LET'S PRETEND THAT WAS MORE BADASS THAN IT ACTUALLY WAS.

"I like the sound of this Klaus guy."

Clementine scoffed at Kai and would've thrown something at him if she could have. "He killed me. Twice."

"And yet here you sit, only sort of dead," he pointed out, a smirk on his face. "C'mon, lighten up."

"No, I'm pissed. I tell him I kill his evil, abusive dad, and instead of showering me with praise, he kills me. What a dick," she complained.

"A dick you're soul-bound to," Kai said, winning the argument.

After the third time she died, Clem bit the bullet and told Kai why she kept showing up in his prison world. And after Gloria updated her on being soul-bound to Klaus — and his brothers apparently, which she wasn't ready to unpack — Clem told Kai. He deserved to know since they were soul-bound as well.

Though neither felt any kind of romantic pull toward the other. Hell, Clem was fairly certain Kai couldn't feel those emotions, not that it was his fault.

"You're one to talk," she muttered, a smile on her face. "We're stuck together for life, bitch."

"I'm gonna wreak havoc on you when I'm free," he said with an evil smile. "Like, I'm gonna kill for you and everything. Huh?"

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is murder a love language?" he questioned, not so subtly admitting that he cared about Clem even if he didn't love her yet.

She thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I think it can be, actually. Like acts of service."

"So I'll just use that excuse when I kill the people that have killed you," he said, smiling brightly. Then he noticed Clem starting to waver in and out of view. "You're being resuscitated."

Clem just waved at him. "See you next time. Don't watch Star Wars without me. I still haven't seen it."

☽︎

Stefan woke mere minutes before Clementine did, sitting up with a gasp in the back of a truck. He was surrounded by Rebekah and Klaus, both looking at him unimpressed.

"Oh, he lives," Rebekah said snarkily.

"What happened?" Stefan asked, feeling exhausted.

"You took a beating. My brother's been breaking your neck all afternoon. Quite the temper," she taunted.

"Please, Rebekah," Klaus said, rolling his eyes.

Stefan looked out the back of the truck, seeing a familiar town. "Why did you bring us back to Mystic Falls?"

"Well, I promised the Little Seer she'd be back in time for her Senior year," Klaus said with a smirk. "And given that my doppelgänger is here, I think I might fancy making a home here. Why don't you go and warn your friends and that pesky brother of yours."

"What are you going to do with Clem?" Stefan asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about her, my friend," Klaus said "Just be glad I'm handing you your freedom."

Stefan looked between the siblings warily before taking off, leaving Clementine behind, who began to stir two minutes later. She groaned and rolled onto her stomach, not wanting to open her eyes yet.

"Wake up, love," Klaus said. "You've got some explaining to do."

She rolled back over and glared at him. "You killed me again," she mumbled, a pout on her face.

"Well, you caught me off guard," he muttered while crossing his arms childishly.

Then Clem's face scrunched up and she stuck her fingers in her mouth, feeling her gums. "Aren't I supposed to be a vampire? I had your blood in my system."

Klaus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Normally, I'd be quite curious as to why you're still human, but I believe there is a larger elephant in the room."

"Now," Rebekah said, a serious expression on her face. "What the bloody hell do you mean our father's dead?"

"When I got out of the psych ward, I killed him," she said while sitting up. "Gimme my phone, Klaus."

He'd confiscated her phone after kidnapping her. She didn't bother to check the countless text messages and worried voicemails from her friends and family. Instead, she pulled up a video, pressed play, and then handed the phone back to Klaus so that he and Rebekah could watch.

Clementine appeared on screen, propping her phone up against the wall, giving them a crooked view of the mausoleum where Mikael was trapped in.

"This is gonna be so cool," Clem said, smiling to herself. Then she went to Miael and dug the White Oak stake out of his pocket, twirling it a little before shoving it in his chest.

Only for it to not penetrate his skin.

"Huh. Thought that'd be easier," Clementine muttered to herself. Then she tried again, letting out a grunt. She hadn't even torn Mikael's shirt. "Son of a bitch."

"Oh, my God," she complained, continuing to try and fail to stake Mikael.

Then the girl climbed up on the edge of the casket he was in, standing above him. She placed the stake over his heart before bringing her foot down to stomp on the stake, it sinking in a little bit. Clem huffed before putting her hands on the stake, leaning all her body weight on the piece of wood that slowly sank to Mikael's heart.

As his body burst into flames, Clementine stumbled back, falling on her ass and scraping her hands. She looked sheepishly at the camera while walking toward it.

"Let's pretend that was more badass than it actually was."

The video ended, and Klaus was shocked along with Rebekah. They'd been running for a thousand years only for it to be over just like that. Klaus' blue gaze moved from the phone to Clem, admiration shining in his eyes.

"I took some selfies if you swipe to the next picture," Clementine told him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as he looked at her like she was an angel or some kind of saint.

Rebekah took the phone and flipped through the selfies as Klaus continued to marvel at Clementine.

"Klausy?" Clem questioned, tilting her head. "Don't tell me the wolf got your tongue."

"Do you know what you've done for me?" Klaus asked in a quiet voice, crouching in front of Clem, who'd remained on the floor of the truck. She watched him carefully as he cupped her cheek.

"I just killed your dad. No big deal," she shrugged.

But it was a big deal, and Klaus pulled her into a hug because of it. She felt a bit awkward for a moment before accepting it, melting into his warm hold. Rebekah watched with wide eyes, never having seen him hug someone that wasn't his family.

"Nik, does this mean what I think it means?" Rebekah asked, trying not to get her hopes up.

