W h e r e I t A l l S t a r t e d

Malik questioned his sanity.

There was no proper explanation on why he decided that it would be a great idea to follow Elena and Alaric into the tunnels under the Lockwood property just to look at some ancient carvings.

Yet there he was.

"The Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" questioned Elena while looking around with her flashlight.

"Careful where you shine that thing. Bats hate the light."

"What?" asked the girl slightly frightened and slowly looked around when she heard a voice behind her.

She turned around and the moment the flashlight landed on Damon he decided to scare the girl.

" Boo!"

"God, Damon!" gasped Elena and smacked the vampire.

" Scaredy-  cat!"

" Just ignore him" commented Alaric, while Elena just looked at him for a moment then back to Damon.

" So, you really can't get in?"

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

They walked further into the tunnels, to the cave with drawings on the walls. Malik was immediately fascinated and looked at the drawings began to think.

" Well, this is as far as I get to go."

Elena entered the chamber and shined her flashlight on the walls with the drawings.

" What is all this?"

" Well, as far as I can tell, it's a story" responded Alaric and pointed at the wall. "That right there, is the moon cycle" he then moved and pointed at something else. "A man, a wolf."

" A werewolf" responded Malik while kept his eyes on the drawings.

" Yeah, it's the "Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary-Style."" Joked Damon but he just earned a glare from Malik.

" I don't understand. I thought the Lockwoods came here with the Original Founders in the 1860s."

"I don't know. Maybe the Lockwoods did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that."

The werewolves were always here" spoke Malik and snapping his fingers the torches lit on, surprising the others and they watched curiously as the warlock walked to the wall and hovered his hand over it.

" Names, they're written in Runic, a Viking script" commented malik watching the names.

" Vikings?" asked Elena getting suspicious.

" That name there, I translated it and it reads Niklaus" spoke Alaric walking closer to the wall.

" Klaus" whispered Elena.

" Let me guess, that says Elijah... and Rebekah" asked Malik looking at the teacher who nodded then turned back to Elena and Damon to discuss the next step.

Malik just looked at them for a moment then back to the carvings and closing his eyes placed his hands on it, he didn't have to try he was pulled into a memory immediately.

" Rebekah, let me have at it!" came the voice of Klaus making Malik jump but as he looked he noticed they were in weird attires, Klaus had long hair and they looked different... borderline believed them to be innocent.

" Quiet, Niklaus! I am to have more concentration if I am not to slice off a finger."

" Father will not like you handling the blade."

" If I want to wield a blade, I shall wield a blade! Father need not know."

" He will find out. He always does."

" That is because you always tell him."

" I cannot help it... he frightens me."

Hearing Klaus so scared and broken Malik watched how fearful he truly was and that made him wonder. What happened to this man in front of him and how did he turn into the sadistic hybrid that he got to know.

Malik opened his eyes and he was suddenly back in present time, behind him Elena began to talk, assuring the warlock that none of them noticed how he managed to steal glances at the past.

" These are the names of the Original Family?"

"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls. Or even the entire New World, for that matter."

" Okay, this has gotta be one of Klaus's fakes" tried Elena and Damon was quick to respond.

"That's what I said."

" It's not" interrupted Malik and removing his hand from the wall walked to the others.

"Malik is correct, there is a name that made me think the same."

" What's the name?"

" Mikael"

"Mikael? As in the vampire hunter who knows how to kill Klaus?" asked Elena immediately Damon had a small smirk on his face as he responded.

"I like to call him "Papa Original"."

Malik looked around then turned to Alaric and offered a solution.

"Let's take pictures of these then we can go back and piece all of this together. I don't think we should stay here too long."

"Good idea" agreed Alaric and began to take pictures of every single symbol.

Malik looked around and tried to memorise everything while Elena and Damon left. Once Alaric was done they both went back to his apartment and got everything printed out and placed on a massive table.

While the two of them were looking at the pictures Elena continued to train with Damon to defend herself, but the history gurus were too busy trying to out the story together. As they looked around Malik raised his hands and began to whisper a spell, making the pictures shuffle around and once they stopped they began to look again.

As they went through it Alaric spoke up mostly for the two behind them.

"These images tell a story.... to learn the story, you have to decipher these images."

