• • • •

Faith turned to her side, trying to escape the shining sunlight from the window. Her head pounded from last night's drinking. Her hand reached over the nightstand for her ringing phone.

"Hello?" She yawned.

"Where the bloody hell are you, Faith?"

"Um," Faith looked around the unfamiliar apartment to the unfamiliar man lying next to her. "In my one-night stand apartment?"

"I need you to come to Chicago," Klaus ordered. "The hybrids didn't work. They all died."

"That's too bad," Faith said, dryly. She reached her arm out to the man's shoulder and sighed when no magic was siphoned. The man was human and now she needed to get a plan b pill. "I had a great birthday yesterday if you're wondering."

"Faith," he said her name in a warning tone.

"Alright, alright," Faith said. "I'll be there once I find my clothes. Bye."

She hung up and pulled the sheets of the bed around her naked body. The sheets trailed after her as she began picking up her clothes and putting them on. She put on her plain gray sleeveless shirt with large armholes that dropped to her waist making her black bra slightly visible. The bedsheets fell on the wooden tile floor and pulled her denim high waisted shorts that reached down just below her mid-thighs on.

She grabbed her phone and began dialing a phone number she had engraved into her brain.

"Hey," she smiled, unconsciously as she closed the apartment door behind her and made her way down the empty hallway. "How is she?"

"The same," Marcel answered. "Keeps asking when you're coming back."

Faith sighed. "I don't know. I'm still kind of in the middle of something bad and I can't risk someone following me and finding out about her."

"For two months?" He asked.

"I can't talk about it," she lied, knowing if Klaus knew about Marcel being alive, things would get crazier than they already were. After leaving Mystic Falls, Faith made sure to grab any journals or grimoires about her family and when she found out about Klaus and Marcel, she was surprised. "I've got to go."

"Okay, bye."

• • • •

"So a hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender..." Klaus smiled, cheekily at the witch.

"Stop. You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny," Gloria stopped the hybrid from continuing.

"I tell him that everyday," Faith walked in the bar with a grin. "But he never listens. Almost like he rather hear his own voice."

"Faith, glad you can join us," Klaus greeted the girl.

She shrugged. "I mean you did threaten my life but sure. Whatever floats your boat, Klaus."

"You must be the Everly siphoner," Gloria looked at Faith.

She smirked. "The one and only."

"You're Gloria," Stefan remembered. "Shouldn't you be.."

"Old and dead?" The witch finished his question. "Now if I die, who's going to run this place, huh?"

"Gloria's a very powerful witch," Klaus complimented.

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

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

"Yes, please," Faith pulled the vampire to the bar. "I've been wanting some bourbon or maybe a margarita?"

Faith placed the lemon inside her mouth as her eyes traveled to the wall filled with pictures. She took one of the pictures off the wall, looking at it in amusement. "Stefan, I didn't know you and Klaus were such good friends."

"Give me that," Stefan took the photo from her hands as Faith took a sip of her margarita. "What is this?" He called out to Klaus.

The hybrid seemed to know what he was referring to as he stood up. "Well, I told you, Stefan. Chicago's a magical place."

"But this is me," Stefan showed him the picture. "With you."

• • • •

Faith had stayed at the bar when Klaus and Stefan left. She greeted the two men with a grin as she drank half of her third margarita. "How was walking down memory lane?"

"Reminiscing," Klaus stated as he sat down next to the siphoner. "How was your birthday?"

"Got drunk, partied, had sex, almost became pregnant," Faith shrugged. "You know, the usual."

"But why make me forget?" Stefan questioned as he sat down on the other side of the hybrid. "You shouldn't have to cover your tracks...unless you're running from someone."

"Storytime's over," Klaus ordered.

Stefan glanced back before looking back at Klaus. "I need another drink. A real one."

Faith watched in amusement as Klaus signaled him to go and Stefan left the bar.

"Uh uh," Faith pulled the bottle of tequila from Klaus. "Now, Klaus, there's no need to pout."

"I like you more when you were a sad little siphoner, love," Klaus told her.

Faith drained her drink and smirked. "I love you, too, Klaus."

Her blue eyes trailed to Damon sitting down in the seat Stefan was in. Klaus smirked but didn't look at the dark-haired vampire. "I see they've opened the doors to the riff-raff now."

"Oh, honey, I've been called worse," Damon countered back.

"Like man-slut," Faith spoke up. "But that's only one of them."

Damon studied the siphoner. Her usual raven frizzy curly hair now cast down her shoulders in dark brown smooth waves. She showed more skin and her scars didn't seem to bother her, some weren't even visible anymore. Her skin was sun-kissed and freckles that he didn't know she had, littered across the bridge of her nose to both her cheekbones. Some freckles appeared above her eyebrows and around her jawline.

