|04.| KNOW THY ENEMY
"SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME, is that Elena's biological undead mother just showed up on their front doorstep?" Cora connects the dots while walking down the stairs with her brothers.
"Bullseye," Stefan states.
"What's she doing here?" Damon asks, looking at his brother. "I don't know. That's what I'm gonna go find out."
Katherine appears next to the trio and Cora hating the fact that she is still around rolls her eyes for the hundredth time.
"I don't think that you should tell her that I'm here," Katherine states.
"And why not?" Cora crosses her arms over her chest.
"It's better if she and John not know that I stayed in town after I got out of the tomb," Katherine replies.
"You're the one in cahoots with them. You made a deal with John that almost got me killed," Damon brings up.
"I did what I had to get out of the tomb. Now I'm reconsidering my alliance."
Cora and Stefan share a look as Katherine turns away from the trio. "What do you know?"
"I know that I want Klaus dead, which puts me squarely on team you. Besides, if you three ever need me to swap places with Elena again, the less people know that I'm here, the better," Katherine turns back around. "Think about it, Stefan. Come on. Be smart."
"Tell you what. Why don't you, uh call Alaric and let him know that his wife just showed up on his girlfriend's doorstep," Stefan grabs his coat.
"Take me with you," Cora pulls on her own jacket. "I would much rather be with you than hang out with big brother and crazy ex girlfriend."
Katherine rolls her eyes at Cora's statement which makes the Salvatore sister smirk in satisfaction. Stefan slightly shrugs and nods his head for his sister to follow.
Once the two siblings make it to the Gilbert residence, Elena fills them in with what had happened just before they arrived. Cora sits on the girl's bed, observing her room since it is her first time being in it.
"This is bad. Between Isobel and Jenna and now Matt, this is disaster bad," Elena sighs as Stefan sits next to her. "Yeah."
"Matt, as in your human friend Matt?" Cora asks as she messes with some of Elena's jewelry.
Elena nods and huffs at the thought of him. Interrupting the three came John walking inside of the room, earning an annoyed look from Cora.
"Elena, can you come downstairs, please? I need to talk to you," John speaks up.
"I have nothing to say to you," Elena scoffs.
"Please. It's important. You two, as well," John nods towards the Salvatore siblings.
Giving in the trio make their way downstairs following John. Then out comes a raven haired woman from the kitchen, earning a shocked look from Elena.
"I asked John for a do-over," Isobel says, looking at Elena.
"You invited her in?" Elena looks at John in disbelief while Cora stands there confused. She slightly nudges Stefan and whispers. "Is this the mom?"
"Yeah," Stefan says lowly and looks back at John.
"She has information about Klaus. Please, just listen to her, okay?" John replies to Elena.
Elena glances at the two vampires that are by her side then back at her biological mom. The group takes it into the kitchen so they can hear Isobel out on what she knows. Cora messes with the Salvatore ring she has on her finger while listening to her talk.
"Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus. We knew our best chance was to find him before he could find you," Isobel starts off.
Cora lifts up her head and raises her eyebrow at the woman. "Best chance at what?"
"Keeping Elena alive," John replies but Elena snaps.
"You don't get to talk, okay, not after everything you've done," the Petrova doppelgänger makes herself clear.
"Were you able to find Klaus?" Stefan ignores the bickering.
"No," Isobel says. "Nobody knows where he is but there are these rumors that are flying around. That a doppelgänger exists."
"Which means any vampire that wants to get in favor with Klaus will be lining up to capture you," John adds on.
"I'm not buying any of this," Elena shakes her head, looking at Isobel. "The last time that you were here, you made it clear that you didn't give a damn about me. Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to believe that you want to help?"
"Isobel's been helping all along," John steps in. "Klaus has been obsessed with finding Katherine for centuries. All it would take was any one of those 1864 tomb vampires to spread the word around that Katherine was still alive and it would bring him straight here to Mystic Falls, where you were bound to be discovered, so we killed them."
"And almost killed my brothers in the process," Cora finally speaks up, getting a bit more annoyed.
