A/N: sometimes I think I don't give enough warnings. So here I am giving you a BIG warning. Evil!Stefan has a big role in this chapter. Its also a bit dark not bad but enough. So please enjoy.
/Under Haunted Skies/
Caroline groaned and rolled over, slapping blindly around the table for her phone. This was an ungodly hour to be calling someone, the sun wasn't even up yet. Of course her being tired could be chopped up to the long talk her and Dean had last night. With bleary eyes she looked at the clock and groaned again, she had only just gone to bed an hour ago. "This better be good it's three in the morning." She barked into the receiver, and not for the first time she was glad she practically had her own room here at Bobby's. "Caroline," she snapped awake when she heard that voice. It has been a long time since they had talked. "Damon?" she listened intently, jumping to her feet at one point. There was no avoiding it she had to go home for a bit. She snapped the phone shut and hopped around on one foot as she pulled her socks on. She was going to have to find an easier way of getting dressed.
Fully clothed and her duffel slung over her shoulder, she rushed down the stairs taking care to skip the one that squeaked. She looked around the dimly lit living room, Dean had opted to stay down here last night. He couldn't be on the couch, that was ruined, in her haste to find him she practically tripped over him. "Jesus Caroline!" He snapped as she stepped on his foot. "Well what the hell are you doing on the floor?" he just looked at her with eyes that were bleary, yet strangely alert. "Sorry." She whispered hastily. "Look I gotta jet." He sat up at that, he took in her clothes and the duffel slung across her shoulder. "Where are you going Caroline, it's three in the morning."
"I have to go to Mystic Falls. It's Klaus, he's back and he's brought Stefan with him."
It hadn't been easy getting away from him, he was only too willing to bring the house down with him. She understands where he is coming from, she had almost died at the hands of Klaus. That thing almost cost her everything. As much as he hated it, this was just something she was going to have to do it by herself.
It took less time then, she thought to get there. Four coffee stops, and two food stops later and she was a wired mess, but at least she had made it. Shutting down the engine to the old Ford Bobby had given her, she looks out the window at the police station. She should probably be going to see Elena first, but she just had to see her mom. Two years had gone by and the last thing she had ever heard from her daughter was that she was missing. She had Damon to thank for that. Sam told her that in order to spare her mother the heartache, Elena had Damon compel her into believing she was just missing. While she had been a little aggravated that Elena had done this, she was glad for it. It saved her from having the awkward conversation on how she had come back from the dead. Considering she herself did not know.
Leaving her duffel sitting in the seat she climbed out, this was going to be hard. She knew that her mom didn't approve of the life she leads, didn't approve of Sam and Dean. Her life was her choice though and, despite what her mother thought she actually liked her life. Well as much as one can that is. Taking a deep, fortifying breath she pushed through the doors to The Mystic Falls Police Station. Looking around the station she searched for the familiar blond hair. "Mom." her voice quivered. Her mother stopped in her tracks the files she held in her hands falling to the ground. "Caroline." she nodded tears burning her eyes. They walked swiftly towards each other, once Caroline had her close enough she pulled her in for the tightest hug she could give. "Momma."
"Care bear." mom murmured like she couldn't believe that she was really here. She had to close here eyes very tightly at the old nickname, too much came rushing back with it. "Yeah mom, it's me." they pulled apart her mother running her hands over her face, checking to make sure she was really there. "This isn't a dream momma." Caroline always saw her mom as this strong woman. She hadn't seen momma cry since they put daddy in the grave, it was very odd to see her crying now. "Why are you crying mom?" she asks, her thumb wiping away the tears on her cheeks. "Because my baby's back." she had to stop herself from pulling away at that statement. Her mom needed to know now that she wasn't here to stay, as much as she missed this town it wasn't her home. Not anymore.
"Can we talk later?" mom says now. She of course nodded, she wouldn't miss the chance to actually talked to her. "Good, come by the house later." again Caroline nodded it was the only thing she could do after all. Her throat felt too tight, like something was stuck in there. She gives her mom a peck on the check and turns to walk away, but her mom calling out for her makes her stop. A hand on the doorway she looks over her shoulder at the mother she hasn't seen in too long. "You will come by won't you?"
