Chapter 20: Rude awakenings

Stefan walked into the Boarding house, music blasting as he found the Original Hybrid sitting in one of the chairs in the front room, sipping a drink of what appeared to be bourbon. He walked in, grabbed the remote and turned the music down so it was still playing but in the background. He walked around him and took a seat beside him. "What you doing here, Klaus?" He asked.

The hybrid remained silent for a moment before he talked. "Enjoying our stalemate." He answered and the vampire smirked smugly. "What do you want?" He repeated and the hybrid looked at him. "Question is what do you want. My hybrids left town as you demanded, so please tell me what I need to do to get my family back." He replied coolly.

Stefan cleared his throat, gesturing towards him with the remote. "Well, uh, see, Klaus, um, I'm not negotiating." This made him smirk. "And you understand that holding them indefinitely, and Elle for that matter wherever you have her hidden away, is the same thing as dropping them in the ocean."

The Salvatore shook his head. "No, no." He argued. "You leave Mystic Falls, and give me a call in a few years, we'll talk."

Klaus smirked through gritted teeth as he took a drink of his alcoholic beverage, then gesturing to his old friend now foe with a dangerous look in his blue eyes. "I'm going to give you another chance," he countered. "Just one more. Lets make a reasonable deal."

Stefan leant forward in his chair, eyes wild with arrogance. "Or what?" He came back with. "You make one move and I will drop-" his words were cut off as the Original hybrid began to laugh hysterically. "Yes, right." He laughed still, rolling his eyes and raising his eyebrows in ill-concealed amusement. "Crazy Stefan." He jested, humming under his breath before looking at the vampire from his sire-line with a certain smug arrogance. "How's that working out for you?" He countered and the vampires smug smile of his own fell a little. "Any friends left?"

MvM

Damon hurried into the abandoned house quickly, having just received a rather distressing call from Bonnie who was to warn him that a certain Original Hybrid knew the whereabouts of both the coffins and Elle. He had managed to get that locked coffin out, and now, well, that human was the next to be moved out and then the following coffins.

He was met with a sight as he walked into the room where the coffins were being housed though. All had vanished -cloaked, he presumed. It didn't evade him long, the reason that was, as to why they had been cloaked. Soft footsteps echoed behind him, their sounds echoing around the empty room as their owner walked into it.

Damon looked at Klaus who looked a little smugger now he knew where his much desired coffins, and human, were, apparently. Although, those witches were proving to be a nuisance. He walked further into the room, glancing around it as he did. "Hiding behind your witchy friends, and in squalor, no less." He insulted before dropping to the ground with a painful yell, grasping at his heads as those "witchy friends" took offensive to his obvious insult. Damon gave a wide grin in response. "Insulting a bunch of dead witches? Not smart. I made the exact same mistake the first time I came in here."

Klaus clenched his jaw to bear the pain he was experiencing. "Well you know, the funny thing about witches is that living or dead," he spat, glaring up at the vampire. "They care about their own." He gave an agonised snarl under his breath as the pain in his head increased some. "A hundred dead witches, a thousand living descendants."

His words went into a deafening yell as the pain increased tenfold, whispers echoing louder around them both. "And I have no problem killing every last one of them if I don't get my coffins and girl back!" He hissed, managing to pull himself to his feet as the fames burned brighter and grew larger around them. "As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line." He stated, a sadistic grin coming to his face.

He clutched his head for a moment before the flames became smaller once more, the witches surrendering as they made the coffins visible. "Now, please, show me the coffins and Elle, who I know is here with that scent in this room."

In less than a second they appeared, three out of the four at least, along with Elle whose limp form was propped up against the wall, her clothes quite different to that of the hospital gown he had last seen her in. He smirked, walking past the three coffins and going towards her, but then he frowned and stopped, turning to look at the smug vampire behind him. "Where's the fourth?"

Damon grinned manically as the older immortal looked at the ceiling, demanding to be shown the last coffin. Damon began to walk between the coffins with a certain smugness about him. "Well, uh, here's the thing. They can't. Its not here."

Klaus walked forward, it taking everything in him not to rip the arrogant vampire to shreds. "What did you do?"

The eldest Salvatore began walking back as the hybrid began to dangerously advance. "Well, Bonnie have me a heads up, and I didn't have enough time to get all four and your comatose ex out, but I did have time to get one." He explained and Klaus walked forward until he was standing in front of him. "I will tear you limb from limb, and only then when you're a writhing mass of blood and flesh will I rip your heart from your chest." He threatened.

