❦❦❦

The demigod examined the walls of the cave. "Wow."

"Percy? What do you see?" Damon called out.

"Uh. Art?" She replied.

The Salvatore scoffed. "Art? Really? You're telling me Mason Lockwood led us to some cute mural?"

The demigod shrugged. "There's little stick figures. They're pretty cute. And..." She examined the wall more.

There were letters written out in runic. The language was one of the few the demigod knew. Annabeth taught her the ancient viking script after she learned about it from her cousin, Magnus.

The words on the wall spelled out the names of the original family. She recognized the words, Rebekah, Elijah, and Niklaus.

"Percy? And what? What else do you see?" The vampire asked.

The raven haired beauty responded simply, "There's a pretty drawing of a wolf."

Damon rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna call Ric."

"Kk."

She looked across the wall and read the other names. Finn, Kol, and Mikael were inscribed on the wall too.

Huh.

•••

Percy heard footsteps and Damon speaking. "You're here. It's about time."

"Didn't have anyone else to call?" Alaric retorted.

The Salvatore answered, "No, actually, I don't. 'Cause I need a non-vampire to get in the cave, and other than Elena, you're pretty much the only one I trust."

The two continued having a heart to heart as the sea green eyed girl continued looking at the wall.

A few minutes later, the history teacher stood a few feet away from the demigod and looked at the walls too.

"We found something." He spoke to Damon.

Percy laughed. "Obviously."

"What is it?" The Salvatore questioned.

Alaric shined a flashlight at the walls to get a better view of the images. "I have no idea."

•••••

The next day, Elena, Percy, Damon, and Alaric went back to the cave through the old Lockwood cellar.

"So the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" Elena asked as they walked.

The history teacher replied, "Yeah. Careful where you shine that thing. Bats hate the light."

"Wait, what?" The doppelgänger asked.

Damon snuck up behind the brunette and whispered, "Elena."

She spun around as he said, "Boo!"

Elena gasped in shock. She hit Damon's arm, "God, Damon."

"Scaredy-cat." The vampire teased.

"That wasn't even scary." Percy commented, shaking her head in disappointment.

Alaric spoke up. "Just ignore him. That's what I do."

Elena looked back at Damon. "So you really can't get in?"

"No. Seems even the ancient Lockwoods were anti-vampire."

The doppelgänger was confused. "What do you mean, ancient?"

"I think he means, ancient." The demigod said helpfully with a tight lipped smile.

Elena rolled her eyes.

Damon stopped at the edge of the border. "See for yourself. This is as far as I get to go."

The doe eyed girl examined the images on the wall. "What is all this?"

"Stick figures. Duh." Percy replied.

Alaric answered Elena. "Well, as far as I can tell, it's a story. In simple archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story."

He shined the flashlight on of the pictures. "That right there is a moon cycle. A man. A wolf."

"A werewolf." Elena concluded.

Duh.

Damon replied, "Yeah, it's the Lockwood diaries, pictionary style."

"I just like to call them stick figures." Percy commented.

The doppelgänger spoke, "I don't understand. I thought the Lockwoods came here with the original founders in the 1860's."

Alaric responded, "Well, maybe the Lockwoods did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that."

"How long?" Elena asked.

"Long. Gets better. Show her, Ric." Damon spoke.

The teacher stepped forward. "Names, and they're not native. They're written in Runic, a viking script."

Dang. They figured that out fast.

Percy hadn't told them what the words meant. She happened to like the originals and didn't deem it necessary to translate the words for the group to use against them.

Elena was surprised by the news. "Vikings?"

"This name here, when translated, it reads, Niklaus."

I have to tell him and Bex. She couldn't help but think to herself.

"Klaus." The doppelgänger whispered.

Alaric continued reading the names. "And Elijah, and Rebekah."

"These are the names of the original family?" The doe eyed girl asked.

"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls or even the entire New World, for that matter." The hunter said as he looked at Elena.

The brunette shook her head in response. "Okay, this has gotta be one of Klaus's fakes."

