A/N: So, this is The Sun Also Rises, which covers Klaus' sacrifice. We'll finally get to see what Aliyah has up her sleeve and whether it'll actually work, or will Klaus and/or Elijah screw up her plans.
Warnings: Language. Violence. Sexual Content.
Stormdancer
Chapter 37
The Sun Also Rises
Tyler, in wolf form, growled and snarled at Caroline, Matt and Damon, who were on the other side of the iron gate. Caroline and Damon had their hands wrapped around the bars, pulling the gate shut so that the wolf couldn't bear down past it.
"Caroline, let me help!" Matt insisted.
Caroline gritted her teeth – she had no time for Matt's heroics right now. "Get back, I got it!" she warned.
Tyler began to attack them, fitting his snout through the bars of the gate, snapping at snarling with his terrifying, teeth-filled jaws. Caroline flinched (and she was sure Damon did as well – a werewolf bite was as deadly to him as it was to her), but the two managed to hold the gate steady, while Matt aimed his rifle at Tyler over their shoulders. Tyler backed up and lunged at them a second time.
"Blondie, the door's not going to hold," Damon rasped, grinding his teeth in effort. "We need to get out of here."
The two backed away, while Matt continued to point his gun at Tyler.
"Come on!" Matt shouted, urging her to move from the gate.
"Tyler, please!" Caroline begged.
Tyler didn't let up on his attack – it was his first shift without Bonnie there.
Matt shot Tyler, abruptly, who yelped in pain and scurried away, and Matt shot him again, taking his retreat as a weakness.
"Matt!" Caroline protested, loudly. "No, hey, no! It's Tyler!" she said, firmly.
"It's trying to kill us!" Matt shot back.
Caroline sighed in frustration. "Wait!" She looked back, seeing Tyler lying on the ground, panted heavily, blood spilling from the two bullet wounds Matt had dealt him. "He's wounded."
"Caroline, stay back," Matt warned.
But Caroline began to unlock the gate.
"Forbes, are you nuts?" Damon snapped.
"We can go around him," Caroline said, sharply.
She wondered if he'd be surprised if she snatched the gun from Matt and popped his chest cavity full of wood.
She looked at Damon and Tyler. "You're not going to hurt him, okay?" she snapped.
Damon grimaced but nodded.
"And no more shooting. Okay. Matt, take my hand," she told the blonde boy, extending her hand as she opened the gate and walked out.
Matt continued to point the gun at Tyler, uninterested in what she had to say. Damon rolled his eyes and sped past them, leaving the ruins.
"I got it," Matt growled.
Caroline looked back, impatiently. "Matt, take my hand."
Matt finally complied and placed the rifle over his shoulder. He took Caroline's hand and she sped the two of them out of the cellar.
Elena looked between Klaus and Greta, to the bodies lying on the ground, unmoving (she knew they weren't dead – that would come soon), and something in her surged to fight. She reached for a sharp rock nearby, but, with a wave of her hand, Elena was sent flying, and she landed painfully in the dirt, in the middle of the two bodies on either side. Greta waved her hand again, creating a circle of fire around Elena. Elena struggled to her feet and rushed towards the flames but found that some invisible barrier prevented her from going further.
"Don't bother trying to get through," Greta warned. "I spelled the circle. You're trapped. No matter what you do."
"I don't like this," Bonnie said, adamantly, from where she was staring out of the window in the old witch house.
Roshni looked up, her features soft with understanding. When Bonnie had met this witch, she had been unsure of how to react to her. Roshni had known Aliyah for years; they had met sometime in the 1950s, when she had rented a home in Goa, next to Roshni's house. Her husband ended up becoming a vampire, one of Aliyah's, after a messy brawl which had left him mortally wounded. Alas, Roshni's husband had been killed by one of the Originals' enemies in 1995, after Aliyah had visited the couple and one of the many enemies Klaus had made over the years had assumed that the couple were his allies. There was no small amount of guilt in Aliyah's eyes when Bonnie watched her lay eyes on Roshni, but Roshni had borne her loss well – there was no resentment in her, from what Bonnie could see.
"Your lover is a werewolf," Roshni said, gently. "And tonight, is the full moon. It is unsurprising that you would rather be with him in his time of need, rather than plotting Klaus' indisposition."
Bonnie twisted her hands together. "I need to be brave. Caroline's with him," she said, firmly, almost as if reassuring herself.
"You are brave, Bonnie," Roshni murmured. "And he isn't alone if Caroline's there. I'm sure they'll be fine, and if something were to go wrong, Caroline would call you."
Bonnie nodded in agreement. "I suppose you're right." She paused, hesitating before speaking. "Are we sure this is going to work?"
Roshni's mouth thinned. "I can only hope so."
"The sacrifice is completed in stages as the full moon sets," Elijah explained. "First, the werewolf is killed, then the vampire. Finally, the doppelgänger. Once Elena dies, the curse will be broken. Klaus will become a hybrid."
