Review Responses:

Bornkiller9: Thanks, I know it's not as great as what's going on in Chicago, but I still felt I ought to have it there, so I appreciate your appreciation of it. And now you get more of Sarah and Leiah, and maybe some answers...

jaeden1112: I'm glad, and thank you for the review. Just hang in there and I'm sure things will get better soon. And I'll keep your advice in mind for future projects.

Okay...so, I'm uncertain about how this one is going to go down. I have mentioned this "change to the rules" before, but I haven't said what it is. I've also foreshadowed this moment throughout the story as well, so I have had it in my head for a long time. It's just one rule I've tweaked slightly, but I do worry about how people will react to it. I can't help it, I'm a worrier sometimes. In any case, let me know what you think of this "rule tweaking" and please do tell me what you think, even if you just think it's a pointless addition to the story. Maybe I can give some insight, or maybe the story will speak for itself in the future. I certainly have high hopes for the next few instalments following this chapter, but I'm getting ahead of myself – as usual. So enjoy, and I'll see you next week.

Chapter 25: That's Not How It's Supposed To Work

When Sarah awoke she was already up right. She could feel metal digging into her wrists, held above her head. Hoisting her up while her toes traced the ground. Lifting her head took more effort than she'd thought, and she was instantly met with a stiffness in her neck. A weak groan escaped her as she moved, trying to escape the pain which followed her around.

Her vision, to her surprise, cleared up quickly considering the vervain she'd been hit with. In fact, bar the uncomfortable muscle pain, she was actually doing all right for a vampire who'd just been hit with a high concentration of vervain.

Taking in her surroundings, she realised she was still in the warehouse. Directly in front of her was what she and Katherine had come to collect earlier that day. Klaus' cargo, or as she now knew it to be, the coffins containing his family.

She hadn't known that at first, but she knew it had been something big when she and Katherine entered, and she saw the brunette's face light up. That moment hadn't last long though, because then they spotted Leiah, who was still very much awake, when compared to her siblings.

Katherine had wanted to retreat, but Sarah was done playing around. Leiah was here, and she'd know where Stefan was, which was the whole reason for coming to the warehouse – despite whatever Katherine had planned. Katherine had tried to talk her out of it, but unable to physically stop her or raise her voice, she had little chance of succeeding without alerting Leiah to their presence.

Clearly Katherine hadn't leapt in to save her after she'd confronted Leiah, judging by the fact that she was strung up all alone. But then, that was Katherine Pierce. She only ever looked out for herself and her own needs.

But not only was there no sign of Katherine, Leiah was no where to be seen either. Then again, maybe Leiah had caught her, but had her strung up somewhere else? Or maybe she was out hunting her down right now? In any case, the coast was clear, so it made sense to try and escape now if she could.

She gave an experiment tug on the chain above that was holding up her arms. But the second she did she stopped, feeling sharp tearing pains all over her arms. She hissed violently, until the pain subsided. Then she looked up slowly, feeling the tension in her neck increase with the movement.

Her arms were covered in cuts. Long deep slices across that left streaks of dried blood running down her limbs. By pulling, she'd only made the damage worse, and now, more blood was flowing out. Not a lot, but enough for her to feel the sting as it passed through her torn flesh.

Looking down her body, she saw the same had been done to her legs. But while Leiah had been kind enough to remove her leather jacket and spare it from being cut up, her jeans weren't as luck. The navy fabric was deeper in colour and soaked through with blood. Beneath her, she could see the puddle that had formed, as blood continued to drip from her bare feet. Again, nice enough to remove her shoes and socks. Although her top had had the same treatment as he jeans. Lots of cuts through the material, but still in one piece.

"Sorry about all this."

Sarah looked up to see Leiah had appeared before her, still strangely dressed in Scarlett's hoodie that was clearly too big for her. Other than that, the petite blonde had on shorts, which were only just visible beneath long dropping hoodie and ankle high boots. And while she did seem casual about the situation they were in, Sarah could hear the sincerity in her voice. It was a genuine apology.

"But it was the only way to get the vervain out of your system. Don't worry though, I'll get you something new to wear. And I did spare your jacket," the Original added perkily, as she pointed off to the side. Sarah followed her indication and saw her jacket hanging from a shelf which also had her boots and socks.

"Will this be before or after you compel me to leave and stop looking for Stefan?" Sarah mumbled, knowing exactly where this was going.

Ever since what had happened with Andie, the message was clear. Stop looking for Stefan and leave him and the Originals alone. But Sarah couldn't do that. He was her brother and she wanted him back, she wanted her family back. She couldn't let this go, she never would.

