It was strange, staying in the mansion without Kol.

The one night she'd spent there before had been more peaceful. She could hear his gentle breathing in the other room as she'd wondered about whether he was telling the truth regarding their past.

This time, she was having trouble falling asleep.

She felt like she should be hearing him making silly comments. Like he should be the one next to her in the bed.

Instead she was across the room from Sage, who was knocked out and snoring lightly. The two opted to sleep in the same room for safety. There was no telling what Klaus would do if they were alone. Catalina figured he just might try to compel Sage, too, to get what he wanted from Finn.

So she tossed and turned. Hoping she'd drift off.

She was used to hearing Kol muttering in his sleep at times. It would make her laugh. She even found it comforting when he woke up in the middle of the night to get water, letting out a singular soft sigh before skipping back to his bed. Feeling free to do so because he felt no one would ever know. Catalina found it adorable.

There was a moment where she was tired enough to fade away just for an instant. For a sole dream that ended just as abruptly as it had begun.

She was standing in the bathroom of the apartment, apparently arguing with Kol. "You don't own the shower, you know, I can take a shower whenever I want. I told you I was gonna shower and you didn't say anything but now, you won't let me use it?"

"I always take a shower around this time," said Kol. "It's my turn."

"I have my stuff ready for a shower, so it's my turn. Get out."

"How about a compromise, then?"

"A shower schedule?" she suggested. "Seems like the only way to solve this."

"No. Get in. I'll join you."

Her mouth felt dry. "What?"

"You heard me, Tere," he said with that classic mischievous smirk. "Get in. We'll shower together."

Catalina, despite not knowing it was a dream, had trouble accepting it as a reality. "You've got to be joking."

"What, you'd rather I make you leave the bathroom so I can shower alone?"

She gulped. "Fine. We'll shower together, then." She started to undress, watching as Kol did the same, looking at her intently.

Next thing she knew, they were kissing. He was pressing her back against the door, lifting her body up so that her legs were around his waist. She ground her hips against his, holding his face as he snaked his hands down her side, gripping her thighs firmly. All that was left was for him to remove his boxers, and—

She woke up suddenly, sitting up in the bed and looking around. Kol wasn't there. Sage was still asleep.

"Bloody hell," she muttered to herself, rubbing her face as she checked the clock, seeing it was six in the morning. No sense in trying to sleep again. "That was... something else."

Sage hadn't woken up til around nine, which had given Catalina time to plan out her route back to Denver and communicate with Kol, who was finding out what else Klaus had planned for her. Even just texting him felt weird. Should she tell him what she dreamed? No. That would be moving too quickly.

"Good morning," she said when Sage got up, having had the last three hours to sort of cool off, despite her mind constantly bringing up that last scene where he'd started to grab at the waistband of his boxers to rip them off.

"You're up early," said Sage, rubbing her eyes and looking at the clock. "I don't get up this early unless I'm leaving a guy's bed."

"This is early to you?" asked Catalina. "Kol and I have to get up at six every day to make it to school on time."

Sage smirked. "Well, that's 'cause y'all are playing make believe. Me, I need my beauty sleep."

Catalina smiled back at her. "So, Klaus and Rebekah will be bringing Finn soon. I'm supposed to go and fetch the witch he needs."

Sage still seemed surprised to see her up and about. "Did you just naturally wake up that early, then?"

"Um... yeah."

"Hmm..." The redhead seemed to know this wasn't true. "You had a dirty dream, didn't you?"

"Excuse me?" said Catalina, clearly flustered.

"Ooh, looks like I still know you as well as I did decades ago," said Sage. "Back in the day, you used to get those often because, you know, you and Kol were together like that all the time. I would always know when you had one because you'd be up extra early and getting about your day to try and distract yourself. Even if you do usually wake up for school at this time... I feel like you might've slept in until Klaus let you know that he needed you to do something."

Catalina scowled. "Well, it doesn't matter. It's only a dream. It won't happen."

"How much longer before it does, though? I can imagine being stuck in an apartment with him gives you a few ideas. Why hold back from doing it?"

"Because then things will just be as they were. And I want it to be... different. Earning my love in the past seems to have been an easy task. The times called for sped up romances to lead to children."

"Phew, yeah, if you two weren't vampires, you'd have about a hundred kids at this point.

"One hundred?" scoffed Catalina. "Not likely."

