XXXI - 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔶𝔠𝔩𝔢

THE LAST PLACE JUDAS MIKAELSON THOUGHT HE WOULD END UP WAS ELENA GILBERT'S BED, BUT IT SEEMED

EVERYTHING WAS POSSIBLE AT THIS POINT.

Especially with the way things escalated last night.

Klaus Mikaelson shook the chains off his body when Judas cut them off with a sledgehammer. Why a sledgehammer, Judas didn't know, but it was the only thing he found lying on the cemetery grounds.

The Hybrid was staring at Lilura, sleeping peacefully despite her rage moments before. Under the moonlight, she looked paler than ever before. Her raven hair contrasted with the sharp lines of her face, permanently sneering and hissing.

"She'll be ok," Bonnie said, checking the siren's pulse. "It was just a sleeping spell."

"One powerful enough to knock out an elephant," replied Klaus. He lowered himself to the ground and scooped her up, grimacing briefly. "I've got her."

"Your wrists and —well— you, in general, look beat up. I can do it," Judas offered, arms at the ready.

Klaus shook his head.

"I've got her," He said. To Judas he passed on a soft sentiment, "When you have something you love, you don't let it go. That's one thing my father never bothered to teach me. But then again, my father never bothered to do a lot of things."

Judas opened his mouth to reply, but Klaus smiled demurely in protest, "I'm just trying to break the cycle."

As if she could hear their conversation, the Siren stirred.

She snuggled in Klaus' bomber jacket. Something incomprehensible escaped her dried lips.

"I'll keep it in mind," Judas said in regards to Klaus little life lesson. "Haven't exactly found my soul mate yet."

Judas almost expected Klaus to tell him how to find the one, but Lilura mumbled something else and interrupted their conversation.

With a start, Judas realized she was sleep-talking.

"You're cute," She sighed, snuggling further into Klaus jacket.

"I'm not bloody cute!" said Klaus. "I'm Klaus Mikaelson, the Original Hybrid."

She fell silent after that, but not in the way a child falls silent from their mother's scoldings or from glimpsing a frightening crack of lightning. It was as if the enchantress was comforted by the fact that Klaus Mikaelson was the Hybrid. It was like she could rest peacefully knowing that Klaus Mikaelson was Klaus Mikaelson, ruthless in every aspect except her.

"How wonderful : How strange!" Judas thought to himself. "To be loved by something that hates all else."

At the high school parking lot, Klaus inquired, "Will you be joining us?"

Judas stared at the moon. He didn't want to go home just yet.

"Maybe later," He said. When the Hybrid raced off, Judas said to himself, "Don't trip, old man."

Once again, he looked to the stars and marveled at their beauty. He breathed in the scent of the unperturbed forest. However, he felt his heart sink. For some reason, Judas felt that tonight would be the last night of normalcy he would get. If his life was considered "normal" at all.

"You look like you could use a friend," Bonnie remarked, crossing her arms from the chilly breeze.

Judas shrugged off his trench coat. "Here," He said.

"Oh no—"

"C'mon. I'd hate to be the reason you get a cold. You still have to teach me that spell — the one where I can make vampires puke and pee their brains out so... you can't get sick."

"And here I was thinking you were being chivalrous." She accepted his coat nonetheless.

"I can be," He caught Bonnie's gaze. He watched as her beautiful brown eyes flickered back and forth from him, to her car, and to the road beyond.

Judas nodded. He understood."Go home, B. I'll be OK."

She smiled sheepishly, "Yeah? I can stay with you if you like. We could talk about the universe and its indefatigable capacity to throw shït at the fan when we least expect it."

"Tempting. Really tempting," He smiled his infamous Judas Mikaelson smile that made girls weak at their knees. "You're a good friend, B. It's only fair I be good to you. And this comes from the bottom of my heart : go home, take a shower, and rest. Next time you risk your life for any of us, do it on your own terms. Don't let Damon bully you into. Don't let Elena guilt you into it. Don't let my father or mother or — hell— me tell you to do it. You're a hero, Bonnie Bennet, a hero with a big heart. Don't let anybody take advantage of that."

