AN: So pretty much everyone that reviewed Fleeting Hope asked me to continue it. I had this idea before I got the one for Fleeting Hope but I think it'll make a good sequel. To anyone that has read my other Forwood fics, I'm just wondering, do you guys think they have cliff hanger-ish endings? This is my first multi-chapter fic. I hope you like it.

To say that Caroline is proud would be an understatement. She isn't sure what the proper words to describe her feelings for herself right now are but she is sure that it exceeds simply being proud. She is immensely pleased with herself. She should be given an award. Seriously, Damon can never call her useless or stupid ever again because tonight, she did it! She is the one that made everything work and she is damn pleased with herself.

Katherine is out of their hair for good. They're all free. It seems too good to be true but it is. All of their problems are over. They're all free from the evil bitch and now they can go on dealing with less life threatening problems. She wonders if Stefan and Damon have killed her yet. She wonders if Damon will want to drag it out and torture her first. It sounds like Damon but then again… maybe he just wants to get it over with before she can get the upper hand like she always manages to somehow.

No. Not this time.

Besides, Stefan is there. And the hard part's over. The three of them are locked in the room and they can't get out until Bonnie brings down her invisible vampire barrier thingy. It's two against one. Katherine can't hurt anyone because there's no one around for her to hurt. Stefan and Damon will look out for each other. One won't let her kill the other. It's all gonna be okay.

She's so giddy that she practically bounces down the stairs.

Free. Free. Free.

She's finally free. No more having to worry about running into the homicidal dopple ganger of her best friend when she goes out to lunch. No more being forced to do things she doesn't wanna do. No more having to spy on Stefan and Elena and be a horrible friend. No more death threats to Matt's life or to her own life.

This night is perfect!

Laughter comes out of her in giggles as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. She'll never have to see Katherine ever again.

I'm free.

The phrase runs on repeat in her head. She had been so afraid that she would never be able to pull this off. But she had. She feels accomplished. She feels good.

Life is good.

She feels as light as air and she's walking on sunshine as she decides to finally let herself enjoy this party and this beautiful night for just a little bit because it is getting late and everyone is going to be gone soon and she wants to just be normal for the rest of this night because she can be. No more worrying about people dropping dead. She's happy.

And then she hears it.

It sounds like a struggle. Grunts and the sound punches connecting with flesh.

"Get off me!"

She stops in her tracks and turns her head in the direction of where the yell came from.

Tyler? That's Tyler. He's fighting with someone. But who? Her happiness quickly gives way to alarm as she realizes the grunts of the person that isn't yelling is Matt. Why the hell is Tyler fighting Matt?

She doesn't wait to find out because it's Matt and it's Tyler and god! Why do they have to fight so much?

It doesn't matter. She just has to stop them. Whatever it is, she might be able to get them to talk it out and not avoid each other for weeks if she stops it right now. She doesn't want them to be mad at each other and she doesn't want either of them getting hurt. So, in a way that is completely different from her previous sunshine bounce, she practically shoves through the crowd of people as she makes her way to the more secluded part of the house where the sounds are coming from.

Her first view into the room shows her Tyler barely landing a right hook to Matt's jaw and then they both grab each other, each one trying to get the upper hand. He looks angry and Matt looks determined.

"What is going on? Stop!"

Now, Caroline does break into a run as adrenaline and worry kick in at the same time and she shouts out as she quickly grabs Matt who she can reach before Tyler and pulls him off, shoving him away to put distance between the two.

Matt is sent towards the other end of the room as Tyler stumbles backward slightly from her suddenly intrusion into their fight. He looks a little confused and surprised to see her but Caroline barely notices and doesn't have time to dwell on it because Matt is already back on his feet and he lunges for Tyler again.

"Stop!" she orders again as she plants her heeled feet firmly and stretches out her arm, effectively stopping Matt from advancing any further with just her open palm pushed against his chest. Immediately, his hands are around her wrist trying to pry her hand away from him.

She reaches out her other arm and presses her hand against Tyler's chest as he tries to get closer. He stops then and makes no attempt to move closer to his friend who is trying his best to dislodge Caroline's fingers from around his shirt.

"I can't!" Matt tells her as he fights against her grip. Caroline frantically turns her head from Matt to Tyler and back again, her hair whipping around her as Tyler tries to lean forward looking concerned.

"Let me go, I have to finish!" Matt's yelling at her now and Caroline begins to panic because both of their heartbeats are accelerated and she can smell the blood rushing through their veins.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Tyler asks and Caroline thinks he sounds almost desperate. Matt doesn't seem to hear the distress and confusion is his friend's voice however.

"LET ME GO!" he screams at Caroline. This gets her attention and she stops looking at Tyler and her head whips around so that she can stare shocked at Matt because she's never heard him sound like this before.

"What?" her words come out sounding raspy from her shock and she sees his face. She's stunned.

Matt's usually calm and gentle face is twisted with something she doesn't recognize. He isn't even looking at her. His eyes are locked on Tyler as he glares at his friend through grit teeth, still trying to pry himself out of Caroline's hold.

Something's wrong. Matt doesn't act like this. Matt is usually the one pulling Tyler off of other people. Matt is supposed to be the reasonable one out of the two. But he's looking at Tyler – his best friend, Tyler- like he literally wants to kill him.

