dhh: Nooo, I don't like her very much either. I'd run out of there screaming. Anyway, thanks a lot for your review :)

AN: I have written this chapter twice, which is why it has taken so long. I had to adjust the story outline a bit and when I'd finished the chapter, I found that I was so displeased with it that I simply couldn't post it, sorry. So I waited a couple of weeks, adjusted the outline again and then started over. This is the result.
And thanks a lot for the new follows and favourites :)

Chapter 26: Breaking Through

(On the road in Virginia, 17.56 EDT)

"What the ... ?!"

Damon and Alaric were driving back to Mystic Falls and were just outside of Charlottesville, when Alaric, who had been talking to Jenna, slammed down his cell phone, looking absolutely disgusted.

Damon rolled his eyes. "What now?" he asked, feeling he had to but not really wanting to know at all.

"Jeremy has disappeared!"

"Really?" he said, while secretly thinking: 'of course, he has.'

"And to make matters worse, my mother took Jenna dress shopping for the wedding ..."

"Have you even set a date yet?" Damon asked flatly.

As much as he appreciated Rick's friendship, he did not enjoy the constant 'you won't believe what my girlfriend just did' conversations that came with it. Some things went without saying, like; the sky is blue, the grass is green, women are crazy. End of story and no need to elaborate.

Alaric scoffed. "No ..."

"And?"

Rick slammed his hand down on the dashboard. "7000 dollars for a dress she's only going to be wearing once!"

"Well, you know, "Damon shrugged. "These things are very important for women. For some reason."

"No, they're not, "Rick claimed, lowering his voice as if worried, Jenna might somehow be listening in. "She doesn't even like wearing dresses all that much. This is just her way of finally getting back at me for the whole 'Isobel-is-dead and oops-now-she-is-not' thing!"

"Exactly how much have you set aside for the wedding?"

"30.000 ..." Alaric shook his head in despair. "You know, when she's done shopping, I'll end up at the alter, wearing a tuxedo t-shirt and sweat pants."

"Well, sounds more comfortable than the alternative, "Damon said, feeling his patience with his human friend starting to wear thin after many hours on the road alone together."Maybe instead of complaining, you should get a beer and a bag of Doritos and have yourself the perfect wedding."

"You're such a dick." Alaric crossed his arms over his chest. "I was going to ask you to be my Best Man, but now I'm going to ask Elijah, instead."

"Whatever, "Damon mumbled, just loud enough for Rick to hear.

The next many minutes were spent in stubborn silence - Damon's hands gripping the steering wheel tighter and tighter, almost leaving dents in it - as neither of them wanted to be the first to talk.

They both jumped in surprise, when a cell phone started ringing.

"Seriously, Rick, "Damon snapped, but Alaric just huffed.

"It's yours, dick, "he informed him drily, arms still crossed.

Damon fumbled with his phone, before finally managing to press the right button.

"Yes? Rebekah ... " And then he frowned. "Calm down, Rebekah. Tell me what happened?"

Alaric turned his head to look at his friend, his anger completely forgotten. He knew the signs of trouble coming their way by now.

Damon's frown deepened as he tried to make out what Rebekah was saying through her state of growing hysterics. "We'll be there soon, "he finally said. "Hang on."

"What happened?" Alaric asked as Damon put down his phone.

"I'm not sure, but we better get there soon, "he said, making the car accelerate fast enough that Alaric was thrown back in his seat.

"Watch it! Human aboard, remember?!"

(Break)

(The North of Greenland's Ice Cap 19.57 ADT)

Ivalo's eyes travelled over the people gathered in her cave once more. "You've heard of us?"

"Yes, "Caroline stated flatly. "We heard that you are monsters."

"Huh, "Ivalo tilted her head to the side as if listening to voices only she could hear. "Human stories. They tend to demonize everything that are too unlike themselves and will not bow to them."

