I'm alive! Never fear. I won't be blabbing too much with shit about why I was gone for so long, I just wanna say a huge thank you to everyone who's stuck by and has been reviewing/checking this story for updates since September. Life really got in the way and I'm grateful that you're all so patient – and some not so patient. ;)
And in answer to a review I got for the last chapter, my canon of Klaus possessing Damon's body differs slightly from the show's version; basically, Damon is still in control of his own body and Klaus is this little voice in his head, and Damon can give up control at any time, allowing Klaus to fully control and use his body. I've tried explaining it the best I can through the story; apologies if it still confuses anyone. :) And just to clear things up, Klaus when he's speaking only to Damon is in italics, the rest will be in speech marks. If you're still confused through it, I'd recommend reading to the A/N at the bottom of the page. :)
And thank you SO, SO MUCH for getting me to 200 reviews during my absence, it was really nice to come back to! :) And thanks to everyone who sent me a PM in regards to this story; I'm glad you liked it enough to see if I would return to it (AKA, kick me up the ass :P) As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and leave me your thoughts (or scolding about my long unofficial hiatus xD) in the little box below.
Gritting his teeth as a wave of nausea hit him, Damon pushed himself up from the floor, his head pounding as he felt Klaus scratching at him, fighting for control he wasn't willing to give up just yet.
He flexed his fingers, feeling a wonder blossoming up inside him that wasn't his own: "I cannot actually believe this worked,"Klaus' disbelieving voice resonated inside his head.
"Told you I'd come through," Damon said proudly, smiling a smile that Klaus couldn't actually see.
A sudden surge of anger flowed through him, and Damon was stalking forward, voice of his own will, his face set in a murderous scowl. Damon felt helpless, like he was a mere passenger as Klaus took the reins, and violently smashed Damon's – or was it his? – foot down onto an unconscious Alaric's face, snarling with venom as the bones and blood vessels crunched to pieces.
Damon pushed forwards, regaining control. "Dramatic much?" he said with a devious smile, his expression turning to mild disdain as he picked skin and bone fragments from his boot heel.
"Well, I've always had a flair for the dramatic, Damon," Klaus retorted smartly, Damon shuddering slightly at the prickling in his brain. This was definitely going to take some getting used to.
"Yeah, I can tell," Damon said, looking at Alaric's face as it had already begun to sew itself together. God help them both if he suddenly woke up...
Klaus seemed to sense Damon's worry, and soon he was caught in an onslaught of air, feeling strangely like a swimmer caught against a strong current, it being much faster than his own vampire speed.
"Where are we going?!" Damon called out in confusion as he was being yanked relentlessly through endless miles of forest.
His body stopped abruptly, Damon nearly tripping over a tree root and smacking his face as he tried to catch his breath.
"That's actually a very good question," Klaus said in realization, the two – or one – of them stood dormant, while Damon rolled his eyes at Klaus' voice and then dug his hands into his pockets. His phone thankfully hadn't been crushed to pieces during the fight; he picked it up and – feeling that strange prickling at his fingertips – dialled Rebekah's number.
Rebekah's worried voice answered on the second ring: "Damon? What's going on? Are you alright?" she asked in a panic.
"About as alright as I can be," he responded, with your psycho brother instead my head, he thought to himself. "Where are you? We need to talk," he asked, knowing the latter was the biggest understatement of the century – her brother, who she saw die, was really alive and hitching a ride in his brain!
There was a brief pause as Rebekah took a breath. "Is the Hunter still running around?" she asked cautiously.
"No, I promise," Damon reassured her, hearing her sigh in relief from the other end of the line. "Bonnie managed to take him down; he's out for the count right now," he said, although he couldn't help but to look around him, just in case he had been followed.
"I'm at the clearing in the woods by Wickery Bridge, with Elijah," she told him, Damon about to reply when another forced itself out of his mouth,
"Good, I have a bone to pick with him." Damon widened his eyes in surprise at the very British accent to come out of his mouth.
"Damon, are you feeling okay?" Rebekah asked in confusion, Damon gritting his teeth to hold in his laughter.
"Never better," he responded in a strangely chirpy voice, "I'll see you in a few." He hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.
