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The house was run down, faded paint and drains filled with leaves, making them leak slightly over the veranda. Looking around, the rest of the street was pretty empty, the other houses dark since it was the middle of the day, any residences probably at work.

"It's a miracle we found the place," Enzo pulled a face, "Every other street in this blasted city is Peachtree."

Caroline picked up some letters in front of the door, "These look old."

"Like, four months old," MJ held up one of them, a bank statement.

It was dated inside, so she'd opened it.

"MJ," Caroline gave her a look, "That's illegal."

"So is killing the dude."

Enzo tugged on the handle, but it didn't budge, "Seventy years in a cage, you'd think I'd have learnt to pick a lock by now."

MJ nodded in agreement, watching as he crushed the handle, fighting off a giddy grin since she'd still never get over seeing super strength used outside of fighting. It was hot. It wasn't her fault.

He pushed the door open.

"You do know," MJ patted him on the shoulder, "I could've just unlocked that."

"But then I wouldn't get to show off."

She lingered on his face again.

Focus.

She looked into the house, faded reddish-brown streaks across the floor that were probably blood, someone sitting in a room at the end of the corridor, upright, like she was in a trance. Red hair, and her eyes were milky white — a witch.

Caroline tried to walk in but couldn't pass.

Neither could Enzo.

"She must own the house," Caroline frowned.

"Not for long," Enzo tossed the doorknob up and fired it forward, MJ's hand lifting just in time to stop it from smashing through her skull.

"Hold up," MJ summoned it back to them, "She's a lead in case Tom isn't here."

"But we can't get in – "

MJ easily stepped over the threshold, "You can't get in."

A wink, and she headed to the living room.

All the lights were off, and the furniture seemed right out of House on the Prairie, or, at least, a few decades old since the TV was more like a massive grey box in the corner.

There were also mountains of candles everywhere.

MJ snapped her fingers, forcing the woman out of her trance. The witches head turned towards her, and then her eyes open.

"Hi," MJ offered her a hand, wanting to do a reading, "MJ Ruiz."

The witch shot up, sending MJ flying back.

She hit the wall next to the door and groaned, "That's no way to treat a guest."

"You are not welcome here."

"I'm not here for a fight," MJ pushed her palms towards her, then down, bringing her to the floor, "I'm here for Tom Avery."

The woman was trying to cast a spell and failing as MJ moved her left hand back and forth, messing with her concentration.

"If you tell me why you're here, you'll walk away from this alive."

"I – I can't let you kill him."

"Why not?"

"If he's dead, The Travellers win."

MJ paused, "Are you a Floare?"

The woman's eyes widened at that question.

"Are you?"

"Ruiz?" The woman shifted, "As in Ana Flaore-Ruiz?"

"...Yes."

The witch stopped fighting back, and MJ released the spell.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Hazel."

"Love," Enzo spoke from the door, "We don't have all day."

Caroline was just staring at the witch, trying not to look uncomfortable.

"You're a Floare?" MJ repeated, "Trying to stop The Traveller's from breaking the curse?"

"I'm a member of the Gemini Coven. We're trying to protect magic."

"Vague statement," MJ crossed her arms, "What's going on?"

"What's going on," Enzo growled, "Is that we need to find Tom."

Caroline glared at him, "Shut up."

"If you're a Floare, why are you helping the Travellers," Hazel stuck her chin up, "Especially if you're related to Ana Ruiz. She was their biggest advisory."

"She was a teenager sick of people dying, not the chosen one."

That was a complete misconception people seemed to have.

"And I'm not helping them. I'm on a quest so I can find out what's actually going on and react appropriately."

Her brother's declaration that nobody other than Tom needed to die felt too good to be true, and if she was going to trust Ryos, she needed to get secondary sources.

"What does the doppelgänger blood actually do?" Her first question.

"It – "

Before the sentence was over, the doorknob had smashed through her head.

MJ turned on her heel, "Why did you do that?"

"You were stalling," Enzo said simply.

"No!" Caroline yelled at him, "She was being smart! That witch was our only lead!"

"And I am a murderous vampire," He put his arms out, "Surprise!"

He stepped through the door.

"I hate doing this!" MJ grumbled, crouching down and putting her hand's on Hazel's head, "This is not fun for me."

Enzo frowned, "What are you doing?"

"She's fixing your mistake," Caroline stepped inside too, "By searching her mind."

"The family drama can sort itself out later," Enzo said bluntly, "I don't see why you're mad. I'm only doing what's necessary to save your friend because you won't."

Caroline put a hand on her hip, "You don't think that I'm up for this?"

"'This' being the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man?" Enzo stepped closer to her, "You can hardly say the word. How do you expect to actually do it?"

"I'm sorry," Caroline snapped, "Is this all supposed to be easy?"

They were getting in each other's faces.

"You barely know me, so let me reintroduce myself. Hi, my name is Caroline Forbes, and I am a good vampire. I don't just go around killing people!"

"You've got me all wrong, Caroline Forbes."

The way he said her name made his voice sound even hotter.

"I'm not judging you. I'm preparing you."

"Can you two please let me concentrate?" MJ needed him to stop talking.

She needed to act like he wasn't the person in the house with her.

She went back to Hazel's, and after a moment of silence, Enzo had crept even closer to Caroline, lowering his voice, which was less than ideal for her concentration.

"I've seen soldiers – men trained to kill, look their enemy in the eye and freeze up on the battlefield," He had been an army guy, "A hesitation that usually costs them their lives."

"Well, last time I checked, this isn't war, and I'm not a soldier," Caroline took a breath, "But Stefan is one of the best people I know, and when it comes to saving his life? I will do just about anything – "

She paused, listening.

"What's that sound?"

Enzo pointed to a doorway, "The tell-tale heart."

MJ opened her eyes, standing up to follow them, knowing Caroline would need her there.

The basement had spiderwebs covering it, the staircase railing splintering and shaking – but in the centre of the room was a comatose Stefan.

Tom Avery.

"Why would a witch go to such lengths to keep a man alive and off the grid for four months?" Enzo asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" MJ gave him an irritated look.

"You find out?"

"I have ideas."

Hazel's head hadn't been the most helpful.

She was more a foot soldier, doing a job because she had faith in the people who'd told her to do it.

"Four months ago, Silas died..." Caroline commented, then realised Enzo didn't know what that meant, "The original Stefan-gänger."

"Which means no more doppelgängers," MJ repeated what she said at the camp.

They were all just staring at Tom's face.

"He's a dead ringer, all right," Enzo said, unhelpfully, "Or rather, soon to be dead."

Caroline leant forward, waving her hand over his head, then shaking him slightly.

"Tom?" She was testing to see if he was asleep or fully out of it, "Tom Avery?"

"Caroline," Enzo put a kind hand on her shoulder, "Let me do this. Just walk away now, go upstairs..."

"No."

"I made the deal," MJ reminded her, "This is on me."

"I want to do it."

"Because you just can't stand the thought of putting Stefan's life into anyone's hands but your own," Enzo sounded almost bored by the situation.

Caroline did care about Stefan a lot...

She put a hand on Tom's throat, and MJ swallowed nervously.

There was no way Caroline was going to actually do it; MJ didn't need to be worried.

She just needed to focus on Enzo.

