A.N. – Sorry to leave you guys hanging for a few weeks; life's been busy. Hopefully you will like this update. Please review and enjoy!

Song: Sixx: A.M. – We Will Not Go Quietly

*Lucien*

"What do you mean you called them?" Lucien hissed at Aurora.

They were hiding out in one of the Mikaelsons spare rooms upstairs; it was one of the few places where they'd be safe from prying ears. A full-blown search party had commenced downstairs. The Compound was crawling with vampires and werewolves alike whom Elijah had enlisted in the search for Klaus and Belle – well, ones he had technically threatened. Elijah was in no mood for games, and neither was Lucien. He'd had a feeling that Aurora had orchestrated this little fiasco, without his permission of course. Never mind the fact that he was the brains of the operation. She and Tristan had a habit of going rouge; Lucien couldn't wait to be free from them. But, for now, he wasn't capable of executing his plan alone. He needed them. So, he reigned in his anger as best as he could, resisting the urge to snarl at the childish redheaded woman.

Aurora peered up at him through her doll-like lashes, smiling sweetly. "I did what I had to, my love. Trust me, I've just made our lives so much easier." Her eyes fell from his as she turned away and started pacing slowly around the room, absentmindedly running her fingers over the stack of ancient, dusty books piled up on one of the tables. "You're close to finishing the serum, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Yes, but I don't see how having Niklaus and Belle kidnapped will help our cause, Aurora." Lucien suppressed the urge to groan, tugging anxiously at the cuffs of his shirt sleeve. "I mean, what do you suppose we'll gain from this? The Mikaelsons are bound find us out, if they haven't started already. Do you sincerely trust the other sires to keep their mouths shut? They will give them your name, Tristan's, as well as mine. We have to be more careful, 'Rora." In an attempt to show his feigned sincerity, he walked slowly over to Aurora, grabbing her gently by the waist and pulling her to him.

Her expression was still soft, but bordering on annoyed. "I understand where you're coming from, Lucien. I truly do, but Tristan and I have this covered. No one will ever know we had a hand in this."

A deep crease formed between Lucien's brows. "How can you be so sure?" His concern was entirely genuine. No matter what, he wouldn't let Aurora ruin this – not now, not when he was so close to getting what he'd wanted for 900 years. No one would stand in his way, not Dominic, not Lola, not Tristan, and certainly not Aurora.

"Just trust me, alright," Aurora said, her voice just above a whisper. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and caressed his face in her hands. "I would never do anything to ruin our plans, not after all we've been through. The Mikaelsons will pay, as will anyone who tries to stop us." She smiled.

He managed to fake a grin, despite the chill her words sent up his spine. Belle was one of those people who would try to help the Mikaelsons, no doubt. And he knew that Aurora would not hesitate to kill her; in fact, she would take joy in doing so. No matter what, he needed to be two steps ahead of her and Tristan. He was too far in to give up now. He refused to lose her again.

*Belle*

She watched as Klaus's eyes turned a glowing, golden hue, veins pulsating under them, fangs peeking out from behind his close-lipped smirk. "I have the one thing that matters most: The ability to tear you apart in a matter of seconds. Perhaps I'll show you."

Despite the arrogant façade, Belle could smell the faint stench of Dominic's fear. He knew that Klaus could end him with a single, toxic bite. However, what he didn't know was that, with the proper motivation, Klaus could break his chains – as could Belle, that is, when her system wasn't loaded up with vervain. Spending most of their human lives being underestimated only made them go to further extremes to take down those who would dare hold them down. They were fighters. And now that the doors were unguarded, leaving Dominic cornered and vulnerable, they had the perfect chance to break free. They had to act quickly, and that's just what Belle aimed to do.

Lacking the strength to break the chains, Belle gritted her teeth and pulled one of her hands out of the iron cuff. The distraction of her slower, more painful escape would give Klaus the chance to break free. She let a muffled, high-pitched cry slip out from between her clenched teeth as the cuff dug into her flesh, slicing and peeling back the skin on her palm as she finally freed her hand.

