Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries / The Originals, or any of the characters, plot-lines, dialogues from the shows or books

However, I do own Catherine Matthews/ my very own Katherine Peirce, her backstory, the storyline, and any additional characters that do not belong to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. Characters in this story may not have the same opinion as you. These characters are all fictional.

"Why so glum, Katerina?" Klaus asked me when he saw the scowl that's etched on my face.

However, I bit back the retort on my tongue, not really in a mood to argue with him. My leg was still a bit numb with all the stabbing I did; I didn't want to hurt his fragile ego again. I had enough fun today.

I will irritate him tomorrow though. He will be on edge, preparing for the sacrifice that's two days from now. Sure, getting on his nerves at times like that would be the stupidest thing anyone could do, but...I personally think it just makes everything more interesting.

Besides, I am getting bored sitting ideally. Klaus, the grouchy-wannabe-Hybrid, didn't let me browse through Alaric's laptop or his phone. This is why I am soliciting entertainment from what I can get, even if my actions are reckless and life-threatening.

Klaus sure understood one thing about me, from our week's stay. Evidently, I am everything he didn't expect me to be. The Hybrid also reduced my torture sentence for 500 years. And, no, it's not because he was feeling merciful or anything. It's because; I am very annoying and grousing for the likes of him. I was rewarded with the title of 'teenage brat.' He doesn't want to deal with my complaining arse for any more than 500 years. I am pretty sure Klaus is tempted and is highly likely to end my life in a day or two if my attitude stays the same way.

"It's alright. You can speak your mind, Katerina. I am in a happy mood today," Klaus said once again, breaking me from my thoughts. And this time, I was tempted.

"You brought yourself some brand new clothes to go to some stupid highschool decade dance, in the body of a history teacher, whereas I whined for a whole two days, to get my hands on this boring dress. So, sorry if I am a little bitter, my lord," I said.

I knew it was a silly thing to fight for, but I couldn't help but resent him for making me beg for some clean blood-free clothes the past few days. Plus, I was getting bored.

Sue me.

"I personally think granting your request is more than generous of me. Also, you shouldn't really talk about the waiting game, considering, I only made you wait for two days, whereas I waited for five centuries because you decided to ran away," Klaus riposted.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his comment, "Are you still milking that?"

No matter the topic, it always comes back to the same thing the canon Katherine did 500 years ago. I get that, I have to tolerate the burdens and enemies of the previous Katherine if I am using her life and luxuries. But I am really getting tired every time someone brings up the stupid things she did.

"Yes, I am still milking that," Klaus snapped at me bitterly, and turned his back on me facing the full length.

As Klaus slipped on his retro suit, I couldn't help but think about the missing hole in my memory. Every time I reminisce about Klaus's family history, I can't who or how his father is. I remember the faces of Esther, Freya, Henrik, Finn, Kol, Elijah, Rebekah, and the bastard hybrid himself, but not their father. I even remember Dhalia, their bitchy aunt.

So, something tells me Klaus compelled me to forget about him. Which makes me question why would he do that. Unless his father is dangerous and can't be spoken of. Nevertheless, I couldn't just ask Klaus directly about this particular, 'he who should not be named.'

"Hey, Klaus. You said your mother used doppelganger's blood to curse you, right?" I started slowly. I should probably take the questions from one end to another.

"Yes."

"What's her name?" I asked, even though I know the answer. Because, if I am going to discuss the Original family's past, then I would bring up Tatia's name at some point. And, I can't just utter her name simply as I don't know about her. If I do, then there's gonna be a few problems... and several unanswerable questions. Therefore, I started with her. The crucial variable.

"Why?" Klaus/Alaric asked, turning towards me, giving me his undivided attention.

"Just wanted to know more about the poor girl with my face," I said, shrugging my shoulders indifferently.

He looked at me for a second, his eyes narrowed, pretty sure his paranoid head is running wild with different thoughts. For a good reason, if I might add. After a while, he finally spilled the name, revealing, "Tatia."

"These names, I tell you. I think our parents really hated us. Katerina, Tatia, Niklaus, Malachai," I said, shaking my head, trying to make the conversation casual. I don't want him to think I am interrogating.

"Who is this Malachai?" Klaus asked.

"A sarcastic, chatty siphoner. He is a sociopath. I am sure you would have gotten along just fine. He stabbed his family as well...just not with silver daggers. While they stayed dead, your's are having a vacation with the panfish and octopus at the bottom of some ocean," I said, waving my hands casually. "Oh, and his parents called him an abomination as well, since he doesn't have the magic of his own, and have to suck it from others. And so, one day he snapped, and showed them how much of an abomination he really is."

