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𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐂𝐡. 32
"not today satan,
not today."

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— "WHAT TOOK YOU TWO SO LONG?" Klaus questioned as Skyler and Rebekah walked into the mansion.

"I was grabbing a bite with Kol." Skyler answered, grinning to show off the blood still on her teeth, she licked it off for show as Rebekah told him, "Alaric didn't want to hand over the stake." She smirked and showed him the stake, she added, "Luckily I'm quite the charmer."

He stared at the stake in a mixture of relief and uncertainty, "That's it?"

"The last of the white oak stakes then can kill us." She confirmed, "Do you want to do the honors or shall I?"He set his paintbrush down and took the stake from her. Rather unceremoniously, he threw it into the flames of the fireplace and watched it burn, the flames engulfing the stake. "Well, that's that then." She spoke.

"That was kinda anticlimactic," Skyler commented a bit disappointed.

Klaus resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he turned to them, "Pack your bags, we're leaving."

"Wait, what?" She asked in surprise. She always knew they'd leave Mystic Falls and she was ready for it — she just didn't expect the time to come so soon... "Today?" Rebekah asked.

"Why not?" Klaus responded, "There's nothing keeping us here. We'll grab the doppelgänger and be off by sunset."

"But tonight is the decade dance." Rebekah told him.

"So?" He asked. Skyler's eyes went to Rebekah curiously as the blond replied, "So I'm head of the committee, we have to go."

"I'm not going to any dance." He argued with a scowl. Skyler nodded, "Neither am I. I'm not dealing with those snot-nosed kids who want to get in my pants and can't even last." She scrunched her nose up in disgust.

"Caroline will be there." Rebekah told him, her eyes found Skyler's, "And you can bring Kol, he'll keep any boys away."

"That means nothing to me." Klaus held his chin up confidently. She nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Kol and I can dance anytime, anywhere."

"Please," Rebekah begged, "I have big plans for tonight. Just go for me."

Klaus and Skyler's gaze met, they had a silent conversation, disdain mixing with frustration and then defeat. "Okay fine." He agreed finally. "One last hoorah."

Skyler shook her head in disbelief, "Why not? One last hoorah." She shrugged and then narrowed her eyes, "But if anyone starts crying or getting handsy, I'm running for the hills."

Rebekah chuckled with a smile, "One last hoorah."

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          THE gym doors swung open as Skyler made her entrance with Kol and Klaus on either side, they held their heads high as eyes fell on them. Klaus began to search the crowd for Caroline who wasn't hard to find however he wasn't happy when he found her -- she was dancing, with Tyler!

He scowled, staring at the pair when Tyler saw him. Skyler's eyes followed Klaus's and found Tyler and Caroline walking towards them. She immediately turned and took Kol, guiding him away with a short nod to Klaus. "Not today." She muttered and guided Kol through the crowd over to the punch bowl.

He smirked at her knowingly as she poured them each a cup of punch, "Think they spiked it?" He asked curiously.

She raised an eyebrow, "They're teens. Of course, they did." She responded before she promptly downed the whole cup.

He laughed before his eyes caught his brother on the dance floor, "Oh look at that, Klaus finally got that dance." He commented eyeing his brother as he danced with Caroline on the floor.

"Wonderful." She replied and grabbed his cup from him, downing it too as he exclaimed a halfhearted, "Hey!" She fixed her husband with a half-serious glare, "We're at a party in Mystic Falls. Trust me, I'll need it."

He shook his head with a fond smile as he poured himself another cup, pouring her a third while he was at it. He handed hers over while taking a sip of his as, behind them, Klaus made his way out of the dance.

"Not today Satan." She muttered around a sip of her third glass, she eyed Klaus as he slipped out and averted her gaze, "Not today."

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         "SHE does this all the time, right?" A boy asked as the group — which consisted of him, Jeremy, the two Mikaelson brothers, and all of the Salvatore siblings — stood around an empty classroom while Bonnie chanted a spell to save them all; or at least the Mikaelsons anyway.

"What's taking so long?!" Klaus snapped, "All boundary spells have a loophole."

"Relax, it's not like it's the first time your mother's tried killing us." Skyler rolled her eyes and held Kol's hand tightly, her heart pounded in her chest despite her efforts to keep calm.

Perhaps all that was why Klaus didn't snap at her too or perhaps it was because Matt walked in before he could. "People are walking right out of the dance, past the barrier."

She scoffed, "Of course. Humans aren't abominations, they're not part of her plan."

Jeremy looked over at them, "Matt and I can leave, we can stop Esther ourselves." He suggested, "We just gotta find out where she is."

