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The hours ticked by and Stefan still couldn't find her. The French Quarter streets were thinning and he grew grateful since there was a rabid Caroline Forbes on the loose but it didn't ease the search. New Orleans was not a small city and Stefan's heightened senses as a vampire proved to be no good here. Vampire senses were nothing compared to a wolf's sense of smell. If Caroline was in the area Stefan couldn't sense her. Blame it on the decades they spent apart but he just wasn't as familiar with Caroline as he used to be. As he wished he was right now.
Venom poisoning was unbearable for a vampire to go through and it was worse than ingesting pure vervain. The venom pumping in your veins were like shards of glass, cutting each vessel and the fever boiled any brain cells you had. But the delusions were probably among the worst of the symptoms, altering your brain to see any images. It brought forward images that were buried in a vampire's mind and typically images suppressed for a reason. Stefan only experienced this pain once and it was more than enough to last an eternity. Caroline couldn't die from the venom but Stefan needed to get her back to Klaus for the cure. She had enough suffering over the decades and what pain she was feeling right now was certainly eating her up inside. If Stefan was in Caroline's position, he would be feeling the same guilt from Bonnie's death and with the venom flowing in her veins, there was no telling what images she was seeing right now.
Stefan paused in the middle of a concrete courtyard with a large fountain in the center and sat to let his racing mind catch up with his feet, running a hand over his tired eyes. It's already been a few hours and Klaus' latest threat still lingered in the back of Stefan's mind. Decades ago Stefan had managed to dodge the Hybrid's threats but if Caroline didn't come back in one perfect blonde piece there was no doubt that Klaus would make sure Stefan didn't either.
A vampire with a werewolf bite needed blooded to keep the venom tolerable but this was Caroline. That meant no body trail of helpless victims he could follow. After several minutes of pondering his next move, Stefan stood from the fountain and was about to head in the opposite direction when he froze in place. A faint hint of blood lingered in his nostrils and his direction changed immediately to follow.
Caroline could hear her heartbeat thumping in her ears and it was like nails on a chalkboard for her brain. Every thump meant the venom was pumping in and out of her heart. This wasn't the first or twentieth time Caroline felt the sting of venom but it didn't lessen the burn. Over the years she developed ways to control the effects by slowly removing the venom from her system and keeping a steady stream of human blood pumping in her veins. Plus let's not forget booze is always good in these types of situations. She should be on her way back home to start her usual regiment but not tonight. Being a vampire you had to keep a low profile and Caroline walking around downtown New Orleans in a white ball dress with blood spattered all over was not low profile.
Caroline paused next to a trash bin so she could rip the bloodied sleeves from both her arms and toss them away. Her eyes drifted down towards her feet, which had blood covering most of the bottom half of the white dress. With vampire speed, Caroline tore apart her dress so that it went from being a floor length to a short cocktail dress in seconds. The only thing that would make her look out of place would be her red stained hands and the gaping hole in her chest. The black spider veins that snaked it's way up her neck and chest were not so subtle either but anyone that got close enough could be compelled away.
Caroline would get back to the old Governor's manor eventually but she wanted to use the venom as a distraction for the pain of loosing Bonnie. After all these decades the bodies still seem to keep piling up around Caroline with no end in sight. It was just a few days ago that she was telling Rebekah about how she wanted to keep the remaining people in her life safe and now another one was dead. The logical, intelligent part of her brain told her that none of this was her fault and that Celeste was behind Bonnie's death but at this point it didn't matter. The guilt blocked any logic Caroline could form and the delirium took over everything else.
In the corner of her eye there was a brief flash of a slim brunette girl and Caroline's head flashed upwards. She knew it was the venom taking effect but it was none the less shocking to see her dead best friend soaked in her own blood from the neck down. Bonnie's face was hard as stone and she spoke no words but the disapproving shake of her head was all that was needed. Caroline clinched her eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them wide to see Bonnie had vanished. Caroline balled her fist and let the veins under her eyes break free for just a moment before leaving.