As Caroline strangled, Tom started to wake up.

"What's happening?" He yanked on a tube running into his arm, "Who are you people?"

"We're angels, mate," Enzo nodded, "Come to deliver you to the sweet hereafter."

"Calm down," Caroline caught his eye, "You can trust me."

"Bonding with him will only make it harder on you."

"Let me do this my way," She looked back to Tom, turning so her eyes meant MJ's first, "I'm your friend, and you mean the world to me...Do you trust me?"

"Of course," Stefan's voice.

It was jarring, and MJ didn't like it.

"Good. Now, I promise, you won't feel a thing."

MJ snapped Enzo's neck with a flick of the wrist.

Caroline relaxed, "Thank you."

"He won't be down forever. We need to go."

Caroline pulled Tom up.

He looked between the pair of them, "What's going on?"

"We're getting you out of here."

~***~

They found a different diner, getting some food in Tom considering he was stick-thin after spending four months plugged into a machine – and because they needed to question him before they made a choice. He was looking around as they walked through the door, reading a newspaper they'd gotten him while Caroline and MJ talked.

"Hazel's head?"

"The doppelgängers aren't just about breaking the curse. There's something about them that's tied to a spell focused on ancestral magic – Hazel didn't know the specifics, but that's fine. I do."

"You do?"

"The Traveller I met last year told me about a spell to wipe out magic using doppelgängers. My brother also told me about it..."

"So you think Ryos is lying to you about why he's here?"

"You could hear his heartbeat, you tell me?"

"It was changing the usual amount. Like hitches in nerves, calming within proximity. Unchanging would've been suspicious, and jumping completely would've been too."

Which read as 'honest.'

Tom sat down, taking a menu and ordering while they paused by the door, watching out for Enzo.

MJ thought about it, "...Maybe he's being played?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone connected to this seems to know my mum," She felt her mood drop, "People hear Ruiz – they go straight to her..."

In New Orleans, it happened for a different reason, but still.

"I used to be cautious before confirming we were related because of the siphoner stuff, but Ryos is a first child. He has no reason to hide his heritage."

"So you think the Travellers might've gone looking for him and spun him some story?"

"Markos was the name he gave for the leader, right?"

Caroline nodded.

"Markos has been dead since the 5th Century."

If Antoni was a trustworthy source of information.

"A group of people tried to raise him from the dead," MJ repeated, "How many times have we dealt with the dead manipulating the living?"

Mind screaming 'Ether.'

"I found Qetisyah by accident because she was reaching out."

"And this matters to today because?"

"Just...let me ramble," MJ fidgeted, "There's a possibility we're incredibly distantly related."

Which would technically make her incredibly distantly related to Bonnie.

"I'd need to see a family tree."

"You think that might be how she found you?"

"I...I don't know," She thought about how to explain it, "Random spirits found me all the time growing up – random being the keyword. They're not usually trying to find me either."

Sure, sometimes they were, but it was usually unintentional. 

"But, for some reason, that day in Italy, she was reaching out. Answering a summoning wasn't random – answering mine was."

Lots of ghosty wires had gotten mixed during that trip to Italy.

"Qetsiyah had a family who defected from the Travellers – some before it all went down, some after. That's how we get to the Bennett's. They're not Travellers, but they're her descendants."

"So, for all you know, some of those family members might have joined a different Floare troupe that led to you."

She nodded.

"Or, some who returned to the Travellers."

"If Qetisyah is somehow distantly related to me, there's nothing to say there aren't other Travellers and Floare who are also related to me – and, not just me."

"Ryos."

"Exactly."

Obviously, they had ancestry in the Floare because of their mum. Still, they'd never really had to learn about them the way ancestral witches did. Their separate afterlife created less of a need for the knowledge.

Everyone had access to all the dead.

The specific family line didn't matter; only the living family line did – hence their sibling bond through magic.

"Whenever I mess around with spirits or large spells, Ryos knows. He'll start to see ghosts too."

Caroline hadn't known about that.

"I ran into Ryos the first time I spoke to Qetisyah – what if I only found her because he was in town doing stuff?"

"Because this Markos spirit had drawn him there?"

"If Ryos was summoning our Floare, and potentially Traveller, Ancestry, it might explain why Qetsiyah happened to be calling out. She was calling out for him, but she found me."

Qetsiyah had told her she'd expected a descendent that day.

"He was visiting a Traveller Orphanage, and there are photos of him acting like family to those kids," She tried not to sound butthurt, "New theory. He went to Italy. He summoned ancestors, drawing on our line, and I happened to be in town too, doing the same thing elsewhere – thus, Qetisyah 'randomly' finds me."

She took a moment to process the theory in her head.

"Ryos said a guy on his Uni Course showed him the bad of the curse. It was his family that ran the orphanage."

"And you think this guy targeted your brother?"

"Maybe," MJ didn't sound confident, "Every Floare seems to know my mum had two of the stones. The Travellers must've too."

But no one had dared hunt her down because she was 'Ana Ruiz.'

History basically made it seem like trying to get the stones off her was a death sentence, even if MJ knew the murders were somewhat accidental at the start.

"But, there's nothing to stop people from trying to find her children."

Especially since they were both adults, able to go off and do their own things.

"They find him, they plead to the part of him that likes to help people – they say helping them means I'm off the hook, then they seal the deal by offering him more family."

If Ryos was anything like MJ, playing on the idea of gaining family was definitely a way to go.

"Showing him his family history, and telling him to find some spirit from the 5th Century – Markos. Markos then whispers crap in his ear from beyond the grave. Setting him tasks about doppelgangers, but lying about why he needs them dead."

"So we keep Tom alive?"

"That's what Hazel was doing," She admitted, "You stop The Travellers by keeping more than one doppelgänger alive – or making it so no doppelgängers are alive. But..."

"But?"

"There wasn't a single thing about breaking the Traveller's Curse in Hazel's head. It was all stuff to do with The Other Side, the anchor, and magic."

"Which means, Ryos might genuinely be trying to help them – and you, by breaking it some other way," Caroline considered it, "But they have some secret second agenda going on?"

The point of MJ's ramble about family and ghost manipulation.

"Exactly," MJ hated it, "I have no idea what we're supposed to do."

"We talk to him," Caroline looked to the table, "We see the type of person he is, and we go from there."

MJ could work with that, "Okay,"

"What does wiping out magic even mean?"

"No idea. If it means full-on removing it, you've got to think vampires would drop dead, witches too, maybe?"

"So, not something we want."

"Not if it's a worldwide thing."

The food started to arrive, so Caroline and MJ returned to the table, taking a few things to eat themselves but mainly watching Tom stuff his face. He explained his story while they filled him in on who they were and why they were there.

He'd been a paramedic, and a woman had come up to him after a long day, claiming to be the friend of the woman he'd saved from a car crash, asking him out.

"Hazel seemed nice, so you know, I figured, uh, why not have dinner?" He rushed the story, "I showered, picked her up, and that was it – that was the last thing I remember from the last four months."

"She kidnapped you," MJ explained, "Locked you up ever since and hid you away from anyone that knew magic."

"Like you said, she was a real...witch," Tom had been incredibly accepting of every detail MJ and Caroline had told him, but that was his polite way of calling her something else, making MJ smile.

