———
I walk up to the mystic grill's counter with Rebekah by my side. The female original had asked me to go with her for moral support as she talked to Matt.
She places a set of keys on the counter in front of Matt.
"What's that?" He asks in confusion.
"The key to your new truck. It's parked outside, paid for, insured, everything but a big red bow." Rebekah answers.
She thought since she was the reason his truck went off the bridge, it was only fair that she replace it.
"If that's your idea of an apology, you should probably give it to Elena. She's the one that you killed." Matt replies coldly.
He then leaves without another word.
I rub Rebekah's arm comfortingly as I look at her sad expression.
"You're trying too hard." Nik's speaks from a couple seats away at the bar.
"Nik..." I warn.
"Last I heard you were leaving town, forever." Rebekah says.
"Well I was" Nik pauses before he gets up and walks towards us. "but then I thought to myself how can I when my sister, clearly so desperate for love and affection, is left here bribing the help."
"Nik stop it. You're being mean." I say, my tone serious.
Nik doesn't get a chance to reply before Rebekah speaks.
"What do you want Nik? I thought I was dead to you." Rebekah says, quoting him from the fight they had a couple days ago.
"Things change Rebekah. I've stumbled upon something I think might be of interest to you." Nik answers.
"Doubt that." Rebekah mutters.
"No? Well, what if I told you the brotherhood of The Five still existed." Nik says.
"Oh yeah, that's the crazy hunter guy right?" I ask, earning a smile and nod from Nik.
"What?" Rebekah questions in disbelief.
"You see, and like that bygones. Come on love, work to do." Nik says.
"We don't have anything to do. There is no we. I don't care about The Five and I don't care about you." Rebekah responds.
"As you wish." Nik answers simply.
He then gently clasped our hands together and led us out of the grill.
———
I follow behind Nik as he pushes open the doors to a room in our house. I cringe at the scene before me.
Connor is being held captive in some sort of torture device.
"Looks like I'll have to beef up the hybrid security detail." Nik says, looking at a shadowy corner of the room.
"I was gonna take him, but I figured you went through such trouble to truss him up in your red room of pain." Stefan speaks as he walks out from his hiding place.
"It's from the Inquisition. I thought it was a nice touch." Nik responds.
"What'd you get out of him?" Stefan asks.
"Not enough. He's mum about the Council fire and he's not saying anything about this greater evil we're all supposed to be shivering over. What brings you snooping?" Nik answers before asking a question of his own.
"Well, I can't say it in front of him. As I'm sure you've figured out, our friend here can't be compelled." Stefan says.
"You're full of mysteries, aren't you?" Nik asks Connor.
"I told you, I don't know anything." Connor grunts.
"Thankfully, I know plenty." Nik says before taking my hand.
We start to walk out of the room, but Nik stops and turns back to Stefan. "Shall we?" He gestures for Stefan to follow.
Stefan stares at Connor for a few more seconds and follows Nik and I out. Nik shuts the doors to Connor's holding room and turns to Stefan.
"So, what's with the home invasion?"
"Damon said you knew something about this guy. Now, I should have figured out that you were up to something when you healed Elena from the werewolf poison without asking for anything in return." Stefan says, referring to when Elena ingested the venom yesterday.
"I was feeling benevolent." Nik answers.
"You're never benevolent. Who is this guy? What's the Five?" Stefan asks.
"So many questions." Nik mutters.
"It's a good thing I have nothing to do today, except get answers out of you." Stefan replies.
"Fine. You might actually be useful in persuading my sister to cooperate." Nik states.
"The brotherhood of the Five was a group of highly skilled vampire hunters. We crossed paths with them in the 12th century Italy." Nik begins to dive into his explanation.
———
After a long story about how the originals first met the five, Stefan had some questions.
"So these hunters have been around for nine hundred years?"
"Apparently. Though our friend in the other room is the first I've seen since then. Kind of makes you wonder what they've been up to all these years." Nik answers.
"And Rebekah had a thing with one of them?" Stefan asks.
"Oh, she didn't just have a thing. She fell in love with him. He told her all his secrets. Which I will gladly share with you provided you do one thing for me." Nik says.
"And what's that?" Stefan questions.
"Get Rebekah over here. She's being stubborn and hateful. I need to make peace with her. I want her to give me some very important information about the hunter which she won't do, unless she believes we've made up."
"Nik..." I start.
He holds up a finger telling me to wait a minute.
I raise my eyebrow, testing if he actually wants to go there.