She heaved a deep sigh, before continuing. "But in this case they are right. Whatever they say about us is true. We massacred them and drank from the river of blood. It made us stronger, but no wiser."

"And one day we looked up from the carnage long enough to realise that the world was no longer ours. The human kind had outsmarted us. They had created weapons that could harm us and I watched them kill my brother, blow him to pieces, without ever getting within the reach of our claws. In the end, we were forced to flee to the mountains."

"I am no good, "Ivalo concluded.

And the look in her eyes told them just how true those words were. There was nothing good in there. She had a human's intelligence, but no human compassion. And she was the canine, but without its devotion or loyal nature. She had her daughter kneeling at her feet, scarcely giving her a second look.

"Had this been three centuries ago, I would not have hesitated to rip you apart, "she kept on conversationally. "But I seem to have lost most of my thirst for blood. All my siblings are dead and I do not have many winters left ... "

"But you ..." she looked back at Klaus. "Have the potential for greatness, even more so than any Adlet ever had. And yet, something seems to be hindering you."

"It's a curse, "Klaus whispered.

"It's nothing!" Ivalo spat, her eyes glowing dangerously in the semi-dark. "It is a cage of twigs, pitifully trying to contain a mighty beast that will not be contained." Her eyes narrowed and her voice lowered to a whispering growl. "Let me help you break it ..."

And then came the sound of splintering bones as Klaus fell to his knees, groaning in pain.

"No!" Caroline started to fight against Kol's hold, trying to escape him and run to her husband's side, but he merely tightened his arms around her, his eyes huge and horrified.

"Let me go!" She screamed, placing her hands flat on his chest and attempting to push herself away, but his embrace was like steel - unbreakable - and he held her easily, hardly seeming to notice her struggles at all.

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her sight. She heard Klaus yelling as if being tortured until his screams finally died out, ending in a low, inhuman growl.

"Oh, would you look at that!" Finally, she was able to free herself as Kol had loosened his grip on her in his sudden state of surprise, and she turned to Klaus, fighting back the tears.

But he wasn't there.

Instead stood a large black and white wolf, the largest wolf she had ever seen, shaking as if relaxing its muscles after hours of strain. And even as it cowered before Ivalo, it was snarling; its defiant green eyes staring back at her without blinking.

"There, "she said tiredly, backing away into the darkness she had appeared from. "A creature fit to rule."

Ivalo drew one final heartfelt sigh as she settled back down to sleep."And soon, I'll be gone."

And then there was only the sound of quiet sobbing, but it wasn't Caroline. It was Edith, still kneeling on the ground with her head bowed. Whatever she had been expecting from her mother, it hadn't been this.

But neither Kol nor Caroline was in any state to comfort her. They were watching the Klaus-wolf with caution as it looked more than ready to murder and right now, they were the most likely targets.

"Klaus?" Caroline crouched down, slowly extending a hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, "Kol said, taking a few steps back as the Klaus-wolf showed them its teeth. "There is no saying how much of Nik is actually left in there."

"I'm guessing all of him, "Caroline mumbled, moving a bit closer. "It has to be. I mean, where would it have gone?"

She hadn't forgotten helping Tyler through his first transformation, though. How close she had come to being bitten. And after Rose has died, she knew just how serious the consequences were.

But this was different. 'It have to be, 'she kept telling herself.

When she was finally within reach, the wolf lowered its head and sniffed her fingers carefully, but kept its eyes trained on hers as if daring her to give it a reason - any reason - to bite.

It didn't, though.

Instead the growling stopped and it wagged its tail twice, touching her fingertips lightly with its tongue.

"Yes, "she said, touching one velvety ear. "You are not just any wolf, are you?"

(Break)

(Mystic Falls, Virginia 18.15 EDT)

Damon and Alaric burst into the Mansion, Damon ripping the door of its hinges. Mrs Atwood - who was standing at attention in the entrance hall, dressed in her usual black attire - gave them a disapproving glare as they rushed past her and into the living room.

