Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own

A/N Please review and tell me what you think

Hope rushed into the compound, sprinting past vampires and up the stairs. The second she hit Klaus's room, she froze. Klaus was shirtless on the bed, eyes closed in pain, gasping for breath. Elijah stood over him, watching him with a mixture of sadness and anger.

"This was all you." He said quietly to his brother.

"What did I just walk into?" Hope asked.

"Niklaus has a mystical torture device buried in his chest."

"What?"

"Every second it remains causes Niklaus untold suffering."

"Who stabbed him?" She demanded.

"I did, and now I intend to remove it. You might want to take a step back."

"Don't get me wrong, calling me was very considerate of you since my father is suffering and all, but… why am I here?" Elijah had, more accurately, called Hayley. Hayley had let her go alone back to the compound on the condition that she was to return to the bayou as soon as she could.

"Because of all the people that could be here, you're probably the only one he wouldn't immediately slaughter." Elijah took a knife and sliced into Klaus. Hope turned around, not wanting to see Elijah jam his hand into the open wound to grab the knife inside. "Also, you might be one of the few that will stop him from slaughtering our sister."

"What?" Hope turned back around as Elijah finally pulled the knife out of Klaus's chest and Klaus yelled in pain. Elijah looked back at Hope.

"And, if necessary, you may be one of the few that can contain him without fear of retaliation." He turned back to Klaus, who was barely conscious. "Niklaus, it was not my desire to bring you pain, but I will not see you hurt Rebekah."

"What do I do? Just sit here and say 'hey, killing your sister is wrong'?"

"Whatever you believe will work. I have to end this witch threat, once and for all." Elijah brushed past her, then stopped and handed her a blood bag, already opened.

"This is mixed with Vervain; feed it to him slowly, please."

"Why would you mix it with Vervain?"

"Because it will burn him and keep him down."

"Oh, of course." Hope agreed, halfway sarcastic. Elijah disappeared in a blur of speed, so Hope turned back to Klaus. She went to sit on his bedside and offer him the blood bag. He devoured it quickly, barely even raising his head to do it. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"As you may have yet to realize, Hope, the line between what brings us pain and what sustains us is far thinner than one imagines."

"Great, now if you want to stop being dramatic, I have a few questions. We'll start with why you want to kill Rebekah."

"She betrayed me."

"Oh, no, it's not like you've done that to anyone else." Hope's sarcasm stung like a knife. She tucked her legs underneath her with a sigh. "What'd she do?" She asked.

"She has done what no one else has managed to do to me for a thousand years... Rip my heart out."

"So she brought Mikael to town. You obviously survived." Hope felt obligated to point out.

"You survived your foster father, yet you wouldn't want him coming to town, would you?" That was a low blow; they both knew it.

"He's dead." Hope said finally, glaring at Klaus. "So is Mikael, so get over it." Klaus started to get out of bed, but he was far too weak. Hope watched him and then flicked her hand. He was pushed back against the bed and she looked down at him.

"You are not going to get to Rebekah."

"And what will you do?"

"Don't push me." She warned, getting up and walking over to the table where Elijah had set out a couple of more blood bags. She grabbed another one and threw it to Klaus. "Drink. Maybe with your mouth full, you won't talk so much."

After another bag of blood, Klaus got out of bed. Hope started to raise her hand, but Klaus just smirked at her.

"Relax. I'm just getting a drink." He poured himself a scotch.

"Not sure that helps."

"Not sure it doesn't." He shot back.

"Fair enough." She admitted. Somewhat absentmindedly, she reached for a glass, but he moved the bottle out of her reach. She rolled her eyes. "You're not going to go after Rebekah. You love her and Elijah."

"Don't speak to me of Elijah."

"He loves you, but he will stop her. Just like I will."

"Yes. Elijah does, and he proves it time and again, even when my father enlisted him to kill me."

"You keep saying 'kill', but, in case you hadn't noticed, you're immortal. You can't be killed." Hope reminded him.

"Oh, but we can. And my father was the only one with the means to do it. A white oak stake, fashioned by my father to take from us the very thing he forced upon us all, our immortality." Klaus's phone buzzed and he looked at it, smirking. "My sister and her lover have been spotted in town. So, our lovely little chat ends here, I'm afraid." He knocked a statue off the table and it broke on the floor, revealing the stake that was inside.

"What is that?" Hope demanded.

"A white oak stake, my own special version. And, unlike my father's, this one cannot be destroyed." He sped off, a blur of speed, and Hope gaped after him. She could hear Elijah's voice already: you had one job.

Hope ran to the window and looked out. Klaus was feeding on a random man in the otherwise abandoned street. Relieved he hadn't gone far, Hope pushed open the window and slid down the roof, landing lighting on her feet after the drop. Klaus turned around.

"What are you doing?" She meant 'why are you feeding on a random guy in clear view of anyone looking out their window', but Klaus didn't take it that way.

"Well, if you have to ask, you obviously haven't been paying attention. I'm going to kill my sister, but first, I needed some sustenance with a little less Vervain in it."

"You are not going to kill Rebekah."

"Yes, you seem very opposed to this idea, yet you have made no move to stop me."