But now, they could make her, just like Katherine had made her do so many things back when she was human. Their compulsion was powerful, Sarah had seen it herself with Katherine. And now she had nothing to defend herself from it. She wasn't stupid, she'd worked it out. Leiah had said herself she was draining her of vervain. That was why her head had been fine when she awoke, no buzzing or dizziness, because it was already gone. All Leiah had to do was compel her to leave and stop looking and she'd do it.

She'd lost all hope of getting her family back together.

"Why would you think I'd want to do that?" asked Leiah, catching Sarah off guard as she frowned at the grinning Original. It was a grin of someone who knew something, or at least more than the one she was grinning at. But then, that had always been the case between her and Leiah. The smallest of the Originals had always known something more about Sarah, something which not even Sarah herself knew.

"Or did you forget that I originally voted for you to come along with your brother. It was Klaus who wanted to leave you behind."

"So what? Are you waiting for him to come back and compel me?" asked Sarah.

"Would that be so bad? At least if I were to do that, you'd get to see Stefan again," pointed out Leiah softly. But just when Sarah thought that was in fact the case, Leiah continued, "But you don't have to worry, because that's not the plan. Not any more."

"Why not?" asked Sarah, watching as Leiah grinned up at her.

"Do you remember that chat we had in the high school? During the dance?" Leiah asked, changing the subject.

"What's that got to do with–"

"I told you, only the vampire who compels away memories can compel them back. I.E., if you compelled a human to forget something, I couldn't then compel them to remember what you made them forget."

"Okay…so, what's your point?"

"Don't worry," Leiah said with a grin. "It'll be clear very soon."

Before Sarah could push further, a gasping sound came from one of the coffins behind Leiah. Sarah's frown deepened, as she looked over the Original and towards the only open coffin. She could see something moving around inside of it, presumably another one of the Originals. She caught flashes of grey but nothing else, nothing distinguishable.

"Excuse me for a moment," said Leiah before turning on her heels and making her way over to the coffin. "You, come here," she called to a compelled servant, who swiftly marched over to join Leiah at the coffin.

Sarah was somewhat familiar with this drill. After all, she'd been there when Elena undaggered both Elijah and Amelia. They'd only been under the effects of the daggers for a few days, but when they'd awoke they were in dire need of blood. They'd been able to move and control themselves until Elena had given them her own blood, but Sarah couldn't believe every Original would act that way. No matter what they were like, they'd be hungry. And depending on how long Klaus had kept them daggered, they might not care who they killed, as long as they got what they craved.

Part of Sarah hoped it would be Elijah or Amelia that was been awoken. If it was, maybe they'd help her like they had before. All right, it hadn't gone perfectly, and they'd stabbed her and her friends in the back at the last second when it really mattered. But given everything Sarah knew about the two, and after Klaus then double-crossed them, they'd be seeking revenge and maybe even penance.

But then, what were the chances of it being either of them? Considering what Sarah had seen of their relationships with Klaus and Leiah, she saw no reason for either of the living two to wake the dead. Logically, this was most likely a new Original, one she hadn't met yet. Meaning the likely hood of things going her way was extremely unlikely.

"Where… Where…"

The voice was weak and raspy. So quiet Sarah was struggling to make it out, and even what she did she only half understood. It sounded more like mad ramblings, but Leiah seemed to understand it as she loomed over the coffin.

"Just calm down so that–"

"I'll strangle…!" A coughing fit followed.

"How about you take a drink first, and then start your usual rant?" suggested Leiah, as she took the compelled servant's wrist. She bit into it, before pulling away and letting the rejuvenating liquid flow. "There," she said, moving the servant over so his wrist and hand vanished into the coffin. "Feel free to drink him dry, you'll probably need it."

The small blonde then stepped back, leaving whomever was waking to their drink. Sarah watched as the servant gripped the side of the coffin to steady himself. Her theory about the Original's appetite was proving to be right, especially judging by how quickly this one was drinking. Sarah doubted she'd ever seen a vampire drink so quickly in her life. Even Stefan didn't go through them this quickly, not unless he was leaving blood behind. But this was one taking it all. Sarah could see the man becoming paler, his knees looking like they were going to give way. And just when she thought he was about to collapse, two hands shot out of the coffin and grabbed on to him. They held him up, as a head emerged like a pouncing tigger. Sarah caught a flash of blonde hair before the head buried itself in the servant's neck and continued drinking.

