The Salvatore Boarding House had never been a place of gleeful finesse and entertainment, but it had also never been a house of deadly silence, of decisive death...of an eery fright.
Damon and Stefan Salvatore stood in the midst of an amber lacquered parlor, the elder's eyes piercing down to the dancing flames within the cove of a grand, red brick fireplace. Shadows were being thrown about the old world, medieval style library/sitting room, adding on to the tense warmth, the flickering light...the deafening quiet.
The younger Salvatore stood, with a blonde Original next to his arm. They gazed at the marble veranda, their faces expressionless, yearning for the coolness of the night air.
A sharp eyed doppelgänger seated herself upon a brown leather recliner, a throw rug upon her lap and a glass of scotch cupped in her thin hands. An amused grimace curved upon her lips and her brown curls had tumbled down with wild abandon - most likely during the previous confrontation, right before the silence fell. The other, younger doppelgänger found herself clutching her own figure with a firm grip whilst standing upon the low rise steps that led her down to the in ground parlor. Her jaw was clenched as she stared down at the blonde Original across the room, eyes filled with weariness and suspicion.
The entire atmosphere of the house seemed to be mournful - mourning of a death to come or a death past...that would never be clear unless one of those grim and silent figures spoke. Oddly enough, there were only two humans in the room; both seated in a dark corner upon a maple and gold threaded settee. The male's arms were encased around a dark skinned witch.
Pacing before them was a werewolf, agitation his only expression - he was the only one who allowed himself to show any form of feeling, other than the occasional grimace displayed by the second doppelgänger. A red haired female stood next to him.
She had been dead for a week. That was much was known to them; Rebekah had come bearing the news along with Stefan just three days prior. Their faces one of gloom, heart ache, and a fearful dread that struck worry into the hearts of all who beheld their countenances. It wouldn't be long, Rebekah had said, before he came back to avenge her; he had no purpose coming to Mystic Falls, the elder Salvatore had argued with a dark expression upon his brooding form. They, after all, had not harmed her. And to that, the youngest Original had laughed - laughed at the attempts made by Damon Salvatore to score reason into the mind of a man who's life bore no purpose.
"He's going to lash out at everyone. Anyone. Whoever he sees, Damon." She warned, "he's coming back here because he knows this town has been a blessing and a curse to him - it brought him to her, but now she's gone. He's going to come back here and try to avenge any wrong ever done to her - he's going to kill anyone who's ever hurt her. He's going to kill you, and Katherine, the doppelgänger, the wolf boy and his mistress, the human…anyone and everyone." The female Original paused, "the only reason I'm spared from his massacre is because Caroline cared about me - we were friends. He wouldn't harm me…and he couldn't harm Stefan," turning to her beau, she gave a faint smile, "he's the reason why Klaus hasn't killed every person who's crossed his way in the past week." There's a morbid sense of humor to her voice that only adds to the chill in the air.
"How did she die?" Katherine inquired, her voice careless but her eyes controlled. They were filled with concern for her own safety, the fight or flight reaction kicking in at full force.
The blonde rolled her eyes as she turned to her.
"Murdered," Rebekah responded, as if it were the simplest of all responses. "Marcel, a former…disciple...of Klaus's killed her. They'd gone down to Louisiana because of Caroline's wish to see Mardi Gras; usually, Stefan and I accompany them but this time we decided to go to China." There was no mistaking the slight guilt ridden tone tinged into her voice, "Marcel wanted to prove that he was the dominant king now, not Klaus and he…"
"…He lured Caroline out by faking injury. She rushed to help him and he attacked her; she fought him off and ran to Klaus but Marcel chased her down," Stefan swallowed, "Klaus and Marcel fought and Marcel was losing, badly. Before Klaus could stake him, Marcel unleashed a werewolf on Caroline. The werewolf tore her to pieces whilst Marcel and his bastard cronies injected Klaus with vervain and forced him to watch…watch Caroline being ripped apart...you can imagine what happened after that." His voice was as bleak as the expression in his eyes.
The room was still, so quiet that a pin dropping would equal the cheers heard during New Year's.
Only Katherine dared to inquire further.
