A/n: Edited on 10/27/2015.
Disclaimer: I do not own TVD.
Chapter 2: Radioactive
January 15, 2011
The Other Side was stirring. The supernatural beings that had passed on were restless as deadly whispers spreading around like a plague. Talk was just the beginning. What was about to unfold would change time forever.
The rules for interacting with the living world were strict, but they were strict for a reason. Altering fate could have dire consequences, but sometimes their hand was played for them to achieve the balance.
Equilibrium was their highest priority. It had to be because it was the only way. And no matter what the stakes were, no matter how much the risk they had to take, the balance of power had to be retained. Tipping the scales of fate could bring catastrophe.
Most times they were unable to intervene until it was too late, forced to just watch the story unfold, even if it doesn't have a good ending.
This time was a different occurrence. They saw what the future would bring if they did not step in. If things kept on the way they were going, Hell on Earth would become a living reality. A reality where no one would come out on top, and no one would survive.
The Earth would drown in blood.
The Keepers of the Other Side would need to change something to make sure that the apocalypse wouldn't come to pass. That cause would alter its corresponding effect, saving the world but to save millions, the few must suffer.
They saw the death. Surprised, that the one who had lived his life on a whim was the only one with common sense for once, but now he was among them and could no longer influence those in the world of the living.
This turn of events called for desperate measures. They couldn't let Klaus' retaliation unfold.
They knew what they had to do.
{Louder Than Thunder}
Waking in the morning, Caroline tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes as they finally fluttered open. When she adjusted to the bright sunlight that flooded the room, she looked around in confusion. She wasn't in her room nor sleeping in her bed. An involuntary groan came from her mouth as she tried to stretch her sore muscles.
The previous night flooded back to her, and she remembered that she was in the Gilbert house. She also realized that she wasn't alone. Her ears caught the sound of light snoring as she looked down to her chest.
'This can't be happening,' she groaned to herself.
She sighed, closing her eyes again. Caroline recollected a time when it was a lot simpler to be her. No drama, no love triangles. No witches, vampires, werewolves, and definitely no hybrids.
Sure, it was easier, but she couldn't dwell on it. Caroline had to think about the here and now, and reality was a bitch. For now, all she wanted was a break.
It was too late for all of that now. Her idiotic friends' rash actions had doomed all of them. Now with the possibility of the cure hanging over their heads, she could see the idiotic ideas continuing, especially if Damon had anything to do with it.
Caroline ticked off the list of people racing for the cure but it all boiled down to Elena. Damon and Stefan fighting for Elena's love, Jeremy would do anything for his sister, Bonnie's underlying hatred of vampires drove her to help, and Rebekah just wanted to be human.
Elena and Damon's current advantage was Jeremy. With the Hunter's mark now at its full potential, thanks to the death of Kol, the map to the cure was complete and Elena could get everything she wanted.
Bonnie was teamed up with her new mentor Professor Shane, who despite his wealth of knowledge, was beyond creepy. Bonnie was needed to perform the spell that would open the tomb where the cure was kept. After being on the receiving end of one of Bonnie's expression spells, Caroline was even more worried about her friend using that powerful of magic. In the future, she was going to think twice about setting the witch off.
Then there was Rebekah. Trapped in a seventeen year old girl's body for a thousand years, never aging, never getting to fulfill her dreams of marriage and family. If Rebekah hadn't of been so nasty to her, Caroline would almost feel sorry for her. Almost.
Stefan was riding the fence between wanting the cure to release Elena from the sire bond and giving Rebekah her every wish. He seemed to be siding more with Rebekah after finding out that Elena and Damon slept together, and while Caroline was happy for him moving on, she too was not comfortable with Elena's relationship with Damon.
So that made up the group looking for the cure, Elena and Damon had Jeremy who had the map, Bonnie and Shane held the magic needed to open the tomb, and Rebekah and Stefan had Silas' tombstone. Once again this left Caroline out of the loop, but since she had no interest in the cure she wasn't too upset about it this time, though none of her friends even bothered to ask her if she wanted the cure.
Then there was Klaus, since there always had to be an enemy lurking about in the story.