"Where is he now?" Klaus asked, making a sound that said, interesting.

"You missed your chance, unfortunately. His coven went bonkers when they heard about it, and they punished him by sending him to hell," I said, which is partly true, because the prison world is considered as Kai's hell, where he has to live the same day over and over again, for an eternity.

"Such a pity," Klaus said in a dull tone, without a hint of sympathy.

"I know right," I said. Then I suddenly remembered what we were on about in the first place. "Hey, you distracted me. You were telling me about Tatia."

"There is nothing to discuss about, Tatia," Alaric/Klaus said, turning back to the mirror, setting his already perfect hair.

"Yes, there is. Tell me about her. Did you know her when you were human? Were you friends?"

Klaus, however, snapped at me before I could bug him more, saying, "I told you there is nothing to tell. So, leave it."

"Why are you so taut to talk about her? Were you in love with her or something?"

"Stop talking," he said, looking me in the eye.

Stupid compulsion.

I am in a good mood today, Katerina. You can speak your mind.

Bullshit!

"Now, I am going to the dance and take the Martins out of the picture; while you stay here, like a good little vampire you are, repenting over the mistakes you made," Klaus said, patting my right cheek softly, and left on his merry way.

Fuck you.

Are the Mystic Falls gang even searching for me? I mean, I sure made an impression, right? They must be looking. Where the heck is Caroline, anyway? Is Mason still lurking in Mystic Falls? Did Tyler really change into a werewolf? Who will Klaus use for the sacrifice? Would he go for Jenna or Caroline? I mean, Rose is still alive. What if he uses her as she is also a reason canon Katherine got away. I am sure Klaus would want vengeance over Rose's minor act in the canon Katherine's escape.

If Klaus reveals himself to the scooby-do-gang today, then Elena will remove Elijah's dagger, panicking about the whole situation, innit? The gang should feasibly get the idea that I should be in Alaric's apartment then. Will Damon come for me, as he did in the show? What if Klaus changes our location once again? Who is to say Klaus won't compel me to act like the Villian who is cahoots with him this whole time. And that I acted with the Mystic falls gang as a part of the plan, just to earn Klaus's forgiveness. Oh, no! Then all the hard work I made these past two months will go down the drain.

My head was spinning with all the wild imaginations on how the future will play out. These past few days, I didn't have time to think about the what-if's as I was busy dealing with hunger, pain, and Klaus's mere existence. Now that I am left alone with nothing but my thoughts; I couldn't help but venture on all the possibilities.

After mulling over all the concepts for about an hour, I decided to put a full stop to my mind's marathon. The main reason I didn't want to think about anything is that I will get hungry when I think too much. Moreover, my blood supply is very limited. Hence, as an alternative, I opted to go for the Bourbon in Alaric's collection. It helps with cravings and also takes my mind off shit. So, I just switched on the DVD player in the History teachers' house, and danced to the tunes all night, trying my best to forget about anything and everything, and just enjoy and revel in the Klaus-free moments.

When Klaus finally came back, around midnight, his eyes were gleaming with triumph. I gathered as much information I can from his vaguely described scenes. Apparently, the immortal artist succeeded in killing the witch, Jonas Martin. Maddox sealed the two other witches, Luka and Bonnie, in a room along with the Mystic Falls gang.

By the time both teenage witch and warlock broke the boundary spell and got out from there, Klaus was almost done with his task. However, Luca wasn't lucky enough, as he was caught in a crossfire and got his neck snapped by Klaus. This riled the Papa witch, and as he tried to break the power of dead witches to kill Klaus in the rage, and died in the process.

But I am not sure if he is really dead. I mean, Bonnie also made Klaus believe she died in the show, but at the time of ritual, she came back as a surprise attack and caught him off guard. If Papa Martin is alive by following the same plan as Bonnie in the show, then he will be very angry now. If he wasn't mad enough then, he sure is vengeful now. Klaus took his daughter and killed his son.

Woah! this is gonna be interesting.

I hope he doesn't kill Klaus, though. Because I am not ready to die. Furthermore, when I was telling Kai's story, I had a thought about how we could put Klaus in a prison world. He won't die; instead, he will be desiccated with the lack of blood, while I can live happily ever after among the people, plotting over upcoming problems with travelers. But I am not sure how to tell the scooby-do-gang about this. And even if I did, they won't have enough time to get the spell for it.

