Maya entered the building called 'Zanadew Lounge' to see Jeremy, Klaus, Damon and Matt standing amidst a bunch of transitioning vampires.
"No way. I'm not doing this," Jeremy protested.
"What makes you think you have a choice?" Klaus asked.
"You have to kill vampires to complete the hunter's mark. Mark equals cure. You're in a bar full of almost vampires, so get your hunt on," Damon said, none of them appearing to notice the new person in the room.
"What the hell is this?" Maya practically shouted.
The four other people in the room looked to Maya in surprise.
Klaus turned to Damon before speaking, "What is she doing here?"
"She can speak for herself."
"Back to the matter at hand," Klaus said, completely ignoring her causing her to scoff.
"You know what, screw you," Jeremy said to Damon, "You said I wouldn't have to kill any innocent people."
"Jeremy, they're not people."
"Enough!" Klaus shouted, "Have at it, or else."
"I don't take orders from you, dick," Jeremy said dropping the stake, "Hunters can't be compelled."
"You're right," Klaus said laughing and stepping closer to him, "I can't compel you. But if your conscience is getting in the way, then allow me to make this easy for you. Because, I can compel them."
The transitioning vampires in the room began to feed on the compelled humans.
"I'm gonna give you a two-minute head start. Then I'm gonna send every vampire in here after you. You kill them, or they kill your friend...Matt."
"Wait a second!" Matt protested.
"No, no. You turn them, he kills them. That was the deal, Klaus," Damon said.
"I'm taking artistic license."
"You know he can't take them all on at the same time."
"With you as his coach, he'll be fine. It's Matt I'm worried about."
"Ah...Jeremy, go get the weapons out of the car. I'll be right behind you," Damon said and he obeyed.
"Both of you," he added and Matt followed.
"If I hear an engine start, I'll kill Matt myself!" Klaus shouted after them.
"Really?" Maya commented as she looked at Klaus like he was the most ridiculous person she had ever met.
"They needed motivation," he said with a shrug.
"And murder is always a good motivator!" Maya added sarcastically.
"It worked, did it not?"
Rolling her eyes, she made her way to the door but he vamp sped over, stopping her.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked looking down at her.
Maya looked up at him in exasperation, "To help them."
"He needs to kill them on his own, you can't help him."
"Watch me," she said before opening the door and walking out, him following close behind.
"You're outnumbered."
"I'm stronger."
"You might as well just let him do it, he's capable."
"And let him carry the guilt of killing innocent people? I think not."
"So you'll carry it?"
"No thanks to you."
"You don't have to help him."
"I'm going to, so stop trying to convince me otherwise."
"Why must you be so difficult?"
"Why must you be so annoying?"
"I wouldn't call it annoying, simply persistent," he defended.
By this point, they were in the woods, and Maya was in search of Matt and Jeremy.
"Annoying."
"Persistent."
She suddenly spun around letting out a groan in anger.
"What do you want from me?"
"For you to let Jeremy kill the vampires and complete the mark."
"So you can get the cure for Elena and create more of your stupid hybrids that'll do your every will?"
"They aren't stupid."
"They are when they're sired to you."
"Why do you hate me?"
"I don't hate you. It's more of an intense dislike."
"Ah, my mistake."
"Can you leave me to find them now?" Maya asked him as calmly as she could and continued her search through the woods.
"Nope," he said following her with an amused look on his face.
"Do you enjoy annoying me?"
"Actually, yes I do."
"Why?"
"When your frustrated you make this face, you eyebrows furrow and nose wrinkles. It's adorable."
"I make a face?"
"Yep."
"Great," Maya said with a huff as she pushed a branch out her way when she heard a snap from her left side.
Maya turned to look in that direction and saw a blur run by. She quickly made her way in that direction, after whoever it was.
She stopped when the scent ended and turned around in a circle in an attempt to find the vampire.
"This is ridiculous. You are aware of that, right?"
"I'm aware of the fact that you aren't going away anytime soon but I'm also aware of the fact that I need you to shut the hell up," Maya said before she elbowed the figure who had crept up behind her and turned around to see a vamp on the floor.
The vampire shot up, ready to attack once more but she stopped him by chopping off his head with the swipe of her hand.
"Gruesome," Klaus remarked.
"That blood is on your hands," she said turning to him.
