CHAPTER 1

Niklaus Mikaelson kept the phone hovering by his ear, for a good 30 seconds or more, after the caller had hung up. Of course, this attracted the unwanted attention of his siblings right away.

"Klaus." Rebekah's face dropped, an expression of dread and anxiety contorting her usually smooth face. "What did he say? What does the old buggar want from you now?"

Klaus continued to make eye contact with no-one but the ground. He felt the cogs and gears in his mind ticking and turning already, as he began to plot his way out of the newest mess he had got stuck in. Unfortunately, it was hard for him to scheme when he had his brother and sister's faces practically touching his.

"Klaus!" Elijah, so calm and composed behind Rebekah, was now frowning. "Klaus, you had better tell us what's going on, otherwise be expecting us to call back your little hybrid-friend-on a-killing-mission to ask him ourselves." Rebekah, Klaus noted from the corner of his eye, had folded her arms and was standing there defiantly in the typical Rebekah fashion.

Klaus opened his mouth, but closed it again. Then he slowly put the phone on an ancient end table with a faint thud, before looking up to face his sister emotionlessly. He leant forwards slowly, so that they were nose to nose, and lifted his chin. He couldn't stand it when she tried to put on the more-powerful-than-you façade.

"Tyler... Is just being his usual revenge-seeking self." He said, speaking for the first time.

"In fact, let me go head over there right now, and show him my usual self." He added with a smirk.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. Klaus's "usual self" was often brutal and murderous… Tyler was clearly going to die very soon. Not that she particularly cared- Tyler had become a pest, and attempted to both kill her brother and his unborn child- so clearly wasn't a friend of their family.

"Fine". She said with a sigh. "But get it other with. Hayley clearly isn't feeling too great."

Of course, that was an understatement. Klaus's 'little wolf' was sat in an uncomfortable position on a chair in the corner, taking deep, heavy breaths, clutching her huge baby bump. Elijah hesitantly began to turn and walk over to her, wanting to help but not wanting to further annoy Klaus. If he tried to help her, his stubborn brother could get jealous.

No- jealous was the wrong word. Klaus hadn't really cared much for Hayley. It was the baby he was concerned about… He didn't want it to grow up calling Elijah father, instead of him. Klaus was the man in charge, after all, and it would damage his power if his own heir didn't look up to him.

But, thought Elijah, he didn't care about Klaus anymore. All he cared about now was Hayley, who right now was in pain and in need of assistance. If Klaus wasn't to be there for the pregnancy, there for Hayley, then he would. He approached her and took her hand gently, letting her drape her other arm around him for support. She looked into his eyes, managing a grateful smile. "th-thanks, Elijah."

"I'll take care of Hayley. She can rest someplace…..more secure", he muttered simply to his siblings, and led her, limping, out of the room without a single look back at his brother.

Klaus hadn't time to worry about them now.

If Elijah, Rebekah and Hayley were there to witness the birth but not him, then so be it. At the moment he had no choice. He had to get to Tyler… and stop him.

"Well, what you bloody waiting for then?" Rebekah said. For a moment, Klaus had forgotten she was there.

"Go kill your first born hybrid- Then let's hope that when you return, to find your newest hybrid protégé, you'll treat her any differently from all the others before her." Rebekah left quickly after that, before Klaus could fully understand the meaning of what she had said, following Elijah and Hayley out of the room.

And of course, Klaus's blood did boil when her words finally sank in; as if HE would treat his soon-to-be child the way he treated Tyler, and all the other hybrids that he had created! As if HE would become the enemy of this child, like he was the enemy of the other hybrids who were once sired to him, who he had once almost considered family! As if he would end up killing this child! Of course it was a load of - But suddenly, the idea dawned on him fully.

Would he…? Would this new baby hybrid, created from his own blood-almost just like Tyler and the rest of the hybrids of whom he had eventually slaughtered- be the same? What if his child looked up to Elijah instead, or turned against him just like the were-wolves that he had given his own blood so they became one of him? What if the child resented him, grew up to loathe him, like Tyler and the others? What if Klaus….was driven to kill her, his own daughter, like he was driven to kill all his other "children" hybrids?

Klaus walked slowly away, for the first time in a while feeling the faint sting of tears at the back of his eyes, the lasting thought left to burn in his mind like fire as he went off to try and brutally kill the first hybrid he had ever created. He slammed the ancient door of the house and it echoed in the silence. Sometimes it sucked, being the villain. And then he began to run at top vampire speed.

But as he ran, Tyler's phone call began to subconsciously replay once again, in the back of his head;

"I have a powerful witch here, and she's made the two people you've remotely ever slightly cared for a second away from death. Literally, she needs to say the word and they both die. The witch in question… is Celeste. And the people whose lives are on the line are Caroline and your baby. Yeah, I heard about your little antics with Caroline… and I'm done with her. Believe me or not that I'm willing to kill her, I don't care, just know she'll be dead very soon, Klaus. I will do this. You've taken everything from me now you've taken her. Ha- I was seconds from killing her the other night, until Stefan stepped in as the good guy to stop me, "calm me down".

I can't kill you, Klaus…. We both know that, too well. Hell, I want to see if there actually is a tiny rotting heart somewhere in you that can be broken. I'm going to kill them, Klaus, I have nothing to lose now I've lost her, look who's in control now! You have no control! You are the weak one now, do you see? How helpless and small you suddenly feel? I'm going to kill them…I'm going to kill them! Unless you give yourself over to celeste in exchange… They'll be gone." and Tyler's voice was drowned out in what could only be his broken, now insane laughter.