Caroline nodded, "Yeah."

"I don't know why I'm telling you my whole life's story."

"It's because I compelled you to," Caroline sounded nervous, "And to stay calm and not worry."

"Hmm. Why do you want to know so much about me?" Tom had genuinely been telling them a lot of things.

From school experiences to habits with friends and what he thought of certain sports teams.

"We just want to make sure you're a good guy," She summed up.

"No skeletons in the closet," MJ looked at her hands, "That sort of thing."

"And?"

"And..." Caroline looked to MJ, "You are just about one of the nicest people I've ever met."

"Very decent."

It was Stefan's face.

Human Stefan.

Their human Stefan had wanted to be a doctor too. He'd trained to be one.

"Well, likewise," He smiled at them, "Because I do remember you saving my life."

MJ had basically spent the day seeing double, and she had to admit that it was really starting to get to her.

- A Stefan who wasn't cursed by bloodlust or temperamental older brothers.

- An Enzo that just radiated familiar energy but never truly hitting the mark she needed.

- A guy wearing the fact of the brother she'd loved growing up, completely untrustworthy.

Doubles.

"So, if there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know."

Caroline smiled back at him, and MJ very much noticed the heart eyes she seemed to have. She was used to Caroline sometimes looking at her like that, but seeing them towards Stefan was new.

Suddenly something changed on Caroline's face.

"Care?" MJ nudged her, and she seemed to wake up.

"Ugh. Em," Her friend shook her head, "What we need from you isn't something I can take."

Caroline had been thinking about whether or not she could kill him...

"Care," MJ rubbed her friend's arm, "It's okay. We'll get Stefan out of there too."

"I don't understand," Tom frowned.

"You don't have to," She tried to keep her face friendly.

"You just remind me of someone really important to me," Caroline looked like she wanted to take his hand.

"Well, he's one hell of a lucky guy."

"Yeah," Caroline sat forward, compelling him again, "So are you...Ater this, you are going to get on a train, ride until you find a place you like; meet a pretty girl; settle down; and be happy for the rest of your long, long life."

She sat back, and Tom started eating again like nothing had happened.

"Just go easy on the carbs," Caroline said lightly, "They're a killer."

They finished the food, paying quickly, then got Tom out of sight.

While MJ had handled the check, Caroline had gone snooping to get a car since that was a little safer than ferrying him onto a train instantly.

She'd found one in an underground parking lot.

MJ got Tom to sit on the bonnet while she worked.

"You're a witch too, then?" Tom watched her mix a collection of things from her travel pack.

"Yep," She smiled at his interest, "And what I'm doing will keep you cloaked, without the coma."

"How?"

"I'm playing with the magic in your body."

"There's magic in my body?"

"Well," MJ thought about it, tapping two tiny drops of cranberry extract into a small cup, "All humans have some trace of magic, just not enough to make them witches. You're more of a rare item – a collector's edition trading card. That's the bit I'm messing with."

She closed her eyes.

"Cotal Ats Ate," She swirled the cup, "Cotal Ats Ate."

Her fingers glowed softly.

"Cotal Ats Ate."

The spell was finished.

She handed it to him, "It'll protect your head from mind-linking tracking spells and cloak your essence. Make it seem like you're dead."

He looked at it cautiously.

"I promise you, it's safe. Just protection magic."

Caroline lent on her shoulders, "MJ's a pretty powerful witch."

"I saw you put dust in this," Tom took it.

"A sprinkling of enchanted sand from Spain," MJ clarified, pointing to the pot on the car, "You won't taste it; it's dissolved."

"And all the other stuff."

"A few herbs from Europe, special water from Egypt, and then a spell I wrote myself."

He took a breath, then drank it.

He looked around like he expected to pass out.

He just saw a momentary glow travel up his arms before vanishing, "Wow."

"And now you're safe."

"Okay...well...thanks again," He handed the cup back, "I don't think I've ever eaten so much in my life."

"Yeah," Caroline teased, "I don't think anyone has."

There was a rush, then a neck snap.

"Then I suppose it was a fitting last supper," Enzo was behind him.

"No!" Caroline caught Tom's body.

MJ slammed her hand onto the car hood, "Why the hell did you do that?!"

"Because you aren't the only ones that cut a deal to save someone's life," Enzo revealed, "That old flame I mentioned – Maggie? The Travellers claim they know where to find her."

"Well, if she's anything like me," Caroline lowered Tom gently to the floor, "She just lost all respect for you."

MJ couldn't look away.

It was Stefan's dead body.

Her heart jumped.

"I'll earn her forgiveness in time," His mood did drop at the possibility Caroline was right, but then he said the important bit, "Because unlike you, Caroline, I'm willing to do whatever it takes for the people I love."

Stefan.

Stefan's dead body was right in front of her.

MJ was moving her fingers to stop them from trembling.

"The Travellers moved to some junk yard outside Mystic Falls," Enzo updated, "Feel free to tell Stefan you're the one who saved his life."

Enzo left them to have one final moment with the body.

His eyes were open, frozen in a state of security. A false sense of security because he'd put his faith in MJ and Caroline.

He'd put his faith in her, and they'd let him down.

It was Stefan's face staring at her, and every detail of its lifeless expression was burning into her memory.

~***~

"This is ridiculous!" MJ was yelling at her brother in one of the tents at the new location.

She'd let Caroline go to find Stefan.

She knew herself well enough to know she couldn't look at him after seeing a dead version of him. She needed a bit to breathe and distance herself from the situation so she could accept it.

"Enzo did what we needed him to."

"We?" MJ snarled, "As in me and you, or you and The Travellers?"

"Can you please stop shouting at me like I'm the enemy?"

"I – " She forced herself to reset, "What are you doing here, Ryos?"

"I'm – "

"Honestly."

He came towards her, a hand going on her arm, "I'm here to make sure you get to live."

Silence.

"I would quite like my little sister to live past young adulthood, so I'm here, and I'm helping The Travellers despite the history. Because I don't have a choice."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've got too loud, MJ."

"I repeat – what are you – "

"A Floare Siphoner going around the world, checking in with troupes and fixing old magic spots?" He listed, "That kind of news spreads – someone in Spain said he met MiMi Pasare and that she siphoned a spell!"

MJ hadn't thought about the guy who'd caught her in Cádiz since she left.

"Siphoner news always spreads like wildfire."

The guy in Portland people liked to reference.

"Combine that with the fact people want to know about Originals and Hybrids, and suddenly you have people searching for you, ready to kill you."

"I'm aware," She growled, "The Witch Doctor Deadpool told me as much months before I went on my summer tour. The summer has nothing to do with any of this."

"Except I shut that down!"

She stilled.

"The summer meant others popped up. Ones I don't control."

"...You control?"

"God's MJ – I run the Witch Doctor Website."

Part two of 'MJ feels like an absolute idiot!'

"Think about the email," He softened his tone.

"It's the Spanish word for the phrase."

"Something mum called me after I won my first Bio Prize when we were little. You were her little bird, and I was her little witch-doctor."

Her eyes closed.

"Did you not think that it was a massive co-incidence that the day after I found out you were MiMi Pasare, the betting pool shut down?"

"There never should've been a betting pool to begin with!"

