Chapter 22: Part 2 — Build-A-Boyfriend Workshop
Author's note: Bonus update! I was off work this week, so I had some extra time to get in more writing than normal. I've had a lot of requests to do a follow-up to Chapter 12 in this series, and I finally got around to writing one. In this sequel, Caroline learns how Klaus and his brothers were banished into a hell dimension and is faced with a moral decision pitting her friendship against her heart, with unexpected results. Special thanks to the brilliant klaroline1920, who was a fantastic resource for the computer engineering aspects of this work. Thank you for putting up with my asinine questions hampered by a woefully impractical literary background!
Also, thanks to ssklarolinewrites for advice regarding structure for a more impactful tone. You're the best!
Warning: Bring on the smut!
"Reality, however utopian, is something from which people feel the need of taking pretty frequent holidays."
— Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Three months ago.
The wall of tortured souls was Klaus' prison. Poison-tipped daggers pierced his body, holding his desiccated limbs in place. Demonic whispers in his head promised that eventually his broken body would be tossed into the pit, a terrifying dark chasm where only the most wretched beings were punished. He had marked more than a thousand years on earth as an immortal hybrid, both vampire and werewolf, and he and his brothers, Finn, Kol and Elijah, wrought centuries of death and destruction upon the land. As punishment for violating the natural order, their mother, Esther, used her powerful witchcraft to banish them to this hell dimension of blazing flame and infinite despair. The searing fire that scalded his tattered skin and the agonizing bites of the demonic creatures that ripped into his flesh formed the past few years he spent in this horrific dimension.
Klaus fought against his captors with every ounce of supernatural force he could muster, but he was rendered powerless in this endless cycle of torture and lost all hope of escaping. Without warning, a deep fissure appeared within the jagged rocks that composed the wall of tortured souls. Flexing his weakened limbs, he was stunned to feel a raw surge of energy invigorate his broken spirit and he was able to free himself from his invisible bonds.
Before he could begin the arduous task of searching for his brothers, a swirling vortex opened at his back, enveloping him in a blinding white light that pulled him out of his prison.
Present day.
Klaus anxiously paced the length of the void, a curious blank space he had determined over time had been created by a stunning combination of Caroline's brilliance and complicated circuitry. Just now, he had lost control with Caroline; his bloodlust had taken over and he savagely attacked the woman he had grown to care for these past few months. He snarled in anger as he realized that the terrified look upon her beautiful face meant that he would never see her again.
With a heavy heart, he recalled the day he met her, when the mysterious portal had opened and whisked him away from the hell dimension and pulled him into this artificial world she had created.
He was standing in a white room, devoid of objects or sound. The walls were bathed in soft light, and as he reached out his hands to tentatively touch the blank surfaces, he was astounded to see that all of the flesh that had been burned off by flames or torn away by his demonic captors had regenerated the instant he was delivered from his torment. He felt an aching thirst as he realized that he hadn't drank blood during those several years that were stolen from him in that dark place.
Klaus tensed, his hybrid senses alerting him to another presence. He planned to drink his fill and somehow find a way to escape from this peculiar place and free his brothers as well. He swiftly turned around to be confronted by the brightest, most inquisitive pair of blue eyes he had ever seen.
She studied him critically, a bold frankness about her that both galled and intrigued him. She nodded as though satisfied, and introduced herself in a confident, no-nonsense voice. "I'm Caroline. You must be Kyle." Walking around him in a small circle, she added with a bit of a catch to her voice, "Your stunning form is rendered even more perfectly than I thought I programmed." Brushing a curl behind her ear she mused, "The neural network is such a beautiful expression of biologically-inspired programming."
Amused at the blush that crept up her ivory neck, he grasped her hand and unexpectedly kissed the soft skin of her palm, savoring her sweet fragrance reminiscent of warm honey with a touch of vanilla. "Actually sweetheart, my name is Klaus." He pulled her close, the flutter of her heart as her pulse began to race making it difficult for him to stifle his predatory urges. He refused to allow his fangs to drop until he knew more about the intriguing creature before him.
Caroline frowned, consulting an iPad that she voice-activated to appear in her hand. "Alright, I'll call you Klaus, then. I'm concerned that your construct is deviating from my program code. I suppose it's possible that the programming languages I spliced with your AI software are missing a specific syntax or isn't using memory efficiently. I'll have to look into that after I stop this beta test simulation."