Caroline slid her hand over her face. Why did all of her thoughts keep bringing her back to him? Perhaps it was because he was still wrapped around her, sleeping soundly, or it was the deep connection she felt to him as he fed from her last night.
Clearing her head, she decided that she shouldn't even be here, with him of all people. She should have left last night, to be with Tyler, but she felt this incredible need to stay.
Just yesterday, she was at the Lockwood estate spending the day with Tyler, only leaving when she got a text from Stefan about the urgent meeting at the boarding house. Tyler had been distant as of late and she tried to understand the best she could, considering everything that Tyler had been put through. Instead of talking, they had watched movies all day and stuffing themselves full of junk food.
As much as she hated it, Caroline's thoughts drifted back to Klaus, namely what he wanted with the cure. She figured there was a more of secret motive than he was letting on. He was calculating and clever and seemed to always have something up his sleeve.
Maybe he wanted to get to it so that he could have an advantage over his enemies or to give it to Rebekah. Though he had a rough relationship with his sister, he loved her dearly and wanted to see her be happy.
Would Klaus offer her the cure? Caroline questioned herself. Since her friends didn't seem to be interesting in her wishes or wants, perhaps Klaus would think of her, like he always seemed to do.
No, she refused to dwell on her disappointing friendships and inner demons right now. Instead, her mind pondered what she would do with the cure if it were offered to her.
There had been a time when she was human, that she wanted a normal life and everything that entailed. She wanted to go to college, marry a good guy, travel, and have a family. That future was ripped away from her though, by a certain brunette vampire. She couldn't regret that she was now a vampire herself. Caroline felt that she was a better person now than when she was human.
Caroline had allowed Klaus to sleep a little longer while she was lost in her thoughts, but now the stinging in her wrist was becoming unbearable. She had allowed him to feed from her without taking in any of his healing blood.
The blood sharing had been her choice, and she felt it had been necessary. Despite her disagreements with her friends, she didn't want anyone to get hurt from Klaus' exploding rage.
Caroline's chuckle was bittersweet. Even now, she was still looking out for them. She was still protecting them from the man who had shown time and time again that he cared about her more than her friends.
'Damn Caroline,' she mentally chastised herself. 'How fucked up have you let your life become?'
Caroline didn't know what possessed her to comfort Klaus like she did. She was a caring person by nature, but not with him of all people. Maybe if she had walked further into town or went to hunt in the woods last night would have turned out differently. Waking up next to him was the last thing she wanted.
She looked at the window again as more sunlight shone into the room. She needed to get the hell out of here and back home.
'Away from him,' she thought.
"Klaus," she spoke his name shaking his shoulder. "Klaus, wake up."
He woke to her voice, soft and songlike. His eyes opened slowly adjusting to the light. He realized where he was and stiffly got up from the floor leaving the warm body of Caroline behind.
The realization that he had just spent the night with Caroline hit him like a brick wall. It was a shame that it wasn't under the right circumstances. He was embarrassed for showing weakness in front of her and for not being able to keep himself in control. He hated weakness. Weakness was his personal enemy. His internal enemies were harder to deal with, unlike the external ones, like the two Gilberts' who were just added to the death list last night.
He could still see the burned body of his little brother in the kitchen. His lips pressed into a fine line in anger, it would take more than a good night's sleep and Caroline's sweet blood to alleviate his pain. He was then reminded that he would have to tell Elijah about Kol, which he was dreading.
Stefan probably already told Rebekah, so that one less headache to deal with. She would be devastated, but knowing her guarded, but soft heart, she would keep going in the race for the cure. There was no telling however, how Elijah will react to the news or the anger-filled aftermath.
As honorable as Elijah may be, he was very protective of family, even with their faults and sins. The unpredictability of an angered Elijah made him very dangerous; almost an equal to Klaus if the right buttons were pushed.
Klaus snorted at the thought, emphasizing the work almost.
His fists clenched tightly with his knuckles turning white. The only thing that stood between him and his charred brother was the damn barrier spell that the bloody Bennett witch had casted. Soon enough, when he got out of this pathetic excuse for a prison cell, he was going to make good on his threats. He will hunt all of them to their ends. Klaus hoped they knew what he had coming for them.
