Glitch in the Refletion

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Caroline asked El as she leaned up against the driver side door of her car.

“Nope.” El threw her bag into the truck of the blonde’s car. “But this is the best plan I could come up with after I realized my original one is a no go.”

Caroline’s brows furrowed at the confession. “Do I even wanna know?”

“Honestly?” The witch slammed the truck before walking to the passenger side and looked at the blonde over the car. “No.”

She shrugged. “As long as this isn’t a way to avoid Stefan.”

The brunette made a sound similar to a cat being strangled at the accusation. “I am not avoiding him.” El pointed a finger at her friend. “Why would I be? I just have things to do that don’t involve him.”

“Right.” Caroline drew out the word while giggling before looking over the Doppelganger shoulder. “And he is differently not behind you right now.”

The brunette’s eyes go wide before turning around to see the vampire staring at the two from across the street, no doubt having heard their entire conversation. “Great.” El mutters before turning back to Caroline. “Just give me a few.” The witch saw a glisp of a nod before she began to drag her feet in the man’s direction. When El reached him her fingers bounced around on her thigh. A nervous habit that transferred from one body to the other. “Stefan.”

“El.”

The seconds that tick by seemed to go on for forever, for the two teenagers did not know what to say to one another. Having enough of the tension of who would speak first, the witch spoke the question that was floating in her mind. “What are you doing here Stefan? I’m uh, kinda busy.”

“I wanted to check on you, seeing you weren’t at the Comet last night.” Stefan looked down before glancing into her eyes. “Caroline said you weren’t feeling well.”

El grimaces a bit while nodding. “Yes I was. Terrible headache. No amount of ibuprofen or spells would get rid of it.” 

The vampire squinted at the girl. “Funny. She said you had food poisoning.”

“Huh.” Elena’s lips puckered, knowing that she has been caught. “Well, I uh-you see…” her lips made a popping sound after not coming up with a believable excuse. “Yeah, I got nothing.” 

“What’s going on El?” Stefan questioned.

Said person just shocked her head. Not wanting his help. “I can’t tell you. It’s on a need to know basis.”

“‘Need to know basis?’” Stefan scoffed. “And Caroline is part of that group?”

El was taken back at the tone of voice he used. “Yes. Same with Jenna, Dasher, and my mentor. Jermey is too, but he’s been avoiding me recently so I haven’t been able to catch him up.”

“How many people have you told about this? About the supernatural?”

“I just told you.” It was the dopplegangers turn to squint at him, not liking this attitude coming from him. He was acting like she was a child that didn’t know how the world worked. She hated it. “Now if you excuse me I need to go, Care’s waiting.” 

Just as the witch was turning to walk away Stefan grabbed her arm. Acting on instinct, El muttered a spell. “Δύναμη εκατό ανδρών, έπεσε με.” The doppelganger witch ripped his hand off her arm ignoring the vampire’s shout of surprise, which then morphed into a scream of pain when she broke it. Kicking him away from her, she then held out her hand giving him a magical aneurysm to keep him from getting up. “I like you Stef, I really do. But grab me again,” she knelt down and tilted her head, “and you’ll find out what exactly I am capable of.” The body snatcher lifted the spell as she headed back to the car, trying to unsee the look of horror on the bunny eater’s face before he zoomed away.

As El reached the car, Caroline looked at her with sympathy. “El? You okay?”

“We should leave. We wasted enough time as it is.” El ignores the question and gets into the car without glancing back at where Stefan used to be. Caroline followed her lead a few seconds later after a moment of hesitation. Ready for a three hour road trip.

—------

Caroline's eyes shifted between the road and over to her friend. A little over an hour into the drive and the doppelganger has not said a single thing, completely focused on whatever she was writing in her grimoire. The blonde blew out a breath hoping it would get her attention. When that did nothing, she did it louder and saw El’s left hand twitch. Seeing that she was getting somewhere, Care let out an even louder breath. 

“Yes Caroline?” The witch didn’t look up from her book.

“Are you okay?” Caroline’s eyes shifted to her once more before settling on the road. “You haven’t said anything at all, and that fight between you and Stefan-”

“I’m fine.” Elena cut her off. “It was simply business.”

The human scoffed. “Business? Stefan’s in love with you and you attacked him!”

“It was self defense!” El defended herself. “He grabbed my arm and was talking to me like a child.” She then shook her head. “And he doesn’t love me, it’s the curse of the doppelgangers that he feels.”

“Curse of the dopplegangers? Is that what, a forbidden love between a witch and vampire?” The blonde attempted a joke.

“I wish, but no.” El threw her head back, leaning it on the headrest. “It’s what I am. What Stefan is. Where a shadow of someone who lived in the past. A living reminder of the first immortals.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m not the only one with this face.”

The car swerved causing Elena to yelp, not expecting the sudden movement. The blonde got the car settled again before looking at the brunette with wide eyes. “What?”