"Blood. I need blood." Caroline was being incredibly stupid to let herself wonder aimlessly through the streets were any stray human could be her next victim. She needed to get back to safe quarters to ride out the pain like she always had until it left her system. Usually she didn't start seeing images until the third or fourth day but the hunters were deliberately trying to torture her more with shooting her so close to the heart. The closer the wound was to major arteries, the faster the venom pumped in her bloodstream. Caroline's senses picked up on laughter and there were two young men walking on the opposite side of the street. She flashed over and stopped just a foot before them, startling them in the process.
"I need you to come with me." Caroline let the compulsion wash over the humans and lead them over to a secluded alley a few feet away. Both her hands were on each humans chest as her fangs sliced through her gums and fingernails dug into their skin to keep them from running. Caroline usually compelled humans to not be afraid but with razor blades cutting her veins open and her visions slowly slipping away, it wasn't her top priority. Blood was like silk flowing past her lips as her fangs went into the first humans throat. The heartbeat slowed by the second and just before it stopped completely Caroline released her hold so the human could fall to the ground. Even with the next humans blood it still wasn't enough but it was keeping her cravings in check.
"You always did have great restraint." A soothing voice behind Caroline made her body freeze and the hand that gripped the human dug deeper into his skin. "Even when you were a child and we gave you Barbie dolls to play with. Most children would have their toys destroyed within a week but not you. You would have them perfectly dressed without a hair out of place at every tea party."
Caroline dropped the human and whipped around to stare at the man whose neck she snapped twenty five years ago outside the Salvatore crypt. This wasn't real, she knew that and the logic in her mind was screaming this was a delusion but it was still disturbing to say the least. Caroline squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed them with red stained fingers.
"You would have made a perfect hunter with your natural abilities and survival instincts." The delusion of Bill Forbes inched closer as Caroline's gaze slowly met his. "That was long ago before you turned into the creature that stands before me."
Caroline chuckled as she shook her head, "This isn't real. Even if it were, you are going to need to do a lot better than the old blood sucking monster routine." Caroline leaned down to heal and compel the nearly dead humans. A warm hand grasped her arm and it felt too real for her subconsciousness to conjure up. As Caroline opened her mouth to speak, her stomach lurched and spit blood on the ground. The human blood she drank was not working to counteract the poison in her veins and she needed to start removing the venom before she completely lost her mind.
Sweaty hands pushed against wet grass as she spat the last remaining blood from her tongue and ran the back of her hand across her mouth. Her surroundings had changed without her knowledge to a dark cemetery and a lingering stench of blood filling her senses. Bill Forbes stood with his hands grasping tightly on each one of her forearms and Caroline's head twisted to see the old Salvatore crypt. This scenario has played for Caroline multiple times over each werewolf bite and it was part of her subconscious that kept pushing this memory due to unresolved parent killing issues.
"We're not doing this tonight."
Stefan stood at the mouth of a secluded alley watching Caroline drop the first human body to the ground and sighed when he still heard the heartbeat. He should have known that even when Caroline Forbes was half delirious she was still a better vampire than most.
"I looked all over the city for you." Stefan stepped forward and noticed her muscles tense at this voice. "I should have known you wouldn't make it easy for me and leave a trail of bodies behind. We still need to head back though and get Klaus' blood in your system. End your suffering."
Caroline faced Stefan with a wide set of eyes that were glued to his face and it quickly became apparent that they were not seeing the same things. The hysterical chuckle she let out and the rambles about monsters indicated that Stefan was defiantly wearing someone else's face right now. Stefan bent down slowly as if she was a cornered animal and gently grasped her arm. Caroline was getting worse and couldn't even keep blood down. His hands slid down to cup her forearms, bringing her standing to her feet and gave her kind reassurance that he was only here to help.
"We're not doing this tonight." Caroline curled her lip and let the spider veins dance across her cheeks in anger. Fingernails dig into his skin like daggers and Stefan gritted his teeth, restraining himself from fighting back. The pain Caroline inflicted wasn't meant for him but for whatever face he was wearing and a sudden onslaught of new pain hit his chest. His lungs were begging for air as one of her hands pushed him into the brick wall making him gasp. "I killed you and you are going to stay that way."
"Caroline... Please..." Stefan's words were strained as he struggled to stay standing and Caroline's grip tightened around his arms, tearing holes in his bloodied tuxedo. "Listen to my voice! It's not real!"