Jeremy was kneeling on the floor with Henrik's head in his hands while Rebekah was walking back and forth, wringing her hands. She through herself into Damon's arms, sobbing helplessly.

"Oh, there you are, "Alaric said at the sight of Jeremy, but with no real surprise in his voice and Jeremy merely shrugged.

"He should've awakened hours ago, "Rebekah wept into Damon's shirt. "Something must've gone wrong."

"Exactly what has happened here?" Damon asked, taking in the sight of Henrik's unbreathing body.

"He tried to turn himself into a vampire, "Jeremy explained. "With Elena's blood."

Alaric frowned in confusion. "Elena's what?"

"Elena donated while Caroline was in the hospital. Someone sent her blood plasma to Klaus, "Jeremy explained. "It's a long story, "he added quickly at Rick's growing confusion.

"But why didn't he let Rebekah ... " Damon interrupted himself as realization hit. "He wanted to make himself an Original."

"Yes, "Jeremy looked down at Henrik. "He mixed the plasma with my blood. But I don't think he was too sure it would actually work."

'Good riddance, 'Damon wanted to say, but couldn't with a crying Rebekah in his arms. But the fact remained that Henrik might just be much more useful to them dead than he had been alive. It would mean that Esther would be dead as well and whether or not their combined powers had shifted into Mikael, didn't really concern Damon much. After all, Mikael possessed no magical powers and whatever boost, Henrik's dead had given him, he would most likely take out on his sons many hundred miles north of Mystic Falls.

Mrs. Atwood stuck her head into the living room, her facial expression one of utter indifference. "Shall I prepare a grave?" she asked formally, making Rebekah wail in despair.

"No, thank you, "Damon snapped, still too intimidated by the sinister woman to tell her to piss off.

"A casket?"

"No."

"Tea?"

He decided to ignore her this time as Rebekah's grip on his shirt was almost strangling him now, and Mrs. Atwood disappeared back into the entrance hall. They could hear her lift the heavy front door and drag it outside.

"Look, Rebekah, "Damon said more kindly than he'd ever thought himself capable of. "Maybe we should ..."

And Henrik bolted upright, suddenly standing on unsteady legs in the middle of the room. He was shaking himself like a wet dog.

Rebekah squealed with delight while Jeremy - who had thrown himself backwards - was staring up at Henrik in awe. "I can't believe it actually worked!"

Henrik turned wild eyes on him, frowning thoughtfully. "You smell differently, "Henrik noted, stepping towards Jeremy to explore this new wonder, while the other boy moved away nervously.

"You have something that I want ..." Henrik contiued, just as Damon and Rebekah grabbed his arms to hold him back. He didn't try to shake them off, but kept staring at Jeremy like a cat on a fleeing spider.

"He can feed from me, "Alaric offered. "I really don't mind, "he added, when Damon gave him a reluctant look.

"No, what's the point?" Damon said sarcastically. "You're getting married, anyway."

As it was, Alaric ignored him, deciding to save it for later when the time was right for yet another battle of drunken wits.

"I need a knife, "he said, but Rebakah grabbed his hand and quickly bit into his wrist. Then she grimaced. "You taste like dusty, old books and baby oil, Rick, "she noted.

"For the twins' hair,"Alaric snapped, when Damon raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sure." Damon sounded unconvinced.

Henrik was drawn to the smell of blood like kids to a candy shop. He grabbed Alaric's wrist, sending his sister a questioning look as he was rapidly becoming more and more aware of who he was and what he had to do.

"Don't worry, "Rebekah reassured him. "I will stop you in time if I have to."

Then he bent his head, tasting Alaric's blood. And as soon as he had swallowed the first drop of blood, he felt a strange pricking in his teeth and then a sharp pain as for the first time they broke through, growing into pointed fangs.

And he struck, latching onto the wrist like a leech while the blood sang its promise of eternal life to him.