The young witch smiled, eyes watering just the slightest bit.

"Did you rehearse that or...?"

"No. I'm just that eloquently spoken." Judas chuckled. "And I know what you're doing. Stop stalling and go home! I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself."

She trotted off to her car, before thinking better of it. Bonnie ran back to Judas and enveloped him in a generous hug. He stilled from the sudden impact, but hesitantly wrapped his arms around her small frame.

When she let go, there was a mystical element to her next words, "Call Elena, OK?"

"What?"

"Just do it. You'll thank me later!"

"You drool when you sleep," said a voice. "A lot."

Judas lifted his head from the pillow and grinned at Elena in the doorway who had a film camera in her hands, "I don't suppose you have any proof?"

"Uh-huh. Good try. I have an entire album filled with your lovely sleeping face. I'll hang on to these for safe-keeping." Elena giggled as Judas pouted impishly.

"Or maybe for blackmail," She drawled before skipping out of his sight.

Elena burst into another room and covered an armchair with plastic.

"You're happy," her little brother commented. "Why?"

His answer strolled in with a crumpled white button up and bleary blue eyes. "Going darker, huh?" Judas yawned, gesturing vaguely to the paint.

"It's the only color we had," Elena shrugged.

Jeremy dismissed his astonishment at Judas appearing from Elena's room, but he couldn't completely stifle his curiosity.

"That's what happens when you decide to paint your dead guardian's room in the middle of the night," Jeremy said. "Why are you here?"

"Your sister has a nice bed," Judas smiled.

The younger Gilbert narrowed his eyes.

"Judas!" Elena cried, throwing the paintbrush at him in embarresment.

"Watch it, Lenny. This is satin," He pointed to his button-up. To Jeremy he held up his hands. "But we didn't do anything. Scout's honor!"

Judas, however sly, was telling the truth. He had called Elena last night because Bonnie said so, and he had called at the right time.

The doppelganger was sobbing. Her sniffles comprised of Ric, Esther, and why us?

His mind had been made. Judas arrived at the Gilbert house with a pint of cookies and cream ice-cream from the 24-hour mini mart down the street and a couple CDs of his favorite rom-coms.

They spent the night in the most juvenile of fashions, flicking the TV on and off when Jeremy would stir and crying tremendously at the end of the fault in our stars.

"You know me better than that, pal. I only climbed in her window and slept in her bed."

"You're digging yourself a hole," Elena laughed nervously.

"But we didn't do anything, except eat a lot of ice-cream and watch Ryan Gosling build a house for Rachel McAdams." Turning to Elena, he held up his hands. "I can't believe she let him go!"

A moment passed before Jeremy turned back around with a shake of his head, "God, you can never stay mad at this guy, huh?"

"No. Not really," Elena replied.

"I don't suppose anyone tried to talk you guys out of doing this so soon," Judas said.

"We have to keep moving. Otherwise we'll start thinking and we don't want to think," Elena said.

"Want a hand?"

"So, are you two like together or something?" Jeremy questioned nonchalantly.

"What? No, Jer, we're just..."

"Friends," supplied Judas. "We're friends."

"Yeah," Jeremy said monotonously. "If you say so."

"This is the perfect color," Judas said, stepping forward to view the paint. "Alaric always liked grey."

"We didn't know that," Elena said. "Why didn't we know that?"

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Judas said, jogging down the stairs as the person on the other side kept pressing the bell.

Damon stood outside with a tight grip on Bonnie Bennet's arm. The gash at her neck was still bleeding profusely, but the older Salvatore was too furious to pay any attention to it.

"We have a problem," He growled.

———— Δ ————

Klaus was not a lucky man.

He knew this. He had known for a long time. He had known from his first encounter with the wolves and his endless fights with his father. Klaus Mikaelson was not a lucky man, and yet, somehow he had won fortune's favor the day he met Lilura Anthemoessa.

Look at what you've become.  He mused.  A sacrificial sap!