"He ripped Marcel into pieces." Rebekah responded, a faint hint of pride in her voice, "then he killed every vampire he saw in New Orleans before going on a rampage all throughout. It's in all the papers, if you bother to read them." She gestured towards the pile of gray tossed haphazardly in a corner before grimacing. "He went insane…all he wanted to do was kill. Kill and murder and destroy…he has no light anymore, there's no purpose. The bastard took away everything from my brother," Rebekah trembled now, her eyes refusing to the shed tears she had so long ceased to acknowledge, "they took away his lover. His friend. His confident…everything." A harshness then crossed Rebekah's features, "he took away my sister…Stefan's friend…he took her away from us." Her voice was filled with sudden revelation, as if the thought had simply bypassed her before. And the more she thought and mulled over this newly illuminated fact, the angrier Rebekah became; within seconds, she was seething, the rage rolling off of her could be sensed by all; Stefan moved to encase Rebekah in his arms but it was too late. She, like Klaus, was lashing out.
Ripping herself from her lover's arms, she bounded over to the elder Salvatore, "I suppose you're happy she's gone." She hissed, "now no one else will know how you raped and tortured her you soulless monster….and you," pivoting, she faced Elena, "you filthy, worthless wench," Rebekah practically spat out, her entire demeanor darkening, her animalistic vampiric side taking full control, "you hurt her more so than anyone, you abomination!" Without warning, Rebekah lunged forward, wrapping her fingers about the retreating vampire's throat, "I should kill you myself," the blonde hissed, "but that might make Nik even angrier…" suddenly, a grotesque smile appeared on the beautiful Original's face, one promising malice and gore, "maybe that might help the cause. Wipe out every worthless immortal who has found themselves walking this earth…"
From the fireplace, Damon's eyes registered shock.
"Stefan, do something, damn it!" He demand to his younger brother, who had merely stood at the double doored glass entry way to the veranda. A blank expression on his face as he witnessed the scene. Turning tranquilly to face his brother, the light of fury was alive and burning in Stefan's eyes as well.
"Why should I?" The younger Salvatore bit out harshly, "Rebekah's right." Throwing a heated glance towards a fearful Elena, he frowned. "She's done nothing but hurt a girl who, in turn, has been nothing but kind to her."
"Damon!" Elena cried out as Rebekah's grip tightened, the whites of her knuckles appearing whilst the snarl growing from the pits of her throat escaped her lips as she continued to glower down at the frightened doppelgänger.
Suddenly, a rush appeared and before Rebekah had a chance to turn, Damon Salvatore was thrown to the ground and pinned unto the shining oak wood floor by the younger Salvatore - his own brother. The rest of the group could only watch in unmoving fright as Stefan's face contorted into mask of mad fury, glaring down at his brother whose own stunned expression was ripe to the fullest extent. Damon Salvatore found himself appalled at the scene unfolding before him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Stefan? Get off of me!" The elder brother demanded, his voice straining from the grip Stefan held, pinning his shirt collar to his throat.
"Let him go, darling," Rebekah airily added, Stefan's head snapped upward to where Rebekah had easily hung Elena by her shirt collar atop a makeshift hook she'd fashioned from the leg of a table. Inspecting her nails, Rebekah let a devious grin appear on her face, "I think we've played them enough. Klaus is bound to be here any second now," Rebekah added, looking out into the glimmering moonlight. "And it's a full moon…" she whispered.
"Klaus isn't the only werewolf in here, you know," a voice responded, Rebekah turned to face Tyler Lockwood, his expression stony. "Hayley and I can take him."
An amused smirk crossed the blonde's face as she walked towards her fiancé who had just unpinned Damon from the floor. "True," Rebekah acknowledged, "you and the whore are werewolves. But Klaus should be able to take care of you within seconds. Well, Hayley at least…he'll torture you for far longer, or maybe he'll capture you and force you to watch him kill the tramp," Rebekah taunted, "I don't really know how my brother feels. You know," she continued to muse, "I've only ever seen him this angry before once, and that was when another hotshot young vampire grabbed Caroline's ass in Rio. 'Member Stefan?" The playful tone in her voice further disturbed the former Scooby Doo gang of Mystic Falls, as the dark skinned witch's face contorted into one of apprehension.
If Stefan sensed the heaviness in the air, he ignored it as he offered Rebekah a faint smile. "Of course. He all but killed the man."
