ACT TWO; TARGET IN SIGHT
SCENE THREE; BACK TO CHICAGO
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"YOU SAID IT WAS GONNA FEEL BETTER. WHY DOESN'T IT FEEL BETTER?" Ray shivered, looking at Klaus helplessly while the Original watched in silence.

"Some master race,"

Salem shot a glare at Stefan, having passed her tolerance for his backhanded comments nearly three states ago. Klaus mirrored her facial expression, too close to losing his temper to ignore Stefan as he usually would. "Lose the attitude,"

The woman from earlier jerks awake with a gasp, her purple tank top stained brown with blood. Salem watches as she sits up, disoriented and confused until she sees the three people before her and it all comes rushing back.

"Derek, come feed your girlfriend." The compelled human stands up, and Klaus pulls his sleeve back.

Ray growls and lunges away from them, making Salem stumble out of his way with wide eyes.

Klaus watches Ray attempt to escape, and looks to Stefan. "Go get him,"

Stefan hurries after Ray, lunging after the werewolf and tackling him to the ground. Ray moves quickly and bites Stefan, making the vampire groan out in pain and lose his grip on the werewolf. Stefan hurries to go after him, but stops in his tracks when he hears Elena's voice. His eyes widen at the sight of them walking in the distance, and he quickly backtracks towards Klaus and Salem, hoping to keep Klaus distracted enough that he doesn't catch wind of them.

"Where did he go?"

Stefan shakes his head, unable to keep the worry off of his face. "He, uh, he got away. Forget him– let's just go."

Salem narrows her eyes at his persistent tone and grabs his arm, making him wince. She peels his sleeve back, flicking her eyes from the festering bite on his arm to his pleading gaze. "Klaus."

Klaus steps forward, eyeing the bite on his arm. "A fatal werewolf bite. Ouch."

Stefan heaves a sigh, nodding as he holds his arm out expectantly as Salem steps away, taking a position by Klaus's side. "Yeah, I'm gonna need your blood to heal me."

Klaus smirks, and Stefan eyes him warily. "Well, I'll tell you what. You find Ray and then I'll heal you."

Stefan huffs a disbelieving laugh, though his humor quickly fades when he sees the look on Klaus's face. "You can't be serious,"

"You better hurry, 'cause that bite looks nasty." He turns before Stefan can protest, leading Salem along with him and leaving Stefan to weigh his life or death options.

Salem looks at Klaus out of the corner of her eye, pursing her lips slightly. "Why wouldn't you just heal Stefan? I could've found Ray on my own."

"I'm well aware. I'm just testing his loyalty, is all."

Salem narrows her eyes. "And mine isn't in question?"

"No," He answers simply, with a surprising lack of smugness. "No, your loyalty is not in question."

Salem raises a brow, looking at him in slight surprise. "Shocking, considering we were trying to kill each other when we first met."

He hums in agreement, indulging her with a brief glance. "That isn't exactly an uncommon way for me to gain someone's loyalty. And I knew when you let me live the night of the sacrifice that you were going to take me up on my offer. You're too curious for your own good, Salem."

Salem inhales sharply, her eyes widening at his smug look. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was just as curious to figure her out like she was him, but she didn't know if he was even the type to do something without clear intention behind it. Even if she wasn't aware of said intentions, she was sure he had something up his sleeve.

She looks away from him, feeling far too exposed despite him barely looking her way, and sets her gaze onto the waking hybrids. "The sun is setting."

"I'm aware,"

She rolls her eyes at his purposeful obtuseness. "What are you going to do with a whole pack of newborn hybrids underneath a full moon?"

"Let's keep the questions for later, darling."

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"Bad news, my friend," Klaus pats the human, Derek, on the shoulder. "End of the road for you." He sinks his fangs into his neck, and drains him dry of his blood in a split second, and carelessly tosses his limp body to the ground.

Salem eyes the woman in the purple tank top warily over Klaus's shoulder. Klaus shifts in front of her, smirking at the woman.

"Careful, love. There's only one alpha here."

Salem takes a stumbling step backwards when a short blonde woman steps near her, and her back hits Klaus's. Instinctively, she twists her arm and grabs his bicep in a tight grip. "What the hell is happening to them?"

A hybrid lunges at her, fangs bared, and she jerks away with a surprised yelp. Klaus pulls her past him, and snaps the hybrid's neck before it can attack her again, his eyes flashing as he meets her wide-eyed gaze.