Damon remained impassive. "Sorry. Same rules apply, you know, leverage and all. I know you want your family, and Elle, that's her name isn't it, back, but something tells me you want what's in that coffin a lot more." He finished with a arrogant grin before moving past him and leaving the Original hybrid alone with the coffins and a unconscious Elle.

MvM

Blue eyes stared down at the comatose Elle, her eyes moving restlessly beneath their lids. It was over, for the most part, and he had her once more. Klaus looked back at the witch who was standing none too comfortably on the other side of the room. "Do get started, love, for I would hate to have to rip your pretty little throat out should you not." He ordered, and with a nervous sigh, she walked forward, placing her hands on either side of Elle's head. "Even if I manage to lift the spell that witch placed on her, it'll take a while for her to regain consciousness. It could take as much as a full day or as little as a few minutes." She explained.

A smirk twisted his mouth. "Then you had better hop to it, love. I have some other matters to take care of, so when you're done, and my hybrid will be watching so I wouldn't attempt something, do see yourself out and you'll find your payment for such help at your home address. Don't take long." He ordered before striding from the room and going to where Daniel, one of his hybrids, was pushing the coffins into the room, one already in there which no doubt contained Rebekah. He watched as all four where brought into the room, stroking his hand over the one that no doubt held his dear, dear sister.

Daniel gestured to them all. "You've got your family back, finally," he stated and Klaus turned to look at him, listening to him speak. "You gonna open them?"

Klaus shook his head with a slight smirk. "Not quite yet." He replied, walking past the hybrid. "I still have some unfinished business to take care of." He added before walking away, Daniel following. "What business?" He pressed, curious to know if there would no doubt be any bloodletting anytime soon.

Before Klaus could answer, Daniel let out a painful groan before dropping to the ground, revealing Elijah behind him, holding the hybrids heart in his hands, having just revived from within his own coffin. "So Niklaus," he greeted, Klaus's eyes wide as he stared at his older brother. "Elijah..." he breathed.

Elijah walked forward, the heart dropping from his hand. "What did I miss?"

He cleaned his hand, stepping from the hybrid he had just ripped the heart out of without a single care. "You look surprised to see me, so it wasn't you who removed the dagger from my chest." He stated and Klaus began to walk back a little, sensing danger. "You look like you could do with a drink, and we have a lot to discuss, so, shall we?"

He was propelled backwards with a loud crash through the double doors as the elder vampire threw and punched him through them. Klaus glared at him as he regained his bearings. "Easy. I just finished renovating!" He hissed, rushing forward and slamming him to the ground into some ceramics. "You know, you have every right to be mad at me. But I kept my word -I reunited you with our family." He added sarcastically.

Elijah didn't take it well and rushed forward, the two brothers tussling about before Klaus threw open the lid to Kol's coffin, grabbing the dagger from his chest. "Don't make me do this to you again Elijah!"

The other Original held his hands out. "Go on, use it, I dare you." He scowled, barely containing his fury. "You'll have Kol to deal with."

Klaus lowered the dagger upon hearing that, still holding his brother down. "Mikael is dead." He stated and Elijah gaped at him. "What did you say?" He asked and Klaus nodded. "I killed him with his own weapon. He's gone, Elijah, forever."

Elijah clenched his jaw, gesturing to the coffins around him. "Then why does our family remain in these coffins? Finn for over nine hundred years, Kol for over a century." He inquired and Klaus gave a grim smile. "Because of Stefan Salvatore. He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things you do not know about our past, Elijah; our mothers death, things I never wanted you to know but I'm now ready to tell you now." He finished, walking away and dipping the dagger back into the white oak ash before placing it back into Kol's chest. "I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me."

A sound caught both of their attentions and they turned to see a rather pale looking Elle leaning against the doorframe, the wood supporting her waist as though she was unsure on her newfound legs. Her blue eyes glanced weakly around the room before they landed on the two brothers, one watching her in relief that she seemed to be well in health and at least conscious. She frowned, blinking a few times before she noticed the much shorter, horrifyingly shorter nightgown she was wearing. Her blue eyes gaped at the two brothers in horror. "What bloody witchcraft is this century?" She exclaimed loudly.