chapter two ─ the hybrid

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WHILE THIS WASN'T HOW SHE'D INTENDED on revealing herself, after hearing Damon's long explanation of the goings on in Mystic Falls in the last year over the course of the night, Morrigan decided that she would tell him about herself as well. It was only fair and reapers dealt in fairness.

"So, not just a girl who was raised by hunters and watched them be killed by vampires," Damon said.

"Not in the slightest," she answered.

"You lied to us."

"Our lists of wrongdoings do not compare, Damon. Besides, I had to find out how two people came back to life here. That doesn't mean I'm not your friend, as terrible of a person as you are. I spent two months getting to know you all, you've got your charms."

"Fair point," he conceded.

Morrigan reached for the tv remote on the bedside table and flicked the tv on. It landed on the news and she left it as Damon walked over to his closet to take down the last of his shrine to finding his brother. He'd been intermittently working on it as they shared their stories.

"So if you weren't raised by hunters..." Damon suddenly asked, turning back to her. "How do you know about the supernatural?"

"What, do you think that reapers only take humans to the afterlife?"

"Maybe..."

"Well, we don't. I've taken vampires, werewolves, witches... all manner of supernatural beings. Vampires are my least favourite, they're always so arrogant and stubborn and full of themselves... going on about how they're supposed to live forever as if they didn't experience their heart being ripped out of their chest."

"I'm right here," Damon said, looking offended.

"Oh, don't worry darling, you're my least favourite, too."

"Whether a suicide or a tragic accident, WPKW News has lost one of it's shining stars. Field reporter and weekend anchor, Andie Star was discovered dead this morning by..."

"Just can't stay away can you?"

At Damon's interruption of the news broadcast, Morrigan looked away from the television screen to see Elena entering the room. Her brow was furrowed as she looked between Damon and Morrigan, who was stretched out across Damon's bed. The dots connected immediately in the blonde's mind.

"Did you two...?"

"Jealous?" Damon taunted her.

"I would never, Elena, promise. I've been keeping him from killing someone all night by making him tell me everything that's been going on in this town," Morrigan explained.

"That's not what you've been doing," Damon countered.

"Oh, you think so, do you? If I hadn't asked you about what was going on here, what would you have gone and done, having been left to your own devices?" Damon hesitated. "That's what I thought."

"I wouldn't have gone and killed someone," Damon tried, weakly, to defend.

"Keep telling yourself that, mate." She turned to Elena. "What brings you to our den of angst and conversation?"

"Damon's been dodging my calls," she said, turning to him.

"Yeah, well, busy day, you know? Dead fake girlfriend and all."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Happy Birthday, Elena. Stefan killed Andie. Cake?" he mocked, brushing past her.

"He called me, Damon."

Damon stopped and Morrigan sat up.

"What?"

"Stefan called me last night."

"What did he say?"

"He didn't say anything. But it was him," Elena answered. "I asked Sheriff Forbes if she would trace the call's origin. It came from Tennessee."

"Where he's binge-drinking on the country folk," Damon said. He turned back towards the fireplace. "We went through this, Elena. Stefan's gone. And I don't mean geographically."

Damon dropped the papers in the fireplace and grabbed a box of matches from the mantle. Morrigan didn't know if it was a good thing or not that he was so quickly giving up on Stefan, especially since Elena was resistant to doing the same.

"If he was gone, he wouldn't have called," Elena said.

Giving her a disbelieving look, Damon struck a match and tossed it into the fire with the papers, turning away from her. Elena rolled her eyes and sighed, turning and leaving as well. In only moments there was the sound of her going down the stairs in the distance and it was only Damon and Morrigan once again.

"That thing we did before, the saying the same thing at the same time? Let's never do that again. Ever."

"Aw, sweetheart, you're breaking my heart."

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MORRIGAN WAS STILL WITH DAMON WHEN he got the text from Ric that he was taking Elena to find a pack of werewolves in the mountains after the tip that Stefan was in Tennessee. He asked her if she wanted to join him in bringing Elena back and since she didn't really have anything better to do and was trying to keep Damon from killing anyone, she decided to make the road trip with him. It would be a good chance to get some more information on everything that had happened in Mystic Falls.