He felt a tingle run down his spine at the sheer thought of the hunt.
{Louder Than Thunder}
Back at the boarding house, everyone was prepping and packing for the trip. They had everything they needed to bring. All they needed to do was to bust out Professor Shane from the police station and hit the road.
"Damon, are you almost ready?" Stefan asked, leaning against the doorframe of his older brother's bedroom.
"Yeah," Damon sighed, sliding on his leather jacket, still slightly sore with the pain in his neck. "Still feeling a little sore from of a certain blonde vampire, but I'll deal. Where are Judgy-Gone-Dark and our little hunter? They should be here by now." He concluded that the only reason he hung around these kids was for Elena and his baby bro.
"They're on their way. They spent the night at Matt's. Don't be impatient." Stefan paused, not wanting to seem imposing. "Where's Elena?"
The sounds of boots on the old hardwood floors announced that Rebekah was heading their way. She strolled in with a scowl on her face. Damon couldn't even utter a reply to Stefan before Rebekah cut in with a disdainful smirk. "Probably still feeling sorry for herself as usual because the sweet, innocent doppelganger can't handle the truth. I don't usually like Caroline, but I have to give it to her. She may not be as annoying as I thought. She's got spunk."
Damon's eyes narrowed at the blonde. First Blondie and now Barbie Klaus. This was the second time in two days that someone had insulted Elena. Hadn't they hurt her enough already? "Stefan, make sure you keep a good leash on her. There's been enough Elena-bashing."
"Careful, Damon," Rebekah warned the elder brother, walking over to him with spite in her eyes. "If you keep this up, Caroline won't be the only one who will broke your neck for mouthing off. And trust me, I'm much worse than the baby vampire when I'm angry."
The only reason why she hadn't run a stake through Damon or Elena's chests was Stefan. The relationship, or rather partnership they had was going along smoother than she expected and she wasn't going let anything mess that up. Though the scorn and contempt she had for Elena just grew to a larger scale after Stefan had told her the news about her brother's death.
Damon locked eyes with the female Original, sending daggers her way. Not wanting to get into it with an already sore neck, he just turned his gaze to his younger brother and said, "I'll check on Elena."
Damon exited the room, leaving just Rebekah and Stefan. Rebekah snorted to herself. "Typical. I really don't get you sometimes, Stefan."
Stefan walked up to her crossing his arms casually. "Not many people do."
She slapped his arm. "Don't try to be funny. I'm being serious."
"Okay, now I'm putting on my serious face." His eyebrows delved down making his face show more of his worry wrinkles.
"Whatever. I just don't see how you can stay in the same room and not want to vomit from all the…I don't know what you call it. You know, the way he grovels at her feet. It makes me want to turn out my stomach. It's sickening." Rebekah said disgusted.
Stefan couldn't help but be a bit amused with the blonde. "Well, you don't have to worry. I'm over it with Elena. It doesn't bother me."
She arched a brow at him skeptically. "Actions speak louder than words. And I know you're lying, Stefan. Be honest."
It was time for him to fess up, "Alright, it bothers me a little, but who knows? Maybe…" he paused for effect, knowing that he had caught Rebekah's interest.
"Maybe what?" she asked impatiently, not wanting to play games while talking about something serious.
"Maybe whatever this is between us might be…better for me. So we can just take this day by day and see where it goes from here," he said.
Rebekah snuck in a rare, but meaningful smile at him. He returned it with a smirk. They leaned closer until their lips were almost…
Ding Dong!
Their almost kiss was interrupted by the door bell, and Rebekah was pissed. She huffed in annoyance while Stefan wondered if Bonnie and Jeremy had finally arrived.
"Bloody hell! What does a girl have to do…?" Rebekah was so aggravated that she couldn't even finish her sentence. Not to mention that with Elena and Damon's vampire hearing, she knew anything she said about her relationship with Stefan would be over heard. "Just tell those two damn lovebirds to hurry it up! We need to get going."
She huffed before going out to hallway making her way down the stairs. Stefan just shook his head.
