The Captive

"How are you feeling?" Stefan asked as he sat down beside Elena, who was drinking from the bag with such relief and joy. He was at some point happy because Elena got to live, even though Elizabeth somehow helped them – which was rather unexpected. But that did not matter now, as long as Elena survives and gets to continue to live.

"Great," Elena said with a nod and gave him a faint smile. "I'm just relieved that I can finally digest this." She added and lifted the half-empty blood bag. Stefan couldn't be any more relived too, and that was the only thing that he had been feeling. And although, Damon wasn't here to see it exactly, when he told him, he knew that Damon couldn't be any more relieved too.

"That's good," Stefan said and laid his hand on her knee. "But you should remember the other thing too." He gave him a knowing look, and she nodded.

"I know," She replied. "I have to drink from the vein to sustain life," – she nodded again – "And, I think that your old idea was great." Stefan remembered that old idea, where he, Caroline, Matt and Jeremy were persuading Elena that she should drink from Matt.

"Are you sure?" Stefan asked, looking at her directly in the eyes. She looked back at him.

"Yes," She replied. "Now that I've had enough blood bags, then I might not lose control." Stefan frowned. Apparently, Elena was still new with this whole thing that she doesn't know that the blood from the bag and from the vein is different. The thrill of having a drink on the vein, the feel of the thrumming of their frightened hearts, the taste of the amber liquid… She has yet to experience. But, it can both be an ecstasy and a damnation of guilt throughout their immortal lives. And instead of discouraging her about her certain belief that she will not lose control despite the blood bags she had consumed, he somehow encouraged it in hope that she will not.

"You won't lose control," He said, and gave a gentle squeeze on her knee. Elena exhaled as she gave him an easy smile. Their gazes were locked at each other's before Elena's phone vibrated on the coffee table. She quickly shifted and reached for it. After she looked at the screen, she then looked at him.

"It's Caroline," She said, then clicked to answer. "Hey," She said, addressing Caroline on the other end.

"Elena," Caroline replied, her voice had a hint of urgency, and she was rather breathless. "Tyler has been attacked."

Lungs filled with air, she managed to flutter her eyes open, and finally woke up. She was about to run her hand through her hair before she couldn't move it. She glanced up and saw that both of her wrists were tied and were bloody. The ropes painfully stung her, and she groaned under her breath as she realized that the ropes were soaked in vervain. Also, her body was in a massive pain. She glanced down and saw a giant stake stuck through her diaphragm, and she rolled her eyes as she laid her head back where she hit her head against the wood that she rested on.

"You're finally awake." That familiar voice made her eyes roll in annoyance. So she lifted her head up and saw the only person she knew who would do this to her – Klaus. "Took you long enough, really." He added as he gave her that easy smile, which means that he was absolutely pleased with himself. Elizabeth couldn't help but glare in disgust. But before he can say anything else, they heard a gasp and a cough, as they both looked at Elijah, who was resting on the same bed of wood, with a giant stake stuck through his diaphragm. It was stuck deep enough that it actually went through the wood. But, Elizabeth realized that Elijah was placed on some kind of table, and she was actually lifted up, like a freak in a circus that should be thrown at with knives.

Klaus must be furious, and she couldn't help but smirk at that thought.

"Good," Klaus continued to say, "Everyone is already awake." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she glanced around. Her eyes landed on the one that she was looking for, which was Rebekah, who was tied on a spiked chair, with leather cuffs soaked in vervain. Her head was bowed down as another stake was struck through her diaphragm, deep enough that it went through the back of the chair. It wasn't much of a surprise, really, that Klaus managed to keep these "Medieval torturing devices." It kind of adds up.

He saw that she was looking at Rebekah, and so he turned and looked as well. "Rebekah?" He called, and with that, her head jerked up as tears of agony were on her cheeks, making them wet.

"What?" She asked breathlessly as she glared at him. Klaus only smiled, satisfied, before he finally turned back to Elizabeth and Elijah, who cannot move as well. They were at the ballroom, in Klaus' house, and the shiny floors were messy with blood, and stakes scattered all about.

"Now, I never thought that this was supposed to be a family affair, but apparently, you've let my siblings in to go against me." He addressed Elizabeth, who tried to move her hand, but felt pain instead. She was so weak; she cannot possibly make any more effort. "I thought this was just supposed to be between us." He shrugged.

"What the hell is this, Klaus?" Elijah managed to groan. "Let us go." Klaus looked at him and smiled.