Tennessee was quite a ways away from Virginia and that meant a good number of hours in a car with Damon. Not exactly something she was looking forward to. Fortunately for her, as they were driving down a mostly deserted back road that he insisted was a short cut, a familiar blonde popped into the back seat, causing Damon to press on the breaks and bring them to a screeching halt.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded. "And how did you get in my car?"

"Relax, this is Mara. She's a reaper," Morrigan assured him, turning to the woman. "What's going on?"

"I have a report for you," Mara explained, handing her a file folder.

"For me?" Morrigan questioned. "Why aren't you turning this into Lin? You can keep driving now, by the way, Damon."

Rolling his eyes and mumbling to himself, Damon did keep driving while Morrigan sat half turned to the backseat to talk with Mara. The reaper opened the file she'd been handed with a little bit of skepticism.

"He thought you'd be interested in seeing it," Mara explained. "Given your current... friendships."

"Are you talking about me with that tone of judgement?" Damon questioned.

"Just keep driving, Mr Salvatore. You collected both these souls, Mara?"

"I collected one, Teresa collected the other. The third you recognize."

"Teresa? One of her first, right? How'd it go?"

"Really well. She's a natural, as expected."

"Good..." Morrigan flipped to the last page of the report and smiled, handing it back to Mara. "Thank you for bringing this to me. You can take it back to Lin, now."

With a nod, Mara popped back out of existence and Morrigan turned back around so she was facing the right way. Damon glanced in his rearview mirror, brows knitting together in confusion before he turned to Morrigan.

"Where did she go?"

"To give the report back to Lin."

"And who is that?"

"Our boss."

"So reapers can teleport?"

"Technically, I suppose, you could call it teleporting, but it doesn't quite work like you think it does. We can teleport into the World Between and out of it, to a soul we are meant to collect and back to where we were, and any reaper can teleport to either Lin or I."

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"Sure it does, you're just daft."

"Are you ever going to stop being so rude to me?"

"Maybe when you stop being a horrible person." Morrigan paused. "Look, about those reports. The reason that Mara brought them to me was that they were for two victims of Stefan's and... and Andie."

Damon's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, but his voice was calm when he spoke.

"What about them?"

"They found peace, whatever that was for them. They may have died suffering, but they're not suffering in death. And... and I was the one who walked Andie across."

The car screeched to a halt. Damon didn't move for a second, then he slowly turned to look at her, many different emotions swirling in his bright eyes.

"You were?"

"Yeah. That's why I checked up on you when you got back, she was worried you would kill someone. Listen, I'm not going to pretend like what you did to her wasn't wrong and that it was horrible and unfair to her. I can't do that. But I can see that in your own messed up way, you did care about her. And she cared about you, even though she was terrified of you. You showed her a very vulnerable side of yourself and yeah, she probably would have run for the hills if she wasn't compelled, but she liked you before she knew about everything."

"How do you know all of this?"

"It's not a short walk, Damon. We talked a lot as I guided her across. And, because you cared about her, I want you to know that she's in paradise. She'll never have to worry about anything ever again. That report... well, let's just say that she made an excellent choice in where to spend her afterlife. You can rest easy, knowing she's at peace."

"Thank you," he said, quietly.

"You're welcome," she said.

"We should keep moving," he said.

"Yeah," she agreed.

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WHEN THEY REACHED THE FORESTED MOUNTAINS where the werewolf pack was supposedly hiding out and Elena and Ric were, Morrigan realized that they were going to have to do some hiking. Hopefully they wouldn't have to go too terribly far as she hadn't really dressed for hiking and if she got blisters, she wouldn't be able to wear her new heels.

Morrigan and Damon hiked mostly in silence, except for the few words necessary to figure out where they were supposed to be going to find Elena and Ric. Luckily, it didn't take them very long and they caught up to the pair as they stopped for a breather near the river.

Damon, ever the shit disturber that he was, decided not to announce their presence in the typical way that one would, so as not to spook their friends. No, instead he decided, that he wanted to run over there and throw Elena into the water. So he did, and she screamed and Ric almost shot him with his crossbow.

"Damon?" Elena questioned, confused. "Morrigan? How are you even here?"

"Thanks for the tip, brother," he said to Ric.

"You sold me out," Elena accused.

"You think I'd take you into a mountain range of werewolves on a full moon without backup?"

"Then what's Morrigan doing here?"

"Ouch, Elena, that really hurts. I'll have you know that I'm a bit of a fibber. Not human. And no, not a vampire, a werewolf or a witch, either. We can discuss it, later."