Alaric frowned. "So, when do we attack?"
"Elena's death will activate his dormant werewolf side. He'll be vulnerable during the transformation. That's when Aliyah comes in."
Stefan narrowed his eyes. "Do you even know what she's planning?"
Elijah tensed. "When it comes to Niklaus, Aliyah always her own agenda," he admitted, reluctantly, his voice was clipped.
"So, how do we know she's going to follow through?" Stefan asked, frustrated.
"Aliyah wants her family safe, Stefan," Elijah said, patiently. "And that involves putting Klaus down."
"But you don't actually know what she's going to do?" Stefan pushed.
Elijah shook his head. "She doesn't trust me."
"Why?" Stefan asked, worriedly.
"Because I told her that I thought the best thing was for Klaus to die, and she didn't take it well," Elijah replied, honestly.
"But if he's threatening Elena, and he almost killed Bonnie, why-"
Elijah interjected. "Elena knows about your history, your bloodlust, yet she accepts you, does she not?"
Stefan nodded, warily.
"And the two of you have known each other for less than a year. Aliyah and Klaus… they've known each other since she was born; they've been married for more than a thousand years. I don't believe Klaus has done anything to this day that would make her want to become a widow," Elijah said, firmly.
"And you're okay with letting Klaus live?" Stefan asked.
Elijah raised an eyebrow. "I never said that I was going to let Klaus live."
Stefan paused. "But you just said that Aliyah didn't want Klaus dead."
Elijah stared back, impassively. "I know."
"But you're going to kill Klaus anyway?" Stefan guessed, grimacing.
Elijah didn't reply, but his silence said all that he needed to.
Stefan's phone rang; he answered it and walked away from Elijah and Alaric.
"Damon," he answered.
"You're not going to like what I'm about to say," Damon warned.
"Cut to the chase. Is the sacrifice happening or not?" Stefan snapped.
"Before I could free Caroline and Lockwood, Morticia already let them off the hook."
"So, shouldn't that mean it's over?" Stefan asked, impatiently.
"No, 'cause Morticia put up another vampire and werewolf for Klaus to use instead. She freed Caroline and Tyler with Klaus' blessing. We managed to get Lockwood down to the cellar, but Morticia's already gone to the sacrifice."
Jules clutched at her stomach, groaning in pain.
"What's happening to me?" she panted, heavily.
"I cast a spell to slow down your transformation," Greta replied. "Your insides are trying to tear themselves free."
"Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature. It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed," Elena attempted to reason.
"My duty is to Klaus!" Greta retorted. "The new order."
"Gods, Nik, where'd you find this one then?"
Aliyah was standing at the edge of the clearing, glaring at Greta with no small amount of distaste, as she approached Klaus steadily.
"I needed a dance partner," he told her, lightly.
Aliyah scowled but remained silent.
Klaus turned to Greta. "Are we ready?"
Matt and Caroline rushed into the Lockwood Mansion, and Caroline shut the doors and locked them.
"Come on. Get in here!" Caroline said, urgently.
Caroline finally exhaled once the door was locked and the two were standing on the other side, slumping her body against the doors, while Matt peered out one of the front windows.
"Do you see anything?" Caroline asked, worriedly.
Matt shook his head. "We're not safe here. If that thing wants in, it's getting in."
Matt opened the chamber of his rifle and reloaded it.
Caroline rounded on him, sick to death of lies and secrets and just wanting the truth for once in her life.
"How did you even know what I was? I compelled you to forget!" she demanded.
Matt levelled a grim look at her. "I was on vervain. I faked forgetting so I could spy on you. It was your mum's idea."
Matt walked out of the room to peer out another window, and Caroline, shocked by what he had just said, followed him.
"Wait, my mum knows?!" Caroline asked, shrilly. "Oh my God! You told her. Well, what'd she say?" her tone was worried.
Matt turned back to look at Caroline, condescendingly.
"Your mum hates vampires. She grew up hating vampires. She'll probably always hate vampires."
Caroline put away that sharp dig into her heart for later. "Well, what about you?"
Matt raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"
"Where does this leave us?" she asked, quietly.
"Stuck in this house. Trying not to get mauled to death by our friend," Matt deadpanned and left the room, leaving Caroline standing there, alone and distressed and emotions written across her face for all to see.
Klaus looked at Aliyah with sharp eyes. "I do hope you brought the moonstone, hellcat. I'd hate for you to have to run all the way back to your little nest to fetch it for me."
His tone was light, but she could hear the underlying warning in his words – today was not a day he would abide by failure, not even from her.
"I'm not a dog to fetch things for you, Nik," Aliyah retorted, quietly, but coldly. "And I have it." She pulled it from her pocket and tossed it into his upturned palms without much of a second thought.
Klaus thumbed the smooth stone, carefully. "I spent five-hundred years looking for this. I hate to part with it," he mused.