"And why should I?" Klaus asked, as if he was asking a child. His voice was sweet but behind that, it was dripping with sour sarcasm. "You, my brother, are lucky enough to even be alive, and not in a coffin, rotting with a dagger in your chest." Elijah did not reply, and that gave Klaus more satisfaction that he was in control. "And I certainly am not dumb enough to free you when you are clearly out to betray me."

"Nik, this is ridiculous!" Rebekah commented behind him, and Elizabeth watched them silently. "I am not involved with them. I'm innocent. And if putting Elijah and I in a coffin is your choice, then you are just like father." She managed to say, still breathlessly. She was glaring directly into Klaus eyes, which grew wide in annoyance as he inhaled deeply.

"If you are not, then I suggest that you shut up, sister," He replied with a hiss.

"Let me go, Nik! This is pointless! If anyone should be here, it should be Elizabeth. Not me, not Elijah, but…" Before she could continue her rampage, Klaus had already picked up a stake, and threw it at her. It landed directly at her neck, which made her trail off as a gasp escaped from her lips and her eyes were wild in shock. In a matter of moments, she was unconscious.

"That ought to shut her up," He said with a shrug. He then walked towards Elizabeth, and looked up at her. "Look at you…" He was clearly amused as he smiled deviously at her. "All stuck in Mystic Falls, wallowing up in your misery because Damon Salvatore is dead." He then let out a chuckle. "I could've killed him sooner if you'd be this devastated. But you know, while I was away, I was busy making plans to finally have you dead. You see, I've got an army of my own." Elizabeth looked at him with no expression on her face. And there was a short pause as he stared intently up at her, and she stared back. But a slow smile developed on her lips, until she was grinning more menacingly and deviously at him. Then let out a throaty chuckle. With that, his smile faded, and a frown was replaced on his face in wonder.

"Is that the best you've got?" She asked, looking at him sweetly and arrogantly all at the same time. Her voice was hoarse and strained. She might be unable to breathe properly and speak properly because of the stake, but she still made sure her tone was secured. "If you are so great, Niklaus, then perhaps you should know that Damon Salvatore is very much… alive." She weakly added, still looking at him directly in the eyes, with that same mocking expression on her face.

"No," Klaus said his voice low and even. "He's dead. I killed him."

"You're wrong," She said, smiling wide as she let out an air laugh. "And as for you army, your hybrids are weak. And they'll soon be extinct." This time, Klaus smiled.

"And I supposed you gave him your blood?" Klaus replied, mocking her. "Your blood is of no importance. You know that, right? Mine can make hybrids, and they're not weak, we can kill vampires just with one bite." Then he showed his fangs, and gave a growl. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as she stared back intently, not blinking her eyes. She wasn't afraid of him, and he can bite her as he pleases, but that won't kill her because she's no ordinary vampire.

"You can bite me, but that won't kill me." She replied with a smile.

"That might not, but I have let you rot with a dagger for centuries." He replied matter-of-factly. "Oh who am I kidding? You don't remember because you were practically dead." He grinned this time, and Elizabeth's mocking expression faded into a dark, furious one. He seemed to enjoy this because he held his gaze at her for a couple of minutes before he finally continued. And for some reason, Elizabeth couldn't bare this any longer. She wanted to drive that white oak stake that she still has hidden into his heart, and watch him die as she pressed it deeper. "I can do it all over again, you know? If it wasn't for my sister, you'd still be dead. And you never know, perhaps I would have driven that white oak stake to finally let you decompose already." With a swift move, using his vampire speed and tremendous strength, he pulled the giant stake out. She let out a gasp, and was about to feel relief that the stake was gone, but he immediately drove it back, placing it higher this time, closer to her heart, with such force that she inhaled a tiny gasp. Beads of sweat were all over her forehead and on her neck, and it was only a matter of minutes before she was unconscious again.

"So this is the scene of the crime," Damon said as he followed Sheriff Forbes to the late Pastor Young's house. He agreed to investigate with her, just for her to know that they had nothing to do with this, also, to confirm if the attacker was indeed a vampire. Although, it is pretty much obvious, and he did not really need to confirm it. He figured that what humans need is assurance.

"Yes," Sheriff Forbes said. "We found some of the bodies here," She pointed by the front porch. "And some inside." Damon frowned, as he looked around.

"But a vampire cannot just get inside." He said in suspicion. "They have to be invited in, and the whole place is stinking with vervain. I can smell it from here."

"We found Pastor Young's body here," Sheriff said and pointed to the ground, beside where she was standing. There were blood marks on it, and Damon knew that what she said was true. "He was stabbed with a stake on his stomach; he must've been pulled out here to be murdered." Damon looked up at the house and narrowed his eyes. The new vampires were somehow smart. They knew that by killing the owner of the house first, they'll be able to get in.