Stefan stared back into the eyes of his lost best friend and knew he had to snap her out of the delusion. Caroline would forgive him later for this or snap his neck he wasn't sure which. Using the element of surprise, Stefan flashed his elbow upwards to connect with Caroline's nose. The grip on his arms slacken and she fell back a step to grasp her nose that was now bleeding, looking down at her hand. Stefan wasted no time pushing her against the wall, palms laying flat against her shoulders.
"Look at me Caroline!" Recognition flashed across Caroline's face and her mouth dropped open in shock that it was really Stefan. "I need you to come with me."
"What did I do now." Caroline slid down the wall to land on her backside. "I could have killed you. I was going to kill you because you looked like my father, Stefan."
"It doesn't matter. Klaus should be at the mansion so he can fix this for you. He stayed back to help his siblings but I promised I would get you back to him."
"I don't need his blood since venom won't kill me." Caroline exhaled and looked down at her hands. "I just need to make the pain bearable."
"Do you really think Klaus is going to let you suffer when all you have to do is drink his blood. All vampire's, including myself, have to beg for the privilege to drink his blood. Why would you.." Stefan paused and scrunched his eyebrows together. "You want to suffer."
"Don't I deserve it?" Caroline challenged. "Bonnie died thinking she had to protect me and let's not forget the countless others - "
"Don't." Stefan cut her off before she went into a full Caroline Forbes rant. "Elena was completely out of line in saying those things to you. After all these years, Elena doesn't know how to accept responsibility for her actions. You didn't cause those events in her life to happen, Elena's mistakes are hers alone. She's had Damon and me around for too long and she hasn't had to survive in the same way that you have. Elena leads a very different life than you do and she has been fortunate enough to lead a quite vampire existence since we left Mystic Falls. " Stefan paused briefly to let his words sink in. "Bonnie loved you and died loving you. You know better than anyone that no one can change Bonnie's mind once it's set to something and she went to that party determined to protect the people she loved. Also... Matt and Jeremy were vampire hunters, Caroline."
"What? No they weren't." Caroline shook her head in disbelief. "I would have known about it."
"Matt told us he kept it from you because you were so adamant about wanting him to get away from Mystic Falls and live a normal life. Jeremy had the same hunter gene you carried and once it was triggered there was no going back to a normal life. After living in Mystic Falls I don't think anyone could ever live a normal life."
"Well, my mind is blown." Caroline flopped her hands into her lap as her mind felt dizzy once more. "So they were happy hunting vampires?"
"From what Matt and Jeremy told us they didn't feel helpless anymore. Living as a human among vampires can do that to you." Stefan knelt down so his sight was level with hers. "There lives were already in danger by them just being hunters so you being in their lives had nothing to do with it. You didn't kill Bonnie or Matt or Jeremy." Stefan's determination in his voice made Caroline lift her head once more.
"I know I didn't but.." Caroline averted her eyes to the side, "It just hurts to think about everything I've lost and everything I will lose again. I mean, we're still not done with the craziness here in New Orleans."
"When I was a Ripper that was me giving up because I thought there was no hope for me. That nothing could make me happy or want to feel again."
"Stefan, I'm not shutting my emotions off. I would never do that." Even after the death of what little family she had, it was a point of pride that Caroline kept her emotions intact.
"But your giving up and that isn't you." Stefan sighed and sat on the dirty ground across from her. "You have been through more pain and torture than any other vampire I have ever met and this is coming from the guy that used to rip human heads off just for fun."
Caroline huffed and placed her face in her hands. The venom was starting to make it's reappearance and her vision was blurring at the edges. Stefan placed his hands gently on her shoulders.
"I'll be here to help you through it. We'll kill witches, hunters and anyone else that will show up. When you left Mystic Falls twenty five years ago I should have left with you or tried harder to find you. I have been a horrible friend to you and its time I start making up for it. We used to be best friends and I want to earn that title back. Katherine Pierce better watch her back."
Caroline exhaled loudly while ringing her fingers through her blood crusted hair. This wasn't her. Caroline Forbes didn't throw pity parties in dirty alleys. No, Caroline kept pushing forward no matter what life tossed her way. She survived being hunted down by her father so whatever came next Caroline could handle. They would bury Bonnie and say their goodbyes before they got back to the task at hand. Celeste, hunters, and that new red headed wench that showed up tonight would all be dead. Given the determination in Klaus' eyes at the party, Marcel was most likely dead already.