While Catherine, or Katherine, was plotting Klaus's demise, without a wink of sleep... Elijah woke up with a gasp in the Salvatore boarding house basement, saying aloud the name of the last person he saw before he was desiccated. "Katerina."

"Elijah. Elijah! It's me, it's Elena," the Gilbert girl said, hovering over the Original, trying to calm him down, before any of the three vampires in the house could hear them.

"Oh, my God!" The noble stag said, taking a huge gulp of much-needed air, while his stiff muscles tried to loosen a bit, and his bones cracked when he moved.

"I can't br...eath," Elijah said, standing up, his breathing got heavier by the second. "I can't be-breath. What's happening to me?"

Elijah tried to move, but an invisible force pushed him as if to was saying not be there anymore. His lungs hurt every time he inhaled the air, "I can't be in this house."

Elena finally understood what was wrong with him and said, "You're not invited in."

"Then get me out of here," Elijah demanded, as he slammed into the nearby wall, trying to find a way out as soon as possible.

Elena ran after him, as soon as he disappeared from her view. By the time she reached the front door, the Original was already there, crouching down, right outside the door. As he turned towards Elena, the betrayal of her friends played in front of his eyes, and he rushed forward furiously, only to be stopped by the invisible wall at the doorway.

"What happened?" he asked, trying to sound mature, and reasonable. He couldn't get another word as he was cut off by the doppelganger.

"Shh!" the human doppelganger shushed him, looking around. She pointed a finger at her ear, and then upwards, trying to say the vampires in the house might wakeup.

Elijah finally conceded to give her a chance to explain when Elena gave his dagger back as a promise of trust. She brought him a blood bag, and drove both of them in her car, parking it a side of the road when they were far away from the boarding house. She waited for the Original to finish his blood bag before she started.

"You look good," the Gilbert girl said, as Elijah's pale, grey face came back to life.

"Where did you get the dagger?" Elijah said, coming straight to the point, not even facing her.

"I'll tell you everything. But we have to work together, Elijah. I need your word," Elena said.

"Your ability to make demands has long passed," Elijah said, still in the sour mood.

"No demands. I'm offering you my help. And in return, I want yours," Elena said, putting her end of the deal forward.

"And why should I even consider this?" Elijah asked. Yes, they made an agreement at one point. But as soon as her friends shoved a dagger into his heart, the deal became null and void.

"The same reason that you haven't killed me. You need my help to kill Klaus. And I need you," The human doppelganger said.

Abruptly, Elena's phone buzzed, and before she can even greet the person on another end, they started to fire questions at her.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" A very familiar voice of Stefan Salvatore greeted her.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said with a sigh.

"Where's Elijah?" Stefan questioned.

"He's right here," was Elena's vague reply.

"Where? I'm on my way," the younger Salvatore said, but he was cut off.

"No, Stefan. Elijah and I need some time alone," Elena said in a stern tone.

"Listen to me. He can't be trusted; he'll use you to get to Klaus," Stefan tried to reason with his girlfriend, but was interrupted once again.

"Elijah is a nobleman, Stefan. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. Katherine sure believed he is the answer to the problem, didn't she? Also, Elijah knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I have proven myself," Elena said, trying to convince Elijah more than her boyfriend on the phone.

"Well, Katherine isn't here now, is she?" Stefan retorted. He paused for a millisecond and then took a deep sigh, and calmly said, "You can't do this alone."

"It's my decision, Stefan. Please respect it. And make sure that Damon doesn't do anything stupid. I'll be in touch," Elena said, hanging up before he could say her otherwise.

She then obediently passed her phone to the extended hand of Elijah, as another sign of trust.

"Where is she?" Elijah asked. They both know who he was referring to. But Elena couldn't say that no one knew about Katherine whereabouts now, can she?

So, instead, she said, "He's here," hoping that would answer his question.

"Klaus is here?" Elijah questioned, more like concluded.

Elena nodded her head, saying, "He's taken over Alaric's body."

"Of course he has. One of his favorite tricks," The noble Original said with a straight face.

"Well, what are his other tricks? What is he going to do next? You're the only one who knows him. Well, Katherine does, but Klaus took her. We don't know if she's alive or not," Elena trailed off.

"I assure you, Katerina is very much alive. Klaus wouldn't kill her that easily. It isn't his style. Death would be a small punishment for what she did to him," Elijah said. "How about we go somewhere else to talk? I would very much like to get out of these clothes," he said, eyeing his dusty suit in revulsion. Who knows how long he was in the basement, "Drive to the Mayor's house, will you?"