"Looks like they're getting smarter," Damon commented. "How many were the bodies that were out here?"

"Around five," She said, and brought out this plastic bag which contained another evidence for the crime scene. It was a small wooden bullet; clearly it was used by the victims when they were attacked. "We also found this," She added, and brought it up. "Tons of them… It looks like they tried to defend themselves but failed."

"Then that means the vampire wasn't the only one." Damon replied. "He was with company."

"Damon, are you sure that you don't know who did this?" She asked, looking directly in his eyes. "Like, I don't know, Klaus?" She continued to ask. Damon squinted his eyes and shook his head.

"Positive," Damon said, looking directly in her eyes too. "And the bites were too messy to be by an old vampire, let alone an Original." He then arched his eyebrows as he said this matter-of-factly. It was the truth. But then again, maybe it was by an old vampire, or an Original who did the messy bites intentionally. And before he can say something, he felt some kind of presence. He heard crisp leaves loud and clear several times, which means to say that there was someone out there running about. He looked around suspiciously. "Liz, you have to go." He told the sheriff.

"What?" She asked, looking at him suspiciously as he looked around and tried to sense who it was. He knew that that vampire was watching them, and he wasn't very far away, because Damon could somehow touch his mind, thanks to telepathy.

"Go," He said, his voice was low and even. He gave her a look which she immediately understood. So, she gave him a nod and headed to the car. As she did, Damon sensed read the vampire's mind, clouded with hunger and desire to kill. The vampire was very much ready to strike. And just like that, Damon heard him running with vampire speed, towards Liz. Immediately, Damon knew. Liz was unlocking her car when the vampire appeared, fangs bared. Quickly, Damon tackled the vampire which shocked Liz. She quickly opened the door. "Go, Liz!" He shouted with his voice low and warning.

The vampire landed on the ground, but quickly recovered when he stood up using his vampire speed. He then tackled Damon, who managed to get out of the way, and then grabbed him by the neck. Quickly, Damon snapped his neck, and hit the vampire's back with his knee. Damon let him lay unconscious on the ground, and then crouched down. Using his vampire speed and strength, he drove his hand on the unconscious vampire's chest, pulled his hand out with its heart, and let it slip from his hand as it rolled on the ground. When he looked back to the sheriff's car, he saw that she watched the whole thing, and was panting heavily.

Damon then glared when he looked down at the dead vampire.

"Is he alright?" Elena said as she followed Caroline, who led them to the Lockwoods' living room, where Tyler was on the couch. Stefan followed behind her. Once she hung up on Caroline earlier, they immediately got to the car and got there as soon as they can.

"Yeah," Caroline said, breathlessly as she turned to look at the both of them. "When I found him he was unconscious." She added and went to sit down on the couch, by Tyler's legs. They followed to take a look at him.

"Well, do you know who did this?" Stefan asked, as Elena sat on the other couch. Tyler inhaled deeply before he replied. Clearly, he was still weak, but he can definitely move.

"It was that Connor guy," Tyler replied bitterly. "I saw him talking to my mom and overheard them." Elena nodded, as Stefan crossed his arms over his chest. He was frowning, deep in thought.

"I saw him talking to my mom the other day, too." Caroline chimed in, looking at Elena and Stefan.

"What were they talking about?" Stefan asked.

"Something about the crime scene of the massacre," Tyler replied, recalling the whole scenario he heard. "He was asking about that, and then he said that she knew that it wasn't an accident."

"And how did he attack you?" Elena asked, with much concern.

"I came down the stairs and found him there, he introduced himself, and I shook his hand." He said, his voice was hoarse and strained. "His glove was definitely steeped in vervain. He didn't let go, and shot me several times."

"The bullets are still there." Caroline breathed; her brows were furrowed in deep concern. "Stefan, can you remove them?" Stefan quickly nodded.

"Yeah, we got everything you need."

Klaus drank on his tumbler of scotch as he watched them in agony, looking so frail. He was still too furious at what his men found. His enemy and his siblings were probably brooding against him to finally bring him down. He couldn't believe how much of a traitor everyone was – his own flesh and blood, even his baby sister, Rebekah. Also, the fact that he can no longer make hybrids because his enemy made Elena – his human blood bag – a vampire, and destroyed the other blood bags that contained her blood.

It was all too much.

While Elizabeth was unconscious, he let one of his men remove the giant stake that was in Elijah, and the two stakes that was in Rebekah. He can show just a tad of mercy for his sibling. But to Elizabeth, he showed enough of it. He already showed too much for her, but he knew now how foolish he was right from the very beginning since she was revived.