He then turned around and folded his arms, looking up at his forehead reprimandingly, acting as if Klaus could see him. "Y'know, if you're gonna be inhabiting me like some freaky demon, we should work up a schedule or something," he said tersely. He couldn't have Klaus accidentally blow their cover by getting uncharacteristically mad at Stefan, of being too nice to someone. Then he snorted at his own joke – Klaus? Nice? As if.
"Relax, Damon,"Klaus said gently, Damon biting his lip at the familiar prickling,"I can only influence what you say and do, I can't actually control your body unless you give me full reign to do so," he said in a manner that actually comforted Damon to some degree, but he knew Klaus, and would still fight him for control.
He huffed out a breath and sped off towards the clearing, the speed being significantly slower now he didn't have Klaus' speed aiding him.
In a matter of minutes, Damon reached the clearing and saw a sobbing Rebekah being consoled by an equally distraught looking Elijah, Damon able to see the tears in the older man's eyes. As he walked closer, he slightly relinquished the guard he had over his brain, allowing Klaus to come forward if he needed to – it was his family after all.
"You said that Niklaus turned their bloodline," Elijah said in confusion as the siblings' shock began to wear away.
"I thought he did," Rebekah said with equal confusion, and Damon guessed that he hadn't shared that information with his family, but then again, with a sire line stretching as far the Originals' probably did, who would be able to remember who sired who?
Elijah slowly shook his head. "It wasn't me, it wasn't Kol..." he trailed off, coming up lost again.
"It wasn't me," Rebekah said in earnest, "Elijah, it was Nik, I'm sure of it," she said with certainty.
"Then how on Earth are they still alive?" Elijah asked, looking positively dumbfounded.
"With the help of a very crafty witch," Damon heard Klaus announce through his mouth as he entered the clearing, the two Originals turning to face him.
"Damon, you're okay!" Rebekah said with relief as he walked closer – surprisingly, she flung her arms around him.
Damon chuckled, reeling back slightly with the ferocity that Rebekah had launched herself at him with, while Elijah acknowledged him with a silent nod.
Rebekah suddenly held him at arm's length, regarding him strangely as his British accent had caught up with her brain. "Wait, what do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean, darling sister, that I'm inhabiting Damon for the time being," Klaus said, Damon feeling him pushing completely to the forefront of his mind, "Until I can get my own body back, of course," he reiterated, Rebekah staring at him like he insane, while Elijah came forward with an oddly calm expression on his face.
"I thought Niklaus' body was burned to ashes?" he asked, folding his arms and raising his eyebrow. He looked like he expected Damon to be playing a joke on them, but that would be too cruel, even for someone like Damon.
"Thankfully not," Klaus said with relief, Damon thinking to himself that he would never get tired of hearing himself with a British accent, "Thanks to Damon's jacket," he said, raising his arms to indicate the lack of a leather jacket.
Rebekah bit her lip, looking as if she believed what was going on, but she then shook herself back to her senses as she looked at Damon again.
"It's too good to be true," she said with another shake of her head, "I don't believe it, especially not in this town," she added knowingly, folding her arms.
Klaus smiled, and Damon felt a sharp prick in his mouth as two fangs came forth from his gums, his fingernails elongating painfully into sharp, black claws, and his face shifted as the veins burned through his skin as his eyes no doubt turned a deep golden color.
"And it's thanks to Damon's quick thinking I still have a body to return to," he added, Damon wincing slightly as the double fangs retracted into his gums, causing blood to drip out of his mouth as the wound healed.
"Wow, you actually have to be dead and inside my brain for me to receive a compliment?" Damon wondered – in his own voice – hearing Rebekah snigger at him.
Rebekah's phone suddenly rang out in the silence of the forest. She answered it quickly, her expression a mix between anger and annoyance.
"Stefan?" she asked with a slightly pinched expression on her face.
"Tell him there's a stake with his name on it," Klaus hissed angrily, Damon reacting almost instantly and shoving him to the back of his mind, hoping Stefan didn't hear him.
"You're alive, congratulations," Rebekah continued, looking over at Damon, who shook his head, indicating he wanted her to keep quiet about it. He couldn't trust Stefan with something as important as this; never mind the fact that he would most likely lose his mind if he found out his worst enemy was living inside his brother.
"Rebekah," Stefan said from the other end of the line, and Damon had to dig his nails into his palms so hard they bled, as Klaus' anger threatened to overwhelm him.
