"Damon, where are you?" I left him a message on his voicemail."Haven't seen you, Stefan or Klaus in days, and I have to tell you something about all of the above. Call me, asshole."

After I hung up my phone, I put it on the table as I began to pour myself a drink, turning around to see Klaus in the doorway. "Can't you knock?"

Klaus smirked. "Trouble in isolated paradise?" I didn't answer, taking a sip of the Scotch. "I think it's about time we had a drink, don't you?"

"I'd say we're overdue," I replied sarcastically.

"Well, you've been so busy with your plotting and scheming and trying to contact your only relative that still has his humanity to tell him the truth," Klaus said as he walked closer. "Then again, he killed your father, didn't he?"

"You know me," I said. "Never miss a chance to plan an epic failure or be an enormous idiot to care about and save the vampires that are having trouble deciding if they're good or bad every other day."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Klaus said. "Who could have guessed one of them would betray his own brother? But then you tried to stop Damon yourself, to save him, didn't you? An idiot move, maybe, but it you can't be an idiot for family, who can you be an idiot for?"

I looked to the side. "Are you mocking my code?"

"Oh, no, Nicola, I wouldn't dream of it," Klaus replied sarcastically. "Rather than saving my siblings, I'd much rather use a dagger."

"Oh, well, speaking of your siblings, I did have a front row seat when your sister lied to you."

"Yeah, well, she's fickle, that one. And Damon says he has no idea of her whereabouts. Do you?"

He talked to Damon?

Oh, well.

Rebekah was downstairs in the cell with a dagger in her back, but I wasn't going to tell Klaus that.

"That's the thing with younger siblings," I said. "You just never know what they're gonna do. Not that I would know, being an only child and all, but I've seen a lot of it. I mean, Stefan with Damon, Jeremy with Elena." I held out a glass to Klaus to keep him busy and from finding an excuse to kill me. "Drink?"

~

I faced my phone on the table, sending a text to Damon. SOS, Klaus in house.

He's looking for Stefan. He stole something. I'm on my way.

I tilted my head, turning to face Klaus with two newly poured drinks.

Klaus took his. "Cheers, love."

I held mine up. "Down the hatch."

We both drank.

Klaus looked at me. "You know, we've actually got a lot in common, you and I."

"Really?" I asked. I tilted my head. "Well, yeah. Maybe we can bond over the fact our family's always ruining someone's life. Like Stefan, most recently. Why are you so mad at him? He stole something?"

"And you say you haven't spoken to Damon," Klaus said in amusement.

I held up my phone. "Just did."

"My family, the Originals. I had them daggered, boxed up, awaiting the day when I saw fit to wake them. And he went in and pinched  the bloody lot."

"Of course he did. Such a buzz kill, my youngest distant uncle." I shook my head, looking down. "Well, I'd love to find him." I looked back up. "Just the trouble is, I sure as hell don't work for you."

"You know, your drink stinks of vervain, so I can't compel you," Klaus told me. I looked down at my glass. "There be no point in killing you, because you're actually the one with the most help of getting me what I need, that and it'd be pointless because you'll die on your own terms soon. enough." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I looked up. What the hell did he mean by that? "And yet it would seem a demonstration is in order. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I told you to find Stefan. Well, it seems people respond best to displays of violence. Why don't you take this as an example of my reach." He took out his phone, calling God knew who.  "There he is! So, that thing I told you to do . . . why don't you go ahead and get on with it?"

After Klaus explained and left, I texted Damon. Do NOT come here!!! Elena's, ASAP! 

Klaus tried to have Jeremy killed.

Who got killed instead was Ric--but he had his ring. He'd come back.

But who else would die?

~

Damon, Elena and I walked toward the witch house.

"I thought Bonnie said this place lost all its mojo," Damon said.

"The dead witches were angry at her for bringing Jeremy back to life," Elena answered. "I guess now they have something they want her to know."

"I hate witches," Damon said. "Fickle . . .passive aggressive."

We walked inside.

"Stefan?" I called.

"Come on, Stef," Damon called. "Olly, Olly Ox and free . . ." He walked into the sunlight, his skin burning. "Ah, ow!" He rushed to a shadowy corner. "Really?! Still?!"

"What?" I asked.

"Witchy spirits aren't a big fan," Damon answered. He looked up to the ceiling. "And they use their juju to screw with my daylight ring!"

"Then wait outside," Elena told him.

"Elena . . ." Damon complained.

"I'm not leaving until I know if he's here," Elena said.

She left us, going further into the house.

Damon rushed outside, then turned to face me, still inside. "Nikki, get your ass out here and explain something to me."

I sighed, walking outside.

~

"Why didn't Klaus kill you?" Damon asked.

"He said that  was his best chance at finding Stefan and that it wouldn't matter because I'd die on my own terms soon enough," I answered.