"Now he will. But it won't just be a hot blooded young vamp dying," a sad smile crossed Rebekah's face, "it'll be just about everybody."
Suddenly, Katherine stood, stretching her limbs as a forced expression of calm stretched itself upon her face. "Oh, calm down," the brunette sighed before she downed her scotch. "Do you really think Klaus is going to go on this rampage for the rest of his life?"
It was Stefan who answered.
"Not the rest of his life, Katherine. He's going to kill himself sooner or later…he has no purpose to be in this world without Caroline. Even if he does live because of myself, Rebekah, and his brothers, he won't ever be the same. He'll be darker, he won't be afraid to destroy anything. He'll lose every last shred of humanity that Caroline had ever brought out or instilled in him…he'll be a reckless killing machine if he does live. He'll go back to his hybrid obsession," Stefan nodded towards Elena who Damon had just begun to unhook from Rebekah's hanger, "he has the cure. He won't stop until either Elena or Katherine takes it and then he'll go on a hybrid making frenzy…reason will be gone from his head…nothing will make sense to him anymore. The perception of right and wrong will cease to exist for him," a look of sudden remorse and pain filled Stefan's eyes, "he'll be like me back in the twenties…only much more dangerous."
Bonnie stood, Matt's arm still around her waist.
"Then we have to stop him. There has to be a way to bring Caroline back."
Rebekah scoffed. "She's dead, witch, don't you understand that? As much as I want to change that fact as well, there's no amount of magic that can bring Caroline back from the dead."
The Bennett witch narrowed her eyes, "maybe not pure magic," she acknowledged, "but black magic has much more potential for our purpose."
"What do you mean?" Rebekah demanded, maneuvering around the coffee tables and little foot rests, "you can bring Caroline back?"
"I may," Bonnie began tentatively, "you know how you were born: you're mother killed you and brought you to life again. The spell she performed can be…modified," the witch admitted, "I could use that same spell you're mother used to create you…to bring Caroline back to life."
Stefan immediately flew to Rebekah's side with vampire speed, "do it." Stefan demanded, "do it now."
Bonnie glared.
"I'll need time, Stefan. I still need to work out the logistics of it all, I'll need to gather the equipment I need, to get my materials ready…I'll need an endless amount of time and possibly another witch to help me with it. I'll need - "
Bonnie's voice faltered.
"Bonnie? Babe, what's wrong?" Matt asked, worry evident in his voice.
Bonnie shrunk back into Matt's body, "he's here," she whispered, eyes wide, "Klaus is here."
The double doors leading into the parlor flew open, the candles that were placed about the home were extinguished as well as the fire, leaving only the electric lamps for light.
Before them, Klaus stood there upon the steps, his stance imposing his eyes dark, the snarl on his lips evident and his hands were soaked with blood.
A sadistic grin flashed upon his red lips. The same lips Caroline had lovingly kissed just weeks ago.
Before, his snarl and scowl had always been intimidating to his foes and to the general mass public...but to Caroline, those lips had curved into a smile filled with warmth and devotion. A roguish appeal and wholesome love…now, however, as Klaus descended upon the steps, slowly inspecting each of his victims (save Rebekah and Stefan), that grin was sadistic. As if promising a torture none had ever known; his entire face had been contorted into that of a mad man's, filled with uncompromising hatred and bloodlust. A monster without remorse.
"Hello loves," Klaus smirked, his voice chilling every person who stood within the room to the very core; he made his way towards Elena first, "I'm sure my sister and Stefan there have made my intentions about coming here clear?" He inquired, the perfect civility of his tone combined with the unrelenting gleam of sociopathic madness frightened the brunette to her very bones. "Have they?" Klaus asked again, this time giving an icy smirk.
Damon pushed Elena behind him, whilst Bonnie and Matt hovered in their corner. Katherine seemed frozen in place with fear. Tyler and Hayley stood, ready for battle.
"We get you're pissed, Klaus," Damon replied carelessly (the fear manifested in his eyes), "but killing everyone here isn't going to bring her back." Eyeing the Original hybrid, the dark haired Italian nodded towards the door. "Exit's back there."
Without a word, Klaus lifted Damon up by the throat and seconds later, everyone's eyes were fixed upon the stretch of air as they watched Damon's body fly and collide with the wall upon on the opposite side of the room. His back hit a framed painting, the glass shattering and falling like a cascade of rain upon Damon's unmoving body.