(Break)

(Qaanaaq, Greenland 22.11 ADT)

"This is really nice, "Sage said with a sigh.

She and Finn had taken over Niklaus and Caroline's cabin in their absence, enjoying the privacy it provided ... If it wasn't for Claws, who had taken up residence on the shelf above the kitchen counter, giving them his most unwelcoming glare while his tail swung angrily back and forth.

Sage's head was resting in Finn's chest, her flaming red hair spilling over his pale skin. He was rubbing her back in circles, absentmindedly, with his eyes fixed on the ceiling above.

"We've hardly had a chance to be alone, since we got here, "she continued, hoping to strike up some intimate conversation with the Original.

"Hm." Was all he said.

"You're not here, Finn, "she said sharply, exaperated at not being heard. "Where are you?"

"Somewhere nice." He finally looked down at her, a wistful smile on his face. "Green forests. White shores. Blue seas. A new world full of places where no man has ever gone before. With so much to discover."

She considered for a second, deciding that the mental image pleased her, before asking: "Am I there?"

"Yes." He tucked at one of her red curls, straightening it, and then watching it spring back into a soft curl as he let it go. "It all revolves around you."

The thought of that put a smile on her face. 900 years was a long time to wait for someone, not knowing if they would ever come back into your life or even knowing if they would still feel the same as before. But she'd never given up on him. She'd had other lovers, of course, but she'd kept her heart intact, had never given pieces of it away to anyone else.

And she would die, before she allowed anyone to tear it apart.

"We could go some place like that, you know." She moved up to nuzzle his neck. "Leave tomorrow and never look back."

He sighed, turning his face away. "I can't. You know that."

"Of course we can!" She lifted herself into a halfway sitting position to catch his eyes. "Finn, this isn't our fight, we're just tagging along. There's no reason for us to stay here and possibly face death for something that has nothing to do with us."

"But there is, "he insisted, calmly. "This is my family, Sage."

She scoffed. "Never meant much of anything to you before."

"I know, "he said, not trying to disagree with something they both knew to be true. "And I often wondered if life would be better without, but the truth is that there is no life without."

She held out a hand to him. "Hi, I'm Sage, "she introduced, drily. "I don't believe we've met ..."

"Well, "he looked at her with something, she mistook for resignation, in his eyes. "Being shattered into a million pieces and then being put back together again by people you were sure would shun you, kind of changes your perspective."

Not resignation. Serenity.

She huffed, laying back down. "And what about me?"

Finn shrugged, his eyes focused on the ceiling again. "I'd hope to keep you as well. But if you want to leave, I won't stop you."

She frowned. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Why?"

"Just ... there was a time where nothing mattered to you but me."

She felt a laugh rumble where her cheek was pressed against his chest. "I thought it would please you to know that you are not the only thing keeping me alive anymore."

"And it does. Really, "she told him sincerely .

'But it still hurt all the same, 'she added to herself.

They lay in silence for a minute, then she frowned asking. "Was this a fight?"

"Our version of it." He was tugging at her curls again. "We're no good at fighting."

"Well, we're no Klaus and Caroline." She said, smiling at the thought. "Whenever they fight it's like the whole world is coming down. You know; lightening striking, windows rattling, ground shaking ..."

"Yes, " Finn agreed. "It's almost as bad as when they're mating."

"Finn!" Sage laughed. "That is so not something you'd say."

"What?" He smiled wryly. "I'm just saying, you can call my hybrid brother many things, but passionless is not one of them."

"Me neither."

Finn let his finger travel over her bare shoulder. "No?"

"No, "she murmered against his skin. "And if a cannot convince you, maybe I can seduce you instead."

(Break)

(The North of Greenland's Ice Cap 23.57 ADT)

Darwin had dug his snow cave into a slope that stood apart from the mountains, not wanting to dig into the snow, only to find it had build into a mound around a large boulder.