He followed the flustered Original to make sure she didn't cause any trouble with Elena. Walking down the staircase, he saw Bonnie and Jeremy down by the door with everyone's bags, well except Damon and Elena's.
"We're all set here," Bonnie said in greeting as she saw Stefan walk into the foyer. "Are Damon and Elena are still coming?" she asked.
"With any hope, they decide to stay here and we can just go without them." Rebekah quipped. "All in favor for leaving them behind, raise your hand." She rolled her eyes when she was the only person whose hand was up. Rebekah scowled with a huff. "You lot are no fun."
"Everyone ready for a road trip?" Damon's proud voice echoed from the top of the staircase followed by Elena.
"About time." Rebekah muttered.
Elena struggled to ignore the Original, but it was harder than expected with her newly born vampire hearing and her uncontrollable emotions. She felt that Rebekah would never give her a break. "Have any of you heard from Caroline?"
The witch shook her head solemnly. "Nothing. No text or call back from her. She must have turned her phone off."
No one said anything else about Caroline's blow-up yesterday. Honestly, they didn't blame her for not wanting to talk to them. Well, except for Damon who didn't particularly care for the blonde vampire, and Rebekah who wasn't around to see Bonnie inflict her expression power upon Caroline. In fact, no one had heard much from Tyler or Caroline ever since the untimely death of Mayor Lockwood.
"We're going to have to split up in more than one vehicle." Elena pointed out the obvious, much to everyone's annoyance. Or maybe just to Rebekah's annoyance, but that was typical for the two girls. Elena seemed to have that effect on the blonde.
"If we are splitting up, there's no way I'm going with you or Damon, though it would be kind of fun." Rebekah mused, trying to get a rise out of the couple once more. "Wouldn't be so good for you two, but could be very entertaining for me."
Placing her finger to her chin in thought she finally spoke. "I could stake you in the heart with a piece of the car. Or I could drive us off the road into the forest, hoping that a tree would impale one…or both of you. What do you think?" she asked sardonically towards Elena.
Elena gulped feeling very uncomfortable around the blonde Original vampire. She expected the verbal bashing, but was dreading any physical attacks. Rebekah could kill her, and everyone in the room within a heartbeat. She definitely needed a white oak stake or maybe even a dagger for protection.
Stefan stepped in between the girls as a mediator, as if he could stop a fight if it happened, "Okay, that's enough. I'll divide everyone up so bring the drama down a few notches."
"Everyone look out, Stefan has on his big boy pants today." Damon remarked sarcastically. "I like this 'take charge' Stefan a whole lot better than the choir boy Stefan." Damon pointed out with his signature smirk stuck on his face.
Stefan ignored his older brother and resumed speaking. "Bonnie, Rebekah, and I are going to check on Klaus and make sure the binding spell is holding up. You, Jeremy, and Elena will bust Professor Shane out of jail."
"Can't wait." Damon mimed in excitement. "Come on, Elena and little Gilbert."
"Spare us your theatrics Damon and just go." Rebekah grumbled under her breath.
"Enough." Bonnie had about enough with bickering between the two. Nobody wanted an angry Bennett witch all hypes up on expression so instead of continuing with their back and forth they all headed for the door. Once outside Jeremy, Elena, and Damon got into his blue Chevy Camaro while the others went in Bonnie's Toyota.
"Mind if I drive?" Stefan asked stepping to the driver's side, holding his hands up for the keys. Bonnie threw them his way from the passenger side as Rebekah called shot-gun. With a sigh, Bonnie slipped into the back seat by herself.
As Stefan started the car, he watched in the rear-view mirror as Damon's car pull out into the opposite direction heading towards the police station. He glanced over at Rebekah, "Are you sure you're up to it, seeing your brothers like this?"
She exhaled deeply watching the tree line as the car started off into town. "Everyone in my family is screwed up in some way or another, and trust me, it was like that before we were even vampires. I know what's at stake, Stefan. All of my life I've been there for Nik, but I need to make a change. This is my chance. My chance to do something I want. I'm not going to let anyone take that away from me, not even Nik."