"Well, I'd suggest, in that case, to postpone your sacrifice, but we both know that isn't an option for you. So, I suggest you discontinue the fake nostalgia and get on with it," Aliyah said, dryly.
Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Normally, I cherish that sharp tongue of yours, my love, but perhaps you'd prefer to be silent tonight."
Aliyah rolled her eyes – they both knew there was small chance of that happening.
Klaus handed the moonstone to Greta, who took it and looked up at the sky.
"The moon has passed its apex. Remember everything you need to do?" she asked Klaus.
Klaus nodded. "I remember."
Greta dropped the moonstone into a stone bowl filled with flames, which was lying on an altar. Sparks flew as the moonstone was destroyed into pieces of hot-white rock, as Greta began chanting a spell in Latin.
As much as she regretted her part in all of this, Aliyah couldn't help but watch in wonder – this hadn't been just Klaus' odyssey; it had been hers too – there was something gratifying about seeing it finally come to fruition, even if she and Klaus were no longer the same woman and man who had begun the crusade in the first place.
Klaus touched her the curve of her hip before approaching the ring of fire where Jules was lying on the ground, curled in on herself, but she possessed enough strength to look up Elena, desperately.
"Everything I did..." she gasped out. "I was just trying to find Mason."
Elena bit her lip. "Are you Jules?"
"He was pack," Jules insisted.
Klaus looked down at Jules, impassively. "Shall we?"
The ring of fire around Jules dispersed. Jules's eyes turned yellow and she used her werewolf speed to rush at Klaus. Klaus rolled his eyes and tripped Jules just as she lunged for him, and she hit the ground with a whimper, which was aggravated by the transformation twisting through her. Klaus pinned Jules down by a hand to her throat and he plunged his other hand into her chest cavity seamlessly, pulling out her heart with a wet sound. Jules choked on the blood filling her throat, tears trailing down her face, and took her last breath, death rattle pounding in her lungs. Klaus stared at the bloody heart in his hands, something akin to triumph in his eyes, as Elena watched on, horrified.
Aliyah had to admit it was somewhat satisfying to see the werewolf lying her own blood – she would've killed Caroline and stolen Tyler to get to the moonstone, Aliyah reasoned. This was just.
Klaus swept back to the altar, while Greta continued chanting as a spell, and he held Jules' heart over the ceremonial bow, wringing the blood from the still-beating muscle into the flames.
Klaus furrowed his brow. "Does that mean it's working?"
"It's working," Greta said, reassuringly.
Matt peered out of another window.
"You don't think I killed him, do you?" he asked, hesitantly.
Caroline was curled up on a couch in the parlour.
"No," she said, comfortingly. "No. It takes a lot more than wooden bullets to kill a werewolf. He's still out there somewhere." She paused, vulnerable. "Do you think my mom wants to kill me?"
Matt hesitated. "I don't think your mom knows what to do with you."
"Yeah, well, I don't really know what to do with me, either," Caroline muttered, defeated.
Matt looked at her, but Caroline missed it, tensing as she heard a noise on the front of porch.
"What is it?" he asked, confused.
Matt began to walk towards the front door.
"Wait," she warned.
Caroline listened intently and heard more shuffling on the front porch. Matt pointed the gun at the door, but Caroline jumped to her feet and pushed the barrel of the gun down.
"Don't. Don't shoot."
Caroline rushed over to the front doors.
"What the hell are you doing?" Matt hissed.
Caroline peered through the glass in the front doors and saw Tyler lying naked on the front porch, in human form. Caroline's eyes widened and she stormed back over to Matt.
"Give me your jacket," Caroline demanded, extending her hand.
Matt frowned. "What?"
Caroline sighed, frustrated. "Your jacket, take it off," she ordered.
Matt hurriedly took his jacket off and handed it over to Caroline, who grabbed it and opened the front doors, Matt following behind her. Caroline knelt down next to Tyler and wrapped the jacket around his naked body.
"Hey," Caroline said, gently.
Tyler looked up at Caroline with dazed eyes and Caroline smoothed back Tyler's head, much like she had seen Bonnie do after Tyler's last shift.
"Caroline?" Tyler gasped out.
"Hey," se began, soothingly. "It's okay. It's okay. You're okay."
Elijah approached Stefan, who was standing outside the old witch house.
"Bonnie did the locator spell," he told him. "They're at Steven's Quarry."
"I'll head over there right now," Stefan told him.
"Why?" Elijah asked, curiously. "You have no role to play here, Stefan. Klaus will complete the sacrifice; Aliyah will exact her plot and I will end all of this misery. Even Bonnie is not required. Klaus will be weak enough after the curse is broken that Aliyah and I will be enough to take him down."
Stefan swallowed hard. "I don't want Elena to be alone."
"That is admirable," Elijah commented, wistfully.
Stefan nodded and just as he was about to leave, Elijah's voice stopped him.
"You're very honourable," he mused.
Stefan turned back around, looked at Elijah, and walked back towards him.
