twenty-nine

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Another Soul Gone

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PRIVACY WAS STILL a thing. However, Athena really didn't care at this point nor did she mind being in Stefan's room, reading his diary while he was in the shower. The said vampire walked out of his bathroom, a towel around his neck, and saw her.

He cleared his throat and she looked up at him with an innocent look. "I know you were, uh, in a coffin for a while, but, uh, privacy is still a thing."

Athena looked back down at his diary with a sigh. "Didn't think that writing in a diary was. Rebekah sent me here to keep you honest. You never know when you will be betrayed. Speaking of which." She looked up at him. "I heard what happened with Elena. I do feel sorry for you."

Stefan could tell she was being sincere and nodded, putting on a shirt. "Right. Well, you can read it all you want. I'm done with Elena."

Lie. "Mmm-hmm. But what happens when we find the cure?" He didn't answer her and poured himself a drink. "Stefan..."

"I'm ignoring you."

She closed the book and got up. Athena crossed the room to him. "I get it, we aren't far in the game to get the cure. Even with me and Rebekah, Team Klaus has Jeremy the hunter, team Shane has Bonnie the witch-"

"If you're here to remind me of our last place status, I'm very well aware."

Athena huffed and flicked a piece of hair out of her eyes. She put her head on his shoulder. "I came up with a plan. Rebekah wanted me to let you know, as well as keep an eye on you." She removed her head and he turned to her. "We know the cure is buried with Silas who managed to scare the wits out of Kol. While I tortured Shane, he gave away an oh-so-precious detail: one of the keys to resurrecting Silas is his headstone."

Stefan nodded, getting her idea. "I see. You wanna steal it."

The girl smirked with a light shrug. "Of course. Then Team Shane will join Team Athena, and Team Klaus will be left out."

"I'm surprised you're going against your brother."

Athena became solemn. "Hayley may have been a traitor, but she made a good point. My brother is turning my people into hybrids, and I need to step up and take my crown to protect them. This is my way of doing it."

———

When she reentered Shane's office from being on the phone with Rebekah, Stefan was rummaging through boxes on the side of the room. She crossed the room over to him. "Rebekah said she'll be here soon."

Athena went over to his desk and began looking through the drawers. Stefan went over to a filing cabinet, opened one drawer, closed it immediately, and then announced, "Well. Headstone's not here."

She rolled her eyes. "You can't give up that easily. Come on, if it isn't in here, then maybe there's a hint as to where it could be." Following her statement, she opened a desk drawer and was greeted by a stack of papers. After she lifted it, Shane's herbs were blinking back at her. "Little trick huh?" Athena grabbed them and went over to Stefan. "The professor's stash of herbs."

He didn't look impressed. "I don't want them."

The younger vampire turned his back to her. Athena stood her ground. "I get that you're upset, but you gotta pretended like you don't care. For example, I'm in this room right now with you. Do you remember what happened to you? I removed you from my pack. And yes, I've been pissed at you for weeks, but I'm still helping you aren't I?"

Stefan shut the filing cabinet and finally turned to her. "So you're saying that right now, you're trying not to kill me and acting like you don't care you're in the same room as the person who helped kill your brother."

"That's exactly what I'm saying. You don't think it hurt me too? Removing you from my pack was like I lost a part of myself, but I was too angry so it covered all of that up. I lost one of my brothers, the pain was even worse. I'm not helping you because I feel bad for removing you. I'm helping you because I can tell you really want it."

He looked away from her as he thought. When he looked back, he replied, "And I'm sorry. I know how much your family means to you."

Athena smiled. "You can show how sorry you are by taking this." She extended the jar of herbs. "Just maybe, I'll let you back into the pack."

Stefan took the jar and smiled at her.

———

The room had been dim-lit by courtesy of Stefan since he closed the majority of the curtains. Smoke hovered above the desk and Athena sat nearby while Stefan paced. He sighed. "So much random crap in here."

"I'm not too sure about that. Shane may have a bunch of stuff that looks like garbage, but the these in here are afterlife rituals objects: Hopi prayer feathers, the Han dynasty soul vase, and that is a Polynesian sacrificial knife." Athena shivered. "I honestly can't imagine being sacrificed with that thing."

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "You were in a coffin for thousand years, how do you know all of this?"