He methodically folded his jackets into his suitcase, careful to not let them crease. The Hybrid would rather die than endure another hour of ironing clothes, but alas looking this delicious all the time was no easy feat. It took time and effort and a couple quarrels with the damn iron.

But to be completely truthful, Klaus' vigorous ironing had nothing to do with the fact that he liked to present himself well. No, unfortunately, it had everything to do with the fact that Lilura Anthemoessa was not herself.

And he missed her.

There has to be a cure, he thought. There is always a cure.

"Alaric Saltzman just tried to kill me," Rebekah said, strutting into the room.

"Alaric Saltzman is supposed to be dead."

She crinkled her nose, "Well, he's not and he's a vampire thanks to mother's spell with a white oak stake that can't kill him. He's strong, Nic. Too strong."

Klaus sighed, "Where is he now?"

"He's stuck at the school without a daylight ring, but as soon as night falls he'll come after us. We need to leave now."

"Fine," said the Hybrid. "I'll collect Elena, we'll be on our way."

Wrong words.

"Forget Elena! You don't need any more stupid hybrids!"

"What I need is protection from Esther's continued assaults against us."

"We'll protect each other, like we always have. Always and forever, Nic."

The Mikaelson siblings narrowed their eyes simultaneously. Klaus spoke first. "I'm not leaving without her."

"I'm leaving now. You can either walk out that door with me or you are on your own," She leaned against a bookshelf and propped her elbow on one of the levels.

When he didn't answer, Rebekah yanked her hands from the books as if she had been burned. "Fine. Trust your hybrids over your family. Just-"

An ancient brown book fell to the floor. Rebekah, who had caused the disturbance, didn't bother to return it to its place even though Kluay was sure she had noticed.

"Rebekah," He interrupted her, "Pick it up."

"Unbelievable," The blonde woman muttered. "Fine, let your spite and impropriety be the death of you, see if I care."

She walked out the door without a glance back. Klaus returned to his suitcase but stopped as he saw the book from his peripheral vision.

"Good riddance," He whispered and picked it up. He really couldn't stand an untidy floor.

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.

"Good riddance," He said again as he skimmed over the first page and realized that it was no ordinary book.

———— Δ ————

"What do you mean he turned? I thought you were standing guard!"

They had just learned that Bonnie completed Alaric's transition by feeding him her blood instead of letting the vampire hunter die.

Damon laughed without sound, "Don't blame me. Blame Bonnie the blood bank. She fed him."

Bonnie folded her arms, eyes bulging in fear. "I had no idea what was happening. Okay, the witches led me there. They wanted him to feed so he turned."

Judas rubbed his chin, "So, where's the stake now?"

"Oh, you mean the white oak one?" crowed Damon. "The one that can kill an Original and wipe out an entire line of vampires? We don't know."

He directed the last sentence to a defensive Bonnie.

The young witch narrowed her caramel eyes, "If you are so upset with me, why did you feed me your blood to save my life?"

"Because I do stupid things, Bonnie. I do things, like let my friend die with dignity when I should have just killed him."

Stefan began to pace. "Alright, so how do we kill him now?"

"I've been trying to figure that out. A witch can't truly make an immortal creature, there is always a way to undo a spell," Bonnie said.

"So, what's the witchy work around?" Judas asked.

"That's the problem. I don't know."

Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding! Ding! Ding!

"I don't know if you've noticed," Judas said as Jeremy hopped down the stairs. "But someone is assaulting your doorbell."

"That's why I'm walking to answer it, dumbass."

Judas choked on his own laughter until Jeremy's amused voice completely changed.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Now is that any way to treat a guest?" Klaus Mikaelson smirked, leaning casually against the front door of the Gilbert household.

"What are you doing here, Klaus?" Stefan asked.

"Well, for starters, young Jeremy here could invite me inside. I've come to pick up my son from his play date and — goodness gracious me! — do I need a glass of water."

Damon stood up and joined his brother.

"Why don't you go up to your room?" Stefan said to Jeremy though his emerald eyes never left Klaus jolly face.

Jeremy stood still.

"Now," Damon said.

"So you're not going to do whatever it is they're doing?" Bonnie whispered.