Damon had told her everything, even about the tomb vampires and the discovery of a new species in town; werewolves. Of course the sister would be infuriated with the piece of information since it took her awhile to find her brothers once again. She would be heart broken if her brothers ever died.
"I have a safe house that I can take you to. The deed is in your name. No vampires can get in without your permission, not even me. Let me help you," Isobel moves towards Elena.
"You wanna help?" Elena starts. "Then get the hell out of my house."
With that being said, the trio make their way back to the boarding house to inform Damon what Isobel wanted. They all meet up in the library and Cora sits next to Elena on the couch.
"Do you really think that Isobel's telling the truth that word's gotten out about the doppelgänger?" Elena asks the three siblings.
"I don't really trust a word that she says," Stefan starts off but Cora butts in.
"But we'd be stupid to ignore the warning," Cora states with Stefan nodding in agreement.
"You know, you should just stay here. It's better for us to keep an eye on you," Damon suggests.
"What, in the house that any vampire can enter? No. Her house is safer," Stefan shakes his head.
"Well, then we'll stay there," Cora slightly shrugs.
"So is that the plan? None of you will let me out of your sight again?" Elena glances between the siblings.
"Let me know when you come up with a better one."
"Fine. Then one of you three bodyguards is gonna have to come with me to the Lockwood luncheon," Elena states and Cora shakes her head, standing on her feet. "I automatically volunteer Stefan."
"Not us," Damon pats his sister's shoulder. "We have witch stuff to attend to with Bonnie."
"I was trying to spend the day with my favorite brother, but that isn't happening," Cora crosses her arms, earning a tap on the forehead from Damon.
Elena giggles at the two of them interacting with each other and shakes her head, going back to what Damon said. "Does that mean that you're taking her to the-"
Both Cora and Damon hush the doppelgänger, pressing their fingers against their lips. After they make the signal, Katherine walks into the library to join them.
"Don't get quiet on my account. If you have a plan to combat the impending vampire doom, please do tell," Katherine says, looking at everyone in the room. No one answers the vampire and she gets slightly offended.
"Seriously, what is the plan to get us out of this mess, hmm? I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf, and the dagger to lure and kill Klaus, and right now all you have is a moonstone. Or so you tell me."
"No, we have it," Damon replies.
"Where is it?"
"It's in a very safe place."
"I've been honest with you. Time to return the favor," Katherine grows more annoyed.
"Let me be honest with you," Cora slightly smirks. "Don't mistake the fact that we haven't set you on fire in your sleep for trust."
Elena smiles at the sister, liking the way she handles Katherine's stubbornness. She hasn't been around the sister very much but one thing she knows is that the vampire does not like Katherine.
"Fine, be that way." Katherine says, walking away from the group.
-
Damon and Cora go along with Elena's brother and best friend into the woods to find the site a bunch of witches were burned. Quickly warming up to the two, Cora walks with Jeremy sharing her stories of visiting a bunch of places around the world from England to Greece to New Zealand to Brazil. Just a few yards away from the four was an abandoned and run-down house.
"Is this the spot Emily Bennett was killed, too?" Jeremy stood their conversation, asking Damon.
"Founders thought it was poetic burning her where the other witches burned," Damon replies to the Gilbert.
"How do you know where the witches were burned?" Bonnie looks at him.
"'Cause I tried to save her. Emily was just my key to getting Katherine back before I knew what a nasty little bitch Katherine was," Damon says. Cora moves closer to the Gilbert and whispers. "He was whipped."
Jeremy laughs at her comment while Damon flips her a bird. They stop in front of the abandoned house where the witches used to live. One by one they walk into the house, walking around. Suddenly both Damon and Cora stop walking, unable to move.
"Whatever witchy prank you're playing, don't. It's not funny," Damon states, trying to move.
"I'm not doing anything," Bonnie says confused.
"What the hell did you get me into D?" Cora glares at her older brother.
In seconds, both of the vampires' skin starts to burn. They both groan and Cora still attempts to move away from the sunlight.
