18. The Murder Of One
After much looking, Klaus had finally managed to locate his eldest brother, Finn.
"Hello, Finn" Klaus greeted, walking next to his brother.
"Hello, Niklaus" Finn greeted, not even surprised seeing Klaus, he always knew with his connections, it was only a matter of time before Klaus found him, but for the first time, he wasn't afraid of what the hybrid would do, because whatever happened to him, happened to the rest of them, it happened to Lily, "I have nothing to say to you".
"Well, I'm not here to chat" Klaus clarified, "I will ask you one time, though, where's our mother?".
"Gone to find another way to end our abominable lives" Finn informed, "And when she does, I will sacrifice myself all over again".
"How fortunate that I found you, I require your assistance" Klaus stated.
"I have no wish to help you, only to see you dead" Finn retorted.
"Right, well that's the thing you see, you won't be able to see me dead because if I die, then you die, so wish unfulfilled I'm afraid" Klaus taunted.
"Oh bother someone else with your hollow charms, Niklaus" Finn snapped in annoyance.
"Why, when I can bother my big brother?" Klaus teased, "I need you to accompany me back to Mystic Falls, I have a witch who can help undo Esther's spell that linked us together".
"I have no wish to be unlinked" Finn snapped.
"Again with the wishes" Klaus said, "Let me rephrase, you will come back with me or I will put you back in that coffin in which you rotted for nine hundred years".
"What happens to one happens to all" Finn reminded, "You may not feel the effects of the dagger but you'd lose your precious Rebekah".
"Wouldn't be the first time" Klaus reminded.
"What about Lily?" Finn asked, "Are you willingly to lose her?".
Klaus glared at Finn for bringing Lily into this, but before he could say anything, Finn walked past his brother and speeded into an alleyway, but before he could escape, his way was blocked by Rebekah.
"Let's not make this any worse than it has to be, darling brother" Rebekah warned.
"You're siding with him?" a shocked Finn asked, "Rebekah, he stored us in boxes".
"At least he's not trying to make us extinct" Rebekah retorted.
Finn turned around and came to face to face with Klaus, "What are you gonna do?" he asked, realising he was cornered, "Kill me?".
"Oh, yeah, that's right, you've a death wish" Klaus mocked, "Fine, pathetic, but fine, the thing is I'm not gonna let you take the rest of us down with you, I'm not going let Lily get hurt because of you".
Klaus grabbed Finn by the collar of his jacket and slammed him on to the wall before slamming him on to the other wall and then throwing him on to the ground.
***
Reaching home soon.
Lily smiled seeing Klaus's text, she knew he and Rebekah had gone to get Finn and Lily would have joined them but she couldn't be asked walking up before the sun has even risen, and Klaus and Rebekah knew that so they didn't even bother to try to convince her to come along, just asked her to stay in her house as while the originals could only die with a white oak stake, Lily could die with anything, making her the biggest target of everyone who wanted the originals dead.
After grabbing her bag, Lily stepped out of her room, as she shut the door of her room, the front door opened and Caroline entered the house.
"Hey" Caroline greeted, her eyes wide in shock seeing her sister, she wasn't ready to face Lily yet, she had too much going on in her mind and right now coming face to face with Lily was the last thing she needed.
What the originals and Lily didn't know was that Damon, Stefan and Alaric had managed to carve out white oak stakes from the Wickery Bridge sign, white oak that Rebekah and Lily didn't burn because they had no idea it existed.
Stefan and Damon had called a meeting early morning to inform everyone about their new weapons to kill Klaus and his family, while Matt and Elena gladly joined Stefan and Damon, Caroline was put in a difficult position, she knew that Klaus was a horrible person and her friends had all the right in the world to want him dead, but she also knew that as each day went on, her sister's feelings for the original hybrid kept increasing, Caroline didn't know who to choose, her friends or her sister.
"Hey" Lily greeted, giving her sister a huge smile, completely unaware of the dilemma she was going through.
