11. Catch Me If You Can

"No way, I'm not doing this" Jeremy snapped.

"What makes you think you have a choice?" Klaus asked.

"You have to kill vampires to complete the Hunter's Mark" Damon reminded Jeremy, "Mark equals cure, you're in a bar full of almost vampires, so get your hunt on".

"Screw all of you" Jeremy snapped, "You both said I wouldn't have to kill any innocent people".

"In our defense, they're not necessary people anymore" Kol said.

"Enough, have at it, or else" Klaus threatened.

"I am not taking orders from you, and tell me something, does Aria know about all this?" Jeremy asked, when none of the men in the room replied, Jeremy had gotten his answer, "Unbelievable, Aria trusted you three, and you three are breaking her trust by doing the one thing she didn't want me to do, kill innocent people!".

"We are doing this for Aria" Damon snapped.

"No, you're doing this for you" Jeremy snapped, "You want to find the cure so Elena can no longer be sired to you, so you don't have to feel guilty anymore, don't drag my best friend's name into this", Jeremy threw his stake on the floor, "Hunters can't be compelled".

Klaus chuckled, "You're right, I can't compel you" he said, "But if your conscience is getting in the way, then allow me to make this easy for you, because I can compel them".

Damon and Kol watched as compelled humans entered the bar and fed the nearly turned vampires their blood.

"I'm gonna give you a two minute head start, then send every vampire in here after you" Klaus said, "You kill them or they kill you".

"Hold up" Kol said, "That's not happening, you're not compelling them Nik".

"Watch me" Klaus challenged.

"No, no, you turn them, he kills them" Damon said, "That was the deal, Klaus".

"I'm taking artistic license" Klaus said.

"Nik his not going to be able to take all of these vampires on his own, that to at the same time" Kol snapped.

"With you and Damon as his coach he'll be fine" Klaus said.

Damon sighed, "Jeremy, go get the weapons out of the car, me and Kol will be right behind you".

Jeremy didn't waste a second, before running out of the bar, to get his  weapons.

***

Jeremy ran through the woods as fast as his legs could take him, trying to lose the herd of vampires that were after him, he hid behind a tree, trying to catch his breath, he looked behind the tree to see if anyone was near him, but found no one, but when he turned, one of Klaus's newly turned vampires was standing right infront of him, before Jeremy could react the vampire had bit into his neck.

Ignoring the pain, Jeremy took out the stake from his back pocket and plunged it into the vampire's heart, causing him to fall down to the floor.

Jeremy sat down on the floor, he knew he should be running as the vampires could smell his blood, but he needed a minute before he could start running again.

Suddenly Jeremy felt a presence infront of him, he quickly held his crossbow up in defense, only to realise it was Damon and Kol.

Damon snatched the crossbow from Jeremy's hand, "Don't hesitate, you're lucky it was us otherwise you would be dead".

"You both set me up" Jeremy snapped, standing up and snatching the bow from Damon's hand.

"We are trying to get this over and done with Jeremy" Kol defended, "It's getting tiring for us, isn't all this getting tiring for you?".

"And remember, your the one who pissed Klaus off, now you have to fight your way out of it" Damon said.

"Where are the other vampires?" Jeremy asked confused.

"They are new, so they still don't know how all their senses work, they don't know how to track you down, for now" Kol replied.

"Which means you have two seconds to get ready to fight" Damon said.

"The lake house is this way, if we can get there, they won't be able to get inside" Jeremy suggested.

"Wait, you wanna run?" Damon asked shocked.

"There's too many of them" Jeremy snapped.

Kol sighed, "Just run as fast as you can, me and Damon will try to slow them down as much as we can".

"Seriously?" Damon asked.

"Seriously" Kol replied, "Go Jeremy! Now!".

Jeremy nodded and took off sprinting towards the lake house, just as two vampires ran towards Damon and Kol, the two older vampires exchanged a look, and easily ripped out the newly turned vampire's hearts out.