She turns away right as one jumps at them, and instead of jumping out of the way again, she raises her hands and the tendrils of her magic wrap around their necks, twisting and pulling taut. The bones snap audibly, and the creatures drop to the ground, dead, their eyes bloodied and burst from their faces. Salem heaves a shuddering breath, her eyes wide in confusion and distant fear as Klaus rips another one's heart out.

She turns, her shoulder hitting his again as she drops two more hybrids with a twitch of her fingers.

One by one, the hybrids fall, eyes bloody but shut forever after their last few hours of torment. It feels like seconds pass by before they finally stop coming, and Salem lets out a shaky sigh as she looks around the campground littered with bodies.

She turns slightly and stumbles backwards onto the large boulder a few feet away, her hands trembling as she wipes a bead of sweat off her forehead. She feels a ghostly soft touch skim over her back and then disappear, but the warmth from Klaus's close proximity remains.

Salem doesn't move from her spot on the rock, even when she hears the telltale footsteps of Stefan returning.

"They went rabid. Some of them we killed, the others just," Klaus's forlorn voice fills her ears in a low grumble, and she pinches her eyes shut so hard she sees fireworks in the pitch darkness behind her shut eyes. Klaus hesitates, glancing at a silently shocked Salem. "Bled out."

Stefan winces, grabbing at the pulsing bite on his arm.

"In the end," Klaus stands, approaching Ray's body. "They're all dead."

Klaus swings his arm and throws the beer bottle in his hand, his yell shattering the silent mountain as the glass shattered. "I did everything I was told! I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse, I killed a werewolf, I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelgänger."

Salem's eyes open at his words, and she feels her stomach clench with nerves as the realization hits her. All summer he'd been tracking werewolves down, and when he finally turned his hybrids, they all died. There was no way Elena was dead, not with how this turned out. In the dark, her eyes locked onto Stefan and she wondered if he even knew if Elena had survived.

"You look like hell,"

Stefan scoffed, trying his best to breeze over the mention of Elena's supposed death. "Last I checked, I'm dying and you don't wanna heal me."

Klaus says nothing and Stefan sighs, glancing at Ray's limp body. "I had to take him out. I didn't have a choice. I failed you, I'm sorry," He steps towards the hybrids, his defense down in a moment of weakness. "Do what you have to do."

"It should've worked," His footsteps near Salem and she quickly stands, eyes still on Stefan's in the dark. She wonders if he can feel the heat of her glare, or hear the adrenaline-filled pounding of her heart.

"We're leaving."

His words make her look up finally, and she meets Klaus's tired gaze as he does the same.

"It appears you're the only comrades I have left."

Her eyes flutter tiredly, but she drifts one last look in Stefan's direction, seeing his eyes flicker between her and Klaus in an almost panicked manner. She frowns, lips twisting unhappily as she turns on her heel to follow after Klaus into the dark abyss of the forest.

Even with the news of their departure, and wherever it may be they were heading off to, Salem's thoughts lingered on the massacre that had just occurred, and wondered if she should simply assume that Elena was still alive. And if that was the case, she would have to tell Klaus, no matter what Stefan would think of it.

Klaus already thought her loyal to him, and she didn't have any plans to prove him otherwise. He hadn't been wrong, after all. She had never promised loyalty to anyone, but she would to Klaus if he asked. Deep down, she knew he would do the same for her. She isn't sure what it means for them.

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"Where are we going now?"

Salem's head is propped against the window, and occasionally they hit a rough patch in the road that makes her readjust and grimace before she settles again.

"Chicago. I've got an old friend there that can help me."

"I didn't think you had friends,"

He indulges her with a sarcastic look that makes her smile. "She's an old connection. A witch. You might get along with her, you both seem to love being an absolute pain in my side."

"I think it's necessary for you to have a little bit of everything," Salem intones, smirking amusedly. "You can't have everything you want, right when you want it."

Klaus tilts his head a bit, eyes drifting from the empty road in front of them to roam over her figure in the passenger seat. "Yes, I suppose you're right about that."

She reaches over and slaps his arm lightly, huffing at him. Silence falls between them again, and Salem's eyes drift to the backseat where Stefan is unconscious, full of fresh blood that he'd practically drank himself dead on. It was ironic, seeing a vampire try to kill himself with the very thing that kept him alive. 

She thinks of the dead hybrids, and her gaze goes back to Klaus, who remains unaware of her thoughts. Salem heaves out a sigh, and looks out the window as they drive through the night towards Chicago. "You know, I had never even left Virginia before I met you?"

She feels Klaus's eyes on her but she doesn't take her eyes off the stars that blur in the sky as they speed off. They're the same stars she saw in Virginia, and had grown up with her whole life, but they feel so much bigger outside of the suffocating air of Mystic Falls.

