SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA: 3 WEEKS AGO
Xander Harris stared at himself in the long mirror for several minutes after Willow had left him.
He was getting married today.
Sighing as he stared at his now fixed tie, Xander couldn't help but feel panicked. In less than an hour, he would be married to Anya.
He was supposed to be happy.
He was marrying the love of his life but yet he couldn't get rid of this uncertain feeling in his chest, the feeling like maybe this wasn't the right thing.
Forcing all negative feelings about his upcoming marriage from his brain the human man forced a smile on his face preparing to face the mixture of demons and monsters...the monsters being his own family members.
The Harris's were scarier than any demon on the Hellmouth.
As he walked into the main hall, Xander didn't even have two seconds before he began getting bombarded with issues. His uncle getting drunk, and demonic presents were on the loose...it was all just too much.
He just wished he had the rest of his friends here.
He wished Buffy, Jeremy, and Elena were here.
Suddenly in the midst of all the drama, an older man grabbed his arm dragging him into the corner of the room.
Who the hell was this old guy?
Another uncle?
"You have to listen to me. You can't get married today. It's a huge mistake."
Xander shook his head at the crazy man, he couldn't have someone he didn't know digging into his own dark thoughts right now "Yeah right. Thanks for the advice, Uncle...help me here?"
This guy had to be from his father's side of the family right?
The man merely frowned in confusion "Uncle? You don't recognize me, do you?"
"I'm sorry, I don't—"
"It sounds crazy, I know but you have to believe me. I'm Xander Harris. I'm you. And I need to show you the truth, you'll see the truth, this isn't what you want, you'll see what you truly want.
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA: 3 WEEKS AGO
After her brief chat with Xander, Elena leaned back against her headboard, staring down at her phone with a shaky hand.
Xander was about to get married.
Yet instead of feeling happy for him, she felt like her heart was being torn into two pieces.
Why was she feeling like this? It wasn't right! Xander was her friend!
Anya was her friend.
Sighing she ran a hand through her hair and forced herself to stand. Moving over to her mirror she paused as she spotted the photo of her and Xander from the first party she went to during her year in Sunnydale.
She couldn't help but smile remembering back to how he danced around like a lunatic trying to get her to dance with him until finally she had taken his hand and the two had danced for hours.
Xander was such a goofball.
He was adorable.
Letting out a small laugh she took in a shaky breath trying to force down her newly discovered feelings for the Harris boy.
He was happy and about to get married. She had to be happy for him.
She had to be.
**
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA: 3 WEEKS AGO
The version of him from the future had shown Xander everything he had been dreading in the back of his mind for months.
A life with Anya where he completely turned into his father only worse.
Following the reveal, Xander had bolted from his own wedding. He just needed to think. Even if those visions were not real, deep down Xander knew that the life he saw could happen.
Xander finally knew what he had to do.
And his decision was going to hurt a lot of people, more importantly, Anya.
Heading back into his wedding his eyes widened in shock, his family and Anya's demons were at each other's throats, and there in the corner, a seven-foot demon currently had his fiancé in a chokehold "Anya!"
"Xander!"
Out of nowhere Spike jumped forward and started fighting off the demon allowing Anya to escape.
Who invited Spike to his wedding?
Probably the Buffy-bot glitching again.
Running over to Anya, he quickly helped her up to her feet as she smiled up at him in relief.
It made Xander feel all the more worse.
"I'm so glad you're here. It was all lies."
Xander looked away from her hopeful eyes, he just couldn't hold her gaze because it didn't matter that it was all lies. He knew what he was going to do and there was no changing his mind.
"What he showed you, it wasn't true. He just wanted to break us up."
Xander glanced over to where Spike was still fighting the demon before turning back to Anya "Doesn't matter now."
"It's going to be okay."
As Spike struggled Xander grabbed one of the pillars covered in flowers and hit the demon in the face knocking him down before he slammed the demon in the face again.
Again and again, until the fake demonic future Xander finally stopped moving.
With the demon dead, Xander turned his focus back to Anya and quickly grabbed her hand "We need to talk."
Not sensing the despair in his voice, Anya just nodded before turning to the crowd "Everyone sit down! The wedding will go on...in a minute."
Xander sighed before pulling her with him, just out of view of their guests, so that no one would be able to overhear them.
Anya merely smiled at her man, having no idea of what was about to occur "You know, it's bad luck to see me in my dress." When he doesn't speak she merely smiled "Hey. It's okay. It's all over now. He's dead, and it was just smoke and mirrors."
Xander smiled sadly "I know."
Anya grinned brightly having no idea what was about to come "So...we're ready now. Let's get married."
"I-I...I'm not. I'm not ready. I can't, An. I'm sorry."
"But it-it wasn't real. What he showed you, it wasn't real."
Xander sighed trying to hold back tears "I know it wasn't real, but it could be. And...it showed me...that I want something else..."
Anya's face fell and her eyes started to brim with tears. This couldn't be happening.
NO.
It was her wedding day it was supposed to be the happiest day of her life.
How was this happening right now?
"Well—what was it? Was it about me?..." Pausing her eyes widened in horror as she thought back to the glances and smiles"Was it about Elena?"
"No...It wasn't about you or her...it wasn't you I was hating. I had these thoughts and fears before this. Maybe we just went too fast."
Anya shook her head, she wouldn't give up this easily "Look, everybody has thoughts...thoughts about the future...other people...it's natural. It doesn't mean that getting married is wrong."
"I know. I know."
Anya refused to let this be the end of them, not after everything they had been through "Look, you're just shaken up. Okay? You just calm down, and we'll start over, okay?"
And that's when he saw it.
What he truly wanted.
While he knew it wasn't real, it was like she was actually here. Because there across the room standing in a beautiful blue dress with her long brown hair moving around her was the girl he truly wanted.
It was Elena.
It had been since the second he had laid eyes on her.
At that moment it was like it was just the two of them.
As his eyes connected with what he knew was a mirage he couldn't help it, he was in love with her and he couldn't lie about it anymore, and he couldn't do this to Anya.
"We can't start over." He told Anya, not removing his eyes from Elena as he spoke. "If this is a mistake it's forever and I don't wanna hurt you. Not that way." And with that, he glanced once more at Elena before she disappeared.
It was over.
**
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA: PRESENT DAY
Elena had lied to Buffy.
Well, not technically true, she had just omitted a massive truth from her. Buffy had no idea that the entire original family had been tied together.
Guilt swam through Elena, not just because she had lied to her sister but guilt over signing Elijah's death sentence.
Did he and the rest of his family deserve to die just for Klaus's actions?
Elena needed to talk to Stefan or Damon.
Actually probably Damon, there was no way that Stefan wouldn't tell Buffy everything.
The problem was, Buffy still had her number blocked so there was no way to find out where she was and Damon wasn't answering her calls.
As Damon's phone went to voicemail again, Elena groaned in annoyance. She was seriously starting to worry that Buffy had turned around and killed him.
Sighing she tossed her phone on the kitchen counter before turning on the coffee machine which seemed to cause a certain individual to stir on the couch.
"Too loud." Xander moaned as he buried his head underneath the Dora the Explorer pillow he was sleeping on before huffing and glaring over at Elena "You're up early."
What kind of person got up before midday on a Saturday?!
Elena Gilbert was insane.
Elena just laughed lightly as she poured both herself and Xander a cup of coffee, something he probably needed a lot more than her right now "I am going to see Damon and plus, I need to find out where Buffy is."
She wanted so much to give her sister a much-needed break, so she had to make it clear to Damon that Buffy was to be left alone today.
Xander just nodded sleepily barely processing her words in his head and he took the coffee, automatically groaning at the bitter taste. Elena giggled before handing him a jelly donut, she knew Xander couldn't stomach coffee without something sweet in his system as well.
There was a reason there were always donuts at the Scooby all-night research parties.
The second he took a bit of his donut, her words finally clicked and Xander jumped up in excitement "Buffy. Buffster!"
He was going to see Buffy!
Woohoo!
Elena winced slightly, Xander seeing Buffy may not be the greatest idea "Um...Xand, she's..." She paused unsure of how to phrase it "Different."
Xander merely shrugged and jumped off the couch "It's Buffster, she probably just needs a Xander spanking."
When Elena arched a brow he winced "Too much?"
"Yep."