The entrance was made to ramp up into the cave to keep the warmth inside and let the cold seep out.

He had then build a snow bench that ran around the wall of the cave for the dogs, and they had made themselves comfortable, sleeping soundly through the storm.

But Darwin couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom that had cast its shadow over him along with the mountains and he slept restlessly, dreaming of eyes in the dark and every now and then, he woke, listening for danger.

But there was nothing but the sound of wind sweeping over the plains, blowing snow into heaps at the foot of the mountains.

It wasn't until a few minutes before midnight, he finally woke knowing something wasn't right. He sat up, listening for whatever sound had disturbed his sleep. The storm had ceased and the sunlight was back. It fell through the airholes and illuminated the cave sparingly. But Darwin was grateful for the light, nonetheless, as his weak eyesight didn't allow him to see much in darkness.

And there it was again. A scraping sound at the entrance to the cave; something was making its way in, snorting and sniffing irritably all the way.

Darwin looked around at the dogs, who all had their ears pointing forward in stiff attention, but seemed more curious than frightened.

And just then, a large black and white wolf broke into the cave, shaking snow out of its fur, before focusing intelligent, green eyes expectantly on Darwin as if wanting to gauge his reaction to its presence.

Not just a wolf, then, but a ...

Darwin felt his stomach clench painfully and fear took control of his body as he shuffled to the back of the cave, unable to stop a panicked scream from working it's way up through his throat.

The wolf lay its head back and howled along with him while the dogs willingly joining in.

And then the wolf transformed before his eyes; its bones and muscles bending and stretching until a very naked Niklaus were standing before him, looking around the cave with a frown on his face.

"Do you have my bag in here? I need some new clothes, "he half said and half growled.

Darwin's mouth fell open in surprise. "What ... Why?"

"Because my other ones ripped apart when I turned, "Niklaus answered slowly as if talking to an imbecile.

Darwin pointed and Niklaus picked up his backpack. He was pulling on a pair of jeans, when Kol came crawling into the cave. "I'm guessing from all the screaming that he was surprised to meet our new best friend, "Kol said with laughter in his eyes

"Very much so ... "Niklaus said, pulling a sweater over his head. "Have any of you brought an extra pair of boots?"

Kol shook his head. "Only Caroline. So it's either pink or silver sparkling, I believe."

Niklaus snorted, still sounding halfway like a wolf. "I go for none of the above."

Kol shrugged. "How about wolfing out again and helping Bacon pull the sled?"

"Very funny, Kol, "Niklaus growled, but not without humour. "Even if I wanted to, I first have to figure out exactly how this works."

"You've already done it twice."

"Hey!" Darwin finally found his voice through the shock. "Could anyone explain what the frigging Hell has happened?!"

"Well ..." Kol shrugged, while Niklaus seemed to consider briefly, before shaking his head. "No. Not really."

(Break)

(Thursday the 2nd of June 2011)

(Qaanaaq, Greenland 04.32 ADT)

The dogs were dancing eagerly around her, all eight of them, as she was trying to pass out the frozen chicken fairly.

They had watched their comrades set out on the expedition yesterday with longing and had been horribly depressed at not being chosen for the trip ... for about two minutes which was about how long a sled dog could be expected to hold any thought. Still longer than Kol, though.

Katherine put down the now empty bucket and wiped her fingers on her blue overalls. She looked odd, wearing a black silk blouse underneath.

Needless to say; feeding a pack of panting, voracious sled dogs was not her idea of a good time, but since it was either that or facing horrible death by boredom, she had chosen it as the lesser of two evils. Even if the ordeal did cause her vanity a lot of pain.

But so far, her entire stay in Greenland had been painful ... Well, in the very least awkward.

Katherine was a woman, who enjoyed extravagances; good champagne, lavish parties and expensive, hand-tailored clothes. Definitely not whale blubber or walls covered with cross-stitch embroderies.