"Sorry. We'll talk in a moment, my love." He corrects himself.
I nod my head, approving his alternative option.
"And what's in it for me?" Stefan asks, returning to their conversation.
"Just get her here and I'll tell you. Oh, and Stefan, trust me when I say this; that hunter in there holds the answer to all your prayers."
———
Once Stefan had left I was ready for an explanation about Rebekah.
"What did you mean when you said Rebekah had to believe you'd made up? Why not just actually make up?"
"I will make up with her. In return for some information." He mumbles the last part, but I still hear it.
"Are you trying to screw Rebekah over?" I question sharply.
"No. All need is a small piece of information, and Rebekah will not willingly reveal it. But I promise you that it is very important. I wouldn't doing all of this if it weren't."
"Just don't hurt her feeling please. Things haven't been going her way lately." I say gently.
He nods in response.
———
Nik stands next to Connor who is still chained up.
"You feeling alright, mate? Are the shackles too tight?" Nik taunts, before he hears something. "Welcome home, sister." He greets.
I turn my head to see Rebekah and Stefan enter the room.
"Is this a trick? How do you know he's one of the Five? Where's his bloody tattoo?" Rebekah questions immediately.
"Oh, the tattoos aren't visible on this lot like they were on the last. Let's eat." Nik responds.
Nik walks out of the room and the rest of us follow.
We all sit around a table as a compelled girl serves food.
"I could kiss the Council for burning up all the vervain in town. They made my life so much easier. Rebekah, love, eat your veggies." Nik says.
"I'm not eating until you apologize." Rebekah states. I nod my head in agreement.
"For which indiscretion? There have been so many."
"You broke my neck." Rebekah growls.
"You threw away Elena's blood so I can't make any more hybrids." Nik retorts.
"Because you took me for granted." Rebekah shoots back.
"That's what big brothers do, sweetheart!" Nik argues.
"Let me just name the million other people I'd rather be having dinner with right now." Stefan grumbles.
"Seriously Nik, just apologize. And mean it this time." I speak up.
"Alright, fine. I'm sorry. I often forget how delicate you are. Forgive me?" Nik apologizes.
"I'll take it under consideration." Rebekah responds.
"Okay, good. Now, why don't you tell me about Rebekah's hunter?" Stefan says.
"Right, Alexander. Nice chap foregoing the obvious issues. He was looking for creatures of the night which is why we felt quite safe around him wearing our daylight rings." Nik explains.
Nik goes on to tell us about how the hunters claimed to have a secret weapon that they possessed.
"So, that's what this is about? A weapon." Stefan questions.
"Not just any weapon." Rebekah says.
"Rebekah, love, don't get ahead of the story." Nik interrupts.
"How is a weapon the answer to all my prayers?" Stefan asks.
Rebekah and Nik look at each other, but don't say anything.
"Okay. Why don't we just skip with the theatrics and get right to the point?" Stefan says impatiently.
"Not quite yet, because in order to find this weapon, we need to solve the puzzle. Which seems to have disappeared." Nik says.
"What puzzle?" I ask curiously.
Nik raises his eyebrows, daring me to guess.
I take a moment to think before it dawns on me.
"It's got something to do with the tattoo doesn't it?" I question.
"My girlfriend. As smart as she is beautiful." Nik praises.
I look down as blood rushes to my cheeks.
"The tattoo. What is it?" Stefan asks.
"A map. Leading us to its treasure." Nik answers.
"Fat lot of good a tattoo's gonna do, if we can't see it." Rebekah interjects.
"We can't, but someone else can." Nik pauses and turns to a girl who was most likely compelled. "Why don't you tell the hybrid to bring him in, love?"
The girl obeys and numbly walks out of the room.
"You see, the hunter was so eager to get to the bottom of his mystery tattoos that he mentioned there was only one other person that can see them." Nik explains.
A hybrid walks back in the room. He has Jeremy in his grasp.
Stefan super speeds out of his chair towards Jeremy, but Nik rushes past Stefan and stands between him and Jeremy.
"I wouldn't. Lucky for us, young Jeremy here, is a bit of an artist." Nik says.
"I'm not helping you with anything." Jeremy states.
The hybrid grabs Jeremy's hand and takes his ring off. He tosses it to Nik who catches it. He holds it up for Jeremy to see.
"Oh, I'm afraid you are."
———
Jeremy had gone into the other room to draw Connor's tattoo, leaving the four of us at the table.