**
Clutching onto the six-inch stilettos Buffy had lent her, a still slightly drunk Rebekah stumbled into her home only to groan as she was met with the sight of three of her siblings.
Klaus was sketching on the couch, while Marianna and Kol were sitting opposite him playing what she could only assume was some magical version of poker.
"Marianna you've finally graced us with your presence. How lovely." Rebekah snarked sarcastically.
Mary chuckled as she glanced up from her cards only to pause as she caught sight of her sister's outfit. That was a very modern-day clubbing outfit, the leather trousers and tight top, Rebekah was clearly experimenting with the various fashion trends "What are you wearing?"
Kol barked out a laugh "My Gods Rebekah, did you just finish a shift at the red light district?"
Rebekah rolled her eyes before launching one of the shoes at his head. He ducked and as it slammed into the wall she winced.
Buffy was going to kill her.
"Buffy lent them to me."
Sure enough, that got Klaus to finally glance up from his sketch. While Buffy had told Rebekah to meet her at The Grill last night, he hadn't expected the two girls to actually go out on the town together all night.
"You went out with Buffy last night?"
Mary and Kol snorted at his sudden interest before returning to their game, while Rebekah just started to head toward the staircase "Yes, because we are both sick of the men in this family!" She snapped over her shoulder "I need a shower."
"Wait, where is she now?"
**
WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA
Passed out at one of the booths in Sandra's diner, Buffy Summers groaned as the smell of bacon and fried condiments filled her nostrils. As much as she did love herself a bacon and egg sandwich the idea of eating that right now had her wanting to throw her guts up.
It was so not fair that vampires got the no hangover thing and she didn't!
Feeling someone tap her head, Buffy grumbled but glanced up to meet Sandra's thoroughly amused gaze.
Buffy had a feeling Sandra was going to hold this over her head for years to come.
"You my dear are going to drink this."
Buffy gagged as she spotted Sandra's hangover cure being placed down in front of her.
Nope!
No happening in a million years.
That drink was an abomination.
Tomato juice, two raw eggs, tabasco, and sugar was a fate worse than death. And Buffy should know, she would rather be dead than drink that thing!
AGAIN.
Re-crawling out of her coffin sounded more appealing.
Sandra just laughed before pushing the drink closer to Buffy and gesturing to the bacon sandwich "Drink then eat honey. Then we are going to fix your hair because you look like a train wreck sweetie."
**
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
"Nah I don't believe it." Xander told Elena as the two of them climbed out of her car and began moving toward the front door of the Salvatore home.
Elena rolled her eyes at the goofball next to her.
Ever since she had told him about Buffy's whole anti-Buffy attitude he had just refused to believe it.
"Believe it Xand, she's different. Not...Buffy-ish anymore."
Xander shook his head, this whole situation was messed up, how did their lives get to this point? "I guess people do things we don't expect. I mean look at me."
As he looked down in shame, Elena paused and frowned, while they had still had yet to talk about what had happened at his wedding, she knew that whatever it was, it was killing him on the inside.
Turning to him she doesn't speak as she merely wrapped her arms around him hugging him tightly to let him know she was there for him.
Xander couldn't help but hold onto the slim brunette, she had literally become his lifeline lately.
However, the two's embrace was quickly cut short as they spotted the very wide open front door, followed by the heavy stench of bourbon.
Sharing a quick worried glance, the pair of them slowly approached the front door only to groan.
Damon was passed out on the floor next to a bottle of bourbon.
"At least he is alive. I was starting to think Buffy ripped his heart out."
Xander couldn't help but sputter at the lack of concern in Elena's voice "I'm no fan of captain evil blue eyes but since when does Buffy want to rip his heart out?"
He had only witnessed Buffy and Damon's weird friendship in Sunnydale. He had no way of knowing just how close Buffy had come to killing Damon before she had her memories changed.
"Her patience is thin lately." Elena explained as she reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water before moving right over to Damon "She destroyed a building and when she was bitten by a hybrid she almost let me bleed to death on the side of a road."
Xander could do nothing but stare at Elena in shock as she started to pour the water over Damon's face, in a state of shock and confusion.
How the hell had his blonde little Buffster turned into such a hulk?
Damon grumbled in annoyance and frantically started trying to push the water away.
Elena rolled her eyes "Get up. We need to talk."
**
Despite the fact, Damon had clearly not had the best night following the ball, the news about what Esther had done had raised his spirits exceptionally.
"So they all die that's great!" Damon practically cheered as he poured himself a Bloody Mary, with real blood before making his way back over to the two humans.
The entire Original family would be dead by tonight.
This was the best news he had heard in years.
"Whatever mind control they have on Buffy vanishes and she goes back to being less crazy, I see no problem."
The comment about Buffy being crazy cued both Xander and Elena to glare at him.
Why did Damon think that just because Buffy didn't automatically agree with him that she was crazy?
While Elena wasn't exactly thrilled about the friendship Buffy had formed with Rebekah, she didn't think Buffy was crazy. Buffy was just trying to find herself and ironically as she was now a new Original it made sense that she would click with Rebekah.
"What about Elijah?" She countered as she stood from her seat and started pacing back and forth, guilt about his upcoming demise starting to dig at her "He doesn't deserve this."
Damon just rolled his eyes as he downed his drink "As long as Klaus dies, I don't care. Let them rot Elena. Don't screw this up."
Xander just sighed as he continued to walk around the Boarding House, taking in every aspect of it. He had never actually been inside of this place before so he was full-on nosey right now.
"Where's Hero-hair?" He asked Damon as he glanced over at the staircase.
When they had arrived there had been no sign of Stefan or Buffy in the house.
Damon just grumbled in annoyance as he flopped down onto the couch "He got a call from Bubbles's fairy God Mother. He is picking her Buffy from Williamsburg now. She got messed up last night."
Her car was currently still parked in front of The Boarding House so he knew she hadn't been driving around when she and Rebekah bolted to Whitmore for the night.
The mention of Buffy getting messed up caused Elena to narrow her eyes as she slowly started to approach Damon "Given what you said to her not surprised...oh I forget, I have something for you."
Damon frowned "What?"
Elena slapped him across the face.
Buffy wasn't the only one that had been ready to snap his neck after his comment about Jenna last night.
Damon grumbled in annoyance as he rubbed his cheek before rolling his eyes and downing his fresh glass of bourbon "Okay I deserved that."
Bringing up Jenna had been a low blow.
Xander snorted in amusement before jumping onto the leather chair by the fireplace. There was just one thing he couldn't understand about this whole Originals being tied together thing.
"Why are we not telling the Buffster again?"
"Why are we not telling Buffster what?" Buffy asked as she and Stefan walked in through the front door.
The trio quickly turned to Buffy only for their eyes to widen as they got a good look at her.
Her hair!
Gone were the long curly locks, replaced by short waves of blonde hair that hit just above her shoulders.
Xander's eyes widened at the sight of his blonde best friend walking into the room "She's like Beetlejuice." He whispered to himself before smiling "Where's my hug Buffster?"
At the sound of his voice, Buffy froze up from beside Stefan.
What the hell was Xander doing here?
She had made it clear she didn't want to see anyone from Sunnydale again anytime soon, especially while she was like this.
When he yanked her into a tight hug Buffy tensed up, her whole body going rigid as he held her.
Gulping she slowly peeled him off her "What are you doing here?"
Xander frowned in confusion.
Maybe Elena was right maybe she was different.
"Just here to see my favorite Buffster." He teased before looking down at her carefully "What did you do to your hair?"
Elena grinned as she stared at the new look "It's adorable."
"It's weird. No more Goldilocks, nope don't like it." Damon countered as he stared at Buffy's hair.
Stefan just nudged Buffy slightly "I like it." He had barely recognized her when he showed up at Sandra's house to pick Buffy up, but Elena was right, she did look adorable.
Damon just rolled his eyes "Of course the guy who blow-dries his hair more than a horse is gonna like it."
Stefan had more hair products in his bathroom than anyone Damon had ever met in almost two centuries.
Ignoring the two brothers, mainly Damon, Buffy turned her focus to Elena "Can I borrow your dad's old office today?"
Elena couldn't help but furrow her brows in confusion "Why?"