The green-eyed witch was surprised at the deep reaction coming from Rebekah. Maybe it shouldn't be that surprising, because deep underneath the cold, vindictive exterior was a girl who just wanted to be loved. She couldn't hold that against Rebekah because that is what everyone wants somewhere deep down.
Bonnie didn't say anything during the whole drive to the Gilbert house. She couldn't help the bad feeling of apprehension that settled in her gut.
{Louder Than Thunder}
Caroline just watched as Klaus paced back and forth in front of the barrier like a predator in a cage. He had already destroyed every breakable item he could find in his confined cell. The familiar home items mocked him. This wasn't his home, he didn't belong here, and he couldn't even move out of the living room to pay his respects to his brother. His rage set in a pattern of actions. He would pace first, then last out on another possession of the Gilberts, get tired of it, and start over pacing again.
As much as she wanted to say something, she was for once not chatty this time. She didn't know what to say without setting him off. She couldn't take it any longer. Carefully and softly she spoke, "Would you please just stop that? You're scaring me."
It was the first time she ever admitted aloud she was scared of anything. Usually, she's defiant. She never lets people get to her. She always had a retort or an insult to fire at Damon when he targets her. She made sure with Tyler that she wasn't going to be pushed around. Even to Klaus too, she held her head high. Not once did she ever show any fear to the hybrid, but the side of him that was showing now made her question if she was safe around him and how strong his sense of control was.
Klaus stared at the young vampire with steely, but tired eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. The overcoming guilt and regret was already eating him up already. He didn't need any more added weight.
"You know I'm going to kill them, right?" He threw the question out there to see what she would do. Judging from her reaction, hearing her breath hitch meant she wasn't too pleased about it. "I mean it, Caroline. I advise you not to interfere in this."
Normally, Caroline would shake things off, but she couldn't this time. Hearing the authenticity behind his words sent a deep chill down her spine knowing he would do it. Her friends started a war with an enemy they couldn't beat. This was a total different level of jeopardy they got themselves in. And now she's the one playing hero because she may be the only chance of stopping him or at least delay.
So much for Caroline being done with those people.
"Klaus, I know my friends are stupid as hell, reckless even, and can't see beyond their own noses, but please…don't hurt them. They were only defending themselves." The words came out of her before she could stop them. She fidgeted with the sleeve of her cardigan, pulling it down over the spreading wound from Klaus' bite.
Klaus gave out a low chuckle. "There you go again, love. You're defending those who don't deserve your protection."
Now, Caroline was getting angry again.
"Don't assume to know anything about me, Klaus." She spit his name back as him.
"Caroline, you're being defensive. You're lying to yourself. It's not your fault I can read you like an open book, and you know deep down I'm telling the truth. You don't deserve them. You're made for so much more than this little town and your little town friends." Klaus said honestly, which was a rare thing even when he was with her.
"I don't remember asking you for your opinion," she said lowly trying to ignore him turning her back away from him in a corner childishly. Since when did the topic of conversation turn to her? As much as she usually loved attention, this wasn't a good time for it.
He just shook his head watching her blatantly ignoring him. She'll never learn like this. Klaus didn't want to be cruel with her, but he knew this was the only way he could tell her. He couldn't sugar code it.
"Deep down we both know the truth, sweetheart. All they think of you is…expendable…"
It was at that moment that she snapped. Her eyes grew dark with the pulsing veins making an appearance and her fangs showing as her lips curled into a snarl.
"Shut up!" The blonde vampire roared at him like a fearless lioness.
Klaus couldn't help, but notice this feral and wild side of Caroline he had yet to see. It pleased the beast inside of him in a way he couldn't explain. The battle for dominance came to an end when Klaus pushed Caroline into a wall holding her shoulders tightly, but not enough to hurt her.
"Why do you keep fighting me so? Why can't you just see and accept the truth?" He was becoming frustrated with the young woman's dilemma.
Caroline knew full and well why she kept fighting on, though there really was no use. She wasn't a quitter; she was a survivor to the end. Her friends had hurt her and let her down more than once. Hell, even her boyfriend, who was supposed to be her one and only true love, had hurt her more than she cared to admit. They kept her glued, no matter how much pain she received, she would defend them to the end.
