Tiberius Salvatore: The eldest brother

39

"Dude, you're creepy." Rio said as Mindy the hybrid carted Rebekah's coffin to a room. "Wake your sister up let her grieve for your mom. Cos anything can go wrong and she could be undaggered at a really bad time."
"As soon as I can my siblings back I will undagger them all, including her and we'll be together. No Mikael chasing us."
"Now your deluding yourself. They'll all be pissed at you for killing Esther and you won't be a hero in their eyes."
"They'll forgive me. Elijah and Rebekah and Kol will. I can only hope Finn will."
"Finn? The eldest, right?"
"Yeah."
"Right he was super close to your mom?"
"More so after Freya died, apparently he and Freya were so close in age and as siblings so Esther just loved him more."
"Right. Undagger Rebekah now, and get her to forgive you. She'll definitely help you get Elijah, Kol and Finn back. She cares about her family."
"But she'll want to kill Elena."
"There are too many people preventing her. Me because I think it's wrong to kill. Damon and Stefan because they're in love with her. Tyler because he's her friend and because of his sire slave link to you. Caroline and Bonnie because she's their best friend. You because of your weird freaky blood fetish for her. For God's sake the humans will probably band together. Maybe Katherine would if you bargained her freedom. And your other hybrids because of their sire slave link to you."
"You couldn't have put that in a more unflattering way could you?" He smirked and spoke up. "I'm surprised you're still in town. I gave you your freedom, you could have gone anywhere."
"I live here, Klaus." Stefan was leaning on the doorframe.
"Well, if we're playing this game, then...I was here first."
"That's true. He's been here before it was Mystic Falls." Rio agreed. "But, Stefan. Where on Earth have you been? You have a home you know? Which means you visit it every once in a while."
"I've been home. Where have you been?"
"Right, I forgot. I moved out after you threatened my wife."
"Ohh, ouch. Even I know Charlotte is a no go zone." Klaus winced.
"You know, I don't like your hybrid friends. They're everywhere, kind of like fleas. I want them gone."
"You would know." Klaus insulted. "And I kind of like having them around. You know, I'm hurt. I hoped that when I freed you, we'd pick up where we left off. But here you are, guzzling vervain like the rest of them, I'm sure. So much for friendship."
"Friend's don't strip friends of their free will."
"Oh great. Now you're starting to sound like Rio. Okay, granted, yeah, that was a little extreme, but I get a little moody. Just ask my siblings. Speaking of whom, isn't it time you handed them over?"
"Klaus, get your hybrids out of Mystic Falls or I will remove them myself."
"Stefan." Rio warned. 
"Hmm. You see, if you continue to threaten me, I'm gonna be forced to retaliate. Kill people. And it will get messy again."
"Klaus." Rio turned to face him.
"Do whatever you want, I don't really care. Or you know what? Maybe I do. Maybe I care so much, that I'll drop Elijah in the Arctic."
"Well, maybe I'll be willing to lose one brother if it meant killing yours."
"Try me, let's find out."
"Hey! Hey, both of you. No one is killing another person. Stefan you said you'd turn it back on after the whole Klaus thing over. It is. You're free, so why prolong it? Turn on your humanity or I will make you. That's a promise. And Klaus, we just talked about it. You're not going to kill anyone. Especially not my brother. Who you tried to kill before. Okay? Killing is wrong and bad- for God's sake, do I have to teach you two like you're kindergarteners?"
"You see, Rio. Turning on my humanity means I get all these warm fuzzy feelings. Feelings I have absolutely no time for. So I might be forced to retaliate, again, if you try to remind me of our old times. Again."
"Is everything okay?" Mindy the hybrid walked in.
"Everything is fine, Mindy. Stefan was just leaving after failing to make his point." Stefan waited a second before grabbing a saw from the nearest work table. He rushed over to Mindy and almost cut off her head, but Rio reacted far quicker, anticipating his brother's moves.
"Nuh-uh, little brother. I think it's time you and I had a little chat." He said pinning Stefan's arms to the side.
"I agree Tiberius. You better watch out, Klaus. If Rio hadn't stopped me, it would've been, well, one down. You may want to, ah, send the rest of them away before it actually gets messy." Stefan threatened. Rio whisked him away, with a nod goodbye to Klaus.

"Okay you have got to stop this whole begging for suicide discreetly thing."
"I'm not. I'm just bargaining."
"You went to his home and threatened him. You took his siblings hostage. You tried to kill his hybrid- his creations. That is a suicide mission."
"No, I took his siblings as a leverage. I threatened him, and the hybrids just sort of fall into that category. It's not a suicide mission, it's all about taking what he values most and negotiating."
"If you were any other person Stefan- not my brother and not his long time old friend, he'd have killed you. I've seen him kill his allies for less, and you're just showing him you're most definitely not his friend, which means I am the only reason you are alive right now and I don't know why you are pushing those limits."
"Because he pushed mine. He exchanged saving my brother's life in exchange , for my soul or whatever. If we were friends he wouldn't do that. He took away my free will, my humanity. He took away who I was. And he made me into the monster that Elena has learned to hate. I loathe him for that and he pushed my limits to the extreme. He wants to turn me into a monster? Fine. But he shouldn't be surprised that I'd be fighting against him."
"Alright enough with the dramatic speech. Yes, we've established that Klaus is not the best person, but neither were you. I'd hate to think the damage you would have done with no humanity if you had the power to compel vampires. I've looked you up in the vampire world and I heard some stories of how you used your powers of compulsion against humans."
"Now you're comparing me to Klaus."
"Yes, actually. I am. Why does that surprise you?"
"Because Klaus turns against everyone. He's daggered his own siblings. Killed his mother. Compelled his friends. Killed more people than I ever have and lives to torture people."
"Didn't you try to drain Damon of blood and vervain him and plan to just keep him dessicated for 50 years, like less than 3 years ago? Here in Mystic falls? You killed our father. And you've killed more people than a human serial killer- does that make him/her better than you? And let's not do torture. God knows what you're capable of without your humanity."
"What's the point of this brother one-to-one?"
"Turn on your humanity, Stefan."
"No."
"Want me to tell you more stories of our childhood? How about the first time, you met Katherine. You were so taken by her."
"And she turned out to be a bitch."
"Alright. What about when mother died? You told me her angel came to visit you."
"Yeah it was probably a dream, I was a kid. Either way she's dead."
"Don't you miss her?"
"Don't you?" Stefan countered. Rio hesitated before he answered.
"Yes I do."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What are you talking about? It means I miss our mother too."
"You hesitated."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes you did. Mom was the good thing from our childhood. The only good thing. Why did you hesitate?"
"No reason, Stefan."
"I'll tell you what. Tell me why, and I'll probably turn on my humanity."
"Alright. I always felt like mother didn't care about me. She never gave me the same attention she did you and Damon." Rio lied, but as he talked, he realised it was a bit true. His mother stopped thinking of him as her son once Damon and Stefan filled up her life. Rio didn't mind, even he was so taken by his little brothers. He had their mother all to himself for 5 years.
"That's a lie. Mother always cared for you."
"Not after Damon was born. And especially not after you were. I was never her priority. You and Damon were. I grew close to father, he understood mother's priorities changed. That man was so wrong about most of his life's work, and I didn't agree with any of his thoughts, but he was a good father to me. Taught me how to hunt, how to fish. How to read, and helped me with my homework."
"Dad never did any of that with us."
"He taught you how to fish, you were too young to learn to hunt, and mother helped you with your homework. Dad was grooming me to take over the family business though."
"You may be bitter about mother but that's not why you hesitated. You want to talk? Don't lie to my face." Stefan ran off.