Damon gave me a what the hell look and arm gesture. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Like I have a clue," I said, turning to face him. "Look, about why Stefan did what he did at the dance--"

Damon cut me off by looking behind me as Elena walked outside angrily. "That didn't go over well."

"Don't even start, Damon," Elena snapped.

"Let me talk to him," Damon told her.

"You can't get in!" Elena told him. "The witches won't let you!"

Damon started to hand her his keys. "Here. Take my car keys. You go deal with your brother, I'll deal with mine."

He rushed inside as Elena walked away.

~

Not even a minute later, Damon came back, throwing Stefan on the ground and kicking his stomach, taking a branch off a tree and staking it there. "This is for screwing up my plan! You stop me from killing Klaus and you steal his family! Why?! Doesn't make any sense!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Damon!" I yelled.

"Stay out of this, Nikki," Damon told me. He pushed the stake in further. "Answer me!"

"Piece by piece, Klaus took everything from me," Stefan said. "I'm doing the same to him."

"But I had him, Stefan!" Damon yelled. "Why did you screw it up?!"

"He did it to save you!" I told him.

Stefan threw Damon off onto the ground.

"What?" Damon demanded. "No. No way! He didn't do this for me."

"He was one step ahead of us," I said. "If Klaus died, his hybrids would have killed you. Klaus told me himself, Katherine heard the whole thing, and I'm just guessing she told Stefan."

Damon looked at Stefan. "Is it true?"

Stefan slowly nodded. "Yeah."

"I want up to get it through your head," Damon told him, staking him again. "Stop saving me!"

Standing, Damon left me alone with a not-so-emotionless Salvatore vampire after all.

I walked toward him, kneeling in front of him, pushing the branch further into his stomach.

"What the hell was that for?" Stefan asked.

"For all the hell you put us through thinking you were actually gone when you're actually not," I answered.

I pulled the branch out, making him groan, throwing branch aside.

~

After dark, Damon was slowly walking back toward  us. "You know what I can't figure out? Why save me? Was it brotherly love, guilty conscience?"

"Is the switch on or is it off?" I asked.

"You have somewhere you need to be, guys?" Stefan asked, dodging the questions.

"Deflection," Damon said. "That's not gonna work on me. I invented that!"

"We're done," Stefan told us. "Can't you just go away?"

"Not until you tell me why you saved me," Damon told him. "You owe me that."

Stefan shook his head. "I don't owe you anything."

"Fine," I said. "Next question. Why did you steal the coffins?"

"Because Klaus' family is one weakness I can use against him," Stefan answered.

"Use against him to do what?" Damon asked. "You're not gonna kill him, you know how I know? 'Cause you blew that to save me."

"You're wrong, Damon," Stefan told him. "Klaus doesn't get to just live forever. There's another way. There has to be."

"Fair enough," I said. "But whatever you're doing, I'm in on it."

"I don't need either of your help," Stefan told us.

"Really?" I asked. "Last time I checked, you're hiding in a haunted house."

"I'm in this alone, Nicola," Stefan told me.

"Damon would've killed you today," I told him. "I stopped him. You owe me."

"How many times have we saved you, Nikki?" Stefan replied.

"To go after Klaus, you have to smart, cutthroat and devious," Damon said. "Both of us are so much better at that than you. Come on, brother. What do you say? If you're gonna keep saving our lives, at least make it for a  good reason."

Stefan looked at both of us. "You want in?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Okay," Stefan said. "But it's just the three of us. Elena stays out of it."

"Deal!" Damon said.

"Follow me," Stefan told us, starting to walk for the witch house.

I started to follow.

"Wait," Damon said. "I'm not so . . . welcome in there."

Stefan turned to look at him. "Don't you worry, Damon. We all want the same thing." We went inside, going  downstairs to the basement. "Have a look."

"All I see is an empty, old basement," I said, looking at Stefan. "What? Klaus is allergic to dust?"

Stefan gave me a sarcastic look. "Hm . . . look again."

We looked back at the magically revealed four coffins. Holy . . .

"Witch spirits hate Klaus as much as we do," Stefan said. "They're using their powers to hide the coffins."

"So even if he comes in the house . . ." Damon trailed off.

" . . .he won't be able to find them," I finished.

Genius.

Sometimes, you had to love witches.

~

I was still in the basement with Stefan and Bonnie as she looked down at the one farthest back. "This is the one I dreamt about."

She tried to open it.

I shook my head. "Don't bother. It won't open."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked. "Is it locked?"

"Nope," Stefan answered. "Just won't open. We've tried everything. Blow torches. Crowbar. Can't even scratch the finish."

"I think it's closed with a spell," Bonnie told us.

"Meaning whatever is in there, should probably stay in there," l said.

Bonnie looked from me to Stefan. "You said you wanted to make him suffer. The witches led me here for a reason. I think whatever is inside this coffin is our answer."

The answer would be a hell of a lot easier to get to if the coffin would open.