"Sloppy!" came the voice of Damon making Malik groan but to top it up soon enough Elena responded to Damon instead of what Alaric said.

"Shut up! I'm new at this."

"Mason Lockwood said the cave and led us to a weapon that can kill Klaus."

"Yeah, but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?"

"Yes. Which probably means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found... and lost" Malik turned around to look at him, just in time to see him overwhelm Elena. "Bang! You're dead!"

He went in to nibble on Elena's neck but she pushed him away playfully and walked over to Alaric at the desk, making Malik turn back as well.

"These images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is."

"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean."

"Fine! Fine! If I am being irritatingly optimistic like you three... how do you suppose we do that?"

"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here, then we go straight to the source!"

"Right... and what makes you think she won't kill you?" came the sceptical voice of Damon to which Malik responded immediately.

"Because I will be there to keep an eye on her."

Damon looked at them for a while but then he just seems to approve it without words and left the apartment. Elena gave a grateful smile to the boy and both of them left to catch Rebekah at cheerleading practice.

Malik watched the practice for a bit, saw how Rebekah enjoyed herself and began her cartwheels and backflips until she landed in front of Elena.

Malik was curious, with the images he saw he did wonder if he could get anything out of Rebekah but her being an original vampire, getting into her head was far too dangerous.

Seeing that Rebekah turned away from Elena and walked away Malik approached Elena as well while passing Rebekah. The original was far too much in head to noticed and ran into Malik, but in that moment Malik heard an echo in his head.

"Come on Henrik, our brothers are fighting again!" came the voice of Rebekah, but soon enough there was another.

"Some days, it's a miracle you're still alive, boy" echoed the voice of Mikael in his head, but it had so much anger and venom, that it caught the warlock off guard.

Malik blinked a few times and exchanged a look with Rebekah who just gave a knowing look but then walked off immediately. Malik turned and looked after the girl before going back to Elena the two of them returned to Alaric's apartment.

On their way back she got a phone call from Damon to get an update regarding Rebekah while he was checking up on the locked in off the rail Stefan Salvatore.

"She's going to tell me. She's scared of him, Damon. I saw her face. I just have to engage in a little "mean girl" power struggle first."

" Well, make sure she doesn't power struggle you into a wheelchair."

" I've got this, Damon. If we can figure out a way to kill Klaus, Stefan will be free of his compulsion. Speaking of... how does he look?"

"Pasty and pouty."

" He'll have to get over it. Call me later" Elena hung up the phone and turned to Alaric. "Rebekah will come around."

" You're sure about that? I mean I'm sure a thousand-year-old vampire has learned the art of patience."

Malik remained silent, knowing that Elena was onto something, and while the warlock walked to the table and began looking at the notes Alaric made, Elena received a text message.

"She's a thousand-year-old vampire, who's joined the cheerleader squad... There is a whole different set of rules that play here, Ric. I got this."

She held up the phone to show him the text before exiting the flat. Alaric just let out a sigh and returned to the symbols and spoke up, although he intended that to himself.

"This is so exciting but this symbol... I know this but I don't know where have I seen it."

Malik leaned over and seeing it his eyes widened for a moment before pulled his phone out and sent out a text message to Bonnie.

C o m e  t o  R i c ' s  a p a r t m e n t

a n d  b r i n g  t h e  c r a z y  n e c k l a c e

I t ' s  i m p o r t a n t

"What's going on?" asked Alaric curious.

"I asked Bonnie to bring over the necklace..."

"Oh my god the necklace" exclaimed Alaric and looking at the image he really looked like a child on Christmas morning. "You're onto something!"

For a while they were left alone to look over the images and organise the notes until somebody knocked on Alaric's door but without invitation Bonnie walked and looking at the two men she just smiled.

" Hey there!"

" Bonnie! Come on in!"

" Got your message" responded Bonnie but looked at Malik who gave her a big grin and a wave, while Alaric began talking.

" Yeah, great! Uh, I'm sorry the place is such a mess. I'm obsessed..."

" I brought you the necklace that wouldn't die."

"Brilliant" responded Malik and holding out his hand Bonnie handed over the necklace, but to his surprise just like before it wrapped around his hand gently.

Looking at Bonnie both of them noticed how unhappy she still was so Ric was quick to address her.

"You okay?"