As Klaus watched the beautiful blonde mutter to herself about complex scientific and mathematical concepts that he didn't fully understand, he observed that she was under the impression that he was some sort of computer simulation that she had created. She didn't realize that he was real.
Klaus sighed, running his fingers through his curls in frustration. From that day forward, he had sought to learn everything he could about his unusual situation and the amazing woman that was unknowingly responsible for his salvation. Now that she had an inkling of the truth, he desperately needed to explain himself, to somehow earn back her trust and her heart.
He stiffened when he suddenly smelled the honey and vanilla that clung to her lovely skin. She appeared before him, nervously biting her pale pink lips. "So. You're real." With a self-deprecating laugh she added, "Not something I concocted because I was sad and lonely."
"Yes, I'm very real, love," he began haltingly, hating the uncertainty in his voice. "And I sincerely apologize for not controlling my hunger. I often forget myself with you and it challenges my restraint."
Caroline's blue eyes eyed him critically, reminding him of their first meeting. "Your hunger, right. So what are you? And am I safe for the moment or are you fixating on me like I'm a bag of Doritos? Speaking of which, if you've been you since we met three months ago, how have you been eating?"
Klaus bit back an indulgent smile as he noted the typical nervous way she blurted out her questions in one breath. "I'm a thousand-year-old hybrid, part werewolf and part vampire. Yes, you are safe with me and I vow to never hurt you again, Caroline," he finished with a serious tone. At her disbelieving scoff, he explained, "And I've been feeding at the start of some of your clients' appointments. I figured out a way to maneuver my way through your simulations fairly easily."
Caroline's horrified expression perplexed him. "Oh my god! My clients' appointments. I know I took your construct out of public rotation fairly quickly for...um...reasons, but there were multiple appointments that you were tagged to...um...complete." Her cheeks grew rosy, and she rambled, "Well, shit on a Skolem function —I'm a cyber pimp! Or is it cyber madam? Or maybe pimpette? Wait, is that sexist? Is there a gender-neutral term I should be using instead?!"
He couldn't stop the delighted chuckles that burst forth at her charmingly frantic words. "Sweetheart, I can assure you they were quick meals and nothing more. I was able to bid a hasty retreat and allow the true simulated chap to take over." His gray eyes darkened as he took in her inviting form, still clad in the tight peach sweater he had enjoyed earlier. "You were the only one I endeavored to complete," he finished with a sexy rumble.
"Seriously, Klaus?!" She groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as the color on her cheeks darkened at his blatant innuendo. "Can we please focus? So you're an immortal creature. According to my friend, Bonnie, we may have accidentally released you and some others like you from a hell dimension. Is she right?"
Nodding solemnly, he answered, "Yes. You somehow created a portal into the hell dimension where me and my brothers were held prisoner these past few years." Raising a question eyebrow, he added, "However, I must admit I've never heard of scientists, even exceptionally brilliant ones such as yourself, possessing the ability to achieve this tremendous feat. Although I don't know why I'm surprised — you're obviously an extraordinary creature, love."
Caroline seemed delighted by his compliment, but she tried to quickly school her features into a more neutral expression. "Well, it turns out that apparently, science only can take you so far. Bonnie seems to be part of a powerful line of witches, the Bennet bloodline." Furrowing her brow, she asked in a concerned voice, "This hell dimension — was it...I mean, is it actually hell?"
The steel returned to his eyes and he gave an involuntary shudder, for a creature as powerful as he did not freely admit a capacity for terror and pain. In a quiet voice, he offered, "I cannot be certain that what my brothers and I experienced was hell as the mortal realm would know it to be, but I can attest that the horrors we endured have convinced me that if ever a place deserved that title, it would be that forsaken realm."
Without warning, he surged forward, grasping Caroline's balled-up fists in his hands, placing a gentle kiss to each one that made her breath hitch. "You saved me, Caroline. I have nothing to offer that can ever hope to equal the service you have rendered me, but I place myself forever in your debt. I am yours, sweetheart." He was taken aback by his humble tone, but he knew in his heart the truth of his words.
"Klaus," her trembling voice barely above a whisper, "this is just all so overwhelming. I'll admit that I felt drawn to you and chided myself for having such intense feelings for what I believed to be my own creations, and now that I know you're real, I don't know what to think."
