I'm glad you guys enjoyed the post-wolf smut :)
Sorry this took longer than usual, real life gets in the way sometimes. Plus, big action chapter. I knew roughly how I wanted things to go, but there were many details to figure out to avoid plot holes. I think I managed. Hopefully.
It got a bit more graphic than I intended while I was writing some parts of the fight. I doubt it's anything that will bother anyone who's made it this far into this story, but I wanted to give you a heads-up.
Chapter 34: This Means War
When the flags are high, hear the battle cry
The treaty gone, see the bandits fly
Dig the trench, watch the blast
Shell shock come, coming fast
Name and rank, on parade
We might get laid by a hand grenade
Do you know what it means?
Do you know what it means?
This
Means
War
This means war
The plan is simpler than she expected. In fact, the particulars are so straightforward that Caroline spends more time rolling her eyes and promising Klaus that she'll do her best to stay away from the line of fire than actually discussing them with him.
Once they're both clear on the details, and Stefan has chimed in with a sassy "I'm okay with it too, in case anyone cares" from his spot in the basement – nope, she's not thinking about how disturbing it is that he can hear everything that happens in this bedroom, and she's most definitely not making plans to have a privacy spell put on it as soon as the witches can do magic without getting killed – Caroline throws a look outside and, noting that they still have some time before nightfall, decides to broach a topic that will make both her and Klaus uneasy, but needs to be addressed.
"About earlier…"
"Yes?" Klaus asks innocently even though she can see that he knows where she's going with this, earning himself a half-hearted slap to the shoulder.
"How many…"
She doesn't get to the end of her question, too afraid to actually voice it, but she doesn't need to say it out loud for him to understand, and he lets out a sigh. He had to know that this was coming, but it looks like he was hoping to avoid it.
"More than you'll be comfortable with, but less than you think."
Intrigued, she raises herself up from her comfortable position resting against his chest, trying to get a better look at his face, but he's avoiding her gaze. His answer doesn't tell her much since the number she has in mind is frighteningly high. He turned in the middle of the freaking French Quarter for crying out loud, that meant dozens, if not hundreds, of potential victims right within his reach. Granted, it was at night, but that doesn't mean much in New Orleans, given the round-the-clock activity.
"Really?"
Nodding, he explains, somewhat uncomfortably, "I managed to get out of the city before I completely lost it."
"I don't understand. I heard you howling right after you left and you were still close."
"I turned within the city limits, yes. Not too far from here," he confirms. "But even as a wolf I have control over my actions."
It takes her a minute to analyze this, and he lets her do so in silence, until she finally hears what he hasn't quite said.
"So you dragged yourself to the bayou to limit the damage," she says in a low voice, half awed statement, half incredulous question.
"Yes." Another long sigh escapes him and he looks at her at last. "I needed to kill, Caroline. I know it's not what you want to hear but I don't want you to have any illusions about this. I chose the bayou because it's not as populated and I knew the number would be more reasonable, but I did kill everyone I came across there. I didn't try to…"
He doesn't get to say anything else, because she's suddenly straddling him and devouring his mouth. He's so taken aback that it takes her gently biting his bottom lip to make him react, and when he does, she moans at the feeling of his lips opening for her and his arms trapping her against him. Her throat closing up with emotion – not to mention the fact that she can't go for another round right now – forces her to keep the kiss short, and when she breaks away, only two words make it past the lump.
"Thank you."
He looks uncomfortable again and gives a small shake of his head.
"I'm never going to…"
"I know," she cuts him off softly, knowing what he's about to say – he'll never stop killing, not even for her. "I know. That's okay. I don't care. Well, no, wait," she frowns, realizing that she's lying. "I do care, and I'll give you hell about it next time, you can count on that. But today I just… I want to thank you. Some people are dead, but others are still alive because you were strong enough to get away before things got out of hand. God, you have no idea how much this means to me."
After the fears she unleashed on Stefan, the fact that Klaus went and did something like this – tried to do as little damage as possible even though he just couldn't not kill, put as much effort in trying to spare her some pain as she did in letting him leave without a fight – alleviates any lingering doubts she may have still been harboring. Because if he was willing and able to do something like this for her when she knows how completely and utterly wrecked he was, then she knows that nothing will ever break them.
