Chapter 15: We must be killers

Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

"Hello, love." he said, parted lips and surprised eyes as if he was just as amazed to see her as she was him.

The sound of his voice shook her out of her momentary chock and made her fight to find her voice. "Klaus." she managed to get out as she continued to stare at him from just a few steps away. "What... What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the very same thing, Caroline." he grinned and took a step towards her, his hands behind his back in his most characteristic posture. "Followed by; how come you didn't inform me of your intended visit to New Orleans beforehand? I could've ensured you received a welcome fit for your standards."

"I..." she said and shook her head as Marcel glanced between them. She tried to figure out what to say, to Klaus, to Marcel… But her thoughts weren't cooperating, she had suddenly turned into a teenager, standing in front of that one crush that refused to leave her mind. And before she knew it, she had closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

Time seemed to halt to a stop at that, even the air around them stood still. She felt him return the embrace and let out the hints of a chuckle in her hair. So many thoughts and memories rushed through her head, as if playing everything back. Of course, she hadn't forgotten any of it… Yet, it was all replaying behind her closed eyelids, from start to now.

She wasn't sure how long they stood that way, holding each other tightly. Both trying to make the moment last a little while longer. Her heart did cartwheels inside her ribcage as she breathed in his familiar scent. But as Klaus drew back and cupped her cheeks and met her eyes with a confused look, she was brought back to earth.

Clearing her throat, she backed away from the hybrid as she remembered a third party within their proximity.

"Marcel, this… This is…" she began but was cut off by a grin from Klaus. "What?" she asked, suddenly feeling flushed.

"I assure you love, there is no need for introductions."

"There isn't?" she asked, trying to piece his words together while looking back at Marcel.

"No, we are quite familiar with each other already." Marcel said as he looked her over with a strange look in his eye. As if she had grown an extra head or two, or as if he hadn't actually looked at her until now and suddenly noticed her existence. "Who are you?" he asked then, making her eyes widen.

"Um…" she began, even though she didn't know what he was asking exactly. "What do you mean?"

He didn't seem to hear her, instead following up with a second question. "Why didn't you tell me you knew each other?"

"Wait… You never told me you knew Klaus either." Caroline said with a nervous chuckle. " You can't seriously be upset with me from not mentioning it in-between drinks at the bar or punches in the ring!?"

"What's that now?" Klaus chimed in, sounding slightly less entertained than earlier.

"You're telling me you couldn't find a single opportunity to let me in on your knowledge of the Mikaelson's?" Marcel asked incredulously. "I'd actually recall quite a few such moments which you could have brought it up."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Klaus asked, the flat tone in his voice making them both turn to him.

"Nothing." Caroline quickly responded and turned back to the younger of the two vampires with a frustrated exhale. "Marcel, could you give us a minute? Please."

He frowned at her and then glanced over at Klaus, giving almost a tiny little bow of his head before disappearing into thin air.

This is bizarre.

Watching the Hybrid study her with a cold face made her weary. She didn't know what to do or say or think at the moment, but she did see the need to explain a thing or two before Klaus' mind ran amok…

"Okay, so… There's a very good explanation for everything. I promise." she said, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips. She suddenly felt like she had been caught with her hand inside the cookie-bowl and didn't quite know where to begin. And by the look of it, neither did he.

He lowered his eyes slightly and turned over his palm in a gesture for her to continue.

"Well…" she said and tried to think of where to start. "I didn't let you know that I was coming here because… I was trying to avoid running into you, nothing personal or anything-"

He let out a snarl as he shook his head in disbelief.

"But I guess you found out I was here anyway-"

"From the moment you stepped foot onto Louisianan soil." he interjected.

She grimaced and nodded slowly. "Of course. Nothing gets past the big bad Hybrid, why would this be any different?"

He stood suddenly a mere inch away from her, an intense color in his eyes as he stared into at hers. His silence spoke volumes, he had taken offense to her trying to shrug off her arrival as something unimportant. As if it meant nothing to him, to her. And of course it meant something, but that wasn't why she had come.

"I'm sorry, Klaus. I'm not here for…" she said and sighed. "You."

He closed his eyes for a moment before meeting her look once more. "Of course not." he said with a cold smile that broke her heart. "Then why are you here, Caroline?"

She gulped hard as she tried to find her words. "I'm trying to keep you out of it."

"Well, why not tell me exactly what is going on and then I may consider staying out of it?"

She sighed audibly and turned away from him, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

"Are you in danger, Caroline?" he then asked, making her wrap her arms around her herself in an attempt to remain strong. "Is that why you are covered in the blood of at least three different vampires?"

"No, no that… That's all Marcel." she said and turned to him. "He had this idea that I was surprisingly strong for my age and wanted to test my limits or something..."

He raised an eyebrow at that, looking distrustful when no further explanation followed. "And he believed the best way to do so was through letting you wreak havoc in his fighting cage?"

She pouted her lips momentarily at his accurate guess. "That and private training lessons. Marcel thinks he can teach me a few things–"

His jaw visibly clenched at her words as his eyes narrowed at her. "Does he now? And why exactly do you need to be taught fighting skills, Caroline? Are you being followed by yet another war of the supernatural races? Perhaps you have yet again found ways of risking your life in order to rescue everyone, with the constant exception of yourself…"

"Klaus..." she sighed, having hoped that they would be able to act civil at least. "If you really thought that then why did you even seek me out in the first place?"

A slight flutter across his face made her squint at him with surprise.

"Wait…" she said, realizing why she hadn't run into him until now, even though he apparently had known that she was here all along. "Were you avoiding me?"

He grimaced slightly and shook his head. "Caroline, love–"

"Wow." she interrupted. "Seriously? I mean that… That just really…" – Hurts, she thought but couldn't bring herself to say aloud. "Well, I guess that answers a question I've been asking myself for the past few years." she muttered to herself.

As Klaus seemed to fidget and suddenly turn uncomfortably, she noticed a familiar face on the other side of the street.

"You know what, Klaus? Maybe I had the right idea from the start, let's just not get in each other's way and I will be gone before you know it." she said and began walking away.

A little part of her was expecting him to stop her or run after her, but when she glanced back over her shoulder, she saw that he had already disappeared.

It made her stomach turn slightly, her throat tightening and her eyes burning. But as she caught up with Josh where he stood with some of his friends, she shook it off.

"Hey, Josh." she said.

"Please tell me you're not here for round two." he said with a friendly grin.

"Only if that round includes tequila." she sighed. "Wanna show me a nice place to forget every bad thing that's ever happened to me?"

He chuckled and nodded towards the other men beside him. "Of course." he said and shrugged. "Who are we to deny a tourist a bit of sight-seeing?"


Four years ago
Dallas, Texas

Caroline didn't sleep a single minute the rest of the night.

Knowing Tyler wouldn't stay dead for long, she had managed to locate a dark and rarely visited boiler room underneath the main building on campus. With some chains and wolfsbane, she'd actually made a pretty good job at detaining the werewolf until he'd awaken again.

But as he began to stir, rattling the chains and throwing himself against the concrete walls of the tiny basement, Caroline started to regret her decision. "Ugh... Ease up, would you? I have a headache." she grunted, earning a wide-eyed stare from Tyler as he noticed her leaning against a pillar.

"Care?" he said and tried to reach for her, flinching as the wolfsbane across the floor burned his bare feet. "Really?"

"Hey, you're the one who bit me!" she exclaimed, making him flinch again.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Care. Really, I swear I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have a choice."

"I think that might actually be the single worst apology I've ever heard."

"Come on, I needed your help. And you're just, what, a two-hour car ride away from a cure? I knew you'd be fine with just a phone call, me on the other hand..."

She glanced over at him, noticing his eyes glued to the chains around his ankles and wrists. "I know." she said. "It's a full moon tomorrow."

"So, awkward seeing him?" he asked, sitting down on the cold floor as he looked over at her.

She only chuckled. "You're just the most wonderful ex-boyfriend a girl could ask for." she said, her voice hoarse as she reached for her phone to ignore another call from Ric. "And I'm late for Econ, so..."

Tyler's chains rattled as he stood up in response to her words. "Wait, you're not leaving me here, are you?"

"I need a moment to think, and you need a time-out." she said with a shrug of her shoulders before opening the heavy door and leaving him behind calling her name.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

The place Josh took Caroline to was very different from the bar she'd met Marcel at. This one had less karaoke and Bourbon – more dancing and colorful cocktails. And she liked it, a lot. She saw a chance to let loose and feel free and forget about all drama for a night, and she was determined to take it.

"Have I told you yet how incredibly grateful I am to you for letting me tag along?" she asked when Josh returned to their booth with two drinks in his hands. Both large and colorful with umbrellas, straws and cherries as garnish.

"Yes, five times already. I think it's time you started showing your gratitude by paying for the drinks instead…" he said with a playful grin before handing her one of the drinks. "Besides, all I did was try and get you on my side, since I'd hate to be your enemy." he shrugged before taking a sip out of his drink.

She giggled at that, finding it ridiculous that anyone would be afraid of making an enemy of her. But on the other hand, she had discovered some kind of power in her that she could use to her advantage. So perhaps he wasn't too far off on that point. "Friends it is, then." she said and winked at him before taking the straw in her mouth.

He chuckled. "You know… my ribs are still sore from that kick."

"Oh, come on! You're definitely all healed up, don't even try to convince me otherwise." she protested and rolled her eyes.

A silent pause fell over them as they exchanged smiles and giggles. It was comfortable, fun and light. Something Caroline hadn't felt in what seemed like a lifetime. After a long moment she started to notice a guy at the bar casting glances over at their table and smiled when she realized what it was about.

"So, the blonde." she said while looking straight at Josh, not giving herself away. "The one in all-black, over at the bar." she explained further before taking another sip at her drink. "He's totally checking you out."

Josh raised his eyebrows. "Is he cute?"

"Hot." she corrected him and wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

He discreetly turned around to look over his shoulder and at the guy she was talking about. After a short moment he turned back around to look at her and sighed. "Okay, yeah. He's hot." he admitted.

"So…?" she said with a giggle.

"So… Are you sure he's not looking at you?" he asked with an unsure smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you own a mirror? You're cute, Josh! Why wouldn't he be looking at you?"

"How can you even tell that he'd be interested in me?" he asked with a sigh.

"You mean; how can I tell you're his type?" She pouted for a moment as she thought it over. "I don't know. I've just always had a good sense about these things. You can trust me on this."

He glanced over his shoulder one more time and quickly turned back to her after having accidentally met the blonde guy's gaze. "Shit… He saw me."

"So, go over there already!" Caroline whispered and slapped his arm.

"And leave you? What kind of friend would do that?" he asked with a dramatic tone.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on! I can entertain myself long enough for you to get his number."

"You sure? I don't really feel great about leaving a girl all by herself in a place like this, even if you've already proven that you can handle yourself well enough."

"I'll go to the bathroom then, the line itself will give you as much time as you need!" she insisted as she realized her phone was ringing. "And I have to take a call anyways."

He grimaced her shortly but nodded. "Okay. I'll be right back!" he promised and walked away as she took her call.

"Enzo, hi."

"You're not at the hotel room nor at that pub. Where are you?"

Caroline grunted at his tone of voice. "I don't know, some nightclub. I made a new friend; his name is Josh."

"How have you already found a new partner for the evening?" Enzo then scoffed amusedly.

"He's gay, Enzo. Calm down."

"Well, I decided to try and track down Lucien. Does this mean you won't be of any help in the matter?"

"Yep."

"And you won't be left alone by this Josh? He'll keep you protected?"

Caroline almost choked on her drink at his words, her blood starting to boil slightly as she took great offends. "Yeah, 'cause women couldn't possibly take care of themselves…" she scoffed. "Why don't we do our separate things tonight, Enzo? I think I need a break from British accents for at least the next few hours."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he huffed, but she got distracted as she saw Josh walk towards her with the blond man by his side.

"Mm, gotta go! Talk tomorrow. Bye!" she quipped and hung up just as she shared a smile with the handsome stranger while Josh introduced them to one another. Deciding that a night out on the town was just what the doctor ordered to cure her sudden woes.

"Another round?" she asked the men, grinning widely as she went to place their orders. A much easier feeling in her chest than before, as she finally managed to push the face of a certain hybrid out of her mind.


Elijah noted his brother's return home by the sound of furniture being torn apart and flung around in one of the grander sitting rooms. As he followed the noises to where Klaus' destructive tantrum was taking place, he sighed and waited for his brother to notice his presence. After a while, Klaus stopped and stood with heaving shoulders as his rage vibrated off of him.

Just as Elijah was about to ask him what this whole ordeal concerned; his brother answered the question beforehand.

"I met Caroline." he said grimly.

Elijah nodded. "Your encounter clearly went well." he said, glancing around at the ruined site before him before Klaus gave him an evil eye. "I suppose you didn't get answers as to why Ms. Forbes has decided to visit New Orleans, then?"

"I wasn't offered the opportunity." Klaus said with a hard look. "Not amidst the revelations of her own little encounters with Marcel."

"Marcel?" Elijah echoed in confusion.

"Yes, apparently they have gotten very familiar with each other."

He studied his brother for a moment, trying to assess his mood and determine whether he would remain a danger to the rest of their belongings in the mansion. "What exactly are you implying, brother?"

With a cold look, Klaus shrugged before he headed to leave, Elijah following behind in bewilderment. "I'm going to visit my former apprentice, if you find him before I do; Do me a favor and dislodge his arms from his body, will you?" he called out before stopping in his steps.

"No need to look for me." Marcel stood by him suddenly, shrugging his shoulders at the fuming look the hybrid was aiming his way.

"So, are you going to tell me about your history with her or should I keep guessing?" Marcel continued then with a teasing look. "I have a few suggestions in mind."

Elijah scoffed softly, sharing the exact same thought himself. But keeping quite as to avoid turning his brother's anger in his direction instead.

"All you need to know is that Caroline Forbes is an old friend of the family. One who shouldn't be bothered by you again." Klaus muttered in response, turning away from the younger vampire as he seemed finished with the conversation for now. However, Marcel was not.

"If you were so close, then how come she never mentioned your name?"

The question made Klaus freeze for a beat, just enough for the older brother to notice. But it flashed quickly by before he glared over at Marcellus again. "How come you didn't let me know once you found out we had new vampires in the Quarter?" he gritted out, turning the tables at him.

"Honestly Klaus, because I didn't feel like it." he responded with a shrug.

"Don't be childish, Marcellus." Klaus scoffed.

"Woah, and now I'm the childish one!? How quickly you forget how you couldn't stand watching me run NOLA my own way, so you had to go running around the world with Elijah on some dead-end missions every other week!"

With that, Klaus was on his feet again and closing the distance with a threatening scowl. "Don't try to change the subject." he hissed. "I sincerely hope that your feelings of negligence aren't the reason you have decided to start keeping secrets from me."

Marcel studied him for a moment before raising a finger to him and squinting his eyes. "Does she know that you're ordering me to stay away from her just so you can have her for yourself? Because that's what this is, right?"

"Marcel." the older Mikaelson muttered, feeling the urge to help spare his life before he took this confrontation a tad too far.

"Come on, Elijah. Don't tell me you aren't dying to hear more about this just as much as I am?"

A glance at his brother was enough to convince him that the subject needed to be put to rest, now. "I believe it is best that you take your leave now, Marcel." he said calmly, as his eyes showed him the gravity of his words.

The vampire looked torn for a moment, perhaps tempted to disobey, but he nodded and made his leave. Disappearing into the night as Klaus grunted something inaudible to himself.

"Niklaus…"

"Goodnight, Elijah." the hybrid chided before walking out, leaving the other Original with new questions of the interesting phenomena that was Caroline Forbes.


Four years ago
Dallas, Texas

Caroline usually had a hard time paying attention during one of Professor Vikram's lectures. But this time the venom in her blood made it feel impossible. The words on the laptop screen seemed to change language as she read them.

"... and when looking at the graph you can see..." the professor's voice echoed around her, the lights hurt to look at and her head pounded like a drum.

She'd been poisoned by werewolf venom before, but this time it seemed to work through her system very slowly. Enough for her to feel every step of it. One by one, her senses began betraying her. And as she tried to refocus on the lecture again, she froze in place.

Because in front of her was no longer Professor Vikram, but instead Julian.

"No." she breathed out, standing so swiftly that her books fell onto the floor around her.

"Yes, Ms. Forbes?"

She closed her eyes tightly for a moment before following the voice back to the lecturer again. Everyone was now staring back at her with amused eyes and snickering whispers. "Did you need to be excused?" the professor asked, pulling her back to him again.

"Yes, please." she said and hurried out of the lecture hall and to the nearest bathroom.

She splashed some water over her face and took a few deep breaths. As she met her own eyes in the mirror, she started to relax. Yes, it was only hallucinations brought on by the venom in her system. But that didn't make them any less… real.

Another deep breath, or forty, later. She felt stable again and returned to the lecture. The rest of the hour passed by with no other incident. But as she was packing her things to leave, someone grabbed her arm.

She turned and stared down at a little girl in blonde pigtails. "Hi." the girl said, a small smile on her face.

"Uhm... Hi." Caroline looked around to see if anyone else was seeing the girl or not, but they were all too occupied with themselves to notice. "Where are your parents?"

The girl giggled then. "Right here, silly." she said and pointed at Caroline. "Don't you recognize me, mommy?"

"What?" Caroline whispered in terror, her breathing getting caught in her throat. She pulled at her arm to try and back away from the girl, but she couldn't get free. "What are you doing?" she said, staring down at the child as her face suddenly became dark and malevolent.

"I'm just showing you." the girl said as Caroline's arm suddenly turned gray and veins crept over her skin.

"What... Showing me what?"

"How it felt to die." the girl said, just as Caroline felt a stab of pain in her gut.

She gripped her stomach with her free hand, a pool of blood suddenly building through her shirt. "No... Stop..." she breathed out as she again pulled at her arm. "Stop... Get away from me!"

Finally managing to spring free, she stumbled backwards and fell down right by the feet of a fellow student. He met her eyes with concern. "Hey, you ok?" he asked, making her fumble to her feet.

Staring back at the girl, Caroline saw nothing. Just her bag on the floor with its contents scattered everywhere. The girl was gone. Or rather, she had never been there in the first place. "Yeah, sorry." she finally managed to say as the young man beside her still waited for an answer. "Just a little dizzy, that's all."

"Maybe you ought to see someone about that." he said, making her nod.

"Yeah, maybe." she said, smiling weakly as he helped her gather her things from the floor. She quickly pushed everything into her bag and hurried out to the hall. Making sure she wasn't being watched or followed as she went to follow his advice.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

As Caroline walked into the fight-club-turned church the next morning, she found Marcel throwing punches at a boxing bag. The movements were skilled, precise and too quick for a human to catch. Even as a vampire herself, she had some trouble following the blur of his arms as his fists hit the bag.

He was bare-chested, and his dark skin glistened in the light that shone through the church's large windows. She cleared her throat after a moment had passed, when he still hadn't acknowledged her being there.

"Hey." she said, guilt creeping into her stomach.

Marcel stopped momentarily to glance over at her, heavy breaths from the workout. With his eyes roaming over her exposed legs for a few passing seconds he stayed quiet, then tore his gaze away from her and resumed boxing again – albeit, a little more aggressively now but not quite as blurry as before.

She bit down on her lip roughly in nervousness and walked slowly past the training equipment alongside the path that led to his corner. Letting her hand run over a weight-stand as she spoke. "You can imagine how awkward it was when I realized I had no way of actually contacting you since I never really got your number. I even considered checking your apartment but since you blurted us over there so quickly, and since I whooshed away just the same, I barely remembered my way to it… And then I thought of trying Rousseau's but I kinda didn't want to have to wait until tonight to clear things up."

He stopped punching and walked to a bench nearby, taking a sip from a water bottle with his eyes studying her. "So, you came here." he noted between sips, the charisma usually heard in his voice was nowhere to be found. He sounded cold, guarded and sarcastic. It brought a nervous shiver down her spine while reminding her of someone else who's mood had a way of changing like the weather…

"You know…" she said, feeling the need to break the silence between them while she also felt uncomfortable looking at him all of a sudden. "I have no idea how I didn't catch the identical characteristics between you two earlier."

"He told you then." he said, less of a question than might have been intended. He turned his back to her to put the water bottle down and dab his face and neck with a towel.

"I made a calculated guess, actually." she huffed and looked up at him just in time to watch him glance over at her with a ghost of an amused smile on his lips. "So, I suppose he turned you? Maybe even trained you to be a vampire and all of that… Hence the scary-similar behaviors you two seem to share."

He looked away from her for a very long moment before turning back around with his arms crossed over his chest. "You said you wanted to clear things up."

She pouted lightly as that seemed to be the end of that subject and shrugged. "Yeah." she nodded and took a few steps over to him, still quite the distance between them. She began rambling as she tried to find a way of explaining what she wanted to convey to him… Even as she remained unsure of just what that was. "I didn't know you knew him… Klaus. And I also didn't know there was the whole history thing between you. And honestly, you really can't stand there and just force all of this guilt on me as if I lied to any of you since I highly doubt Klaus has mentioned me before and he never talked about you so– "

"He did." he suddenly cut her off.

"What?" she asked in pure confusion as his expression was reserved and impersonal, in contrast to the charming affection he seemed to usually have. Mr. Charismatic…

"He did mention you." he said with a slight shrug before turning away once more to grab a blood bag from a cooler next to the water bottle. The sight brought a scratching sensation to her throat and he seemed to notice, giving her an unsure glance and then deciding to put the blood bag away. "Or not you directly but he talked about Mystic Falls in an… odd way. This small little town where nothing really happened… I've known Klaus for a very long time, and I could tell there was something he left behind in that tiny hole in Virginia that he seemed to consciously keep from talking about. Had you bothered mentioning that that was where you came from…"

She cut him off this time, surprised by the sting of insult she felt at the tone he used to describe her hometown. "Well… We weren't exactly swapping childhood stories, now were we?" she scoffed and crossed her arms in a defensive gesture.

With a whoosh he was suddenly standing right in front of her and looked down at her face with spinning wheels behind his eyes. "I suppose we weren't." he said and raised his chin slightly.

"See. That right there! That's something he does too." she sneered and momentarily looked away from his glare.

He raised his eyebrows. "What exactly am I doing?" he asked, a sultry tone sneaking its way into his question as he couldn't seem to be able to fight his charismatic nature for far too long.

She rolled her eyes. "The whole standing-tall thing. Making you seem like there's ten feet of a height difference between us."

"Hmm…" he said with his eyes studying her face for a moment. "Well, he was my mentor after all. I guess one could say I learned almost everything I know from him."

"Almost?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, she couldn't help the curiosity.

A smirk spread across his lips at her newfound attention. "You know, there are some tricks I could teach you that I happen to have learned on my own. If you're still interested…"

"You mean the training?" she asked, feeling like she needed to remind him of their agreement in hopes of cooling off the innuendos in his question. "I thought the deal was off when you decided to disappear the other night."

"You asked for time alone with Klaus Mikaelson. Who am I to deny such a request?" he mocked with a sarcastic chuckle and turned away from her to start walking towards the ring.

She studied him as he walked into the cage and then turned to her with a waiting smile. "So, you still want to train me?" she asked incredulously.

"If you insist on involving yourself with the Mikaelson's, hence gaining all of the new enemies that comes even from simply knowing that family…" he said with an exasperated sigh. "Then you'll need all the strength you can possibly muster up. I could give you some pointers on finding a way to harness that little trigger point of yours, help you control the unusual power you seem to have stumbled upon."

For a moment, she wondered whether or not this was still a good idea. Then she cursed herself for having forgotten to update Enzo on all of it, he would probably be overjoyed at hearing that she finally talked with the Original Hybrid…

She remembered her reasoning for coming up with this deal in the first place and it still felt very relevant. They might need Marcel's help and if he could teach her to get a grip on that scary dark side that she still couldn't explain… Then; win-win.

"Which deal are you agreeing to, by the way?" she asked, cocking her head to the side, making her hair bounce over her shoulder.

"A new one." he smiled at her as she started walking towards the cage. "I train you every other day for an hour and you only get to ask me for whatever information you want during that time." he said with a shrug and smirked widely at her for a moment. "If you can get a word in between punches, that is."

She walked up on the platform with her arms still crossed over her chest. "What about the condition I brought up last night?" she asked.

"Ah, yes… The platonic pledge." he chuckled and finally gave her his real charismatic smile and warm look. "I'm not sure I have a choice in the matter now that Klaus all but marked his territory when it comes to you."

His words made her flinch slightly, enough for him to notice though. "You talked to him?"

He studied her silently for a long moment before nodding. "Yeah. Talked…" he muttered.

She scoffed at that and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, that Original pain-in-the-ass…" she muttered, making him raise a curious eyebrow at her. "Let's just not talk about Klaus anymore." she sighed and clasped her hands together.

"How about this…" Marcel began with a chuckle. "If by the end of all these training sessions you still won't agree to a date with me – then we are even."

"Really?" she asked incredulously. "So, you'll agree to helping me train and give me information about Lucien, what, no strings attached?"

"Of course, Caroline. I'm not the kind of man to run after women with seemingly no interest in my affections. But if there is a chance however that you change your mind simply by giving me some time… Then I will be sure to give Klaus a run for his money."

"I'm telling you… Klaus and I-" she stopped herself with a sigh as she met his exasperated look. "Fine." she then said. "But to be completely fair, I can guarantee that my mind won't be changed just because we throw punches around a few times."

"I'll take my chances." he said with a dark smirk which made her shiver slightly.

"Alright, it's a deal!" she smiled widely, earning a genuine laugh from him.

"Deal." he said and extended his hand to her.

She bit her lip in suspicion for a moment but finally took his hand to shake it.

Only, it was a trap and he used it to pull her closely against himself with a single tug at her arm. She let out a small gasp at suddenly being pressed up against his muscular chest. He bore his eyes into hers for a long moment, an arm tightly wrapped around her waist to keep her in place.

"First lesson," he said with a husky voice and eyes wandering to her lips. The hand that had held onto hers suddenly flashed over her back for a mere blink of an eye. Then he was holding it up to show her that he had successfully taken her phone out of the bag hanging across her shoulder without her noticing.

"Never let your guard down." he said with a smirk and stepped away from her, putting her phone in his back pocket. "Your turn." he challenged with his hands resting on either side of his hips.

She shook her head slightly to focus on the task instead of wondering whether she should scold him for kind of already breaking the platonic pledge. Instead, she settled for putting her purse away and giving this exercise a try.

Then she caught sight of some glimpse in Marcel's eyes as he waited for her move. She smiled deviously and raised her hands to slowly undo the single button on her thin, white lace cardigan. Then she took it off and turned away from him, noticing his sharp breath as she revealed the deep v-cut open back on the short, thin romper she wore. Round spaghetti-straps rested solely on her shoulders and as she turned back around after having put her cardigan away, he drew in another breath at the subtle signs that she wasn't wearing a bra under the halter neck.

She sped up to him to stand merely an inch away from his face. Her eyes studying his very closely, catching every flame that flashed over his dark irises as her hands hovered over his abdomen. But instead of touching him, she sneaked her hands behind him in a blur, getting the phone and pulling it back to her. His hand suddenly caught her wrist before she could store the phone away.

"Impressive." he said with a smooth voice, but his eyes showed that he had been far more affected by her distraction act than he wanted to give away. "But I highly doubt that's a trick you can pull on a werewolf that's determined to rip your throat out with their teeth."

She tugged at her hand and he finally let it go from his grip. "What should I do in that case then?" she asked with a sigh.

He licked his lip shortly and then stepped far away from her, putting as much distance between them as he could manage in the cage. "Jump me and I'll show you." he said, barely holding back his smirk.

She rolled her eyes and decided to stow her phone away next to her cardigan. Turning back around she met his gaze and realized she had unintentionally given him quite the view of her bare back once more. She gulped and tried to think of something short of a cold shower to get him to focus. Deciding to try and simply follow his instructions, she took a step back to gain a take-off before whooshing over to him.

As she'd done what he'd asked and jumped up to attack him, he suddenly caught her waist with his hands while she was still in the air. He then spun around with her until he had her back pinned against the fence. She let out a small grunt at the impact and disorienting spin before looking up to see his wide grin.

"I forget how old you are." she huffed.

His grin widened at that and she saw his thought written all over his eyes; coming from the girl who's friends with a thousand-year-old hybrid.

Letting go of her waist, his hands brushed over her arms for a moment before he backed away from her. Leaving trails of warmth from his body heat across her skin.

"What you should have done is try and catch me off-guard." he began instructing, suddenly all professional. "If you're coming straight at me, I'll be able to see where you're headed and prepare myself to dodge the hit."

"Surprise… Right." she nodded as she took a step away from the fence and towards him, ready to try again.

"If your opponent is too fast for you, well… You seem to be good at reading people, try to foresee their moves instead of actually seeing them."

"Because reading people makes you psychic…" she snickered.

A warm smile spread across his lips as he studied her with his head tilted to the side. "I saw what you can do when you let your instincts take over, Caroline." he reminded her. "Try not to strategize too much. Let it come naturally."

After taking a deep breath, she launched herself at him once more. Except right before she did what he thought she'd do; jump him straight away, she instead ran around him and threw her arms tightly around his neck from behind. Her legs wrapped around his torso and clasped across his pelvis as she held herself to him. "Like that?" she smiled, her lips much too close to his ear than she had intended.

His hands reached down to brush over her legs for a moment, making her stiffen under his touch. "Definitely like that." he purred before suddenly spreading her legs, so he could slip out of her grip. Using her surprise to grab onto her arms and ducking to throw her past his head and down onto the ground before him.

Letting out a loud grunt from the hit, she stayed down on the ground for a long moment. "Did you just steal my move?" she breathed out, remembering having done something similar the night before when faced with his vampires.

He stepped around her to extend a hand. "That's part of lesson number two; be prepared for anything. Including your own moves possibly being used against you."

She took his hand and was helped up on her feet. "So, predicting moves, reading people, catching them off-guard… Always be prepared. Got it." she sighed and put her hands on her hips. "I should learn some new moves then, huh?" she huffed, straightening out her romper with the realization that she wasn't wearing the best outfit for this kind of training session. At least she was wearing flats…

"Don't worry, you can borrow some from me." he smirked slyly at her, reminding her of just how charismatic he could be.


Four years ago
Dallas, Texas

"I knew you'd be back, Care." Tyler said, a relieved grin on his face. "I really am sorry about everything, but I'm so glad you got around to forgiving me."

She stared at him sideways as her head began spinning again. "Care? The chains?" he said, looking at her expectantly.

"You bit me." she said silently.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. But you barely even experienced any side-effects at all. Right?" he said and sighed. "You know you could've at least left my phone here or something..."

Something in her eyes must have tipped him off, because suddenly his face paled in understanding. "You didn't call him." he said. "You're still infected."

"How could you do that, Tyler?" she asked, staring at him with dark eyes.

"I thought you'd call him, I didn't think you'd let yourself get sick like this."

She winced at that, an ugly feeling growing in her stomach as she studied her friend slowly. "You wanted me to call him. That's why you came."

"What?"

"You wanted to bite me. You had to, didn't you? Because you needed to draw him out. You wanted to use me to get him here... Either he'd let me die or he'd help you, right? You never needed Ric's blood. All you needed, was Klaus."

"Caroline, this is the venom talking…"

"Yeah, you needed him for something. What, Tyler?" she asked, pacing back and forth as she thought it over. "You're a werewolf now, you wanted help with the transition..." she stopped as realization dawned on her. "You wanted him to make you a hybrid again."

He stared at her with a cold look, his lips a thin line and his body still. "Care..." he said carefully just as she continued.

"But you know you need Elena to turn, so how can Klaus help?"

"Listen, Caroline..."

"Or, maybe he knows something. Another way around the doppelganger blood thing... Is that why you didn't just go after Damon instead? Or Stefan for that matter?"

Suddenly, a light turned on as she realized something else. "He's in on this too, isn't he?"

"Who?"

"Stefan!" she exclaimed. "You're working together to go after Julian. Oh, I should have seen this coming... You played it so well... Both of you really!"

"Caroline, please. Listen to me." Tyler pleaded, his palms raised as he neared her slowly. "You're sick. You need help. Let me out of here and I will call Klaus myself-"

"In exchange for what, huh!?" she said, chuckling darkly. "Oh, I know… You only want to use me as a piece in this little game of yours. You and Stefan; the exes from hell."

"Caroline, please don't do this."

"Me!? You did this Tyler!" she roared out, glaring over at his face with a venomous smile. "I don't know what I ever saw in you. I should have known the kind of person you really are. Who you always have been; a spoiled little brat who refuses to take responsibility for his actions and blames everyone but himself for all the bad in his life..."

Those words seemed to hit him hard, his face flashed with something painful and long hidden before it hardened again. But she refused to stay and hear his sorry excuses, his half-sincere apologies, and equally half-assed explanations.

"Don't go anywhere." she scoffed before turning away and leaving him again. Not stopping until she reached the infirmary in the other end of the campus.

She broke in, moving swiftly before anyone could see her. Searching the room and smiling as she found the little cooler with blood bags. Digging into them right away and drinking them dry. Sighing as the dropped the last empty bag on the floor, she still felt an aching hunger for more. Luckily, she knew exactly where to sate it.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

After having learned a few new punches from Marcel, Caroline was now trying them out as he also showed how to dodge them. After a while she remembered that their deal had included her having access to any information she wanted. So, between trying the punches and dodging his; she asked questions.

She asked how the murders were so properly covered up and he told her he'd ensured it personally. They had wanted to avoid the locals worrying about their peace with the vampires becoming compromised. This while also making sure tourists wouldn't get scared off; since apparently that would mean no more food for the vamps.

It was a deal that made a lot of sense to her ears; the vampires only fed off of tourists and made sure to not leave bodies behind to scare anyone off. That meant less causalities and clearly some cooperation with the town's people. Which explained how the humans seemed so aware and yet fine with the supernatural beings lurking around in the shadows.

As she was just about to ask him more about Lucien in particular, he cut her off before she'd even opened her mouth.

"Try a spin-kick." he said with a smirk.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "What am I, karate kid?"

"Just try it." he chuckled.

"Fine." she said and began trying to estimate just how high she'd need to kick.

"Don't forget to keep your hands up." he reminded her.

"Right." she muttered and raised her fists to her face. Then she spun around her axis, letting her right leg fly up to hit his face. He caught it in the air right before it reached his shoulder, as she'd miscalculated the height.

"Too low." he said, his thumb massaging a circle on her ankle before letting go. She couldn't deny that it had almost elicited a silent moan from her, his hands were skilled after all. "Try again." he told her and made a 'come on' gesture with his hands.

This time she decided to channel her inner athlete. Taking a breath, she then spun around in a blur and her leg flew higher than before. Her foot was about to hit his face this time but he suddenly ducked. The force of the kick made it difficult for her to stop from spinning further around, and her back then turned against him.

He then grabbed her shoulder, one arm wrapping around her waist as he trapped her between the cage fence and his own body.

She let out a short gasp. "That's cheating."

"Well, to be honest. I wasn't expecting you to go so high." he chuckled, and she saw him lick his lips in the corner of her eye. "Gymnastics?" he asked, his gaze traveling down over her bare back.

"Cheerleading." she corrected him with pride and looked straight ahead.

He let out another chuckle. "Now that's a favorable image." he murmured into her hair.

Usually, after he'd gotten her pinned against the fence, he'd let her go and they'd attempt a new move. But this time he didn't let go of her and for a moment they stood like that, their breaths the only sound in the church. She felt a tension slowly wrapping around them and turned her head to the side to study him through the corner of her eye.

She gulped when she realized she was trapped and if he were to actually make a move, she'd be helpless. Pressing her lips together in a straight line she tried to brace herself for whatever could come next, desperately trying to figure out how she could possibly get away from him when they'd already proved that he was much stronger and faster than her.

A panic started rising in her chest, making her heart race, and she realized it was probably giving him the wrong idea. The hand that was still holding her shoulder loosened but his touch remained. His index-finger slowly brushed its way down her back and up her spine, all the way up under her hair and to her neck. She tensed up for a moment which made him immediately stop with his movements. But then a thought crossed her mind and she fell into that old habit of hers; playing the pretty blonde distraction.

She leaned back a little to his chest, which gave her a little more room between herself and the fence. It wasn't enough to slide away from him though, so she leaned back a little more, a hint he read into the way she'd expected.

He lowered his head, moving it closer to the side of her neck so that his lips were almost grazing her skin. As his breath tickled the skin over her collarbone, the thought crossed her mind that he could either kiss her or bite her. And at this point she wasn't sure which one she was more afraid of. But then she leaned back even further and finally she had enough room in front of her to spin her way out of his arm. She managed to surprise him and took the opportunity to switch their position and have him pinned against the fence the way she'd been just now.

Chuckling, he glanced over his shoulder to give her an impressed smile. "Well, aren't you a sneaky one?" he said charmingly.

She bit her lip nervously, hoping he wouldn't decide to prove just how easy it would be for him to change their position again and get the upper hand once more.

Thankfully, the church doors opened, and someone stepped in, disturbing the tension that she fought to keep from thickening.

"Well, this is certainly an interesting view." said a murky accented voice, making Caroline immediately let go of Marcel.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked as she spun around to face Enzo.

He walked towards the cage with a hand brushing some training equipment, mimicking her own movements from earlier. "I thought we'd go for lunch," he began and smirked. "So, I used the fancy little tracing mechanism on your mobile. Led me here to..." he circled his hand in the air to gesture to their environment. "Whatever this is."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what, you're spying on me now?" she huffed.

He rolled his eyes. "Come now, gorgeous… Don't be like that. I'm merely looking out for you." he smirked at her.

"Gorgeous?" Marcel echoed behind her, making her spin around with a grimace.

"Yeah, uhm… You know, the British and their pet names!" she shrugged and waved her hand to discard the suspicion in his voice.

He raised an eyebrow to match the crossed arms over his chest. "Right." he said. "Speaking from experience, then?"

"Enzo is just a friend." she assured him and sighed. "Not that it matters, he's not even my type."

Marcel's interest was suddenly peeked, another eyebrow raised, and an amused smile tugged at his lips. "Oh, really? And what exactly is your type, Caroline?"

"Well…" Enzo chimed in. "I'd say you fit the profile, mate."

Caroline snapped her neck back to glare at him.

"What?" he asked with fake innocence in his voice. "It's the truth! He reminds me an awful lot of Tyler, to be honest…" he said and smirked at her. "Although, I'm guessing he's missing a few crucial traits."

She fought the urge to slap that arrogant smirk off his face and exhaled deeply. "And what would those be, Enzo?" she said, the strain in her voice giving up just how much she despised this conversation topic. "Since you seem to be such an expert on the subject and all." she mocked and showed him a venomous grin.

"We've already been through this, ages ago, sweetheart; Well-traveled, dodgy morals and of course; the infamous accent." he smirked.

She gaped at him in chock for a long moment and he played on fake innocence with a dramatic shrug.

"What? I didn't even mention the werewolf part!" he exclaimed teasingly with a large grin.

"Well, this has been fun and all…" Marcel sighed. "But I better get back to running the city." She studied him as he walked past her and out of the cage.

"Marcel…" she said carefully, unsure of what she wanted to say but aware of the sudden urge to explain herself to him. She dreaded Klaus' reaction if he found out that she hadn't come alone to New Orleans. If he didn't already know …

"Don't bother locking up after yourselves." Marcel said while he picked up his things from the bench near the punching bag he'd used earlier, pulling a duffle bag over his shoulder. Then he looked at Caroline and bit his lower lip shortly. "Until next time, Caroline." he said with a short smirk before heading out the door. Passing Enzo with a reciprocated, acknowledging nod before exiting the church in human speed.

She swallowed hard as the door closed behind him, waiting until she guessed he was out of hearing range before breaking the silence. "You do realize he was possibly our only chance at getting to Lucien. Right?" she hissed at Enzo.

He scoffed at her. "Please… I have an impeccable hearing, Caroline. Don't think I missed what was going on between you two right before I walked in here."

"Nothing was going on!" she sighed in desperation. "He showed me some moves, that's all."

"Oh, I'm sure he did." he said with a raised eyebrow.

She gasped. "Seriously!?"

"Don't try to deny it, sweetheart. You'd just be wasting precious time."

"If you think I'm going to lunch with you while you're being all rude, smug and obnoxious like you are now; then you're insane." she huffed and began collecting her own things.

"Perhaps. But it would also make me practical. We have a plan to enforce, remember?" he said with a grin. "Or did Marcel's charms and physique conveniently wipe that from your memory?"

She stared daggers into his skull at that. "You're such a jerk." she bit out between her teeth. "Remind me of why I let you tag along on this mission in the first place?"

"Because I'm a delightful traveling companion." he teased.

"Right." she snickered and rolled her eyes while putting her cardigan back on.

"I've managed to locate the property which Damon wanted us to scope out." he said while studying her movements.

"So, I'm guessing our lunch date is actually a spying mission then?" she grinned at him sarcastically.

He smirked at her. "Date, gorgeous?" he chuckled.

She let out an irritated grunt and passed him on her way towards the exit. "Let's just go!" she muttered before opening the doors and stepping out to the sunny and crowded square outside of the church. She found the nice weather to lighten her mood slightly, but it didn't quite erase the irritation Enzo had caused.

Either way, she was determined to enjoy the nice day out and held her head high as she followed Enzo's lead.


Four years ago
Dallas, Texas

Caroline had emptied the nearest clinic off all their blood supply in a blur. Running through the city in an attempt to tire herself out as she felt like she was going to explode. Nothing seemed to calm her, not even the blood. And so she raced to a liquor store, swiped the first bottle she found and quickly left for campus again. Finding her way down to the basement once more and to the temporary prison of Tyler Lockwood that was the university's broiler room.

They were still hours away from the sun setting and the full moon rising, and yet she could already hear the subtle cracks and changes in the werewolf's bones from the other side of the room. It took a while before he noticed her, his body stiffened, and his head jerked her way. Revealing hints of the amber behind his eyes.

"Caroline?" his voice was raspy and out of breath as he watched her from his corner of the room. "You're back." he whispered as he tugged at the chains with his wrists and ankles. "These won't hold me, Care. You know that."

"I know." she shrugged, sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor with her knees propped up against her chest. She opened the bottle in her hands and took a long gulp, wincing at the taste lightly. Wishing she had checked the label beforehand, since she now discovered that it was vodka. Not whiskey – which she had aimed for.

"Why haven't you called him yet?" the question brought a cold chuckle from her lips.

She leaned her head back against the concrete wall with a sigh. "I probably should." she admitted quietly, nursing the liquor between her hands. It may not taste very good, but it still helped with dulling the strange ache in her veins.

"What happened to you?" he asked as his eyes took her in, they were pained and filled with remorse. Undoubtedly noticing the wound visible on her shoulder as dark veins crawled down her arm.

"You happened." she replied dryly, the answer interestingly enough working in several ways. "Do you realize how I felt when you left?"

"What?"

"You heard me." she sneered at him then. "You chose your hatred, your revenge, over me. Just like Stefan chose saving his brother over being by my side... Just like everyone I've ever known has chosen Elena instead of me."

The loud sound of glass breaking informed her that she had gripped the bottle too tightly. Liquid spreading over the floor as splinters of glass dug into her palm. She turned her hand over and studied the tiny cuts as they slowly healed around the bits of glass. With her other hand, she pressed the pieces further into her skin and drew more blood. The feeling stung, but somehow it helped clear her mind enough for her to remember what she had been talking about.

"You ruined me, Tyler." she explained, looking up at him with a hard smile. "I would have given anything, done anything, to be with you forever. But I wasn't enough for you. And that… broke my soul."

"Is that why you refuse to call Klaus? You want to punish me?" he asked dryly, drawing out another cold chuckle from her lips.

"No, Tyler. This has actually nothing to do with you, believe it or not." she retorted. "It stopped being about you ages ago."

"Then why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Because…" she began but realized he wouldn't be able to understand. Instead she shook her head again and let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Caroline, you're dying."

"I know."

"Let me help you, give me your phone and I'll call him myself and-"

"No." she spat out. "You don't get to help me. You don't get to use me for whatever revenge plan you have in mind this time around."

"That's not what-" he began but she silenced him with her raised hand as her phone started ringing in her pocket. When she looked it over, the call had been disconnected.

She waited until a small notification told her of a new voicemail, pressing the button quickly then as she played it. "Hello, Caroline. I'm sorry to call you, but we need your help. Please, meet with me at the Botanical Gardens within an hour. If not, I fear we are all in danger."

Valerie's voice was no pleasant surprise, but Caroline couldn't find it in her to ignore the panic in her tone. "I have to go." she said as she turned to the door but was stopped as Tyler called out to her.

"Wait, Care! You're a danger to everyone around you! You can't wait much longer for the cure, if you don't call him soon you'll-"

"Die." she finished, turning back at him with a shrug.

"Caroline, you can't do this. You can't-"

"Goodbye, Tyler." she said, leaving him with wide eyes and an awful frown. Flashing away before he could protest any further.


"It's time."

Valerie rested a hand on Stefan's shoulder to gain his attention, his eyes finally meeting hers with a short nod.

"Let's get this over with..." he muttered and moved away from her hand, leaning over the table and staring at the ingredients in front of him. "How do we start?"

Sighing internally, she knew Stefan would never forgive himself for sacrificing a human life in order to complete the spell. But now, when everything was in it's place and the risk become more and more urgent: he seemed unable to argue the decision any further.

She glanced over to the Original on the other side of the room, leaning by the door and toying with something in his hand that looked like a pebble. His eyes looked distracted and completely disinterested and it made Valerie uncomfortable… It was clear to her that their safety was of no concern to the vampire, merely a means to and end. But for them, it all hung in the balance of this night. This spell. They only had one shot. If the Original couldn't help them go through with everything tonight, Julian would be just around the corner waiting for them.

"Give me your hand." she instructed Stefan and waited patiently for him to follow. Holding his palm up, she grabbed a knife and carved the symbol of conection into his skin. "Sav Omna Taurus Emanu." she chanted as blood dripped from the wound. Then she pushed his palm against his chest, just above his heart and continued the chant. "Enamuste. Amnis Emundos. Amnis Tarus. Amnis folates."

Stefan let out a groan as the spell began to take effect, his face strained and his eyes lighting up in pain. "Enamuste. Enamuste omnus. Amnis revisa. Amnis tranquela. Amnis fei!"

And just as the chant ended, Valerie saw him. The last doppelganger of Stefan's line. He was riding on a horse, the sun setting behind him. She saw flashes of his surroundings. Buildings. Lakes. And finally, road signs. But just as the vision ended, something else showed up.

It was only for a second, and it passed too quickly for her to understand what she was seeing. But one face was prominent: Caroline.

She dropped Stefan's hand and stepped back for a moment as she pieced it all together. "It worked." she said.

"Where?" Elijah spoke up, finally looking towards them now.

"A ranch outside of Fayetteville, Arkansas."

"Very well, I'll arrange for a flight and we'll return before the moon is at its apex."

"We?" Valerie echoed, watching as the men shared a glance shortly. Studying Stefan with a frown. "You're leaving too?"

"No, I'm certain he will need to remain here for the finishing touches of your spell." Elijah answered in his place. "I'm traveling with my brother."

Valerie met Stefan's frown with wide eyes, realizing he must've known about this all along. "Brother?"

"I thought he'd already left." he said with a strange look in his eyes before turning away from her.

"Yes, well. He didn't go very far." the Original corrected. "There's a full moon tonight after all."

"I'm not sure I follow."

Finally, Stefan looked to Valerie again with a sigh. "Klaus. The Original Hybrid."

Something fell into place in Valerie's mind at the mention of that name... "Nik-laus." she spelled out for herself, realizing this wasn't the first time she'd heard the name. And it only brought her to further worry about the images in her head… Caroline.

"Before I leave here, I would appreciate you standing by your part of the bargain as well." Elijah told her then, bringing her out of her mind at that.

"Right, yes. Of course. As soon as we are covered from Julian's magic we can help locate the Strix witches safely."

"I'm afraid that won't be enough, dear Ms. Tulle." he said then, his voice cool and calm but his eyes threatening with danger. "Give me something as a show of good faith, and I will make sure to retrieve the heart of the last doppelganger for you in return."

"That wasn't the deal…" she began to protest as he snickered in defense.

"I have already done far more for your cause than you have mine."

She gulped slightly, pressing her lips together firmly before nodding in response. Walking over to the table, she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a few addresses. "I know of six Strix witches in hiding, these are the addresses for three of them." she explained, handing the paper to him then. "You will have the rest when the spell is done."

He accepted the short list with a tiny smirk. "Much obliged." he chimed before flashing out of the motel with a gust of wind.