Elena's hands are on the dashboard in front of her, trying to wrap her head around what just happened. “Guess it’s time I tell you the whole story.” Caroline went to open her mouth, but El beat her to it. “But only if you promise to keep your eyes on the road!”

The human gulped and nodded, ready to listen to a story of the lifetime.

—-------

The two friends pulled into the parking lot of the motel they were staying for the night. Grimacing at the peeling paint and run down sign that wobbled at the slightest of breezes. Getting out of the car and heading to the trunk to grab their stuff before checking in, Caroline speaks. “This is the best place you could book?”

Throwing satchel over her shoulder, El turns to look at the blonde. “We're on supernatural business.”  Keeping her voice down so no one would over hear. “We need to be discreet. And this,” the witch gestures to the crumbley looking motel. “is. Besides, it was the only thing I could afford.”

“I’m just saying, you couldn’t find something that was at least three stars?” Caroline asked before backtracking when she saw the look on the doppleganger. “Right, sorry. Discreet. I can be discreet.”

Elena blew nose out of nose in amusement at the little comment. Holding the door open for Caroline a little chime could be heard. The person at the front desk looked up at the sound, seeing the two girls walk in. 

“How can I help you?” They asked.

“Hi. We have a reservation.” The witch told them. “It’s under the name Jamie Micheals.” 

The front receptionist blew a bubble in the girl's face before moving their eyes to the computer. Muttering under their breath while tapping away at the computer. The sound of keys being hit with acrylic nails was the only sound for a few minutes before the person spoke. “Jamie M. Single room with a queen bed for one night?”

El gave the receptionist an overly sweet smile. “Yep! That’s us.”

“Can I see some ID?” 

Caroline eyebrows shot up at the question. Thinking they were going to get caught because she knew that El did not have an ID with the name she just gave, but her eyes went even wider at what her friend did.

“You don’t need to see my ID.” El held eye contact while waving her hand in a rainbow motion. The person at the front desk seemed to be in a trance muttering back exactly what Elena had said. “You will give us our keys now.” Still not in their right mind, they hand her the keys before muttering a goodbye and turning to the computer once again. 

El turned around heading to walk out when she saw her blonde friend stuck in her spot in shock. She gently took her arm and led her out of the building and walked her to their room. As soon as the door was shut, Caroline’s shock seemed to wear off. “How did you do that? I thought only vampires could compel people?”

The doppelganger sat her bag on the side of the bed closest to the door before she answered. “I didn’t compel them. I used magic.”

“But you didn’t say a spell.”

“Magic isn’t about spells. It’s about intent. Yes, spells help, but sometimes it’s not necessary.”

“Huh.” Caroline plopped on the bed, rethinking everything she knew about magic. 

Seeing that Caroline wasn’t going to ask more questions, El thought now was a good time to change the subject. “Now, we have-” she glanced at the time “four hours till sunset, you want chinese or pizza?”

—-------

“I can’t believe you have me tramping in a graveyard in the middle of the night while I’m in heels.”

“I can’t believe you wore heels after I told you we are basically grave robbing.”

Caroline gave her the stink eye. “You should have told me no.” She then muttered to herself. “At least I look hot.”

“You always look hot.” Elena’s face turned into a tomato. Not expecting her own mouth to betray her. “Uh-I mean-shit…”

The doppelganger was to busy not looking at her friend that she didn’t notice a light blush spread over her cheeks. “Oh. Rea-really”

El glanced at her before focusing on what’s ahead of her again. “I mean I would say more beautiful than hot, but uh…” While waiting for the earth to swallow her whole, she finally spotted the crypt that housed the desiccated original. “We’re here.” It seemed all the fun was sucked out of the air as the two stared at the door that held rusted chains and a single lock. 

Elena and Caroline looked at eachother then looked back at the door. The witch held her hands out in front of her body. “Dissero.” The lock and chains fell into the muddy ground with a slight thunk. Then with a flick of two fingers, the doppelganger witch opened the door with magic.

The two walked in to see a coffin placed in the middle of the room. El then flicked her fingers again to open the lid. And it stands to reason, seeing it on youtube and seeing it in real life was incredibly different. 

“Oh, my god.” Caroline muttered before turning away.

“There is no god.” Elena whispered before moving the lapel of the jacket that Mikael was wearing, careful not to place her arm in biting distance. 

“Elena!” Caroline eye’s wided. “What are you doing?”

El pulled out Mikael’s white oak stake. “I need the stake so I can kill him.” 

“Kill him?” It took a second for the blonde to process the words. “We’re killing him!”

“Not we.” El corrected her as she pulled a camera and tupperware container. “Me. You are going to wait outside while I shoved this into the heart of an abusive asswhole.”

Caroline tried to reason with her. “El, think this through. If you do this-”

“I did think this through.” The brunette told her gently. “This man's ashes is the key to your survival. To Jenna’s, Jermey’s, Dasher’s, the Mikaelson’s, Bonnie’s, and everyone else in Mystic Falls. Caroline.” El then grabbed Caroline's hand. “He needs to die.”