She doesn't know how to express herself, how to say all this, but he seems to get it, and his features soften into something akin to understanding before the corners of his mouth twitch up.
"Don't start idealizing me, love," he warns, his tone serious in spite of his teasing expression as he mirrors what she told him when he came back from looking for the wolf pack.
She snorts at that. Given how long it took for her to even see him as anything more than a psychopath and how very aware she still is of his murderous impulses, they both know that there is no risk of that ever happening.
"Yeah… We're safe on that front."
"I guess we are. Still. You need to know that it was a tactical decision." Her eyebrows nearly hit her hairline at that, expressing both her curiosity and her skepticism, and he goes on, "I want New Orleans to still be a welcoming playground for vampires once I'm done with Marcel. This won't happen if the humans all flee and take their blood with them because of a giant wolf's attacks."
Another derisive – though fond – sound escapes her and she starts shaking her head before he's even finished his explanation.
"Right. Keep telling yourself that."
"What is that supposed to mean?" he snaps, clearly offended with what he thinks is her doubting his plans for New Orleans, which makes her roll her eyes once more because this is not where she was going with this at all.
"You're not fooling me. I was here when you left. I know exactly how far gone you were. You were not in a tactical state of mind. The whole 'trying to keep the city relatively human-friendly' thing? It was an afterthought. You didn't do this for New Orleans and its future vampire population. You did it for me. So thanks for that."
He seems to deflate, his defensiveness deserting him as quickly as it appeared. She can feel him trying to come up with some kind of retort. She really doesn't see why he's bothering. They both know that she's right and that whatever he has to say about it won't convince her otherwise. He ends up letting it go, and what he says next catches her completely off guard, the change of subject confusing her almost as much as the words themselves.
"I need to thank you too, you know." When he sees her silently asking for clarification, he adds, "For not holding me back. I know what it cost you."
"Like I would have been able to."
"You could have tried. You didn't. You have no idea how much this means to me."
She smiles when he uses her own words and she leans down to give him another kiss.
"Klaus?"
"Hm?"
"We still have a little time," she starts before pausing.
"And?" he prompts.
"Would you mind showing me what New Orleans was like a hundred years ago?"
He doesn't ask her exactly what she has in mind since it's pretty clear from the way she phrased the request, but he does have another question for her.
"Now?"
"Yes. I wanna see it. It feels like… like I should, you know? If I'm going to go to war for this city, I wanna know everything about it."
"First of all, I'm going to keep you as far away from the actual fighting as possible." She tsks impatiently, since this is something that they've already established and she doesn't need him to remind her – even though they both know that keeping her as safe as he would like to is simply impossible given the plan they all agreed on, save for Rebekah, who's still resting for now – but he ignores her in favor of continuing, "Secondly, this war is for more than this city and you know it." This time, she nods because he's right. The originals aren't just being territorial, this is about revenge and issuing a warning to anyone who would dare challenge them, the way Marcel did. "Lastly… Whatever you want, love."
She grins and pushes herself off of him only to settle down against his side once more, eagerly bringing his hand to her cheek so that his fingertips are resting against her temple in what she assumes from her previous experience is his preferred position for memory sharing. He shakes his head at her impatience but doesn't try to conceal his small smile, and she can see how pleased he is that she's showing so much enthusiasm for the city he loves. Initially, her request had nothing to do with making him happy, but it's a nice upside.
"Anything in particular you want to know?" he asks before they get started.
"Not really. I'd just like to see what it was like when you first got here."
He nods, and the last thing she feels in present time is the kiss he presses to her forehead before she's thrown into the past as surely as if she were using a time machine.
She's getting used to the feeling of having months of memories thrust upon her in a matter of minutes, which is a good thing because she thinks that it might become a guilty pleasure of hers. Not that first time, obviously, but now, seeing and, more importantly, feeling what New Orleans was like at its very beginning, discovering everything through Klaus' eyes, now that's amazing. Addictive, really.