Turning back around to Elena, the psychotic and heartbroken gleam in Klaus's eye grew even brighter. He leaned in before whispering, "I'll ask you again, love, did my sister and her lover there make my intentions clear?" The bitterness in his voice was now heard by everyone in the room.
"Y-Yes," Elena mumbled, her fear taking over.
Leaning back, a stony expression fell upon Klaus's face before he brightened, a chilling smirk appearing again. "Very good then," he nodded, "I think I'll start with, oh…the Bennett witch." He turned towards Bonnie, "you see, you haven't done too much to force my hatred upon you fiercely. And my Caroline is so fond of you…I think she wouldn't be too happy if she knew that your blood was shed so gruesomely...so," Klaus nodded towards Rebekah who flew with vampire speed towards Bonnie and threw her towards Klaus, "I'll make this quick." The hybrid said, his voice soft with the promise of malice.
With a lunge, Bonnie was lifted into the air by Klaus's powerful hand; with the other, Klaus shoved Matt Donovan with such a force, the human fell straight out the veranda and unto the ground. Facing a choking Bonnie, Klaus gave a smirk, "I'll deal with him, later," he chided. Without turning, he spoke to Rebekah and Stefan.
"Make sure the elder Salvatore is still breathing…I'm not done with him yet, and the human also. He might make a fanciful evening snack, wouldn't you say?"
Rebekah turned towards the balcony, jumping out whilst Stefan hesitated slightly.
"Well?" Klaus prompted when he sensed Stefan's hesitation, turning his head, Stefan could tell Klaus's patience (or what little of it remained) had run out.
"Klaus…there's still a way..for us, I mean - well..."
"Spit it out!"
"We can bring her back." Stefan ushered out, his voice hesitant, but reaching a confident peak when he saw the surprise register in Klaus's eyes. He saw his grip upon Bonnie loosen momentarily, before he promptly tightened it again.
"What do you mean?" Klaus hissed.
Stefan gestured to Bonnie, "Bonnie said she could use the spell that your mother used on you and your siblings to bring Caroline back. It's done by black magic," Stefan added, "but Bonnie thinks she can get it work."
Klaus scoffed, "like I've said before Stefan, think and know are two very different words. For example, you think you can bring my Caroline back to me but I know you can't." Giving a dark smirk towards Bonnie, Klaus crushed his hand, enjoying the sound of Bonnie's vocal cords compressing together as she choked out uneven breaths. "I also know that this witch is going to die in twenty seconds, and I know if I do this," Klaus's grip went even tighter, "she'll die in ten. So tell me Stefan," Klaus inquired, his voice bordering on hysterical, "what do you think will happen after?" He turned to face Bonnie, who's eyes were rolling to the back of head now, only a few seconds more…
Suddenly, a wolf of russet fur bounded upon the Original hybrid, causing his grip to loosen from the witch's neck and Bonnie to drop the ground, gasping for air, hands clutching at her throat.
Turning, Klaus found himself knocked down by Hayley whilst Tyler, in werewolf form, stood guarding the door.
"So you really think you can stop me?" Klaus mocked, standing to his full height whilst Hayley attempted to pounce again. This time, however, she had no element of surprise and without that, she found herself heaved over Klaus's shoulder, her head smashing into the wall as the Original tossed her as easily he would a dismembered head.
Tyler, seeing this, growled and rushed full force at the Original; within a moment of Tyler's jaws reaching Klaus's arm, Klaus turned, speeding towards the risen veranda steps. Tyler skidded to a halt, managing to stop before crashing into a wall before rounding towards Klaus again. With ease the Original rushed towards the fallen Hayley, picking her up with a single hand. A whimper escaped the russet's lips.
"Tell me Tyler," Klaus called, a jovial and disturbing cry, "how would you like to see your Hayley ripped to pieces? How would you like to watch the love of your life, the only thing that has given you purpose, given you love and want and happiness, die in front of your eyes?" Giving a mad smile, Klaus forcefully pulled at one of Hayley's hind legs, watching with chilling intrigue as it fell with a horrible grinding and slushing splat upon the ground.