Eyes of uncertainty stared into eyes of determination. Realizing that she wasn’t going to talk her friend out of this, she gave in. “Fine. What do you need me to do?”

El gave her friend a smile while answering her question. “I need you to stay outside, be the lookout. We can’t have anyone knowing what we are doing.”

Caroline nodded, looking determined she began to walk out then stopped. “Wait, what am I supposed to do If I see someone coming?”

The doppelganger reached behind her and pulled out a knife from her waistband, giving it to the blonde. “If you see someone use your foot to kick the door, I should be able to hear you.”

“And the knife?” Caroline took it out of her hands.

“It’s soaked in vervain.” Elena answered. “You do the math.”

“Should I be concerned that I’m not questioning this” Caroline asked.

The burnette shrugged. “Probably, but we don’t have time to question if you should.”

“Fair enough.” Caroline then walked out, ready to shout if anything showed. 

Once Elena was alone she picked up the stake and camera she sat on the ground. Turning the device on, while holding it up to show her face. “Hello, Niklaus. My name is Jamie, but you already know that. And this-” She flipped it to show the corpse. “Is Mikael. Say Hi.” She paused like he could speak. “Oh, right. You can’t. Anyways, now you can finally rest knowing that he can’t hurt you anymore.” 

El then muttered a spell. “Φλοτέρ” The camera began to float in mid-air. A slight giggle left the dopplegangers lips as it turned around to show El standing over Mikael. “Yes I am a witch. It’s complicated.” She addresses the camera before turning back to the dessicated corpse. “Now on to you.” She twirled the stake in her hand. “I never thought I would have to kill someone, but if it’s any consolation.” She leaned down to whisper. “No one is gonna miss you.” Elena placed the stake right over Mikael’s heart. “Goodbye Mikael. I’ll see you in hell.” 

Flames overtook his body not even a minute later.

—-------

The sun had set hours ago; the moon had taken its place and Elena was doing homework that she pushed off till the last minute. Groaning, El pushed the chemistry book away and began to stretch her arms. She placed her feet on the carpet and began tip-toeing out of the bedroom to get some water from the kitchen. 

Pulling a glass from the cabinet she then brought it to the fridges waterspout, when the hairs on her neck stood up. El’s brows furrowed. Slowly feeling her neck with her free hand, head shifted slightly when she felt a breeze go past. 

Not wanting to notify the intruder that the witch had caught them. El took a sip of her water then gently placed it on the counter. “Mot-” she began to say but was caught off when she was slammed against the wall of the kitchen. Elena’s sight took a second to come back because of the impact, but what she saw was something that could only be described as Jamie Parker’s worst nightmare. “Mikael?” 

Suddenly feeling the Original squeezing her neck, he spoke. “Hello Doppelganger.”  

“But I killed you! You burned!” El wheezed out. Any magical instinct was thrown out of the widow when she saw him.

Mikael leaned forward to where their noses almost touched. “You did.” He spat. “Let me return the favor.” The Original Vampire Hunter thrusted his hand into the Doppelganger Witch’s chest and-

El shot up in bed grabbing her chest with a breath like scream. Eye’s rapidly moving back and forth to grasp her surroundings. Once Elena saw the same mold filled walls of the motel in Charlotte, she focused on getting her breath back to normal. Shoving off the covers she sat on the edge of the bed. Hands in her hair with sweat dripping down her forehead, Jamie had never felt such terror. Such panic at the mere thought of him being alive. It made her stomach twist. 

“El?” The tired voice of Caroline could be heard. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Care.” Her voice said otherwise. “Go back to bed.”

The blonde pushed herself up a little. “No you’re not. What happened?”

Caroline touched Elena’s arm, but the brunette moved it out of reach. “Nothing happened. Now please, go back to bed.”

But the human wasn’t having it. “Was it a nightmare?”

“Caroline-”

“It’s not something to be ashamed of.” Caroline cut her off. “You killed someone, you’re bound to get a few.” She then moved to lay down, opening her arms up. “Come here.”

El turned her head to look at the blonde. “What?”

“Mom told me when I was younger that ‘cuddles scare away the bad dreams’, so come here.”

“No, I’m fine. I sw-”

“Get your cute ass over here or I burn your grimoire.”

With a small sigh, El moved her body in Caroline’s arms. The tightness in her body began to relax when she felt the blonde’s hand move up and down her arms. And with her head tucked under Care’s chin, sleep took El rather quickly.

—-------

Only two spells that I came up with in this chapter.

Δύναμη εκατό ανδρών, έπεσε με, which roughly translates to “Strength of a hundred men, befall to me.” The spell used was to make El stronger than Stefan.

Φλοτέρ, which literally translates to “Float.” It was to make the camera float in the air as she killed Mikael.

What do you guys think of this chapter? Anything I need to improve on? Besides having an updating schedule. 

-DA