Disclaimer: TVD is not owned by me. For the amusement and enjoyment of myself and my readers. A/N: Thanks everyone for being as excited as I am for this new fic. Enjoy x

Cleansing

The school was surrounded, but this was no ordinary task. Trapping one Original was hard enough, but trapping a whole family, needed skill. Luckily, for him, he knew exactly how to approach it. Carol Lockwood had chosen wisely when she'd asked for his help. It seemed to him, like many citizens of Mystic Falls, they were putting their trust in the right man. He could rid the town of all vampires and it would benefit him too.

From what he witnessed, the ditsy blonde was promised to Klaus Mikaelson and he was pretty sure, Tyler Lockwood had no idea what he was in for, therefore, he didn't think Carol's comment to leave her be, was relevant. Connor had one way of doing things, as one of the Five. He had seen things nobody could have imagined. He had felt things that would make his mother suffer. He had done things that would make God cry and these things led him only to one path: to find the cure.

Connor nodded to the man closest to him, who sent the message around the room: take them down. Carol wanted him to lure them outside and keep the Founder's secret, (only members of a select few knew the truth about Mystic Falls), but if Connor was to take down a family of originals, the only way to do it would be the element of surprise, and the sooner, the better. His eyes rested on the snipers around the edges and he melted into the crowd, feeling an extra rush of adrenaline as Usher's Scream kept the teenagers entertained. He smirked, tightening his hold on the white oak stake and cornering his first target: the deranged, psychotic mass-murderer, Klaus.

-:-

"Bekah, get them somewhere safe!" Klaus said, shoving Caroline into Rebekah and indicating at Matt to follow. Apparently, Rebekah was still made of marshmallows, because Klaus was treating her like some girly girl who couldn't confront a hunter. Finn and Kol glared at the guards who were now pointing rifles filled with red vervain. Klaus was always over-protective of her, but the real reason he was excluding her was not because he cared, but because he wanted his precious Caroline to be safe. Rebekah argued with him, naturally. Besides, it wasn't like Caroline Forbes was completely helpless, she was a vampire and she had taken on Ripper Stefan almost without Lexi's help.

"You're banishing me?" Rebekah hadn't moved, it was infuriating Klaus. She didn't care. She couldn't believe he wanted to run, again! Was he not sick of running?! Hadn't he promised them a life in Mystic Falls? They were meant to be immortal.

"Do as I say!" He roared.

"We're stronger together, not divided! Always and forever, Nik!'

Matt hovered beside her, looking anxious. Caroline was standing protectively behind Klaus as he shouted orders at Kol and Finn to obey. Rebekah could see the whites of Connor's eyes and she refused to leave her brother behind. Connor pulled the trigger. Rebekah screamed, drowning out Caroline when the gunshot rang out and the party guests became more frantic, unable to escape the guards. Everyone was trapped: students and teachers and vampires.

Rebekah heard a groan and she smelt the blood oozing from his body. Matt clutched his stomach and caught her horrified expression and held it before his knees crumbled and he fell. Rebekah dropped amongst the hustling bodies and bit her wrist, shoving it against his mouth and shaking him urgently. He sucked at her wrist and she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing now, he'd be ok.

"You think you're doing the right thing, but you aren't. If you do this, you'll just be like us, cold-blooded killers." Rebekah was mildly impressed by Caroline's effort to distract the hunter, but she knew it wasn't going to be enough. Her outfit was stained with Matt's blood and she supposed this was what a real nurses uniform looked like. His Sherriff's star glinted beneath the hall's mediocre lights. Klaus craned his neck over the crowd and seemed to spot something that he wanted. With that, he left them and she gritted her teeth, wondering why she even bothered. Matt's wound healed, though he was still woozy, barely managing to speak her name.

"Don't make me shoot another innocent. My job is to protect Mystic Falls from threats, like you, Miss Forbes. Don't think you will not join your boyfriend. Ah, Liz, I see Carol was not wrong in telling me where your loyalty belongs. Like mother, like daughter, it seems." Connor smirked, taking in Finn and Liz' appearance. Liz knelt beside Rebekah, helping Matt to his feet. "You might be Originals, but know this - by the end of the dance, none of you will still be standing."

"And you must be a moron, thinking you will survive the night," Kol smirked. Connor eyed Bonnie Bennett whose hand was wrapped tightly inside Kol's. This new Hunter had an edge. She could feel it in his presence. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"What say you, Miss Bennett? I should have thought there'd be a witch in the middle of this, but what an interesting development, never before have I seen a Bennett witch in love with an Original. Careful, my dear, you don't know where he's been."

"Enough talking, if you're going to shoot us, here's your chance," Finn said, impatiently.

The next few events seemed to arrive in slow motion. The security guard standing behind Connor was wrenched off his feet and Kol hooted with glee when Elijah let the man's heart roll off his palm and onto the ground with a plop. Esther breezed past the guests with knowledge and peace of mind, and a reminder of the agreement that had been made between them and the Founders. Klaus dragged Carol to the middle of the hall in a headlock and the crowd gasped and screamed. Carol protested, saying Connor was acting on his own accord, but Klaus knew she was lying. She had betrayed them all.

"Nobody's going to shoot anyone," Tyler Lockwood pushed through the clammy crowd, and Caroline was surprised to see he wasn't alone. Behind him stood about ten others, "or my Hybrids will tear you apart, because I'm their Alpha." He looked directly at Klaus, "none of us are sired anymore."

-:-

As Tyler's unexpected arrival did the trick, Connor aimed at one of the Originals. BANG! The red vervain bullets burned a hole through her dress and for a second she would have been haunted by her victims, but then his stake followed, directly hitting her dead heart.