The scream of pain was unmistakable as Klaus slammed Hayley into the wall again.
"How would you like to see that again?" Klaus taunted, whilst Tyler stood below, frozen with shock. "Come at me, mate! Try to kill me!" A mad laugh left the hybrid's lips, "after all," he added, "it's not like you can."
In a fleeting moment, pieces of fur, blood, and bone coated the room. The metallic scent was unmistakable; the sheer speed of the act Klaus had committed stunned Tyler and Damon, who had just risen from the floor.
"You need to calm down, Vampire Ken," Damon demanded, struggling to stand up on his feet whilst Katherine rushed towards him, "get off of me," Damon hissed as Katherine attempted to help him rise up. "I don't need your help."
"On the contrary mate, you do," Klaus mocked from above, leaping down to land in front of the two vampires as he wiped his hands on his jeans. "You see, Katerina, you would have been smart to have left just then…no harm would have befallen on you," the tone in Klaus's voice bordered on ice as Rebekah and Stefan emerged with Matt in tow, "you've done nothing to displease my Caroline other than kill her," the irises of Klaus's eyes darkened to a shade of molten gold, bordering on black, "and for that," he whispered, voice chilling "I suppose death is the only gift I can give back."
As Klaus kicked Damon out of the way, his hand easily wrapped about Katherine's throat, whilst hoisting her in the air as he had done before with Bonnie. Only this time, Katherine suddenly found herself violently thrown against the back of a wall. Opening her eyes, she saw with shock as Damon ran head first into Klaus, knocking the hybrid off balance long enough for him to let go of her; from the corner of her eye, she saw Elena, frozen in fear, shaking as she stood near the piano across the room. Without thinking, Katherine ran across the space between her and Elena with vampire speed, pulling her descendant into her arms and then running again - this time, towards the open veranda.
Just as she seemed to reach the glass doors, a blonde blur passed by: Rebekah. The Original blonde slammed the glass door shut with such force that the glass violently shattered, leaving only two open door frames. Snapping the wood from the frames into a pile of long, thin stakes, Rebekah gave a devious smile.
"Now who's first?"
"Rebekah, love, this was my show," Klaus sighed, walking towards her with ease. Rebekah scowled as she easily lunged forward, snapping a dazed Katherine's neck and slamming Elena's head into the brick wall to her right before dropping the two doppelgängers down to the ground. Adjacent, Damon lay with his head snapped and arm ripped from his body; Stefan stood above his brother, wincing at his injuries but watching as Damon began to stir once more.
Turning towards her brother, Rebekah smirked.
"About time you calmed down, Niklaus. Now listen to the witch, won't you? She has a little trick up her sleeve that could bring Caroline back."
Klaus sneered, "the Bennett witch? She may be from a long line of powerful warlocks sister, but she's nothing but a baby sorceress herself." Glaring towards the dark skinned girl, Klaus shook his head, "I'll be done with lot soon enough. And then I'm leaving."
"Leaving?" Rebekah demanded, slightly dumbfounded. "To where?"
A faint smile appeared upon Klaus's face.
"London."
"And what'll you do there?" Stefan inquired from across the room, his eyes fixed upon his rapidly reviving brother.
Klaus grimaced down at the two brunettes, both unconscious. "Make my hybrid army."
"And then what, Nik?" Rebekah called out, eyes flashing. "What will you do? Become a king over a mass of sired slaves?"
"What would you have me do, Rebekah?" Klaus roared, finally snapping. "What else do I have left? What else do I have to live for? There is no one, no one, who knows the pain I feel…she's gone, Rebekah," Klaus whispered, almost pleadingly "and what do I have left? Torturous memories that haunt my every waking moment…the scent of raspberries perfuming the air…my hallucinations growing more and more with each passing day...there is nothing for me now, Rebekah. Nothing. She took it all; my heart, soul, purpose…" giving a bitter chuckle, Klaus looked at his sister whose face was overcome with a shared pain and agony, "what else is there to live for?"
Rebekah's eyes watered slightly, her lip trembled. The pain her brother felt was deep and for a girl who loved so easily, there was nothing worse than to see those she loved in pain…watch as they slowly wilted away.
A/N: This was my attempt at an action-y/angst-y fanfiction piece. I don't know if I succeeded or not but...leave me a review?