"Count on it, momma."
She pulled up in front of the old boarding house, it still looked the same. Except that one side was a little off from the other. The old house had to go under some reconstruction, considering just before Klaus left he had to do it with one last parting shot. A reminder to those that were left behind, a reminder that he was powerful. Yeah well she had something for him, so come and get it Klaus. If the mind link the Alpha had told her about was true, she hoped he heard it. She shuts the engine to the old Ford truck off, steeling herself with a deep breath she grabbed her duffel and climbed out.
Standing there on the sidewalk, she looked around her for a moment. Something felt...weird, she couldn't put her finger on it though. Shrugging off the odd feeling she started to walk up to the old familiar house. So much had happened here, for her this place held a lot of bittersweet moments. "Caroline." a voice murmured, she spun around to see who it was, but saw no one. This wasn't like with the alpha, she had heard that voice. She also knew that voice, knew who it was in an instant. "You can come out Stefan." she watched as a figure blurred across the yard. A human wouldn't have been able to track the movements of the bronzed haired man she had once called friend. But then again she wasn't human, now was she. Calming herself with the fact that she had her gun that was loaded with wooden bullets, in the waist of her jeans she confronted him.
"Welcome home." He says eyeing her the way a predator would his prey. "I could say the same to you. What are you doing here?" he laughed circling her. She wouldn't turn around, there was no need. He was older than her, faster than her, but she was faster with a gun. "I could ask you the same thing, but I think I already have that answer." So he knows that she wants to kill Klaus, she has a major vendetta against that monster. Thankfully she hadn't inherited his more freakish habits, she was just a plain old vampire. No need to go about howling in the moonlight. "Are you here to make trouble Stefan, or are you here just for shits and giggles?" she was beginning to think that Dean was wearing off on her. The Winchester code was when you couldn't fight make jokes. John had been king of that, Dean was second to none.
"I can smell that hunter all over you, rekindle your love affair?" She sneered at him when he came to stand in front of her again. "Funny." she snapped, she was tired of these games. Why did they always want to play games? "To answer your question, no I'm not here for shits and giggles." Well that was good to know. She has experience with a naughty vamps idea of fun, lets just say it was anything, but. "No we're here for a higher purpose." She rolled her eyes again with the higher purpose, she had heard the same crap right up until she died. She was tired of this so-called higher purpose everyone seems to have. "Well you realize that's a bit lame right? Stefan, Stefan." She murmured shaking her head, her tongue clicking against the roof of her mouth. "The whole higher purpose thing." she says using quotation marks around the words higher purpose. "It is so over and done with. In fact, it has been done to death."
The grin that spreads across his mouth was slow and dangerous. Just because she was acting the way she was, didn't mean that it didn't hurt to see him act like this. The Stefan she had known was always so loving, so caring. Stefan had been a good man once upon a time. It had unnerved her when he had turned bad, it made her wonder if she could turn out the same way. "Come on Caroline, you can't tell me you don't hear her?" he asks sweetly. Hear who? "What are you talking about?" She asks him briskly, she was beginning to tire of this. She just wanted to go in that house and see Elena. "Well, never mind." he said, but he was clearly taken back by her question. He hid it well, but she could still see his confusion in his amber eyes. "Okay, this is boring, may I go see my friends now? Or do I have to shoot you."
He laughed, just a chuckle as he looked at the ground. When he looked back, however, his fangs were descended the thick veins protruding in his forehead and around his eyes. Hissing at her he launched himself, throwing all of his weight onto her. She hissed back as they land on the ground, the gun pressing painfully into her skin. "Don't be stupid Care. Come." She cuts him off with a bark of laughter. "If you ask me to come to the dark side I will slap you." For a moment she was sure she saw the old Stefan come back. How she missed that man. His finger's squeezed around her neck, cutting off air flow. She wiggled around until she could get her hand around her gun. Bringing it up she pressed it against his stomach and fired.