Dominic whipped his head around, narrowing his eyes at her. A twisted smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he spoke. "Now, Tinkerbell, do you really think you can get away from me that easily?"

"I wouldn't exactly call this easy," she grumbled, flexing the fingers of her slowly healing hand. The pain she felt paled in comparison to the fire that had ignited within her; she had to break free. She refused to stay a prisoner. To face death; she wasn't ready.

Before Dominic could take a single step in Belle's direction, Klaus tore the chains from the wall, launching himself at the young vampire with ferocity and pinning his back against the wall.

Belle gathered the strength to break her other chain. She shoved Klaus aside, ignoring the angry grunt he directed at her, and wrapped the chain around Dominic's throat, pressing forcefully against his skin so he couldn't get away.

"What are you doing? Kill the bastard and run!" Klaus growled.

"Getting answers. Watch the door, make sure no one's coming," she snapped.

"I will not," he began to protest before she cut him off.

"If you want to find out what kind of threat is posed against us, I suggest you shut the hell up and listen to me." She shot an icy glare in his direction before returning her attention to Dominic. He struggled and writhed under her hold, but she didn't let up; in fact, she pressed even harder. "What are you planning?"

He chuckled. "Why don't you ask your boyfriend?"

Her brows knit together. "What?" How the hell did Lucien tie into this? What had he done? Surely he was lying, just trying to get under her skin.

"You know who I'm talking about: rich guy, dark hair, pretentious, impeccable taste, has a grudge against the Mikaelsons."

Klaus scoffed. "I should have known Lucien was the mastermind of this operation." He glanced toward the open door, eager to bolt.

"He's not the only one who despises you and your pathetic excuse for a family. Soon the others will come, and you will fall, one by one." He smiled venomously before taking Belle off guard by pushing forcefully against her shoulders, sending her backwards into the opposite wall. She grunted as her head smacked the concrete, taking most of the impact. It nearly knocked her unconscious; her vision blurred and her head spun like she'd had too much to drink. Through the haze, she saw Klaus rip out Dominic's heart.

A cry cut through the ringing in her ears. Lola burst into the cell, trying to attack Klaus from behind. Belle tackled the petite brunette to the ground in the hallway, knocking the door off its hinges in the process.

"You will pay for your sins, Belinda. Do you hear me?! You will," Lola screamed; Belle cut her off by tearing out her heart.

She got to her feet and let the useless organ fall to the floor. "Let's get the hell out of here, shall we?"

A matter of minutes later, Klaus and Belle finally stepped outside into the daylight, having fought their way through a dozen buff, newbie vampires. It was exhilarating, fighting side-by-side with him once again. She turned to face him, smiling. Blood was spattered on his face, arms, and all over the white button-up shirt he was wearing – no doubt she was just as disheveled; there would be no saving her dress, not that she minded.

Time seemed to stop in that moment, as her eyes locked with his; she hadn't even realized she was staring. And he was staring back. Neither of them moved; neither spoke. Their exchange was utterly telepathic; she knew what he wanted to say, as did he, she was sure. His feelings for her were still very real. In that moment, fate tempted her, dangling the piece of fruit she'd been craving before her eyes. All she had to do was reach out and take it, consequences be damned. But she couldn't. And she knew that Klaus understood. Like he'd said, things were complicated, to say the least. Right now, she had to focus on the task at hand: cheating death, escaping her fate. Klaus would wait for her; she was sure of that now.

And, just like that, time started back up again. "Give my love to Blade. I need to sort things out with Lucien," Belle said, tentatively holding his gaze.

Klaus eyed her wearily. "You don't trust him, do you?" he asked.

She shook her head firmly. "I don't, like I said."

Belle flashed him a quick, reassuring grin before she turned her back to him and started walking away, not quite sure where they were or how she was going to get back to the city. She just knew that she had to get away before she gave in to temptation. And dammit, he was tempting.