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Chapter 4

Fighting Phantoms

Kiev, Ukraine 1708

A knock came at Klaus' door and he called out his admittance, his Ukrainian flawless, just like every other language he knew; he had always had a knack for them. In walked the girl he had earlier beckoned, a pleased blush gracing her cheeks, making her hair seem even more red than it already was; an exotic color, to be sure. It must be such a thrill to her, he realized, being called upon by a lord. Little did she know...

"My Lord Niklaus" She curtsied clumsily, clearly unpracticed in the proper etiquette. He lifted two fingers to call her closer.

"I am glad you decided to join me after all, love." He said, watching her closely as she stood before him, fidgeting. She looked nothing like her… good. He suddenly stood, and circled her slowly, examining her.

"M'lord?" The girl questioned, confused and, from the sound of her voice, a little worried.

"You need not preoccupy yourself. I swear to you no, no harm will come to you by the hands of others." Immediately the redhead's shoulders dropped a little, relieved. Simpleton, Klaus thought. Soon he placed himself directly in front of her and she looked up at him with wide eyes. He brought his hand up to caress the hollow of her throat. He did that for a while until she was completely relaxed, causing Klaus to smirk in anticipation. His hand rose a little until it casually squeezed around the girl's throat.

Her eyes widened comically more, frightened. Klaus chuckled, his eyes already darkening with the need for blood. The girl had realization dawning on her features and no small amount of terror appeared there as well. Finally. Klaus loved that moment, the moment his prey realized that he was a predator, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"B-But, y-you said-?" The girl's struggling question made Klaus bark out a condescending laugh.

"I said no harm would come to you at the hand of others, not by my own." Klaus had enough of toying with her, watching with disgust as tears dripped down her young face.

Snarling, he tore into her throat, moaning as the warm blood filled his mouth.

It went unmentioned that a small part of him cried out at him, trying to desperately stay afloat under all the blood. It went unmentioned that the slaughter momentarily took away his pain of losing her, instead replacing it with a new kind.

It went unmentioned that Klaus no longer knew who he was.

Brugge, Belgium 1839

"What has happened to you, Nik?" Klaus sighed heavily as Rebekah looked at him in bewildered worry, examining his blood-soaked appearance. It had been so long since his younger sister had witnessed a slaughtering of this extent by her brother.

"Why nothing, little sister, I simply had a feast." He replied, his usual smirk on his face. Rebekah's face saddened slightly, watching her shell of a brother with a heavy heart. She was not against killing, as a vampire it would be impossible to be affected by every single death.

But this… This was just cruel and Rebekah, much to the surprise of those who did not really know her, was not a cruel person. Oh, she appeared to be, but even her image had its limits. Limits that Klaus knew well enough.

"Is this… Is that about..?" She trailed off, looking at him with her inquisitive blue eyes.

"No." He immediately replied, not wanting her mentioned. Not now when the pain had finally given him a rest.

"Of course." It was silent for a moment until Rebekah finally rose from her perch on his desk where she had been awaiting his return. Before she made it to the door, she took the opportunity to look at the room around of her. She soon noticed the lack of parchment and sketch materials. Her brother was usually constantly at work with his drawings and right now, she could only see one; one that had been torn in half.

She saddened even more. Carefully making sure not to let it show, Rebekah turned back to Klaus for moment.

"Nik?" She called. He didn't glance at her but she knew he was listening. "Do not lose yourself."

As Bekah walked out of the door, Klaus had only one thought.

Too bloody late.

Vienna, Austria 1811

"I will be able to do this for you, my Lord." Annemarie said, her arms tight around her precious grimoire. She has been one of the more useful witches in Klaus' service over the past years, knowing more about black magic than any other he had met thus far. She was middle-aged and on the plumper side, with a weathered face. She clearly depicted the image of a kindly aunt, only she was nothing of the sort.

It was all in her eyes; they were cruel and cold.

"The spell will keep her location known to me?" Klaus asked, trying to confirm his suspicions.

"Indeed, my Lord." She replied without hesitation, a smirk eerily like his own on her face.

Immediately, Klaus knew he had been betrayed. It was not the first time such a thing had occurred, after all. Annemarie had been one of his primary witches for years and every single time he had asked for this particular spell, she had told him it would be impossible. There was simply no way to redo the binding spell to Caroline from all those years ago, that tie was broken, and now that she had become a vampire, it would never be fixed.

Klaus knew that. He had known that for centuries. He had known that fact since the day his first Forbes servant was bound to him.

Annemarie knew that. Only, she didn't know that he did.