" Been better..." admitted the witch, that just made Alaric smile gently.

"Listen, Jeremy is an idiot. And I know this with certainty because I was once just like him. Trust me, we learn... eventually" Bonnie smiled, appreciating Alaric's attempt to make her feel better. The man just nodded and picking up a photo from the table changed the subject. "So, I've been staring at this image all day, wondering why it looked so familiar. And then when Malik mentioned the necklace..."

" It's the same design."

" So, your grandmother said this necklace belonged to the witch that put the hybrid curse on Klaus, right? Well, this symbol is repeated all across the wall. I've been trying to figure out what it meant. And now I know..."

He wrote something on a blank sticker and sticked it to the photo and held it up so Bonnie could see the writing: "witch."

"Elena will probably fill in the gaps for the story" came the very quiet voice of Malik who kept his eyes on the necklace, gaining the attention of the other two. "I knew she was their mother but the story is quite tragic."

"How do you know this?" questioned Alaric confused.

"Elijah gave me a glimpse of the truth as a sign of trust towards me but our deal was to keep it quiet. Anyway... I won't rob you from the excitement of deciphering all this information. I better check something out."

Leaving the apartment he kept thinking about the images and he hoped to find out the truth straight from the source. And for that he had to return to the cave. On his way to the cave he collected a few candles to ensure he could draw extra power.

It wasn't ideal seeing the dark and cold tunnels but his thirst for knowledge was far stronger than his fear of the dark. Getting the flashlight he began walking ahead and soon enough he arrived there. He rearranges the torches like he was setting up a pentagram then scattered the candles evenly around the place.

Standing in the middle he closed his eyes, putting on the necklace it felt right yet odd however it gave him the boost he needed. All the torches lit up, the candles light flared up and he began to hear whispers. Calling onto the spirits he drew power from them and began to chant his spell:

"Vide o aspectum, Veni nunc ad me, Aperi mundum et ostende... Mihi veritatem"

As he continued to repeat the chant the flames flared up higher, the cave shook and Malik inhaled sharply, opening his eyes they turned completely white and in an instant images flooded his mind.

" Please, Ayana! I implore you! You must call upon the spirits before the next full moon" pleaded Mikael to the witch who gave both him and Esther a stern look.

" I will not! It is a crime against nature."

" Ayana, we have already lost too much. We cannot lose any more... The spirits can help us find a way to protect our children."

" Everything could be heightened. Our family could live forever..."

" At what cost? This magic you speak of breeds consequence. This is the makings of a plague, Esther. The spirits will turn on you."

" Please, Ayana."

" I will have no part in it."

Ayana left the home abruptly, Mikael closed the door and turning towards his wife spoke to Esther.

" If she will not protect our family... then it is in your hands alone, my love."

The scenes have changed in front of him and he watched as Esther prepared the spell and she turned Mikael into a vampire. Not long after that they both gathered their children together for dinner and then Mikael took over.

Esther couldn't watch them die, so once they offered them wine which was laced by the doppelgänger's blood, she excused herself and left the room. Moments after all of the kids drank it, he pulled his sword out and killed them all. Malik's eyes widened and he was horrified seeing the event unfold in front of him and how Esther and Mikael just went ahead with this plan.

Shortly after Mikael killed them all Klaus and Rebekah woke up, their clothes bloody, they were confused and scared. Klaus immediately moved to comfort his sister.

" Blood! What happened?"

" You will be alright! We will all be alright."

Suddenly Mikael entered with a girl who he compelled to obey, dragging her to his children.

"What are you doing?" asked Klaus confused.

" We must finish what we started!" he pushed the village girl onto her knees in front of them. "You have to drink if you want to live."

Seeing their hesitation Mikael got angry and shouted at them.

" Drink!" Klaus tried to stop him, but Mikael pushed him aside like nothing, Rebekah started to drink the girl's blood. "Drink!!! "

Malik watched as all of them completed their transition by force, Esther did not return until everything was all over and then she began to explain everything to her children.

But as the scenes have changed, Malik could see that Ayana was right. The spirits and nature turned on them all, the sun burnet them , vervain that grew at the bottom of the white oak became protection against them.

People turned them away and they were unable to enter anyone's house ever again without invitation.