"Maybe more, then," said Sage, which made the woman turn red. "Trust me. You're not gonna hold out for long. You really liked him. I can see even now you feel a lot for him in such a short time. You don't need your memories to feel that chemistry you two had. Even Finn would make comments... you were the only person who could really handle Kol. He was always so wild but with you, he seemed to be more in control of everything. So if you want to slow it down, then go ahead. But the end result is gonna be the same, Cat. You're bound to fall in love with him again. And with that love will come intimacy. I don't think speeding up the process will do anyone any harm."

Catalina sighed. "I don't know. We'll see. Let me go and get the witch first, to make sure I have her before Klaus gets back. Then, we can gossip about Kol and Finn as much as you want."

"I'll hold you to that," chirped Sage as the woman walked out the door.

She found Bonnie Bennett right where Klaus had said she would be. In a house, completely alone. Catalina went to knock on the door, shuffling a bit and looking down at her phone, hoping she'd pass as a teenager now.

Bonnie suspected nothing. She opened the door and looked up. "Uh... yes?"

At vampire speed, Catalina held up her fist, where a mount of herbs were coiled up, then blew hard as she opened her palm, sweeping the dust into Bonnie's face. The witch sniffed, and crumpled to the floor. Unfortunately, her body fell just inside the house, which meant Catalina had to bite her lip hard to conceal the cries of pain as she forcefully reached in past the barrier that tried to keep her out.

"Note to self," she said, once Bonnie's unconscious body was slung over her shoulder, "make sure she steps outside first, next time."

She sped off, and went to put Bonnie on the couch in the mansion's living room, just as Klaus said she should do.

Not even a minute later, there was a loud bang. She walked into the foyer and saw Klaus had thrown Finn onto the floor.

"Let's get his blood and get on with it," said Rebekah, walking in beside her brother.

"You can't force me to help you," said Finn venomously.

At that moment, Klaus noticed that Sage had already made her way to the staircase, having heard the noise. "Oh, I most likely could, but why force when I can persuade?" He pointed up, and Finn turned, eyes widening when he saw the redhead.

"Hello, Finn," said Sage with a shy smile.

"Sage!" he breathed, rushing over to her and pulling her into a hug.

"What do you know, true love prevails," said Rebekah as Catalina walked over to Klaus.

"It does occasionally have its uses," said the hybrid. "Easier than torturing him." His eyes flickered up. "Did you retrieve the witch?"

"She's in the other room," said Catalina. "Is that all?"

"One more thing, in a moment," said Klaus, his lip twitching.

"Well, I have something to do," said Rebekah, hardly even acknowledging that Catalina was in front of her. "What do you need from me for this spell?"

"Just your blood and your blessing," said Klaus. "Where are you going?"

The blonde huffed. "I have some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore. Ask Sage what he did to me. Then you'll understand why retribution is in order." She walked out, and Klaus raised a brow at Catalina.

"He tricked her into a threesome then went into her mind," said Catalina, crossing her arms. "At least, that's what Sage said."

Klaus frowned. "Then she ought to make a mess of him. Such is the punishment for anyone who does such a thing without a person's consent."

"Oh, really?" said Catalina, following him as he walked to where Bonnie was. "And what should your punishment be, for having wiped away such a vital part of my life?"

Klaus smirked. "And how did I know you were going to turn it around that way?"

"You ruined what Kol and I had. What the hell is wrong with you? How can you be so smug about it? Whatever we did, I apologize, okay. If that's what you want to hear. What's the point of leaving me unable to remember him when I'm starting to forge a relationship with him again, anyway?"

"Now, that would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?" said Klaus. "Maybe there's an extra bonus to the compulsion. Maybe I've compelled you to stake yourself moments after telling him you love him for the first time, all over again. Maybe I've compelled you to remove your daylight ring and burn in the sun the morning after you let him sleep with you again. So many possibilities to prolong that suffering. To make it... that much more devastating. You'll never know if I did or didn't add another component. I suppose you'll have to wait and see."

She stared at him hatefully. "You're awful. Now I know why the others hate you so much, even if I couldn't recall it before. All of them, they're right. Lucien. Tristan. Aurora. You are the worst of the worst—"

He seized her by the throat. "Say that name again, and I'll make sure it's the last word you utter."

"Go ahead, do it," she challenged. "End it all quickly. It'll be a blessing for me to be free of your control."