He sighed.

"Have you set those up for other people?"

"I usually rig them."

She was trying not to explode.

"I find the person first, help them disappear, so they don't get hurt, then claim the cash."

"And why should I believe that they're not just dead?"

"Because Antoni was one of them – if you still have his number, text him and ask!"

That was some form of relief.

Then, something that kinda made her mad again, eyes opening.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you were more honest with the Witch Doctor than you were with me."

"Ry - "

"You went to him about The Originals, and about doppelgängers, and about learning magic to keep you safe from the hybrid post-sacrifice."

For the past two years, her brother had been the one teaching her the tricks to get stronger.

MJ was rubbing her face.

Katherine had mentioned that the site had added an Originals Tracking Map. One that documented their movements in the past, as well as the present – Ryos had sent her an interactive map of Klaus and Kol's killing sprees the morning of Carol's death.

The maps didn't look the same, so she hadn't clicked, but they had almost the exact same information available, so she should've.

"You clearly listened to his advice, while you never listen to mine."

"You lying son of a bitch."

"MiMi – "

"That sites been running for years. You said you didn't practise magic until a year or two back."

"You don't have to practise magic to know about the supernatural world!" He sounded as exhausted as she felt, "I've run into so many people, and we all exchange stories and information."

...Slater had been a vampire version of it.

You didn't need magic to know everything about the supernatural world – magic just made keeping on top of it all easier.

"You sent me a faulty magic book."

He looked confused, "No, I didn't."

"You did," She fumed.

"I sent you protective potions, rune making sheets, and ways to enhance weaponry in between your Junior and Senior Year. I sent you links during the Silas stuff, and I sent you a book on dark symbols, then resurrection this summer."

Completely true – and considering the witch doctor was the only person who knew she'd ordered all of those things, it cemented his identity.

"They're all legit – I know, because I never let any of the other people who help with the website touch any of the emails you sent. Everything you got was handpicked by me."

Either Ryos was lying to her, or Kol was.

Kol could've lied because he knew how risky resurrection was, stalling her until she gave up – except he'd been so helpful the rest of the time that it wouldn't make sense for him to have shut down that one book without reason.

"The resurrection book," She called out, "It corrupts the user."

He laughed, "No, it doesn't."

"Well, it's not safe for use."

"It's safe for use," He started to relax, "As long as you don't change the spells."

Which was what she would've had to do.

"I didn't want you messing around with real resurrection, so I sent you a book with half-finished spells or spells that wouldn't work on anything other than animals."

Forcing her to rewrite for Kol.

"It was created by a coven of witches with a sketchy past – but a lot of power. Those are the type of witches who make Grimoires filled with resurrection spells."

She wanted to strangle him.

"You shouldn't be resurrecting things, and I didn't understand why you'd want to – considering you'd just told me mum found peace, i.e. no more spirit to bring back."

Pointed look at her.

"Until I knew your reasons, I wanted you wasting your time rather than playing around with magic that usually ends with death."

"Ryos!" MJ shot her hands out, "There are time limits on most revival spells – you wasted July to October for me!"

"You're the one wasting stuff, MiMi!"

"I – "

"Wasting your powers on bringing back an Original!" He was the louder voice, "Wasting your time on that family."

She stilled at the fact he'd so easily seen through her.

None of her friends had clicked that the odd asides about her talking to Kol might result in her bringing him back, yet Ryos had clearly clicked instantly – once he knew they'd been together.

"An Original Vampire is not worth dying for."

"If you'd given me a real book, I won't die!"

"There's no guarantee of that," He pleaded, "Do you not get that my one goal here is keeping you alive?"

"You say, in the middle of a camp filled with people who want me dead!"

"Who I've given an alternative to!"

They were arguing in circles.

MJ counted to ten in her head, picking her questions carefully.

"Using doppelgänger blood?"

"And that's all."

"Is that all you're doing? Breaking their curse?"

"Yes."

Did she tell him about the witch and the fact she thought The Travellers were trying to wipe magic out?

"The Travellers like me, so they're rolling with it, but having you around isn't smart," He changed his tone to caring, "It makes it seem like their freedom is right there, but they're not taking it."

"I'll..."

"You'll let me do my thing," He finished, "Because you know I just want the best for you. So you can be happy and safe."

She just hated everything.

"I'm in New Orleans full-time," MJ murmured, "I didn't find out about dad because I popped in for a short visit. I...I moved back."

He nodded slowly, "I assumed."

"I have an apartment...I'm somewhat friends with Marcel..."

"You are?"

"I got the whole story."

"You did?" He shifted, "You mean...about how Treme...you know?"

"About how you gave the Treme the Floare book?"

"I didn't give them the book," He defended, "I gave them spell pages from earlier in the book."

MJ had deliberately been vague to see what his response would be.

Agnes's mind had shown her that Ryos would've been forced into doing the sacrifice for them or potentially killed alongside her; that he hadn't handed any books over to her.

She'd wanted to see if he'd given them to other people who'd given them to the French Quarter.

"Some other witches then used the pages to summon the spellbook."

"Mum charmed them so only family could access them."

"Family blood," Ryos corrected, "You never tried to open them."

True.

"You needed to put some blood on it."

"And you gave them blood to?"

"Why do you think I quit?" His eyes were dark, "I didn't give them anything other than spell pages. Everything else was out of my control."

"Which means?"

"It doesn't matter, MiMi!"

"It does!"

"How do you get blood off someone who isn't willing to bleed for you?"

Silence.

She could answer the question.

At some point, he'd been attacked. That was how they'd gotten into the book.

"The second it happened, I told mum – she already knew, and we stole everything back together."

But they'd still ended up with it again.

"Wanna continue making me feel worse about it? That I wasn't strong enough to keep anyone safe back then?"

"No," MJ shook her head, falling onto one of the floor seats in the tent, "You were a kid, and you wanted a coven. And they used that."

He went to say something, then changed his mind.

"Ryos?"

"I did want a coven, but I never wanted you to die."

She just nodded.

"MJ – "

"Like I said, Ryos, don't even worry about it," She didn't blame him, "Our mum started fires. She went to Marcel and basically told him she was going to get herself killed."

Because that was the clear and obvious solution – note the sarcasm.

"They had a plan where he would get our family out of town, but it went wrong, and he ended up killing her."

He rolled his eyes, "'Ended up killing her.'"

"He's actually a pretty decent guy."

"MJ," He joined her on the floor, "Please tell me you're not that naïve?"

"Hm?"

"What is it with you and vampires?"

She didn't know what to say to that.

"The Originals? That Damon Salvatore guy? Now Marcel?" He looked disgusted, "Why do you let them play you?

"They're not playing me."

"They are!"

"Ryos – "

"You're a powerful witch. That makes you a weapon to them. For them."

She looked down.

"To me, you'll always be my tiny little sister who needs to be carried home sometimes."

She still felt like that little kid a lot of the time.

"Who gets paint everywhere, and who plays the violin at stupid hours in the morning," He messed up her hair as she crosses her legs, making herself smaller, "But they just see the witch you've grown into. And they're gonna tell you exactly what you wanna hear to get you to their side."

"I..."

How did she know that wasn't exactly what he was doing?

"MiMi," He tapped his hands on his knees, "You're a blank canvas."