Reaching into her bag, Buffy pulled out the paint set that Sandra had given her before she and Stefan had gotten onto the road "Early 21st birthday gift from Sandra. I want to see if I can still do watercolors without completely sucking, Plus, I'm really hungover and would rather hide from the world until my head stops spinning."
Elena and Xander laughed.
"All yours." Elena told her as she tossed over the keys to her father's old office "I will have Ric bring you by some burgers later from The Grill if you want."
Buffy smiled softly.
Elena was trying to be supportive.
It was nice.
"Very much so. I will need something to get the taste of that hangover cure out of my mouth."
Stefan shivered in slight horror, he had been able to smell that horrid drink the second he had walked into Sandra's house to collect Buffy.
"Sandra is seriously disturbed."
Buffy snorted, Stefan wasn't wrong there.
Taking her bag off Stefan, Buffy smiled up at him gratefully before saluting Xander and Elena. Just as she moved to head upstairs to get changed out of her slightly slutty purple dress though, Damon blocked her path.
"Buffy-" He tried but she cut him off by shoving him out of her way sending him skidding back away from her.
"Nope! I have plans today, I'm hungover, I need a shower and I still hate you. Bye! Nice to see you, Xander, Elena keep me up to date on Esther!"
There was a whoosh of the air and Buffy vanished.
Her bedroom door upstairs slammed shut.
Stefan immediately turned his harsh glare over to Damon who was already moving toward the staircase "No. Leave her be today. When she wants to talk to you, then you can see her."
As Stefan vanished to his own room, Xander could do nothing but sputter unable to believe what he had just seen.
Buffy had moved like The Flash!
Since when the hell could she do that?!
Xander jumped in shock screaming slightly only to bump into Elena "What-how-where...since when can she do that!"
Elena shook her head in amusement "A while ago."
"She moves like Superman!"
"Stefan stays out of it, too." Damon whispered suddenly drawing the pair's attention "There is no way he won't tell Buffy and she is clearly under the Mikaelson spell. Klaus needs to die, they all do. They are turning her into something and I don't like it." Damon shifted his focus to Xander "Keep your mouth zipped stowaway."
Then Damon was gone.
Elena huffed in annoyance, before grabbing Xander's hands and leading him back out of the house.
"What the hell have you been leaving out of our chats little Summers?"
**
Now freshly showered and in a pair of dungarees ready for her afternoon of quiet painting, Buffy could do nothing but stare around her bare room.
Honestly, she refused to decorate this place because it meant setting roots down and a part of her was planning on escaping this town once Klaus was either dead or he took his family out of town.
Though, even if that happened, she still wouldn't be able to leave until she was sure Elena was going to be okay.
It could be a while.
Though, that didn't stop her from planning. Not only did she plan on going to as many art exhibits as possible, but she would likely go visit Jeremy and then maybe see some old friends in L.A.
Hell if she got bored and desperate for a battle she could even go to Cleveland.
She was pretty sure she had heard Giles mention that there was a Hellmouth on it at some point.
However, none of that could happen until Elena was okay.
Yet that didn't change the facts. Staying in Mystic Falls was killing her soul, she just needed a change.
Turning to the mirror she stared at her new haircut and just remained stoic and emotionless. She used to love her long blonde locks and now she just felt nothing.
Pausing her eyes wandered down to a certain necklace that was hanging around her neck.
One she had never taken off, not even when she died, when she had woken up in her coffin it was still around her neck.
She had put it back on following the ball.
The necklace Stefan had given her.
His mother's necklace.
It just felt wrong to wear it now given the state the two of them were in and her weird emotions for Klaus.
It just felt disrespectful to wear it now.
With a small shaky hand, she unlatched the necklace and grabbed the original copy of Withering Heights off the shelf. It was the same book Stefan had given her almost 4 years ago.
Placing the necklace inside the book, Buffy inhaled sharply before placing the book into the bottom slide of her drawers.
Hidden away out of sight.
"You going to continue to ignore me?"
At the sound of the elder Salvatore's voice, Buffy couldn't help but groan.
What part of being told to leave her alone and rot in hell did Damon not understand?
Slamming the drawer shut, she turned to face the blue-eyed vampire "What part of me snapping your neck and telling you I hate you did you not understand?"
"Probably the part where it's not the first time."
Buffy groaned in frustration "Will throwing you out of the window clear that up?"
Damon chuckled "Honey if you wanna put your hands on me you don't have to ask."
Sure enough, Damon in less than a second went flying out of the window.
**
"You're not going to snap my neck as well are you?" Mary teased as she walked into the parlor room of the Mikaelson home where Elijah was currently staring at some burnt sage in a small vase.
He, Finn, and Esther were the only members of the family who she had yet to see.
"Rebekah has done it twice this morning alone. It's incredibly annoying and I think Kol is starting to lose it with how often he is having to bring me back. He is willingly spending time with Nik so you know it's bad." She purposely pointed to where Kol and Klaus were sitting in the next room in complete silence.
Klaus was sketching while Kol was trying to understand the phone that Elijah had given him.
They weren't trying to annoy each other either.
It was unnatural!
Elijah looked up at the stunning raven-haired witch before smiling. Unlike Rebekah or Klaus, he was always happy to see his younger adopted sister.
They were more alike than many realized.
Plus, there were times during their human years when it felt more like he had raised her than Mikael or Esther.
Mary smiled back before running into her older brother's arms and hugging him tightly "It's good to see you, Elijah."
The last time they had seen each other had been in Sunnydale when they had tried and failed to desiccate Klaus.
"As is it to see you, Marianna."
Mary smiled as she pulled away before sighing as she spotted the look on his face.
"But you never appear without a reason." He pointed out "What reason is it this time my dear?"
Marianna had gone quiet following the reveal that Esther was alive for a reason, he was sure of it.
Mary sighed before glancing back at Kol and Klaus.
The two of them would likely react badly to her suspicions.
Noticing her hesitation, Elijah nodded and placed a hand on the small of her back leading her out of hearing distance, away from their two most explosive brothers.
"What is it, Marianna?"
Mary sighed before looking at him seriously "I'm not just here for a visit, would have seen you earlier but a certain blonde original snapped my neck and locked me in a coffin, she really messed up my nails."
"Marianna." Elijah moaned, this was not the time for petty issues, whatever reason she was here it was clear that it was urgent.
Mary sighed before playing with her fingers nervously "There is something wrong. There was a powerful surge of mystical energy while I was in France. I know more about sacrificial magic than anyone on the planet, and I can feel it when someone is in the early stages of a big spell. The dark magic I could sense...Elijah something isn't right, and whatever it is I think it is a threat to you. And I think it has something to do with a witch, the only other 1000-year-old witch on the planet...mother."
**
The girls had been catching Xander up on all the latest Mystic Falls drama and to say it was a lot to process was an understatement.
Since they had left the Salvatores he had been bombarding Elena with questions and hadn't stopped. Even when Bonnie and Caroline had shown up to try and figure out how to do this spell that Esther had done at the ball with sage, cutting out all communications from the outside world.
"So Buffy is all Darth Buffy?" Xander asked, trying to clarify the whole Buffy situation as he sat beside Elena opposite Bonnie.
The three of them were all sitting around the doppelgängers bedroom, while Caroline hovered outside.
"Since when did she become lady evil?"
"She's not evil." Bonnie argued strongly as she moved the sage around the room attempting for the fifth time to successfully perform this spell.
Elena nodded in agreement with her best friend "Bonnie's right she's not evil...it's just harder for her to do things...emotionally now. Hopefully, once Klaus is gone she will go back to normal."
The sage was quickly placed back into the bowl as Bonnie narrowed her gaze "That is not how this works, Elena. Buffy needs therapy. End of story."
Buffy was severely depressed!
And Bonnie was determined to make sure that no one tried to force Buffy to pretend that she was okay.
Elena nodded in understanding, clearly she needed to listen to Bonnie more when it came to how to approach Buffy.
Out of all of them, Bonnie currently had the strongest relationship with Buffy. Elena knew she needed to start taking notes if she didn't want to lose her sister for good.
"Then we will get her some. I just want her happy."
"Happy doesn't mean her old self." Bonnie retorted. While she was all for Elena trying to fix her relationship with Buffy, she was not going to let Elena cause further damage. If she truly wanted to start bonding with Buffy again, she needed to understand that she wasn't someone to be fixed.
She was a traumatised exhausted girl.