"That's what I said." Damon added.

"That could be true," Alaric started, "Except the last name up here made us think otherwise." He shined the flashlight at one of the words.

"What's the name?" Elena asked the history buff.

"Mikael."

The doppelgänger's eyebrows furrowed. "Mikael, as in the vampire hunter who knows how to kill Klaus?"

"Yep." Damon replied. "And I now like to call him, Papa Original."

Schist.

••⇿⇿••

Percy arrived back home to see Rebekah sitting on the couch, watching Supernatural.

When the blonde spotted Percy, she smiled and gestured to seat next to her. "I'm watching that show you introduced to me."

The demigod sent her a small smile before sitting down. She reached for the remote and paused the television.

"Rebekah, we need to talk."

The original noticed that the raven haired beauty used her full name. "What's up?"

Percy bit her lip. "The Scooby gang is trying to find a way to kill an original vampire." Being blunt seemed like the best way to discuss the matter.

Rebekah had a thoughtful look on her face. "Really?"

"Yeah." The raven haired beauty said softly. "We found a cave under the Lockwood residence and it's full of pictures and it has your names written in Runic."

The blonde turned to look at the demigod with calculating eyes.

"And you're apart of this scheme?" She questioned, her face looking hurt.

Percy looked into the original's eyes. "No, of course not. I don't want you dead. I actually enjoy your company." She admitted truthfully.

The blonde felt relieved at the girl's words. She could tell she was telling the truth.

"Besides if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't invite you to live with me. I wouldn't even be telling you this. We're friends, Bex. Friends don't kill each other. Or their family for that matter."

The original vampire nodded. "So what do we do now?"

Percy shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know." Her sea green eyes met with Rebekah's. "But, Bex, they want to use Mikael."

The blonde sighed and looked away for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts.

The demigod chewed her lip. "And um, Bex?" Her voice sounded unsure as she spoke.

A part of Percy's mind was bugging her. One question kept on floating around in her head. Was Mikael anything like Gabe?

The blonde glanced over at her. "Yeah, Percy?"

The raven haired beauty didn't know how to properly word what she was trying to say. "Was he, um, abusive?" She spoke really softly and looked down at her lap for a second. "It's just that, I had a step-dad like that and I didn't know if-"

The sea green eyed being stopped talking when she saw the saddened look on the blonde's face. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me. I just, I don't know why I even-" she paused for a moment, "I don't normally talk about it. Ever."

Percy quickly shook her head, her mind felt anxious just thinking about Gabe. "I shouldn't have brought it up. We should talk about something else."

Rebekah's face softened, but her eyes swirled with pain. She moved closer to Percy on the couch. The next moment, the raven haired beauty was pulled into a tight hug.

One thing Percy wasn't expecting was a hug, but it felt really good. The daughter of the sea hugged her back just as tight.

After a few minutes, Rebekah pulled away. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Percy." She spoke softly, her tone genuine.

The demigod felt weird talking about it. She looked away. In an attempt to dismiss it, she quietly replied, "It's fine."

"No it's not," the blonde reached out and held her hand. "They're both assholes."

The sea green eyes girl took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

"And you did not deserve to go through that," Rebekah told her sincerely.

Percy looked back up at her. "You didn't deserve it either."

The original shook her head. "I'm not the one who received the brunt of his force."

Percy's face softened. Somehow, she knew who was. Oh.

"It wouldn't be fair to Nik to give you any more details." The vampire spoke softly.

Percy shook her head and looked down. "No, I don't like giving out details either."

The blonde squeezed her hand. "This conversation stays between us, okay?"

The sea green eyed girl nodded. "Yeah." She held out her pinky from her other hand.

Rebekah, who was already educated by Percy on pinky promises, intertwined their pinkies.

"Promise." The pair each muttered in sync, the bond of their friendship growing stronger.

⇠⇠⇠

The next morning, Percy woke up early. Or, at least it was her version of early.

Rebekah had already left for school, so the demigod was the only one in the house.