"Okay, the first thing you should know is, I didn't know they were planning to dagger you. The only one who knew about this matter was in that study room along with you, and Stefan," She added remorsefully, to the newly refreshed Elijah. They were sitting in the living room of the Lockwood Manor. No one's in the house. Elena decided if she were to gain his trust, she should at least be truthful. "By the time Katherine got there to stop it, you were already daggered. We couldn't do anything after that."

"Where did you get the dagger from?" he asked.

Elena puffed out a sigh, but told him the truth, nonetheless, "John. We don't know where he got it from. We couldn't question him as he skipped town after that day. Katherine kinda wanted to kill him for, you know..." she trailed off. She didn't really know why Katherine wanted to kill John either. Elena wasn't there at that time, and she only got bits and pieces from what she heard from Stefan. Yet, Elijah nodded his head anyway.

"The Martins?" he questioned after a moment.

"We were working with them actually. The witch burial ground you were searching for... Katherine and Damon figured where it was. So, in exchange for the location, they agreed to work with us. But yesterday, Klaus cornered them, and they are no more. I am sorry. Klaus knew using that amount of magic would kill him. So, he used it to his advantage by riling him up," Elena explained.

"And the power of the spirits?" Elijah asked.

"Mr. Martin, passed them to Bonnie just before he died," said Elena. Everything happened in a matter of minutes the previous night. As soon as Klaus killed Luka, Jonas was devastated. Maybe, he understood he can't take on Klaus on his own as he could just jump into another body if Alaric dies, or maybe, he thought the time wasn't right as Klaus wasn't weak. So, he gave Bonnie his powers and went back to fight Klaus, dying in the process, making the psycho Original believe; the power died along with him. 'At least his daughter would be out of Klaus's grasp,' The Martin senior thought.

Meanwhile, Katherine was making herself a coffee to help with her cravings when Klaus, who is still in Alaric's body ordered her to make one for him.

And Katherine, obviously angry with the order, decided to irritate him.

"How would you like it?" She asked. "Do you want sugar in it?"

"One spoon," he said, texting someone on the phone.

"Should I make it one spoon even if the cup is big and spoon is small?" she asked.

"What?" he asked, this time turning around to face her to see her showing a big mug and a small spoon.

"Make it two tablespoons then," he said, going back to his phone.

"What about the coffee powder? Do you want it one spoon as well or two," she questioned again. She could see that it's getting on his nerves. And it made her do it more.

Klaus released a sigh, trying to calm down and said, "Make it two."

"Hmm. How about milk?"

"Oh, my god! just get everything here. I will mix them myself," Klaus said, throwing his arms above his head.

Katherine did a little victory dance and played everything in front of him gleefully.

Ha! That's what you get for ordering me around like I am some puppet.

Just then the doorbell rang, and Klaus went to open it, as Katherine was compelled not to touch the door lock.

"Ahh! Maddox. You are finally here. Did you bring it?" He said, allowing the warlock to come inside.

"Yes, here." The warlock said, handing him the wooden box.

"What's that?" Katherine asked.

"This," Klaus said, opening the box carefully and said," This Katerina, is Elena's ticket to stay human after the ritual." He lifted the bottle high enough to show it to the annoying vampire, sitting on the couch behind him.

"The Elixir?" She questioned, even when she already guessed it as soon as she saw the familiar bottle the Martin's showed her a few weeks ago.

"I can't risk the doppelganger coming back to life, and ruin the ritual now, can I?" Klaus said, placing it back in the box, carefully, probably for some future use.

"Huh..." Katherine couldn't help but snort.

"What with the expression?" Klaus said, turning his attention back to the vampire doppelganger.

"What expression?" she asked, keeping her face blank.

"That expression you make when I am either doing something, completely stupid or when you know something I don't," Klaus said, studying the woman carefully.

"I have an expression like that?" she asked, scrunching her eyebrows, trying to divert the topic.

"Yes, you do," he said it, as a matter of fact.

"I think you are reading too much into it?" She said, slipping on her blank face once again.

"Really?" he said, taking a few steps forward to me.

"Yes," she said, taking a sip of her coffee quickly, avoiding his eyes and his compulsion.

Before she knew it, he was in front of her. He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, making her pause all of her actions. Including the beating of her heart.