A minute later, the new Original torn away from the man's neck and shoved him off.

"That bastard!" shrieked the Original from inside her coffin.

For a split second Sarah thought it really was Amelia. But then her vision adjusted and she realised her mistake. Although she could be forgiven. This Original shared the same blonde hair as her sister, the same light freckles, the same blue eyes. She was very much the younger version of Amelia and the older version of Leiah. The perfect in between of her two sisters. Except she looked far more enraged than Sarah had ever seen Amelia or even Leiah.

"A little bit harsh consider the guy just let you drink from–"

"I'm talking about Nik!" roared the Original, her fiery blue eyes turning on Leiah who smirked in amusement. "I'll tear his throat out for what he's done. I'll make him wish I was never born!"

"We all already wish for that," muttered Leiah loudly.

"Go to hell, Leiah!"

Leiah smiled in return. "I missed you too, Bex."

For a moment, Bex sat in her coffin, breathing heavily and glaring at everything around her. She looked rather like an animal that had just woken up and found itself inside a cage at the zoo. Judging by what Leiah had said, this Bex had been in that coffin for a long time. Long enough that even this warehouse probably looked different to the warehouses she was used to.

"I'll kill him!" Bex shouted angrily, her fists tightly clenched and slamming down on the sides of her coffin, chipping the paint work. One thing was for certain, this woman was extremely angry.

"You can't do that, Rebekah," stated Leiah.

"I can do whatever I want!"

"No, I mean, you can't physically do it. He's unkillable, remember."

"He still bleeds. And hurts. And I can make him hurt a lot," snarled Rebekah as she climbed from her coffin, revealing an extremely outdated dress that looked like something from the 1920s. "Where is he? Run off to hide? The bloody coward!"

"You're lucky he's not here to hear that, otherwise you'd be back in that box."

Rebekah shot her shorter sister a glare. "I'm surprised he hasn't boxed you up, you little brat."

"Well, I always was his favourite," replied Leiah, batting her eyelids innocently. Rebekah scoffed, turning away as a cruel smile formed on her lips.

"That's only 'cause your the baby."

"Careful, Bex. Keep talking to me like that and I won't give you your present," warned Leiah.

"What present?" asked Rebekah, her voice still harsh but lightly threaded with curiosity. She looked down at the dead human by her feet. "I hope you're not talking about this," she said with a wave. "He's positively dead. And his blood was hardly…the smoothest I've ever tasted."

"Blame, Niklaus. He's started picking untasty subjects."

"Because you keep eating them all, I'm assuming?"

"A girl's got to eat," replied Leiah with a grin. One that her newly awoken sister returned.

"Did you really miss me?" asked Rebekah after a moment of hesitation.

"Of course," exaggerated Leiah, but Rebekah seemed to eat it up without noticing. "You are my favourite sister after all."

"Considering who the other one is, that's hardly a compliment."

"Does that mean I'm your favourite too?"

Rebekah turned her nose up. "Depends on what you got me for a present."

Leiah smiled, as she walked over to her sister and offered her arm. Rebekah took it, and let Leiah guide her over the few short steps. "I think you'll appreciate it," Leiah said before Rebekah finally spotted Sarah, strung up between the rows of shelves. At the sight of her, the two Originals stops, allowing Rebekah to gasp as her blue eyes widened.

"Sarah?"

Sarah frowned down at the Original from her elevated position. "You know me?"

Rebekah seemed taken aback by her reaction, and almost seemed hurt by it. "You…You don't remember me?"

"You compelled her memories away, Bex. Remember?" explained Leiah from her side, but Sarah still had no idea what she was talking about.

"But…But I was daggered," Rebekah said pointedly to her sister. "She should remember everything. That's how it's always worked. Any vampire we've compelled is freed once we get daggered."

"Freed from our commands it seems, but not from any memories we take away."

"So, she really doesn't remember me?" asked Rebekah, as she eyed Sarah curiously.

The dangling vampire remained silent as she stared back. Had she not been so caught up in what the Originals were saying, maybe she would have seen what was coming next and could have prepared. Alas, once Rebekah locked eyes with her, she knew it was too late. Her captivating stare was pulling her in, and all of a sudden Sarah was pulled back in time, to when Katherine had had complete control over her. She was helplessly lost, unable to stop herself, and wanted so badly to scream.

"Tell me the truth," compelled Rebekah. "Do you know who I am?"