"It's suicide, Jeremy." Stefan told him with a shake of his head.

Klaus rushed over and grabbed Jamie by the throat, strangling him with his bare hands, "Suicide would be disappointing me! Now work your magic, witch, or I'll start killing people you fancy." He threatened Bonnie with a cold glare.

"Let him go!" She demanded while Kol and Skyler glanced at each other in silent conversation.

"Not until you get us out of here." She spoke up sternly, as she stepped forward alongside Kol.

"Don't be stupid. Bonnie doesn't give a damn about us." Stefan told them, "The only reason she's helping us right now is to save Caroline and Tyler. You start killing people she cares about, she'll tell us all to go to hell." Klaus glanced around in thought for a moment before he let Jamie go.

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         AFTER a while of being left alone in the classroom, Klaus and Damon entered with Kol and Skyler as the witch stood by the teacher's desk with a map. "Here." Damon called, "Jeremy made a little Gilbert blood donation for your locator spell." He told her and showed off a vial of blood.

Bonnie set a glare onto the four, "I have to do this with you guys lurking over me?" She questioned in exasperation.

He narrowed his eyes, "You're still mad at me for what happened to Abby." He pointed out, "Let me apologize. I'm sorry Elijah forced us to turn your mother into a vampire to save Elena's life." He said offhandedly, "Didn't exactly have a choice."

"There's always a choice. Whenever you make one, someone else suffers." She responded sternly.

Kol rolled his eyes and chimed in, "Okay, why don't we all just cut the dramatics and begin, shall we?"

Skyler nodded in agreement, "Yes, that way we can get the hell out of here."

Bonnie shook her head but she poured the blood onto the map and started to chant, "Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Veras, Sequita Saguines, Ementas Asten Mihan Ega Petous." The four watched closely as the blood formed a circular pool that didn't move. "Esther is fighting me." She told them.

"Esther couldn't possibly have this much power." Kol shook his head. "Unless she's channeling something." Klaus added thoughtfully.

"A hotspot?" Bonnie suggested in thought.

His eyes narrowed in dark realization, "Get the humans ready. I know where she is."

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         "YOU know this is your fault." Klaus commented as he stood outside near the entrance of the gym hall with Stefan, "You set us on this path when you released my mother. I wonder if revenge will prove worth the cost."

"Oh, I'm done with revenge." Stefan responded. Nearby, Skyler and Kol leaned against a wall and eyed them, "As far as Esther; we've stopped her before, we'll stop here again."

He hummed, "We're strange bedfellows, you and I. You know, all of this, reminds me of our time together in the Twenties." He mentioned.

Stefan looked at him, "You say that like I'm supposed to have happy memories about it."

He shrugged, "Well, there were moments. Real friendship. Brotherhood."

Damon walked up behind them and spoke decisively, "Well, he already has a brother. Not to be, you know, territorial or anything but you did steal my sister already."

"Oh no, of course, the Salvatores. And their unshakeable bond." Klaus commented mockingly with a smirk. Skyler tried to stay as far from her brothers as possible and she did not hide that fact. "I wonder what'll happen when Elena finally makes her choice. Will we see you shake just a little bit more?" He mused, "Your sister has already made her choice. Your bond shakes anymore and it may just... crumble."

Before either Salvatore brother could even attempt to respond, Bonnie came out of the school and spoke, "It's done. Esther's not fighting me anymore. The boundary spell is broken."

With a glance at her, Klaus tested the boundary with his arm, and seeing Bonnie's words were correct, rushed away followed immediately after by Kol and Skyler who were more than ready to leave the wretched school.

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         "YOUR trap failed, mother. I live and I will go on living." Klaus called to Esther's body in a coffin as he stood in a room with four other coffins, "Let your beloved spirits try to preserve you again, I dare you to come after me! I will build an army so big, no one will ever touch me. My survival will haunt you through eternity. You will never destroy me!"

Skyler and Kol came out of the shadows by the open door together, "It's over, Nik." She told him in a soft but stern tone, "She's gone. If she tries coming back, I'll kill her myself I promise you both that."

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         "DAMON!" Rebekah called as she stepped out of the elevator into the storage units with Skyler in search of Damon.

Skyler had returned with Kol to find out her best friend, Klaus, had been daggered on the day she had been gone. It was an understatement to say she was a little angry about that fact. "Brother, where are you?" She called, looking around with Rebekah, "This isn't time for games." She scowled, her heart beating despite her attempt to keep it steady.

She couldn't help but have a bad feeling about all this, or maybe that was just because Klaus had managed to get the creepiest storage unit available.