Still holding her hands, he raised them to his neck, resting them there as he dipped his head down to touch their foreheads. Gazing deeply into her blue eyes filled with such uncertainty that it tore at his heart, he pleaded, "Then don't. Just feel instead, sweetheart." Without waiting for a reply, he sought out her lips, the warmth of her infusing him with an inexplicable feeling of peace that he had never experienced in his immortal life.
Whatever doubts plagued Caroline, she seemed to melt into this stolen moment with Klaus, pulling him down onto her willing lips with an eagerness that caused him to growl. She quickly tugged at his dark trousers, pausing briefly to allow him to kick off his boots before sliding down the zipper with a small huff of annoyance when it proved a difficult task to master with one hand.
He pulled back, removing his black henley with a smirk as she eagerly explored his toned abs with her small hands. He bit back a moan of satisfaction when she finally finished sliding down his zipper, palming his stiff length, tracing the sensitive dips and ridges with her fingers. He knew he wouldn't last under her fiery touch, so he quickly swatted away her hands and set about the marvelous task of removing that delightfully tight peach sweater from her delectable body.
Naked, he sank to his knees before her, licking his lips at the arousing sight she made standing in nothing but her white pleated skirt and simple cotton bra. "Klaus," she whispered breathlessly, the heat from her damp core calling out to him with the sweetest of siren songs. He trailed his fingers teasingly up her thighs, taking the hemline of her skirt up those last few inches until her pale blue panties were exposed. He ran the tip of his tongue experimentally over the fabric covering her core, savoring the dew that he found there.
At her helpless cry, he quickly pushed the cotton to one side and curled his tongue into her slick passage. The heady taste of her uniquely sweet-spicy flavor ensnared his senses, spurring him on to explore every inch of her welcoming core. He pulled back slightly as he felt her begin to tremble, and he swirled the tip of his tongue against her clit, increasing the pressure until she nearly broke before retreating to the softest of touches as she finally reached her explosive release.
She called out his name, rendered practically boneless as she slid into his waiting arms. He laid her onto the floor of the unusual space, the whiteness that surrounded them casting a glow upon Caroline and illuminating her like a goddess. He removed the rest of her clothes, his wolf demanding that he touch every inch of her golden form. When he felt his eyes bleed the familiar feral yellow of his monster, he was pleased to see that she didn't shrink from the truth of him. Instead, the sight seemed to energize her and she quickly hooked her smooth legs around his waist, pulling him on top of her.
"Little minx," he rasped, his hard cock eagerly slapping against her thighs as he sought out her dripping opening. She moaned at the thickness of him, pressing against his rigid body with a desperate urgency as she sought to capture more of his flesh within her. He rolled his hips, sinking into her with a groan, delighting in the exquisite feel of her writhing form.
At her urging, he sped up his strokes, setting a punishing pace that had her begging in hoarse shouts. He could feel his desire building and reached down to toy with her sensitive little button, pinching it until she tightened around him once more, the waves of her orgasm sending him spiraling into a shuddering explosion that left them both sweaty but sated.
Klaus rested beside Caroline, threading his fingers through hers as she turned onto her side to regard him with a serious expression. "There's something I have to tell you, Klaus. I came here to see you because I needed to know...I actually don't know what exactly, but I needed to see you because when Bonnie saw your bite mark, it convinced her that we needed to terminate the simulations because you and your brothers are dangerous creatures." She bowed her head, and with a voice full of regret, she confessed, "Bonnie apparently already terminated Kol's construct."
He could sense her trepidation while waiting for his anger, and he surprised her by kissing their joined fingers. "Sweetheart, we're not simulations. We're flesh and bone and immortal souls that cannot simply be removed from this world by flipping a switch. Your friend didn't harm my brother. Once you and Bonnie saved us from the hell dimension, my brothers and I have been free to roam your simulations as we please. We've seen each other quite frequently these past few months, mostly trying to determine a way to be released into this world once more."
Caroline shook her head and replied, "Bonnie would never help to release you into our world. Kol bit her. You bit me. How can we be sure that you and your brothers won't harm others?"
He sat up, voice soft but with an edge of desperation as he vowed, "I'm sorry that I frightened you. I swear that no further harm will come to you. I even swear to control my brothers and curb their appetites. It's possible for us to feed without killing." He saw her wavering resolve and he kissed her open palms. "Please just give us this chance to be free again."
