The bonds of family

3

Klaus tried to speed after Rebekah but Arkyn stood in his way.
"The story you told me about Mikael- it wasn't a total lie. I see it in your eyes." Klaus smirked, teasingly. "He really did break you."
"No." Arkyn shook his head. "That was you. Mikael tried but I always held on. It was you massacring everyone I loved that pushed me over the edge."
"If Mikael wasn't after our location, what was he after?"
"What does it matter?"
"I'm curious." Klaus turned his back on Arkyn walking to the tomb opposite, and turned back around, leaning against it. "Half a decade worth of torture. What could possibly be so important?"
"He wanted you dead, and he wanted to succeed." Arkyn sighed. "You see each and every time Mikael had come for you in the past, you always had our help. We all always stood by your side."
"Until you ran away in the seventeen hundreds."
"Call it what you want. Mikael realised that as long as we all stood by you, helping you, you had an advantage. And he would never be able to kill you. He thought if he had just one of us, he could finally finish his life's mission. Kill you."
"He tortured you so you would help him?"
"He wanted to break me. He thought if he could do just that, he would be able to force me to help him."
"By calling on Mikael... Rebekah not only betrayed me but you as well. And you're protecting her?"
"I was angry. I was angry at first, but she made a mistake. She loved us for centuries. I'm not going to judge her one... two... mistakes."
"Yet you judge me for mine."
"Are you jealous?"
"I'm just trying to understand your logic."
"Rebekah wanted to be happy. You wanted me to suffer. What is there to understand? You can't stand any of us being happy. You're a controlling, tyrannical ass. You want to be mad? Be mad. Hey, Finn tried to kill us all. Do you hate him? Did you not mourn him? Elijah tried to kill you. But after a summer of being daggered, you guys seem fine. So what if Rebekah tried to kill you? You kept her daggered for nine decades. You've punished her more than enough."
"She called Mikael!"
"When you thought I called Mikael, you didn't do anything."
"I killed all your little friends."
"That was before you thought I called him."
"I didn't exactly trust you the way I trusted her."
"No. And you don't love me the way you love her. Are you seriously going to forget all these centuries you've been her brother?"
"Enough with all this talk. Either use that stake on me or get out of my way."
"Why? Am I finally getting through to that stupid head of yours?"
"No, you're just boring me." He sneered. He sped at Arkyn, but Arkyn pushed him off.
"One good thing came out of my time with Mikael." He said. "It increased my pain tolerance. So do your worst."
"The two of you stop." Elijah said. "We've been brothers for a thousand years-"
"Actually, for five hundred. I stopped acknowledging you as brothers five centuries ago."
"Arkyn-"
"You want me to stop arguing? To let bygones be bygones? Fine. The sooner Klaus stops hunting Rebekah, the sooner I can get out of here and the sooner we don't have to ever see each other again."
"So you'll just go straight back after this?"
"Well, I do have a teenage girl to think of."
"Right. The family you chose over your own."
"Pretty much." Arkyn shrugged. Klaus sped at Elijah snapping his neck, and taking his weapon. "If that's supposed to scare me, you might want to actually tell me what it is, first. All I see is a bone in the shape of a curved blade."
"Why don't I just show you what it does?"
"Are you volunteering to let me stab you?"
"How long do you think you can protect her, Arkyn?"
"As long as it takes."
"If only you'd shown such loyalty to the rest of us."
"Well, keeping me in a mystical sleep for two centuries tends to wear away any family loyalty."
"Or perhaps, because Rebekah reminds you much more of yourself than you thought. Both had fallen in love with the wrong person. She and Marcel called Mikael. Bonnie helped her friends call Mikael."
"Bonnie didn't know about Mikael until after he got to town." Arkyn replied, defending his ex girlfriend.
"You're still in love with her." Klaus scoffed, casually snapping Elijah's neck again before he could wake up.
"No, I'm not."
"Oh please. She helped kill your brother, and you're still pining after her."
"I'm not pining after her. This isn't about her, anyways. It's about you hunting Rebekah. Love her or hate her, I don't care. Just let her go. Vengeance isn't really worth much- I learned that a long time ago."
"You're quite the bore. You were more fun a year ago."
"Well, thank god I don't live to please you, then."
"Not that I don't enjoy this... witty banter, but do you plan on attacking me at any point?"
"I'm not going to attack you."
"So you're going to bore me to death?"
"I wish, but you don't die easy." Klaus opened his mouth, as though he was going to talk, before suddenly speeding at Arkyn. Arkyn barely had enough time to throw the white oak stake as far from Klaus as he could before Klaus stabbed him with the blade. He collapsed in pain, falling to the ground, and Rebekah sped in with the stake.