Struggling to get out of his hold, Caroline brought her hands up to his wrists, pulling in a useless effort to get away from him.
Klaus cause the sight of the wound out of the corner of his eyes as Caroline pushed at his arms. "You are hurt." He stated plainly.
Looking down at the wrist that he had fed from last night, Caroline saw that the bite was now turning black. She was rather surprised that she wasn't in more pain, but her mind had been rather occupied this morning.
Dropping his hands away from her shoulders, Klaus stepped back and bit into his wrist, offering the dripping opening to her. Caroline knew that if she didn't drink that it would only get worse and the hybrid bite was fatal to her.
So taking in a deep breath, Caroline took a half step towards him, taking his arm into her hands and brought his wrist to her lips.
His blood sang to her. It was like the sweetest nectar and if allowed to, she would have taken her fill. She had barely taken in three or four pulls of his healing blood before she felt Klaus' body tense and a familiar scent hit her nose.
"Fancy seeing you here, mate. It's about time." Klaus turned his head towards the entry of the home to see his two-timing hybrid staring them down.
Caroline ripped her lips away from Klaus' wrist, wiping the blood from her mouth as she tried to put more distance between her and the Original. "Tyler, this isn't what you think."
"Caroline, get out of here." Tyler said to her, stalking his way up to the elder hybrid.
Klaus immediately got on the defensive as his fangs showed in his mouth and his eyes shown gold. There was no way he was going down at the hands of the Lockwood boy.
"No! Both of you just stop. This is ridiculous." She ranted at them, hoping some kind of common sense would develop here.
"I'm inclined to agree with your girlfriend, Tyler. You don't want this to get out of hand," Klaus said.
Tyler's rage grew tenfold. "Yeah, sure…and I suppose between trying to get in your pants and blood sharing with him, that Klaus failed to tell you what really happened." His voice rose as he was now yelling almost directly in Caroline's face.
Klaus frowned with his jaw set, but he didn't say a word. Caroline, on the other hand, was blowing a gasket. "First off, you don't get to talk to me like that Tyler. And second, what the hell is he talking about Klaus?"
Tyler decided to ignore her first point and answer for Klaus instead. "Remember how my mom died, right? Well, turns out she didn't just die because of one too many."
Tyler's eyes slid over to Klaus, waiting for Caroline to make the connection. Caroline, on the other hand, glanced back at Klaus in disbelief. Looking back to Tyler for conformation, Caroline's heart broke even more. She gasped, turning to Klaus, as her eyes held unshed tears. "How could you?"
"All right, Tyler. You got me. Such a big victory for you, isn't it?" Klaus didn't dare look at Caroline and her hurt and judgmental eyes. "You took my hybrids from me. Did you really think you were their leader, their true alpha? You are so utterly blinded by your own ego that you forgot who your real Alpha is!" Klaus was standing right at the barrier, taunting the young wolf.
Caroline heard the telltale sounds of bones breaking that send an unwelcome feeling of panic through her veins. Tyler was trying to shift.
"Klaus! Stop it." Caroline pleaded, but her words fell on deaf ears. He kept provoking Tyler.
"You want to know why I did it?" he asked walking against the line of the barrier. "It was first and foremost disobedience! Not to mention the ungratefulness you showed towards me for saving you from the pain of shifting every full moon. What is worse is that you had the audacity to think you could beat me. No…" Klaus chuckled darkly, "…you thought you could beat me. Shame on you, mate."
Tyler crouched down in pain as more bones broke, his body twisting from his human form. She started to back away from Tyler, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, but Klaus didn't end it there. He made sure to give the final blow.
"But do you want to know the real reason I killed your mother and those twelve disloyal ingrates?"
Among the blinding rage that pulse in his mind, and the contorting of his limbs, he croaked out an angry reply. "Because you're a monster?"
Klaus bent down closer in a crouch, and whispered in his ear. "Looks who's calling the kettle black." He smirked at the enraged boy. "No Tyler, I took everything you ever cared about from you because we are all alone in the end. You have nothing and nobody…just like me."