It's not just the dresses and the parties and the elegance – and you'd better believe that her inner Miss Mystic Falls is soaking it all up greedily. The atmosphere and the historical significance of it all are making it so unique and intense that it abruptly dawns on her exactly how much she's going to get to experience if she manages to live even half as long as he has. Not to mention his passion about every single thing he shares with her, or his plain happiness. Because yes, she can feel it, he was happy here for a while, his family mostly intact and his father as far away behind him as he'd ever been. He was enjoying himself, scheming and plotting not just for the destruction of his enemies and the lifting of his curse, but also for the survival and prosperity of what he was building. Plus, while she suspects that he keeps the memories of the few vampire parties he shows her to the more toned-down ones, it's obvious that being able to revel in his nature played a part in his love of the city and of what he was doing with it. It's not like he ever really kept his instincts at bay in his thousand years, but here, working with the equivalent of the human Mystic Falls council instead of against them made things easier and more pleasant, despite the many disagreements, mostly about mysterious human disappearances.
And then there's Marcel. A flash of hurt and rage breaks through when Klaus shows her his first meeting with him, his present day feelings tainting the happier memory for a fraction of a second, but he quickly gets a hold of himself and lets her feel the genuine affection for the growing boy. It actually helps her make sense of their current antagonism, because it makes Klaus' indignation more tangible and understandable, the hostility that much more powerful after the way he took Marcel in only to then have him turn on his sire. She knew, of course, but feeling it is different.
He doesn't waste too much time on Marcel though, deciding instead to focus on the city, from the arts and politics to the festive mood and the strong supernatural community it quickly became.
She shouldn't be surprised. Klaus is a master strategist, well versed in the art of manipulating people, of tricking them into thinking that they want what he wants. And he's one of the very few vampires who don't fear werewolves and do respect witches – however begrudgingly – which meant that if anyone could understand and manage the chaos that comes with having all those natural enemies inhabit the same city, it was him. Plus he's feared enough to be respected, if not loved. So really, the relative peace New Orleans seemed to enjoy under his control shouldn't come as a shock to her, yet it kind of does. There were mishaps and mistakes and outbursts that he doesn't even try to hide from her, but all in all, it seems that, human population excepted, everyone was thriving there for a few years.
This only strengthens her resolve. She's seen what the city is like with Marcel in charge. The witches persecuted, the werewolves banned, and the humans not better off than they were a hundred years ago.
Which leads to an interesting idea that she decides to store away for now, making a mental note to talk to Klaus about it once the situation has settled down.
The images fade away and she finds herself back in the present. Shaking her head to clear it of the last foggy memories and feelings that don't belong to her, she feels Klaus release his hold on her and she opens her eyes to find him looking at her, his expression cautious.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, that was fun," she says with a small smile. "We should do this again sometime. You know, if we're ever in a situation where we're not under attack or in any kind of danger."
"So, never, then?" he sums up, smirking.
She just shakes her head at him and watches him as he gets up and gathers his clothes before disappearing in the bathroom. She soon hears the water running in the shower. She briefly considers joining him, but she's still more than sated and she knows they don't have time anyway. They've delayed it as much as they could, now they have to face what is waiting for them outside of this room, something that she's reminded of when she hears Elijah come back and head straight for the basement, presumably to wait for his brother so that they can talk to Rebekah together. When Klaus comes out, looking deadlier than ever with his dark jeans, black shirt and clenched jaw, she's waiting for him right outside the door, her own clothes draped across her arm. She could have used another bathroom instead of waiting for him, but she wanted another quiet moment with him before everything starts going to hell. Raising herself up on her tiptoes, she places a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth.
"Good luck with your sister," she says, half sincere, half teasing.
He sends her a dry smile and gives her naked form one last appreciative onceover as she slips into the bathroom.
"I'm going to need it."
"Will you relax?"
Oh, there are so many things she wants to say to that, from screaming at Stefan for saying this when he knows that it will only annoy her to ranting about how she doesn't understand how he can be so relaxed given what is about to happen. Instead, she settles for sticking her tongue out at her best friend, who chuckles at her reaction. Then they both make a show of focusing on the laptop placed in front of them on her bed, though neither of them really has any idea what's happening in Westeros right now. They're too busy focusing their senses on what's going on outside the mansion, straining their ears to try and pick up on the slightest hint that what they're waiting for is coming. They both know it's useless, not only because it hasn't been long enough and the plan hasn't even started yet – Klaus and Rebekah only left a few minutes ago – but also because Elijah is downstairs and his senses are much better than theirs, so he'll hear their enemies coming before Stefan and Caroline do. Still, it can't hurt to be alert. Not just for their safety, but because she wants to hear Klaus come back. She'll feel better once he's here and she knows that the first part of the plan went off without a hitch.