A ring sounded from her phone. The sea green eyed girl pulled out the device to see that Klaus was calling her. She answered the call, and put it on speaker phone. "Hi."

"I wasn't sure that you'd be awake," Klaus commented from the side of the line.

She playfully rolled her eyes, despite knowing he couldn't see. "Yet, you still called," she pointed out, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"What can I say, love? I missed your voice." His smooth accent made anything he said sound even more beautiful.

"Hm."

I missed your voice too. The thought popped into her head.

No! No, bad brain. She immediately tried to shut that though down. I certainly did not miss his voice.

"I do hope you're not still mad at me, love. I really am sorry," he spoke again.

Percy softly replied, "I know."

"And I do want to make things better with you. That being said, love, I'm not the good guy. I'm not the hero, that, love, is your specialty."

Percy didn't like having titles like 'hero,' she never felt like she was one.

She responded in a softer tone, "I know. I don't want you to be. I don't want you to change. I," she paused, "I can get kinda murderous sometimes too and I don't judge you for it." Her voice grew even softer. "I actually like the way you are."

Continuing, she added, "But the other day, I just got angry. For me, there's a line when it comes to harming innocent kids."

He nodded, "I understand, love."

Percy nodded and looked down. "And, I'm sorry too," she paused, "If I made you feel like I was trying to change you. I, I don't want that."

A small smile appeared on her face, "Honestly, the whole morally gray thing is cool. I always liked the villains more in the movies. They're not even really villains, they're just misunderstood."

"Do you think I'm misunderstood?" He asked quietly.

The raven haired beauty nodded. "I mean, yeah," she answered softly. "I think there's a lot of people who see you as the bad guy, but I don't think you are."

She continued, "I don't think the world is so black and white. I think there's a shit ton of gray. And I think everyone has a reason for the things they do and who they become. I've never seen myself as a hero. I just got roped into saving the world. And when it comes down to it, I save the people the care about."

"So you don't think I'm the bad guy and you don't think you're the hero," Klaus said to clarify her thoughts.

She nodded, "Yeah." Her lips turned into a small smile. "But at the same time, you make being a villain very cool. I think you pull it off quite nicely."

Klaus couldn't help but smirk. "You think I'm cool?"

"I mean, yeah." Percy responded.

His smirk widened. "Thank you, love. But if I'm being honest it is very difficult to understand how you feel about me. One minute, I'm a jerk, the next I'm cool. And I'm somehow the villain but not the bad guy. It's a bit conflicting, love."

"Well, see that's the problem. You're trying to use logic, and that's just not my thing. I'm very complex, but also very simple."

A deep chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh okay. Now I understand perfectly, love. Thank you for the clarification."

"You're welcome," Percy replied.

The pair talked for a while longer. Their conversations didn't involve anything important, just goofy hypothetical situations and jokes.

After about an hour or two, Percy ended the conversation. "I'm gonna go get something to eat, but I'll talk to you later." There was a smile painted across her lips as she spoke.

Klaus was smiling on the other end of the line as well. "Goodbye, love."

"Bye."

Even when the phone call ended, Percy's smile didn't leave her face.

⇠⇠⇠

Once again, Percy was at cheer practice with the original.

Then, Elena walked up to the two.

"You." Rebekah greeted. "Goodie."

The doppelgänger started, "I was hoping we could talk."

"About what? Stefan? Don't worry I'm off him until he starts treating me better. In fact, you should probably take a page out of my book, if I'm being honest."

Elena pulled pictures of the drawings on the cave walls out of her bag. "Actually, I'd rather talk about this. I'm curious why you and Klaus have spent a thousand years running from your father."

"I don't think it's any of your business, Emilia." Percy said.

The doppelgänger's face scrunched up. "Why are you even hanging out with her?"

"We're friends, Elena."

Elena scoffed. Rebekah wrapped her arm around Percy's shoulders. "I have to get back to the girls. Homecoming's right around the corner."