Judas yawned. "Standard guy thing, claiming territories, barking at other guys who impose. Bascially, a pissing contest. I'd rather keep myself dry, thanks." He whipped his head around to stare at the witch. "But enough about me. How was your night?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes and shushed the young hunter, more eager to listen to what was going on at the front door.

"Hm, poor lad. Loses one questionable father figure only to be replaced by the likes of the two of you."

"Yeah, about that," Damon said. "Something happened."

"Oh, I know all about my mother's invulnerable little creation and that's why I'm here. I'm leaving town, just need to pick up a few road trip necessities. Spare tire, flashlight, doppelgänger," Klaus smiled diabolically.

The older Salvatore shrugged. "Can't help you there." He then slammed the door in Klaus' face.

"Quick question," Judas stood up. "Where's Elena?"

The Salvatore brothers grew pale at his implication. They had not seen the girl since the morning.

"What's going on?" Bonnie inquired, peering through the blinders and seeing a fitful Klaus outside.

"Ah, duck!" Damon shouted, pulling Judas down with him as a newspaper came smashing through the window.

Bonnie and Stefan leaned against the wall and exchanged a glance.

As for Judas and Damon, well, they were in a complicated situation.

"Told you I was a top," Judas said as he watched Damon's forehead crinkle in disgust.

"Get off me," The raven-haired vampire growled.

"That's a new one," said Judas who was barely containing his chuckles.

"Oh wow," Bonnie giggled as she caught sight of  Judas laying on top of Damon. "Progressive," She flashed them a thumbs up.

"Guys, Elena's car is gone," Stefan said as he made his deduction from the kitchen.

"Why wouldn't she tell anyone where she was going?" Judas mused softly. He quickly boosted himself from the floor and Damon.

Before anyone could say anything, the doors flew open and a soccer ball crash-landed several inches to Judas' left.

"Would you calm down?!" He bellowed loudly. Although the Hybrid was nowhere in his immediate sight, Judas knew Klaus could hear him perfectly.

"Not until I'm invited inside!" returned the Original with the same vigor.

"Get down!" Stefan said as a white picket impaled the wall where Damon had previously been standing.

"Missed me!" The snarky vampire sung. He quickly grabbed the picket and thew it back to Klaus, barely grazing the Original's shoulders.

His answer was another fatal picket arrow.

"Missed me again!"

In the midst of it all, Stefan's phone rang. The vampire quickly fished his mobile out of his pocket and answered.

Judas watched as Stefan's reality came crashing down upon himself.

"Alaric."

————— Δ —————

With great difficulty, the siren opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was rusting cell bars and an oil painted picture of Klaus. Accordingly, she knew exactly where she was. If the narcissistic painting wasn't enough of a clue, the small corgi sat outside her cell door was.

"What are you doing out there?" She managed to croak. She rubbed her throat and looked around.

Sirius nudged an unopened water bottle to her.

"Huh," whispered the Siren. "Good boy."

He wiggled his tail.

"Underground prison. Seems like every vampire has one."

Sirius examined her faded smile and jagged teeth and whined. He wasn't sure why but seeing his owner so exhausted made his heart swell with sorrow. Her eyes didn't look like they used to. They didn't sparkled and for Sirius, that was enough for him to know that something was severely wrong.

However, she was not rabid. At least, not like the last time they had met and she had tried to eat him. The last time when she had scary white eyes and a ticking pounce. This time, Sirius could sense a distinct shift. Somehow, Lilura Anthemoessa was fighting with her mythological alter ego.

With another look to Lilura, Sirius realized what was different.

Her left eye was blue and green!

"What's got you all excited?" She asked, and if Sirius listened carefully, he could hear Lilura's gentle tone, which prompted him to wiggle his tail even more aggressively.

The Siren watched as the dog shifted his massive eyes to a set of keys on a desk. Before he got up on all fours, the dog nodded once to her as if to ask if she was ready.

"If you're asking about my condition, I'm fine." She replied, "I won't hurt anyone."

Sirius barked and then grasped the keys to the cell and pushed them over to Lilura with his nose.