She pushed him off her, and before he could move she fired another shot between the eyes. It wouldn't kill him, but it would knock him out long enough to get him into the cellar. She looked up and saw Elena's horror struck face and Damon standing right beside her. She doesn't know what they saw, but it had to be bad if Damon was approaching her as slowly as he was. Acting as if she were a wild animal, he moved towards her. Once he was close enough he took the gun from her hands and handed it to Elena. "We need to get his ring off him." she says robotically. Damon nods as he slowly moved towards his brother. She is pretty sure she has never seen that man move so slow. "Come on Care." Elena says wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you inside."
It's strange really, how a person could feel so alone even when surrounded by friends. She's sitting in an overstuffed chair, her knees drawn up to her chest. That burning feeling taking root deep into her chest. It has been there since she had decided that ending things with Balthazar would be the best thing for them all. Why did life have to suck? "Where's your ring?" Bonnie asks taking her hand and holding it in her warm one. "It broke, when I came back." Caroline looked down at the ring Balthazar had picked out for her, the memory of the day that Cass had put it in her hand crashing down around her. "About that." Damon murmurs, as he leans back against the couch. Elena is beside him, she is glad to see them doing so well. "How is it you are back anyhow?"
"If I could tell you that I would. A demon says he is responsible, but I highly doubt that." She says, looking at the people around her. Bonnie and Jeremy are here so are Elena and Damon. The only one missing from the group Tyler, not that she could blame him for not wanting to come to this little powwow. "Look it's a long story, but without the equally long reason." They had been over this a dozen or times and the only one with the answers wasn't talking. "Anyway." She murmured shaking off the melancholy. "We need to figure out what to do with your brother." She had never before been the one to take charge of any situation, she had always left that up to everyone else. But then Klaus came and he took her life from her, ever since then she has been stuck in the role of victim. She was so over being the victim, Sam and Dean had given her the strength to be something more. They had given her the strength to take back her life.
"Well this is a change." Jeremy muttered, like her he had his life delegated for him. Wanting more, but never having the chance to take it. She hopes that has changed for him. The last time she saw him he was turning into a fine man. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this." She gave him a small smile that he returned. "Being the victim is so overrated don't you think?" Jeremy chuckles and looks at the floor. He didn't say anything, but she could tell he agreed. "I have his ring." Damon says as he twirls the antique ring around his finger. "The thing is, Klaus will know where he is." she nodded. Standing up to pace, she puts one hand on her hip, she runs the other through her hair. "Yeah, the mind link."
"The what?" Elena asks leaning forwards. "The mind link, apparently an Alpha can speak to all the little vampire children." Damon nodded, but the others looked shocked. "I didn't know that. Damon is it true?" Again Damon nodded his blues eyes on Elena alone. "Yes, it's how I knew Klaus was coming." sighing in frustration, she plopped back down onto the overstuffed chair. This was a big mess getting bigger by the moment, maybe she should call Sam and Dean.
"Look, I'm sorry for what gramps did." Gwen murmured as they circled each other, he knew she was sorry but the thing in his head was telling him kill her, pull the trigger, make her bleed. He couldn't think straight all he wanted to do was kill this woman. They had betrayed their own family, put Caroline in the hands of a monster. The shit she had suffered because of them. "Your little girlfriend is sweet and all, but are you sure she is worth killing your family over?" He lowered the gun, he was only giving her false security. When the surety that he wasn't going to kill her crossed his face, he brought the gun back up and pulled the trigger. "We're not family." As he looked down at the woman who was supposed to be family, the edges of his world began to fade. He brought his hand up to his forehead, trying to quell the dizziness. He tilted to the right and knew no more as the blackness reached up and drug him down.
"Dean! Dean, man come on!" he could hear someone calling out to him, he just could find his way back. That was until someone started slapping him. "Hey! Knock it off!" He snapped smacking away his brother's hands, he sat up with a groan. "Dean…what did you do?" He noticed Sam looking behind him and turned to see what he was staring at. He saw Gwen on the floor, lying in a pool of her own blood. A gaping hole in her stomach, not being able to take it anymore and looked away. "I did that?" it came out as a question, but he already knew it to be true. He could remember everything, from when that monster took over, to the whispered words in his head.