"Are you?" he asked, sharply. "Because this whole plan is, um, it's contingent upon your honour, Elijah." He said, pointedly.
"I won't fail you," Elijah promised.
"Klaus is your brother," Stefan said, deliberately. "I know I've wanted to kill my brother a thousand times. I've never been able to."
Elijah's mouth thinned. "Well, Klaus was not my only brother. I had siblings, parents. I had a family. Over the centuries, Klaus hunted them down one by one and he took them from me. He scattered them across the seas where their bodies could not be found." His voice turned cold with resentment.
"You want revenge," Stefan guessed.
Elijah shrugged. "Sometimes there's honour in revenge, Stefan."
"Jenna said… she said that you and Aliyah were married once," Stefan said, carefully.
Elijah nodded and if the words bothered him, Stefan couldn't tell. "Yes, I am her first husband."
"But she left you and married Klaus?" Stefan raised an eyebrow.
Elijah ignored the way his heart twisted. "She was in love with him prior to our marriage; once I learned of their feelings for each other, I let her go."
Stefan paused. "Why?"
Clearly, Elijah's words had struck a chord in him.
Elijah pursed his lips. "I just wanted her to be happy," he said, honestly. "And she wouldn't have been, with me, not in the long run."
"And what you're going to do tonight, it has nothing to do with splitting Aliyah and Klaus up?" Stefan asked, curiously.
Elijah's lips twitched. "I may be honourable, Stefan, but I'm still a man." He paused. "I won't fail you."
Stefan could tell that the conversation was over.
"Please end this," he replied, before leaving.
Klaus kicked over the vampire so that he was on his back. He peered down at the unconscious, sweaty face.
"What did you do to him?" he asked Aliyah, curiously.
Aliyah crossed her arms over her chest. "I plied him with enough vervain to fell an elephant," she said, dryly.
Klaus hummed in approval. "Good one."
"You turned some random person just so you could kill them?" Elena demanded, walking closer to the flames.
As she approached the border, the flames flared up, so she was forced to retreat.
"Careful," Klaus warned, gently.
"Calm down, Elena," Aliyah warned. "He's just some idiot who was putting his hands on a drunk girl outside a bar in Richmond."
"But he's still a person!" Elena protested. "You don't get to be judge, jury and executioner."
"Actually, I do," Aliyah said, sharply. "Because there's no one to stop me."
"Besides, Elena," Klaus drawled. "It's either this meatbag, or your Aunt Jenna and I become better acquainted."
Elena scowled.
"Nik!" Aliyah snapped.
Klaus rolled his eyes. "Peace, Liya; I was kidding."
At that moment, Klaus and Aliyah tensed.
"Well, well," Klaus said, smoothly, he and Aliyah looking up at the top of the quarry. "I don't recall you being on the guest list," he commented, darkly.
Elena gasped when she looked up as well, seeing Stefan standing atop the cliff.
"I'm here to talk," Stefan called out.
"Very well, then," Klaus replied.
He looked at Aliyah, telling her silently to keep an eye on the doppelgänger, then sped off to the top of the cliff and walked calmly towards Stefan.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Salvatore?" he asked, genially.
Stefan and Klaus continued their conversation on top of the cliff, and Elena looked at Aliyah, worriedly.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Aliyah's lip curled. "It appears your boyfriend would prefer that you not be alone when the sacrifice happens."
Elena's face softened, but the lines around her eyes thinned. "But won't Klaus think he's interfering?"
Aliyah snorted. "My husband is perpetually paranoid, Elena." Her jaw unclenched. "But I don't believe any interference now will save you," she said, apologetically.
Elena flinched, but she straightened, resolutely. "That's okay; I made my decision."
There are too many children ready for war in this town, Aliyah mused, mournfully.
She ignored that voice in her head that asked and how much of that is your fault?
Matt was sitting in the parlour, staring blankly at the fire, when Caroline entered the room. She shut the door behind her and Matt looked up at her.
"How's Tyler doing?" he asked, worriedly.
"Sleeping," Caroline replied. "He should be better by morning. He just... He needs some rest." Her shoulders slumped.
"Good." There was a brief pause. "So, this is your life now, huh?"
Caroline smiled, sheepishly. "Never a dull moment."
Matt stood up and walked towards Caroline. "You know, these last few days with you have been so great, and fun," he mused. Caroline took this as a way in and smiled, walking over to him and placing her hands on his chest. "And so, Caroline, I-I thought that I might be able to get past this whole vampire thing."
Caroline swallowed hard. "But you can. Matt..."
Matt shook his head. "I don't-I don't know if I can, Caroline."
Matt walked past Caroline, ignoring the way her face collapsed at his words. Caroline turned around with the darkest look of desperation plastered across her face.
"Matt!" she called out.
Matt turned around and looked at her, not mean, but not accepting or apologetic by any means.