———— Δ ————

They stood outside Mystic Falls High School.

"I just got this. It connects me to Caroline and Elena through our phones," Bonnie said while her fingers pinched the screen. "They're in Alaric's classroom. You should go in from the south entrance."

After receiving the phone call from a deranged alter-ego Alaric, Stefan convinced Klaus to join their rescue mission. Now, the group were stationed outside the school with Bonnie and Abby Bennet, who had arrived due to her daughters's request.

"Digital locator spell. Why the hell do we need you then?" Damon smirked.

Judas raised his eyebrows, "Maybe because she saves your asses every. single. time?"

"Go back to fixing your hair, Romeo."

Damon came to a stop in front of Jeremy. "Hand it over," said the vampire.

"I'm not giving you my ring. Let me do this."

"By my math, you've already bit it once, this will be twice, wearing that thing and if for some reason, Bonnie can't restart your heart and you do indeed die, then before you know it, we have another psycho alter ego case on our hands, which is bad so give me the ring."

Jeremy shook his head. "This is my ring, Elena's my sister. No one's gonna fight harder for her than me."

"Fine. Be stubborn." Damon whipped around and gestured to the human, "Try not to kill him, will you?"

Klaus walked over to Judas.

"Yes?" hummed the young Mikaelson teasingly. "Something on your mind?"

Klaus stuck his hand in the pouch hidden in his leather jacket. After a tense silence, he pulled out a book.

"The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson." Judas made a strange noise in the back of his throat that faintly resembled a choking toad. "Are you joking with me now?"

"Be a little louder, would you?" He hissed. Klaus looked over his shoulder and relaxed the slightest when he saw that the Salvatores were still occupied with the Bennet witches. "And no, this isn't a joke."

"First, you tell me to never let go of my one true love and now you want me to read poetry? I respect you, I really do, but this is too far. I won't!"

"Listen to me, you idiot," Klaus growled.

"Klaus!" Damon yelled, "Anytime now."

"Page 109. Don't let anyone else read it."

Judas didn't know whether to laugh or cry from amusement. "You're not pulling my leg?"

"Klaus!"

"Would I really be doing that when it concerns your mother?" Klaus inquired before jogging back to Damon.

"Look at this, one big, happy family," He greeted cheerily, covertly throwing one last glance at Judas.

"Drink this. It's my blood. It bridges us all together so that when I stop Jeremy's heart, you'll have the power to stop Alaric's. You need to make a physical connection to his bloodstream; a vein, artery, something connected to his heart."

Damon downed the blood in one quick gulp and passed it to his brother.

"If one of us gets a clean shot, take it, the other two: hold him down," Stefan instructed before drinking.

"Before we all walk through these doors, let's get on the same page, shall we? I was the one who created your vampire bloodline, therefore I am responsible for your lives and Tyler's life, Caroline's life, and of course, Abby's life, should anything go wrong," Klaus hissed menacingly.

"Or you're just lying to save your ass."

Klaus held back a dark laugh, "I'm not lying. But go ahead, call my bluff, let the teacher kill me. You'll all be dead soon thereafter."

Stefan coughed, ridding the awkward air. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Klaus rolled his shoulders and strode inside.

Upon entry, the Salvatore brothers diverged and stealthily made their way to Alaric's classroom. Klaus, according to his gut instinct, took the other way to the class.

A flash of wavy blonde hair proved his hypothesis to be correct.

He grabbed Caroline and cradled her in his arms like a mother bear would do to her cub.

"Shhh. It's okay, it's okay. It's me."

He spun Caroline around and smiled gently. "It's okay, you're safe. We'll save Elena. You go straight home. You stay inside, do you understand?"

Caroline had tears in her bright blue eyes, "Thank you. I don't know how to repay you."

A sudden thought popped in his head. The Original Hybrid scrunched his eyebrows in thought before whispering, "I think I know how."

Caroline strained her ears to listen to Klaus next words. When he was done speaking, she gave him a nod.

"Now go, Caroline."