"Right...sorry, I'm trying." Elena flinched slightly before offering Bonnie a smile.
It was very clear that if she wanted to rebuild her relationship with Buffy, she would have to go through Bonnie.
The current biggest Buffy defender.
"About time."
As Bonnie smiled and picked up the sage again, Xander sighed before dropping his head to his hands.
This just was all so crazy.
It was like a soap opera! Everything they were telling him, honestly, it sounded like something you binge on cable.
"Okay so let's do this again...she almost killed you..."
"Technically." Elena admitted "To be fair she thought I was Katherine while she hallucinating. I would have tried to kill me too."
While Bonnie stifled a laugh Xander merely stared at her flabbergasted.
What the hell was this town?!
"Okay...almost killed you, tried to kill Warren, knocked down a building, made out with a lunatic who did kill you and was part of the reason she died...anything else?"
"Think that's it. Oh, she did live in a haunted house for a few weeks."
"I think my brain is gonna explode"
Elena chuckled in amusement before glancing at Bonnie "Is it working?"
"It's not working." Caroline told them as she opened the bedroom door and re-entered the room "I can hear every word you're saying about Buffy the walking telenovela. And Elena, Bonnie is right, there is no going back. Look at me once I started accepting being a vampire, my life? Hundred times better."
Becoming a vampire had strangely been the best thing to ever happen to Caroline.
"But given the whole two deaths and coffin thing, Buffy totally needs therapy. My mom is looking into it."
Xander snorted "Buffster is in no way going to go to therapy."
"We will make her."
Bonne sighed "Caroline."
The pointed tone caused Caroline to wince, that might not be the best approach with someone like Buffy "Right. Okay, will start rethinking for helpful ideas. Back to the spell."
Bonnie just huffed in annoyance "I don't know. It's a tricky spell."
Elena paused for a moment before remembering back to the way Esther had performed the spell last night "When Esther did it, she kept the sage burning. There was a lot more smoke."
"All right." Bonnie relented "Try it again."
With that everyone glanced over at Caroline who was still standing by the open door, Caroline rolled her eyes "Why can't the human do it?"
It was not fair that she was the only one having to play listening creep.
Xander glared at the blonde "I'm still processing."
Caroline huffed before closing the door again locking herself outside.
As Bonnie continued the spell she glanced over at Elena "Speaking of Esther, you should know, she came to see me and Abby this morning.
"Who's Abby?" Xander asked in confusion before biting into the jelly doughnut in his hands.
"My mother." Bonnie admitted awkwardly before continuing when she spotted Elena's shocked face "She wanted to introduce herself. Abby and I helped bring her back. She's channeling our entire ancestral bloodline for power. I think she thought she was being polite."
Xander chuckled "The dark empress being polite sure..." He muttered sarcastically as he moved to take another bite of his doughnut only to pause as he spotted Elena's glare.
When Xander gulped and motioned that he was zipping his lips, Elena grinned before turning back to Bonnie "Ok, well, is there a way to stop her from channeling you?"
Bonnie frowned in confusion, why the hell would Elena want that?
She was the one that handed over her blood to Esther in the first place!
"Even if there was, why would I want that?"
Elena sighed sadly before finally admitting the truth "I just kept thinking...before the sun and moon ritual, Elijah found a way to keep me alive. And now I'm in the exact same position, and I'm just gonna let him die? It just doesn't feel right."
Swallowing the rest of his donut, Xander reached out and tapped Elena's head comfortingly "Lena, as much as it sucks, Damon had a point. They are all Originals. Also, can someone remind me why we can't tell Buffy?"
The mention of the secret had Bonnie nodding in agreement as she focused back on Elena "I am not comfortable keeping this from Buffy."
Caroline popped her head back into the room "Ditto. PS: Spell still not working."
Caroline just couldn't understand why they were not telling Buffy about this. There was no way that Buffy had bonded with Rebekah enough that it would make her quit the whole Klaus dying thing.
Buffy had been focused on killing Klaus for months!
Xander purposely pointed at Bonnie and Caroline, happy that they were just as uncomfortable with this as him "So Lena, why are we not involving the Slayer? You know, the person that tends to keep us all from becoming...well vampire dinner? No offense Caroline."
"None taken."
As much as Elena hated lying to Buffy, in her mind all she could focus on was just how exhausted Buffy sounded when they spoke on the porch last night.
"Because it is killing her. How many times has she saved all of us? I haven't been a good sister lately, so I'm going to let her rest. We will take the weight she has been holding for all of us for years. It's our turn to save Buffy."
The problem was, if this didn't work and Buffy found out about Elena keeping this a secret it would just prolong Buffy's misery.
She would be forced to stay in town to keep Elena alive and protect her from furious Originals.
When everyone softened slightly at her words, Elena sighed and dropped her face into her hands "I just...I want Klaus dead I want Buffy free, but it's the Elijah thing. Can I really do this to him?"
Caroline just sighed "Elena, you are not doing this. Esther is doing this. But seriously, we need to tell Buffy. If we don't she is gonna be pissed. Angry Buffy is scary."
Without hesitation, Xander nodded "Agreed."
Mad Buffy involved swords and people getting their heads slammed together.
Nope!
Xander in no way wanted to deal with angry Buffy.
Bonnie just sighed before finally revealing to Elena the truth. It didn't matter know that Elena was having second thoughts.
It was too late.
The Plan had already been put into motion.
"There's no time to change your mind, Elena. He'll be dead by the end of the night. Esther is killing them the second the moon is full. Look, I might not like it either, but Rebekah has helped Buffy too over the past few weeks, especially with her strength."
While none of them were fans of Rebekah, they couldn't argue that Rebekah had really helped Buffy.
Plus, no matter how Buffy felt about Rebekah, the second she knew there was no stopping it, she would be on the board.
Mainly to ensure that Elena didn't get murdered if any of the Mikaelsons found out before the moon reached its apex.
No matter her own conflicting feelings, Buffy would always put Elena and Jeremy's safety first.
"You need to tell Buffy that she is about to lose a friend."
**
Dipping her brush into the watery pink beside her, Buffy focused back on her canvas, slowly moving the brush over the blue, mixing the two colors together in an attempt to create more of a dusk appearance in the sky.
She was painting the view of the lake from Sandra's rooftop.
Buffy wanted to make sure Sandra got her first solo painting in over 6 years as it was her who had gotten her the set in the first place.
Unknowingly allowing Buffy to retouch with an old hobby she had long ago abandoned.
Though, she would still never paint with oils.
Nope!
Too messy.
As she started mixing her collection of green paints, Buffy grabbed her phone with her spare hand, dialing a familiar number before putting her phone on speaker as the person answered.
"Hey, Buffy! Elena told me Xander shows up, is he okay? We are so worried and Anya isn't talking to any of us and-" Willow chimed happily through the phone.
"Will breath." Buffy laughed as she cut off the Willow-Babble before it could get too crazy "He is staying with Elena, he is fine. I think our drama is keeping him distracted."
Willow sighed in relief before clearing her throat "I take it this isn't a catch-up."
"Unfortunately not. Soon though. I need your help with a wiggy theory of mine. Witch help."
Sure enough, that got Willow excited "Yay! Totally on board with that. Tara magic help! We are putting you on speaker now."
"What's going on Buffy?" Tara asked curiously.
Given that Buffy had Bonnie in town, it had to be something big and concerning if she was outsourcing help.
"I had a thought last night at this ball. Tyler was automatically sired to Klaus, like tied to him. I have this weird feeling in my gut that there is more going on than we know of."
Now that her mind had started to drift away from Klaus must die mode, a lot of things were starting to become crystal clear for Buffy.
Like just how little they knew about the sire bond, or what exactly kept the spell that turned the Original family into vampires running.
It wasn't like with the other kind.
Technically, a demon just possessed their body.
There was a moment of silence before Tara piped up, if anything she sounded panicked by the mention of the sire bond "Wait are all the hybrids automatically sired?"
Despite the fact Willow was more powerful, Tara had grown up as a witch. She had the most knowledge when it came to how magic worked.
Hell, Tara was the only one that had known about the other kind of vampires originally because as a child her mother used to get vampires asking for all kinds of magical favors.
Buffy frowned, she wasn't getting a warm fuzzy feeling at the sudden shift in Tara's voice "Yeah why?"