"I get it. This is your life now." Matt gestured, absentmindedly. "You know what my life is, Care? My life is an absentee mom. And a bunch of bills to pay, and school, and a job, and it-and it sucks sometimes. But it's my life. And... I think that I just want to live it without all of this," he said, honestly.
Caroline took a deep breath, looking at him sadly, but nodded her head, understanding what he wanted.
Fair enough.
Finally, Klaus and Stefan walked down from the cliff-face to rejoin Elena, Aliyah, Greta and the unconscious vampire.
"It appears your beau here wants to stand vigil as you die, Elena," Klaus said, simply. "It is an admirable sentiment; one I wholeheartedly approve of. I imagine I would do the same – had my wife been as breakable as you are."
"Stefan-" Elena began, her doe-brown eyes wetting with tears.
Stefan shook his head before she could protest. "I'm not letting you do this alone, Elena," he said, firmly.
"That doesn't mean that you should watch it happen!" Elena snapped.
"I don't care."
"It's actually quite the predicament," Klaus interjected. "While I can appreciate his wish, – I rue the day I am so helpless that I cannot protect my own wife – it would be very foolish of me to simply let him observe, not when I know how much he and his brother are bent on saving you from your fate, thus ruining this night for him."
Klaus sped around Stefan, much faster than Stefan could've hoped to see, and staked him in the back. Stefan roared in pain and crumbled to the ground.
"No!" Elena screamed. "Stefan! No!"
She took a step forward, meaning to breach the flames, but thought better of it and stepped back.
Aliyah jerked, as if wanting to go to Stefan herself, but Klaus' voice paralysed her.
"Don't you dare free him, Liya," Klaus warned, coldly. "Not if you know what's good for you. I've borne all your traitorous attempts to bring this sacrifice to an end out of my love for you, but do not continue to put any more demands on my patience."
Aliyah gritted her teeth but stayed in her place. Klaus leaned down and ripped the stake out of Stefan's back, leaving a sizeable chunk of wood in his back.
"I have other plans for your boyfriend," Klaus told Elena. "I want him alive. But for now..."
He snapped Stefan's neck, causing Stefan to fall, rather disgracefully, and Elena gasped in shock.
Aliyah frowned. I have other plans for your boyfriend. What did he mean? She knew that Klaus had found something brother-worthy in Stefan during his Ripper times in the 1920s. He had liked the young vampire, what with all of his need to find family that was better than his actual family, and Stefan had fit right in with him, as someone also desperately trying to rid himself of the shade of his unwanted brother. Aliyah, herself, hadn't seen anything too special in the youngest Salvatore brother, nettled and concerned by his lack of control over his bloodlust, resentful that Klaus had overlooked his actual brothers (not that any of them were there – Finn and Kol in coffins and Elijah leading Mikael astray after New Orleans) in favour of this ungovernable baby vampire. Rebekah, of course, had been smitten, but the girl had never been known for choosing men good for her.
Rebekah, Aliyah realised. Nik's going to free her, and what better way to win her forgiveness than by presenting her with her long-lost lover, who, of course, doesn't remember her, but I doubt Nik cares too much for that. She almost smiled. Although Rebekah will, especially if she finds out his undying adoration for the Petrova doppelgänger. It might be fun to watch what happens after that.
Klaus turned to Greta, steadily. "Whenever you're ready, Greta."
Greta began chanting the next part of the spell, which dispelled the ring of fire that surrounded the unconscious vampire. Klaus sped over to him, flipping him over onto his back and bowing over him. In his hand was a sharp piece of wood which he slid, with careful ease, into the vampire's heart, who turned grey and decayed in a matter of moments. Klaus released the stake from his grip and stood up, kicking away where the vampire lay lifeless on the stone with the stake through his heart.
Greta began chanting the next part of the spell, once Klaus was standing by her side. Stefan woke up and felt the piece of wood in his back. He tried to reach for it, in an attempt to dislodge it, but was not flexible enough to do so. Stefan looked up at Elena and saw the tears in her eyes, and hated himself more for not being able to do anything for her. He looked over towards Greta and saw the vampire's dead body with the stake in his chest.
"No," he breathed, horrified, realising what was going to happen now.
Elena was all that was left.
Greta poured the vampire's blood into the ceremonial bowl.
"I'm so sorry," Stefan whispered.
Elena placed her fingers to her lips and hushed Stefan.
"Are they going to kill him?" she mouthed, hoping that Klaus (and Aliyah) could not hear.
Stefan nodded as best he could.
Klaus approached Elena. "It's time," he said, solemnly.
The circle of fire disappeared from around Elena, and she looked up at him. Klaus extended his hand towards her, but Elena jumped to her feet from the ground and strode past Klaus, ignoring him. It made Aliyah smile, her obstinacy. Elena made her way to the altar and looked down at the vampire's body, grimacing. Klaus, with a remarkable amount of patience, followed her up to the altar and grabbed Elena's face in his hand, not gentle, but not rough all the same. Below them, Stefan struggled to get up from the ground. Klaus turned Elena's face so he would be the last thing she would see before she died.