"Oh, no, that would be far too easy," said Klaus. "No... I'll let you live. I'll linger in the background as you go on and give your heart to my brother all over again. The day you die, it will be when you least expect it. When you are happiest. That death will be spectacular and it will be anything but a blessing. Speak to me about that woman again, and I will make sure to torture you until you've forgotten more than just your love of my brother."

Catalina wheezed a bit as he let her go. "Get out of my house," spat Klaus. "And don't come back."

Glaring at him one last time, she sped off, back to Denver. There was no point in staying. Sage would be spending her time with Finn. Catalina preferred to spend hers with Kol.

It took another five and a half hours to get back to Colorado, but she managed it, and found Kol at the apartment, drinking.

"Finally, you're back," huffed Kol. "I asked Nik to update me on when he was going to let you come back and he didn't wish to tell me anything. Just had me go follow Jeremy so that I could send him live footage of the boy playing with his dog. Are you alright?"

"Just glad I don't have to be anywhere near him anymore," said Catalina, checking her phone and seeing a text from Sage with a winky face emoji letting her know she'd had a good time with Finn. "Well, seems like you'll all be unlinked momentarily."

She wasn't sure what to say to Kol. She wanted to talk to him about what Sage revealed. What Elijah had done to Aurora. What Rebekah and Marcel had done to lure Mikael to New Orleans. She wanted to ask him about their relationship, and whether they should continue to abstain, or whether they should just reconnect.

So instead she asked a different question. "So um, Sage was telling me about the others, and we recalled how The Strix tried to recruit me. She didn't really have any answers about why that happened. I was wondering if you could tell me?"

"Why are you wondering?" inquired Kol curiously.

"Sage was playfully suggesting I go on a mission to wipe out The Strix, then mentioned something about me being able to beat Tristan. I asked for the contacts of the others, and she didn't have them."

Kol pursed his lips, "It was all Tristan's doing. That ambush. You got lucky you weren't alone that day. Some of your vampire friends had your back. Tristan thought you would make a good ally. He didn't like Lucien, and his sister was far too unstable to help him. As for Sage, she wasn't around once Finn was left daggered. You, however, stayed with us. I suppose he expected you'd offer good intel on us. That you of all people might understand his hatred of us, and in turn, lend a helping hand. The Strix had already attacked us before, and they knew you were an incredible fighter. Not to mention they knew that you and I were very knowledgeable in magic, specifically the sort of high-caliber spells The Strix Coven performed. You would have been Tristan's greatest asset. Aya didn't want that, of course. She firmly believed that only Elijah's sireline should ever be in The Strix. Many worthy vampires were cast aside for not being from his sireline. So, when you refused, she was happy. It gave her an excuse to get rid of you. And she led the attack that you managed to walk out alive from."

"I already knew I didn't like the deMartels, but I like them even less now," said Catalina. "What about Lucien? Did I ever know him aside from the letters?"

"I never wanted you to meet him. So if you don't recall any interactions, then chances are they never happened, because you and I were always together. You wouldn't have snuck off to get to know him."

Catalina's phone suddenly started to ring. "Oh, it's Sage," she said. "She's probably upset that I didn't say goodbye before—"

"He's dead!" screamed Sage on the other line as soon as Catalina answered. "Finn is dead!"

Both vampires went rigid. "What?" said Catalina quietly. "What... what do you mean?"

"I mean he was staked, and he died, and he burned right before my eyes! All by a group of— of kids! And young vampires who... I'm gonna kill them. I'm gonna fucking kill them! Send me your address. As soon as I finish decimating those little brats I'm gonna find you."

"Okay," said Catalina, pulling her phone away from her ear to text her. "I can go back to Mystic Falls if you—"

"It'll take too long," said Sage. "I just need someone to know where I'm going in case I don't make it out."

Catalina wasn't sure what to make of that. Sage hung up, and she looked at Kol, who was pale as he sank down in a chair at the kitchen table.

"I know this is a stupid question," murmured the woman, "but are you alright?"

"He's dead," said Kol shakily. "My brother... is dead."

She offered her hand, but he didn't take it. "What if the witch hasn't unlinked us yet?" he whispered. "What if I'm next?"

"I think the witch already did the spell," said Catalina slowly. "Otherwise you would have dropped dead when he did."

Kol rubbed his face, as if trying to stop himself from crying. "It doesn't matter," he said bitterly. "Finn never cared for me."