"Don't." She warned, knowing he was about to run off again. He looked at her, slightly amused as he waited for her to try and make him do anything. "If you go after Rebekah, how does that make you different than Mikael?" Just like him mentioning her foster father, she knew she'd hit a sore spot. He looked like she'd slapped him and it was a few seconds before he responded.

"I've been called every shade of monster, but that's new. My father? Mikael was the monster monsters were afraid of. Come. Let me show you." Before she could protest, he grabbed her and vamp-sped away.

When they stopped, she saw they were in front of an old, burned down opera house. Shaking her head and trying to ignore her whiplash, Klaus spoke from behind her.

"The night in nineteen-nineteen, when the opera house burned down on this very spot? That was my father at his worst. And what a show it was. He had Marcel, staked through the hands to a wooden cross onstage. My former lover sitting there, a stake through her chest. Mikael compelled the audience to watch it all, applaud as if it were the drollest of comedies, and then to leave celebrating a terrific night at the opera. I tried to save Marcel. My father had other ideas. Rebekah attempted to intervene. All these years, I actually believed she was trying to save me. But then big brother swooped in. Just when we thought all was lost. And so I ran, beaten like the dog my father believed me to be. And as we fled for our lives, he burnt it all to the ground. And with it, we assumed, Marcel. I lived, but all that we had built died, as did the last shred of me that felt human. That is what my father took from me that night. I assure you, hope, I will not terrorize my sister and her lover for centuries. Nor will I humiliate and torment or dehumanize them. No, none of that. I will simply and quickly end them."

"No, you're not." Hope told him again. He started to turn away, but she held out her hand and he couldn't move. She threw him to the ground. "If I have to stay here, all night, to fight you, I will."

"I do not wish to hurt you, love, but I will if I have to." Klaus snarled. She threw him around again and he hit a car, blood dripping off his busted lip. He sped towards her and she held out her hand, stopping him once more and then slamming him to the ground again.

"You're my father! You think I want to do this! I have to stop my father from murdering my aunt!" She yelled, the injustice of it all getting to her. He was on his feet again. She flicked her hand and he flew against another car.

"Hope!" He was getting angry now.

"Oh, bite me!" That was exactly the wrong choice of words, because it seemed to give him an idea. He sped forward, ignored the pain she caused to erupt in his head, and sank his teeth into her wrist. She screamed, startled and hurt. Klaus stepped back.

"I'll be back to heal you of that. In the mean time, enjoy." With that, Klaus sped off before she could stop him. She looked down at the bite on her wrist and then up at where he'd gone.

Klaus knew that he had made a terrible mistake as he walked into the Compound. They had spent an entire night in the cemetery. The last time Hope was suffering from werewolf venom, it took about as long before they were in the pool, trying desperately to slow the fever down.

He was surprised and more than a little confused when Hope bounded down the stairs, angry, but perfectly healthy.

"Klaus!" The next thing he knew, he was pinned against the wall. She was seething, glaring at him, her face red and he could hear her heart pounding.

"And here I came to heal you."

"You left your blood on the street. I didn't need healing. And, before you ask, I used magic; I wasn't just licking the pavement." She explained. She let him go, for the sole purpose watching him hit the ground harder than he'd expected. He got to his feet.

"I'll have you know that Rebekah still lives." He grumbled, annoyed and angry with her. She looked at him, surprised.

"What?"

"Hope!" Rebekah hurried into the Compound, looking relieved to see her still alive. Klaus stormed out of the room, leaving the two of them to talk.

"Rebekah, you're okay!"

"I came to say goodbye."

"What?" Hope looked at her like she couldn't understand what Rebekah was saying.

"Well, Nik and I came to a sort of all-or-nothing arrangement. I leave town for good, and he allows me to. Can't pass that up." Hope was still staring at her, but she quickly recovered from her shock and tried to make a joke.

"A thousand years with Klaus? I guess you deserve a few vacation days."

"Listen." Rebekah pulled her further away from where Klaus had gone. "About Nik, he is a monster. Do not ever cross him. But, he does want more from life than to just be feared. He's too broken to find it himself, but I do believe there is hope for him. In you."

"I threw him around and he bit me."

"You both have a temper." Rebekah told her, smiling slightly. "Hope, our family has no shortage of enemies. You will inherit all of them sooner or later. Please, be careful."

"I can take care-."

"Of yourself, I know, darling. But you do want Nik on your side. He's done some unforgivable things, but I'm asking you to forgive me. You and him together… Nothing will ever hurt you again." Rebekah promised.

"You know, you can always come back and visit. I can keep a secret."

"I know you can." Rebekah pulled her into a tight hug. "If I can't… I want you to remember your crazy Auntie Bex. And, remember, despite my absence, I do love you very much."

"I love you too." Hope mumbled into her shoulder.

"Another thing." Rebekah pulled away to look at her. "Your friend-."

"I don't have any friends."

"Davina. She's alive."

"What?" Hope had been asking that a lot that night, but every time was justified.

"She's alive. You've got a friend, Hope. If not Nik, you've got friends and you've got Elijah and your mother. You'll be okay without me."

"Doubtful." Hope said, forcing a smile onto her face. Rebekah smiled back and pulled her into another hug.

"Goodbye, Hope."

"Bye." Rebekah let her go and, with one last smile, walked out of the compound.