"My mom was so paranoid about someone finding out about me that she never let me leave, so I never did. Not even after she died. But now I've been– you've taken me around the country. And it feels so ridiculous to be excited, considering the reason we're even doing this in the first place, but I've had fun."

Finally, she does look at him, finding him looking at her between every other glance at the road. "I think part of the reason I came with you is because I knew the only way I'd ever let myself leave Mystic Falls is if I felt like I didn't have a choice."

"And you still want to go back?"

She blinks owlishly at his question before nodding. "Yeah, I do. But I don't want to stay there, not forever. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in Mystic Falls like my mom did. I'd like to see the world and travel, and maybe do something real with my art. I love being a teacher, but I'd like to see one of my paintings hung up in some gallery, and I'd like to have someone look at it and just understand."

It sounds like 'I want someone to look at me and understand', and Klaus hears it. He understands. He looks at her, and he understands, and she does the same for him. They reflect each other in the darkest ways.

"So, you want to travel, perhaps have a painting in the Louvre," His voice is laced with a teasing tone, but there's a fondness to it all that doesn't make her bristle with defensiveness.

"Isn't it every artist's dream to have a painting in the Louvre?" She huffs a quiet laugh, shaking her head. "Even if it's a completely unrealistic dream. I think I just want to do a little bit of everything. I want to fly, and sail, and maybe fall in love a few times. I just want to live and not be afraid."

Klaus contemplates her words. He pushes past the surface level words, and focuses on the last end of her sentence. He wonders what it would be like to live and not be afraid, because despite what almost anyone may think, Klaus Mikaelson feels fear. Perhaps not as frequently as others, but it's there nonetheless. A handful of things, things he may never admit out loud to any soul, dead or alive.

That is one of the fears itself– speaking them out loud. He's learned much in his long life, but none more important than the fact that words are everything. There's power behind them, especially the ones that come out of his mouth. A simple yes or no could lead to the death of hundreds, if he so wished it. He didn't want to make the mistake of voicing his fears, only for every last one of them to become true.

He looks in Salem's direction and finds her tired eyes on him, falling shut and lingering with every few blinks. She's hesitating to sleep, trying to hang on to any words he may speak, but he has nothing to say. He's once again lost in thought because of her. It's something that's happening more and more frequently, and he thinks it's dangerously close to becoming one of his few fears.

Her words strike a particular chord in him, one that he seldom thinks about. She tends to do that to him– make him think– and he hates it, he truly hates it, and he hates her a little bit, too, because this girl has managed to unearth things inside of him that he's spent a thousand years burying. He can't make the mistake of letting them free. There were reasons he buried them.

But Salem Kenner is unaware of her power in more ways than one. She seems, if anything, entirely oblivious to the fact that she has the power to bring the feared Klaus Mikaelson to his knees.

The thought terrifies him.

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The bar is empty when they go in, chairs still stacked on tables, a few stacks of cups and dishes that have yet to be put away lingering around the room. Salem thinks it's an interesting place, but there's nothing particularly special about it. Eventually, every bar starts to look the same, especially when you aren't sober while you're in one. Interior hardly matters when you're looking to keep the party going.

"Looks familiar, doesn't it?"

"I can't believe this place is still here," Stefan looks around at the place in disbelief, his eyes hazy with a memory stuck just out of his grasp.

An incredulous laugh comes from beside them, and Salem tenses at the sudden unexpected presence, shoulders tensing as she turns to look at the woman. When the woman runs her eyes over Salem's unfamiliar figure, the younger girl feels her magic ripple along her spine almost defensively, and she channels the urge to shiver into a slight twitch of her hand.

"So, a hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender–"

"Stop." The woman cuts Klaus off, her face decidedly unamused. "You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny."

Salem huffs a breath of air out of her nose, earning a short glare from Klaus that only made her small smirk widen.

"I remember you," The dark skinned woman eyed Stefan closely, taking a step closer to them.

"Yeah," Stefan nods in agreement, his dark brows turned downward into a frown. "You're Gloria. Shouldn't you be–"

"Old and dead?" She smiles wryly, tilting her head. "Now if I die, who's going to run this place, huh?"

Klaus pushes himself off the banister, facing Gloria. "Gloria's a very powerful witch."

"I can slow the aging down some. Herbs and spells, but don't worry, it'll catch up to me one day."

"Stefan, why don't you go and fix us up a little something from behind the bar?"

Stefan eyes Klaus and the witch, but nods eventually. "Yeah, sure."

Salem's eyes follow him, and she holds her hands up in surrender, already stepping back from them. "Don't worry, I'm going."