"So, tell me more about this tattoo." Stefan requests.
"My sister's suitor was unwilling to tell us anything. Rebekah, however, was more than willing to investigate. Isn't that right?" Nik speaks.
Rebekah looks down, her expression one of shame.
"My sister's boyfriend threw a slumber party that night. He and his brothers put us all down in our sleep. Elijah, Kol, Finn, and me." Nik explains.
"How was I supposed to know?" Rebekah questions.
"Cheers, to my sister's uncanny ability to choose men." Nik says, holding his glass up.
I shook my head at him with a frown.
"I thought the daggers didn't work on you because of your werewolf side." Stefan says.
"They don't." Nik replies with a smirk.
Nik goes on to explain how he killed all five of the hunters.
"Go ahead, Rebekah. Tell him. Tell him what the hunter told you the tattoo leads to. What is this great weapon that could bring about the end of the vampire species?" Nik says to Rebekah.
"A cure. He said there was a cure." She answers.
Nik gets up and walks into the other room.
Stefan, Rebekah, and I not far behind
"There is no cure for vampirism." Stefan states.
"He's telling the truth, Stefan." Rebekah confirms.
"Then why wouldn't you have searched for it, found it?" Stefan questions.
"Because when the hunters drew their final breath that night, the marks disappeared from their body, the map was gone, the brotherhood of the Five extinct. For nine hundred years, there was not a whisper of another hunter, until our friend in there showed up in town." Nik explains, pouring himself a drink.
"Well, now we have the map, what do we do next?" Rebekah asks.
"We don't do anything. You can't be trusted, little sister. You'll be blabbing this secret to the first boy who calls you pretty. I mean, it's pathetic, really, isn't it? How she continues to hand her heart to any man who shows her a hint of affection. You'd think she would have learned by now from the endless cycle of disappointment and deception." Nik insults.
I shake my head at his words. Looking over at him with disappointment.
"But, I haven't, instead I stayed with you and let you leech every moment of happiness from my life! You know, at least I fared better then Finn, Klaus left him daggered because he was tired of his judgment." Rebekah responds angrily.
"No, Finn was a dullard. He was more interesting lying in a box." Nik replies.
"You want the cure for Elena, don't you? So you can go back to mass producing your hybrids. That's why you brought Stefan here, because you knew that he'd help you even though he hates your guts! You know what? You can shove your cure." Rebekah shouts before storming out of the house.
"Well, I hope you got what you wanted out of her before you chased her off." Stefan says.
"She never would have told me what I needed to know. But she'll tell you." Nik states.
"What do you need me to find out?" Stefan asks.
"The map is useless without the tool to decipher it." Nik says.
"The sword." Stefan guesses.
"She knows where it is. And you're gonna get her to tell you. You have a chance to save Elena from the very thing that is going to destroy her. You can call it a deal with the devil, if you like. But you know you won't walk away from it."
———
Stefan had just left to find Rebekah.
I stood in silence, but I could feel Nik's stare resting on me.
"Don't be mad..." He starts.
"Don't be mad!? Are you kidding me?" I ask angrily.
"It's what needs to be done." Nik responds.
"Insulting Rebekah for no good reason was not what needed to be done." I question.
"I was simply speaking the truth." Nik shrugs.
"Then why don't you keep that same energy when I ask you this question. Do you seriously want to cure Elena so you can make more hybrids?"
"Yes." He admits, avoiding my gaze.
"I cannot believe you! I love you with everything I have and it's still not enough. When are you gonna realize that the two of us are more of a family than your stupid hybrids?"
"I make them so they can protect you!" Nik shouts.
"Bull." I scoff.
"Believe what you want." He grumbles.
"I will. And I believe that you want to make hybrids so you'll never be alone. You think that I am going to pack up and leave you one day, so you make your hybrids as a safety net. Well I hate to break it to you, but I'm not going anywhere! So stop thinking about what would happen if I left and enjoy me being right here with you."
He remains silent refusing to look anywhere but the floor. I take a couple steps to him and join our hands.
He finally looks up and I notice the unshed tears glistening in his eyes. I plant a small kiss on his forehead as he nustles into my touch.
"I promise you, I'm not going anywhere." I whisper as our foreheads rest against one another.
"I'm sorry." He whispers back.
"If it's really important to you, you can make more hybrids. But only if Elena actually wants to be human again okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you."
"I love you with everything I have, my angel."
———
Omg stream A&W by Lana del Rey. Mother queen has blessed us again!