"Because sire bonds are rare. it really only happens in vampires when they--there are human feelings involved. I doubt Tyler liked Klaus."
Buffy snorted.
That was an understatement.
"Not even a little. Why the panicky?"
Finally, Willow pipped up, her voice just as panicked now "Over the past few months we have done a lot of research Buffy and there is something not right. Something about these vampires... has us wigged. These vampires were created by magic, all tied back to a spell cast on the Original family. Tyler and all the hybrids being tied to Klaus is worrisome. Let us do some research, we will call you back the minute we know something."
**
Sitting in the middle of the Mikaelson living room, sipping her expresso as her eyes scanned the grimoire in front of her, Marianna groaned as her least favorite vampire walked into the room.
Somehow, Klaus was more tolerable than Rebekah now.
He was even being pleasant!
He had set her up with her own room and allowed her access to her old belongings that she had left behind when she ran in the 1400s with Katherine.
Though, she was certain a lot of her Dark Objects were missing.
She had yet to find them
As Rebekah stopped right in front of her, Mary groaned but doesn't bother to look up from her book "You're blocking my light."
Rebekah scoffed before forcing Mary's feet off the couch "Why are you here?"
"Elijah knows. You don't need to bye-bye baby sister."
Rebekah growled slightly and moved to grab the witch only to freeze as her mother walked into the room her eyes on Mary as she spoke "Rebekah leave us please."
Rebekah huffed before storming out of the room causing Mary to chuckle before finally she stood up and turned to the woman who had raised her.
"Hello, Mother. Long-time no see."
**
Clutching the take-out food he had gotten from The Grill for Buffy, Alaric sighed in relief as he finally caught sight of her.
When she hadn't been at Elena's father's old building, he had panicked.
Luckily, the second he stepped back out of the old Gilbert building he spotted Buffy sitting on a bench in the town square, her sketchbook resting over her crossed legs as she continued to focus intently on her drawing.
"You weren't at the office." He told her pointedly as he moved to sit beside her. Peaking down at what she was so focused on, he quirked a curious eyebrow as he spotted the sketch she was working on.
Warren.
Given his body was laid on top of an altar it was very clear that this was likely something from one of her Slayer dreams.
It seemed like being sacrificed on an altar was soon to be Warren's future, even if the police managed to track him down he would likely die.
"I thought you were painting today."
Buffy snorted as she momentarily glanced up at him "My patience needs work." Plus, she had no desire to just stand around waiting for paint to dry. She could return for her almost finished canvas in a few hours when it was dry so she could finish the next layer of paint.
Alaric laughed "You spoken to Damon?"
Buffy scoffed.
Why did she have to speak to Damon?
She had told Damon years ago that if he wanted forgiveness he had to earn it, an apology meant nothing if you were only saying it to get out of trouble. Sending Alaric with a message to get her to speak to him was not earning it.
It was trying to guilt trip her to forget about all of the things he said to her!
"Until he clicks that he is not as smart as he thinks he is nope. Don't plan to."
Alaric sighed "Buffy-"
Buffy slammed her sketchbook shut and took her food from him before narrowing her gaze "Don't defend him, Ric. God, does everyone forget the bad stuff in this town? If I turned around and slaughtered half the town would you all remember it?"
Alaric clearly wasn't getting her point "Of course but Buffy-"
"Really?" She countered with a sharp glare "Then why does no one remember that Damon did that and worse?"
Alaric and Elena had this horrid habit of acting like it was Buffy's job to keep Damon under control.
He was a grown man!
Why did Damon being an ass fall on her shoulders?
"That was a long time ago and he's one of us."
It was not a long time ago to a vampire. It was not even four years ago that he was killing, murdering, and assaulting people just out of boredom.
Just because Buffy somewhat considered Damon a friend now, it didn't magically change the facts.
"What does one of us mean?" The whole we are the heroes thing in Mystic Falls was really starting to get on Buffy's nerves.
Alaric furrowed his brows in confusion, he just couldn't understand why Buffy was acting so unsure of this.
They were good people.
It was the Mikaelsons that were the problem.
"You know-"
"No, I really don't." She deadpanned.
People who called themselves heroes tended to excuse the things they did because in their eyes they were the good ones. When in fact they were doing things just as bad without acknowledging it.
Buffy had never called herself a hero.
Others had called her that because of her actions, she had never turned around and pretended that the rules didn't apply to her when she was human. It was why she and Faith had clashed, at least in the set of recreated memories from Klaus.
Faith killed someone and acted like because she had saved more people that it didn't matter.
But it did.
Even if it had been an accident, at the end of the day, she had killed someone and acted like it didn't matter. She had chosen to act like her actions didn't count because she was also saving people.
Like the good outweighed the bad.
And even now, Buffy acknowledged the fact that some of how she handled Klaus was not okay. There was no pretending there, she was not going to turn around and act like she was the hero in that situation.
She had gone overboard because she was confused and grieving.
End of story.
In order to be someone she actually liked a few centuries from now, Buffy knew she needed to keep accountable for her actions.
If she ended up killing someone, she needed to be prepared to deal with the consequences and learn to do better. Not just pretend that it never happened.
"Damon is your friend, he is a good person despite his flaws. He is one of us, you couldn't kill him-"
"Yes, I could." Buffy stated without hesitation.
There was a difference between not wanting to kill someone and having the capability to do so if it became necessary.
Alaric couldn't help but sputter in shock "What?"
"I'm not you Ric. If it came to it, I could kill Damon, I could kill Stefan. Yeah, it would hurt, but I would do it. I'm not going to change my rules for one person. I was ready to kill Damon for what he did to Caroline and I would have killed him if he tried to get Bonnie to kill Klaus on her own. AKA: killing her."
Truthfully, Alaric had no idea how he was supposed to respond to her words.
They were clearly not going to agree on the whole Damon thing no matter what he said so instead, Alaric chose to focus on something positive.
During her entire speech she had been clutching onto the wooden railing of the bench, yet...she hadn't snapped it.
She had been in complete control of her powers the entire time.
He couldn't help but smile proudly at her "You're getting better at controlling your strength."
The sudden compliment caused Buffy to laugh lightly "Eh, I may have practiced a little."
"Does that involve hitting Damon a lot?"
Buffy laughed "Totally. But Rebekah helped a little. She gave me these breathing techniques to help."
Alaric flinched at the name.
The hairs on the back of Buffy's neck stood up, that reaction bothered her. She was clearly missing something here.
"Ric?"
"What?" Alaric asked, trying to play off his reaction as he opened out his own lunch and took a massive bite of his burger.
Buffy just narrowed her eyes suspiciously "Why did you flinch?"
"No, I didn't." He muffled through his very full mouth.
"Yes, you did. Spill."
"Buffy."
He was obviously deflecting and it was starting to piss Buffy off. There was obviously something he had been told not to tell her "Alaric Saltzman, spill right now."
The full name did the trick.
Sighing, Alaric placed his lunch back down on the bench before turning to face her fully
"Did Elena fill you in?"
Buffy clenched her jaw, she already didn't like where this conversation was going.
What the hell had Elena done now?
"Bonnie texted about an hour ago. So all I have to do is avoid the big bad wolf for a few hours then poof, the huntsman will cut him all up."
"You mean the witches."
"Either way he goes poof and I go on vacation."
She had told Klaus she would likely try and kill him at least once more. But the truth with, if he survived or not she was done caring. Unless he was directly threatening someone innocent she no longer had the energy in herself to care.
Plus, it wasn't like Klaus didn't deserve to die.
A lot of vampires in this town technically deserved to die, Damon and Stefan included if you were focusing the decision on past horrors.
Buffy's only issue at the moment was that she had yet to hear back from Willow or Tara. They had sent her a long theory which Buffy had sent to Bonnie but everyone had suddenly gone radio silent on her.
Bonnie hadn't even read the message.
Alaric frowned in confusion, what the hell was that supposed to mean? "Vacation?"
Buffy sighed as she shoved a few curly fries into her mouth "You gotta keep this quiet..."
"Okay, Buffy what is it?"
"I wanna leave...Mystic Falls. Once The Originals are gone I need to figure out what I'm gonna do with the rest of my life. Which facto is now eternity."
The temptation to take Klaus's deal was growing more tempting by the day.