***

Jeremy was running when suddenly a vampire tripped him over, he tried to bite him  but Jeremy held him off, when suddenly the vampire's heart was ripped out.

Jeremy looked at his savior and breathed a sigh of relief seeing Aria, "Oh thank god your here" Jeremy said, standing up and hugging Aria.

"Jer, what the hell is going on?" Aria asked confused, breaking the hug, "Why is there a bite mark on your neck, and where's Damon, Kol and Nik?".

Jeremy held Aria's hand, "No time to talk right now Aria, we have to run" Jeremy replied, running and dragging Aria along with him.

"Jeremy, are you going tell me what's going on or not?" Aria asked confused, as her and Jeremy arrived at the lake house.

Jeremy looked back at the woods, "They're coming" he replied.

Aria looked behind her to see a bunch of vampires making their way towards the lake house, "Okay, in, now" Aria ordered, pushing Jeremy into the house and then closing the door behind them.

***

"Sun's up" Jeremy informed Aria, looking out the window, "They're long gone".

"I'm going to kill them" Aria said, pacing back and forth, Jeremy having filled her on everything that happened, "The one thing I asked them not to do, they did, the one bloody thing!".

"Aria--".

"No" Aria snapped, "Don't try to defend them, those three have lost their minds, there is so many bad vampires in the world, hell even in Mystic Falls, so why would they turn innocent people!".

"Aria--".

"How's your neck?" Aria asked, interrupting Jeremy again.

Jeremy sighed, he knew until Aria gave Damon, Kol and Klaus a piece of her mind, she wasn't going to listen to anyone, "Your blood healed the bite".

Aria nodded, "Thank god" she whispered, just as Damon and Kol entered the room, "You idiots!".

"Yikes, she's mad" Kol whispered.

"Mad doesn't even cover it Kol Mikaelson!" Aria snapped.

"And she used the full name, we are so screwed" Kol whispered.

"You both were supposed to teach him how to fight, and then eventually take him to kill the bad vampires" Aria said, "Why have I returned to this place, to see half of the town turned into vampires?!".

"We didn't turn the vampires Ri, Nik did" Kol defended.

"Also, your best friend is not the best student in the world" Damon said.

"Wait, this is my fault?" Jeremy asked shocked.

"Stop talking" Damon snapped.

"No, you both stop defending your wrong actions" Aria snapped back, "Where's your brother Kol?".

"By now?" Kol asked, "Most likely back at Mystic Falls".

"Does he think him not being here is going to stop me from yelling at him?" Aria asked, glaring at the two vampires infront of her.

"Yeah" Kol replied simply.

"Well, it's not" Aria said.

"Look Ria, I know you're angry" Damon said, "But our way was the easiest, fastest, and safest way to complete his mark to get the cure".

"Screw the cure!" Aria asked, "Tell me something you both, do you guys want the cure, do any of you actually want to be human?", Kol and Damon exchanged a look, both not saying anything but Aria already knew the answer, "Let me answer that for you, there's no one who enjoys being a vampire more then you both, yeah there might times you both think about being human, but you both like who you are now, you like being fast and strong, you like having control, the only reason you're trying to get the cure is for Rebekah and for Elena so she isn't sired to you anymore, Damon, but this isn't the way, this is wrong you guys, those people don't deserve what just happened to them, and what did you say, this way was safe? Then why did I come here to see Jeremy getting attacked by a vampire, and another vampire biting his neck".

"Hey, there would've been no danger if he hadn't gone all bleeding heart" Damon defended.

"You are really not helping yourself" Kol told Damon.

"Oh so you excepted him to be just okay with all this?" Aria asked, "Did you hear anything I said, Jeremy killed, innocent people!".

"But the mark grew, didn't it?" Damon asked.

"Honestly, am I talking to a brick wall?" Aria asked, "Forget all this, we need a plan, as soon as the sun goes down those compelled vampires are going to come after Jeremy again, so we need a way to protect Jeremy".