"Thank you, Elena," Klaus said, gently.
Elena scowled and her eyes filled with such hatred that she'd burn him alive on the spot if she could.
"Go to hell," she swore.
Stefan continued to struggle to his feet, but fell back to the ground, still too weak to move. Elena tipped her head up, defiantly, not wanting Klaus to have the satisfaction of seeing her cower in fear, and stared out, blankly, as Klaus sank his fangs into his neck, seamlessly, and started to drain her of her lifeblood. Aliyah closed her eyes – this was not something she could watch. Stefan watched, helplessly, as Klaus clutched the young girl tightly, the veins rippling under his eyes. Finally, as she lost pint after pint of blood, Elena's eyelids fluttered and her eyes rolled back into her head, her heartbeat slowing until it was non-existent. Klaus released and her body sunk to the ground. It was only when Elena's body hit the stone that Aliyah opened her eyes, ignoring the thickness of grief in her throat – Elena wasn't someone she particularly cared for, but it was her that she had tried to save and she had failed (unless the girl cared to become a vampire, but knowing her, she didn't think so).
The blood dripped from Klaus' mouth onto the altar and the flame in the bowl was extinguished. Elena's body lay lifeless there and Stefan stared at her, desperately, and lowered his head to the ground, sickened with himself for not being able to do anything more. Klaus breathed heavily and walked down the stone steps.
He looked at Aliyah, triumphantly, who pulled in a sharp breath.
'I can feel it. It's happening," he growled, looking up at the full moon as if paralysed by the sight.
Aliyah flinched as she heard his bones begin to crack, and thumbed something in her back pocket, hidden to all. She looked at him, then, his eyes yellow as a werewolf, veins gathering under his eyes much like a vampire – he looked as he did the night he took his first life, in this very town, a thousand years ago, on a night like this.
"Yes, yes!"
His eyes lit up, his blonde hair glinting in the pale moonlight – he looked like that boy who had taken her into the woods to tell her he loved her for the first time.
That was why she kissed him like she had in that forest, him a green boy and her a maid, when she put that dagger inside his heart.
The way he looked at her and then at the sliver of gold in his chest, it was maddening.
Gods, she should've died before he'd ever look at her like that.
"How-how did you-?" he stammered, as the magic took effect, withering him away from the inside until his skin turned as grey as the corpse he had rendered minutes earlier, his veins coming to the surface.
She watched his features with a bated breath – she wondered, had he felt like this, had his heart twisted like it would never be the same again, had his lungs collapsed from lack of air, had he felt whatever shred of his innocence remain wither away, when he did this to me?
Finally, deliberately looking away from the look of betrayal in his cornflower-blue eyes (it was one she had become accustomed to from him), she waited until he sagged in her arms, and placed him down on the ground, gentle as a newborn.
"What did you do?" Greta shrieked from the altar, raising her hand to vainly attempt to throw her into a tree, perhaps.
But before she could do anything (not that it would have worked), Aliyah was standing behind the witch and she was snapping her neck as if the bones were made of butter. It was then that Damon and Elijah arrived in the clearing, seeing the devastation that Klaus had wrought in the form of the dead vampire and werewolf, Elena slumped lifelessly against the altar, and Klaus himself, grey and decayed with a gold dagger through his heart.
Damon pulled Elena's body into his arms and walked over to Stefan, laying her down where he was prostrated. Stefan grabbed her arm gently by the arm and shook her, desperately.
"Elena?" he called out, hoping for a reply, but gaining none.
Damon knelt down himself and ripped the remainder of the stake out of Stefan's back, who grunted in pain. Damon grabbed Stefan's shoulder, helping to his feet with one arm slung around his neck to stop him from collapsing once more.
Elijah looked at Aliyah, who had made her way back to Klaus' body.
"Aliyah, what did you do?" Elijah asked, quietly.
Aliyah stared back, impassively. "I did what was necessary."
"I thought you said the daggers didn't work," Damon accused.
Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "I said those daggers didn't work."
Elijah furrowed his brow. "You made another one? I thought the spell could never be reproduced?"
"It can't," Aliyah agreed.
"So, how did you make this one, Aliyah? Stop hedging!" Elijah snapped, frustrated.
Aliyah gave him such a withering look that it had him looking away, shamefaced. "I don't owe my husband's almost-murderer any explanations," she growled.
Elijah grimaced. "You knew then?"
"You're many things, Elijah," Aliyah said, grimly. "But you're not a fool, and you're never reckless. You told me of your decision to kill Nik; you wouldn't have done that unless you had every intention of carrying your decision out. It was a warning you hoped I would miss."
"Okay, your whole old-married-couple bickering is cute and everything, but if you had a dagger that could take Klaus out, why didn't you use it, oh, I don't know, before the sacrifice?" Damon barked.