"You've changed." Elena comments, they are walking out in the garden that had been so lovingly taken care of. "For the good I hope." She says casting a smile at her friend. Truth is she knows she has changed, they all have really. "Yes," she says, but Caroline can hear the hesitation in her voice. "In some ways, you just seem so hard." Looking out over the yard towards the tree line, she thought about what Elena had said. In some ways it was true, a person doesn't go through what she did and come pout smelling like roses. Finally she turned her attention back towards her friend. "In a lot of ways I am Elena. I've had a hard life, seen things you have only seen in your worst nightmares. Hell I've been to purgatory and back." Elena looked taken back by that. She hadn't known of course that's where she had gone, no one did not even Sam and Dean. Not until recently that is. "Well I'm glad you're here now." she says wrapping an arm about her. "Me too."
Sam stared at his grandfather down the barrel of his gun, he tried to not listen to the things he had to say. The man was being controlled by a monster, didn't mean he could stop himself from wanting. "I can tell you about her Sam, all the things your dad never would. The stuff Dean never knew. Just put down the gun and we can talk. I'll even tell you about what you did when you didn't have your soul." Samuel was just telling him what he wanted to hear, trying to lull him. He's sad to say that it was working. Samuel could tell him everything about the mom he never knew, could tell him things dad had refused to tell him. Was it so wrong to want to know his mother, the woman who died for him? Died burning on his ceiling, he didn't think it was. He also knew that there was a very good chance that Samuel was lying, well more like the thing in him was.
Knowing all this didn't stop him from lowering the gun, knowing what he did couldn't stop the want building up in his chest. It was beginning to cloud his judgment. The barrel was now pointing at Samuel's chest, his security was down that's when he pulled a gun out of nowhere. But before he could get a shot off Sam brought his own gun up and fired. He looked up as Samuel fell and saw Dean. "Sammy, you good?" Dean asks, he's in full big brother mode. He never thought that would ever sound so good. "Yeah I'm good."
Later she found herself walking around the cellar, she could hear Stefan as he moved about. She knew that she would eventually need to talk to him, she just didn't want to. "Caroline." He called out to her, she watched as he slipped his hands through the bars, wrapping his long fingers around them. "Your thoughts are screaming again." She snorted as she sauntered her way over to him, her heels clicking against the concrete floor. "Stay out of my mind Stefan." Standing before the door she could see his amber-gold eyes shinning in the darkness. "Let me out of here." He says canting his head to one side, making him look more like a curious owl rather than a monster. "Not going to work, been drinking vervain on the side for years now." She knew his little game, he wasn't the first to try to play her like that.
"So tell me," she says leaning against the cool wall, "What higher purpose does Klaus have." Chuckling he walks away, all she can see is his back. "My brother, and you. He wants us four to be together." Like that was going to happen. "The mother is calling us, I can't believe you don't hear her." Ah, so that's who he had been talking about. "And you can?" she already knows about the mind link between Alpha's and their vampire children. It was good to know that this Mother could do the same. Question is, why can't she hear it? "Yes, I can hear her all the time." She made a little humming sound in the back of her throat as she slipped her cell out of her back pocket. She had sent a quick text to Sam an hour or so ago, and she still hadn't received anything back. "Having trouble getting a hold of your friends?"
"What do you care?" she asked scrolling through her contacts, looking for Rufus's number. She knew the old coot had met up with Bobby and the boys. "Their just a bit busy now." He says, she can no longer see him, he was probably leaning against the wall like her. She made that humming sound again as she dialed Rufus's number. "You've reached Luther Vandross, you know what to do."
Dean battered the door to get back to Rufus and Bobby, before the thing in Bobby made him do something he was likely to regret. "We have to get in there Sam!" He snapped, as he rubbed his arm. Pushing at the door wasn't working, and since they had no other weapons he didn't know how else to get in there. "Don't you think I know that!" Sam snapped back, tension was high. They have already lost Gwen and Samuel, they couldn't lose Rufus and Bobby as well.