"And a way for Jeremy to murder the vampires" Kol said, causing Aria to glare at him, "But of course, Jeremy's protection comes first" he quickly corrected.

"But there will be no problem, when all four of us go on a hunting expedition" Damon said, "Aria, I know it's tragic, I get it, we also agreed that he had to kill them, now we have added incentive".

"Fine" Aria said, knowing there really was no other choice, "But just so we know, never am I ever going to leave you and Kol alone with my best friend, never again".

***

"You really think they went back to the bar?" Jeremy asked, as him and Aria got out of the car and walked over to Damon and Kol, who were taking the weapons out of the boot.

"Where else are they gonna go?" Damon asked, "It's all cabins and vacation homes, they can't get in anywhere".

"Oh look, he has a brain" Aria taunted.

"Okay, how long are you going to stay mad at me?" Damon asked.

"Don't know, haven't decided yet" Aria replied, giving Damon a mock smile.

"You're a handful Aria Connor" Damon snapped.

"And you're a dickhead Damon Salvatore" Aria snapped back.

"And here they go again" Kol whispered, watching the interaction between Damon and Aria in amusement.

"They're not going to stop are they?" Jeremy asked, equally amused, Damon and Aria have been going back and forth at each other the whole car ride, Aria still wasn't pleased with Damon or Kol, and Damon still didn't believe they did anything wrong, both Jeremy and Kol kept quiet, they just sat back and watched the free show in amusement.

"Nope" Kol replied, "They are two of the most stubborn people in this world, none of them want to admit that they are wrong and the other is right".

"Great" Jeremy whispered, taking his crossbow out of the car.

"Take this as well" Kol said, handing Jeremy a gun, which he gladly took, he then turned over to still arguing Damon and Aria, "Enough!" he yelled, making the two vampires immediately stop, "If your little couples dispute is done, can we go now?".

"Yeah" Aria whispered, a bit embarrassed with the way her and Damon were acting.

"Okay, let's get this over with" Jeremy said, preparing his crossbow.

"Listen, just go one at a time" Damon instructed, "Only shoot for the heart, don't hesitate, and don't miss".

"Jer, don't stress, all three of us are going to have your back, I'll even use my magic to give them an aneurysm, making it easier for you to stake them" Aria said, guilt rising in her heart, she didn't like the way how used to killing she was getting.

Jeremy nodded, he knew Aria was feeling guilty, so was he, but right now, this was their best option.

The group of four walked over to the bar, "Wait" Aria said, as they stopped at the door.

"What?" Damon asked.

"Listen" Aria replied, as the vampires focused their hearing, they heard loud music alongside people laughing and yelling at each other.

"Definitely in there" Kol said.

Aria took a deep breath, "Let's do this boys", Aria used her magic, and kicked the bar doors open, gaining all the vampires attention, "Hey guys".

***

After what felt like hours to Aria, all the vampires were finally dead, the bar was a mess, everything was either broken or bloody, Jeremy had killed most of the vampires, with help of Aria who gave them an aneurysm to make it easy for Jeremy to kill, but there were some vampires who Damon and Kol had to kill as they got a bit too close to Jeremy and Aria for their liking. 

Aria looked around, and the amount of dead bodies she saw made her want to puke, it was honestly disgusting.

"So, were these vampires enough for the mark, or do you need more?" Kol asked, grabbing the one bottle of bourbon that had manged to survive and taking a swig out of it.

"I can't take anymore killing" Aria said, snatching the bottle from Kol.

"Hey!" Kol complained.

"You owe me" Aria reminded.

"But I apologised" Kol complained.

"I consider this your real apology" Aria said, drinking the bourbon.

"Alcoholic" Kol mumbled, causing Aria to hit the back of his head, "Ow! Honestly, what's with the violence?".

"It's the effect of the company I keep" Aria replied.

