Tiberius Salvatore: The eldest brother

34

"Low blow, Stefan. Low blow." Stefan and Rio heard from their respective rooms. They both sped downstairs to see Damon in an uncomfortable position. Of course, I say uncomfortable, but really it was more torturous. He sat chained to a chair with a fireplace stoker through his chest and his daylight ring on the ground.
"What the hell happened to you?" Stefan asked, inspecting the middle Salvatore.
"Whatever twisted ripper game this is between you two, leave me out of it."
"I didn't do this." He denied. "Rio?"
"Nah. I don't have time to be torturing people. Besides this all seems symbolic and ritualistic and weird."
"All that's missing is a pentagram around him."
"Believe it or not, but pentagrams are for protection." Rio informed.
"Well I doubt whoever it was had any plans to protect Damon." Stefan replied sarcastically.
"Quit screwing around. One of you did this, I know it."
"I didn't!" Stefan checked the chains. "It's pretty messed up though, isn't it?"
"Yep." Stefan started to help Damon out of the chains.
"You helping Rio?"
"Nope." Stefan gave up halfway and walked away with Rio.
"Yeah, not to worry. I'll just-" Damon sighed. "I'll just untangle myself."
Rio heard screaming as he sat in the library. "Damon seems to be getting tortured by an invisible man."
"Yeah. Maybe he's hallucinating."
"I don't think hallucinations can tie him up."
"No, but he can. He can tie himself up, throw away his ring and think it's someone else. Whatever. Who cares? I'm going to go get a drink at the grill." Stefan walked out. Rio went back to Damon to see some guy at the window opening and closing the curtains. Damon's ring was still on the floor and out of reach.
"Who's this?"
"Mason Lockwood." The guy replied.
"Another Lockwolf?"
"Funny." Mason opened the curtains, letting more sunlight in. Damon grunted in pain.
"Was that supposed to faze me? I'm sorry, you seem to have confused me with someone who cares."
"Rio turned off his humanity. Torturing me won't change that fact."
"I realised. But it's still fun." Mason smirked. "Who exactly are you? New vampire in town?"
"Not exactly new to town. I used to live here." Rio replied. Mason opened the curtains wider and Rio felt a pang of pain. Pain of seeing his brother hurt. That tiny flicker of emotion was enough to open wide the dam of emotions he tried to seal. He stopped for a moment to try to get his bearings. He quickly rushed to give Damon his daylight ring rendering him safe from Mason's sunlight attacks. As Rio unchained his younger brother, Mason disappeared.
"Thanks, big brother." He said, looking up at Rio with gratitude. "You turned on your humanity? What made you change your mind in the past five seconds?"
"Big brother instincts when little brother is being tortured."
"Thanks." He repeated.
"Don't mention it." Rio sighed. "Then there's the matter of Stefan."
"Yeah, see. There's only one way to deal with him."
"No, I mean. I think we should let him be for now. Without his emotions he won't be feeling the pain. The pain of seeing his brother and his girlfriend fall in love. He shouldn't have to. Until this Klaus thing is over we should let him keep it off."
"You think we should let him keep his emotions off and keep acting like a dick?"
"If that's what it takes for him to not have to hurt that bad, then yeah. I do."
"Then you're an idiot. The pain of life or whatever is what keeps him, him. And Elena's not falling for me. She has this epic love with Stefan. And he already knows I love her. Has known for a while."

"Greetings, blondie. Witchy. I think you got your voodoo wires all crossed when you got rid of Vicki Donovan." Damon said as he drove up to Bonnie and Caroline.
"Charming, little brother." Rio remarked from the passenger seat.
"What do you mean, why?" Bonnie Bennett asked.
"Because I'm pretty sure I just got spit-roasted by Mason Lockwood's ghost."
"What?"
"And why would you think that?" Caroline asked.
"Maybe because he chained me to a chair and shoved a hot poker in my chest. Let's just say I'm having déjà vu."
"It's true. I was there. He wasn't hallucinating."
"I thought you said that ghosts couldn't physically interact with people." Caroline turned to her friend.
"They can't."
"Someone should probably tell Mason Lockwood that. I don't think he got the memo." Rio joked.
"Yeah, well, I don't have time for a vengeful Lockwood. When I kill someone, they're supposed to stay dead. Whatever you screwed up, fix it." Damon said, and drove away.
"Hey hey Damon!"
"What?"
"You aren't supposed to kill someone."
"You should be happy. The number of my kills since you got into town has considerably lowered."
"Am I supposed to congratulate you or something."
"Well," Damon looked slightly proud of his 'achievement'. "Yeah."
"Why were you killing people in the first place? Didn't I teach you something about that?"
"We're vampires. We kill people. Anyways, I'm turning good now. Like disgustingly good. Hey did you give Stefan this don't kill people lecture?"
"Yes. I gave it to you before as well." Rio rolled his eyes. "Drop me off here. I think I know where Lottie and Anya went."

"Who is it?" Rio heard as he knocked on the house his wife had rebuilt for him. "Humanity Ty, or No-Humanity Rio."
"It's me. The real me. Humanity Ty." He admitted. 
"And I didn't even have to beg you! So what made you turn it on?"
" 'Big brother instincts when little brother is being tortured.' I believe he called it."
"Damon. What a surprise." Rio said turning around. "You followed me?"
"When did you have this place remade?"
"It was all Lottie. A gift. Why did you follow me?"
"She got it right, right down to the T. How?"
"Stop avoiding my question."
"I was wondering where you'd be shacking up if you're not staying at the boarding house."
"Shacking up? Is that the best you can do?" Charlie sounded condescending.
"Stop being condescending."
"Big words little brother. What'd you do? Take a page out of Stefan's book and go to high school?"
"You know what? You're so funny, I actually forgot to laugh." Rio smirked at his brother's expense.
"Can you get Anya to invite me in? Feel free to lock Damon out. Or he'll come in uninvited whenever he wants."
"Well we definitely don't want that." Charlie joked.
"Rio! I let you stay in the boarding house."
"I'm the eldest living Salvatore. That place would technically belong to me. Or we'd all share it. Something like that."
"Rio!" Anya grinned as she walked into the landing.
"Hey, kiddo." Anya ran outside and hugged him.
"You came back."
"Course I did. We're a family, aren't we?"
"Yeah. Would you like to come inside, Rio?" 
"I would love to, darling." Rio bumped her shoulder and led her back inside where Damon couldn't get in.
"What do you think? Should Anya let him in?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know. Seeing him so deflated makes me feel kinda sorry for him. But it's also hilarious." Damon glared at his brother. "Damon, I'm only kidding. But do you promise to obey the owner of the house and what not?"
"How do you even know about that?"
"It is so easy to get inside your head. Especially when you're daydreaming. I know you're daydreaming because you're usually drooling."
"Hey how did you get inside the house? When I was bitten and you came to Mystic falls, Elena didn't invite you in. I was in the room with her, when you came in."
"Can't tell you that little brother. Anyways you gotta obey the princess of the house if you're gonna be invited in."
"Princess of the house? You want me to listen to a 15 year old?"
"Almost 16. And technically I'm older than you. By centuries."
"Do you promise?" Damon looked at his brother's unrelenting face.
"Alright fine. Whatever. I promise."
"Then please do come in."
"By the way, Elena died at the ritual before you got bitten. That broke the house spell thing."

"I forgot about that."