"I have to find Klaus." The neediness in Caroline's voice wasn't lost on Stefan as she watched him smile. "Shut Up."
"Seems like I need to get the Queen back to her King." Stefan stood to help Caroline, lowering one hand as the other went behind his back in a old fashion gesture. "Before said King removes my head."
Caroline let out a small smile, "Thank you."
A black car pulled up to the old Governor's mansion and a furious Katherine stepped outside, slamming the car door behind her. Brunette curls bounced with every fierce step against the gravel and her black tattered dress clung to her body. Once the excitement calmed down at the regained Mikealson compound, Katherine and a few others split up to find her friend. Word was received from Stefan that she was unharmed, mostly, and that he was bringing her back to the Mikealson's current home for the night until the compound was extinguish of all threats. But there was one small deed that Katherine needed to accomplish before she returned back to her own New Orleans home. A task she had been waiting the past few decades since Katherine learned of her existence. A task she had been waiting for since the cure was shoved down her own throat and nearly died. Rip the beating heart from Elena Gilbert's chest.
Katherine only paused briefly to find the voices she wanted were sitting in a distant room discussing the events of the party and various other conversations. Her hand slammed against the aging wooden door and it rattled the frame as it banged against the wall. Heels clicked on the hardwood floors as she taunted her shadow self,
"Elena Gilbert, I know your here so don't make me come looking for you." Katherine heard a faint male voice saying stay here just before Damon Salvatore appeared. A smirk left her lips to match the snarl on his. "Don't be stupid Damon and hand her over. No need to get yourself killed too."
The confident smirk formed on Damon's lips, "If Elena can manage to shove the cure down your throat and nearly kill you, I'm sure I can rip your heart out."
Damon flashed forward to send Katherine flying backwards against a set of closed double doors into the nearby living room. She recovered quickly, grabbing a nearby wooden coat rack and the wood broke easily over her knees to form a jagged stake.
"I might not be my full six hundred years of strength, but I can still kill you without chipping a nail." The makeshift stake sliced through Damon's rib cage and she snapped his neck before a groan could fall from his lips. A surge of pain hit Katherine as she was hit with a closed fist but it didn't do much but make her stumble back a step.
"Hmm just who I was looking for."
Katherine flashed over to grasp her by the throat and pull Elena's back flush against hers. Katherine slammed her fist into Elena's back causing her legs to give out and the crack of her spine echoed off the walls.
"If you snap the spine just right, you can paralyze your victim from the waist down without killing them. Keeps them from running." Katherine spat hot breath into Elena's ear.
"Well, if I knew we'd be torturing a Doppelganger I would have showed up sooner." Rebekah nonchalantly walked into the sitting area as if it was normal for someone to be tortured, her bloody ball clothes swapped for casual wear. Elena's wide eyes danced between the Original and Enzo who was just behind her.
"Don't look at me, I am not your rescuer. I honestly never cared what happened to you in the first place and even less after tonight." Enzo flopped down on a bar stool and poured himself the Mikealson's best Bourbon. "But Kitty Kat here isn't going to kill you."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Lorenzo." Katherine turned her and Elena so the two face the rest of the house guests and she shot Enzo a death glare. "Oh, and before I forget, I want to applaud you on what a stand up guy you were back at the party while your closest friend was getting reamed with insults."
"Don't even think of questioning my loyalties to Caroline." Enzo pointed a finger in Katherine's direction. "Caroline is a big girl and certainly can handle herself against someone like the Gilbert girl. She's strong and lets not forget how quickly she put you in your place."
"Please Katherine don't..." Elena's words were cut short by the nails around her vocal cords restricted the sounds.
"You won't do this, Katherine." Enzo stood from his seat at the bar and crept closer to her, ignoring Elena's plea. "I know yours and Caroline's relationship better than anyone else that walks this earth and you won't sacrifice the only connection you've made in six hundred years for revenge. No matter how bad you want it."
"I'm not doing this for my revenge, I'm doing this for Caroline."