Athena shrugged. "That's what happens when you get bored with nothing else to do. At least I actually know things, unlike a certain doppelganger." He smiled sarcastically and then threw the knife at her. She caught it with ease and smirked, laughing. "My apologies, I just couldn't resist." She stood up and went over to him, setting the knife back down.

"I thought you said Rebekah would be here."

The girl sighed, looking around the room. "She did. Must've got caught up in something, I guess."

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, followed by a heartbeat and a human scent. Stefan and Athena flashed to the shadows and watched a man entered. He began to search the office and then removed the books from a shelf, tapping on the walls. Eventually, he found what he was looking for and opened a door to reveal a large stone.

Athena flashed out and grabbed him in a chokehold. "You led us right to the tombstone. Thank you. But then that makes me wonder, who are you?"

Stefan helped her get the man into a chair and tie him up. Once they finished, Athena took the knife and began to slice open his arm. Rebekah entered at that moment and smirked. Her sister continued her torture. "Who sent you?" The man didn't answer and she ran her tongue along the knife but was careful not to cut herself. She stopped and pulled away. Her mouth burned slightly. "His full of vervain which means he hasn't been compelled."

Rebekah spoke up from the side, "Maybe somebody compelled him before he ingested it."

Her sister shook her head. "Not likely. He was after the headstone which means someone sent him."

"Okay. Fine. So we take him home, wait till the vervain is out of his system, and then compel him and get whatever information we want," Stefan decided.

Both girls looked at each other then nodded. "That's not a bad idea."

Suddenly, the man grunted and spit out a ton of blood. Athena jumped back and Stefan grabbed the man's face, looking into his mouth. "He just bit off his own tongue."

Athena winced. "Well at least we know he knows something."

Next, the man grabbed the knife from her hand and jabbed himself in his neck. Stefan pulled it out, but he must have hit a major artery because then he bled out. "I guess he was compelled."

"So then which of our incessant brothers was it?" Rebekah questioned.

Athena shook her head. "You forgot there's another team, sister."

———

Kol had compelled Damon to kill Jeremy so Stefan rushed to the scene (though he did hesitate), and the girls returned home to see Kol walking into another room. Both girls blocked his way. Athena narrowed her eyes. "Going somewhere? You do realize if Damon kills Jeremy, Nik will dagger you."

He smiled and waved it off nonchalantly. "I told Nik I wouldn't touch the kid. I didn't."

Rebekah nodded, speaking sarcastically. "Oh. Well, that was clever. I'm sure he'll really appreciate it."

Kol went to leave but Rebekah pulled out the white oak dagger, pointing it at his back. Athena didn't notice her sister had it until now and gaped. "Rebekah..."

Her brother tensed. "You'd really dagger me?"

Rebekah gritted her teeth. "If I do, Damon's compulsion ends and this is all over."

Athena intervened, pleading, "Rebekah, please. Look at us! Look at what our family has become. Elijah isn't even here because he can't stand our fighting, doesn't that tell you something? If we're going to find this cure, we need to help each other."

"I'm sorry, Athena. But this family was ruined long before we knew about the cure."

Kol vamp-sped to face Rebekah and pointed the white oak stake at her heart. Athena pushed them back from each other. "Stop it! Both of you!" They didn't back down until they realized that their sister looked afraid for them. "Just stop."

Athena's brother gave her a sad look and then flashed out of the house. Her hand lowered and she stepped back, turning around to face Rebekah who looked guilty. "Athena..."

"Don't Rebekah!"

She brushed past her and walked out of the room. Rebekah sighed and watched her leave.

———

Athena had left that night, going off to somewhere Rebekah didn't know. She just needed time to think about everything. The girl did not return until the next day. As she was traveling back to Rebekah's place, she stopped.

It was the same feeling she had felt not too long ago. A wire had snapped.

Kol

Athena flashed to Rebekah's place to see Stefan flash out of the house, leaving her sister in tears. She instantly started sobbing and fell next to Rebekah clutching her. Their hair got mangled together, tears soaking their shirts but they didn't care.

For they had not only lost one brother. But two.

———

I know the chapters might seem rushed, but I know you guys don't want to read through her standing on the sidelines like I said earlier. So I do apologize!

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