She bit her lip, her thoughts clearly racing as she began to get dressed once more. Klaus reached for the pocket of his dark trousers, withdrawing a small oval locket. At the curiosity he saw in her blue eyes, he explained, "Before my mother banished us to the hell dimension, I ripped this from her neck."
He flicked open the clasp to reveal a few crumbled, jagged leaves. "Nettle leaves are used to remove or block curses. You mentioned that Bonnie is of the Bennet bloodline, and I've had experience with her ancestors, so I'm familiar with their brand of spells. Most likely Bonnie will decide that she needs to tap into her ancestral magic to banish me and my brothers back to the hell dimension."
Without waiting for an answer, Klaus shoved the leaves into her palm, folding her fingers over the dried mass and said, "If you add these into Bonnie's banishment ritual instead of the Scotch broom leaves she'll undoubtedly use, it should be enough to free me and my brothers and release us into this world once more."
"Klaus, I don't know what to say," she answered weakly. "It's just so much to process and how I feel about you and us and all of this..." she trailed off helplessly. Before he could respond, she knelt before him, grasping his strong jaw and kissing him fiercely. She pulled back with a shaky breath and quickly pressed the silver cuff on her wrist to pull herself out of the simulation once more.
Caroline's head was spinning with everything she had learned about Klaus. What she felt for him was confusing, exciting, terrifying — everything she always hoped for whenever she daydreamed of finding the one. Of course, never in her wildest dreams had she considered the possibility that the one would turn out to be a monster. But was he completely a monster? It hardly seemed fair to paint all monsters with the same rigid brush of morality. She was pondering the possibilities of whether monsters could be redeemed when she was startled by impatient banging on the glass door out front.
She had completely forgotten about Bonnie going next door. Shit. Not to mention the fact that she had impulsively changed the security code combination on the door in an irrational bout of panic at the thought that when Bonnie returned, she would want to terminate the simulations. To terminate Klaus. She remembered she still had the nettle leaves bunched up in her fist and quickly pushed them underneath the mouse pad by her keyboard. She jogged out into the lobby, finding an angry Bonnie clutching two large to-go cups from the coffee shop next door.
Avoiding her friend's questioning green stare, she ducked her blonde head as she quickly released the electronic lock and opened the door. "What the hell, Caroline?!" She thrust one of the coffees into Caroline's hands as she shoved her way past the reception area, stomping toward the lab in the back. Tossing back her black hair she asked, "Do I even want to know what you were thinking locking me out of our business?"
Caroline rubbed her forehead as she followed in her friend's frustrated wake. "Bonnie, I just needed...a moment to myself, okay? I'm sorry."
Bonnie whirled to face her, her green eyes wide with the hint of fear. "Well, are you done having your moment? Because I just had the most insanity-driven phone call of my life with my mother and had we not just stumbled into this whole magical mess of raising demonic beings and creating hell dimension portals and accidentally awakening my power, I would be ready to commit her!"
Caroline set down her cup, moving to place a comforting hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "What did she say?"
The girl snorted. "She said we're fucked. From what she told me, merely terminating the simulation construct and taking apart the mainframe isn't enough to banish the demonic creatures we accidentally released into our computer program. Apparently, we need to reseal the portal we raised in the hell dimension."
Caroline could feel her pulse quicken as she considered Bonnie's words. From the terror in her voice, she knew that her friend had already condemned Klaus and his brothers. Her heart ached when she realized that she would never see Klaus again.
Too distracted to notice Caroline's hesitation, Bonnie continued her explanation. "Fortunately, my mother gave me detailed instructions for a banishment spell Bennet witches used ages ago that should work perfectly. I was out gathering all of the ingredients which is why I was gone so long, in case you were wondering," she said reproachfully, raising a critical eyebrow.
Caroline lowered her head. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention after you left; I just needed to think about things." A thought struck her and she asked, "What are we telling our clients? There's still some appointments booked for tonight and Katherine is down the hall in one of the simulation rooms. What do you want to do about that?"