"Doesn't bother me," he said with a simple shrug.
"It should," she said before turning and walking in the opposite direction of where they came from.
Maya managed to ditch Klaus on her mission to help Jeremy and made her way to the cabin.
Jeremy was outside of the cabin looking out for, she assumed, vamps.
He looked at her in confusion when she realized she was covered in blood from the vampires.
"I ran into a few problems. You have a shower here right?"
"Come on in," he said, laughing slightly.
"Gladly," she said before entering the house, him right behind her.
"So why are you doing this?" Maya asked after she finished her shower and put on new clothes.
"What?" he questioned as he pulled a water out of the fridge and handed it to Maya.
"Killing vampires."
"I don't really have a choice. Klaus is kind of scary."
"He's not that scary."
"Maybe not to you Miss Tribrid."
"Even if I wasn't a tribrid, I wouldn't be scared of him."
"You are also pregnant with his child, he wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
"Touché."
Elena walked out, joining the two in the kitchen.
"There has to be another way to do it though," Maya pointed out as she threw out the now empty water bottle.
"There isn't."
"Why can't you kill vampires who have actually done something bad?"
"Klaus is impatient, you know that."
"I'm going to sleep on it, if I come up with anything, we'll make it happen," Maya said before standing up and walking upstairs.
"Sun's up," Jeremy said after they all got situated the next morning, "They're long gone."
"What the hell were you thinking?" Elena shouted angrily causing everyone to look at Damon, who had just walked in, "All I asked you to do was to teach him how to fight."
"He's not the best student in the world."
"Wait," Jeremy said, "Now this is my fault?"
"Stop talking. Look, I know you're angry, but my way was the easiest, fastest, and safest way to complete his mark to get you the cure."
"I don't care about the cure, Damon. Not if it means putting the people that I love in danger."
"Hey, there would have been no danger if he hadn't gone all bleeding heart."
"He killed someone. These were innocent people."
"The mark grew, didn't it?"
"Okay," Elena said with a sigh, "Look. We need a plan. There's a group of compelled vampires out there, and as soon as the sun goes down, they're gonna come after Matt, so we have to find a way to protect him."
"Yes, I know," Damon joined Jeremy, "But there will be no problem when big Jer and I here go on a hunting expedition. Elena, I know, it's tragic. I get it. But we also agree that he had to kill them. Now, we have added incentive. So you take the least most valuable player home. Jeremy and I will finish this."
"I'm sorry? Are you saying I should leave him here with you?"
"Trust me. I will keep him safe. Okay?"
"Make sure nothing happens to him?" Elena said looking at Maya.
Maya nodded her head and Elena left with Matt.
After cleaning up a little, the three made their way back to the bar.
"Do you really think they went back to the bar?" Jeremy asked Damon.
"Where else are they gonna go? It's all cabins and vacation homes, they can't get anywhere," Damon said before handing Jeremy weapons. "All right. There you go."
"Fine. Let's get this over with."
"Listen, just go one at a time, only shoot for the heart, don't hesitate, and don't miss."
"Save the teaching moment. Elena's not here. You don't have to pretend like you give a damn about me."
"I'm trying to keep you alive, dumbass," Damon said, handing him arrows, "Come on."
The three enter the bar cautiously and find blood.
"Something's not right," Damon pointed out.
They follow the trail of blood to find a giant pile of vampire corpses in the cold storage room.
"Looks like we're gonna have to find some new vampires. What a waste."
"What the hell happened?" Jeremy asked.
"I confess," Kol said, entering the room, "I did it."
"Kol?"
"Jeremy, good to see you, mate. Sorry about the mess. Ugh, it was a little crowded when I arrived, and I prefer more intimate gatherings. We four need to have a little chat," he said before taking a sip of bourbon from the bottle, "Care for a drink?"
"He's underage, and I don't like you, so let's just cut to it," Damon said.
"You know, my brother bragged about his plan to complete Jeremy's hunter's mark. It was easy enough to track this lot down. They were all hiding in the shadows. Now, killing young vampires is easy or old ones, for that matter."
"Why? What's it to you either way?"
"Because, you fools, in your zeal to find the cure, you risk waking someone very dangerous."
"Oh...you must be talking about Silas."
Maya turned to Damon in confusion, he didn't mention him and she couldn't help but feel she knew that name.