The thought has barely crossed her mind when her phone buzzes and she opens the new text.
I'm back.
Her eyebrows shoot up – she knows Klaus is good, but she's been listening carefully, that she didn't hear him is impressive – and she shows it to Stefan to keep him informed before quickly typing her reply. They've decided to communicate everything that has to do with their plan through text messages from now on since they don't want to risk being overheard. The originals will be able to hear and feel it if anyone is within earshot, but Caroline and Stefan may not and they may say something before Klaus or Elijah manage to warn them, so this is an added safety measure.
Already? Were you seen?
She can picture the hybrid rolling his eyes at her for doubting his skills, but he gives her an answer anyway.
On my way out, yes. Not on my way back in.
Perfect. Marcel's men will tell their boss that Rebekah and Klaus left together and that Stefan and herself are alone in the mansion with Elijah, exactly what they want him to think.
On to phase two. Which, for her, Stefan, Elijah and Klaus, means waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting some more.
Until their cell phones all signal a new text at the same time and they can all read the single word Rebekah graced them with to let them know that she was successful.
Done.
Caroline feels her pulse quicken and her entire body hum with adrenaline then, knowing that there's no going back.
"I can't believe they killed him off."
She's so highly strung that Stefan's voice startles her and she all but jumps from the bed. She turns a baffled gaze on him.
"What?"
He gives her a pointed look and gestures toward the screen where the episode is coming to an end. A quick glance tells her that another character did indeed just die, but she doesn't see how Stefan can care about that when… Oh. Right. They're supposed to act like nothing unusual is going on, at least nothing that they're aware of.
"Yeah," she says, shaking herself out of her nervous state and settling more comfortably again. "This sucks."
Stefan snorts at her mild response, knowing from experience that she would be ranting like a madwoman under normal circumstances, and goes on making small talk about what's happening in the show while she just nods and hums every once in a while, letting him carry the burden of faking their ignorance.
And then another text, from Elijah this time.
They're close.
She exchanges a look with Stefan, making sure he got the message as well. Seeing him nod and check that the wooden stake hidden beneath the covers is within his reach, she does the same, relieved to find that her own weapon is easily accessible. With Marcel and his whole army almost at their door, it's not that much of a reassurance, but it's something.
Of course, if everything goes according to plan, none of those vampires will come anywhere near her, but still, just in case…
Making a split second decision, she types a text for Stefan even though he's right next to her.
He's clearly surprised to get a message from her, but when he reads it, his face softens in understanding.
If something happens to me, don't let him go off the deep end, okay?
If something happens to you, no one will be able to help him, Care.
"Stefan, please," she whispers.
He sighs, but nods.
"I'll do my best."
"Thank you," she breathes.
That's when all hell breaks loose.
Rebekah is livid, ready to lash out at… Well, pretty much everyone. At Elijah for preventing her from going after Cami and for snapping her neck, at Stefan for agreeing with her brother when he suggested they keep her on vervain and for playing the role of her jailer, at Caroline for not trying harder to stop them even though she knows from what Elijah told her that the girl did speak up for her, and at Nik for not waking her up as soon as he got home. Although she can't be too mad about that last one since she's rather glad that she didn't have to hear him going at it with the baby vampire after his transformation.
Still, all this anger doesn't mean she can't be rational, and even she has to admit that the plan her brothers came up with is as perfect as can be. So after a few choice words and one single punch to Elijah's jaw, she agreed to go with it. Her forced rest managed to calm her down enough that her dangerous emotions at finding out what really happened to her nephew and who was responsible have taken a backseat and left some room for logical thinking, and she knows that her best shot at getting her revenge and taking it all out on Marcel's little witch is to do what she was told. It goes against pretty much every instinct she's ever had, but she's decided to swallow back her pride and resentment long enough to get what she wants. She can always make her brothers' lives a living hell once it's all said and done.