"Going somewhere?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah" Lily nodded, "To the Mikaelson's, Klaus found Finn so now they can finally be unlinked from each other and me".
"Wait, you?" a confused Caroline asked, "What you do you mean unlinked from you, Lily?".
"I never told you?" Lily asked, her eyes wide in disbelief, "About the link?".
"Clearly not!" Caroline yelled, suddenly extremely worried for her sister's life, "What link are you talking about?!".
Lily sighed, "When Esther linked her children to each other, because of the spell Ayana Bennett did a thousand years ago to make sure that me and Klaus find each other, it linked me to the siblings as well".
"Seriously?!" a shocked Caroline asked, "Lily, why haven't you told me this?!".
"In my defense Care, I've been kind of busy trying to save myself from dying" Lily defended, "It completely slipped my mind that I should tell you this".
"It slipped your freaking mind?!" a furious Caroline asked, "Are you insane?!".
"I'm sorry, okay?!" Lily said, "I didn't mean to hide this".
Caroline ran her hand through her hair in frustration, "Oh my god Lily, you don't realise what this means".
"I think I do" Lily said, walking towards the front door, "It means, if any of the originals die, then so will I".
Caroline watched as her sister walked out the front door, once Lily was gone, Caroline quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Stefan's number, but he didn't pick up, neither did Elena or Matt or Damon.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" a panicked Caroline yelled, wondering why no one was answering her phone.
After hearing that her sister's life was at risk, the choice was quiet simple for Caroline, she wasn't going to let her friends kill the originals, she wasn't going to let anyone hurt her sister.
***
Klaus shoved Finn on to the floor of the Mikaelson mansion.
"Gather your witch, let's get his blood and get on with it" Rebekah told Klaus.
"You can't force me to help you" Finn protested.
"Oh, I most likely could but Lily had another plan in mind" Klaus informed.
"It's a good plan" Lily stated, walking over and standing next to Klaus.
Klaus playfully rolled his eyes, "It's a horrible plan".
"It will work" Lily assured.
"It will fail" Klaus retorted.
"Let's find out then" Lily said, she looked towards the stairs, "Sage?!".
Hearing the name of his former love, Finn looked in the direction Lily was looking in and he was shocked seeing Sage standing there.
"Hello, Finn" an overwhelmed Sage greeted.
"Sage" a shocked Finn realised, he quickly stood up from the floor and rushed over to his lover, who started rushing down the stairs, once they reached each other, Finn pulled Sage into a tight hug.
Lily nudged Klaus with her shoulder, "Told you it would work" she said, Klaus simply shook his head.
"What do you know?" Rebekah said, as Lily's phone beeped, "True love prevails".
Tell Nik to text me to let me know when I'm needed.
And why can't you text him this?
Why will I text him when I can text you?
"It does occasionally have its uses" Klaus said, as Lily let out a chuckle, making Klaus give her a questioning look, in response Lily simply handed her phone over to him and immediately Klaus rolled his eyes reading Kol's texts and typed out a he will contact him when he is needed message, "Easier than torturing him".
"I have something to do, what do you need from me for this spell?" Rebekah asked, as Klaus handed Lily's phone back to her.
"Just your blood and your blessing" Klaus informed.
"Where you going?" a curious Lily asked.
"I have some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore" Rebekah reminded, she glanced at her confused brother, "Ask Lily what he did to me, then you'll understand why retribution is in order".
***
Klaus and Lily entered the room in which Rebekah was, only to see Damon there, his wrists clammed in bear traps that were hanging by chains attached to the ceiling.
"Well, look what you caught" an amused Klaus said, "If you're trying to bleed him of vervain, don't you think it would be easier to hang him upside down?".
"I'm perfectly capable of inflicting pain, thank you very much" Rebekah stated.
"Oh, well, excuse me, it's not like I have any expertise in the matter" Klaus said, a smug look on his face.