Forgetting his transition and with a ferocious yell, Tyler charged at the Klaus. Both of their supernatural facial features presented themselves as they battled. They both got some good hits in, each of them fought hard for the upper hand. Caroline was helpless, and she hated it. Both Tyler and Klaus had suffered enough loss as it is, but this was just plain suicidal.
Then Tyler grabbed a stake that was hidden in his jacket. Both Caroline and Klaus recognized what it was in an instant. It was white oak stake created by Mama Mikaelson, the one that had already been responsible for Klaus' death once.
"You see this?" Tyler waved the stake in front of the Original hybrid. "Not such a badass anymore, are you?"
Klaus, not showing any fear, looked down at the impulsive pup and called his bluff. "You know you can't kill me without bringing my bloodline down with me. Which if you have forgotten includes all of your little Mystic Falls friends."
"You think I care? Like you said before, you took everything away from me. Thanks to you, I have nothing!" Tyler roared, again waving around the white oak.
It was then that Caroline saw the contempt in Tyler's eyes, mixed with hurt and disappointment. The heated glare wasn't just reserved for Klaus. While the contempt and hatred seemed to be for the hybrid, Tyler looked at her with such disappointment.
"Tyler, I didn't hurt you. You have to believe me. There is no reason to fight, you still have me, and he didn't take me away from you." She moved in front of Tyler, trying to console him, and effectively putting herself between the two hybrids.
"I can smell him all over you, Caroline. I'm not an idiot. So don't lie to me. He's been after you since day one." Tyler's eyes shown with anger. "I may not have been a hybrid for long, but even I know the intimacy of blood sharing, and what hurts the most out of all of this is that you did it with him! Don't you know what you've done?" He asked her as if she had just committed murder. "You would have done better to just sleep with him and get it over with."
Caroline ignored his sneering final remark. "He needed to feed, Tyler. I couldn't just leave him here like this." She lamely explained. "I did it to protect everyone…if he hadn't of fed…"
"Oh, look at little Caroline, always being the martyr." Tyler knew his words were hurting her, but he was just so angry and couldn't stop. "You can't just do that, Caroline. Especially with him! You don't know what you have done." He lowered his head, shaking it in disappointment. "Just forget about it…just move out of the way so I can kill this son of a bitch and be done with it all." He pushed her, causing her fall onto the hardwood floor with a thud.
"Come on, Tyler. Why don't you man up and actually try to finish me off already?" Klaus sneered at Tyler.
Tyler came at Klaus again, but the Original Hybrid was able to block the stake with his hands, the silver clad tip hovered a few inches above his chest. Klaus struggled with the young hybrid as the stake inched towards his heart. With a strong shove, Klaus threw Tyler against the wall, making a deep hole into the drywall.
Caroline got up off the floor, feeling strong with Klaus' blood flowing through her. No one else deserved to die because of what happened in the past, not even Klaus. She shouldn't care about the villain. She should have been cheering Tyler on, but if Klaus dies, she dies. Also after last night, seeing Klaus so broken and in misery, she couldn't stand to see him hurt anymore. So Caroline listened to her heart instead of listening to the logic screaming in her brain.
She watched for a few more seconds as the two hybrids battled it out. Tyler started to get a lucky advantage over Klaus as he tried to regain his breath and keep up with the younger hybrid's stamina.
"Tyler, stop." She demanded of him, but he wouldn't listen to her.
"Stop it!" Caroline screamed as she jumped in front of the fallen Klaus.
Everything from there moved in slow motion. Tyler looked down, the stake no longer in his hand. He stepped back in sheer shock of what he had just done.
Caroline's eyes gazed down at the stake sticking out of her chest. She glanced back at Tyler in shock as a searing pain emitted from her chest. A feeling of liquid wildfire spread throughout of her body, her mouth hung open as her knees buckled under her, dropping her to the hard ground as a result.
Everything became a blur, colors meshed, as voices and sounds became distorted. She couldn't decipher one form from the other and it wasn't long before death would take her. Surprisingly, instead of darkness shrouding over her eyes, bright white light overcame her numbing every sensation in her body.
In that instant, Caroline was no more.