Bonnie shook her head, agitated. "We'll deal with the fallout after we've sealed the portal and saved everyone." Her fingers clenched the small brown sack as she said urgently, "Now my mother was very clear that we must follow her instructions perfectly. it would be dangerous to make even the slightest alteration to this spell, like substituting ingredients, which is why I had to go to two different herbalist shops before I found Scotch broom leaves. Apparently, any changes could have dire consequences, like alternate universe consequences."
Caroline's blue eyes widened in shock at this revelation. She weakly retorted, "So you're telling me that there's a possibility that in some alternate universe there's a version of me running around that decided to be an English major?"
Bonnie gave her a tight-lipped smile. "According to the most prevalent alternate dimensional theories, it's a free-for-all and anyone's guess as to how things could be different. No one really knows and I have no interest in finding out," she said firmly.
Caroline pushed up the sleeves of her peach sweater, noting how one sleeve was stiff with her blood from when she used it to staunch her bite mark. Her neck still ached from where Klaus' fangs had dug into her skin, and she wondered if it would scar. When she looked at it in the coming years, would she regret her choice? She couldn't help but notice that everything Bonnie had said so far about the spell had come true. She tried not to let herself think about whether that meant the other things he told her was the truth as well.
Her friend interrupted her conflicted thoughts. "I'm heading to the simulation room where I originally sliced open my hand by accident. We should perform the spell there, so I'll go get everything set up. I need you to activate the updated memory architectures in our database but don't invoke the special syntax codes."
Nodding faintly, Caroline turned her attention to her keyboard, accessing the correct files and pulling them up one by one. She hesitated at her desk before finally reaching underneath the mouse pad to grasp the nettle leaves in her sweaty hand. Heart hammering away, she headed down the corridor toward the simulation rooms.
Bonnie had positioned four white candles in the corners of the sparse room, chanting over them one by one as she tossed polished onyx stones into a shallow copper bowl. They twanged against the metal, causing Caroline to jump slightly. When she noticed that Caroline had entered the room, she handed her the copper bowl, motioning for her to hold it aloft. Bonnie unexpectedly produced a silver-edged knife and sliced through her own palm with a pained grunt, allowing her blood to drip onto the stones. Caroline let out a small squeak, unprepared for the spell's violent display.
Her friend's face was grave as she instructed Caroline, "Move to the center of the room with the bowl and when I tell you, toss these Scotch broom leaves into the bowl and hold it over your head." She gave her the copper bowl and a handful of pale yellow-green leaves. Swallowing harshly, Caroline marched to where Bonnie had indicated, watching her friend lean over each of the four candles to drip her blood into the flames.
Bonnie continued her chanting with more confidence now, only pausing to check her notes once. Green eyes blazing, she turned to Caroline and demanded, "Now, Caroline!"
Caroline took a shuddering breath, feeling her hands shake at what she was about to do. Her sweaty fist hovered over the copper bowl as she made her decision. Flexing her fingers, she released the nettle leaves Klaus had given her on top of the bowl's ingredients. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a traitorous tear fall.
When she opened her eyes, she was stunned to find herself alone in an empty white room that she instantly recognized as the initial simulation program they used for beta testing new constructs. She looked around the room, trying to determine where Bonnie had gone. Her body felt odd — she was experiencing a deep-rooted hunger for something she couldn't immediately identify and an inexplicable rush of power seemed to flow through her.
Her senses tingled, alerting her to another presence. She whirled around and was instantly confronted by a familiar pair of steel gray eyes. Klaus stood before her, eyeing her with his familiar intensity, but something was off. Klaus was different. He nodded at her and said briskly, "You must be Charlotte. I'm Klaus."
He proceeded to walk around her in a circle, studying her intently, and the longer he stared at her, the easier it was for Caroline to hear how his heartbeat increased and she could actually smell his arousal. Clearing his throat, he stammered slightly as he added, "You're even more ravishing than my program algorithm demonstrated. A perfect rendering of code." There was a note of awe that crept into his voice as he ran his fingers nervously through his dirty blonde curls. "The neural network is nothing short of inspiring. The perfect marriage of biology and programming."
Caroline eyed Klaus carefully, all of the pieces suddenly falling into place. She grinned mischievously at the tell-tale blush that warmed his cheeks as he noted her obvious interest. His pulse quickened and the heady aroma of his blood called out to her as she controlled a surprising urge to unsheathe a set of fangs.
A knowing smirk spread across her lovely face as she said, "Actually sweetheart, my name is Caroline."