"Our rings aren't working," Cora groans looking at Bonnie. "Do something."
The Bennett witch concentrates and closes her eyes. Finally the two siblings are able to move again. Cora let's out a huff of annoyance and gives her brother a death glare knowing somehow it is his fault.
"I don't think the witches like you two being here," Bonnie looks at them.
"More like Damon," Cora clenches her jaw. "I did nothing wrong but since I'm his sibling, they're taking it out on me, too."
"Must suck to be related to him then," Jeremy tries not to laugh.
"We're going to wait outside," Damon says, walking by Jeremy and Bonnie.
Cora sits on the steps of the house waiting for the other two that are inside. Damon passes in front of her, clearly impatient. He sighs and walks up to the front door. "Wanna hurry it up in there?"
The door closes by itself and Cora chuckles at her brother's frustration. "Screw you too, Emily."
"You know what, come on," Cora stands up and dusts off her lap. "They're on their own."
The two start heading back towards the boarding house until Damon gets a call from Elena about John at the Lockwood mansion. So with a change of plans, the siblings go to the mansion to see everyone inside exiting. Cora's senses stop her as she smells fresh blood and she looks over to see John lying there cold.
"Hey. How is he?" Damon asks the sheriff, walking towards him. "He's dead."
Damon looks around the body along with Cora. Her eyebrows scrunch as she sees a chunky ring on his finger and lifts his hand up. The older brother takes his arm and casually throws it onto his body.
"He'll be fine in a couple of hours," Damon says nonchalantly.
"What are you talking about? Damon, he's dead," Carol says, clearly confused.
"Well, not exactly," Cora chimes in, crossing her arms. "John's ring, its an old Gilbert family heirloom that protects its owner from death by a supernatural entity."
"But he's not breathing. He has no pulse," Carol still confused.
Cora huffs and nods for her brother to pick up the Gilbert. Damon grabs John from under his armpits and starts dragging him away.
"He will be. Trust me. We're gonna need a cover story," Damon suggests. "Epileptic fit, alcohol binge, banana peel, whatever works. But right now I just have to get him out of here."
With that said, Damon leaves with the body. Cora wiggles her fingers to say goodbye and walks out along with the lifeless body and her brother.
Damon walks in carrying John's body over his shoulder with Cora striding behind. She pushes his legs over, causing him to fall on the floor. Damon has blood on his hands and on his shirt, so he goes to the bathroom to wash his hands. Cora stares at the body until her phone begins to ring, Stefan's number popping up.
"Stefanie," Cora says through the phone. "How did we beat you and Elena home?"
Her face drops as Stefan breaks the news to her and she drops her phone, speeding towards Damon's bathroom. Damon looks at her weirdly as he dries his hands off.
"What the hell? Looks like you seen a ghost-"
Before the eldest brother can finish, Cora pushes him to the side and rummages through the soap bowl where Damon had hid the moonstone. She notices it is nowhere to be found and she lets out a frustrated groan, throwing the bowl on the ground.
-
All three of the Salvatore siblings ride with each other to search for Elena, specifically a house that Isobel stayed in. Damon parks his car and they all get out, looking at the large home. Stefan looks at his older siblings and back at the house.
"You guys think this is the house?" Stefan walks with the two.
"Better be," Damon says by his side. "It's the nicest foreclosure in town."
"Swear to god if she's not here," Stefan starts off.
"Don't be such a pessimist," Cora cuts off her little brother.
The sister enters the home first with the boys following. The place seems to be empty of people and only thing they see is a piano in an adjoining room.
"I got upstairs," Stefan says, walking up the staircase.
Cora wanders around the rest of the house along with Damon. Unfortunately, neither of them find anyone. Cora walks up to Isobel's luggage, pushing it to the side and meeting up with Damon and Stefan as he comes back down.
"This is Isobel's stuff," Cora glances towards the luggage.
"It's definitely the right place," Damon sighs.
"Where are they?" Stefan asks the two.
"I don't know, Stefanie."