"Have you told Elena?" When Buffy shook her head Alaric groaned "You realize you just put me in an awkward spot now right?"
Buffy didn't see how.
She was the oldest and a grown woman.
What did Elena expect? Was Buffy supposed to spend forever in Mystic Falls never exploring the world?
It was Elena's dream to build and family in Mystic Falls, it had never been Buffy's plan.
While she loved Sunnydale and Williamsburg, she had always preferred cities over towns.
Alaric sighed before ruffling Buffy's hair softly "Elena would kill me but if you wanna actually go live your life, you should. This town is a black hole and you've had enough darkness."
"Elena, I want very different things. She has always dreamed of a small-time life. I never have. I will tell her, but it's not like I can go anywhere when she is clearly putting together plans behind my back that might get her or someone else killed. So given you are acting shifty and no one is answering my calls, want to tell me the truth?"
Alaric gulped nervously at the furious look on her face. Buffy was definitely no dumb blonde that was for sure.
"Huh?" He stammered.
Buffy rolled her eyes "Elena texted while I was painting to let me know that Esther's plan to kill Klaus happens tonight. I texted Bonnie right after but no one is answering, now."
"Um..."
"You guys have thought about Tyler right?"
That sure enough got Alaric's attention "What do you mean?"
"He is a hybrid, they can only be turned by Klaus and they are all sired. Deeper bond than your typical vampire."
"So?"
"The sire bond is automatic with hybrids. I called Willow and Tara, they have a theory."
Alaric's determination to keep this plan going faltered slightly, he really didn't like the knawing feeling of dread that was starting to form in his gut at her words.
He had a very strong feeling that what she was about to say was about to blow up all of their plans.
"What is the theory?"
Buffy sighed "That is Klaus dies so do all the hybrids. She is looking for a way around it. Now tell me what is happening."
Alaric hesitated every so slightly "Could Tyler really die?"
"Very possible, Willow is doing a spell to confirm it. You guys do realize that I can't kill Klaus if Tyler's life is tied to him right? Tyler shouldn't have to die just because he was forcibly turned into a hybrid."
Alaric quickly nodded in agreement.
If this was true they would have to come up with something else. They couldn't just let Tyler die to get rid of Klaus.
There was just one problem...if Willow confirmed this theory, it might already be too late.
"Of course not. But, Buffy, if Willow's theory is right...Tyler is already dead."
Buffy clenched her jaw and jumped up from her seat, clenching her jaw tightly as she narrowed her gaze down at Alaric. There would be no more circling around the subject, she wanted to know what the hell everyone was up to.
Now.
"What-did-Elena-do?"
**
"So when do I get to hear what happened at the wedding?" Elena asked curiously as she and Xander headed downstairs toward the kitchen.
She knew it was a tough subject for him but it's not like he could avoid it forever...well actually this was Xander so he probably could, but she wasn't going to let him.
"When you tell me why you didn't come." He argued back with a smirk making the brunette roll her eyes "Deflection." She muttered under her breath before pausing as the doorbell goes.
Frowning she glanced at Xander before shrugging and answering the door only to find a certain well-dressed Original on the other side.
Instantly, guilt started to overwhelm Elena.
"Holy suits." Xander muttered at the sight of Elijah while Elena merely remained frozen, unable to speak as doubt started to wash through her brain.
Elijah smiled at the pair "Elena. Alexander, a pleasure to see you again."
"Elijah." Elena breathed.
"I don't mean to intrude. I was hoping you might accompany me. Your boyfriend is welcome to join us as well."
At the term boyfriend, Elena stuttered nervously "Boyfriend? He—he's not my..."
"Yeah so not—" Xander tried to finish but he too was stuttering like a bafoon.
Elijah smiled at the innocent display before nodding "I see. My apologies. But shall we? I want to show you something."
**
"Being dead for 1000 years has done you well, Esther. But just between us witches, one spell could help with the ever-growing frown lines."
Esther sighed as she watched the young woman who had once been her pride and joy twirl a glass of red wine. The girl she had raised, the girl she had trained to teach future generations of witches.
A pang of sadness washed over her as she watched the raven-haired beauty.
How far the great have fallen.
"You're different my daughter."
"I'm not your daughter." Mary snapped as she crossed her arms, she didn't have time for pleasantries, she knew Esther was planning something "So what's your big plan, because I'm sorry but if you mean Elijah or Kol harm then I will rain hell down on you."
Esther just smile lightly "You're so different." She whispered as she moved to stand in front of her daughter "So different from the girl that almost gave up magic for her husband."
Mary scoffed before slapping Esther's hand away as she reached out to touch her cheek "People change. I did for the better."
"You have massacred thousands of people. Innocent people Marianna. You're just as diluted as your siblings." Esther sighed sadly before playing with the dagger currently hidden behind her back "I miss the girl you were."
"Many will." Mary hissed as she turned her back on her adoptive mother, she was so done with this conversation "She was easier to kill. You, on the other hand, won't be. I will undo what you have done. Whatever it is."
A small tear escaped Esther's eye before she stabbed Mary in the back "You were always my favorite. I'm sorry but you all need to die. It's the only way."
Mary gasped before collapsing to the ground in agony, clutching her wounded side as blood spilled, her eyes widened in horror as she spotted her mother placing her blood on a map.
A map that was already marked with five other drops of blood.
Her siblings' blood.
**
"Forgot how much I missed this land."
Xander whistled as he and Elena continued to follow Elijah through the woods. Where he was taking them they had no idea, but Xander had to admit, this place was creepy.
Just how many hidden forests were there in Mystic Falls?
"Is it wrong that I miss cemeteries?"
Elena chuckled before glancing at Elijah "I can't even imagine what it must have been like a thousand years ago."
"Were there ape people?" Xander asked curiously.
Elijah smiled in amusement, he could see why the doppelganger was attracted to this one, he was quite amusing "No ape-men, but a Native American village where I saw my first werewolf."
Xander shuddered at the mention of a Native American village, remembering back to his own bad experience with vengeful spirits.
That was not exactly his favorite Thanksgiving ever.
He hadn't celebrated the holiday since.
While Xander was reliving his own past horrors, he didn't seem to realize how much of Elena and Elijah's conversation he had missed because now they were standing by some entrance to a cave or something.
What the hell had he missed?
Elena looked over at Xander giving him a small panicked look before glancing at Elijah again "Elijah, we should probably go home."
Elijah ignored her "I admire you, Elena. You remind me of the qualities I valued long before my mother turned us. You actually remind me of Marianna very much when she was young. When she was human she was a terrible liar too."
At his words, Elena panicked.
He knew.
He knew she had lied to him at the ball.
She and Xander were so screwed right now.
"Elijah..."
"Elena we bail right?" Xander whispered only for Elena to shh him.
Elijah merely sighed disappointed "It's not in your nature to be deceitful, and yet when I asked about your meeting with my mother the other night, you lied to my face. And given that you and your friends have been avoiding Buffy-Anne's calls, I can safely assume you lied to her as well. It is a shame that she keeps getting left to clean up all the mess isn't it?"
Elena clenched her jaw at that.
He did not get to bring her relationship with Buffy into this, he knew nothing about them.
"Look, dude, I know Elena, she sucks a lying but she's a good person." Xander piped in as he tried and failed to keep this situation from heading too far south.
The problem was, Elijah was on a very short timeline.
"I believe that." Elijah told Xander "But I can also hear her heartbeat right now. It jumps when she is being dishonest. She lied to me at the ball..." Pausing he took a step toward Elena but Xander in a rare case of overpowering masculinity stepped in front of her causing Elijah to smile and glance at the young woman behind the human "You are lying to me now. Tell me the truth."
"Elena..." Xander warned but she couldn't hold it in any longer.
she was too overwhelmed with guilt "I never wanted this to happen."
"Elena don't!" Xander yelled only for Elijah to backhand him sending him crashing unconscious to the floor.
"Xander!" Elena screamed and tried to move toward him but Elijah blocked her path, his patience was running thin.
"If you want him to continue breathing then I suggest you tell me now Elena."
Elena glared up at him before glancing at Xander and sighing in defeat. She couldn't let Xander get hurt because of a decision she made by handing over her blood to Esther without asking any more questions.
What the hell was wrong with her?
Why had she not asked more questions?
She felt like such an idiot!