There was a traitor in his midst, for the umpteenth time in only a century. His enemies were beginning to close in. But their measly stakes could not kill him. He would not allow himself to be killed.

"You're lying." He stated, speaking as if he were simply mentioning the weather. Annemarie's eyes stayed stone cold, just as they always did. Klaus hoped that Caroline's eyes would never turn like that, no matter what she saw in her life.

"Am I, m'lord?" She questioned, almost condescendingly, one eyebrow raised.

"You are." He nodded. "But, don't worry, it won't be long until you won't be able to speak, let alone tell lies." Annemarie finally showed some emotion, her eyes narrowing down to angry slits. She soon raised her hands and Klaus could feel the magic emanating about her, ready to throw at him.

Good thing he had more than one witch.

Just as Klaus felt the wave of power, another power blocked it from him and his most loyal warlock, Rickard, walked into the room with both hands raised. Loyalty, Klaus thought, a useful and dangerous tool.

"You!" Annemarie hissed as she continued to pour her magic into her spell. Rickard had been one of Annemarie's prodigies, but his true allegiance had always been to his lord.

"What shall I do with her, m'Lord Niklaus?" The warlock asked, his tone serious as the magic began draining at him.

"Kill her and be done with it." Klaus said, already turning to the door. As much as Annemarie had power over black magic, Rickard had much more control; he would be able to take down his old teacher, of this, Klaus was sure.

"One day you will die, m'lord! It might not be who does it but it will happen! And the little blonde vampire that you are secretive about, she'll die too!" Annemarie cackled. The Original stopped in his tracks, tense, enraged. He slowly turned around, practically growling.

"How do you know of this?" He asked, only to receive a maniacal laugh in return. "How do you know? Answer me!" He bellowed. The old witch did not answer and instead kept cackling.

It was only her death that stopped her laughing.

Lisbon, Portugal 1931

Klaus growled as he slammed the man into the stone wall, not flinching as some of it crumbled against the force of the blow. His anger was fierce, so fierce that for the first time in centuries his fangs had extended without his permission. The vampire had had centuries to learn control over his more base features, it was a simple matter of pride.

But, he supposed he was still a vampire, an Original at that, and such creatures were not especially for their control of their... urges. Sometimes he just had to let the monster, the ripper, out.

And the monster was hungry.

"What do you mean you do not know where she is?" He growled, his hand tightening around the other vampire's throat and raising him a few feet off the ground. "My ears must be deceiving, my friend, for I specifically remember commanding you to keep track of her. You would not want me to think you failed in my request, now would you?"

"F-Forgive me, sir." His servant choked out, trying to get around the crushing force on his windpipe. It was in times such as this that Klaus wished Forbes servants were still available to he and his siblings. Of course, this could due to the fact that there was one Forbes who he misses in particular... "S-She disappeared!" The man managed to finally choke out.

Klaus growled deep in his throat, the sound almost a roar, before he let the man fall to the floor with a loud, painful sounding, thump. The younger vampire soon rose to his feet, straightening his clothes. Suddenly, Klaus rounded back on him, still livid.

"You are telling me she simply vanished... You are telling me you lost her?" He shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes pulsating with blood. "How did you lose her?"

"Miss Forbes is... fickle, sir." The man muttered, head hanging, lamenting at his bad luck. If only he hadn't lost that damnable wager, then one of the others would have had to inform Lord Klaus.

"Fickle..." Klaus repeated, monotone. His fingers slowly clenching into fists as his jaw shut tight. The anger in his eyes intensified for a brief moment before suddenly dissipating. "Yes, Miss Forbes can indeed be quite fickle." He smirked, menace beginning to settle in his expression. "I suppose you may go."

The other vampire let out s brief sigh of relief and immediately began to the door, his steps quick.

Five, Klaus thought, four, three... two...

One.

His smirk widened, fangs clearly visible. And then he was across the room, and the man's head rolled across the floor, blood seeping through the carpet, blending in with the maroon color of it.

Unfazed, Klaus, continued his trek and headed to the door. Some things he simply had to do himself.

Inside, the monster laughed, triumphant.

Lisbon, Portugal 1936

Five years. Five years and still no sign. She really had indeed vanished. It was during this time that Klaus found himself sinking, falling farther and farther away from the man he had had the potential to be.

The darkness, the bloodlust, was taking over even more and Klaus couldn't bring himself to care.

The monster was here to stay.

Klaus simply smirked.

Mystic Falls, 2010

"Ah, well how about that, it looks like Vampire Barbie just couldn't stay away." Damon smirked. Caroline only raised a brow in question, before sighing and rolling her eyes.