-
Gladly Elena made her way back to the boarding house unharmed and the Salvatore siblings are relieved. Cora has grown to like the girl considering she makes her little brother happy and of course that makes her happy. That's all she wishes for is her brothers to be happy, even though at times she changes her mind and decides to make their lives a living hell. Their sat Elena holding Isobel's necklace and the younger siblings walk over.
"Is that Isobel's?" Cora nods her head towards the piece of jewelry.
"I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead, and yet-" Elena begins.
"She was your mother," Stefan clarifies.
"Why did they let me go?" Elena looks up at the two siblings.
"Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right?" Cora says, sitting on a chair. "So he knows that you're not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows that you have us keeping you safe."
"He knows I'm not gonna run," Elena corrects.
"Which is why we need to take some precautions, 'cause we got played, all of us," Damon says walking in and placing a stack of papers on her lap.
"What's this?" Elena asked confused.
"That my friend is the deed to our house," Cora kicks back. "It's in that guy Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name."
"You're giving me your house?" Elena gives them a look.
"Isobel had the right idea with the safe house. You'll just stay here till it's all over. That way, you can control who gets invited and who doesn't," Stefan says.
"Although I'll be super pissed if you lock me out," Damon states.
Suddenly John Gilbert gasps for air and sits up quickly. Damon rushes towards the Gilbert and lifts him up by his collar.
"I swear I had no idea what she was gonna do," John says frightened. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
"Damon, let him go. He and I need to talk," Elena orders the vampire.
Cora points towards the library, signaling her brothers to give her and John some privacy. Damon ruffles her hair teasingly and walks into the library with Stefan. Elena softly says 'thank you' to the girl, giving her a small smile. The sister returns the gesture and follows the boys.
"So, Bonnie said the spell worked," Damon breaks the silence. "She's locked and loaded."
"At least something went right today," Stefan nods. "Katherine has no idea that Bonnie got her powers back."
"Nope," Cora says, popping the 'p'.
"And Isobel had no idea what you, Cora, and Jeremy took Bonnie to do today," Stefan says.
"Uh-uh."
Cora sits next to Damon, looking up at her baby brother as he has a smug look. He hands both his sister and brother their glasses of scotch, which they take it.
"We're the only ones who know."
"That literally makes Bonnie our secret weapon," Damon states.
All three of the Salvatores raise their glasses of scotch and clinking them together before they all take a drink. Cora slightly smiles at her brothers and wondered if this is what it would be like if the three siblings did not go through years of pain, hatred, and regret.
1864
Cora runs through the woods, searching around in the night for her brothers as she is worried they got mixed with the hunt for the vampires. She holds up her dress so she can run without tripping herself and she hears Stefan yell to the group of men where he has spotted a vampire. Her eyes dart towards the carriage to see Damon creeping up to the one man guarding it and knocks him out. She gasps and runs over with Stefan arriving before her.
"What are you fools doing!?" Cora lowly scowls her brothers as Damon grabs the key's from the man.
"Trying to save Katherine," Damon says desperately as he unlocks the carriage.
"We don't have long," Stefan announces.
She watches as her brothers pull out the girl that they both were infatuated with and she sighs, helping them either way. The brothers untie the girl as Cora removes the muzzle that covered her mouth.
"We're going to get you out of here," Stefan says and looks at his siblings. "Damon, Cora, hurry!"
Suddenly, Damon gets shot and he falls onto the ground. Cora whimpers, crawling towards her brother and cupping his face. He looks into her eyes with fear and pain then slowly dies. Tears shed from her eyes and she looks up at Stefan who sits on his other side.
"H-He's dead. Damon's dead," Cora stands up, looking at her hands with his blood on them.
"Stay calm, we'll get out of this," Stefan says, attempting to calm his sister down.
She shakes her head, stumbling backwards as she glances between Damon's lifeless body and Stefan. The men yelling in the woods stop her and before she can run away, one of them shoot her. She gasps, falling back from the impact and pains runs up through her body. Her head slowly fall to one side and everything goes black.