"Sh-she found a hunter…" A faint voice said. It was hoarse and weak. He knew it was from Elijah's, since the stake was removed, he knew that he felt a bit relieved. But he still lost a lot of blood though, and yet Klaus knew that his brother can survive.

Klaus narrowed his eyes and stood up from his chair. He then walked towards the table where Elijah was pinned down, and looked over his body. "What?" Klaus asked, suspiciously.

"Elizabeth," Elijah said his voice was clearer, but he was still struggling to speak. "She called upon us because she found a hunter… One of the five." The last sentence, his voice sort of trailed off, that it sounded like a whisper. But Klaus heard it due to his more refined hearing.

"I already killed the five centuries ago," Klaus said, his tone was firm as he enunciated every word with such emphasis. "It is impossible that any of them survived. You can ask Rebekah if you need recalling, brother." With that, Rebekah slowly raised her head and looked at him as he looked back at her. He then gave her a smirk and finally turned away. He then heard Elizabeth scoff, a sign that she was already conscious – or she was pretending that she wasn't just a few minutes ago.

"Oh, Nik." She said, her voice was clear in sheer mockery. He looked at her, and she had her head on her side, as if she was unconscious. "Didn't you know? It takes one, to know one." With that, she raised her head, slowly opened her eyes and smiled – as if she was drunk. But her tone was sweet, as if she was talking to a kid, yet it was dripping with much sarcasm, one can't almost see it.

"Ah," He said with an amused smile. "That's right. You used to be a hunter, because Mikael trained you to be one. How could I possibly forget?" Elizabeth nodded in reply, and a smile was still on her face. "Mikael sent you, to get us killed…"

"Correction," Elizabeth immediately interjected. "I was sent to kill only you, because you killed Esther, remember?" Klaus' smile faded, and he glared at her as he held on his tumbler of scotch that was already half empty.

"You knew?" Rebekah quickly said. Her voice was raised in pain and in anger. "All this time, you knew?" She added. Elizabeth managed to shrug. Now, Klaus continued to glare at Elizabeth as anger rose in his throat.

"You…" His voice was threateningly low and even as he trailed off. Quickly, he threw the tumbler at Elizabeth, and crashed near her face. It was shattered into piece, and it hit her beautiful face. With that gesture, she finally revealed her anger as she growled at him; her fangs were bared with her vampire features.

"If you don't believe her then go see it for yourself, brother." Elijah suddenly interrupted. Klaus gave him a sharp look as he inhaled deeply. It wasn't all too impossible; he knew that there was another five hunters out there to kill him, or any vampire for that matter. And he also knew that he should go out and see it for himself – then finally finish the hunter off, for good.

So he turned away and was about to leave the room before he replied, "Fine."

She had her head down as she was still pinned down by these vervain soaked ropes. She was weak, but there was a reason why they were pinned down this way. If they weren't, then they'd be strong enough to get out of it, even if they have lost tons of blood, even if they were staked. They were Originals, and they don't exactly die easily. Klaus knew that, and so he came up with this kind of torture, to punish them. And just in time, one of his men – a vampire – came in to check on them, to make sure they haven't gotten out of here.

Elizabeth, still with her head down, watched the vampire silently. The pieces of the glass that Klaus threw were still in her face. Well, several of them. It hurt at first, but now, they were frighteningly numb. She glanced at Elijah at her side, using her eyes only, and saw that he was still breathing steadily with his eyes closed. But she knew that he knew that the vampire was there. In fact, the vampire's footsteps were loud and clear, and he was walking around. He looked at Elijah for a moment, and Elizabeth knew that by staring at Elijah's seemingly dead body, he was a bit frightened. But then, he walked around again, stopped in front of her for a second, before he turned back and faced Rebekah, who had her head down as she glared at him. He stepped back a little, and he was just a feet away from Elizabeth.

She knew that this was the right time. So she slowly raised her head. Rebekah saw, and somehow understood what that look that Elizabeth gave him. He somehow saw Rebekah's gaze at her, so he turned back around, to face Elizabeth. Quickly, with tremendous strength and with vampire speed, she tugged on the vervain soaked ropes, pulling her hands as she held her breath. It was very painful, but it only took a second for it to break. He gasped, and before he could move, she had already grabbed him by the neck, pulled him towards her, bared her fangs and dug them on his neck. He was shouting as she drank on him. But she was quick enough, that he'd gone limp. She was very hungry, and it was only soon enough before he was dead.

And when he was, she let him fall unconsciously on the ground.