Fighting Free

Chapter 18

"Mikaelson! Don't let me ask twice!"

Klaus didn't know what had happened when he answered his phone, except that he heard a very angry, almost scared sounding Damon Salvatore.
"Ask what? I can't read your mind ok? I have no bloody clue what you're talking about!" He couldn't help but be a bit irritated. He wasn't over the whole fact yet that you had had the files for all that time without telling him about it. And now, just when he needed the time to come to peace with that and find out what he wanted with his future, he had Damon on the phone.
"And I'm not sure if I want to talk to you right now."

"I don't care what you want. You'll just listen to me." Damon didn't seem to have much patience. "Why doesn't your girlfriend call me as we agreed she would and why doesn't she even answer her phone? I need to know she's safe, ok? Your father makes me kind of nervous."

Klaus was immediately awake. The fact that you hadn't answered made him slightly nervous as well.
"I... we broke up yesterday, Damon. I'm not at her place, I haven't seen her since yesterday night, so I have no idea... " He was worried though. He knew about the deal with Damon, he knew you hadn't skipped one day yet and even when he could imagine you forgetting about it, he couldn't imagine you wouldn't answer when Damon would call.
"I'm going to her flat now to check on her. Do you want to come as well?"

"Broke up? Do I even want to know? Wait... first things first... I do want to know, but not now. Meet me at her flat in ten minutes." Damon immediately broke the connection, so Klaus decided to give your number one shot. Voicemail. Something wasn't right.
"Elijah?", he called out to his brother where he had indeed found a place to stay, at least for a few nights. "I'm going to check on Y/N. She's not responding to anything..."

Elijah came to the living room, looking concerned.
"Wait. I'll give you a ride. That's not like her at all... And with everything you told me about the past week... I want to make sure she's just drowning herself in alcohol over your rash decision to walk out on her."

Klaus sighed.
"I know you don't agree with what I did, Elijah. I know you think we should have talked, but can we discuss that later? I... I don't know what it is. This doesn't feel good."

"Come...", Elijah simply said and walked out to his car.

Ten minutes later, the three men stood in front of your flat, in front of a closed door. Klaus hadn't thrown back the keys in your face when he left, which was a good thing now, so he could still enter. Inside they just found an empty, dark apartment you had clearly left in a rush this morning.

"She hasn't been back here after work...", Damon said what they were all thinking while he fished out his phone and started to call someone. It didn't take long.
"She never even got to work this morning. I spoke to her colleague... apparently she had someone call in sick for her. Some guy."

Klaus shook his head.
"I don't believe that... she wouldn't do that. She's used to do everything by herself, she would call in sick herself if she's indeed sick. Besides... she doesn't. I once tried to convince her to stay home when she was feverish and she still insisted on going. She wouldn't do that just because she's emotional. Something's wrong... what if..." He looked at Elijah with shock in his eyes.

"Father.", his older brother simply said. "This must have something to do with father..." Now it was his turn to make a phone call, but while he spoke to Mikael, his face grew more frustrated with the minute.
"He doesn't want to talk to me... He even goes that for to call me a traitor. I need to see him face to face. Maybe that will help." He looked at the other two. "Will you join me?"

"No way that I'm backing out now.", Damon immediately said. "No matter how much of an asshole he is, he's not going to do something to Y/N. Not if I can help it."

"I don't know if you can help it, Damon...", Klaus carefully said. "If Mikael is determined to do something..."

"Like landing you in prison?", Damon answered without thinking, before he realized what he had said. Before he realized he might have believed more of your stories than he wanted to let out.
"Wait... I didn't mean it like that..."

"It didn't sound like it.", Klaus answered aggressively before Elijah stepped between them.

"Gentlemen... I don't think this is the moment for a discussion like that. As much as I would want to know what you meant by that remark, I think we have more important matters to take care of. Finding Y/N should be on top of our priority list, not fight out petty squabbles." He walked outside, holding open the door for the other two.
"I suggest we go to Mikael's home first. Maybe it is just as simple as finding him there."

-

Of course it wasn't. It never was as simple as that. The only one home was Rebekah and she hadn't seen you in a while.
"But father and Kol have been talking an awful lot lately. Mostly they fell silent when they saw me coming. I thought it was a guys thing, but maybe there was more to it."

Klaus started to relax slightly when he noticed Mikael wasn't present in the home he grew up in and started to leaf through papers that were laying on the counters, hoping to pick up a hint on where Mikael could be.
"Think, Rebekah... did they ever mention a place or a house or something like that? I need to know, please..."

Damon was looking around with interest, not at all impressed by the scale of the house. Then again, he probably was used to it after growing up in a house like this.
"You guys are sure there are no hiding places here?"

Rebekah shrugged.
"Hiding places enough, but no places we don't know about. We've been playing hide and seek here for years, so believe me, there's no place I don't know." She smiled sickly at Elijah. "I usually won, remember?"

Elijah started laughing.
"She has a point there... one time I think we already gave up playing because we just couldn't find her. But that's not the point here. Niklaus is right, Rebekah... do you remember anything?"

"The town house?", she frowned? I think father sent Kol there once to get a few things, but he does that more often. But that's the only thing I can think of..."

Elijah nodded.
"Of course! How stupid of me not to think of that immediately! Probably because he acquired it after I moved out already..." He looked at Damon and Klaus. "I can't guarantee anything, but I think we might find out where they are. Are you ready?"

Damon was already standing at the door.
"I was born ready, Mikaelson. Come on. Let's get my best friend out of your family's dirty business."

Klaus wanted to say something, but Elijah stopped him.
"He's right, Niklaus. We brought on this situation. You would be mad as well if the roles were reversed. And you owe her a big apology if father indeed has taken her. If you wouldn't have made such a fuss over those files and just talked about it as an adult should do, we would have discovered this a whole lot earlier. Come along now. There is no time to waste."

"I'm coming too. You hadn't found out where to go without me." Rebekah already had her coat on and walked to the door to join the guys.
"I think you can need everyone you can get and this way we have a big majority. It's just father and Kol, isn't it? Finn is still stuck on the other side of the country. Probably making documents to prove that father couldn't possibly have done this."

"Bekah...", Klaus started, but Rebekah was faster.

"Don't Bekah me! I'm coming, end of discussion."

"Fine...", Elijah sighed. "We don't have time for a long discussion now. But you stay back. Promise?"

"Why?", she wanted to know. "Because I'm a girl? Because I have to let you three strong man solve everything?"

Elijah shook his head.
"That's not fair, Rebekah. I know what you're worth. It's because you're the youngest. I don't want you in danger. Call it the silly thoughts of your older brother, but please... keep yourself safe?"

"Can we please go?", Damon asked impatiently. "Four persons still fit in one car so I don't see why we have to make such a long discussion out of it. If she wants to go, fine... maybe she can bat her eyelashes and distract your father. I'm not picky on who's helping ok? I just want Y/N to be safe."

Klaus nodded.
"He's right." He turned to Damon. "Don't enjoy that too much because I doubt ifyou'll hear it that often. But we need to go. Now."