"You're just happy to see me." She stated in return, crossing her arms.

"Maybe just a little." Damon stood to the side, signaling that she should enter. Caroline walked in, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. The last time she had been back to Mystic Falls was when the old Salvatore Manor was still the main house for the family. The boarding house was a new thing to her.

It was huge. It reminded her of the house she had lived in when she was with Pearl and Anna in Paris in the 16th Century. Only this was more modern, of course. Thank God for the electric light and all that.

"It's been a while." Caroline said coolly when she turned back to Damon, straight-faced. Her relationship with Damon was a weird one, to say the least. Stefan had always assumed she liked Damon, thought of him as a friend; this was true, in a sense. Caroline tended to keep the elder Salvatore at arms length; there was just something about him that made her uneasy, that reminded her of… something, someone. Plus, he was a bit loose with his morals, in any sense.

Still, that didn't mean that Caroline didn't care about him. He was one of the few friends she had that would be around forever. She didn't want to let that go to waste.

"It has. When was the last time? New York?" He smirked again, blue eyes mischievous. "You were a bit more adventurous then, if I remember correctly... Now, I assume my little brother sent you here to scold me?" He sighed dramatically. "Typical Stefan, hiding behind your skirts."

"Actually, I was here to see Stefan, I haven't heard from him since yesterday…" She turned an intelligent gaze on him; her eyes conveyed an age that Damon had yet to reach. She cocked her head to the side, already knowing that he had been the one to attack that poor couple. Animal attacks, my ass. "But now that you've confirmed what I thought, I guess it's time for a scolding."

Suddenly Caroline's amiable smile dropped from her face and she blurred into the other vampire, slamming him onto the floor. She knelt over him, one knee on his chest and the other holding his arms above his head.

"Well, well who knew Vampire Barbie was so kinky? If you wanted to tie me down, all you had to do was ask." He quipped, trying to get out of her hold. Caroline rolled her eyes before she leaned forward until she was nose-to-nose with him.

"Honestly, Damon, how could you be so reckless? And don't be a bloody idiot, you know you won't be able to overpower me. I'm older, remember?" She glared at him and tightened her hold around his wrists for a second, causing him to grunt. "Look, I'm going to tell you once because you're my friend, you can't keep killing around here. You shouldn't kill in general but that doesn't matter right now… The point is, Mystic Falls is like a center for the supernatural, you have to lie low." She hissed.

"Aww, Blondie, I didn't know you cared." Damon mocked, once again smirking. Caroline tried to keep her annoyance down, knowing she probably shouldn't act out; that would ruin her whole old and wise image.

"Whatever." She muttered, getting off of him. "I guess you don't want my help. Just remember Damon, whatever happens, whatever the consequences, they're on you. You may not feel it now, but the old you, and, perhaps one day, the new you, will."

With that, Caroline turned and walked out the door. She had to go look for Stefan. If she knew Damon, and she did, he had probably taken his anger out on his little brother. Honestly, why couldn't they just make up?

"And now he has some cheerleader for a bloodbag!" Stefan yelled, frustrated. They were sitting in Caroline's living room the day after the comet had passed over Mystic Falls. Apparently Damon had decided not to listen to Caroline and had caused a lot of trouble.

"How about Vicky? Is she ok?" She asked, staring at her friend as he paced around.

"Yeah, I managed to get Damon to compel her to forget." He sighed, and collapsed next to her in the sofa.

"I'm sorry, Stef, I should've been there."

"It's okay, bella. You wouldn't have been able to stop him, short of killing him. And I know you couldn't do that. I don't think even I could." He muttered. Caroline placed a hand on one of his strong shoulders, trying to provide some sort of comfort.

"Of course not, he's your brother." He sent her a small grateful smile. "Now, what's this about a cheerleader? I'm cheer captain, I think I should know."

"Lisa, you know her right?" He asked.

"Yeah. She's a bitch to be perfectly honest, she's always competing with Elena; she didn't even let up after Elena's parents…" She hesitated. "Anyways, just because she isn't the nicest person, doesn't mean she deserves this." Caroline sighed, playing with the daylight ring on her finger.

"What are we going to do?" Stefan wondered out loud.

"There's not much we can do. I told him not to kill anymore and he hasn't. Lisa, well, we'll just have to keep an eye on her." She stated, knowing that that was probably not enough. Still, what choice did they have?

"I'm just worried…."

"About Elena." Stefan looked up at her sheepishly. "Don't be. She has me and she had you. We'll keep her safe. Just like I know you kept her safe when the car crashed." She glanced nonchalantly at her fingernails, smiling a little when she caught the younger Salvatore's dumbstruck expression from the corner of her eye.