"Get out of the water, Elena," Damon said.

"If I get out of the water, you're gonna make me go home."

"Yes. Because I'm not an idiot like you."

"Right now, you're both acting like idiots," Ric said.

"And five year olds," Morrigan added.

"You gave up on him, Damon."

"I didn't give up on him, Elena. I faced reality. Now, get out of the water."

"No."

"What's your big plan, Elena? Huh?" Damon challenged, going down to the riverbank and then into the water. "Gonna walk into a campsite of werewolves, roast a marshmallow and wait for Stefan to stop by?"

"My plan is to find him and help him. Damon, this is the closest we've been to him since he left. I'm not going home."

"Klaus thinks you died when he broke the curse. That makes you safe. This? This is not safe."

"I'm not leaving before we find him."

"It's a full moon tonight, Elena."

"Then we'll find him before then."

Aside from the sounds of the forest and the water, there was nothing but silence as Damon and Elena stared each other down. Morrigan sighed, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Any moment now, Damon would back down and let Elena have her way. It was something she'd seen happen many times she'd known them. Which was saying something considering she'd only known them for two months.

"Damon, please."

"Okay. Okay. But we are out of here before the moon's full and I'm werewolf bait."

"I promise."

"Unless you wanna relive that whole deathbed kissy thing."

"I said I promise."

"You know, I'm not even surprised," Morrigan muttered to Ric.

"Me neither," he agreed with a sigh.

"You know we don't have towels. You should think about that next time you decide to take a dip," she said to Damon and Elena, who were pulling themselves back up the hill towards them.

"I didn't decide anything," Elena said. "Someone forced me."

"We should keep moving," Ric said.

"What a splendid idea," Morrigan agreed.

After pointing out the direction that they should be heading in, the group of four trudged on. Their path took them away from the river and up the first incline to the mountain area that they were headed for.

"How you doing?" Damon asked Elena.

"I'm fine," she answered.

"You know, I can help you," he said.

"No, thanks."

"Just one little whoosh."

"Yeah, with my luck, you'd drop me."

"What are you guys, twelve?" Ric questioned.

"No, the way they're going back and forth, I'd put them more at eight," Morrigan said.

"Really, only eight?"

"What, you think five would have been better? You're the one who said twelve."

"Now who's bickering?" Damon questioned.

"Oh, no, darling, we're not bickering. We're debating. It's what mature adults do when they're wondering about a which answer to a question is correct. What you and Elena were doing is bickering. Like children."

Damon ignored her and they continued on walking, making their way up the mountain. There was more bickering between the four of them and all lighthearted at that. Slowly, as they kept going, the sun began to set until the sky turned a dusty shade of orange.

It was getting late and there was no way around that. They had seen no sign of Stefan or Klaus or even the pack that they were looking for. And with them getting closer and closer to night and the rise of the full moon, Morrigan felt confident in saying that they were getting nowhere and running out of time.

Morrigan never met Stefan, the one that they were on this mission to rescue. He'd left town before she got there, probably around the time that they were initially getting the report that things were off in Mystic Falls. She'd heard the bits and pieces. Vampire, younger, better Salvatore brother. Dating Elena Gilbert. Sacrificed himself to the worst person they knew to save his brother from a werewolf bite.

The worst person they knew being the apparent infamous Niklaus Mikaelson. Aside from the vague mentions of his name, until last night she didn't know anything about him. He was part of the original family of vampires and until recently, under a curse that kept his werewolf side from presenting. A curse that he broke, in part, by killing Elena. Who wasn't dead only because of some magic trade.

A magic trade that wasn't supposed to happen. Elena was supposed to die there. Before, Morrigan had only known that the girl was meant to die. Now, she knew that it was because she was a doppelganger and it was her blood that bound Klaus' curse. The soul they got was not the one they were supposed to get, and that didn't even take into account the one they were already missing.

The Gilbert's apparently, had a thing for evading death. It was Jeremy Gilbert that had been magically resurrected by the witch Bonnie Bennett, denying a soul that was supposed to pass on from doing just that.

So yeah, one could say that Mystic Falls had issues.

"We've got about a mile left," Ric told them.

"Sun's about to set," Damon pointed out.

"I can see that, Damon," Elena said.

"I'm just saying..."

"The moon doesn't reach it's apex for a while. We have time."