"You know, why don't you just leave me be and go and manage your witch?" Rebekah asked.
As an amused Klaus walked away, Damon looked at Lily, "Any help would be appreciated Lily".
"I would have helped you Damon but then I remembered that Rebekah isn't the first girl who you used for your personal benefits" Lily said, glaring at the eldest Salvatore, remembering what her sister had told her about what Damon did to her when she was human, "And if someone doesn't make you realise that your actions have consequences, then she won't be the last, so", Lily looked at Rebekah, "Enjoy torturing him".
Rebekah smiled at Lily, "Trust me, I will".
***
While Lily was with Rebekah, Klaus entered the room he had kept Bonnie in.
"Ticktock, I should hear chanting by now" Klaus stated.
"I'm still studying the unlinking spell" Bonnie defended, "It's not that easy, especially under duress".
"You've been warned, if you're looking for a way to send for help I will kill anyone who comes to your rescue" Klaus threatened.
A frustrated Bonnie stood from her seat, "This is the spell, I just don't know if I'm strong enough".
"Then you should have a little more faith in yourself, Bonnie" Klaus said, walking over to the Bennett witch, "Your energy helped my mother link us, honestly, I think someone isn't trying very hard, very well", while Bonnie glared at Klaus in hatred, the original hybrid pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed his brother, "Kol, how's the weather up there in mile high city?", Bonnie looked at Klaus in shock, that was where Jeremy was, "And how's our friend? May I see him?", Klaus walked over to Bonnie and showed him the video of Jeremy playing with a dog in the park, "There's Jeremy, playing fetch with his new puppy, isn't that just the most adorable thing you've ever seen?", Klaus stepped away from Bonnie, "Thank you Kol, we'll be in touch, yes I'll tell Lily to call you", after hanging up on his brother, Klaus turned back to the terrified Bennett witch, "So, Bonnie, about that spell".
***
"What was that?" a concerned Bonnie asked, hearing Damon's scream of pain as Rebekah continued to torcher him.
"I wouldn't let it bother you, love" Klaus said.
"Well, it does bother me, you bother me" Bonnie snapped, "The way you use people to get what you want, it's not right".
"You're being emotional, Bonnie" Klaus warned, "I understand that things have been rough for you, you know, with your mother leaving again, it's very sad", Klaus took a step closer to Bonnie, "I can help you find her, if you want, I have people who can find people, I can bring her back to you, or, if you choose, I can just bring parts of her back" Klaus smirked and took a step back from Bonnie, "Isn't it obvious that I'm just gonna continue to hurt the people you love until you do the spell? Now, I know it's in the grimoire, and I know it requires the blood of my siblings", Klaus walked over to the side table and picked up a small box, "So here we are", Klaus opened the box and revealed the four bottles of blood, "Elijah, Rebekah, Kol and Finn". Klaus bit into his wrist and his blood dripped on the ground, "Where do you want us?".
Bonnie quickly grabbed a chalice and let Klaus's blood drip into it.
***
Just as Bonnie started chanting, Lily entered the room, she went and stood next to Klaus, giving him a confused look, "You didn't take my blood" she whispered to him.
"I'm hoping we won't need it" Klaus clarified.
"What?" Lily asked.
"Just watch" Klaus gestured his head towards Bonnie.
"Okay" a confused Lily said, watching Bonnie and wondering what Klaus was up to.
Once Bonnie had placed all the siblings blood into a chalice and poured it on the table, she started chanting again, Klaus and Lily watched as after a moment, the flames on the candle got higher, and the blood on the table separated and traveled into five different directions, officially breaking the link between the siblings, but one of the blood once again split into two, while Bonnie was confused as to why that happened, Lily and Klaus looked at each other, both realising that meant that though their fate is still tied, the link that made it that when one was hurt so was the other, was officially broken.