"W-What?"

"Please, Stef. She couldn't have survived it without a little external help and I have the town under watch. I knew the minute you got here."

"Why didn't you tell me, Care? I could've used your help. I was so confused, I mean Elena looks just like Katherine…" He gazed at her in confusion.

"But she isn't Katherine, is she? And you needed to figure it out for yourself. You needed time, Stefan. Sometimes help doesn't come obviously, you know." Caroline said, seriously. The seriousness of her demeanor was rather at odds with her usually bubbly personality. Of course, the people who saw her solely as that didn't know she was a vampire.

For a moment both vampires simply stared at each other before Stefan cracked a rare smile and let out a low chuckle.

"Sometimes I forget you're an old lady, bella."

"Hey!"

The bracelet glittered around her wrist, the infinity links shining.

He took her by the hand, the jazz music surrounding them as they swayed this way and that. He watched her with an intensity she felt she knew, even though logic dictated she didn't. Her hair had pinned up expertly into curls, but Caroline could feel them starting to muss up with the energy of their dance and she was pretty sure she didn't care.

Blue eyes stared into hers and she felt herself getting lost in them.

And then she fell into the blue and she was in a new place and her mystery dancer had disappeared.

She wandered around this new place. It was house, a small, comfy cottage. There were signs of people, of a family that lived here. And then she found the two little children. A boy with curly brown hair, and a girl with blonde hair that was just as curly. They were smiling and playing.

And then their images were drowned blood.

Her world shifted around her once more and Caroline dreamt of a boy. She dreamt of a sweet, gentle boy with a temper who cared for his younger sisters. She had dreamt of him for many years.

He called himself Robb.

And then he, too, melted away.

Caroline awoke to find she had tears running from her eyes.

It was a few weeks later that Caroline stood in front of an iron door, looking through the bars. Oh Damon… Stefan and her had had to change their decision to leave him be after he had gone too far and killed Mr. Tanner (not that anyone would miss him). She knew she could have killed him, she had many centuries on him, after all, but she couldn't bring herself to, nor could his brother bring himself to ask it of her. So, instead, they had vervained him, using Lisa.

It was crude but it had worked.

And now she stared at her friend, her desiccating friend as he rotted in his basement.

"I'm sorry this had to happen Damon." She said. Suddenly, the vampire behind bars turned and glared at her, his eyes enraged.

"No, you're not."

Caroline said nothing, but stood with him silently for a while longer.

"Damon's escaped." The voice on the phone sounded desperate. "He killed Zach." Caroline's hand went to her mouth, horrified. She had seen a lot of blood through the centuries but losing a loved one always hurt. Not to mention, Damon had effectively ended the Salvatore bloodline, leaving him and his brother the last ones of their family to walk this earth. "I think it was Lisa who freed him, I found a shoe on the staircase… He wants his ring back; I have to give it to him." Stefan continued.

"Wait, Stef, we have to come up with a-" The hang-up tone rang in her ear. "Damn it!" She shoved her cell into her jean pocket and threw her jacket on, heading straight to the door.

She passed by her car, knowing that it would not get her to her destination anywhere near fast enough.

She took a deep breath to calm herself; she needed to stay rational. She was the eldest vampire in town right now, and she needed to be that person. The strong one, the logical one. Caroline was never particularly good at any of this stuff, she had always been more on the emotional side. But she found that, with time, she could listen and help others as well. That's what she had to do now.

Then she sent all of her strength into her legs and burst off, her speed unbelievable.

Sometimes being a relatively old vampire had its perks.

Caroline soon approached the Salvatore boarding house, desperately hoping that Stefan had yet to leave. As the house came into sight, Caroline immediately knew something was wrong. What was Elena doing there at this time of night? Her sensitive ears picked up the conversation.

"What are you?" Elena asked, her voice panicked. "What are you?"

Oh no. Caroline froze. This can't be happening. This should not be happening. Elena was supposed to remain in happy obliviousness. She wasn't supposed to find out. She is going to hate me, a small voice in Caroline's mind whispered.

"You know." Stefan replied after a long moment of silence. Caroline shook herself out of her frozen state. What was she supposed to do? Glancing around, she realized she was in the middle of the street where everyone could see her. She'd better move.

"No, I don't." Elena's answer was shaky.

"Yes you do or you wouldn't be here." Came the younger Salvatore's voice. Caroline then made her decision, quickly blurring to the other side of the house and leaping onto the wall, easily gripping the second-story window ledge.