They took another few steps before there was the sound of twigs snapping in the distance, getting closer to them. Damon immediately reached an arm back for Elena as they fixed their gazes on the figure that was coming towards them.

It was a man, shaggy hair and loose-fitting clothes that were almost drenched in blood. He had blood coming from his eyes and all around his mouth. He looked like he'd been through hell, and Morrigan knew what that looked like. He stumbled his way towards them and stopped. Ric raised his crossbow and Morrigan conjured her scythe.

"Stay where you are," Ric warned.

He looked up suddenly, nose flaring. "Vampire."

"Werewolf," Morrigan guessed.

The wolf launched himself at Damon, who was prepared and immediately reached for his throat, holding his head back as he tried furiously to bite at Damon. When Ric's shot with the crossbow into the middle of his back didn't even phase him, Morrigan sprang forward, adjusting her grip on her scythe and placing the flat of the long, curved blade under the wolf's jaw and pulling it upward, keeping his mouth away from Damon without killing him.

"Damon!" Elena shouted, tossing him something.

He caught it and Morrigan turned away as the wolfsbane grenade exploded in the wolf's face, causing him to let go of Damon and drop, crying out in pain. Morrigan removed her scythe as Damon kicked him, sending him sprawling. When he hit the ground, he didn't move.

"Let me guess," Ric said. "Hybrid."

"Hybrid? Like this Klaus fellow that took Stefan?"

"Yeah," Elena answered. "He should be able to create more hybrids now."

"This guy looks like he's halfway to death, I would say that his endeavour isn't going very well."

"No. Let's get this guy tied up."

Morrigan helped Damon lever the man up till he was against a tree and then held him there as Ric and Elena gathered some robes and chains to hold him there. It didn't take very long to get him tied so that he didn't need to be held anymore and at that moment, Morrigan stepped back, leaning against her scythe.

"These ropes aren't going to hold him for much longer, what else do we have?" Damon asked.

"Ric, here, take these," Elena said, sprinkling the last of the vervain water in a bottle over the ropes she was holding.

Damon reached backwards for the ropes, then winced and cried out as the vervain burned him.

"I said Ric!"

Ric took the rope and wrapped it around the hybrid a few times and tied it off.

"Alright, that's the last of the vervain," Ric said. "We don't have enough stuff to hold him. I don't think we're going to make that ridge before the full moon."

"If we can get him to talk, we don't have to," Elena said, stepping up to him.

"He doesn't look like he's going to be particularly coherent, Elena," Morrigan warned her.

Seemingly ignoring her warning, Elena reached out for him. Just as her hand was about to touch him, he gasped, head rising and eyes opening. Seems that they had finished tying him just in time.

After a moment of clarity, he cried out as his head snapped violently to the side and then backwards. Elena backed up as they watched the spasms continue along with the cries of pain.

"Is he turning?" Damon questioned.

"Impossible," Elena said. "It's still daylight."

"Tell him that," Ric said.

"With hybrids and coming back to like as possibilities, I'd say that nothing is impossible anymore."

Damon rushed forward to try and hold the hybrid's shoulders back, but it seemed mostly futile to Morrigan.

"There aren't supposed to be werewolves out here until the moon is full!" Elena said.

"You know, those ropes aren't gonna hold a wolf," Ric pointed out.

The hybrid launched forward at Damon, the ropes holding him against the tree. He snapped with pointed teeth at Damon, eyes blazing golden. Yeah, he was definitely beginning to transform into a wolf.

"Damon, we've gotta get out of here. We've gotta get out of these mountains now," Elena told him desperately. "Damon, now!"

With a simple gesture, Morrigan got rid of her scythe and they started running back the direction they'd come. And they were going fast. Morrigan counted herself lucky that she'd opted for a pair of more practical shoes for the party last night, as she'd almost chosen heels and that would not have ended well for her now.

The sky quickly turned dark as they ran, making the forest more obstacle than anything else. That didn't stop them, only made them run harder, as it would only be hard for them to see in the dark, not a wolf. And they had to be sure that they stayed ahead of the wolf.

Suddenly, Elena tripped, crying out as she hit the ground. They all turned to look at her, maybe help her, but halted in their tracks as they saw the wolf standing in front of her, staring her down and snarling.

"Don't move," Damon warned her.