"What are you talking about?"

"As a siphoner, you're supposed to end up messy and chaotic – and psychotic. As someone that has known you your entire life, I know your not that."

She almost smiled.

"But sometimes it seems like you might become it."

Her heart sank.

"When you'd get your nightmares and start babbling about all the voices in your head. When you lie to me about safety nowadays. When you do drastic amounts of magic - spells you shouldn't perform on your own because you've siphoned someone, and we both end up seeing spirits."

The other thing she probably needed to talk to him about.

"It's not healthy."

A phrase she'd heard a few too many times recently – especially concerning ghosts.

"And those vampires? They are going to push you down that path."

MJ really thought about each word.

"The legacy you're living with thanks to our mum? Thanks to a curse you were born with? It all wants you to lose control and be a monster. And you border losing control so often – and – and I don't want that for you!"

Ryos was trying to get her to look up and meet his eyes.

His warm and familiar eyes.

"So I'm going to be a little harsh on you when you get emotional. I'm gonna tell you off and give it to you straight when you make bad choices."

Which she constantly seemed to do.

"And I'm going to stop The Travellers Curse, so you no longer have to live in fear of them trying to kill you."

MJ closed her eyes and swallowed.

He reached forward to rub her shoulder, but she just stood up.

"I am living with a legacy," Her eyes opened, "But guess what? It doesn't matter."

She'd listened to him give her that same speed too many times.

"You're right! I'm your little sister!"

For once, she needed him to hear her.

"I'm your sister, not a monster – and I'm not cursed."

There was no need to yell, so she didn't—words firm, not loud.

"I'm your sister, and I would never hurt you. Not because you're there yelling 'control!' at me – but because I'm in control."

'I don't think you need to learn control. I think you need to learn direction.'

"Because while you were across an ocean helping everyone else," Her hands came to her chest, "I grew up!"

Yet he still looked at her like she was eleven.

"You don't get to comment on my life when you haven't been in it," She thought about the past few years, "I learnt control. On my own. You would know that if you'd actually checked in."

He shifted a little under her look.

"You want to do this? Great. But I don't want you in danger, so if the Travellers have been following you? If this Markos is talking to you – you're the one who's being manipulated. Not me."

"Markos is a Traveller thing," Ryos latched on to the wrong point, "He's dead, and I know that talking to spirits is setting yourself up for betrayal. Enzo clearly didn't eavesdrop properly."

"Doubtful, considering he's a vampire with supernatural hearing."

"And I'm a witch, related to you, who wears silencing runes everywhere."

A quick tug on the collar of his shirt showed her the mark.

"Whoever he heard talking, wasn't me, or to me. Again, it's a Traveller Thing."

MJ thought about something, "Your eyes turned blue the other day – why?"

He slowly stood up too.

"Ryos?"

"It's complicated."

"I went into Wes's head, and blue fire ran up my arms. His viruses had a trace of magic inside. Magic that gave me the same feeling as that blue fire, and then suddenly your eyes glow blue?"

He sighed, "What are you accusing me of now?"

"Don't talk to me like that."

Demeaning was a tone she was tired of hearing.

"I just want to understand why you looked like you were infected with something strange and supernatural."

"My eyes have always done the blue thing, just like your eyes go orange when you take too much power."

"No, they haven't."

"Yes, they have."

Her eyebrows creased, "No. They haven't."

"MiMi, you barely did magic with me growing up. Yes, they have."

Had she just not noticed?

"And whatever was going on with Wes? I didn't know the guy, so what could I have done to him?"

MJ didn't know.

"Anything on his head is Traveller, and I'm not a Traveller. I'm just lending them a hand."

"Okay," She shook her head, "Okay, but the eyes thing..."

"M – "

"My eyes glow because of the siphoning mixed with the necklace – "

"Mum still had the magic in her when she got pregnant with me!"

A moment to process that statement.

Using her mock timeline from the summer and doing the math...

"She was carrying the Floare Power in her body for two and a half years," Ryos rubbed his neck, "And the second she was free of it, she found out she was pregnant. There was an overlap."

"How did you find out?"

"I went on a research quest after the first time I saw a ghost wandering about."

"What does it mean?"

"It just means I'm a little tuned in to Floare Magic."

"More than most people," She had to assume.

"How do you think I knocked two Originals to the floor?"

She'd assumed it had been the bracelet she'd stolen off him.

"It occasionally showed up when we were younger, when I would do things with the Treme."

"Not with mum?"

"Mum didn't teach me anything complex because she labelled me a 'weak first-born.' Now I'm older, it's part of me."

She could accept that answer.

"Anyway..."

"If that's why you see ghosts – why do I?"

He faltered, frowning.

"Did something happen to me growing up?"

For the first time in a long time, Ryos genuinely looked stumped – unprepared on what to say.

"I remember everything kicking in when I was around four," She shuffled slightly, "Did something happen to me that I can't remember?"

"I...I – I don't think so?"

For a second, they were really looking at each other. Like Ryos was trying to put the pieces together in his head.

"I remember when the nightmares started. I remember mum not being bothered about them, so I assumed they were part of the siphoning stuff."

"But our mum is a habitual liar."

Why did everything in MJ's life always have to be so complicated?

"Siphoning?" She pressed, "Why blame that – because it separated us and you didn't hear the whispers?"

"You used to siphon in your sleep when you hadn't drunk your tea before bed, MiMi."

She felt a little embarrassed by the reminder.

"I always assumed doing that gave them a direct line to your thoughts and that once they were in, they were fixed."

MJ really hoped that was the reason.

Even if she was completely fine now, if she had been in some kind of accident when she'd been little...it was just weird to think about. Like, what if she had health conditions she didn't know about because she'd never have access to her real health records?

The one she'd been using since she was eleven had been set up by Ryos when they'd arrived in New York. Only her parents would know if they were accurate.

"Thanks," She exhaled, "That's – that's all I had to ask."

"Thanks for going to Atlanta today...it's nice to see how much you care about the people here."

"Some of them."

"Yeah," He smiled, "Some."

"Um," MJ nodded awkwardly, "I have places to be...?"

"Stay safe."

"Not gonna try and keep me here so I can't be used by vampires?"

"Vampires who want to use you versus witches who will want you dead if I don't get this right?"

She snorted at the blunt summary of the situation.

"Go," Ryos encouraged, "But promise me you'll be smart."

"I'll be smart."

"Get your hands on White Oak if you can. It'll keep you safe, plus," His tone turned cheeky, "Maybe I can kill one of them if you let me near it."

"I don't know where the White Oak is."

"Shame."

As she left the camp, MJ couldn't help but feel watched. She checked in on Stefan and Caroline, and they were lying in the back of one of the hundred truck-cars The Travellers had moved to Mystic Falls, curled up together and asleep. She left them a note to say 'bye' then crept out.

They looked good together.

Stefan's face.

Stefan's face had died, and MJ was right back into her 'I can't lose people' mindset.

She tried not to let The Travellers bother her, but she couldn't.

Her skin just felt like it was crawling under their gaze.

She reached her car, put her hand on the door, took a shaking breath, then felt a pair of eyes that weren't like the others.

"I thought you would've been able to kill him," Enzo commented, standing directly behind her.