"What do you mean they're busy?" She asks slipping her phone back into her pocket. "Why do you think you're here Caroline? We used Damon to lure you here. By the end of the night they are all going to die." Launching herself at the door with a snarl, she gripped the bars. "You're lying!" He laughed, moving in front of the door. His amber eyes practically glowed in the dark room. "Am I? Try them again Caroline, try them again and see who answers."
One more kick and the door flew off the hinges, just as Bobby plunged the knife deep into Rufus's chest. "Bobby! No!" Sam shouted as they ran towards their old friends. Sam grabbed Bobby's arms and locked them behind his back, Dean was lucky enough to catch Rufus before he fell. This was so messed up, Caroline was going to be devastated. She loved the old man, aside from Bobby he had been the only other hunter that knew what she was and accepted her. And it wasn't only Caroline's reaction he was worried about, what was Bobby going think when he learned what he had done? Bobby was going to be a mess, he was going to hate himself when he came back. Shaking his head he wiped his hand over his old friends face closing his eyes, he set Rufus down and stood up to face Bobby and the monster inside.
She frantically texted and dialed, every number she had for Sam, Dean, Bobby and Rufus. And nothing, she couldn't believe she was letting Stefan get to her like this. Could it be true, could they all be dying at this very moment? "Why? Why would you do this?" she asked looking through the bars into the dark room. She could feel the horror growing in her building until she just exploded. With a screech she threw herself at the door, but before she could do anything more stupid Damon caught her. She felt his arms wrap around her like steel bands, pulling her away as she fought to get closer. "Caroline stop! You have to stop Klaus is here!"
Duct tapping Bobby to a chair had been easier than it should have been. Standing up straight he looked at his handy work, while Sam flipped the switch on the little electrical box. The only way to get the fucker out was to fry it, Bobby would understand. Taking the thick cord of wire from Sam he held to Bobby's neck. Groaning with pain the monster inside did nothing, but laugh when the pain was over. "You're all so stupid." It said distorting their friend's voice, until it was barely recognizable. "What is it you want?" Sam asked. The thing laughed, refusing to answer so he touched the cord to Bobby's neck again.
Caroline frantically searched her bag for the other gun she knew she had packed, she knew it was in here she just had to find it. "Hah! I knew it was in here." She crowed, as she held the cool steel in her hands. Jeremy was going to take Elena and run because he had wanted her before. And she didn't by all this crap about Klaus wanting her and Damon, it just didn't fit, Damon wasn't a blood thirsty monster -no matter how much he pretended- and neither was she even if she had the capability. While they were going to run, Damon, Bonnie and herself were going to stay and fight. "Jeremy, take this gun. Its filled with special bullets, wood mixed with silver." Jeremy took the gun in his hands, he slipped it into the waist of his jeans. "Will it work against him?" He asks, his wide brown eyes curious. "I don't know." She says truthfully. "Now, go get out of here." Jeremy snatches up his sister and they run out the back door. "You ready for this?" Bonnie asks her. Caroline nodded as she slipped the gun with the special bullets into the holster strapped to her thigh. "I was ready for this years ago."
"You think you're gonna win this?" The monster inside Bobby asks. Dean shrugged, it would be one hell of a fight, but sure why not. "Yeah, I think we will." The monster laughed, tossing his head back and shaking with mirth. "It was so easy to separate you three, her there you two here. If she could do it now, think about when all Caroline can hear is the mothers call? What are you going to do when she is as she was, when she first tasted the blood of the Original?" If this mother, and this monster thought it was going to be that easy to get Caroline to hurt any of them. Then they were in for a rude awaking. "Hate to tell ya dude, but you monsters have Care figured out all wrong." Sam murmured as he turned up the voltage. "I have a message for you, Winchesters." Dean couldn't help himself, he snorted. "What another one? Well come on then what is it?"
"You're all gonna die." dropping the cord he wrapped duct tape around Bobby's head. If they could hold the cord long enough, they just might have a chance to fry it. But they couldn't give it an escape, this thing was they couldn't kill it if it got loose. He just hopes they don't kill Bobby in the process.
