What Hurts Most

Alex stood near the town centre and searched the crowd for signs of anyone. The whole place was empty, the picnic tables, lit bonfires and half-eaten food were the only signs that anyone had minutes before been celebrating Founder's Day. After Alex had spoken with James, she had called the Sherrif to evacuate the town. It had been challenging to convince Liz to get everyone out at the last second, but after telling her that the oldest vampires in existence was spotted in the town square, she stopped arguing.

When she had been let past the blocked off roads by one of the deputies, she found herself alone. James hadn't contacted her about Elena, and the girls hadn't reached out to her. Elijah and Mikael were also still radio silent. Alex had tried reaching out to sense anyone, but she could feel another witches magic, it was interfering with her own.

"Why are you hiding, Klaus?" she called out. "Are you scared?" Taunting a thousand-year-old vampire probably wasn't the best idea she had ever had. But Klaus was a hunter, and no hunter could stand one of his prey taunting him.

"More like observing." Klaus appeared in front of her and flashed a menacing grin. Seeing him in his actual body was odd. She had for a moment expected Alaric's face to appear, but now she could look in the grey-blue eyes that rippled with desires. "It is easy to see why Elijah is so taken with you. You are certainly a sight to behold." A small chuckle fell from his lips.

"Have you been stalking me?" Alex asked. She titled her head and tried to keep herself calm. The longer Klaus was focused on her, the longer James had to get Elena somewhere safe and the more time Elijah or Mikael to show up.

"Not you, per se. My brother has been avoiding me, and I was curious about what was keeping his attention. I'm not surprised that a beauty like you captured his eye." Klaus smiled and held his hands behind his back. "And you are also a witch; Elijah has a tendency to fall for your kind." He makes a disapproving sound with his mouth before his smile turns into a sinister grin. "But it never does end well."

"My relationship with your brother has nothing to do with this." Alex felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She also didn't trust anything that came out of his mouth. Elijah had warned her that he enjoyed messing with people's minds.

"That isn't entirely true, love." He winked and flashed forward. Before Alex could react, his hand was wrapped around her throat, and his other hand slid into her jacket pocket. He pulled her phone out and smiled. "Your sister has this nasty habit of slipping away from me. She seems to have all of these people willing to save her. Vampires, witches, humans." Klaus squeezed her throat tighter. "And then you, her loving sister and powerful witch. You also mess everything up. And you killed my witches." He growled and threw her across the square and into the trunk of a tree.

Alex cried out as her back impacted the wood. Nothing was broken, but she would have a nasty bruise.

"Do you think Elena would come running if it meant saving your life?" Klaus asked. He put Alex's phone to his ear and smiled. "Hello love," he said. "I am here, enjoying these bonfires with your big sis. I was just telling Alexandra that it would make things so much more enjoyable if you were to join us; otherwise, I'm going to reenact the Salem witch trials by burning your sister alive. Do you understand me?" Klaus face lit up in a bright smile. "Brilliant, see you soon." Klaus hung up her phone and threw it towards her. "Looks like we will have some company."

Alex glared at him and pushed herself up. Her whole body screamed out in pain, but she pushed through it and threw her magic at him. Her hand flew out in front of her and Klaus flew across the town square and into one of the benches, breaking it into pieces. "If you think," Alex gasped in pain. "What I'm going to let you hurt Elena, then you are dead wrong." With another wave of her arm, Klaus flew into a tree. Alex smiled as Klaus let out a groan.

"Alexandra!"

Relief filled Alex as she turned to Elijah. His arms wrapped around her, and she instantly faded into his touch.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Alex groaned. "Bastard threw me against the damn tree. My side is killing me."

Elijah pulled her against him a little tighter and yelled, "You agreed that you wouldn't hurt her."

Alex looked up at him, confused. "What?" she asked.

"I said I wouldn't kill her, big difference brother." Klaus walked back towards them and sat down on the edge of the fountain in the centre of the square. "Besides, she gave just as good as she got." Klaus tugged a piece of wood from the chair she had thrown him into out of his arm. "Shame." Klaus looked at the hole in his shirt. "I like this shirt."

"Niklaus, this what no part of our deal." Elijah pulled Alex behind him and moved towards Klaus.

"Elijah, I was never one for your plans. Besides, I was enjoying myself. Now relax. Soon, Elena will join us, and we can all be on our way. Tomorrow is the full moon, and then I will give you what you asked, alright?" Klaus crossed his arms.