The quiet life here on the edge of the world suited her even less than it suited the Original brothers. At least, they had come from a simple up-bringing, the Original vanity being something they had grown into as immortals.

And as if that wasn't enough, she was stuck in this desolate place with a man she had spent five centuries running from and even though he'd shown her very little interest thus far, she knew that one day there'd be Hell to pay and she very much doubted that Caroline would step in to defend her.

No, she definitely did not belong here and when it would eventually come to war - and Katherine was sure it would - no one would be covering her back.

And then she felt a snout poke the back of her thigh gently. She turned her head to see the large, white dog Finn had given the honourable name 'Sausage Roll, 'staring at her with wide, excited eyes, its tongue hanging out of its mouth.

"Don't tell me you want more." She gave him her most serious look. "It's over. Gone."

She turned her back to him again, only to have him poke her one more time, more insistingly this time. "Stop it!"

She bent down to pick up the bucket - to show him that it was empty - but just then, Sausage Roll decided to place his forhead against her butt and push her with all his might. Normally, Katherine would've been able to keep her balance without difficulty. But as it was, she was standing on top of a patch of ice covered by only a thin layer of new snow and with a surprised shriek, she slipped, falling flat on her face in the snow.

And to make matters worse; as soon as she lifted her head, the dog eagerly started licking the snow from her face with its oversized tongue.

And then without a warning, she exploded.

"What the Hell am I doing, catering to a bunch of mongrels?!" she yelled angrily, throwing the bucket through the air with all her might. "I am Katherine Pierce, for Christ's sake!"

The dog gave her a blank stare.

"Or Katerina Petrova, " she hissed at him. "Nevermind. Whatever I am, it is not this!'

The dog started wagging his tail eagerly and tilted his head to the side, obviously intrigued by her reaction.

"I hate the sunlight!" Katherine got up on her knees, shaking her head vehemently. "I hate Klaus! And I frigging hate stupid humpback whales!"

Sausage Roll gave a short, excited bark and then gave her face another slobbering kiss.

"Yuck, gross!" She wiped her face with her sleeve, looking around in growing frustration. "And where the Hell is my bucket, now?!"

She tried to get to her feet, but slipped again and landed back on her knees. Then she pointed, yelling commandingly: "Fetch the bucket!"

She had gathered quite a crowd of spectators by now; namely the rest of the dogs, all panting and staring with interest. None moved to obey her command, though.

"Fine, if you can't even do the simplest thing!" She threw up her hands. "I'll get it!"

"Katerina, what are you doing?"

She looked up, taking in the strange sight of Elijah leaning casually against the doorframe, wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt with his hair in a sleep-tousled mess and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Just feeding the dogs." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. When he didn't say anything else, she gave him a questioning look, asking: "Something wrong?"

"Not at all, "Elijah ran a hand through his hair. "Except it's not even five in the morning yet."

"Oh. I'm sorry." She hadn't given the time much thought. With the neverending sunlight it seemed kind of pointless. She carefully got up on her feet, feeling the anger rush out of her like the air out of a balloon, leaving her exhausted. "I'll just get my bucket."

She turned, but immediately collided with something solid and fell back on her butt. She looked up, puzzled, and then gasped, instantly forgetting all about the bucket.

Stefan was standing right in front of her, but it was Stefan like she had never seen him before. He literally looked like a walking corpse. His lips were blue and his skin was white as the snow with dark circles under his eyes. There were ice crystals in his hair and eyelashes.

"Stefan!" she gasped, but he didn't seem to notice her at all. He was staring at Elijah, who had taken a few steps forward, but kept his distance. He was looking back at Stefan with a frown on his face.

For a moment, the scene was frozen; no one moved or made a sound, except a quiet, warning growl from one of the dogs.

Then Stefan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, looking as if he'd been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders for centuries and it had finally been passed to someone else.

"Prepare yourselves, "he said, his voice hoarse and unused. "They are coming ..."