"One," Aliyah began. "This dagger is not effortless to make, otherwise many others would have attempted it earlier. Two, it requires two witches, which we didn't have until a few days ago."
"Your witch friend," Elijah guessed. "That's why you asked her to come here."
Aliyah nodded. "The magic required to make the dagger is something she has a certain knack for, but it relies heavily on the connection and chemistry between witches, as well as a great amount of power which Bonnie only possessed after she drew the power that remained after the witch massacre."
"But that still doesn't explain why you didn't ask your witch friend to show up earlier," Damon argued. "Bonnie got the witches' power three weeks ago."
"Three," Aliyah continued with a sharp look. "My husband is no simpleton; he knew I was plotting something. The only way I was able to mislead him now was because he thought he had killed Bonnie, and therefore, my only reason to fight him. He needed to be weak and unsuspecting, and that would not have happened until the sacrifice had been completed. It was the most favourable option available."
"Most favourable? Elena's dead," Damon hissed.
"That had nothing to do with me," Aliyah snapped. "No one asked you to force vampire blood down her throat. If she'd have taken the elixir like we had wanted her to, she would've woken up by now."
Stefan nodded his head at Klaus' desiccated body. "What are you going to do with him?"
"I'll take him home with me." Aliyah shrugged. "I'm sure I have a coffin or two that he'll rest easy in."
She hefted Klaus up and sped away, leaving the three vampires, alone, in the quarry.
Tyler was wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping on the couch in Aliyah's lounge room, when Caroline entered, sitting down next to him. Once Matt had left, Caroline had seen no need to remain in the Lockwood Mansion, not after knowing that Bonnie would clawing at the walls until she could know for sure that Tyler was safe. Once Aliyah had returned to the house, a desiccated Klaus slung over her neck, Bonnie and Roshni had returned as well, in part glad that it was all over and in part curious to see if their efforts had been successful.
Of course, no one could be too glad of Klaus' indisposition, not with Aliyah so miserable and sitting at his bedside like a wounded soldier.
"Hey," Caroline murmured, when she saw Tyler slowly awaken.
Tyler pulled the blanket down, baring the skin which had been pierced by the rifle bullet, and groaned.
"Ooh, yeah, you got shot. But it's healing," she told him, gently.
Tyler sat up, grimacing. "Where's Bonnie?"
"She's here," Caroline said, reassuringly. "She just went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water."
"Did everything go okay with the sacrifice?"
Caroline nodded, biting her lower lip. "Um, Klaus killed the vampire and werewolf that Aliyah gave him; he drained Elena, but Bonnie was able to do this resurrection spell she found in one of Emily Bennett's grimoires. Aliyah was super pissed when she heard about that. But, um, Aliyah managed to dagger Klaus."
Tyler's eyes widened and cleared his throat. "So, he's down for the count then?"
"Yeah, but Aliyah… she's not taking it well," Caroline said, honestly. "I don't think she ever imagined she'd be capable of doing that to him, even if he has done it to her."
"I'm sorry about trying to kill you last night," Tyler offered.
Caroline shrugged. "Well, no friendship is perfect."
They both laughed, softly, at that.
"Matt broke up with me," Caroline said, suddenly.
She didn't know why she was telling him this. She supposed it was all the extra vulnerability that came with a break-up. Aliyah hadn't said much when she had told her; she had simply held her close, much like Caroline had always wanted her mother to do when she was younger and hurting. She imagined Aliyah had seen it coming, but just hadn't wanted to say it to her face, out of some simple desire to protect her feelings. She had expected Matt's rejection, somewhere deep – she didn't know how long she would've been able to keep up the façade of being human – but it still dug into her like that bullet the werewolf had shot into her.
"I'm sorry," Tyler said, gently.
Caroline blinked back something akin to tears. "Yeah, well, you could just say... 'thank you, Caroline, for taking care of me. And I'm sorry that I tried to chow down on you again'," she joked, lightly.
They both laughed again, but Caroline's laughter ended up in tears.
Tyler softened. He had never much liked Caroline – he had only ever tolerated her as Bonnie's best friend and Matt's now-ex girlfriend. But these past few months, he had seen how big her heart was, how much she genuinely cared, and how much hurt she was hiding inside. He liked that he could call her a friend now, and not just because he was dating her best friend, but because he honestly thought she was a good person and he wanted to be her friend.
"Hey, hey," he soothed. "Come here."
Tyler opened up the folds of his blanket and she leaned against his chest after a moment's hesitation.
"Oh, easy." He winced, as she unfortunately pressed against the bullet wound.
He wrapped his arms around Caroline.
"Thank you, Caroline. For taking care of me," he murmured.
"You're welcome," Caroline replied, quietly.
"Should I be jealous?" Bonnie teased, coming into the lounge from the kitchen.
"Shut up," Caroline sniffed. "He's so not my type. He'd just shed fur everywhere. I'm not cleaning that stuff up."