"MOTHER! NO!" Rebekah rushed to Esther's side. Esther writhed and screamed as the flames swallowed her. Elijah dragged a distraught Rebekah away while Klaus retaliated by snapping Carol's neck. Tyler gave the order for his Hybrids to help Connor bring them down. Finn was hit in the shoulder, letting out a roar but still managed to rip out the hearts of Tyler's strongest Hybrids.

"You son of a bitch!" Kol screamed, letting go of Bonnie and taking out two of the security guards, keeping Connor at bay. Bonnie raised her hands, directing her powers at Connor and blasting him into the opposite wall.

"I always wanted to know what a witch tasted like." The girl came out of nowhere, pouncing on Bonnie and pinning her down. Her werewolf fangs pierced her neck, about to rip out her throat. It was Stefan's hand that yanked the Hybrid from Bonnie and with a growl reminiscent of his Ripper days, he held the girl's heart in his bloody palm. Bonnie thanked Stefan, gratefully. She blasted another Hybrid off Kol's back and for a brief second they kissed, ignoring all the screams, the gunshots and the yells. "I love you," Bonnie said.

They broke apart, grinning like idiots. A grumpy security guard barged into her. Hands snaked around her middle, and she, thinking they were Kol's relaxed, until he said, "Not a sound," It wasn't Kol, it was Professor Shane, the new History teacher. Bonnie clenched her fist, "No magic, either." He firmly placed his hand over her mouth and dragged her back into the crowd while she witnessed Kol and Stefan fighting off Hybrids and her heart sank when she realised she might never see either of them alive.

-:-

Klaus dropped Carol's body to the floor like she was a straw doll. Tyler looked thunderous and his hatred for the Original only escalated. Klaus walked up to Tyler, stealing hearts as he went. The bodies of those innocents piling up behind him. Klaus bated him, begging him to be brave, to be the alpha and stand up for his pack, to stand up against him, like he'd wanted for so long. Maybe then Caroline would go back to him. Maybe then, she'd forgive him for murdering her father.

"I won't regret killing you," Tyler spat.

"Neither will I," Klaus smirked, wiping his bloody hands on his soldier's uniform, reminded briefly of the time he'd witnessed Stefan and Lexi saving lives in France during the 40s. Klaus gazed at the Hybrids who were stupid enough to betray him, who were promised Freedom if only they helped "take him down". Klaus would show them what awaited them.

"Klaus, no!" Caroline slammed her body against the nearest Hybrid and plunged her fist into her chest. The girl let out a gasp and Caroline was momentarily disgusted by the girl's taste in jewellery. Caroline forced Tyler to listen to her. "You have no right to do this to me, Tyler," Caroline spat, "You already stole my father, you are NOT going to take my fiancé." She spoke every syllable with so much passion that Tyler hesitated but his intense dislike for Klaus who had ruined his life was still imminent and he beckoned his Hybrids to follow.

"You don't have it in you," Tyler said, coldly.

"You don't know me," Caroline tore the Hybrid's heart out and eyed the bloody mess in her palm. There was an odd sense of power that came from killing someone. She never had been one to relish in murder, but this was a matter of life and death. Tyler had underestimated her. She pushed back the need to vomit and caught Klaus' affectionate look. It was as if they'd just agreed on a white chocolate mud cake for the wedding.

"Kill them both," Tyler spat, "she's not mine."

The Hybrid's attacked and Klaus didn't need to protect her. He'd already witnessed she could look after herself. Klaus threw one of them across the hall, grinning at Tyler to come at him himself. Caroline took no mercy, exchanging insults at a rather feisty girl, named Haley who seemed to know a lot about Tyler's favourite things. She couldn't care less. She flicked her hair over her shoulder, surprised to see Stefan.

"I thought you were still moping after Elena?" She said, casually.

"She's not coming back anytime soon," Stefan replied.

"Glad you have my back, Stefan," Klaus said, tossing a rather anxious Hybrid fifty feet away.

"It's not your back, I'm protecting," Stefan murmured, killing a rather bossy Hybrid.

"If we weren't being attacked by my ex-boyfriend, you know I would have hugged you, right?"

"As would I."

"Shut up, Klaus,"

It was the bomb that exploded in the corridor that averted everyone's attention and it took a moment for Caroline to remember that Elena had not come back home. It was Katherine Pierce who snapped the neck of the guard on the door and beckoned them to follow, she was holding another grenade. Stefan held onto Caroline's hand and whisked her out of Tyler's way. Klaus witnessed Elijah with Rebekah and Matt at the other door and he brought his fingers to his lips and chirped like a Hummingbird. Elijah met his urgent call and Klaus let them escape ready to kill anyone stupid enough to attack him.

Tyler was still shouting out threats to avenge his incessant mother's death and Klaus saw Connor corner Finn. Looking down for something to use as a weapon, that wasn't his shoe, he picked up a chair and threw it at the Hunter, hitting him squarely in the back. Klaus chirped and grabbed Finn by the jacket, aware of the red vervain burning a hole in his jacket. "Where the hell is Kol?" Finn shook his head, snatching a gun and killing its owner. "Lost him after our mother died and Liz, she got shot," Finn's voice broke and Klaus shoved him outside, locking the door. He received Tyler's persistent fist against his face, listening for the footsteps on the other side of the door to disappear.

"Who's the alpha now!" Tyler slammed the broken table leg across Klaus' back and legs and Klaus fumbled for the grenade that Katherine had left for him, as excruciating pain seared up and down his legs. He rolled onto his side, his muscles tearing and then mending themselves. Without regret, he unpinned the grenade. He didn't wait to see the destruction because Kol needed him.

A/N: Are we still breathing? Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Working on chapter three. Stay tuned and while you're waiting, please review.