With a flick of her hand Bonnie took out two of Klaus's bodyguards, Damon took out the rest. All the while she stared at Klaus down the barrel of her gun. "We end this now, Klaus." She says, her hand never wavering. She had been waiting for this moment, for so long now. It was finally in her grasp, within her realm of possibility. "Do it then, little one. If you think you can take me out then do it." Moving her aim slightly to the left, she fired her shot hitting him in the shoulder. He went down with a scream, his hand clutching at the bleeding shoulder. "Good to know it works." Damon muttered -just before he ripped a vampires heart out. With a clear head she walked over to a fallen Klaus.
"You have made me into this monster." She says standing over him. His laugh came out strained, this man, this monster was always laughing. It was time to wipe the smirk off his face. She hears Bonnie scream and turns to look at her friend. She's lying on the ground clutching at her head, Damon is in the same predicament. Blood is oozing from her friends nose's, pain etched onto their pale faces. That moment of weakness is all Klaus needs, however, taking advantage of her lapse in concentration. He grabs her leg and yanks it out from under her, he wrestles the gun from her, holding it to her heart, he smiled down at her. In the same manner he did when he turned her. "Stupid child." He says, grinning like a mad man. "Did you honestly think you could best me? None of you could the first time, none of you can now."
She didn't say anything, what more could she say. She was going to die here, somehow she always knew it would end this way. End in the same manner it began, with the same vampire that turned her. She was strangely okay with that. "Do it then, you already have the barrel pointed at my heart, pull the trigger." She taunted, a smile spreading across her face. A searing pain shot through her, Klaus rolled off her, clutching his head. "Caroline." she heard the whispered words slipping through her mind like a snake. A parasite infecting everything in it's wake. But another voice blocked out the dark one, a light voice one she knew. "Come on love." The voice murmured, she could feel strong arms slipping around her, lifting her up. Darkness took over and she felt no more.
"Never took Rufus for the religious type." Dean murmured. He walked over to his friend who stood solemnly next to the newly dug grave. Rufus was buried with all the respect a hunter dissevered. He had died in the line of duty and deserved no less. "There was a lot you didn't know about the old coot. Did you know, during that time you were gone he took Caroline in?" Dean shook his head, there was a lot he didn't know about that time. Sam and Caroline still wont tell him all that had gone down. "Yeah, Rufus was a good man. He saw…well never mind." Bobby broke off taking the brown bag from Dean. "Johnny Walker. This was his favorite." He knew that his friend was hurting, the way he spoke told Dean as much. "He was so mad at me, what I did it could never be forgiven."
Dean didn't know what Bobby was talking about, not really. He had a general idea, the fight the two had in the past when Bobby was first starting out. "We were like you two, we fought side by side and with each other. Guess something's just can't be forgotten." No one said anything for a moment, just stood there staring at the head stone. "That's crap Bobby and you know it." He said. "Dean." Sam murmured halfheartedly, telling him in his way that he needed to stop. That Bobby didn't need this now. But Bobby did need this now, the old man needed to know that he was beginning to wallow. "You know that Rufus called you family, true sometimes you hurt people you care about. Sam and Caroline can attest to that, but your always forgiven when your family." Bobby nodded, but Dean had no idea if the other hunter even heard him.
Just as Bobby cracked the lid on the bottle they heard a flutter of wings, turning they saw Balthazar holding a limp Caroline. Her skin was pale and her hand cradled her forehead. "What happened?" Sam asked as he ran towards the two. "It was a trap." She panted. "Trying to separate us." Balthazar set her on the ground and she pulled her legs up under her. "Are you guys okay? Stefan told me what happened here." he shook his head ignoring the quelling look Sam was sending him. "Dean." she says reaching out towards him, her voice soft, a question in her green eyes. "What happened?"
No one was answering her, they all looked at each other with the exception of Bobby. Her old friend was looking behind him, but her view was blocked and she couldn't see what he could. "Bobby?" She says standing on Shaking legs, Balthazar's hands shot out to steady her but she shook them off. When she could finally see she saw a grave newly dug. "Where's Rufus?" She already knew the answer, however, she already knew that someone had been lost. "Come on Care, lets say goodbye."
A/N: eh not exactly happy with it, but it works.