***
Rebekah walked out the room she was torturing Damon, as she was wiping her bloody hands with a towel, she saw Klaus lead Bonnie out the room, with Lily behind them.
"Aw, leaving so soon?" Rebekah teased.
"Rebekah" Lily warned.
"Be nice" Klaus added.
"Thank you, Bonnie" Rebekah said, "See you in physics class".
As Rebekah walked away, Bonnie's eyes landed on a chained up Damon, "Oh, my god".
"Yeah, you'll have to excuse the mess" Klaus said, "Apparently Damon hurt her feelings".
"Pretty sure Damon hurt the feelings of nearly everyone in Mystic Falls" Lily said.
"Bonnie" a weak Damon pleaded.
"Go on, help him" Klaus said, "Save the man who turned your mother into a vampire".
Bonnie looked at Damon, and after a moment of thinking, she said, "Just get me out of here".
"Very well" an amused Klaus said, leading Bonnie towards the front door.
***
Caroline barged into the Salvatore Boarding House, "Why the hell were none of you answering my calls?!" a furious Caroline asked Stefan and Elena, who were currently standing in the living room.
"Caroline, we were kind of busy killing Finn" Elena defended.
Caroline looked at Elena wide eyed, "You killed Finn?".
"Yeah" Stefan confirmed, "And that should have killed Klaus as well".
"And Lily" Caroline snapped.
"What?" a shocked Stefan asked.
"The spell Klaus's mother did linked Lily to Klaus and his siblings" Caroline snapped, "Oh my god, oh my god, my sister is probably dead, I--".
"Caroline, relax" Stefan said, stepping forward and putting his hands on the hysteric Forbes shoulder.
Caroline shoved Stefan away from her, "Don't tell me to relax, my sister could be dead Stefan! I swear to god, if anything happens to Lily, I will murder everyone!".
"Caroline, we didn't do this on purpose" Elena defended.
"God, I should have just told Lily about the stakes" Caroline mumbled, running her hand through her hair, "If she knew about the stakes, she would have told Klaus and he would have kept her safe, oh my god, my silence got my sister killed".
"Caroline, Lily isn't dead" Stefan snapped, refusing to believe he played a part in killing his best friend.
"You will seriously trust Klaus?" a shocked Elena asked Caroline.
"When it comes to Lily then yes!" Caroline exclaimed, "He cares for my sister much more then you or anyone in this damn town could!".
"That's not true" Elena stated.
"But it is!" Caroline yelled.
"Okay Caroline, calm down and call Lily" Stefan suggested, "She's going to be alive, she has to be".
Caroline nodded her head, she pulled her phone out of pocket and dialed her sister.
"Come on Lily, pick up, please pick up" Caroline whispered, after a few rings, Caroline's hope started diminishing and dread started filling her heart, but just as she was about to give up, Lily finally picked up.
"Hey Care" Lily greeted.
"You're okay" Caroline laughed, tears welling in her eyes, "I'm so glad you're okay".
"I'm okay" a confused Lily confirmed, making both Caroline and Stefan breathe a sigh of relief, while Elena frowned, realising if Lily was live then it meant so was Klaus, "What's wrong? You sound worried".
"Lils, Finn is dead" Caroline informed.
"What?!" a shocked Lily asked.
"Stefan and Elena didn't know you were linked to the originals, they killed Finn, hoping it would kill--".
"Kill Klaus" Lily finished, she let out a scoff, "Well you can tell them that Klaus isn't dead, they killed Finn for no reason, Bonnie unlinked everyone".
Caroline sighed, "Lily please just come home, I need to see you".
"I'll come home soon Caroline" Lily promised, "But can you pass Stefan and Elena a message for me?".
"Uh yeah sure" Caroline said, looking at Stefan with a confused expression on her face.
"Tell them that Klaus isn't alone" Lily said, "If they come after him, I will come after them".
Caroline opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't as Lily had already hanged up on her, she then looked at Stefan, "Please Stefan, let this revenge go, because if I have to pick between my sister and you, I will always pick my sister".