Which is why, once Nik has left her side to discreetly go back to the mansion, she finds herself flashing to Cami's house.
Pierre greets her at the door.
"Right on time. The others are about to come back from their round. We're supposed to switch with the night team soon."
They both know the night team is not coming since Elijah killed them the night before to prevent them from telling Marcel that she'd tried to go after Cami, which is why they need to act now. She acknowledges him with a nod and motions for him to show her the way. He leads her into the house and to Cami's bedroom. The young vampire is unconscious, her head resting at an odd angle, but Rebekah can't find it in her to feel any kind of pity. If it was up to her, the girl would be permanently dead by now, their deal with Pierre be damned, so she doesn't want to hear any complaints.
"You know where to hide her?" she asks Pierre.
"Yes, don't worry about it. You just have to do your part and then we'll be off."
Her part is easy, really. Get rid of Pierre's two partners on the day team before they can report to Marcel and tell him that the night team never came. Pierre managed to convince them that the only reason they didn't see the nightwalkers when they came to relieve them this morning is that they were a bit late and the others didn't want to risk being out after dawn, but he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of their absence this time. And even with the element of surprise on his side, Pierre isn't strong enough to take out two vampires as old as him, he needed the help of an original for this part of the plan.
They don't have to wait long, as Rebekah soon hears the two bodyguards approaching the front door, and a smile tugs at her lips. Here's her chance to work out some of her aggressive energy.
Less than a minute later, she's standing near the door with a disappointed pout on her face and two heartless corpses at her feet. This wasn't nearly as challenging or relaxing as she'd hoped. Oh, well. That's okay, there's more to come.
Pierre peeks outside from one of the windows, having presumably heard the second vampire go down, and shoots her an impressed look.
"Good job."
She rolls her eyes, having no time to waste with his approval.
"Call Marcel now."
"Yes Ma'am."
He gives her a mock salute and takes his cell phone out of his pocket. She listens in on the conversation to make sure that he's not betraying them, but everything seems to go as planned.
He tells Marcel that Cami is dead, that Rebekah killed her, his two partners and the night team as they came to relieve them for the night, that he's sorry, that there was nothing he could do. His voice is small and frightened, and Rebekah begrudgingly gives him points for his acting skills. Then he goes on to explain that Klaus has left to hide the body in order to lead Marcel to believe that Cami left him of her own accord, and that Rebekah went partying to celebrate this blow against him.
Marcel's voice when he tells Pierre to stay where he is is not only furious, but broken, and Rebekah smiles in satisfaction. Now, the 'king' – a title that won't be his for much longer – thinks that his girlfriend is dead, and more importantly, he thinks that the original hybrid and his sister are not here to protect Caroline and Stefan if he wants to retaliate by going after them, something that the vampires they spotted when they left the mansion will be able to confirm, in case he has any doubts about Pierre's side of the story. Marcel also likely knows that Elijah is home – they've made no attempt at hiding it because given how tense the situation has been lately, leaving the two younger vampires completely unprotected would have looked suspicious and Marcel would have seen the trap coming from miles away – but he believes that he has to act fast, before Klaus comes back since he knows that there is no way he could beat him.
This means he's bound to be reckless. He's always underestimated Klaus' family, and they're banking on it. He'll think that he can take down one original if he gathers his whole army. Which is also something they're counting on. Having every single one of his allies witness exactly the kind of fate that awaits the originals' enemies will work in their favor in the future. The few survivors, provided there are any, will spread the tale. Besides, having everyone gathered in one place will make it easier to kill and subdue them all, reducing the risks of having to face a second wave of attack once they're already exhausted from the fight.
So they have the incentive – trying to kill Caroline and Stefan to avenge Cami's 'death' – the believable, strong threat that will make Marcel think he needs to throw all his forces in the battle – Elijah – and the element of surprise – Nik and herself. She really doesn't see how anything could go wrong.
Thanks to Pierre's intel, they know exactly how many vampires Marcel is going to bring with him in the hope that it will be enough to incapacitate Elijah, but Marcel doesn't know that he will be facing three originals instead of just the one he expects. And he certainly doesn't know what they're really capable of. His army will never even make it past the stairs and to the upstairs bedroom where Stefan and Caroline are acting as bait. His supporters will be disposed of, and he'll be taken hostage in order to draw Davina out of her hiding place.