"Elijah? What is going on?" Alex reached out for Elijah's arm and turned him towards her.

He looked down at her with heavy eyes and sighed. "I had to make a deal with Niklaus."

Alex frowned. "What type of deal?"

"He—"

Klaus interrupted. "Elijah is doing the brotherly thing and is going to help me break my curse. For his assistance, I gave him my word that you would keep your life, even though you have been a massive pain, and I would reunite him with our family." Klaus smiled and stood.

Alex shook her head. "Elijah, you wouldn't, no. You said that…" Alex let go of Elijah's hand and took a step back.

"Alexandra, I didn't want to. But there is a way that this can work out. You will be safe and we—"

"No!" Alex shouted. Her magic reacted to the anger that flared inside her, and it threw both Elijah and Klaus away from her. "You lied to me." Alex clenched her fists.

"Alexandra, please." Elijah stood up and stepped towards her. His eyes were pleading for her to understand, to forgive him. But he was no better than everyone else who had lied to her.

"I trusted you, you promised to help me keep Elena safe. And now, you are going to let him kill her. Neither of you will get near her ever again, not while I'm still breathing," yelled Alex.

"That breathing matter can be dealt with, love." Klaus sniggered.

"Niklaus, please shut up." Elijah snapped at him.

"Yes, please do shut up Niklaus. The adults don't wish to listen to such an insolent child."

Klaus spun around to face Mikael. His smug appearance faded, and fear lit up his face. "You!" Klaus growled.

"Me." Mikael chuckled. "How fortunate that we were able to meet up in this…" Mikael took a second to observe his surroundings. "quaint little town."

"I thought you were locked up in some tomb, rotting?" asked Klaus.

Mikael nodded. "I was. You can thank Miss Gilbert here for waking me up. She believed that we should be able to resolve our differences sooner or later."

"You haven't been able to kill me before, why do you think today will be any different?" Klaus held out his hands. "Give it your best shot, father."

"So eager to die."

"Not to die, to be rid of you so that I can become who I truly am."

"And then what? Live alone for eternity with no one by your side. Nobody cares about you anymore, boy! You have no one loyalty, even Elijah has completely given up on you. He only stands by your side to protect the woman he loves and hopes that you will give him his siblings back."

Hearing Mikael declare that Elijah loved her felt like someone stabbing her with a knife. If he loved her, he would never have betrayed her. She couldn't stop from the tears building up in her eyes though, seeing how Elijah stood beside Klaus, both of them facing his father showed her that no matter how she felt and what he said, family was family.

"And what do you have? I don't see anyone flocking to your side." Klaus took a step towards Mikael.

Mikael smiled. "I don't need loyalty, all I need is to find those who want you to die just as much as I do."

A blur flew past Alex and smacked into Klaus' back. Damon drove a stake through Klaus' but missed his heart. Both vampires tumbled to the ground as Klaus cried out. Damon tried to grab the stake to push it into his heart but was thrown off of Klaus by Elijah.

Elijah reached to pull the stake from Klaus, but Alex used her magic to fling him away from everyone. She held him down and yelled, "Mikael, now!"

Mikael smiled and flashed beside Klaus. He grasped the stake and twisted it in Klaus' gut. "I have been waiting a thousand years to do this."

Klaus cried out and glared at him. "I will see you in hell."

Mikael yanked the stake out of Klaus' chest, and as he swung down his arm to kill him, he froze.

Alex turned to see Renee standing beside her car, the engine running and door opened. Her hand pointed towards Mikael, her magic freezing him in place. What was she doing? Alex let go of Elijah and yelled, "Renee! What are you doing?"

Klaus took advantage of Mikael's frozen form and pulled the white oak stake from his hand. He plunged it into his father's chest.

"No!" Alex cried.

Mikael burst into flames and his body crumbled to the ground. He was dead. The white oak stake was gone. Alex watched Mikael burn for a moment before turning to face Renee. "Why?" she screamed.

Renee smiled. "Just a taste of what turning your back on the Council looks like." She slipped back into her car and drove off.

Alex couldn't believe this; Mikael was dead, Elijah had betrayed her and Renee was showing her that this was only just the beginning. She found it hard to stay upright, Alex wanted to fall to her knees and cry, but she couldn't. She wasn't finished yet.

"Alex!" Elena's voice called out, and she saw her sister running to her.

"Elena, no!"