"Are you sure?" asked Catalina. "Kol... I'm not judging. If you need to mourn your brother, you are at perfect liberty to. I mourned Bermudo even when we never got along. He was your brother for a thousand years. There must have been some... moment where you felt he cared about you."

Kol faltered. "There was one. He... he wished so badly to be able to do magic, but it didn't seem he had the gift. Still, he hung onto my mother, and he... he learned many spells, despite not being able to perform them. One day, my mother was occupied teaching Rebekah about herbs. And I was attempting a spell that simply wasn't going my way. Finn came in and he very patiently sat down and walked me through how my mother did it. Next thing I knew, I was doing it..."

His voice had broken towards the end, and Catalina saw tears glistening in his eyes. She sat down in the chair beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder as he started to cry.

"Let it all out," she said gently, bringing him into a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder, arms wrapping tightly around her. As if he were afraid that she'd disappear if he didn't hold on.

Her hand drifted to the back of his head, caressing it, running her fingers through his hair. The other remained on his neck, massaging it soothingly.

"My brother's dead," Kol sobbed, his voice muffled in her shirt. "We didn't get a singular good moment after he woke up..."

"I know," she whispered, finding herself growing worried as she looked at the clock, and how much time was passing. Surely Sage was done killing those other people by now, and would be on her way? Maybe she just forgot to text. "I'm sorry, Kol. I'm so, sorry."

The truth was, she felt miserable, too. She had no memories of Finn from the past, but it seemed they'd been friends. She still remembered their dance at the Ball. That connection. A bond that had given her someone to look up to and rely on. Perhaps he was Kol's brother. But a part of him had been hers, too.

When Sage hadn't contacted her an hour and a half later, she started to get extremely worried. She'd called her, and no one had picked up. Kol had taken it upon himself to call Klaus, and he hadn't liked the news he received.

"Finn is indeed dead," said Klaus. "As is his sireline."

"What?" cried Kol. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Sage and every other vampire across the world that stemmed from him has dropped dead. I'm already receiving calls from my hybrids, who've been gathering information for me."

"Where's Sage?" said Catalina, taking the phone from Kol. "Where is she, Klaus?"

"I haven't any idea. I was able to retrieve Finn's body. Hers, I know not. It seems she went to attack the Salvatores and died in their house. They likely buried her."

"Has Elijah called you?" asked Kol. "Does he know?"

"Of course he knows. And the lot of you are being dramatic."

"Excuse me?"

"You, Elijah, Rebekah. All moping and mourning. Finn was an embarrassment. He slept in a box longer than he lived as a man. He was a lovesick fool who's better off in death. You might learn a lesson from this, Kol."

"How could you say such a thing?" snarled Kol. "Is that how you regard your brothers? Is that how you'd regard me?"

"Funny, Rebekah asked almost the same thing. You all are pathetic. Perhaps I would say the same thing about all of you."

Kol gritted his teeth. "Just like we'd all say the same about you, you bas—" his eyes flickered to Catalina, and he quickly cut himself off. "We're through doing you any favors."

"Actually," said Klaus, "I'd advise you against giving any ultimatums. You see, after releasing the witch, she ran along to tell Elena Gilbert that I used Jeremy to threaten her into doing the Unlinking Spell. No doubt, Elena and one of the Salvatores will soon be on their way to fetch him. They know you are nearby. Be on the lookout. Do not let Jeremy out of your sight."

"And why should we?" said Kol.

"Because I command it of you," said Klaus, as if it should be obvious. "We'll benefit from this, little brother. The Salvatores and the rest of their Motley Crew will be wondering which Original their line came from. Now, I know it is me, as I sired Mary Porter, who turned Rosemarie. Katerina Petrova was turned with her blood, and she went on to sire the Salvatores, who then turned the blonde, Caroline, and Abby Bennett, the mother of the witch Catalina retrieved for me. The young Gilbert boy possesses a gift with being able to communicate with spirits on The Other Side. As Rosemarie will be there, I believe they will use him to find out who turned her in order to trace it back to me. I don't wish for them to do that. Otherwise, they will go out and kill all of you. Instead, we should leave them wondering, so they will not know which Original to keep alive."

Kol huffed. "This is the last favor we're doing you, Nik. As soon as we make sure to break off any leads they could follow, we're leaving this godforsaken city."

Klaus laughed darkly. "Go ahead, little brother, do as your heart desires. Go off with that girl if you truly wish. You'll be running back home in no time. You always do."