And then the witches will come into play.
She dismisses Pierre with a careless shrug, silently letting him know that he's done and that he can take Cami to safety now, somewhere she will not be found until this is over since they don't want Marcel to realize that she's still very much alive. Pierre is also supposed to keep her unconscious, because if she wakes up, she'll try to warn her boyfriend that he's playing right into Klaus' hands and heading straight for the slaughterhouse.
Rebekah sends a quick text to the others – Done – and starts stealthily making her way back to the mansion, taking her time. The plan is for her to get there after Marcel and his army so that she can attack them from behind while they're busy trying to get past Nik and Elijah. This way, she will be able to get rid of a few of them before they've even noticed her presence.
Stretching her muscles, she finally allows her rage and pain to wash over her, ready to unleash it all on her family's enemies. It's been a long time coming.
The sound of the front door breaking down and slamming against the opposite wall signals Marcel's arrival. Of course he'd go with the grand entrance option. He's never been one for subtlety. Klaus stays absolutely still, knowing that now that their enemies are inside, the slightest motion on his part will let them know that contrary to what they've been led to believe, he is home and ready to fight. It wouldn't do to make his presence known before Elijah asks for his help. They need to keep the element of surprise on their side for as long as they can.
The noises that reach his ears for the next few minutes are nothing unexpected. The vampires don't give Elijah much of a warning before they're on him, but Klaus knows exactly what his brother is capable of in a fight, having come to blows with him more than once over the centuries, and he also knows that he's wise enough to know his limits. Unlike Klaus himself, Elijah can admit his own weaknesses and will call for him right before the flow of adversaries threatens to overwhelm him.
The soft thuds of hearts being carelessly thrown to the ground before being followed by the bodies they used to belong to bring Klaus great satisfaction, but also a flash of disappointment that he's not taking part in the massacre yet.
Patience.
Klaus tenses when he notices footsteps hitting the first steps of the central staircase, ready to forget about their plan and to show himself before anyone has a chance to reach the top and get anywhere near Caroline's room, but a split second before he can act, the footsteps stop abruptly. Elijah's cold "Anyone else wants to try that?" makes him smirk. He can only imagine the state the body is in. His imagination is fueled less than a heartbeat later by the distinct sounds of five separate body parts hitting the walls, thrown at full vampire speed, the head distinguishable thanks to the loud crack when the skull gets smashed.
He never thought his mansion would get out of this intact, but really, does Elijah not know how hard those stains are to get out?
There's a stunned silence during which Klaus wonders if his brother's show of force was enough to scare Marcel's soldiers and if they will have to chase them down the streets of New Orleans in order to finish them off, but then a collective roar echoes throughout the mansion, the walls all but shaking with it, and the fight resumes, noticeably more vicious than before.
Klaus senses that it won't be long before Elijah needs his help, and he's right. Only a couple of minutes later, his brother shouts out a single word – "Now!" – that spurs him into action.
In a flash, he's standing at the top of the stairs. His appearance goes unnoticed at first, but soon a gasp can be heard over the din of the battle and he quickly zeroes in on the girl who let it out. The terrified tone of her voice when she yells, "It's Klaus! He's here!" has the hybrid sending a cruel smile her way, and he waits until all eyes are on him before flashing down the steps to the one who warned the others and casually tearing her head off her body.
Holding it up by the hair as the corpse falls at his feet, he asks pleasantly, "Who's next?"
When no one reacts, he turns to face Marcel, who he knows from his quick observation when he was upstairs is on the other side of the room, and without warning, he throws the head at him. Marcel ducks just in time, and when he straightens up, the look he shoots Klaus is one of pure hatred. The original returns his glare, his features hard with the promise of a slow, drawn-out death. For a short while, the room feels empty, the other vampires forgotten as sire and descendant stare daggers at each other.