"Well, then maybe I'll ask Mikael when we wake him." The doe eyed girl added.

Rebekah acted like she didn't hear about it from Percy. "You're bluffing. You don't know where he is. No one does."

"So then, who's rotting in that old cemetery in Charlotte?"

The original grew angry. "If you wake Mikael, we're all doomed."

"So then tell me." Elena pressed the matter.

Rebekah asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"Why don't you want me to wake him?"

The blonde replied, "We need to get back to the girls."

The pair walked back to the group together.

Even though Percy wasn't a cheerleader, the team basically accepted her as an honorary member, since she went to the practices with Rebekah.

➳➳

Rebekah and Percy arrived at the Salvatore boarding house.

"Why are we meeting her here?" The demigod questioned.

The original turned to her, "Well, would you rather invite her to your house?"

"Good point."

Rebekah poured herself a glass of champagne.

The doppelgänger entered the house.

"Hey, what's up?" Rebekah greeted the doe eyed girl.

Elena replied in an annoyed voice, "You invited me over to talk."

Rebekah called out over her shoulder. "Alright, girls! Have at it."

A line of girls walked out wearing different dresses.

"Okay, now twirl, please." The girls all spun around.

Elena was disturbed, "You compelled your own private runway show?"

"It's actually pretty cool." Percy commented as she ate a bowl of popcorn.

Rebekah added, "I need a homecoming dress. So what do you think?" She first turned to the demigod for a response.

Percy looked at the different dresses. "I think the red one will look stunning on you, Bex."

"Thank you." She returned her gaze to Elena. "What about you? Pick one."

The doppelgänger shook her head. "I'm not here to help you shop. I'm here to talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael."

Rebekah sped to one of the girls and moved her hair to the side. She placed her fangs a few inches away from the girl's neck. "I said, pick one, Elena."

"The red one." The doe eyed girl said helplessly.

Rebekah stepped away. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

She turned back to the group of girls. "Go away. Remember nothing." They all left the house.

The blonde picked up her glass of champagne. "You do not threaten me. You will learn what I allow you to learn. Is that clear?"

Percy continued eating her popcorn.

₊₊₊

The raven haired beauty laid down on Stefan's bed as Rebekah looked through his drawers.

Elena stood in the doorway, disapproving of the original's actions.

"Well, how fun is this?" The blonde spoke.

Elena replied, "We shouldn't be here."

"Of course we should." Percy commented.

Rebekah smiled at her. "Come on, like you've never wanted to snoop." She picked up a piece of clothing. "Boxer briefs. Now, that's a change from the twenties."

"Are you gonna root through his stuff all night, or are you gonna start to tell me your story?"

Rebekah sighed. "You really are no fun. What do you want to know?"

"Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?" Elena asked.

Rebekah continued looking through Stefan's belongings. "My parents had just started a family when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate."

Percy listened to the story with her eyes closed.

Elena repeated her question. "So how did you end up here? This part of the world hadn't been discovered yet."

"Not by anyone in your history books. But my mother knew the witch Ayana, and heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy, blessed by the gifts of speed and strength. That led my family here, where we lived amongst those people." Rebekah told the two girls.

Elena guessed, "The werewolves."

"To us, they were just our neighbors." The original recounted. "My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children. Including me."

Elena spoke, "You make it sound so normal."

"It was."

She laid down on the bed with the demigod as she continued telling the story about her family. Her head rested on Percy's stomach. The raven haired beauty gently played with the blonde's hair.

"Once a month, our family retreated to the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night, and by morning, we'd return home."

"One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother Henrik snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts. That was forbidden. Henrik payed the price."

Percy gently held Rebekah's hand to comfort her.

The blonde told them about Henrik dying, and the witch Ayana informing the family that the spirits would not give them a way to save him.

Percy continued running her fingers through Rebekah's hair in a soft way. The gentle touch comforted the original as she continued to speak.

"And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors. And one of the last moments my family and I had together as humans."

Elena's phone buzzed, causing her to pull it out of her pocket.