"It's not possible. It can't be." Her human friend whispered. The blonde vampire flipped herself up and onto the roof, landing silently. She knew that if she appeared in front of Elena now, all vamp-speed, it would only make things much worse.

"Everything you know and every belief that you have is about to change. Are you ready for that?" Stefan's question was earnest, that same desperate tone from earlier entering is voice. Caroline crouched on the roof and moved silently to the edge, watching from above.

"What are you?" Oh God, Elena, why did this have to happen? Why did this have to happen now of all times?

"I'm a vampire." The statement hung in the air between the pair below as the brunette's eyes widened almost comically.

"I shouldn't have come." She said, the shock clearly there. The fear. Stefan stepped forward causing her to go back.

"Please, please." Caroline barely heard Stefan's whispered pleas as he continued to approach his girlfriend.

"No, no… no!" Elena ran and Caroline felt her heart sink, no, break for her friends. As the human girl fled, Stefan immediately blurred after her, appearing in front of her. No, Stefan, don't do that!

"How did you do that?" She asked, panicked.

"Please don't be afraid of me." Caroline closed her eyes, saddened by the frantic begging.

"Let me go."

"Elena, there is things you have to know and understand-"

"Let me go!"

"Elena, please-!" With that Elena broke from Stefan's hold, or, rather, he let her go, just as she commanded. The girl ran to her car and drove off, speeding all the way, leaving a heartbroken vampire behind her. For a moment, Stefan just stood there whilst Caroline continued to observe, shocked at this turn of events.

And then she noticed the look of determination in his eyes and Caroline knew she should step in. She leapt off the roof and landed safely next to Stefan, catching his arm as he went to run after the girl he loved. It seemed she triggered some survival instinct since her friend whipped his head around, fangs out and hissing.

"Stefan, it's me. It's okay." She explained, keeping a firm hold on his upper arm.

"Caroline?" The fangs faded. "Caroline. I have to go after Elena. She found out. She found out what I am. I can't, I can't let her hate me. I have to-" There were tears in his eyes as the realization of what occurred and what it meant set in. Caroline immediately let go of his arm and instead pulled him into a gentle embrace, burying her head into his neck, trying to keep him calm. It took a moment but soon his arms wrapped around her.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay. We'll figure this out, okay?" She kissed his cheek lightly, letting her friend know that he was not alone. "We just have to give ourselves a moment, take a breath, and figure out what to do. We can go find Elena tomorrow, first we have to take care of Damon." Suddenly Stefan pulled back from her embrace, looking down at her in confusion.

"No… No, I need to…" The determined light from before reentered his eyes. "I need to make her not be afraid of me." Abruptly, he turned around and poured on the vampire speed, narrowly missing Caroline's arm as she moved to stop him.

"Stefan!" She yelled, only to find him suddenly gone. He must have gone after Elena. "Damn it!" It really wasn't the right time, he needed to give Elena a moment. Frustrated, she sighed loudly.

Well, at least he had been stopped from going after Damon alone.

The next couple of days were long and hard ones. Damon killed Vicky, who is now in transition. Stefan explained to Elena what he and his brother were. Damon got his ring back and Elena ended her relationship. Stefan was attacked, shot by wooden bullets, and his attacker, Logan Fell, was killed in retaliation.

Everything was falling into pieces and Caroilne felt like she was vaulted back and out of the way. She hadn't been able to help the people most important to her and it just killed her.

So, she decided to try and help with one thing. Stefan and Elena. She would have to reveal herself to her human friend. But, before she did that, she needed some backup.

Picking up her phone, she dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?" The voice was groggy on the other end.

"Hey, Lexi? It's Caroline. I need your help."

Ok guys, that's it for today! We are now just around 1x06 – 1x07. Next chapter will speed through the rest of the season and then after that we'll have a speedy season two and KLAUS!

Before I sign off, I just want to answer some stuff I was asked in the reviews about the whole Caroline knows Katherine thing and why Katherine didn't reveal anything to Caroline about her past; it's simple really, this is Katherine we are talking about. Let's just say she had a few plans up her sleeve before her 'demise'. I'll leave it at that for now.

Also, when it comes to accents, assume that Caroline has adopted an American accent to blend in better, but there will be parts in her natural accent (in flashbacks that are not set in America, otherwise I'll specify when).

Lisa is an OC I am using as kind of a pseudo-Caroline to do her human arc because, as I have previously stated, I don't want to stray too far from the canon. So think of her as human Caroline but meaner.

Anyways, thank you for reading and let me know what you think. Next chapter should be up earliest this weekend.

RW