Elijah takes advantage of their enemies' shock over Klaus' presence and tears out four more hearts. When Marcel's allies realize that they're being methodically slaughtered one by one without even putting up a fight, they shake themselves out of their stupor and launch themselves at the two originals. Klaus easily wards off an attack without taking his eyes off of his main target. Marcel doesn't make a move to help his friends, too busy crouching down to pick something up. With his view obstructed by the many fallen bodies as well as the still able fighters, Klaus can't see what he's doing. When his former pupil stands up, the hybrid's eyes automatically fall on his hand and widen when they see what it's holding.
A stake.
It looks like an ordinary stake, if slightly lighter in color, but Klaus knows better. Marcel doesn't need a stake to kill Stefan and Caroline, he could do it with his bare hands, and he wouldn't have bothered with a weapon if he thought it would be useless against Elijah. This can only mean one thing.
White oak.
Finding out where Marcel got it is not important right now, certainly not as much as warning his brother. All it takes is saying his name, and Elijah turns from the woman he just killed to follow Klaus' gaze, brow furrowing when he sees the weapon. With a curt nod, he signals that he's noticed and understands the implications, and he heads straight for Marcel, intent on stealing the stake from him. Klaus quickly gets rid of two attackers and instinctively starts making his way towards Marcel as well, tearing hearts out as he goes. He knows that Elijah can handle him, but he also knows that Marcel must have anticipated their reaction at seeing what he brought with him and that he must have given orders for his men to do everything in their power to give him the opportunity he needs to plunge the weapon into Elijah's heart.
Klaus is so shocked that Marcel managed to get his hands on a white oak stake when he thought they had all been destroyed and so distracted by the number of vampires trying to prevent him from coming to his brother's help that the thought that he's bluffing – that the stake is nothing more than ordinary wood and that he's trying to distract them – doesn't cross his mind at first.
By the time he realizes his mistake, there are five vampires flashing up the stairs he left unprotected for a second, and he swears loudly when he finds his path to them blocked by dozens of enemies. Even at top speed, he knows he won't be able to get rid of them all before it's too late, but they've underestimated his abilities. Quickly killing the ones closest to him in order to make some room for his next move, he then crouches down low and he gives a powerful push with his legs. He finds himself on the first floor, standing in a precarious balance on the railing that runs along the hall leading to the bedroom. Still too far for his liking are the five vampires who have now almost reached the door.
As he jumps down from the balustrade to go after them, he screams "Caroline!" knowing that she's listening to what's happening outside her room and hoping that giving her a warning will enable her to react fast in case he doesn't get there in time, though he knows that she and Stefan probably assumed a fighting stance as soon as they heard the front door break anyway. At least, Stefan did if he knows what's good for him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a flash of long blond hair by the doorway downstairs, and he feels a flicker of relief, hoping against all odds that she somehow knew what was coming even before she heard his warning and that she managed to get out of her room and across the crowded entrance hall to escape, but when he turns to get a better look, he realizes that Rebekah is the one standing near the empty doorframe, having just made her entrance and started killing her way through their enemies.
Running at full speed towards Caroline's room, he calls out "Bekah!" intent on bringing his sister's attention to Elijah's situation so that she can get to him since he can't be sure that he was right about the white oak stake being a fake.
Before he can say anything more, she shouts back "I saw, I've got it!" without breaking her rhythm. Immobilize with one hand around the throat, plunge other hand inside chest, rip heart out, throw body away.
He's now standing before the bedroom's open door and flashing inside, having gotten there a handful of seconds after Marcel's five vampires. One of them is already dead and Stefan is fighting off another. He quickly manages to plunge his stake into his attacker's chest, only for another one to take his place, but Klaus doesn't have any time to waste and he rushes to the bathroom where he can hear more fighting, and, more importantly, Caroline's grunts as she struggles against the two remaining vampires.
Right before he pushes the door open, all sounds cease simultaneously, and his heart stops beating as he freezes on the spot, fearing the worst. But then…
"Seriously?"
A relieved laugh escapes him, prompted by her voice, the word itself, and the scene that he can finally see now that he's broken down the door.
One of the men he saw climbing the stairs is on the ground, a stake protruding from his back. Another is standing behind him, a smile on his face, apparently as amused as he is at Caroline's outburst. Caroline herself is standing just a few feet away from the body, eyes narrowed in annoyance though she's smiling a little.
"I could have handled this, you know. But thanks. Whoever you are."