"We were told that whatever was gonna be in that coffin was gonna kill Klaus. When we found out that it was your mother...we didn't know what to think."
"I do." Another voice interrupted causing the two to turn only to spot a bleeding Marianna stumbling toward them.
"Mari." Elijah breathed before speeding over to her. Catching her before she could hit the ground he quickly bit into his wrist, feeding her his blood. If she died right now from the blood loss she would end up back in her amulet.
Which was currently with Kol.
"Thank you." Mary breathed as she stumbled back up to her feet "She drained a lot of power, the blade must have been cursed. Mother took my blood and tried to kill me. Her stabbing technique clearly needs some work, she missed the major arteries."
"It's not just Klaus she wants to kill." Elena announced nervously causing Elijah to finally come to his realization.
Horror washed through him.
Tatia had been right to be skeptical all those years ago clearly. She had always stated that there was something off about his mother. Especially, when it came to her weirdly not wanting grandchildren.
It was why none of them had married, their mother had always put off any engagements.
Esther had always controlled everything, and now she planned to control their deaths.
"She wants to kill us all, doesn't she?"
Mary nodded, confirming Elena's words "She's binding us, all six of us together. As one. If one dies we all do. She wants to undo the evil she created."
Elena sighed sadly, from her place on the floor with Xander's head on her lap, as she looked up "I'm so sorry Elijah, I wish there was something I could do."
Mary chuckled softly "It's not just us that will die. Be happy Elena, for the first time in your life, you are about to save Buffy."
Elena froze.
What the hell was she talking about?
"What?"
Elijah slowly walked over to the pair of humans "There is so much you do not know Elena. But I shall offer you some advice. Be careful what you wish for."
And with that, there was nothing but darkness as the ground below Elena and Xander gave out sending them crashing down into the caves below.
**
The Originals were all linked.
And Willow had confirmed that there was at least a 50% chance that if Klaus died so did Tyler.
Buffy's peaceful day had gone to hell and now she had to clean up everyone's mess!
Today totally sucked.
Bonnie and Abby were already with Esther, Caroline was in the middle of one of her finals at Whitmore so had her phone off and Elena and Xander seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth.
Buffy was positive they had been kidnapped.
Especially, Elena.
Just as she stormed into the Boarding House, Buffy caught the end of Damon and Stefan's conversation.
"Elena and Xander are missing, dammit! Buffy is going to lose it!"
In less than a second Damon found himself pinned up against the wall, Buffy's hand latched around his throat "Looks like you are right for once Damon. I am losing it. Let me guess, Elena found out about Esther's real plan, and when all guilt mode?"
As Damon struggled for breath, Stefan furrowed his brows in confusion "What plan?"
Buffy let out a flat laugh as she tossed Damon across the room, he crashed right into the bookcase causing the wood to shatter and splinter "Elena's blood tied all of the Originals together. Oh and killing Klaus has a 50% chance of killing Tyler."
Stefan froze as he stared down at her.
What the hell had everyone been thinking to keep this quiet?!
They could have at least hidden Elena somewhere to keep her from going all moral if Elijah showed up.
Damon just scoffed as he climbed back up to his feet, his focus more on the Tyler comment than anything else "Am I supposed to care about that? Let Tyler die. Whatever, he is an asshole and a hybrid. So a problem."
Buffy punched Damon in the face knocking him down to the ground, cueing Stefan to quickly have to get in the middle for they started trying to kill each other.
As fun as it was to watch Buffy launch Damon around like a rag doll, with Elena and Xander missing they did not have the time.
Inhaling tightly as she tried to swallow the overwhelming rage rushing through her, Buffy exhaled deeply before nodding over at Stefan.
Assuring him that she was good.
She could kill Damon later.
Right now she had too many problems to fix.
"Damon shut your mouth and go to the marked spots." She tossed over a map of Mystic Falls which she had circled on her way here. She had taken a taxi for a reason. She needed time to put together a plan that would fix Elena and Damon's mistakes.
Catching the map, Damo raised an eyebrow "What is this?"
"Places you are going to look for Xander and Elena."
Stefan turned to Buffy, she clearly had spent the time since she found out putting together a plan and he doubted she didn't have one for Tyler. There was no way she would let the guy Caroline loved die just to get rid of Klaus.
Especially, when Tyler despite his faults had spent the past few years trying to better himself and had literally been kidnapped and murdered just so Klaus could make a point.
"What about Tyler?"
Buffy tossed her jacket onto the couch before opening up her phone, flipping through the updates that Tara had been sending her about their progress "Willow and Tara are putting together an elixer now that will put Tyler in a coma if his life is tied to Klaus. His body will be frozen before death, stuck at the moment right before death. He will be stuck asleep until they can understand the magic that made him a hybrid. Once they understand it, they can work on finding a permanent solution"
Asleep was better than dead.
Buffy had literally had to fill up a vial of her own blood which vanished in the blink of an eye for the two witches.
Apparently, because her blood had traces of the Original vampirism spell in it, and Klaus's blood they could study it, while they placed a sleeping beauty type curse on Tyler temporarily until they could find a long-term solution.
"This will buy Willow time to figure out how to break the connection between them for good. Tyler is with Oz in the mountains, so she is going to teleport down there the second the potion is done. I don't care if it is a small chance until I know for certain, this is over."
AKA: Until they knew more no one was killing any Original.
"Do you understand me?"
This wasn't a request. She was warning them.
This whole mission was done until they understand how the sire bond worked!
Damon scoffed, there was no way in hell this was over "Buffy, Klaus needs to die."
Buffy just glared over at him "I don't care about Klaus right now, I care about Tyler possibly dying, I care about Abby and Bonnie being forced into this because Esther is tied to their magic and I care about the fact that Elena and Xander are missing. This is done. Anyone tries to go after Klaus until I know we are not also murdering Caroline's boyfriend and I will get in the middle!"
When Damon glared at her furiously, probably ready to make another Buffy being crazy comment, Buffy just smiled sarcastically "Hmm, see Damon this why we don't cut Buffy out of the plan! Because I'm the only one that thinks before I do stuff! Unlike you!"
**
"Come on Xand." Elena grunted as she threw his arm over her shoulder and helped him up.
"I feel dizzy." He mumbled weakly as his head pressed into her neck.
"You have a concussion." She told him as the two continued to stumble around the caves "We need to call Buffy or someone and warn them."
Xander nodded only to stumble over his feet, everything was spinning and fading in and out around him "Lena..."
He passed out.
As he went completely dead weight in her arms, Elena stumbled before being forced to drop him to the ground before he ended up crushing her.
Quickly she dropped down to her knees by his side "Xander." She whispered shaking his face softly as she tried desperately to wake him up.
Sleep was not good for him right now.
He needed to stay awake.
"Come on we gotta go."
"You're not going anywhere."
Elena gasped and jumped around only for her eyes to widen as there in the dark watching the two of them was Rebekah.
"What are you doing here?"
"Not much, unless you try to run...in which I get to kill you, while your little boyfriend watches."
**
"Dammit!" Buffy hissed as she and Stefan walked back into the house after searching for both Elena and Xander.
The trio had split up the list of locations but they hadn't found any sign of them.
"Anything?" She asked Damon who shook his head.
They had no idea where Elena or Xander were.
In less than a second, Buffy screamed loudly before kicking her leg out, hitting the table near the front door and sending it flying.
"What the hell is wrong with you all?!" She screamed as she turned her furious gaze back to the two brothers. Spotting Damon about to interrupt she raised her hand silencing him.
She was in no mood for excuses or comments about her connections with the Mikaelson family.
"Shut up! Keeping this from me? Very fucking stupid!"
"I agree Buffy-Anne." Elijah interjected as he appeared in the doorway with Mary by his side.
Buffy instead of panicking kept her furious eyes glued to Damon and Stefan "Big time." She muttered before glancing back at Elijah "Now please explain to me what you did with Elena and Xander."
Mary raised her hand slightly "To be fair the human was an accident. He is like a pest just following the doppelganger around."
Elijah simply sighed and remained focused on Buffy "I apologize but I have had to take certain measures."
Buffy growled in frustration and started yanking on her short strands of hair "Let me guess, Rebekah? We stop this or you are going to kill my sister?"
Elijah merely nodded "As you can imagine, our sister's just dying to tear her throat out."