"What do you know of him?"
"Nothing. Don't want to. Not our problem."
"Isn't it?
"Uh-uh."
"A few hundred years back, I came across a group that worshipped Silas. His followers told me that he would rise again, and when he did, he would trigger the end of all time. You know, being an immortal, you can see why I'm opposed to time's ending. So I murdered all of them. And now, here you are willing to risk raising him in your search for the cure. I can't exactly sit back and let that happen, can I?"
"We're not going to back off the cure because you were told one too many scary bedtime stories, you idiot."
"Jeremy, we were mates in Colorado. You're a smart lad. Why don't you call off this imbecilic treasure hunt?"
"I'm not calling anything off, mate."
"Well I could kill you. But then, I'd have to deal with the hunter's curse. And I, I don't particularly feel like being haunted for the next century. Better idea. I'll just rip off your arms."
Kol rushed at Jeremy but Damon rammed Kol into the wall and head-butted him.
"Jeremy, Maya, run!" Damon shouted.
The two run as Damon and Kol continue fighting.
"Take my car," Maya said, handing Jeremy the keys.
"What?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Take the keys, I'm gonna help Damon out of whatever mess I can guarantee he got himself into."
"So you aren't coming home?"
"No, not yet."
Jeremy nodded slowly before taking the keys and walking to her car.
Maya made her way back to the Lounge but she stopped outside and listened in the conversation that was occurring inside.
"Little brother. Just two days home, and I'm told you've already gone and made a mess," Klaus said through what she assumed was a phone.
"Come on, Nik. I was only having some fun," Kol said to his brother.
"Those vampires were for my hunter."
"I'll make some more. There's no shortage of people."
"Where's Damon Salvatore?"
"I gave him a good and proper beating just for old time's sake."
"Yes. Well, you've had your fun. Now let him go and come home. Avoid any more trouble, or you'll find yourself back in a box."
"Hey. No need to be nasty about it."
"On the contrary, I find nastiness to be essential whenever my siblings try to sabotage me. Listen closely, Kol. Stay away from the Gilbert boy. You understand?"
"Fine. I won't touch him. You have my word," Kol said before hanging up, "Very good, darling. Now stab yourself a little bit further."
She heard Damon groan in pain before speaking, "If you're gonna kill me, do it like a man."
"I don't want to kill you. I just wanted to make sure you could be compelled."
"I'm gonna rip out your spleen."
"You ought to be thanking me. I mean you don't really want the cure found. You fancy Elena. I mean, even more now that she's a vampire. Admit it. The last vestige of her humanity is her annoying little brother Jeremy, and deep, deep down, I bet you want him dead, don't you?"
"Nope."
"You're lying," Kol said with a laugh, "I bet you'd love to rip his head right off...And I'm gonna give you your wish. You're not gonna remember what I say, but you're going to find Jeremy Gilbert, and when you do, you're going to kill him."
Maya remained hidden until she knew Kol was gone and she stopped Damon from leaving.
"Where do you think you're going?" Maya asked him.
"Home."
"Uh, no, you aren't."
"Why not?"
"You'll kill Jeremy. Or try to and he'll kill you instead."
"Out of my way wolfie," Damon said pushing past him.
"Damon, don't be naive. You can't resist compulsion."
Before she could protest anymore, he vamp sped away.
"Damn it," she muttered pulling out her phone.
Quickly, she called Elena. After three rings, she picked up, "Elena, I don't have much time. Damon's on his way to you. Keep him away from Jeremy at all costs."
"What? Why?" she asked in confusion.
"Kol compelled him to kill Jeremy if he sees him."
"He did what?"
"You have to lock Damon up so Jeremy is safe," Maya explained. "I have an idea that might kill two birds with one stone. If Jeremy can kill Kol, the compulsion will break and Kol's entire bloodline will die meaning Jeremy will have killed way more than enough vampires to complete the mark. No more homicidal Damon, and Jeremy won't have to kill anybody else."
"That might actually work," Elena said, gratitude clear in her voice, "Are you on your way back?"
"Actually, I was thinking about staying here for a little bit longer, if that's alright with you. I need a break."
"Yeah, that's fine. There is an extra key under the mat."
"Thanks, see you later," Maya said before hanging up and heading back to the cabin for a long needed break.