Elena slowly looked up and gasped when she saw the wolf that was staring her down. The wolf maintained eye contact with Elena, keeping it's eyes on her until Damon had to be Damon and do something stupid.

"Here, doggy, doggy," he said.

Damon took off in a blur and the wolf went after him, leaving the three of them in the dark with no idea where either of them were. Morrigan cursed his stupidity and pulled Elena up to her feet.

"Come on, let's keep moving," Ric said.

"We can't leave Damon," Elena argued.

"He can handle himself," Ric said.

"If he's smart about this, he'll lead the wolf away and circle back," Morrigan said. "It's Damon, so no points for intelligence, but hopefully he has some wits when it comes to werewolves."

"Let's move," Ric insisted.

"No, if he gets bit, he'll be dead. I'm the reason he's here," she argued.

"Elena, darling, if that wolf gets either of you humans or me, it'll do more than just bite. And that's death as well, so let's move, I won't say it again."

"Now!" Ric said.

Finally, she relented and they took off running again, the full moon lighting their way. Before long, they broke through the trees and it was easier for them to see. They came to a large hill that they had to get down and Morrigan angled her feet to help her slide down easier, bracing her arms for better balance.

Before long they were down the hill and making a break for the car the two humans had parked, Damon's car not far away. Morrigan rushed the two humans down and into the car, conjuring her scythe again as they closed the doors and she turned her back to the car, keeping a close eye on anything that moved on the horizon.

"Morrigan, aren't you going to get in?" Elena asked.

"No, if the wolf starts coming and you see me disappear, I need you to just drive and I promise I'll be fine."

"Disappear?" Elena questioned. "Wait, before, you didn't include yourself when you called Ric and I humans."

"No, I did not. Astute observation."

"If you aren't human, what are you?" Elena asked.

"Did the scythe not give it away for you?" she teased, looking back and smirking at the two. "I'm a reaper, darling."

"Like the Grim Reaper?" Ric questioned.

"No, that's my boss, but someday."

"So... the whole summer you've been lying to us?"

"Oh, Elena, don't be angry about it. That was the only part I lied about. Both you and your brother were supposed to die two months ago and didn't. That coupled with everything else that's been going on in Mystic Falls meant that there were answers needed. But I wouldn't be here if I wasn't still your friend. And I wouldn't be standing out here to protect you if I was simply a liar."

The girl didn't seem to know what to say to that, so she didn't answer, instead rolling up the window as Morrigan took a step away from the car. She kept her eyes and ears focused on the surrounding area, even as she heard Elena and Ric talking in the car.

Then, Damon appeared in the distance and Morrigan breathed a sigh of relief. He walked slowly towards them and the reaper leaned against her scythe.

"Damon?" Elena said. "Are you okay?"

She rushed past Morrigan to get to Damon, but he seemed less than eager to embrace her relief at his appearance.

"I'm fine. Bite free. Get back in the car," he told you.

"Can you give me a minute to appreciate you're not dead?" Elena questioned.

"I'll give you ten seconds. Nine, eight. Hey, Ric, did you see where I parked my car?"

"It's right over there, Damon, use those bright blue eyes of yours," Morrigan told him.

"Damon stop being such a caveman."

"Seven, six, five..."

"Damon..."

"We'll see you back in Mystic Falls," Morrigan interrupted.

"Drive safe," Ric told her.

"Yeah, you too. Damon, get in your fucking car and stop being a child."

"Yes, Mother," he mocked, rolling his eyes.

Morrigan rolled her eyes as well and followed him to the car as Ric drove off. Before getting into the car, she got rid of her scythe again and closed the door, looking over only to see Damon staring at her. She raised her brows in question at him.

"Thank you for keeping them safe and for holding back the hybrid for biting me," he told her.

"You're thanking me an awful lot today."

"Don't make me take it back."

"You can't, I've already heard it." She paused, smirking. "It's not your time to die yet, Damon Salvatore and I don't let people die until it is there time."

"Are you saying you'll be there when it is?" he asked suggestively.

"Maybe if you're lucky," she answered. "For now, I'm still making sure that you don't kill anyone in anger."

"I'm on murder watch?" he questioned.

"Yes, you are. Now let's get moving, it's been a long day."

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an. and that's the second chapter, folks! What did you think? I think I'm really getting the hang of all the dynamics here. Tell me what you thought, I love hearing all your comments and thoughts! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one!