This isn't Matt. It's not Matt talking, Caroline realizes. It's a compelled Matt. It's Katherine.

The combination of this possibility and the look on Matt's face cause Caroline to push him back slightly and as he tries to lunge forward again, she jerks her arm up and ends up elbowing him square in the nose.

He stumbles backwards and falls flat on his back and he doesn't move. Caroline lets out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and quickly looks at Tyler to make sure he isn't going to attack his friend again and she quickly turns her attention back to the boy on the floor when Tyler does nothing but look from Matt's fallen form on the floor to her with a dumbfounded eyes and an open mouth.

She ignores him as the tangy smell of blood fills the air and she turns away from him quickly making her way over to the bleeding boy on the floor.

"Matt?" she calls out, feeling scared and hoping she hasn't hurt him too badly.

She falls to her knees next to him and pats his head in an effort to wake him up. He looks unconscious but the bleeding isn't rapid and his nose doesn't appear to be broken. She sighs out half in relief and half in concern.

"Matt?" she questions again as she tries to ignore the blood that is dripping out of his nostril.

"How did you…" Tyler begins as he very slowly edges closer to them but something else catches Caroline's attention.

"Matt failed." Sarah deadpans, sounding very much like she's on some kind of mission.

"And if Matt fails, I can't."

What? Confused, Caroline turns her head to look at Sarah. What is she talking about? Failed at what? And then she sees the sharp silver glint in the dim light of the lamp as Sarah stalks toward Tyler.

"Tyler, look out!" she screams just as Sarah raises her arm up into the air.

Tyler whirls around just as Sarah jabs her weapon into his chest, right above his heart. With a grunt he pushes her backward and Caroline smells his blood bubbling out of his open chest before she hears a cracking sound as Sarah's head connects with the desk behind her and she too falls to the floor, and stills.

Tyler doesn't spend much time inspecting his wound. He pulls his bloody hand away from his bleeding chest and quickly falls to his knees next to Sarah when she doesn't open her eyes or attempt to get up.

"No, no, no. Come on, wake up. Sarah. Sarah, open your eyes, wake up." She's never heard him sound sofrantic. Or sounds scared.

She can understand why though. She sucks in a breath as she slowly stands up.

"Oh my god." Her words come out as just a whisper as everything suddenly clicks and realization hits her.

"This can't happen." He says.

"This can't happen! Thais can't be happening. Sarah! Sarah, get up!" he demands but he sounds more desperate than anything else.

Caroline can hear Tyler's rapidly beating heart but she can't hear Sarah's. Sarah's heart has just stopped.

"Sarah! Open your eyes!" he's practically begging now.

"Oh, God. Oh, this can't be happening!" he says as he pushes himself up and distances himself from Sarah's body on the floor.

Caroline walks slowly toward the body hoping that she's wrong and maybe she just needs to get closer to hear it. Tyler's head shakes from side to side as he looks from Caroline to Sarah looking more panicked then she has ever seen him in her life.

She kneels next to Sarah and she presses her fingers against the girls exposed neck, feeling for a pulse. She tries to block out the sound of Tyler's rapid heartbeat and ragged breathing as she concentrates on finding a pulse and hearing Sarah's heartbeat. But she can feel the blood cooling beneath her fingertips. It's not rushing through her veins anymore. It's at a stand-still. Sarah's dead.

Sarah's dead and Tyler's freaking out.

Jeremy's words echo in hear head again.

"As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn."

She closes her eyes sadly hoping this doesn't mean what she thinks it means.

"Tyler?" she says hesitantly but he doesn't answer her. A pained sounds escapes him and as she looks up at him he falls to the floor clutching his chest. His heart is beating faster and louder than Caroline thinks is possible or healthy. His breathing is labored as he pounds his fist into the floor.

"Tyler?" she asks again, her fear rising.

"Tyler, what's happening?" she asks as she slowly stands up. He looks like he's in pain. She wants to get near him, wants to calm him down but she's afraid. She backs away instead. She's having flashbacks of a snarling wolf on top of her. She still remembers the feel of its hot breath on her face as it growled at her from her position when she had been pinned down beneath him. That wolf had been Mason. Tyler's uncle. Is Tyler going to turn into a wolf right here? Why is he making those sounds? What's wrong with him? What's happening to him?

"Get away. Get AWAY!" is the only response that she gets and it only serves to scare her even more but she doesn't back away from him.

This can't be happening. It's not fair. It was an accident. It's not his fault. If this happens, then that means that Tyler's life is changed forever. It means his life is ruined. She wants him to tell her that he's fine. She wants to know that he hasn't just joined her in the world of the supernatural.

"What's happening!" she demands again, her voice filled with fear.

"Ahhh!" the only response she gets from him however but she doesn't need anything more after that because his head suddenly snaps upwards and Caroline's already wide eyes nearly pop out of their sockets and she steps back as the fear and worry that had filled her now turn to horror and despair.

Because when he looks up at her, Tyler's eyes are glowing gold.

AN: Okay, I know this is just a recap of what we've already seen but I wanted to emphasize Caroline's feelings when all this was going on. Next chapter will be better, I promise. I'll try to get it up soon.

-Crimson Breeze