But seeing that the tree could be used to kill them all Malik's eyes widened as he watched the tree burn away until he began to see the darkest consequence:

The bloodlust.

He had enough. Pulling away stopped the spell and opening his eyes he was once again in the cave and looking at the drawings began to follow the event's he saw. But as he looked at them he noticed something that made him very worried.

Possibly the real reason why Mikael was hunting Klaus.

The fire died out and he rushed out of the cave, he had to get back to Alaric's apartment as soon as possible, he had no idea if Elena already knew the truth but if Rebekah didn't... he had to make sure Elena didn't got here alone.

Getting back to the apartment Elena was already there and they were looking through the pictures. Malik stopped in the back and waited, he wanted to see how much of the story Elena got out of Rebekah.

"We filled in what we could" explained Alaric and he sticked notes to the different symbols. "A Vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem, etc."

" That's the white oak tree that was used in the spell to create the vampires... which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed."

" Okay. Tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that. What we are not sure about is this: we've got the witch symbol, and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death."

" Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart. But... why is that one connected to the witch's death?"

"We don't know. We haven't gotten that far" mumbled Bonnie looking at the images.

"Oh my god... Rebekah doesn't know the real story" exclaimed Elena and began collecting the pictures.

"What story?" asked Bonnie confused seeing her best friends frantic behaviour.

"Mikael didn't kill their mother. It was Klaus" spoke Malik surprising them all and gained their attention. "He kept it a secret."

"I better go and talk to Rebekah" announced Elena. "She needs to know."

"It's dangerous, Elena" warned Bonnie. "She could kill you..."

"I'll go with her" offered Malik. "She won't hurt me."

"Don't worry Bonnie, it will be alright" smiled Elena and looking at Malik the two of them left the apartment.

Malik drove to the Salvatore Boarding House but they did not talk to each other, Elena seemed nervous as she looked at the images, making sure her story was correct before she presented it to the blonde original.

The moment they got there Elena was about to get out but Malik grabbed his hand, earning a confused look from the brunet.

"Just try not to provoke her or push her Elena... what you're about to tell her will shake her. Rebekah will have to deal with a thousand year lie."

She didn't respond just nodded and the moment Malik let go of her she rushed into the house. The warlock had a bad feeling about the whole thing which is why he rushed after.

" I thought I told you to leave. Twice" came the voice of Rebekah but Elena walked out bravely and ignoring her statement spoke up.

"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?"

"Nik was there. He told me"responded the blonde and turned around to look at the doppelgänger.

"He lied to you" stated Elena bluntly which made Malik want to facepalm and urge to drag the girl away.

It wasn't even a minute since Malik asked her to be gentle.

No, Elena went after her own head.

"And how do you know that?" Rebekah remained sceptical but it seemed Elena wasn't discouraged; she went closer to Rebekah began explaining her theory.

"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols" she began putting the pictures on the table for Rebekah to see. "The story of your family: how your parents arrived, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this. This is the symbol for hybrid. And this is the one for your mother."

"Her necklace" whispered Rebekah not taking her eyes of the symbol.

"And this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the Original Witch. Not Mikael."

"No, he wouldn't" denied Rebekah immediately, Malik noticed how anger began to grow in her, preparing himself to step in.

" She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence... when he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you."

"These mean nothing! They're just stupid drawings, done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!" Rebekah was upset, she picked up the pictures and storming to the fireplace she tore them to pieces and threw them into the fire.

"Then why are you so upset?" questioned Elena, knowing she had her, but Malik could not remain silent anymore.

"Elena enough"

" Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!" questioned the blonde on the verge of tears.

" Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop!"

In an instant Rebekah grabbed Elena by the throat and vamped out, showing her teeth and the veins under her eyes.

" Shut up! Don't talk anymore! No more!"

Malik felt sorry for the blonde original, seeing her stop and letting go of Elena the boy walked closer. Rebekah gasped and tears erupted, Elena finally realised what she has done, looking guiltily at the vampire wanted to talk again, but this time the warlock interfered.

"You've done enough Elena. Please leave."

Elena looked at Malik to argue but seeing his serious face she stopped. She knew Malik wasn't going to argue, so she left the building to go home.

The warlock gone down next to the original vampire and pulling her to a hug Rebekah was taken back but feeling the comforting feeling she buried her face into his shoulder and continued to cry.