Directly.

MJ turned to face him.

Vampires really didn't get the personal space thing.

"Your threats feel more real than Caroline's."

"I was trying to think about the big picture," She patted him on the chest, "And the big picture needed him alive."

He took a step back, "More than Stefan? Because they would've killed him instead."

"I would've found a way to save both."

"So sure of that?"

"I would've."

"You sounded pretty sure when you said you'd keep Tom safe."

She huffed, "What's your purpose right now?"

"You intrigue me."

"Don't you have someone called Maggie to stalk?"

"I do," He nodded, "But I also saw you standing there, and you seemed out of it."

"And?"

"I wanted to see if I could make you jump."

She smiled.

"Or maybe I wanted to see if I could make you smile again, sunshine."

"I'm swooning," She responded dryly.

He became a little tenser, "Are you okay?"

"Why do you care?"

"Like I said, you intrigue me."

"Not good enough."

"You listened to my story. Maybe I'm willing to listen to yours in return."

Her defences went down a little.

"You were the only one close to polite about the situation," His tone was warmer, "And I remember kindness."

"Well, I'm good right now," She rubbed her arms, "Maybe another time."

"Maybe."

She let herself stare one final time.

The dark hair and eyes. Blunt humour, but the smile...

It was sterner.

His entire face was sterner – a squarer draw, a thinner smirk, more suave than troublemaking.

He was more together, too, stiff. Moving more like a weeping angel.

Kol had always been somewhat hyperactive.

"I hope you find your girl, Enzo," She opened the door, "I hope she's old, and wrinkly, and happy, and surrounded by people who love her."

He raised an eyebrow.

"That's what you wanna find, right?" She sat in the driver's seat, "You don't want to find her turned and waiting for you."

His mouth opened a little, shoulders relaxing.

"You want to see that the world rewarded a good person."

After a moment of holding her look, he nodded.

"Your nickname gave you away."

Sunshine, clearly somewhat of a protective attachment to her because she'd been kind.

No one who thought like that would want a loved one to have spent decades suffering on the off chance of seeing them again. As flattering as it would be, and as much as he'd probably enjoy it – he'd want to see her happy just as much as he'd want her to be around to make him happy.

His attitude towards love had only added fuel to her theory.

"See you around."

"You too."

She closed the door and started to drive.

MJ was using Caroline's car since the vampire didn't exactly need it, then she'd get a bus to the airport.

Her things were all at Ric's, so she needed to drive back into Mystic Falls to get them before she could start the drive, and her brain was mentally debating whether or not she should spend the night or start driving instantly. She could feel her heart rate picking up, a sign she should get out of town as soon as possible before she let herself think about anything too hard.

Caroline and Stefan were woken up about twenty minutes after MJ had left, still entangled together and incredibly confused by the chanting outside the tent door. Crawling back to their feet and listening out, voices started to become clear—words of a spell.

"What the hell is that?" Caroline pulled the cloth back.

All of The Travellers were passing around a bowl, taking sips before moving to certain spots around the camping site. There was a massive fire in the centre, blue fire crackling stronger with each voice that joined the chant, blood staining their lips.

The two vampires could smell that it was blood.

"Those buckets," Stefan clicked, "They're drinking my blood, and Elena's."

"Oh my god."

The girl who'd handed the cure over, Ryos had called her Sloan, stuck a torch into the flame, moving it to the man closest to the fire pit, lighting him on fire.

It was a domino effect.

They were all linked together, so one person on fire meant they all went up, some screaming, some keeping the spell up until their faces were completely consumed by the blue flames.

"This is it," Stefan wasn't asking questions; he just wanted out, "Take my hand."

Caroline looked around, trying to spot Ryos, listening out for his voice – but he was nowhere to be found.

With that knowledge, Caroline nodded, and the pair of them sped off into the night before they could get caught in the burning too.

As the group roasted alive, Bonnie was woken up, alone in her dorm room. Elena was still in Mystic Falls, getting in a car to drive back (without Damon), Caroline was with Stefan, and she was alone. Alone until all of The Travellers used in the spell appeared around her, grabbing onto her body. Every touch happened on top of another, overwhelming her until she was left screaming on the floor.

As each one passed through, the pain got worse until she couldn't do anything other than pass out.

With the anchor broken, The Other Side started to collapse, and Markos stepped back to the realm of the living.

~***~

MJ had made it back to Ric's.

Going back hadn't been a smart choice.

She'd walked through the door and been hit with even more memories, and since there was no Caroline to keep her somewhat grounded with her concerned looks, they hit her harder than during the day.

She packed up her things, went to walk out of the door, then stopped.

Her eyes had caught on a chalk pen sitting on the kitchen counter.

Against her better judgement, MJ picked it up, drew her ghost rune on her wrist, activated it, closed her eyes, and reached out.

"I'm really sorry."

The first point she wanted to make.

"Obviously, I trust you more than I trust Ryos, but he's my brother...I don't think I can ever give him up...And suggesting murder with no sympathy was a dick move."

She could make her peace and leave certain people in Mystic Falls behind her. Especially once Kol was back. But family was different.

"Today's been a mess," Her voice caught, "And I somewhat yelled at him."

And she was fighting all her instincts to not feel bad about it – because MJ knew she shouldn't feel bad about it when Ryos was the one who'd spent years being the literal worst.

"And I really need to talk to you right now," She pleaded, "If you're here?"

He said he'd been 'staying' there.

"If that's okay?"

A long breath in, and her eyes opened.

"Kol?"

"Of course that's okay, darling." He was sitting on the counter, unnecessarily close to try and make her jump, "I'm sorry for vanishing."

MJ looked around, "I don't really get the whole pulling back thing?"

Part of her assumed he was still avoiding her.

"But if you're choosing not to let me see you, please stop...Apologising to air feels like not really apologising."

Kol pulled a face, "MJ..."

She looked at the rune.

It was flickering.

"Okay – that's weird," She redrew it and repeated the activation word, "You there?"

"Yes," He jumped off the counter to stand in front of her, "Mira, I'm here."

Kol had been in this situation before, but it had been a power thing.

MJ hadn't had enough magic to get herself to The Other Side. She was a lot stronger after the summer, and even if she hadn't been, the rune didn't work that way. It was a million times safer than the magic circles, and it didn't require group magic – and it should've been working.

The rune faded again, despite the fact she hadn't deactivated it.

"What the hell?" She pulled her notebook out of her bag, checking she'd done it right.

"Try using the stone?" Kol suggested, even though she couldn't hear him.

MJ was already doing that, pulling it out of her pocket and rolling it in her hands while speaking the full spell out loud. The words she'd turned into a rune.

For a moment, her eyes flashed orange.

He focused on her, "Mira?"

She groaned in irritation.

"I really hope that's not your reaction to seeing me," He tried to stay light-hearted.

"Why now?" She complained to the sky, "Why stop working now!?"

Kol started to glance around the room, expecting her to have somehow summoned an ancestor for him to eye-up.

He found something else.

It was like there was a flickering in the corner.

"Um?" MJ exhaled slowly, "I kinda hate this, because, like...It's..."

She was shaking.

Kol turned away from the corner, "Mira."

He came closer to her.

"MJ, I am here. And you just need to tune in because we both know you can."