Her crystal blue eyes were different also. They still gleamed in amusement but they had a tint of happiness shining with them. The lack of sunlight showed after the past two months. Now with being outside under the summer sun, her hair turned lighter and her skin became a bit darker with a healthy glow.

Her voice had changed as well. She had a bit of an English accent. It was probably from spending the summer with Klaus. What Damon didn't know was Faith did have an accent when she was younger but it faded after a while.

The only thing that stayed the same the past two months was the teardrop ruby gemstone necklace that hung from her neck.

"You don't give up, do you?" Klaus asked him.

"Give me my brother back," Damon glanced at Faith. "And the siphoner and you'll never have to see me again."

"Aww, you still care about me," Faith said, playfully.

"Well, I am torn. You see, I promised Stefan and Faith I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for?" Klaus pretended to think about it. "And clearly you want to die, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so..."

"What can I say? I'm a thrill-seeker."

Damon didn't see Klaus' hand coming and grabbing onto his neck. Klaus stood up and raised the dark-haired vampire above the floor. With his other hand, he held toothpicks.

"I'm a little boozy, so you'll forgive me if I miss your heart the first few tries," Klaus told the vampire.

Damon chuckled but groaned when Klaus stabbed him in the stomach with a toothpick. "Oh. No, that's not it," Klaus stabbed him with another toothpick on the ribs. "Oh, almost."

He angled a toothpick at his heart. Damon smiled with strain and croaked, "You want a partner in crime? Forget Stefan. I'm so much more fun."

Klaus threw him backward and Damon crashed onto a table. The table broke and the vampire fell onto the floor with the broken table underneath him. Klaus ripped a leg of a wooden chair as a makeshift stake and handed it to Faith.

The siphoner sighed and grabbed the stake. She got up from her chair and walked over to the vampire. She hovered over Damon with the stake raised up, ready to strike down while Klaus held him down. Damon got a glance of a tattoo on the inside of Faith's upper right arm.

The stake was alighted and Faith threw it to the side. The siphoner and hybrid glanced back at Gloria. "Really?"

"Not in my bar. You take it outside."

Faith stepped aside from the dark-haired vampire. Damon tried to sit up but was pushed down by Klaus. They looked at each as Klaus spoke, "You don't have to negotiate your brother's freedom. When I'm done with him, he won't want to go back."

• • • •

Faith trailed behind the hybrid as they walked around the warehouse. Klaus stopped in front of an opened and empty coffin.

"Rebekah," he called out, looking around the warehouse. "It's your big brother. Come out, come out, wherever you are."

In a blink of an eye, a blonde girl in a white dress appeared with a long white beaded necklace in front of the hybrid and stabbed him with a dagger. "Go to hell, Nik!"

Faith let out a chuckle at the interaction of the siblings. Klaus gave her a warning glance as he pulled out the dagger from his chest. He let the bloody dagger fall to the ground and he looked at his sister. "Don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me."

"Yeah, but I was hoping it would hurt more," she countered as she walked away from the hybrid.

"You and everyone in this world," Faith smirked at the blonde girl.

"I understand that you're upset with me, Rebekah, so I'm going to let that go. Just this once," Klaus placed his hand on Rebekah's shoulder. "Brought you a little peace offering. You can come in."

Stefan appeared from the shadows but showed no recollection of the blonde vampire in front of him. Klaus stepped closer to the vampire and compelled him to remember. The two vampires and hybrid talked to each other after Stefan remembered.

"Who's the girl?" Rebekah asked, glancing at Faith. The siphoner didn't seem to bother with them as she stared at the other coffins in the warehouse.

"Faith, love," Klaus called out to her. Once her crystal blue eyes went on the three, Klaus motioned her to walk over to them. "Meet Rebekah."

Faith showed the blonde the usual mischievous smile she had. "Faith Everly, siphoner."

"Siphoner?" Rebekah repeated.

"Doesn't matter," Klaus interjected. "Now the reason you're here, Gloria tells me you know how to contact the Original witch."

"The Original witch?" Rebekah ridiculed.

"What do you have that Gloria needs?" Klaus demanded.

Rebekah's hand reaches for something around her neck, calmly. When nothing was there, she looked slightly alarmed. "Where's my necklace? What did you do with it? I never take it off!"

As the two siblings began to argue, Faith's attention traveled to Stefan. Her eyes were narrowed on the vampire as he looked like he knew where the necklace was. A smirk grew on her lips as she realized who had the necklace.

Elena Gilbert.

But one thing bothered the siphoner. Why did it look like the vampire was worried? The doppelgänger was dead....unless she wasn't.

• • • •

Aha...I couldn't wait for any longer to update! In my defense, at least I waited until Saturday instead of updating on Friday, soo... I'll take it as a win for me 😌Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll be (or try to) update every Tuesday and Thursdays!