I inhale sharply when my fist comes in contact with a stuffed mannequin. The wooden stake from my bracelet shoots out and into the target. I pull away with a huff.

The leaves below me rustle beneath my feet and the wind whistles in between the many trees located in this wood. I pull the stake out of the mannequin's fake heart and place it back in my bracelet. As I was going for another punch, my cellphone blares in the silent morning.

Exhaling a sigh, I pull my phone out from my back pocket and answer without looking at the Caller-ID. "Hello?"

"Where are you?!" Elena's worried voice bursts through my phone. "I'm training in the woods. I'm sorry. I should've left a note or something." I tell her while taking my bracelet off of my wrist and shoving it in my bag. I've been here since 5AM, so it's probably best to leave now since it's been two hours.

"You're there all by yourself?"

"Yeah... Alaric's still resting according to Damon." I remind her. Due to him dying multiple times while wearing the Gilbert Ring, he's starting to develop an alter-ego... at least that's what I found from this journal that belonged to an ancestor of mine who went through something similar.

"I was actually planning on going over to his apartment. Can you meet me there? I'll buy us some breakfast on the way." Elena says and I nod, "Yeah, I'll meet you there."

When the two of us meet up at Alaric's loft, I was already eating my muffin and knocking on the door. A certain crystal blue-eyed male opens the door with his usual grin. "Good morning, sunshines."

Damon holds the door slightly opens as he leans on the doorframe, blocking an entrance. I didn't think much of it, wanting to get information about Alaric. "Hi, how is he?"

"Indecent, but fine." Damon responds back and I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Good. So, nothing happened last night?" I quickly ask him.

"Nope! Slept like a baby, woke up Alaric. No head minds about dead Council Members." Damon smiles sheepishly, but I still had an odd feeling in my gut.

"Then why do I feel like you're hiding something from us?" Elena asks him and I breathe in deeply, thanking silently that I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"Well, maybe because you're being all paranoid and control freaky. What'd you bring me?" Damon quickly averts the subject and snatches a paper bag from Elena's hands, sniffing it.

"Oooh, chocolate muffins. You know what they say; a way to a psycho killer's heart is through his stomach." Damon grins and Elena retakes the bag back from him which causes him to frown.

"They're not for you." Elena retorts. Damon sighs, "Fine. Keep convincing yourself you're still mad at me. But sadly, Ric's gonna have to miss Elena and Maya time today. You know lockdown and all."

"Just take it and give it to him and tell him that we miss him, okay?" Elena hands the bag of muffins to Damon.

"With pleasure." he grins again. "Damon—" He shuts the door before I could finish my sentence. "That wasn't very nice!" I call after.

"Have a great day, thanks for coming by!" I hear him yell through the door.

"What the hell are they up to?" I ask rhetorically, stunned. "When is Damon not up to something?" Elena questions back.

§

"Alaric Saltzman killed my father?" Caroline asks, shocked as the three of us into the woods.

"I can't expect you to be okay with this. But at least these herbs that Bonnie's giving him, they're healing him and they're keeping the dark side buried." Elena explains to her.

"Yeah, and that's supposed to make everything okay?" Caroline sarcastically asks. Elena grabs Caroline's arm and faces her. Caroline has tears in her eyes, on the verge of spilling. I grab her hand and squeeze it tightly.

"No, Caroline, it's not okay. It's horrible and I feel horrible about it, but he's a victim of something supernatural, he didn't ask for this, it just happened to him. Just like Bonnie's mom, I mean, she didn't ask to become a vampire. And neither did Stefan or Tyler." Elena tells her.

"Or me." Caroline frowns.

"Or you. Or Maya, she wasn't expecting to hunt vampires. None of you asked for this, but who would I be if I just turned my back on any of you?" Elena smiles warmly. Caroline grabs me and Elena, squishing us into a hug.

She moves into the middle of us, so she was on mine and Elena's side. She wraps her arms around our shoulders and smiles, while walking off.

"Oh, Elena and Maya Gilbert, savior of the cursed and the damned." Caroline chuckles and Matt appears out of nowhere.

"Hey. What's with the cryptic secret meeting text?" Matt questions, waving his phone in the air. I shrug, "If Stefan wants us here, we obliged."

"Where's Bonnie?"