"Come on everyone knows the Doppelgangers hate each other." Enzo tossed his head to the side to inspect Katherine. "This is only your excuse to act on it. There's nothing chivalrous about this little scene here."
Katherine's gaze pierced back at Enzo and tossed his words around in her mind. She hated being proved wrong and hated even more when Enzo was the one that did it. Katherine's hand slammed into a higher point in Elena's spine and she fell temporarily dead at her feet. She shoved Enzo aside to wait outside for her friend and as she turned the corner, she saw Elijah leaning against a wall in the foyer by the front door.
"You made the right decision." Elijah pushed off the wall. "Caroline could have forgiven you eventually but it wouldn't have been your best move. Elena shouldn't have been killed and I wouldn't have allowed you to kill her in my home."
"Well, let's all make sure poor Elena's OK." Katherine tilted her head while exaggerating her words and her voice rising. "You were unconscious, Elijah, so you didn't get the pleasure of hearing the vile things that came out of sweet little Elena's mouth tonight."
"It was repeated back to me and the things Elena said were not true but this doesn't involve you. It's not your battle to fight." Elijah stepped forward so Katherine's view was completely on him.
"You seem so concerned for her well being, why didn't you rush in to save the day?" Katherine crossed her arms at the accusation.
"You once declared you've change and I wanted to see you prove it." Elijah stared down at her with a soft smile but there moment was broken by voices in the driveway. Katherine turned to the front door she left open to see Stefan and Caroline walking up the steps. She felt relief at the sight of Caroline but it was quickly masked by her sassy smirk.
"Oh honey you look awful." Katherine stepped forward to inspect her closer.
"It's good to see you too, Kat." Caroline stated with an eye roll and smiled at Elijah over her shoulder who returned it with a gentle nod.
"You'll find your brother and ex in the next room sleeping off tonight's events." Katherine picked at her manicure as if this was boring news.
Stefan finally noticed his brothers arm sticking out from the doorway of the sitting area and flashed to his unconscious body. "Katherine what did you do?" Stefan's eyes scanned the room to find Elena's body in the corner with her heart still inside her chest.
"We had a little chat." Katherine's devilish smirk widen, shrugging her shoulders .
Caroline's hand lingered on her chest wound, "Can we all kill each other tomorrow? You can throw whatever tantrum you want then, Katherine." The sentence earned a snarl from her Doppelganger best friend. The foyer was joined with more faces as Rebekah smiled sweetly at Stefan's confusion,
"Don't worry I just watched." Her and Enzo walked past the livid Salvatore to see their friend. Rebekah's eyes took in her tired and sweaty appearance and it was the first Rebekah has seen Caroline like this. "Nik still isn't answering his phone but he went to hunt down Marcel so I'm sure he is handling business as we speak. Oh and Kol is terrified you are going to have him shoved in a box for what happened tonight." The grumbles from Kol upstairs made her smile as her eyes went to the ceiling.
"Not now, Bex." Enzo frowned and for someone that was a thousand years old Bekah had very little tact sometimes. Rebekah realized her mistake and opened her mouth to speak when she noticed Caroline's expression, exchanging glances with Enzo. "Caroline? What's wrong?"
Caroline's hands were balled into fists at her sides and her eyes were glued to the top of the wooden staircase behind them. Bonnie stood at the top but she wasn't bloodied and battered like all her other delusions tonight. She was in a simple cotton pajama pants and tank top with her damp hair brushing her shoulders. Bonnie's outfit was something that reminded Caroline of the sleepovers they had as kids every weekend. The venom was screwing with her head again and she needed it to stop.
"No." Caroline shook her head pinching her nose with her pointer finger and her head snapped up at the sound of delusion Bonnie calling her name. She clinched her teeth together and flashed her hands to Rebekah's shoulders. "You need to call your brother and you need to tell him to get his ass home now! I don't care if you have to call him every ten minutes until he answers because I can't handle this right now. I can't - "
Caroline felt two firm hands on either side of her head just before her world went dark and her body slumped into Enzo's waiting arms.
Author's Note:
I know these past few chapters have been pretty depressing and there has been a lack of Klaroline but I promise your good behavior will be rewarded ;-)
Thanks for the follows/favs/reviews/guest and let me know what ya think!
