't appear to be trying that hard. Anytime Bonnie gave someone an aneurism, she had to concentrate the entire time. That didn't seem to be the case here. And it was even more shocking if it were Elena because she wasn't a witch.
Elena smiled at the young witch. "Yes, I'm afraid I've been holding out on you. I'm not quite as powerless as I let you all believe. My apologies, but it was necessary."
"She just saved Klaus! She destroyed the one thing that could kill him!" Damon said heatedly.
"What? Why would you do that, Elena?" Bonnie asked in disbelief
"I would've thought that would be obvious. Because I don't want him dead," Elena said matter-of-factly.
"Why?" Caroline wondered.
"I'd like to know that myself, love," Klaus said. This girl had every reason to want him dead, yet she claimed that she did not. Not to mention that he was a bit put out by the fact that she'd managed to fool him. She wasn't what he thought she was. She was a witch, and from what he saw, a powerful one. Also, judging from what she said to the elder Salvatore regarding her age, she wasn't even human. He didn't know how that was possible.
"And you'll get your answers soon enough, Niklaus," Elena assured him.
Klaus was taken aback by the use of his full name. No one called him that other than a couple of his siblings, mainly Elijah.
"For now, I have a little problem to take care of," Elena said before stalking towards Mikael like a predator zeroing in on her prey. "Mikael, Mikael, Mikael. Look at the predicament you find yourself in."
"Let me go at once!" Mikael yelled through the pain.
Elena laughed. "Exactly what about your situation makes you think you can demand anything of me? Then again, your ego has always gotten in the way or your common sense."
"Let me go! Face me on an even playing field instead of hiding behind this sorcery!" Mikael snarled. He still had a hand on his head, and he was barely talking through the pain.
Elena raised an eyebrow. "Even playing field? Spoken from the man who beats up small children. A man who hunts his own son."
"He's not my son!" Mikael yelled.
Elena laughed and ended the aneurism. She wanted to make sure he was fully coherent for the rest of their conversation. She also cloaked the area around all of them to make sure no humans came upon them. Things would soon get quite messy. "Yes, about that. I can't tell you how hard I laughed when I learned that fact. Talk about poetic justice."
Mikael was about to get up and kill the little witch, but then her words sunk in. He knew what she was alluding to, but she couldn't know about that. No one alive knew about that. That secret had died when Esther had.
"You haven't quite figured it out yet, but you're getting close. I can see it in your eyes. You know, I couldn't believe my luck when Damon learned about you and proposed using you to take down Nikaus. It just goes to show that even complete morons have their uses. I had been biding my time until I could finally get my hands on you, and here we are. I had to be reborn into the body of doppelganger, but it all worked out. Now I intend to take back what you and that little bitch took from me," Elena snarled. She'd waited more than a thousand years for this moment. To take back what mattered most to her in the world and make those responsible suffer for it.
Mikael gasped and stumbled backwards to get away from her. He knew now who she was. He was already starting to suspect. It wasn't just her words or her magic. It was also her mannerisms. He knew them well. "No. It's impossible!"
"Elena chuckled and used her magic to keep him in place. She knew he was about to run. "You should know better than that by now, darling. Nothing is impossible. We're both proof of it."
Mikael was desperate as he tried to get away from the witch in front of him. He could no longer move. He looked at his children. "Do something! Stop her!"
Elena laughed loudly. "You ask them for help? Really? That's bold, even for you."
Klaus and Rebekah were both in states of shock. Their father was terrified of Elena. They had never seen him afraid before. He was usually the one people were afraid of. And he'd never asked for help before. He always said that seeking help was weakness.
"They're not going to help you, Mikael. They're not yours anymore. They're mine now. Again, poetic justice, but I will do for them what you never could. I will protect them," Elena said before stepping further towards him.
"What do you want?" Mikael asked. It was a rather dumb question. He knew what she wanted, but that wasn't something he could give to her. It wasn't possible.
Elena snarled as she bent down and grabbed his chin. He nails dug into his skin, but she knew he didn't really feel it. "You know damned well what I want! I want what you and Esther and Dahlia stole from me before you attempted to end my life! Tell me where she is, and your death will be relatively quick and painless!"
"You knew our mother?!" Rebekah asked in shock. She realized now probably wasn't the best time to interrupt. Elena was obviously murderously pissed. Interrupting her was probably suicide. But Rebekah couldn't help it when her mother was brought up.
Elena sighed before standing up and turning to the original. She didn't like being interrupted, but under the circumstances, she understood. "Yes, dear, I knew your mother. She was my sister."