I turn around and Stefan and Damon come into view, holding duffle bags in their hands. "I texted her too."

"Um, Bonnie's mom bailed on her. Again. So, I think we should leave her out of this one." Caroline tells him.

"What is all this?" I point to the bags, "What are we doing here?"

"We found some more white oak. Long story, wait for the movie." Damon reveals the truth and I widen my eyes, wondering if I heard that correctly.

"White oak...? You mean the only thing that can kill Klaus?" I question, feeling myself grow cold. "Aw, don't tell me you have feelings for Klaus right before we kill him?" Damon taunts and I shoot him a look.

"Not only do we have a weapon that can kill Klaus.... you all do too." Stefan throws down the duffle bag that opens up, containing multiple white oak stakes in them.

"Klaus has always been one step ahead of us, but now we have the advantage. We're all armed and they are all linked, meaning we only need to kill one of them. We need to seize the best opportunity, which means we need to prepare for every opportunity."

Too much was running through my head that I couldn't even process a word that was coming out of his mouth. Guilt was running through my veins, but why? I should be happy that he and his family will be out of my life for good. Except I am not.

As much as I just wanted to turn away and never look back, I couldn't. I begin to think about all the horrible things Klaus has done to me and the people that I care about. I needed to fuel this hatred back up again.

"Scenario number one." Damon starts and grabs Elena's arm. "You get to play Klaus." he says and she nods.

"Rebekah is our target so we distract her and catch her off guard. To do that we need to keep Klaus separate and occupied," Stefan looks at me, "Maya."

"Why do I have to be Klaus bait?" I cross my arms as my blood starts to boil. It seems like I'm always being used to get to Klaus, whether I agreed to it or not.

"Because the guy is in love with you." Damon replies back. I roll my eyes and pick up one of the wooden stakes from the bag, "Why can't I just kill him?" I ask, swirling the object in my hand, "I am a vampire hunter after all."

"Yeah, and when's the last time you actually shoved a stake into a vampire's heart?" Damon questions with a raised eyebrow.

I step forward and place the pointy part of the stake on his chest, "Why don't we find out?"

Damon squints his eyes and grins slightly. Before I could have a chance to blink, my body gets spun around and pressed against Damon's chest and he now holds the wooden stake, inching it toward my heart.

"Might want to work quicker than that, Buffy." he whispers in my ear. I shove him off of me and glare at him, "I didn't come here to get training lessons from you."

"And I didn't come here to die." he retorts back and lets the wood stake fall from his fingertips and to the ground.

"Enough, the both of you!" Elena steps in and her eyes narrow at the two of us. "And, Damon, I am not letting my sister near Klaus. She almost died last time!"

"If I recall, Maya's a big girl and can make discussions on her own." Damon tells Elena.

"If we have a chance to end this once and for all, then I'll take it." I say and Elena throws me a disappointing look before sighing in defeat.

"Caroline. I need you to play Rebekah for now. We use the quarterback to distract her. Just keep her talking." Damon walks over to the blonde.

"How?" Matt asks with crosses arms. "Act interested. She's lonely, desperate." Damon suggests and Caroline scoffs, "Clearly. She slept with you."

A laugh escapes my lips and Damon turns his head to glare at me.

"Hm. Beefcake holds bombshell. I come up from behind her." Damon goes behind Caroline and forces her arms behind her back. "Grab her arms like this."

Stefan comes up to her with a stake in his hand and pretends to stab Caroline. "Gives me time for one shot." he says.

"Got it? Good. So we all have one stake, we keep it hidden and we look out for any opportunity we have." Stefan tells us.

"No last minute attacks of pity for any of them." Damon looks at Elena. "Don't worry about me. Not after what happened to Bonnie's mom." Elena replies.

"Barbie?" Damon asks. "Oh, I'm ready. Anything that will free Tyler from his sire bond to Klaus." Caroline says.

"Busboy?" Damon inquires. "Do I have a choice?" he asks. "Good point."

Damon looks at me, "You?" He opens the duffle bag and pulls out a couple arrows with the white oak stake at the tip of it. "I carved these for you." he tells me, convincing me.

I hesitate for a moment, admiring the arrows he made just for me. I grab them from his fingers and look back into his pleading eyes. "I'm in."