She was trying, but focusing on the spirit world was making her feel sick.

"Ignore the rune; just tune in."

No response.

"I – " Her eyes shut tightly, turning her head left and right and biting onto her lip as she tried to keep herself together after the long day, "Please?"

His hand came up, touching her face and hoping she somehow felt it, even if she couldn't see him.

"I really need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you too. I was going to  – "

"Get out of my apartment."

Kol jumped back from her.

Alaric Saltzman was the flickering form in the corner – except he wasn't flickering anymore.

He'd settled, walking towards them.

"Well," Kol tilted his head, "I shouldn't be able to see you."

"Get the hell out of my apartment."

Kol rolled his eyes, "I'm trying to help her."

"Whatever," She forced her shoulder back, relaxing, "This is good for me. Spirits are bad for me..."

"Exactly," Ric was glaring at him.

"You're a spirit too."

"And I've been deliberately leaving her alone."

"She asked to talk to me!" Kol defended, "She's clearly upset; She asked for me – and her brother is a liar! She needs - "

"She doesn't need you," Ric did not approve, "She needs family and friends."

MJ had grabbed her car keys, unable to hear the arguing ghosts, heading out of the door without a second glance, shutting them both up by how desperately she was trying to escape the situation.

Her flight wasn't until the morning, but she couldn't sit on her own the entire night.

Not when she was tired and in need of comfort.

Instead of waiting around, she drove to the Lockwood Mansion.

Matt was asleep in his room, Jeremy in another, and MJ knocked softly on Tyler's door rather than going straight to her own. She hadn't even known Jeremy had moved in, but it made sense. Living with his friends was probably a lot more appealing than living with Damon.

Ty was still awake.

"Hey," He greeted groggily, wrapped up in his sheets, laptop open, "Heard you come in. Figured you were just gonna crash."

"Um," She swallowed.

Ty shuffled up, noticing her off mood, "What happened?"

"Nothing too bad," MJ leant on the doorframe, "I just feel like I need a hug."

His arms opened, and she happily took a place in them, happy to see he was in pyjama bottoms, watching a TV show on the screen. Her eyes shut, and he squeezed before letting go a little, one arm still over her shoulder, one pushing so he could sit up.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know what to do about my brother."

Point One.

"I technically saw Stefan's dead body today."

Point Two.

"Every time I look at Enzo, I'm thinking about Kol and - " Her voice cracked, "It makes my heart hurt."

Point Three was an ache spreading from one area in her chest to the rest of it, lungs pressing into her ribs like they were being pumped with high pressure. Slowly, unable to get it over with quickly, stuck just pushing through it.

Ty pulled her closer, so her head rest against his shoulder.

"Care could tell, but like," She wasn't opening her eyes, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"You just wanna say it and be sad?"

There was a difference between saying something and talking about it.

"Kinda."

"Go for it."

"Isn't it unfair to unload this on you?"

"I'd rather hear about your struggles than mine."

"Fair point," MJ managed a light laugh, "It's..."

She took a moment.

"It's been over a year...It was only four months of my life...And I feel kinda pathetic."

There were only so many 'this isn't healthy' talks she could ignore.

"Ric died, and I'm not getting over that, your mum died, and I'm not – I'm miserable about them, but I don't know...I don't call out to Ric because I just think he'd be disappointed in me?"

"Why would he be disappointed in you?"

"The same reason you are."

"I'm not disappointed in you."

That earned him a pointed look, giving in to opening her eyes.

"I'm just not completely psyched about where you live."

MJ accepted that answer more.

"But if you're happy in New Orleans, I can't exactly be mad."

"Thank you."

"For doing the bare minimum of letting you pick what to do with your life?"

And not even giving her that much shit about it.

"Keep talking."

"I don't even know what to say," She blinked, eyelashes catching on tiny tears that hadn't fallen, "Every time I think I'm doing better, something happens to bring me right back down."

Saving Katherine wasn't enough to calm her.

The first death had pushed her to drink to avoid her thoughts – and her 'second' one led to a fight with Kol.

"You are okay," He said softly, "You're allowed to be okay and still need a hug after you've spent two days with a look-a-like."

"That's the thing, though!" MJ shot up a little, "They aren't alike."

"I mean, I've never actually met Enzo. I'm just going off what I've been told."

"Morally corrupt, accent, brown hair, brown eyes – but it's not the same."

His turn to give her a look.

"Personality, stance, experiences," She listed, "like, it really isn't – annoyingly, isn't."

"It's too close to home, but not close enough?"

"Yeah!" MJ sunk in the bed, "Like, I want it to be closer. Because part of my head thinks that'd be good for me – but I also know it wouldn't. If it was closer, I'd start projecting, and that would be so much worse."

Ty didn't know what to say to that.

"Anyway..."

"The stuff with your brother?"

"I can't tell if he's being played, or if he's playing me," Her head leaned left, then right, "If he's honest, I'm being a terrible sister."

"You sticking around to keep an eye on him?"

"No," MJ didn't even hesitate, "I'd drive myself insane with paranoia, and there's a girl back in New Orleans who needs my help."

Tyler could've told her about his day with Liv and learning about the Travellers, but he didn't.

He didn't want to talk about witches trying to kill Elena and Jeremy making a deal with them. Tyler knew that if he told her he was getting involved with everything, she'd stay.

"Wanna sleep in here tonight?"

"If that's cool with you?"

"I mean, I'm in the middle of an episode," He joked, "So you'll have to deal with that."

"Go for it," She snuggled into the pillow, his hand resting on her head.

MJ liked contact with her head, fingers in her hair.

She didn't know why; it just gave her a unique type of comfort that made her feel small in a good way—a safe and protected way. Her brain could just switch off. The energy hybrids carried was part of that. The coolness of vampirism, paired with the healthy wind of the forest in her ears. No spell needed for her to feel peace.

She'd also just missed spending time with Tyler.

Texting wasn't the same. MJ knew he wasn't happy in Mystic Falls but wasn't ready to admit it since he didn't know where he'd go if he did.

Lying with him, she remembered how much comfort she used to find in Ryos arms when she was little.

He'd been a good big brother until he'd started messing around with Treme.

There was just something different now. She felt so much safer around Tyler, but she couldn't quite place why, but a tiny voice in her head was assuring her that she was the problem.

She told the voice to shut it.

She was a person, not a problem.

~***~

MJ was laughing, up bright and early, blasting music in the ballroom area next to the kitchen. She and Ty had the sticks out again, getting in one moment of fun before she had to catch her flight.

She'd woken up first, done some things around the house, then dragged him out of bed as a slight 'time to get your life in gear dumbass' moment.

MJ knew something was properly up with him if he wasn't working out, and reminding him of the familiarity or doing something healthy and active was her last little tick box before she went home.

Jeremy had stormed down the stairs, sleep in his eyes and no shirt on, ready to tackle Tyler through a window for making so much noise until he saw her.

"MJ!"

"Got in after you guys – " MJ ducked, turn, and made an attack back at Ty, "Were already – "

Ty made a move at her legs that she jumped over.

"Asleep."

Jeremy looked to the speaker, then back at them, "Can I tap in?"

"Sure," Ty had his two sticks over his head to block as her two came down, "Who's on whose team?"