"You see my dear, Katerina. I know you enough, from our time together. I admit I cannot read you completely, but I do recognize it when you are trying to hide something from me. Your heartbeat gives me enough information. It's a fickle thing, isn't it?" he said gently, and abruptly he shoved his hand into her chest and grasped her heart with his fist, causing the girl to gasp. It was later followed by groans and whimpers of the vampire. "Now that your life is in my hand, literally, and figuratively, of course. Tell me. What is it you are hiding?"

"It's just...It's just another one of my theories," The 500-year-old vampire said, her voice strained from the pain she was experiencing. As soon as he heard her reply, Klaus left his hold on her heart and withdrew his hand.

"See, wasn't that so easy to say?" He said with a gentle smile as if he didn't remember his actions a minute ago.

"So, what is this theory you cooked up?" he asked, after the vampire doppelganger's chest healed.

"Your mother...you said, your mother was the one to curse you, as she thought you were an abomination. You also said, she was also the one to leave you with the instructions to undo the curse," the alien from another dimension said.

"Yes," Klaus replied, not understanding where the conversation was heading to.

"Well, if she hated you, as much as you say she did, then why would she help you in rectifying it? Don't you think she would've jinxed it? If you were to hate someone, would you be merciful?" Katherine asked.

Now Klaus was really getting agitated by her vague replies.

"What are you trying to say, Katerina?" Klaus said, crouching down to face the doppelganger, who sat on the floor, leaning her head against the living room wall.

"Aren't you trying to break the curse to make more of your kind?" She questioned him one last time.

"How do you know that? I didn't say that to you," Klaus said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"It isn't hard to guess. You and I, we both are the same. We manipulate. We thirst for power. We control. We punish. But our actions are driven by one singular place deep inside. We're alone, and we hate it. And you, you don't want to be alone. The only one of your kind. You want to make more hybrids like you, don't you?" Katherine said, cocking her head to a side, smirking when she saw an emotion pass through Alaric's eyes.

"What? Afraid, I read you too easily?" She said, her smirk still in place, pleased for throwing Klaus off-guard.

But Klaus composed himself quickly, and asked again, "What's the theory?"

He completely ignored the previous things the Bulgarian vampire said.

"I think, your bitch of a mother is playing with you, even from her grave," was Katherine's straight-forward reply.

"You really think, I won't turn into a hybrid by following this method?"

"Oh! you will. I just think you won't be able to create more of you without Elena's human blood," said Katherine, looking straight in his eye, when he compelled her unconsciously.

"How can you be so sure about it?" Klaus asked.

"If Elena's blood is the key to release your werewolf side, then what is to say it's not for your fellow wolves. You are depending on Elena's blood being the first one of your kind, then what is to say your duplicates will not depend on it?" Katherine said, shrugging her shoulders, "And you know what I think? I think your mother wanted you to kill the doppelganger until the brink of her death; so you wouldn't be able to make more of your minions. She wanted you to endure another 500 years of a lonely life, trying to figure this out. Or maybe an eternity, when you end the bloodline once again in your blind rage."

As soon as she spat all that to the Original's face, she took a deep breath, and calmly said, "But like I said, it's just a theory."

Katherine didn't know why she snapped after hearing Esther's name either. I mean sure she was a bitchy character in the show, she hated the most, like more than the sirens. Maybe being a vampire heightened her senses. Her anger must have become the rage. The rage combined with the anger she was exhibiting at that particular moment on Klaus might have done the trick.

I mean, Esther is the one who had an affair, and she is the one who turned her children into Vampires, and the one who cursed her son's werewolf side. And then, she comes back a thousand years later wanting to kill them, saying they were abominations and all that shit. On top of that, she used the doppelganger's blood and wrote useless instructions to undo it.

She didn't care if some innocent 17 years old girl will die in vain, in the hands of his son for following her directions, nor she was remorseful about it. And when Elena, fortunately, got out of the ritual alive, she tried to kill her by herself, just so she wanted to watch her son suffer alone. She made one mistake, and then she does a thousand others to cover it up. Her morals are really questionable. Like, way more than Klaus's and Katherine's combined.

"Maddox?" Klaus's voice snapped the girl out her thoughts.

"That's..." The warlock couldn't get a word out. No one thought about the possibility. Not even Klaus, the original, who spent a thousand years thinking about it. But the girl in front of them knew about it for maybe a week top's; she already came up with a theory that's completely out of the box. And the crazy thing about all of this was, it sounded logical. So logical that they can't ignore the plausibility of the case.

Klaus couldn't help but smash the nearby vase into a wall. Just when he thought everything was going as planned, Katherine put another kink in his plans.

"Why the fuck did he ask about the theory again?"