§

My knuckles hit the large wooden door and I step back to wait for an answer. I stand outside the Mikaelson Mansion to complete my task. Distraction 101.

Rebekah opens the door with a knife in her hand and a smirk plays on her lips. "Oh, don't worry, love. I do not plan on using this on you... yet."

I gulp slightly, unaware of what to say next. "You are here for my brother, aren't you?" I nod at her question. "My bastard brother forgave you, didn't he? I honestly don't get what he sees in you anymore."

"And what did you see in me before?" I question, growing curious. She doesn't reply and instead she opens the door wide enough so I could enter.

"Potential, but you stripped it away.... now, if you'll excuse me, I have very important matters I need to attend to." Rebekah says before running off to another direction.

I let out a sigh, taking in her every word. Deep inside, I want to prove to her that I am what she thought I was. But, I shouldn't. I have nothing to prove to her yet every minute I spend with the Mikaelson siblings, I am changing in a way.

Wandering around the mansion, I stumble upon the very art room Klaus presented to me the night of the ball. I enter it and admire his sketches and work that were scattered on the table before me.

Some were of me and the sight of them make my heartbeat quicken and bring a small smile to my lips. Oddly enough, I wasn't creeped out and found myself appreciating his work.

I pick up a drawing of me, smiling a bit. Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me. "Do you like them?" I heard the familiar voice asked me, whispering in my ear. I turn around only to see Klaus. I smile and glance at the pictures again, "I do. How did you make them?"

"My three friends. My hand, pencil, and you." I smirk, "I'm your friend?" he looks at me and smiles, "Of course you are, love."

§

Following after Klaus, I watch as he opens a door to reveal the other side which contains Damon hanged from the ceiling with bear traps connected to his wrists. "Damon?!" I gasp and rush into the occupied room without further questions.

"Well, look what you've caught. Trying to bleed him of vervain, don't you think it would be easier to hang him upside down?" Klaus suggests and I widen my eyes.

"You had to bring her here? Just when I was about to have my fun?" Rebekah pouts to her brother, waving her knife in her hand.

"Release him. Now." I demand and turn my attention back to Damon, who has blood smeared across his chest. Sweat beams on his forehead as he lazily tries keeps his eyes open. "No..." I hear Damon whisper but I ignore his questionable protest.

"Absolutely not! Nik, don't tell me you'll actually listen to this doppel-bitch's sister?" Rebekah asks and I turn to Klaus with pleading eyes.

"If my sister wants to have a go at him, I mustn't disturb her." Klaus replies and Rebekah smirks proudly while giving me a taunting look.

"Fabulous. Now, why don't you just leave me be and go and manage your witch?" his sister puts her hand on her hip. I furrow my eyebrows and look at Klaus, what witch would be willing to help him?

Klaus' lips curve upwards and motions me to leave the room with him. "Actually, if you don't mind, I would like Maya to stay. I think we're long overdue for a chat." Rebekah grins with her tormenting eyes.

"Have it your way, sister." Klaus exits the room and closes the door on his way out.

"What more do you want from me, Rebekah?" I ask her and slowly walk towards her. "Can you please release Damon? I promise we will leave you alone after this."

"I'm afraid that is not how to game works around here, Maya." Rebekah says after a moment. "Do you care about my brother?" she questions and there's a long pause due to my inability to answer right away.

"Yes."

"Good. Prove it to me." Rebekah hands me the knife in her hand. I place it in mine and raise it up in question. "What do you mean?"

"Prove to me that you care about Nik. I want you to torture Damon." she grins once again. I stare at her in shock and disbelief. "There are other ways. Please don't make me do this." I plead.

She walks over to me and stares right into my eyes. "This is your only option. Do it or you can kiss my brother goodbye."

"I am not playing your silly games, Rebekah." I retort and push the knife into her hands, but she doesn't take it back.

"You started playing this game the minute you stepped into my brother's life, love. So, do it." Rebekah pushes the knife back into my grasp and steps out of the way to reveal Damon still attached to the chains. "This gem right here," she looks down at the knife, "is laced with vervain."

I have no other choice. If I leave, everything I've done would have been for nothing and it will be less of a chance to kill the Mikaelsons once and for all. Rebekah is right, I have to play the game and I am determined to win.