After Caroline walked away, Stefan and Elena looked at each other, while Elena still wanted to kill Klaus, Stefan was now torn between his loyalty to Lily and his hatred for Klaus.
***
With a bag of white oak stakes in his hand, Stefan entered the room in which Rebekah was keeping Damon, and immediately he was shocked seeing his brother's state.
"This was much different in my head" Damon whispered, after seeing Stefan enter.
"Klaus, I'm here!" Stefan announced, "Let's do this".
"Oh, good, a hero" Klaus taunted, entering the room with Rebekah, "What do you want?".
Stefan threw the bag at Klaus's feet, "I'm here to make a deal" he informed, just as Lily also entered the room, she was here to tell Rebekah and Klaus about their brother but decided to wait for Stefan to be done first.
"Stefan, what are you doing?" a confused Damon asked.
"Hopefully being smart" Lily mumbled to herself, but all the vampires in the room heard her.
"Eight stakes made of white oak" Stefan informed, immediately causing a shocked Rebekah to look at Lily, who in turn shook her head at their stupidity, they should have been more thorough with their search, "The part of wickery bridge that Lily and Rebekah forgot to burn",
"That's impossible" Rebekah retorted.
"Actually, it's not" Stefan stated, "Finn's dead".
"You killed my brother?" a shocked Rebekah asked.
Stefan ignored Rebekah and instead took a step towards Klaus, "Damon in exchange for the last eight weapons that can kill you".
"And how do I know there aren't any more left?" a suspicious Klaus asked,
"Because there aren't" Stefan replied.
"Let's be certain, shall we?" Klaus said, he walked over to Damon, "Leave".
"No" Damon protested.
"Go on, leave" Klaus insisted.
"Nik, he's my plaything, not yours" Rebekah complained.
Klaus wrapped his hand around Damon's throat, he forced him to look at him and then started compelling him, "I said, go home".
A compelled Damon immediately tried to rip his hands out of the bear traps, as Damon's screams filled the house, Lily looked away in disgust, while Stefan looked away because he couldn't see his brother like this.
***
"Klaus" Lily called out.
Klaus looked at Lily, he sighed then looked Damon, "All right, stop, stop, stop before you hurt yourself", Damon finally stopped trying to free himself from the bear traps, "Well, I see that he can finally be compelled, now", Klaus stepped over the puddle of blood on the floor, he grabbed Damon's jaw and forced him to look at him, and he once again started compelling him, "Minus the stake that's in my brother, how many more stakes are out there that can kill me?".
"Eleven" a compelled Damon revealed.
"Eleven, really" Klaus said, looking at Stefan, "So not eight, then".
"You really shouldn't have lied" Rebekah told Stefan.
"I'll get you the other three" Stefan promised, truth be told, he had wanted to keep one for his safety, but Elena insisted they keep three.
"Yeah, that's be nice, or, since you lied maybe I'll just compel your brother to chew out his own tongue" Klaus threatened.
"What is wrong with you?" a disgusted Stefan asked.
"What is wrong with you?!" Klaus retorted, "Do you really have no appreciation for me? I have given you someone to hate, to loathe, a target for all of your anger so you don't have to turn it on yourself, I've given your life purpose, as your friend", Klaus chuckled, "I mean, I really think you should be thanking me".
"Enough!" Stefan yelled, about to charge towards Klaus with a white oak stake but before he could hurt him, Lily came in between the two, causing Stefan's hand to stop the stake just above Lily's heart.
"Please do don't this Stefan" Lily pleaded, "Please don't make me choose, I can't chose between you and Klaus, I don't want to, but I will if I have to".
"How can you have feelings for him?" a furious Stefan asked.
"I don't know" Lily said, "I tried to fight it, god knows I tried but I just couldn't, and I developed feelings for the man everyone hates but I can't hate him, please don't make me hate you, give me the stake".
