『17』

When Matt awoke, he found himself sprawled on a couch. Groggily standing up, he noticed Elena lying unconscious nearby. "Look who woke up," a male vampire with overgrown hair remarked, approaching them. Matt's eyes darted between the stranger and Elena, who was now slowly regaining consciousness.

"What do you want?" Elena asked, her voice tinged with fear.

"Ssh," the vampire hushed her. "Please, I'm hurt," Elena pleaded.

"I know. Just a taste," the vampire said, veins under his eyes pulsating as he moved closer to Elena's bleeding wound.

"Trevor! Control yourself," a female vampire with a pixie cut interjected sternly.

"Buzzkill," Trevor grumbled, stepping back. "What do you want with me?" Elena demanded.

After a brief silence, Matt, who had been gathering his bearings, spoke up. "I'm here too," he said, standing up and stretching.

Elena's eyes widened in fear as she asked, "What do you want with me?"

"Oh my god, you look just like her," Rose remarked, her expression intense.

"But I'm not. Please, whatever you—" Elena pleaded.

"Be quiet!" Rose interrupted sharply.

"But I'm not Katherine. My name is Elena Gilbert; you don't have to do this," Elena insisted desperately.

"I know who you are; I said be quiet," Rose replied sternly.

Elena, persisting, asked, "What do you want?"

In response, Rose slapped her hard. The force of the blow sent Elena tumbling onto the couch, unconscious.

"I want you to be quiet," Rose declared coldly.

Matt erupted into laughter as he witnessed the intense exchange between Rose and Elena. Ignoring the tension in the room, he mocked, "Try to leave, and you'll end up like her," pointing at the unconscious Elena.

Rose shot him a disapproving look and warned, "Try me; I don't see a daylight ring on your finger. Answer my questions, or you'll burn." With that, he removed a plank from the window, allowing the sunlight to stream in.

Amidst the commotion, Trevor rushed in to intervene, but Matt effortlessly dispatched him with a snapped neck, achieved with a casual snap of his fingers. Turning back to Rose, he questioned, "I understand why you'd take her; she's the doppelganger. But why me?"

Rose hesitated, then exposed her arm to the sunlight, causing her to scream in agony. Matt, taking perverse satisfaction from her pain, observed with a twisted grin. Despite enjoying attention, he relished inflicting pain just as much. Rose, in her anguish, pleaded, "I'll tell you."

Removing her from the sunlight to let her heal, Matt stared at her and demanded, "Well, go on."

Still recovering from the burns, Rose took a deep breath before divulging, "You... you possess something very much like the doppelganger. You're needed to break the sun and moon curse."

Matt raised an eyebrow, his intrigue growing. "How do I exactly play into this?" he asked.

Rose hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "The sun and moon curse requires the blood of a Petrova doppelganger, but it also demands a balance. It needs a counterpart."

Matt released Rose; he knew that the sun and moon curse was a fake to hide the actual curse. He acknowledged the truth in her words about him being essential alongside Elena. Intrigued and somewhat apprehensive, he pondered the role he had to play in the unfolding events. Heading upstairs, he located an empty room, closed his eyes, and called out to Agustus and Asmodeus. After a brief period, the two entities materialized before him.

"Mind telling me why I'm needed in the so-called 'sun and moon curse'?" Matt asked. Asmodeus smiled and turned towards Agustus, signaling for him to reveal the truth.

Agustus let out a heavy sigh. "Around the time the Mikaelsons were turned into vampires, I was in their village. Much like Asmodeus gave Qetsiyah some of his blood for her immortality spell, I gave Esther some of mine. However, instead of using it for her vampirism spell, she used it as a binding ingredient for her son Niklaus's werewolf curse. He must drain the doppelganger to break his curse, as her blood is used more. All he needs from you is a pint of your blood to break the curse."

Matt stared at Agustus and Asmodeus, grappling with the enormity of the information he had just received. The revelation about his blood being a key component in breaking the Mikaelsons' curse weighed heavily on his shoulders.

"So, all Klaus needs is a pint of my blood, and he's free from the curse?" Matt clarified, trying to comprehend the gravity of his role in this supernatural saga.

Agustus nodded solemnly. "Yes, that's the essence of it. Your blood and the doppelgangers can shatter the curse that has bound Niklaus for so long."

Asmodeus spoke up, conveying ancient wisdom, "You see, the doppelganger's blood already contains some of my essence—the essence of an incubus. But mixing the blood of an incubus with that of the doppelganger creates a potent concoction. It's not just about breaking curses; it has the potential for various effects, such as sealing things away.

"So, what you're saying is, thanks to Augustus here, I'm now somehow a part of the ritual to break Klaus's curse?" Matt deadpanned, his expression unchanging.

Augustus said, trying to lighten the mood, "It's not that much blood, and you won't have to die. So cheer up."

As Matt processed the information, he couldn't shake off the surreal nature of his situation. "Not dying is a plus, I guess," he muttered a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

His physical body jolted, and as he bid Asmodeus and Augustus goodbye, he returned to the waking world. Blue eyes greeted him—Caroline. She hugged him tightly, expressing concern. "Stephanie and I were worried. Let's go. Damon and Stefan had already taken Elena and left. Bonnie sent me your location, hoping you were here. I listened for other heartbeats and found you. We have a dead Original downstairs, so let's get out while we can," Caroline rattled off hurriedly.

"Alright, let's go," Matt said, and as they descended the stairs, he spotted Elijah with a coat rack in his heart. Intrigued, he reached the living room, pocketed a necklace, and approached Elijah. Matt carefully removed the coat rack from Elijah's heart, lifting him and placing him in the trunk of Caroline's car.

Caroline, perplexed, questioned, "What do you want from him? He's dead."

"He's temporarily dead. Only two things can kill an Original vampire, and I'm letting you know that the coat rack isn't one of them," Matt explained.

Caroline's confusion lingered, but she accepted the information. They drove back to Mystic Falls with Elijah stowed in the trunk. 

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- In what year does Katherine give birth to the daughter her father takes from her? 

- Y'all surprised about Matt's involvement in the ritual, and SO was I. 

 - DONT be a SIELNT reader, VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW