Bloody Hell, where's the time gone, eh? I am so sorry this update took so long, but I've had a lot going on - college, exams and stuff like that. But hopefully the next update shouldn't take me as long (a freaking YEAR, fuck me...). I'm really gonna enjoy taking this story in the direction I've planned, and I hope you'll all stay tuned for that.

As always, read, review, enjoy, and I'll see you next time. (Which fingers and everything else crossed, shouldn't be in another year :P)

Damon's mind was spinning as a sharp yell brought him prematurely back into consciousness, pain flaring up from his arms, his body feeling hot and light, like he was floating. He blinked to clear his vision, but was rewarded with staring into a dark room, a few cracks of sunlight filtering in from the cracks in the roof.

He looked upwards, his head feeling extremely heavy, seeing chains jutting out from a hook in the ceiling, trailing down and stopping into his wrists and arms, the thick, sharp hooks wiggling under his skin and slicing into his veins. Hot blood oozed from the wounds with every move he made, making Damon grimace in pain as he dangled from them like some sort of human puppet.

Whoever put him here, clearly wasn't messing around. Dimly, he remembered Klaus snapping his neck, and his head darted around to look for him. He was completely alone in the darkness, and Damon wasn't sure if he was relieved about that or not.

Steeling himself, he gripped the chains as best as he could between his fists and took a deep breath. He relaxed and let all his strength hang off of the chains, the hooks sliding upwards and cutting into him even more, dripping blood onto his face and into his hair. He breathed out and did it again, yelling in a mixture of pain and relief as the chains digging into his palms were ripped free.

Sweat was beading down his forehead and Damon could feel the blood oozing down on him and soaking into his clothes. With a final tug, the chains tore through the skin, sending Damon falling through the air and onto the floor – solid marble floor – below him. He laid there, unmoving and looked down at his wrists, the skin beginning to sew itself together.

Pushing himself to his feet, Damon cracked his neck from either side, nursing the cramp there. Furrowing his brows in confusion at a boarded up window, he walked over to it, ripping into the wood to quite literally shed some light on the situation.

The wooden slate he had been in the process of ripping off hung there on the other side of the nail as Damon hissed in pain, the flesh of his hand burning in the sun's rays. His eyes narrowing, he realized his ring was missing.

And he wasn't alone.

"You looking for this?" a female voice asked from behind him, making Damon whirl around and snarl at her, his vampire visage popping through in defense. She was twirling her ring around his index finger, the band too big to fit her, teasing him.

The woman ignored him, moving over to the window and taking off the other boards off of it. As a bright shaft of light filled the room, Damon squinted briefly and moved into the shadows. He recognized the room instantly – he was in Klaus' mansion. It was ingenious in its stupidity; no-one would think to look for him here, since according to them, Klaus was still desiccating in a coffin.

The woman then turned around and chuckled at him, able to see more of him in the sunlight. "That sure was nasty, huh?" she smirked, glancing back at the chains that were still hanging from the ceiling and dripping with Damon's blood.

"Oh, my apologies," she said after a sudden start, walking over to him, "I'm Kara," she introduced herself, extending a hand.

Damon's lips curved into a snarl. "Never cared much about my victim's names," he said with a nonchalant shrug.

Before the woman could register what he said, he snarled and lunged forwards, sinking his fangs into her warm flesh, drinking as much as he was able. His hands fumbled for hers – the sickening snap of her fingers reaching his ears – in an effort to snatch back his ring.

Eventually, he triumphantly snapped it up, sliding it on his finger whilst continuing to crush the woman's neck between his mouth, her blood spilling around his mouth and pooling between the two of them.

Without warning, Damon tore away from Kara's neck, feeling a sharp, shooting pain at his throat. His blood was boiling and his insides felt like they were on fire. He lurched forwards, involuntarily spitting out Kara's blood in a red tidal wave, glaring up at her with the darkest expression he could muster.

In retaliation, he felt his brain being stabbed with a thousand tiny needles. He struggled to remain on his feet – like Hell he was going to bow to this bitch – his teeth grinding together as he tried to hold in his yells of pain.

"Stop, before you kill him," a voice called over, Damon gasping in relief as the pressure on his brain was relieved. Kara herself relaxed as well, placing a hand over her still-bleeding neck.

He turned to the source of the voice, his eyes narrowing as Klaus nonchalantly strolled over to the two of him, his vampire visage coming out on instinct. Klaus raised an eyebrow at him as Damon let his lips part slightly, exposing the tips of his fangs.

"Apologies for the hostile reception, Damon," Klaus apologized, although didn't sound sorry at all, "But now we can begin," he said, flashing him a quick smile that was off his face as quickly as it had come.

"Begin what?" Damon asked, raising his eyebrow.

"In time," Klaus deflected, chuckling as Damon's brashness.

Fuck this, he snarled mentally. He charged at Klaus, baring his fangs, but before he could get to the hybrid and attempt to smash his face to pieces, he felt that same piercing sensation in his brain, grimacing as Klaus just smiled down at him.

He then turned to Kara, who had her hand outstretched in warning. "No, leave him." The words were off-handed, although his cold, harsh tone made it an order.

Reluctantly, Kara released Damon from the spell – he rubbed his temples to quell the pounding there – looking between both him and Klaus nervously. The elder Salvatore kept his distance from the two of them, eyeing Klaus warily.

He folded his arms and stared at the hybrid begrudgingly. "How did you even get out of that coffin?" he asked in confusion. As great as Klaus was – and there was no denying that – there was no way he could have fought against total desiccation.

"Teenage curiosity, would you believe it?" Klaus said with a chuckle, seeming in disbelief about it himself, "They just wondered right into where you and Stefan had imprisoned me, and freed me without a second thought," he added, almost gloating to him about how their plan had failed. Yet another reason for Damon to hate teenagers.

"Still don't understand what I've got to do with this," Damon said in frustration. Why couldn't Klaus just be a stereotypical villain and monologue everything to him?

"You're the most essential part of my plan," Klaus responded cryptically.

Damon was overcome with an incredulous snort of laughter, "There's no way in Hell I'd ever help you," he hissed coldly.

All traces of emotion left Klaus' face. "You don't have a choice," he stated plainly, giving him a wry smile.

Damon huffed out a breath. We'll see about that...

Briefly, his eyes flickered between Klaus and Kara. Kara he could take, providing she didn't see him coming, but Klaus... there was no way. But then again, Damon really didn't fancy his brain bursting or vomiting up acid if Kara decided to play nasty. Bypassing the two of them, he rushed off in a blur of air, disappearing up the staircase.

He was greeted with a long hallway, and he heard Klaus' footsteps behind him, stopping at the foot of the stairs. Thankfully, he couldn't see him. Damon moved further down the hallway, his hand reaching for a door knob just in case.

"Aren't we both a little too old for Hide and Seek, Damon?" Klaus called to him in amusement.

Damon remained quiet, pulling the door open and disappearing into the room as Klaus started walking up the stairs. He found himself in an untouched spare room, and thought about hiding in one of the wardrobes – yes, a one-hundred and seventy year old vampire was contemplating hiding in a piece of furniture – but he knew he couldn't stay in one place too long, as Klaus was no doubt following his scent.

"Alright, I'll entertain you for a while," Klaus told him, Damon being thankful that his voice sounded pretty far off, "But you should know you can't escape, Damon – can't escape me," he added in a menacing tone, making Damon swallow nervously.

"Can't hide, either," he sang as an afterthought, a door opening off in the distance.

Taking a second to collect himself, Damon crossed through to an adjoining room, his eyes lighting up as he spotted a picture frame. He walked over to the door, opening it and peeking out a little. He couldn't see Klaus anywhere, couldn't hear him either.

He slammed the door loudly, speeding over to the picture frame and smashing it to pieces over the loud, echoing noise. He picked up a piece of the frame, knowing he didn't have much time as Klaus was most likely heading his way, and snapped off the end, giving it a deadly-looking point. He slid it into the waistband of his jeans, covering the exposed shaft with his shirt.

"Now if that was just made of white oak," he quipped to himself in a whisper.

He stilled instantly, frozen to the spot, as he heard Klaus' footsteps outside the door. He kept his eyes trained on the handle; the second it even so much as twitched, he was out of there.

"You can always come out, Damon," Klaus offered, his voice echoing from right behind the door, "I'll make it easier on you," he added, Damon managing to tell he was thinking off the top of his head.

Damon breathed a silent sigh of relief as Klaus' footsteps moved off, passing him completely. He opened the door and walked out into the hallway – Klaus having already thrown open the door to another room – looking down at the foyer, spotting Kara down below. She seemed completely oblivious to him.

"Alright, I'll start counting," Klaus called to him, Damon's eyes widening as his head darted towards the sound of his voice, "But you're not going to like it when I find you," he warned him.

"And I always will," he added with a calm serenity that made Damon's gut churn.

A door creaked open fairly close to him and Klaus started counting, Damon speeding off before the words even reached his ears. He was on the west side of the balcony's hallway, as far away from Klaus as he could get, but it wouldn't stop him if he wanted to find him.

He opened the door to another room and found himself in what looked like Klaus' art studio. He looked around for somewhere to hide, but there wasn't anything, and he wasn't about to revert back to a five-year old and hide behind a canvas with the mentality that if he shut his eyes and couldn't see Klaus, Klaus wouldn't be able to see him.

Slowly, he crossed the room and stepped back out into the hallway. Still daunted with the sound of Klaus' counting, that was getting closer again, he was about to run into another room, but he saw the hybrid walking towards him.

He stepped backwards, hiding behind the doorframe to the art studio room. Klaus stepped into the room, Damon counting solely on the shadows to shield him from Klaus' gaze as he slipped out of the room without his knowledge.

"Six, seven, eight..." Klaus called to him as he began searching the art room, but Damon knew it was pointless and probably to try and throw him off. "Nine, ten."

Damon quickly shut the door to the room he found himself in.

"Ready or not, here I come," he called in a devilish tone.

Damon spun around and looked for a place to hide. There was a large antique cupboard, but he didn't fancy staying in there, but there wasn't anything else either. He needed to move before Klaus found him. He eyed a large vase that was near him, and picked it up. He opened the door and tossed it out into the hallway, hearing a door fly open as Klaus heard it.

He backed off into an adjoining bedroom, feeling the stake pressing against his stomach as he got further in there. He pulled it out, holding it in front of him.

"You are making this too easy for me, Damon," Klaus said from behind him, chuckling.

Damon instantly whirled around before Klaus could even attempt to lay a hand on him, and sunk the stake into his chest. Klaus yelled out and Damon managed to force him to his knees, snapping the stake off to where it embedded in his body to give him more time. He then rushed out of the room, struggling to catch his breath.

He rounded back towards the foyer, and saw the front door in front of him. He hurried down the stairs and made to open the door, but Damon's hand wouldn't touch it, like an invisible barrier was stopping him. He tried again and again, groaning in frustration as his efforts were fruitless. Of course Klaus would be covering all his bases.

He kicked the door in annoyance, his foot also not being able to make contact with it, and heard Kara laughing from behind him. He turned to her with a venomous snarl, flashing her fangs at her.

She remained still, a smug and condescending look on her face that he would have no qualms about wiping off. "Have I mentioned I really hate witches?"

Kara raised her hand, but Damon was ready this time. He rushed over and snapped her arm in between his own, her screams of pain leaving her vulnerable. He ripped into her neck, leaving her no room to try and cast a spell to pull him off, his fangs sinking deeper and deeper as she struggled. He pulled back with a vicious smile, exposing bloody teeth, and tossed the Witch through the air.

She landed heavily onto the floor, a sickening crack! echoing through the room. Damon smirked – She was unmoving and Damon couldn't sense a heartbeat. Now for that goddamned door problem–

There was a sudden crushing pain around his throat, and Damon felt himself being pulled up against Klaus' chest, the hybrid growling in his ear. Damon gritted his teeth and reared his head back, Klaus' grip on him loosening as his nose broke. He yelled out as he felt Klaus punch a hand into his stomach, pushing him down onto the floor.

Damon glared up at him spitefully, blood trickling out of the side of his mouth: "I don't know what you're gonna do now," he gasped in between breaths, gritting his teeth as he felt his lung regenerating itself from the inside, "I've just killed your witch," he gloated smugly.

Klaus smiled. "One of them," he stated, and memories of the sacrifice instantly rushed back to Damon – why didn't he think of that?! "Like I told you before, Damon, I always have a back-up," he added, giving him a sympathetic look.

Something was crushed onto the back of his head and Damon's head smashed into the floor, his skull cracking from the force of the hit. He fought to stay conscious as he felt his blood dripping into his brain.

Boots walked in front of his rapidly blurring vision and came to stand in front of Klaus, "You couldn't have picked a weaker vampire?" she asked in annoyance, folding her arms.

"I could have, Mindy," Klaus said with a pinched expression, no doubt finding his witch's attitude rude, "But she's an insufferable teenager I do not need yammering in my ear about morality for the next few hours," he added snidely, Damon not sure whether he was referring to Elena or Caroline.

"Besides, I like the irony in using Damon," he said in a strangely fond voice.

"Very poetic," Mindy retorted, Damon guessing from her tone she was rolling her eyes, "But, he managed to kill Kara, who's to say he won't do the same to me?" she asked, and Damon smirked from where he was laying.

Klaus was done messing around; he stepped into Mindy's personal space, his expression becoming hard and cold. "Well I suggest you get on with the spell," he advised her with a shrug of his shoulders, "Before he gets any funny ideas," he added, walking towards Damon, who was too weak to move.

"Or me," he said nonchalantly, reaching down to hoist Damon into his arms. He felt his head loll against Klaus' arms and he was met with darkness.

Again.

Unsure of how much time had passed, Damon opened his eyes to find himself staring at the ceiling, his arms too heavy to move and a dull, monotonous dripping sounded from below him. He soon realized the source of his arms' heaviness – iron nails had been whacked into his wrists to secure him to the table he was laying on and to stop him from healing, and the dripping sound was his own blood.

He groaned as the pain finally caught up with him, sensing someone's eyes on him. Klaus.

"You Mikaelsons really have a thing for tying me up, don't you?" he asked sarcastically, turning to see Klaus lounging against an opposite wall. He moved and came to tower over him, looking down at him with an evil smile.

"And since I'm not going anywhere, mind telling me what you want with me now?" he asked, staring up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Not yet," Klaus said with a shake of his head, making Damon roll his eyes, "Although, I am intrigued to know how you're fighting Mindy's spell," he wondered, looking down at him intently.

Damon's brows furrowed in confusion. "What spell?"

"Funny, Damon," Klaus said dryly, giving him a wry smile.

"No, I'm serious," Damon said imploringly, "I don't even know what you're up to, so how would I know if she's casting a spell on me?" he added. He couldn't feel any aches or pains – save the nails in his wrists twisting deeper into his bones each time he moved – or a burning sensation that may have come with a witch casting a spell.

Klaus tilted his head to the side, looking at him inquisitively, but any response he could have formed was cut off abruptly as Mindy strode angrily into the room.

"I can't do it," she said in frustration, tugging on her hair, "He's too strong," she said begrudgingly.

"Then break him down," Klaus ordered through gritted teeth.

"I can't, Klaus," she said sternly, and Damon saw Klaus' face go stoic. He really didn't like being told 'no', or that something couldn't be done.

He walked over to Mindy, the two of them engaging in a heated conversation that Damon was sure would have ended with her head being ripped off, if he hadn't already killed Kara.

Turning his attention to the nail in his wrist, Damon stretched his head towards it as far as his body would allow, biting his lip to keep from yelling out in pain as he wiggled his arm around to try and dislodge it. He cringed at the vile copper taste as he finally clanked his teeth around the head of the nail, rearing back and tearing it from his arm.

He sighed quietly in relief, both Mindy and Klaus too preoccupied with their current stand-off to notice him, trying to keep a straight face as he closed his mouth around the nail, turning it around with his tongue so the tip was pressing up against the seam of his lips.

"You're going to have to help me before I can even begin to try the spell again," Mindy said, admitting defeat as she looked over at Damon. Not that he would disagree with the statement, but what was he too strong for?

Klaus backed off with a heavy sigh, coming to stand over Damon once more. "You are more troublesome than you appear, Salvatore," he muttered in annoyance.

Damon grinned fiendishly and spat upwards, launching the nail towards the hybrid's face. Klaus stumbled back in surprise, yelling as the nail hit home and gouged itself into his face.

Damon wasted no time and ripped his other wrist free of the nail, his bone popping grotesquely. He cracked it back into place, grabbing Klaus around the neck and spitefully punching him in the face, again and again.

As Klaus' head cracked to the side with Damon's final blow, he turned back to face him, an eerie and deranged smile on his bloody lips. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."

His hair was suddenly seized in Klaus' terrific grip, Damon not even having time to react as Klaus tossed him across the room like a ragdoll, his body impacting heavily onto the floor.

Through his haze, he saw Klaus walking towards him and tried to push himself to his feet, but Klaus' boot crashing into his face knocked him on the floor. His lip splitting and his nose breaking with the brunt of the assault.

He felt Klaus turn him onto his back with a dizzying speed, pinning him to the ground and forcing him to watch and try and squirm away as he ripped the nail from his face, bringing it closer to his own.

As soon as the nail sunk into Damon's eye, a harsh scream flew from his lips. His vision in that eye slowly began filling with blood as Klaus kept hacking at his eye, taking chunks out of it and jabbing it painfully into the fleshy part of his eye socket. Blood was pouring into Damon's mouth from where it was flowing down his face.

Blindly, he reared up, kicking Klaus off of him. Damon struggled to his feet, smiling in relief as he heard the nail clatter away from the two of them. He placed a hand over his eye as it began healing itself, the disfigured bone twisting and slotting itself back into place as his skin formed a protective web around it.

"Is that all you got?" Damon spat in retaliation as he stared Klaus down through his other eye, wiping the drying blood away from his other one. "I was tortured for five years; you're gonna have to do better than that," he hissed coldly.

He barely gave his vision time to clear properly before he lunged at Klaus again, Klaus catching him before he could do any real damage to him.

"Then it's an extremely good thing I have about a thousand years of tricks up my sleeve to choose from," he chuckled at him, making Damon growl in anger.

Without warning, he was thrown back into the air, his body colliding heavily with a wall, crashing straight through it. Wood splintered everywhere and he laid, dazed, among the splinters, plaster raining down on and around him. He coughed the air back into his lungs, watching Klaus as he walked through the gaping hole in the wall.

"Although, as much as I'd love to draw this out for hours on end," Klaus began as he circled him menacingly, "I couldn't have anyone realising you've been missing for too long," he said with some practicality, and while Damon was glad, he also knew that they were probably too busy running around after Elena to give a damn about where he actually was.

"What a shame," Damon groaned with a roll of his eyes, pushing himself up from the floor, only to find himself pinned against another wall by Klaus' unbreakable grip.

"You could just make it easier on yourself and relax so my witch can do the spell."

Damon scoffed in Klaus' face. "Not likely."

"As I suspected," Klaus said with a faint smile, his eyes glowing amber and filling Damon with a sense of dread, "Which means I'll just have to hit you where it hurts, won't I?" he said, enthralled with where this was going.

There was a searing pain in Damon's neck as Klaus sunk his fangs into him, ripping and tearing at the flesh, blood spurting thickly between the two of them. He felt himself being tossed to the ground, his blood boiling as he felt Klaus' venom rapidly coursing around his body.

"Relax, I'll heal you when this is all over," Klaus promised, Damon unsure of whether to believe him or not, "If you be a good boy and co-operate," he added in a condescending tone.

"Or I could just let myself die," Damon retorted, mustering the strength to sit back up on his knees. He pressed a hand to his neck, feeling the tearing healing under his fingers, but the bite remained prominent.

"True, you could," Klaus acknowledged with a nod, "But then I'll have to use someone else," he pointed out, a dangerous smile playing about his lips. "Maybe your beloved Elena," he said in a slight purr.

Damon glared at him.

"But," Klaus began softly, kneeling down to his eye-level, "She wasn't really yours, was she? Chose Stefan, didn't she?" he said, a mask of pity on his face.

Damon ignored him, swallowing that thought down. Instead, he focused on Klaus' wrist. If he could catch him off-guard...

"Never did think you'd get a fairytale ending," Klaus went on, Damon actually in silent agreement about that, "You're too much like me," he said sympathetically.

"The less favored child, the monster," Klaus listed, then his eyes glimmered, "The second choice," he emphasized, Damon's anger brewing to a dangerous head inside him.

Klaus looked him dead in the eyes. "I bet you were in that storage locker wondering why your brother got the goodbye, weren't you?" he wondered, giving him a nasty grin.

Damon finally snapped, lunging at Klaus and tackling him over. He attempted to sink his fangs into Klaus' wrist, but the hybrid was a step ahead, managing to hold a snarling Damon at bay whilst he fumbled around him.

White-hot pain shot through him as Klaus stabbed a large wood splinter into his neck, causing Damon to become still and fall back onto his knees. Klaus got up, pushing the splinter further into his neck and effectively paralyzing him.

Damon fought to catch his breath as Klaus knelt down beside him, his breath tickling his ear, "And I know some small part of you must want him dead and out of your life," he whispered to him, Damon unable to even speak.

"Luckily for you, I'll be able to help you."

Damon's world was again blanketed in darkness as the sound of his neck snapping echoed around him.

This time when Damon awoke tied to the table, it wasn't the throbbing of the nails that brought him into consciousness, or the sting of the vervain ropes tied around his wrists, it was Klaus' venom burning its way through his bloodstream; killing him slowly from the inside out.

Heat was radiating against his body, and in his hazy vision, Damon could see blurred rings of yellow around him. Sweat was beading down his forehead and as he tried to suck in a breath, he choked around a piece of fabric tied into his mouth. There was no chance of escape this time, it hurt him to move, hurt him to breathe. He was trapped.

"Back with us, I see," Klaus greeted him, Damon struggling to clear his vision and see him.

An involuntary groan was muffled into the fabric as he moved his head to glare at Klaus, and the piece of wood he had stabbed into his neck earlier digging further in and causing wet, thick blood to ooze out of the wound.

Klaus bent down to Damon's eye-level, crossing his arms on the table and resting his chin there. "Guess I forgot about that," he said with a sardonic chuckle, tilting his head to the side, "I'll remove it if you like, you just have to beg me," he said in a darker tone.

All Damon could do was narrow his eyes with as much hatred as he possibly could. Klaus just shot him a wolfish grin, smiling to himself.

"Although I guess the gag doesn't help, does it?"

As soon as the fabric was pulled out of his mouth, Damon spat towards Klaus' face, releasing a torrent of vitriol at him, "The day I beg you for anything will be the day I've lost all sense of myself."

Klaus regarded him in amusement, his response cut off as the candles flared up into tall, burning columns, a loud screech echoing and shaking the room, rumbling the large chandelier above Damon's head.

"Does that mean it's working?" Klaus asked in Mindy's direction, standing up and watching as the candle flames receded to their normal size.

"Whatever you did to him really worked," she said in amazement, nodding her head in approval at him, "Your bite must have done the trick," she added, sounding grateful.

Damon then felt Klaus' hand on his forehead, mentally hitting himself for not shaking him off, but it felt so cool against the burning heat of his body.

"Do you think you could hurry up?" he asked, glancing over at Mindy, "Before Damon expires on us?" he added in a worried tone, Damon just staring up at him, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Mindy responded, "Good thing I'm almost done," she noted.

"What would I have to do?" Klaus asked.

"Once it's been planted, just tell him what you need him to do," she explained, while it made Damon's mind reel. Until what was planted? "And he should do it," she said.

Klaus didn't look pleased, raising his eyebrows in annoyance. "Should?" he repeated, speaking as if the word was burning his tongue.

"Will do it," Mindy corrected herself, a little nervous laugh slipping from her mouth under Klaus' scrutiny. "I swear," she added in a more serious tone, Klaus finally letting up.

Damon swallowed nervously. "What are you doing to me?" he asked in a strained voice, struggling to get the words out.

"Getting inside your head," Klaus said plainly.

Damon's remark was cut short as he lurched upwards, blood painting his chin and lips, dripping down into the collar of his shirt, breaking out into a violent coughing fit as a burning pain seized him from the inside out.

"Mindy, you may want to hurry!" Klaus said as a matter of urgency, "Preferably before the poor thing starts hallucinating," he said in mock sympathy.

"You could heal him," Mindy pointed out.

"Not until I know it's worked," Klaus said indignantly, Mindy rolling her eyes before resuming her chanting.

After a few minutes, Mindy's eyes rolled back into her head and the candles all blew out in a massive gust of wind. Damon cried out as he felt something physically digging into his brain, like a hook latching itself there.

"It's done," Mindy said with a smile.

Damon desperately tried to move, hell, open his mouth to scream, but he couldn't move at all. He was paralyzed. Helpless and unwilling to become whatever Klaus needed him for.

"You haven't killed him, have you?" Klaus asked tentatively, Damon feeling him poking him in the side.

"He's just awaiting your instructions," Mindy reassured him.

There was no further response from Klaus, and Damon suddenly felt something hot and sticky pressing against his lips. He stubbornly tried to move his head away as he felt Klaus' blood pooling into his mouth, struggling and fighting desperately, but Klaus refused to let him escape his grasp.

"Come on, Damon," Klaus urged him softly, Damon finally giving over and letting the blood slide thick and warm down his throat. "There's a good boy," he added in a pleased tone, Damon moaning quietly as his entire body was enveloped in a pleasant warmth.

He breathed out in silent relief as Klaus removed his wrist, his blood staining his lips, but his relief turned to confusion as he felt Klaus' hands on both sides of his head.

"What are you doing?" he wondered, his brows furrowing.

"Re-conditioning your mind," Klaus finally revealed, Damon's eyes widening. "From now on, you'll do what I say," he said in a wicked tone, his eyes glimmering darkly down at him, "And as of right now" –

He leaned down to whisper directly into Damon's ear.

– "I want you to kill everyone Stefan Salvatore holds dear."

His whisper was harsh, echoing in Damon's head repeatedly, over and over until he felt dizzy. He struggled as much as he was able, feeling that 'hook' from earlier digging deeper into his brain. When he finally stilled, his eyes flew open.

If he could see himself, he would see that his eyes had filled with midnight black.