"You boys think you can beat me yet?" MJ ducked.

"We know if I was – " Ty just moved back in time before one of the rods could be jammed into his stomach, "Actually try – "

He made a move for her knee.

" – ing, I could win."

"Yeah, yeah. Big boy hybrid," She taunted, twisting, whacking her leg into his knee, then going for the head.

He just about blocked, a satisfying smack of wood filling the room.

She pressed down harder, grinning.

He was smiling right back.

After a second of holding the position, they took a breath and reset, stepping back to get water so Jeremy could get dressed and they could outline the rules.

Jeremy and MJ could hunter-gear-up if Ty was allowed to use super speed – but no super strength, and no shooting him in the face.

Technically they didn't end up picking teams since it was more about being active than winning...

But they were all competitive people.

As it started, Jeremy had turned up the speakers even louder and instantly been jumped by Tyler, only for MJ to use an arrow in the lower area of his back, then summon it back to pull him to the floor.

Jeremy punched him in the face then ducked as MJ fired an arm crossbow that skimmed his shoulder.

Ty spun up, swiping at her feet and knocking her down, but she rolled to the side before he could make a hit with the batons. Kicking up landed a hit on his stomach, pushing him over because Jeremy had fired something into his lower thigh at the same time. MJ jumped back to her feet and picked up a baton in the none equipped hand to lowkey start mock sword fighting Jeremy as Tyler popped up in the middle.

The sticks blocked both of them, sliding down to whack into their wrists and make them falter.

MJ dropped hers on instinct, crying out, while Jeremy just winced.

She used proximity to shoot Ty in the kneecap twice, punching him in the face, a strength and healing rune over her knuckles to stop her from breaking her fingers.

"Cruel!" He groaned.

Jeremy lunged at her as Ty sunk down slightly, but she was just faster, swerving out of his way and slamming her arm out, so his head hit the crossbow, leaving a red mark on his forehead.

She'd also managed to whack the trigger into his head, meaning the attack caused it to fire out to the left, stake driving into the wall.

Just as Matt walked in.

He froze the arrow next to his head in the doorframe.

He blinked.

They all smiled awkwardly back.

MJ waved her hand to stop the background music.

Matt pulled the arrow out, "You all suck."

They started laughing.

"I didn't even get to use speed!" Ty complained, yanking out the arrows and tossing them aside so he could heal.

"Your own fault," Jeremy defended, "Should've dodged."

Matt shook his head, "You woke me up!"

"They woke me up first."

Ty looked at her accusingly.

She put her hands up, "Waffle mix is in the fridge."

They perked up at that.

"It is?" Matt asked.

"Waffle mix, two containers of sauce stuff for pasta, a salad bowl, and a casserole you can heat up."

Unclipped the crossbow, revealed the marks it left behind on her skin.

"Oh! And I put the washing machine on – have you guys used the laundry room in the past, like...ever?"

Silence.

"Because it was a disgusting pile of thrown dirty boys clothes that made my nose close up."

"Love you," Ty smiled cutely.

She shot him again.

Jeremy and Matt cracked up as he crashed into the floor, grabbing at the top of his inner left thigh.

"God! M!" He yanked it out, voice a little broken, "That's worse than the face."

"Love you," She mimicked his tone.

He slowly stood up, chucking it at her loopily, not actually trying to hit her.

"Seriously," MJ gestured out, "I'm messy in my personal space when I'm in magic mode, but this house is too beautiful for any of y'all."

It was a quick tidy up for the three of them, Matt pouring the mix into the waffle machine.

Ty's waffle machine was a deluxe one that could make four at a time, and it stayed on until the mix was out.

MJ had made a lot that morning to accommodate the number of people who'd want waffles, all of them eating around the kitchen island. She was sitting on the counter, Jeremy and Matt leaning on it, Ty using the bar stool.

Matt looked up at her and spoke through the munching, "You know you rock, right?"

"I try."

Her phone alarm went off.

"That means you have to go?" Jeremy assumed.

"It means I need to shower."

They were all sweaty and gross; she and Ty up and active for about an hour before Jeremy had woken up.

"Then I need to go, yep."

"Stay?" He suggested.

"If I stay, I will be helicopter parenting your grades," She enjoyed the deer-in-headlights expression on his face, "Elena called me from your parent-teacher conference."

"She did?"

"Uh-huh," MJ hit him lightly on the back of the head, "Stop cheating on math tests."

"They're boring!"

"You need to pass to get out of town."

"I know!" He groaned.

"Either stop cheating or tell Elena you wanna be a hunter full-time. Until you do, she won't accept that this world is yours as much as hers now."

He looked down.

"I mean, you stopped asking me about portfolio stuff, so I'm just assuming..."

"...I kinda did tell her that."

MJ sat up straighter.

That implied the siblings had had a conversation where Elena was open to the idea of it.

Had Elena actually listened to her?

"I told her I was never gonna care about school when there's all this going on for me to care about. And I pointed out how missed attendance usually came down to getting dragged into supernatural messes."

"I told her that too."

They high-fived.

"That why you're living here now?"

"Pretty much."

"Good," MJ nodded, "Giving yourself some direction. V Proud"

"I still don't know what I wanna do."

Tyler put a hand up, "High-five!"

"Can I get in on that?" Matt added to the bro squad.

"Cute," MJ nodded at all of them, "You don't need to know what specifically. You just need to know you don't wanna repeat the year."

"Are you going back to that fashion school in New York next year?" Ty asked awkwardly, "You only deferred your place for a year."

"I..." She thought about it, "No. I'm not."

Matt offered her the high-five too, "Join us in drop-out-dum."

"I wouldn't say I dropped out," MJ still did the high-five, "I never went."

"And you're sure you don't want to?" Jeremy seemed a little surprised.

A moment of reconsideration.

"My sleep schedule is normal for the first time in years," She shrugged, "Bar when I have to make rushed drives back here. Or when people go missing – thanks for starting kidnaping season off with a bang, Ty."

"Anything I can do to help."

She laughed at the sarcastic tone of voice.

"But school?"

"Leaving the education system? I don't miss it."

Even when she tried to make herself.

"Every time I've visited Whitmore, it's been...it's been like when you see a small kid for an hour, and they're cute, but you know that if you had to spend more than an afternoon with them, you'd be pulling your eyes out."

"Miss Valedictorian," Matt tutted, "Dropping out like the rest of us."

"Oh, I love that I have that," She kept the sash in her closet, "And I don't regret working hard for it. But I don't really want anything else from the American Education System."

Her phone went off again.

"That was my, 'if Ty gets you talking' alarm."

Set as a precaution because MJ knew herself well.

"Meaning I have seven minutes to get out of this house if I wanna make my flight, so," She kissed Ty on the temple while scuffing up Matt and Jeremy's hair, jogging up the stairs, "Text you guys later."

She was showered and out the door within five minutes, a new record, leaving the guys shaking their heads after her and smiling.

In the taxi she'd ordered, MJ thought about redrawing on her spirit rune again...

But Kol didn't want to talk to her.

And it seemed broken...?

Her goal – besides helping Davina?

Finding a way to summon him in New Orleans, with a resurrection spell ready to be used, as a white flag for their fight.

Rescuing him as proof that she chooses him.