Stefan looked at Lily, then at Klaus who was standing behind Lily, "If you hurt her, I will kill you" he threatened.
Klaus looked at Stefan, "I would never hurt her".
Stefan looked at Klaus, after a moment he nodded his head and placed the white oak stake in Lily's hand.
"Thank you" Lily whispered, giving Stefan a grateful smile.
Stefan sighed, "You're my best friend, you don't have to thank me for anything, but Lils, if he screws up, or if he hurts you, he's dead".
"You really think I wouldn't kick his ass for hurting me before you even find out about it?" Lily teased.
"Right here" Klaus reminded.
Before the trio could continue their little conversation, their attention went towards Damon, who had fallen to the ground after Rebekah released him from the traps.
"What are you doing?" a confused Klaus asked, walking over to his sister.
"I brought him here, I get to release him" Rebekah stated, "My rules now", Rebekah looked at Stefan, "Bring us the stakes and you both live, take your brother as a sign of good faith".
Rebekah grabbed the bag full of white oak stakes and walked out the room, after giving Stefan a small wave, Lily also followed.
Klaus shrugged, "Bring us the stakes, all of them, or I'll wage a war against everyone you love", Klaus walked over to Stefan, "I hope I'm being clear" he said, before following his sister and Lily out.
***
"I can't believe Finn is dead" a remorseful Rebekah whispered, staring at the white oak stakes as they burned in the fireplace.
"Good riddance" Klaus simply said, "He was an embarrassment, Rebekah".
"He was still your brother, mind your tongue" Rebekah warned.
"Fine, let's all say a prayer for Finn who slept in a box longer than he lived as a man" Klaus mocked, "He was a lovesick fool, he's better off in death".
Lily who sat on the couch, looked at Klaus, "You're wrong" she said, gaining Klaus attentions, "Lovesick people aren't better off dead, they deserve to live with their loved ones".
A furious Rebekah walked over to her brother, "Is that how you'd speak of me if I died?".
"Well, you let the Salvatores loose with two stakes that can kill us" Klaus reminded, "So I guess we'll find out soon enough, and since when did you have a soft spot for them?".
"The Salvatores may fight like dogs, but in the end they would die for each other" Rebekah snapped, "At least they know what family means, you destroyed ours".
"I wanted a family, they just didn't want me" Klaus retorted, "And now we're unlinked, we're no longer responsible for each other".
"So are you leaving?" Rebekah asked, making Lily look at Klaus.
"Soon as I get my stakes, I'm gone" Klaus stated, "I'm gonna take Elena and use her blood to create a new family of hybrids".
"And if I choose to stay?" Rebekah asked.
"Then you're just as pathetic as Finn" Klaus snapped.
A teary eyed Rebekah shook her head and turned to Lily, "Get out of this before it gets too late Lily, because he will end up destroying you".
After Rebekah walked out the room, Lily stood up and stared at Klaus, hurt evident in her eyes, "Were you going to tell me?" she asked, "About you leaving town?".
Klaus sighed, "Of course I was going to tell you".
"When?!" Lily asked, "Once you've passed the borders of Mystic Falls?!".
"Once I figured out a way to ask you to come with me" Klaus retorted.
Lily looked at Klaus wide eyed, "What?".
"Come with me" Klaus repeated, "Leave this dreaded town and let me help you explore this world and it's beauty".
Lily stood there staring at Klaus in shock, she didn't know what to say to him, on one hand she would love to leave Mystic Falls and explore the world with Klaus, on the other hand, how can she leave her mother and sister, again?
***
Presenting 2x18 of Fire & Flame!
How was the chapter?
Thoughts on Caroline finding out that killing the originals would kill Lily to?
Thoughts on Lily refusing to help Damon?
Thoughts on Lily's warning to Stefan and Elena about them going after Klaus?
Thoughts on Klaus asking Lily to leave town with him?