"Jason," the guy supplies helpfully. "And you're welcome. Just don't forget to mention this to our new king when he's trying to decide who to kill and who to spare."
That's when Caroline notices his presence in the doorway and she beams at him, the sight of her smile succeeding in easing the last of his fears.
"Tell him yourself," she replies, motioning towards him. "For the record, I'm not sure there really was any sparing planned, but I think he'll make an exception."
Klaus nods in confirmation, but before he can say anything, Stefan appears beside him, having obviously dealt with his last adversary.
"Care! You okay?"
"Yeah. Jason here killed his pal. Not that I needed the help, but I appreciate it." Then her tone changes from light to concerned as she focuses all of her attention on him. "How is it going downstairs?"
"Good," Klaus answers. "Though I should probably go back. But first…"
Without giving any of them time to react, he snaps Jason's neck, prompting two indignant and very similar "Hey!" from the younger vampires.
"What did you do that for?" Caroline asks, more perplexed than angry.
Because someone may have heard that Jason just betrayed Marcel, which means that he couldn't go back to the fight. Marcel's men will want revenge, and there are still dozens of them downstairs. Knowing that they're losing against the originals, they would have turned on the traitor without a second thought, trying to drag him down with them rather than letting him live after he turned on them. So Jason couldn't go back downstairs without getting killed by his former friends. But Klaus isn't foolish enough not to suspect a trap – coming to Caroline's rescue while he was within earshot to earn his trust and be left alone with her would be a perfect opportunity to strike – so he couldn't just leave him be either. This way, this unexpected ally will be out of it long enough for the battle to end. Klaus will figure out what to do with him once the dust has settled.
But there's no time to explain this, so he just says, "Later," and vamp-speeds out, knowing that it will all be over in a few minutes.
As it turns out, he underestimated his siblings. When he gets there, Marcel is on the ground with a broken neck – they knew they couldn't kill him yet. His men are trying to flee, but Elijah and Rebekah are both standing in the doorway, arms crossed before them, silently daring the last standing vampires – about two dozen of them – to get past them. As soon as he sees him, Elijah addresses him.
"What do you think, brother? Prisoners?"
They've already discussed it, of course. Despite Pierre's special case, they know that they can't let any of the other daywalkers live because the risk that they will stay loyal to Marcel even after his death and that they'll want revenge is too high, they are his closest friends after all.
The nightwalkers are another matter. Their loyalty may not be so unwavering, they may even harbor some resentment towards Marcel for not providing them with daylight rings, and Elijah and Caroline have convinced Klaus that showing mercy to the survivors if there were any might come in handy in the future, though even Caroline couldn't persuade him not to compel them as soon as the vervain is out of their system.
"Well, it's their choice," he says, his voice a mixture of pleasant politeness and threatening coldness. "If anyone wants to die, please feel free to try and escape."
He gives them a minute to consider their options, then, when no one moves, he gives Elijah and Rebekah a nod. In a flash, the three of them have snapped the neck of every living vampire, incapacitating them so that they can deal with them later.
"Bekah, take care of them," Klaus commands. "And there's a certain Jason upstairs I may want to reward. He'll need to be put in a separate cell, he's not safe with this lot."
His sister wordlessly starts carrying two of the survivors out and to the basement. It will take a few trips to get them all to the small prison, but she already agreed to it and he knows she doesn't mind, especially since she gets to kill the ones wearing daylight rings. Klaus faces Elijah, who is holding the stake in his right hand. Understanding the silent question, the dark haired original plunges the weapon into his own left palm and takes it out without so much as a grimace. The wound closes up quickly and they share a relieved look. They both know that injuries inflicted by white oak are more painful than that and take much longer to heal.
"Fake," Klaus notes. "That's one thing we don't have to worry about. Now," he adds with a wave towards Marcel's still form, "Will you do the honors?"
With a half smile, Elijah lets the harmless stake fall to the ground, walks over to Marcel, and leans down to pat his pockets. When he finds a cell phone, he throws it in the hybrid's general direction. Klaus catches it easily and scrolls through the recent calls until he comes across the number he's looking for.
"Call the witches. Tell them to do it now," he tells Elijah before making his own call.
It's time to lure Davina out of her hiding place and to be done with this once and for all.
TBC…