"I'm gonna enjoy doing the same to your sister." Buffy hissed out through gritted teeth "On repeat...for several hours...until I have myself a nice scarf."
"Your way with words is really...slightly disturbing but alas if you want to save the life of your sister and your friend, I need you to help me stop my mother."
Buffy let out a small scream as she glared up at the ceiling.
She was fucking furious with everyone right now!
"Elena acts like a supportive sister and she goes behind my back and gets kidnapped. Must be Tuesday." She laughed flatly.
She couldn't believe that she had actually believed for a second that Elena truly wanted to be supportive and give her a break.
Of course, Elena would go behind her back.
She did it constantly!
Because Elena always thought she was right!
"I am going to spend the next 80 years keeping her alive!" She screamed before narrowing her eyes at Damon and Stefan "She can't be trusted and you two, you went along with this?!"
Stefan quickly raised his hands in surrender "I didn't know."
Damon rolled his eyes before shifting his gaze over to Elijah and Mary "I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but when it comes to killing thousand-year-old resurrected witches, well as you can see from your not-dead sister, I'm a little rusty."
Elijah simply smiled at the simple thinking of the Salvatore men "Yes, unfortunately when killed my mother doesn't seem to want to stay dead, not with the spirits of nature at her side."
Buffy scoffed "I still have my God-killing hammer, would that work? I feel like I would enjoy that a lot."
Elijah couldn't stop the small chuckle that escaped him "I'm sure we would all enjoy that sight, but alas it would not work."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Stefan asked curiously.
"The witches that released my mother, she's drawing her power from their bloodline. That line needs to be broken."
Buffy frowned in confusion and raised her hand slightly "Color me confused but even if one of them died isn't the line...well filled with a lot of dead folks. Plus, I like Bonnie more than you so that's not happening. Idea, turn your mother into a vampire. You can't be both. She can't channel if she is nursing a glass of blood."
Mary smirked slightly, now that was an idea she wished she had come up with.
It would be a beautiful piece of irony.
"As much as we like that idea, we have no way of getting close enough to Esther now."
"You have a choice to make here, your sister or the witches. You have until 6 minutes after 9 to find them." Elijah told Buffy who narrowed her gaze at him.
The two of them looked ready to start dueling any second.
Damon couldn't help but roll his eyes at that "Oh how super-specific of you."
Mary scoffed at the childish response "Idiot by 9:07 the moon will be full. Which means mommy dearest will have the power she needs to kill me and my family."
Elijah nodded in agreement with his sister before moving toward the three "If you do not stop her before then, Rebekah will kill Elena and Alexander. So we all have our timeline. I suggest you get started. You help us I give you my word no harm with come to Elena."
Buffy scoffed causing all eyes to turn to her.
Ignoring the piercing looks around her, Buffy focused on Elijah.
His word didn't mean shit to her.
While Mary looked ready to start laughing, Elijah just raised a curious eyebrow, confused by her response "Do you have something to say Buffy-Anne?"
"I think you're full of crap." She admitted, a small laugh escaping her "You will go back on your word, you always do when your family is involved. So new deal. Cause I keep my word."
Elijah faltered momentarily offended but Buffy didn't care.
No matter how much she liked certain members of the Mikaelson family, this was her sister they were talking about.
"You are lucky right now. Because if any of you die, a friend of mine might. But let me make myself clear, I will help stop this, but I have made sure to have an insurance policy created. My friend survives one way or another, even if you don't. You are all over a thousand years old, if you think I will prioritize your life above my very human friends who have barely lived then you are idiots. If my sister and Xander die because you break your word, I will kill you. All of you. Even if you live past the night, you won't meet the sunrise. You try and go back on your word and I will track down Rebekah myself and tear her head off. Because it's been proven in the past you have no problem breaking your word."
"Buffy-Anne..." Elijah tried to interject.
Buffy didn't let him "Sorry, but Elijah you have a habit of breaking your word on a timeline. I like you, but reminder Elena is a 20-year-old human. Xander is 21. They have barely lived, you have lived more lifetimes than I can count. The second it hits 8.40 I get my sister myself. Understood?"
Elijah had to admit, he was impressed.
If anything her words just proved all of the reasons why she had been The Fallen Slayer. She was the perfect balance for The Original family, especially Niklaus.
"We have an agreement. I will call you at 8:40. But...until then, while the Salvatores plan, I require your assistance."
He was standing here threatening her sister and Xander, did he honestly think he could request anything from her right now?!
"Can't busy cleaning up my sister's mess." She snarked.
Elijah just smiled "I need you to keep Niklaus occupied."
That certainly hadn't been what Buffy had expected to hear.
"Huh?" She sputtered.
He couldn't actually be serious right now. What was it with people wanting to use her as Klaus bait?
Damon did it constantly, Elena had needed it at the ball, and now Elijah.
What the hell was wrong with this world?
"I would like Niklaus not to lash out until myself and Marianna find a solution. Or if the Salvatores find one first." It was almost funny that Elijah spoke about Damon and Stefan like they weren't in the room "He will tear apart this town the second he knows. Our mother will just speed up her plans if she gets wind that he knows."
Buffy grumbled in annoyance, she hated that Elijah had a point "Fine. But when the time is up, I ditch Klaus and get my sister back. If you screw me over, I end you by going to Esther myself. You and your siblings have lived over a thousand years each, you do not get to be the priority. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
**
After Buffy had disappeared upstairs to try once again to get ahold of Bonnie, Damon headed downstairs into the cellar where his brother was currently pouring himself a small glass of blood.
Like he always did since he had learned control.
A small amount of human blood every day, not enough to make him go crazy with blood lust but enough to keep him strong.
They increased the amount every day.
"Clock's ticking. You gonna help me brainstorm a plan, or are you too busy with your snack there."
Stefan scoffed before downing the rest of his glass and closing the fridge "We need to call Bonnie."
"Got the Buffster on the witch patrol."
"Good." Stefan said with a sigh "There's gotta be a way for her to stop Esther from channeling all that power."
"I still say I should rip her head off." Buffy suggested and she walked into the cellar before sighing "Bonnie's not answering so all for me going wreck it Buffy on the bitch say I?"
"It may not stop her." Stefan reminded her "You remember what Elijah said."
Buffy just grumbled and crossed her arms before letting out a heavy moan as she spotted the text message from Elijah pop up on her screen "That's Elijah. Klaus and Kol are at The Grill. Time to play nice. Find out where Elena is and if by 8:20 we still haven't found a way to stop this, I am going to get her myself."
Stefan furrowed his brows "You told Elijah 8:40."
Buffy shrugged "I lied."
If Elijah could break his word when it came to family so could she.
"Little trick I learned from him, your word can be broken when it comes to family."
Damon snorted in amusement before there was a rush of air.
Buffy was gone.
With the blonde wonder handling her part of the plan, Damon turned his focus back to Stefan "It's simple mechanics you can't draw power from a dead battery."
"We are not killing Bonnie." Stefan snapped.
"Well, then mama Bonnie." Damon suggested before pausing, if he did that he would be another dead body at the end of the night.
There was no way Buffy wouldn't kill him given that they weren't exactly big with the bonding right now.
Reaching into his jacket, Damon revealed his Plan B "But I may have a less diabolical plan."
The dagger.
Stefan could do nothing but stare at the dagger in astonishment, since when the hell did Damon have that?
"And you're only showing me this now because..."
Damon merely shrugged "I like the diabolical plan more. But think about it they're all linked. One goes down they all go down witches live. It's perfect, Buffy is distracting Klaus already, which leaves one Original up for grabs at The Grill."
Kol.
Stefan just sighed, they were missing one major player here, someone who wouldn't be affected by the dagger "We don't know how that'll affect Klaus."
"Ironically Klaus isn't our biggest problem." Damon pointed out before groaning as he spotted his brother still hesitating.
For once, Damon actually missed Ripper Stefan.
He would have been all over this plan.
"Look Red the witch found a way to keep Tyler alive. Yeah as a sleeping werewolf but whatever. We dagger Kol, what happens to one happens to all. Klaus will be distracted with Buffy and we just bought Elena and Xander more time. Plus, they stay down long enough...no more Klaus, no more Originals."
Stefan inhaled tightly before clenching his jaw.
He really wanted Klaus and the rest of them dead.
Buffy was so going to kill him if this didn't work.
"Call Alaric."