"Rude" Kol mumbled.

"So, progress on the tattoo?" Damon asked Jeremy, cleaning his hands, and trying not to laugh at Aria and Kol.

Jeremy didn't say anything, instead he let out a loud scream and ripped his shirt off, alerting the three other vampires.

"Jer?" Aria called out, she tried to walk to him, but Damon stopped her.

"Ria, look" Damon said, pointing to the now complete hunter's tattoo, that now was visible to everyone.

"Oh my god" Aria whispered.

Jeremy looked at the vampires, a small smile on his face, "It's complete".

Kol smirked, "So, whose ready for the cure?".

***

"Ari, stop!" Klaus yelled, running away from a furious Aria.

"You did the one thing I told you not to do, Nik!" Aria yelled, running after Klaus and throwing a cushion towards him.

"It completed his mark, didn't it?" Nik said, catching the cushion.

"At what cost!?" Aria asked, throwing another cushion towards Klaus, which manged to hit him right on his face, "He killed innocent people Nik, innocent people!".

"They were what we call collateral damage" Klaus defended, causing Aria to glare at him.

"You should have not said that brother" An amused Kol said, as he, Damon, Rebekah, Caroline and Jeremy, sat in the Mikaelson's living room, watching Aria chase Klaus around.

"Someone get me an white oak stake, I'm going to murder him!" Aria yelled.

"But I'm your best friend" Klaus said.

"My best friend, who turned half a town into vampires!" Aria yelled, about to chase after Klaus again, but Damon grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his lap, "Let go of me Damon!".

"Ria, relax" Damon said, "You've been chasing after Klaus for hours, I'm sure he understands his mistake, right Klaus?".

"Yeah, I do" Klaus mumbled, sitting next to Caroline.

"Don't think I've forgiven you" Aria told Damon, "I'm still pissed at you and Kol too".

"But I gave you bourbon" Kol said.

"I'm slightly less pissed at you, but still pissed" Aria said.

"Well you can still be pissed at us tomorrow, right now, let's celebrate" Damon said, "Jeremy has finally completed his mark".

"And me and Caroline stole Silas's headstone from Professor Shane's office" Rebekah said.

"Yes, we did" Caroline said, pouring herself and Aria a drink.

"We have everything all ready to go" Jeremy realised, a huge smile on his face.

While the group of seven were busy celebrating, they were completely unaware of the planning that was happening against them at the Gilbert household.

***

"Did you get it?" Elena asked Bonnie.

Bonnie nodded, she took out a paper from her pocket and showed it to Stefan and Elena, "This is the spell, that for a few hours will let me control Jeremy, but Elena, this is serious black magic, the consequences of this kind of magic won't be pretty".

"Bonnie, we don't have any other choice, we need to complete Jeremy's mark if we want to get to the cure" Elena said, unaware that Jeremy had already completed his mark, "And if he kills one Original vampire, their entire sire line will die with them, that's thousands, maybe tens of thousands of vampires".

"But Jeremy would never willingly kill Kol, so we need you to do the spell" Stefan said.

"And what about Aria, Klaus and Damon?" Bonnie asked, a bit worried, "If we kill Kol, they won't stay quiet".

"We can deal with them later Bonnie, right now we need to focus on Jeremy killing Kol" Elena replied.

Bonnie sighed, "Fine, I need something of Jeremy's first".

"Here" Elena said, giving Bonnie one of Jeremy's sketchbook, "He forgot this here when he moved out".

"Okay" Bonnie said, placing Jeremy's sketchbook on the table, "Let's do this".

***

Presenting 4x11 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Aria going off at Kol, Damon and Klaus?

Thoughts on Jeremy completing the hunter's mark?

Thoughts on Team Aria having everything they need to get to the cure, while Team Elena is left with nothing?

Thoughts on Elena and gang planning to kill Kol in the hands of Jeremy?

Next chapter: Will Aria be able to save Kol or not? 🙈