She follows after Stefan, eyes dull and disinterested. He offers her a glass and she takes the bottle instead, turning on the bar stool to avoid the look he would inevitably give her. She hears him sigh, and rolls her eyes as she takes a swig off of the bitter liquid.

"What is this?"

The confusion and slight fear in his voice makes her glance at him over her shoulder, and her lips twist into a frown when she sees the old photograph in his hand.

Stefan's eyes are wide and confused, and she takes the picture from his hand, curiosity getting the best of her.

Klaus smirks from where he's sitting with Gloria across the room. "Well, I told you Stefan. Chicago is a magical place."

"But this is me... with you."  

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"This doesn't make any sense, why don't I remember you?"

"You said it yourself, that time had a lot of dark holes."

Salem follows Klaus and Stefan into the warehouse, watching as Stefan panics about the origins of the picture with Klaus. She's curious to know, too, but she's more than happy to take the backseat and let Stefan continue to walk the line with Klaus's temper.

"No, if you knew me, then why haven't you said anything?"

Klaus shoots the man a glare, not slowing his brisk pace. "I'm a little busy right now, memory lane will have to wait."

"What the hell is going on? Answer me." Stefan lunges for Klaus, yanking him back by his arm and forcing him to stop and face him. Salem tenses at the fast movements, wrapping a hand around Stefan's shoulder to pull him away from Klaus.

The vampire snaps his eyes to hers with a glare that she mirrors, raising a daring brow in silent challenge. Klaus looks amused as he plucks Stefan's hand off of his arm, tilting his head at the man's frustrated glare. "Let's just say we didn't get off to a brilliant start. To be honest, I hated you."

Salem raises a brow, looking at Klaus as he begins to recall their first meeting.

"You knew a woman named Rebekah, who frequented Gloria's club back then. She also happened to be my sister."

Stefan lets out a noise of disbelief and Salem softly echoes it. "Your sister. So I knew another Original vampire."

Klaus smirks, shrugging slightly as he turns to continue walking, gesturing for Salem to follow. "If you can't handle it, then don't ask."

He approaches one of the coffins and Salem stands at his side, her brows furrowing as he lifts the lid of the wooden box, giving way to a blonde girl that lay there, staked through the chest. Her hair was set in an obviously vintage style, and her dress, where it wasn't stained with blood, was reminiscent of the past, too.

"Is this her?" Salem murmurs, glancing at Klaus to see a fond smile cross his face as he reaches out to caress his sister's cheek.

The hybrid nods quietly, and Salem looks at the girl again. "She's pretty."

"I don't recognize her,"

Klaus glances at Stefan over his shoulder. "Don't tell her that. Rebekah's temper is worse than mine." He pulls the dagger from her chest and Salem watches with interest as the gray veins instantly start to dissipate. It doesn't happen quickly, but Salem notices a difference nonetheless.

"Time to wake up now, little sister," He pauses, keeping his hands curled around the handle of the dagger. "Any day now, Rebekah."

He lets his eyes fall to Salem, who gives him an indulging smile for his dramatics. "She's being dramatic,"

"I wonder where she gets it from," She nudges his side, earning a feigned look of offense from the hybrid that is quickly pushed away when Stefan cuts in.

"Look, why don't you just tell me what the hell is going on?" Stefan scoffs humorlessly, crossing his arms over his chest. "I mean, you obviously want me here for a reason, right?"

"Well, you have many useful talents,"

"Do I?"

"In fact," Klaus turns to face Stefan quickly, giving him a fake smile. "I learned some of my favorite tricks from you."

Stefan hums, urging Klaus to elaborate, and the Original does so with a slight roll of his eyes. "I'm very protective of Rebekah, and she makes it hard to do so, being such a hopeless romantic. But you were in full Ripper mode, and you were ruthless. Not an ounce of humanity to be found in you."

Klaus let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head as he stepped past Stefan to walk out of the warehouse. "After that, I was your number one fan."

Stefan and Salem turned to follow him, Stefan still focused on the stories of the past. "Why should I believe any of this?"

Klaus stops in front of a security guard and gestures to Rebekah still lying in her coffin. "When she wakes up, tell her to meet us at Gloria's Bar, then volunteer your carotid artery and let her feed until you die."

Salem heads for the door, bypassing the two men as Stefan continues to press for details.

"Where are you going?"

"You think I'm lying, Stefan, you and I knew each other. You trusted me with one of your secrets and now I'm gonna prove it to you."

"How?"

"We're going to your old apartment."

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author's note; the brotp that salem and rebekah will be

edited and published; 3.17.23.

- liz