I slowly walk closer to Damon with the knife holding tightly in my hand. I try to ignore Rebekah's smirk when I reach over to my weak friend.

"I'm sorry." I whisper to him, nearly touching his skin with the steel. "It's okay." I hear his low voice softly respond back and it was reassuring, but not helpful in this case. He knows my current situation better than anyone.

I close my eyes as I impale the knife into his skin and his screams echo the entire room. Keeping my eyes glued shut, I gasp at my action and a few tears slip down my cheeks.

"Aw, don't be shy, Maya. There's plenty of bare skin to dismantle. Oh, you might want to keep those pretty eyes open, darling!" Rebekah's voice haunts into my brain and I shoot my eyes open, yanking the knife out of his chest which causes a yelp from Damon.

I step away from him and make my way over to proud Rebekah, shoving the knife back to her. "Don't ever make me do that again." I say out in anger and guilt.

Immediately after that, I exit the room. The second I closed those doors, I couldn't help but feel more of the tears fall from my eyes and break out into a sob.

"Maya, love, what's wrong?"

I hear his voice and his footsteps coming closer to me but I chose to ignore them. I keep my eyes closed as the uncontrollable tears continue to stream down my face.

Klaus reaches me and puts his fingers on my chin to force my attention on his. His eyes searches mine, anger flashing through his. "What did my sister do?" he says calmly through his teeth.

Nothing audible comes out of my mouth and instead I pull him into a hug, seeking that deep need of comfort in that moment. I feel him hesitate before fully accepting the embrace.

I cry in his shoulder and I feel myself starting to calm down due to his sudden touch. My heartbeat begins to thump against my chest as I pull a white oak stake out of my boot, aiming it behind his back that has a direct access to his heart.

I let it stay in my hand for a moment, preparing myself to strike him at his vulnerable moment, but I couldn't bring myself to actually do it.

My eyes lock onto my fingers gripping onto the stake and force bad memories of Klaus into my head, trying to bring myself to complete this task.

He killed your aunt. He almost killed your sister. He terrorizes your friends. Rebekah is currently torturing your best friend. She hates your sister. Do it.

My thoughts race in my head. If I kill him now, the rest of his siblings will die and I can end this madness they brought. Another cry escapes my lips because I knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him.

I slip the stake back into my boot before he could notice. I pull away from the embrace, looking down at the floor to avoid his eyes. Klaus lifts my chin with his fingers again and my teary eyes meet his.

"Tell me what Rebekah did."

"She made me hurt Damon." I reply softly and he sighs deeply, letting go of my chin and exits my presence and enters the room Rebekah's in.

I hear some sort of shouting but my mind couldn't process a single thing they were saying. One question stayed clear in my mind.

Why couldn't I kill Klaus Mikaelson?

§

So, it has come to my attention that Bonnie was the witch Rebekah referred to earlier and she separated the link between the siblings. That being said, if I were to kill one, the rest of them would be alive and that means I had a chance to kill every single one of them and I didn't.

I quietly enter the room again once I found out it was vacant. Rebekah abandoned him the second Klaus argued with her about what she did to me. I really appreciate that and it makes me feel a bit better for not killing him.

Damon still weakly stands there and I feel a pang in my heart. My fingers almost unclasps the traps when his voice startles me. "Don't do it."

"I'm saving you." I assure him, but he moves himself to stop me from freeing him. "Stop. I can't let you risk it." Damon tells me.

I step backwards and swallow thickly. "Damon, I'm sorry... about earlier." I apologize, the feeling of guilt washing over me once again.

"It's okay, Maya." he says weakly, "I'd be more mad at you if you didn't do it."

I let out a shaky laugh and notice Stefan walking into the room with the same duffle bag from earlier in his hand. "Stefan?" I question.

He gives me a look before raising his voice. "Klaus, I'm here! Let's do this." he shouts and moments later, Klaus and Rebekah enter.

"Oh good, a hero. What do you want?" Klaus sarcastically says while rolling his eyes.

Stefan drops the duffel bag with the stakes by Klaus' feet. "I'm here to make a deal."

I open my mouth in surprise, not expecting this sudden turn of events.

"Stefan, what are you doing?" Damon questions with his weak voice and I perk my head up to get an answer as well.