"I won't let you down." She sped away but the commotion down the hallway did not let Klaus wonder if Caroline would uphold her end of the deal for long.

"I should kill you. I should gut you like Brian Walters, Bill Forbes, and all the other cowards I plan on ripping apart. You're the worst offender of them all, Elena. You don't deserve to live."

"So then, why am I still alive? There's obviously no humanity left in you, so what's stopping you, Alaric? If you want me dead then kill me."

Klaus quickly walked to the source of the noise. He fell behind the Salvatore brothers who were waiting for their window of opportunity.

"Do it! Kill me!" The doppelgänger screeched.

Then, they sprung.

"Do it now!" Damon roared.

But Alaric was faster. In two seconds, Stefan was completely unconscious. Damon rushed to him but was stopped dead in his tracks. Now, Klaus was the only one left.

He took his chance and ran to Alaric. With a practiced flourish, Klaus stuck his hand in the evil hunter's chest.

———— Δ ————

"I should be in there," Judas said.

"You're much better use here," Bonnie said. Suddenly, she stilled. "Hold my hand, Judas. They made contact. It's happening."

"Will this actually work?" He asked.

"You'd be surprised what your magic can accomplish," Bonnie replied. "Now!"

They out their hands on top of Jeremy's chest. "Ocoros Mecante, Aleora Subsitos. Ocoros Mecante, Aleora Subsitos. Ocoros Mecante, Aleora Subsitos."

———— Δ ————

Alaric grabbed Klaus' arm and slowly pulled it out. The Original's arm shook, finding it hard to push back against Alaric.

"No," murmured the Hybrid, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates and Alaric dominated their stand-off.

Alaric's smile grew sharper.

———— Δ ————

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" Jeremy asked in a feeble voice.

She looked at the two boys. "Something happened. The connection broke."

Judas was standing up without a second thought.

"No!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Don't go in there."

"I can't sit here and do nothing. Bonnie, stop kidding yourself. We both know you can do the spell without me."

She stared at Judas, mouth open in protest.

"Let me do my part, B."

———— Δ ————

Klaus groaned as his back slammed against two lockers.

"Is that all...you've got?" He wheezed to the vampire hunter.

Alaric marched over to Klaus and pitted him against a set of chairs and a sharp object — the white oak stake. Klaus quickly flashed to the other end of the room. "You won't be sticking that in me anytime soon, mate."

"We'll see about that," Alaric snarled in sinister delight.

"Not if I can help it," Judas said before running full speed to Alaric with a stake.

He punctured the vampire hunter's heart without flinching, silently reveling in the satisfaction it brought him.

However, it was short-lived.

"Weak," Alaric  "You thought that would stop me?"

"No, but it certainly distracted you."

Klaus jumped on the vampire hunter with his Hybrid fangs protruding from his gums. Judas brandished his dagger and attempted to stab Alaric in the place where the sun don't shine.

But even then, they were no match for him.

Judas was flung to the other side of the classroom, shattering the windowpane and releasing a rainfall of glass shards upon his body. As for Klaus, Alaric had him in a binding grip with the white oak stake inches away.

Alaric pushed the stake closer to Klaus' heart.

"Stop!" Elena screamed. She had Judas' dagger to her neck. "Let him go or I'll kill myself."

"Put it down, Elena," Alaric insisted.

"Why? Because you still need me alive? There's a reason why Esther used me to make you, isn't there? She didn't want you to be immortal, so she tied your life to a human one. Mine. That way you have only one life span to kill all vampires and then you'll be gone. So, when I die, you die too. That's it, it has to be!"

"You're wrong. You're not the only ticket to my death."

"It's me," She said resolutely. "And Lilura, isn't it?"

She dragged the dagger across her neck slowly, watching as drops of blood fell down.

"Stop! STOP! STOP! STOP!"

In the midst of the chaos,  Klaus grit his teeth and breathed in slowly. Then, he took his chance.

And suddenly, Alaric was left alone. Elena, Judas, and Klaus were gone with the wind.

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I spent the majority of today doing it lolol. #Quarantine goals. Stay safe everyone and remember to wash your hands.