He turned to look up at her, smiling as he nodded. "Yes, sister. I'm going to free them. Even Kol and Finn. And I'll make a home here for us all. Nothing can part us now."

☽︎

"What's a prank night?" Rebekah asked, following Clementine through the dark halls of the high school.

"It's where we play jokes on the teachers. It's basically just doing things to make their day miserable. You'll love it," Clem said, a smile on her face. "I think Kol would as well."

"And you've seen Kol? In your visions?" she asked uncertainly, still unsure on how all that worked.

Clementine just nodded. "Now, use your hearing and try to find Caroline Forbes. She sounds very perky. She's probably being very bossy but in a loving way, you know?"

It wasn't long before they found Clementine's friend group tucked away in the biology classroom while setting up rat traps. Deciding to have fun, Clementine threw the door open, which startled Tyler, who set off a rat trap, which then set off all the surrounding ones.

Caroline groaned as Clementine turned on the light. "Ohh! Oh, come on! Seriously! Do you know how long it took for us to set all this up?"

But then she noticed that it was Clem who interrupted them, and she perked right up. "Clemmy! You're back!"

The blonde was hugging her in seconds, and soon, all the others were getting up to hug her as well. Matt was the next to go, missing his sister. But as soon as he let go, Elena was on Clementine, tears in her eyes.

"I missed you," she said.

"It's been three days," she said teasingly. "And you know I couldn't forget about senior prank night."

"Exactly!" Caroline said, looking pointedly at Matt, who she'd forced into coming. He hadn't been in the mood with his sister missing. "We've only been waiting for this since like freshman year."

"Well, let me introduce my new friend," Clem said, stepping to the side and revealing Rebekah. "This is Rebekah. She's Klaus' sister."

At mentioning who she was related to, everyone either cringed or frowned, making Rebekah laugh. "God, I love that everyone hates that wanker."

"Um, is Stefan back?" Elena asked curiously.

Clementine nodded. "He was let go. Klaus no longer wants his servitude or whatever. I figured he went to see Damon."

"Wow," Rebekah said, now noticing Elena. "You really are a doppelgänger. The original one was much prettier."

Clem rolled her eyes playfully. "Ignore her, Lena. You're the prettiest girl in the world," Clem said, kissing her cheek and making her blush. "Now, how can we help? Bekah's enrolling in classes."

"Well, I've got ten more classrooms to prank," Tyler said while grabbing his duffle bag of supplies. "You're with me, Care and British Blondie. I need vampire strength."

Rebekah was happy to follow after Tyler and Caroline, excited by the prospect of making friends. And since Tyler was a werewolf, Clem knew she'd give him the hybrid spiel to try and convince him to change. If Rebecca brought Klaus his first hybrid, she'd be in his good graces.

Elena then grabbed her things, ready to leave as well. Bonnie looked at her with wide eyes. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Elena grinned and held up a tube of glue. "To superglue Alaric's desk shut. I'm making memories."

"I love you!" Caroline said excitedly.

"And you're coming with me," Elena said, grabbing Clem's hand to drag her along.

Clem saluted Elena and let her drag her through the hallway. "I am yours to command."

☽︎

Klaus and Rebekah dropped off Matt and Clementine at the trailer park, and it was evident from the look on Rebekah's face that she wasn't impressed by their living arrangements. But neither Donovan was bothered. Clem and Matt both were holding the bags of nice clothes Klaus had purchased Clementine.

According to Klaus, he was going to build a home for his family, which wouldn't take long given that he could compel labor. Then he'd undagger his siblings, which made both Rebekah and Clementine happy.

"Tonight was fun," Clem said to her brother, making her way up the concrete blocks they used as steps.

"I'm just glad you're back," Matt said with a frown. "I was terrified when Damon said you were taken."

"Klaus didn't hurt me," she assured him as he unlocked the door. "If anything, we're buds now. Like best buds. I killed his dad and everything."

Matt just let out a breathy laugh, knowing he'd never get used to this supernatural shit. "Well, congrats on the patricide, I guess."

"Didn't even know you knew what that word meant," she teased. "Night, Matty. I'll see you in the morning for school. First day of senior year!"

"First day," he smiled before heading to his room. "Night, Clemmy."

Clem had a content smile on her face as she went to her room, but she instantly dropped the armful of bags she was holding. Because Enzo was sitting on her bed, looking down at his hands shamefully.

"Enzo?" she breathed out, unable to believe it was him. "You're back!"

She threw herself at him, and Enzo was quick to wrap his arms around her, needing to feel for himself that she was real and alive. He buried his face in her neck, taking in her scent.

"I missed you," Clem mumbled, gripping his shirt tightly, not wanting to let go.

"You shouldn't have," he whispered, sounding so broken. "I killed you."

"Klaus killed me," she corrected, pulling back to look him in the eye. She'd missed his pretty eyes.

"How?" Enzo choked out while cupping her cheek. "How are you alive, Angel?"

Clem contemplated it for a moment, leaning into his touch a bit. "Do you want the overwhelming truth or a sarcastic joke?"

"Truth," he said, a serious expression on his face.

And so Clementine told him, being honest with the first person not in a prison world about what was going on with her. Of course, she left out the not being from this universe part. But she told him all about her soul shattering and scattering around the world. And she told him that she was fairly certain they were soul-bound.

And rather than look unnerved or put off by something so complex and life-changing, Enzo looked almost relieved. Like he finally had an explanation for why his world seemed to revolve around the girl in front of him.

Because it actually did.

"Are you upset?" Clem asked at the end of it all. "That you're, like, stuck with me, basically?"

"Oh, Angel," he said, pressing his forehead to hers. "I wouldn't have it any other way."