Bonnie giggled and sat on the couch beside Caroline and Tyler, but it didn't take long for Tyler and Caroline to pull her in, under the blankets, as well, until the three were swaddled together, the strain of the day hauling them into sleep before they knew it.
Aliyah stared at her folded hands on her lap, and then at the prone figure lying on top of her bed.
It was necessary. He would've killed Bonnie. He would've killed Caroline. He would've killed Tyler and Jenna and Elena, just to prove a point. It was necessary.
"Are you alright?" Elijah asked, hesitantly, from the doorway.
Aliyah sighed. "Tonight was not all without satisfaction; daggering him, as much as it hurt me, had me smug just for a moment. For once, I wasn't powerless against him." Bitterness clouded her words, but she looked at Elijah, then, her gaze painfully blank. "Am I monster? More than usual, I mean," she asked, puzzled by her own words. "I daggered my husband when he was weak and trusting in me. I must be a monster." She mused.
"Elena didn't deserve to die at Niklaus' hands," Elijah pointed out.
Aliyah shook her head with a scoff. "Elena wasn't in danger when I daggered Nik. I didn't use that dagger because I was protecting Elena; I was doing it because, for once, I wanted time and life to be stolen from him instead of us. I wasn't virtuous or valiant in this. I wasn't committing some righteous intervention by ridding us of the villain in the story. We're not better than him." There was disgust in her tone at this point. "All he wanted was what he was denied to him by your mother. Is there some great sin in that?"
"No," Elijah replied, easily. "If it didn't result in the murder of an innocent seventeen-year-old girl, who only suffers because of the sins of an ancestor she didn't even know about until we came into her lives. She doesn't deserve to have her life cut short because of our family," Elijah said, pointedly.
"I never said she did," Aliyah retorted. "But whether the girl likes it or not, this became her life long before I came to Mystic Falls. No one forced her to fall in love with a vampire, but she did of her own free will. We did whatever we could to save her and now, she is saved. And it is Nik lying here instead. Not even that maudlin girl I used to be would have chosen Elena over Niklaus. And yet I did. It made my skin crawl, but I did it." She paused. "I don't know if he'll ever forgive me for this." She remarked, helplessly.
Elijah wavered, but finally gripped Aliyah's shoulder. "He loves you, Aliyah," he said, urgently.
"But I betrayed him," Aliyah murmured. "He was still so angry with me over leaving him in 1925. How will he react when I free him?" She looked up at him, desperately. "I don't want him to hate me, Elijah."
"He won't," Elijah said, reassuringly. "This is Niklaus, ástin-Aliyah. There is no him without you. He won't hate you."
He had almost called her ástin mínas he had always called her. But somehow it felt wrong now, sitting vigil at her husband's bedside (her true husband, for she had loved, did love and would always love Klaus so much more than she had ever loved him – it was a painful truth, but a truth nonetheless), almost in tears by the mere possibility that he may be angry at her for doing something that he had already done to her centuries ago.
Aliyah looked away, unwilling to believe his comfort, and her gaze centred on Klaus once more. "I shouldn't have done this," she confessed.
"It was necessary, Aliyah," Elijah insisted.
"It was necessary," Aliyah echoed.
So, why did it feel like she had just committed some irreparable sin?
A/N: Well, there we go. This was the chapter I was the most nervous about. I didn't want to stick to canon here, so I came up with the whole dagger thing. Those who watch TO know that Kol and Davina made a gold dagger that works on Klaus; that's the one here, but instead of it being Kol and Davina, it was Bonnie and my OC, Roshni, who made it. So, Klaus is daggered, Damon still has a werewolf-bite, Jenna was never turned, and Elena returned the same way she did in the show, I just didn't want to get too much into it.
Anyway, I'll see you guys next chapter and don't forget to review!
Reviews:
Darkest Nightingale: Thank you!
Layla347: Thank you!
LunaEvanna Longbottom: Thank you! Aliyah's brother married and moved away. He was much older than her and he didn't have magic, plus the whole concept of it weirded him out, considering that was the reason Ayanna's husband left her. So, he just lost contact with his mother and sister. I doubt he even knew what happened in Mystic Falls.
Hawk2010: You very clearly guessed what was going to happen in this chapter lol.
.w20: Thank you!
NicoleR85: Thank you!
Shiko-Rae: Thank you so much for your review!
CrystalVixen93: Thank you!
Arkytior's Song: Thank you!
runawaycherry93: Thank you!
.Winchester.17: Thank you!
Guest: Thank you! Unfortunately, I will be stopping this story in 4 weeks or so (4 chapters left), but I am happy to answer any questions about the story you might have!
PrincessMagic: Thank you!
Justmeesh33: Thank you for saying that! I think Klaus and Aliyah have a toxic dynamic, definitely, and neither of them are completely innocent. Do I have more sympathy for Aliyah? Sure, but she's made her own set of mistakes. It's fucked up, but it flows and ebbs and works for them. I have another 4 chapters left that I've written, which takes us to the End of the Affair!