"No," Sarah answered automatically, grimacing at the familiar loss of control. It had been a feeling she thought she'd never feel again. That had been the one silver lining in becoming a vampire, no one would be able to control her again. But after meeting the Originals, Sarah knew this was always a possibility. Even after they left town, she continued to take vervain for her own peace of mind. Now she saw how futile it really was. If they wanted to, they could string her up and bleed the vervain from her like Leiah had, leaving her open to their mind control.

She'd hoped it wouldn't be as bad as it had been with Katherine – and it wasn't, so far – but it brought back the memories. Of her and Katherine alone in her room. The bitch making her say and do whatever she wanted, like she was a life-size doll to amuse herself with. But what was to stop Rebekah or Leiah from acting the same way as Katherine. They had the power, why not abuse it like she had back then. And Leiah had already shown plenty of interest in her.

Please, not again. A quiet voice said from within Sarah.

"And what about my sister?" continued Rebekah, compulsion still in effect.

"I met Amelia and Leiah a few months ago. The same goes for Klaus and Elijah. I never met any of them before then."

"And all this is the truth?" pressed Rebekah, still unsure.

"It's the truth," Sarah said without hesitation, before Rebekah broke off eye contact to look at Leiah.

Once again Sarah was free, but she knew it would only last as long as her captors allowed it. The fact was, even if she closed her eyes and held them shut, she'd have to open them eventually, assuming they didn't force her to do so before that. The only way to protect herself was to get more vervain in her system, but there was no way for her to do that.

She hated herself for thinking it then, but her one hope might actually be if Katherine came back and gave her vervain like Damon had done for her back in Mystic Falls. But that would require Katherine to care about someone other than herself, which wasn't possible. Even knowing this though, Sarah needed something to hope for. Anything that would spare her from being compelled again. To have control taken away, and be plunged back to 1864.

"You definitely drained her of vervain?" Rebekah asked Leiah critically, still not buying this story.

"Yes," stressed Leiah. "What, do you think this is, some elaborate prank? That I found Sarah, and convinced her to pretend not to know you?"

"It had crossed my mind," admitted Rebekah, to which Leiah rolled her eyes.

"Look, just compel her to remember. You know I can't do. And then you'll see that this isn't a prank."

A taunting smile began to play at Rebekah's lips. "Do you still love her?"

At this, Sarah's eyes widened, her cheeks and ears becoming hot, as she stared in disbelief at Leiah. The short blonde, glanced her way, an almost embarrassed look in her soft blue eyes, before they shot back over to her taller counterpart. The softness was then replaced in her eyes by an annoyance. A line forming along her brow as her teeth clenched. Rebekah seemed pleased with this reaction.

"Not in that way, no," said Leiah lowly. "I've found…someone else to shower with my…affections." The Original spared Sarah another glance, this one more sympathetic – and almost apologetic – before then continuing with an upbeat voice. "I just thought that after a few decades inside a box, you'd want your best friend back is all. But the only way you're going to get her back is if you bring back her memories."

"Best friend?" exclaimed Sarah, as matching blue eyes flicked over to her. "How could we be best friends? I've never even met her before today. And what does she mean, 'still in love?' How could you be in love with me? You don't know me! Neither of you know me–"

Sarah was cut off as Rebekah suddenly ran forward, her hand grabbing Sarah by the jaw and squeezing her mouth shut. "Stop talking," compelled Rebekah, her blue eyes right in front of Sarah's as the Original pulled her down, stretching the links of the metal chain above.

Maybe I can get her to break me free. Sarah thought hopefully. But as to how to do that exactly, she wasn't sure. And while she had heard that stray thought inside her head, there were a thousand others screaming about what Rebekah was possibly going to compel her to do next.

Would she be as bad as Katherine? Would she force her to do what she'd done with Katherine with Leiah, all for her own sick pleasure? Would she compel her to be some kind of servant? To be her so called best friend, even though she knew they'd never been anything of the sort. Lexi was her best friend. Jenna was her best friend. She knew her friends and family like the back of her hand, even the ones she'd spent years without, like Rose. Sarah never forgot her friends and she had no idea who this blonde psycho was, claiming to have been her friend. And if anything was true, she knew this. This woman was a stranger to her.

Rebekah then leaned in, and Sarah braced for whatever command would follow, as her blue eyes pulled her into the void. There was nothing else but those blue eyes, reaching inside of her and pushing aside all other thoughts. All that matter was the voice that followed, the command that she had to obey no matter what she thought or felt. But then, everything changed with one word, as a vail was lifted and a whirlwind burst through her head. Nothing was the same as it had been after that, and nothing would be the same again.

"Remember."