"Damon this isn't funny." Rebekah called out in warning as they looked around for the man. The women walked down a line of storage units. Unbeknownst to the danger that lies just around the corner, they continued walking down a row when they were suddenly grabbed from behind by Damon who covered both their mouths as both their eyes widened, fighting against him.

He pulled them back so they were hidden behind a unit, "Shhhh." He whispered in their ears.

Now, with their focus off searching for the man now holding them back, the two women could hear someone else walking around in search of them it would seem.

Skyler pulled away from her brother and whispered, "What is going on?"

Rebekah helped Damon and Skyler wheel Klaus's casket into a car when Alaric came out of nowhere. Grabbing Rebekah he slammed her head against the car before he threw her to the ground.

Damon rushed at Alaric but the man swiftly kicked him out of the way with surprising strength. With narrowed eyes, Skyler stepped in front of Klaus' casket, determined not to let the hunter through and to protect her best friend.

Her eyes widened as the man ran at her, before she could do anything, she was on the ground, gasping for breath while Alaric walked up to Klaus's coffin and opened it. He pulled out the white oak stake daggering Klaus and as the hybrid's eyes opened, he pulled back the stake, aiming it straight for his heart. Rebekah and Skyler rushed to get up as Skyler screamed, "No!"

"No, don't!" Damon called. He stood up with wide eyes, desperate to stop his drinking buddy from killing the original hybrid that sired him and his siblings.

"No! No! No!" Rebekah screamed as Alaric staked Klaus through the heart causing the hybrid to gasp.

Damon swiftly grabbed both Skyler and Rebekah, pulling them back so neither could run to the casket as Klaus' body went up in flames. The girls cried out, screaming as they watched their brother and best friend in flames. "No! No!" Skyler sobbed as the flames grew.

Alaric turned around with a sadistic grin, "Next." He said and stared right at Rebekah.

Her eyes widened, "Rebekah, run, run!" Damon said, he pushed Rebekah in the opposite direction and made sure she started to run away rather than back before he pushed Skyler forward too, "Go with her, run, Skyler, run!"

She glanced at her brother hesitating only a moment before she rushed off after Rebekah. Fear pumped through her, pushed further by grief from the oh-so-too-recent loss of her best friend. The girls ran as fast as they could, back to the only family they had left.

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        "HE'S gone, brothers." Rebekah called out as she and Skyler reached the woods Elijah and Kol were waiting for them. Both girls had tears still running down their faces as Kol rushed to his wife, checking her for injuries, "There was nothing we could do to stop it." She cried.

Elijah's face fell, and Rebekah and Elijah both walked forward and held each other close as, behind them, Kol and Skyler did the same. Skyler buried her head in her husband's neck, he held her as close as he could, comforting her and himself as she sobbed for the loss of her best friend. Meanwhile, Kol tried to hold back his tears by pulling her impossibly closer.

"Tyler Lockwood is dead, but the rest survived." Elijah told his sister as they pulled apart, "You said that Niklaus turned their bloodline."

"I thought he did." She responded in confusion.

"I thought he turned Katherine too." Skyler said in realization. She pulled away from Kol, who wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her close, to keep her safe. "She sired me. I should be dead." He looked at her worriedly, his arm around her tightening ever so slightly.

"It wasn't me." Elijah told them and shook his head.

"It wasn't me either." Kol added.

"It wasn't me. It was Niklaus, I'm sure of it." Rebekah responded sternly.

Skyler's brows furrowed as she stepped towards them and away from Kol who followed her closely with his eyes, "If it wasn't any of you then... how are they still alive?" She looked around at them in confusion, "How am I still alive?"

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         "WHAT do we do now?" Skyler asked Kol as they sat alone in their bedroom at the Mikaelson home while Rebekah and Elijah were out doing who knows what. The air of the house seemed somehow different without Klaus, something was missing. Skyler was certain the Mikaelson's never even thought they'd miss their brother but now that he was gone...

everything had changed.

"Now?" Kol asked.

"Now that Klaus is gone, now that I've escaped death somehow... now that we can leave." She said and looked down at her lap, messing with her hands anxiously.

He sat down beside her on the bed, "We can do anything we want, darling." He told her softly, "The only question is... what do you want to do?"

"I want to get out of this town and then..." She trailed off.

She met his gaze, a fire blazed in her eyes, it held a certain wicked side that she usually tried to suppress until it was the right time, until she had a good reason. She had a very good reason to be a little wicked now. "I want to ruin Elena Gilbert and her perfect little life."

"Mmmm, I love this side of you, darling." Kol told her. He smirked wickedly and whispered, "Let's ruin her."

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