"Elijah spoke to Elena," Rebekah went on, glancing at Damon's palms for a split second, "Her and Matt should be arriving back to town any minute," she told him, and Stefan sighed in relief.
"What about Damon?" he asked worriedly.
"There was a fight at the storage locker between him and the Hunter," Rebekah said, fake concern edging her voice, "I don't know where he is," she lied, sighing heavily.
"I'm sorry, Stefan," she said after a brief moment of silence, Damon nodding gratefully at Rebekah.
"Elijah told me you'd be long gone by now," Stefan said, and Damon scoffed inwardly, so glad that Stefan had his priorities sorted; he had just been told his brother was 'missing', yet all he could give a rats ass about was the whereabouts of those he despised?
"That's the problem," Rebekah said, all pretense now gone from her voice, "Elijah says we have to run, that the hunter will keep coming after us," she continued, her voice trembling slightly, "But I don't want to run anymore, Stefan," she said with some finality, "I've spent my whole life running."
At that, Damon could have sworn he felt a tiny wave of guilt from Klaus, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
"What are you talking about?" Stefan wondered aimlessly, "We had a deal," he reminded her, his tone beginning to border on outrage.
"I'm sorry, but Klaus is dead," Rebekah said firmly, Damon feeling Elijah's eyes on him, "There is no deal," she stated plainly, "If my brothers and I are going to survive, we have to get rid of Alaric, and the only way to get rid of Alaric..." she trailed off, and Damon knew what she was about to say. He had his objections – of course he did; Ric was his best friend and Elena had been one of the people he loved – but it was the only way out of this nightmare.
There was a quiet gasp as Stefan finally caught on: "Rebekah, no–"
Rebekah cut off the phone call before she would know doubt be flooded with pleads of desperation, and turned to Damon and Elijah.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked the two of them, "If it leads to some mistake and Alaric doesn't die–"
"He will," Klaus said, cutting through Damon's mouth, "Both Damon and I saw it with our own eyes; they're linked through Elena's blood; it was so Alaric would have one lifetime, and one lifetime only, to rid the world of vampires," he explained, Damon nodding alongside Klaus' voice. He had to keep reminding himself that killing Elena – and by proxy, Alaric – was the only way to save the entirety of the vampire race.
"Then it's settled," Elijah said, although Damon could hear the dismay in his voice. For some unknown reason, he had a soft spot for Elena.
"Although we may have an objection," Klaus said, Damon's arms folding of his own accord and his eyebrows raising the same way Klaus' often did. "Damon?" he asked expectantly.
Damon pushed himself forwards, relaxing slightly: "Do what you have to do," he said with a heavy shrug, "We're gonna have enough to deal with in the morning, what with Ric having outed several vampires to the Council," he said bitterly, knowing Liz and Carol's protection could only extend so far.
"We need him out of the way," he said with some finality. They just wouldn't be able to withstand a supercharged Alaric – Klaus in his own body barely could! – and a council full of pissed off humans armed with the knowledge to kill and torture vampires.
"Wasn't he a friend of yours?" Rebekah asked, with either concern or sympathy; Damon couldn't tell.
"Was, being the operative word, Rebekah," Damon said with a sardonic smile, both Originals nodding in understanding.
He then turned his attention to the bigger matter – who was going to kill Elena?
"Do we need to flip a coin for this, or Klaus," he broke off to look up at his forehead, imagining a tiny version of Klaus sitting beside his brain, "Are you going to insist you do it?" he asked, although he was sure he already knew the answer.
"He nearly reduced me to ashes, Damon," the venomous snarl sizzled on Damon's tongue, "And Little Miss Gilbert conspired in the murder of one of my brothers, of course I'll insist on running her off a bridge to end the Hunter's life," he said brightly, Damon a little concerned about the chipper tone coming from his mouth.
"Two birds with one stone," he concluded, Damon sighing and rubbing his temples as the strange tickling sensation stopped. He had better get used to it, and fast.
He noticed Elijah staring – not very gentlemanly, he wanted to tease – and gave him a thin smile.
"Trust me, this is much weirder for me than it is for you," he said knowingly, Elijah's lips quirking slightly in response.
His expression then turned stoic: "Thank you for doing this, Damon. We are in your debt," he said, bowing his head a little, while Rebekah nodded at him with a grateful smile of her own.
"Don't worry about it, just send a gift basket," Damon quirked, grinning at them, "Easy on the bourbon, heavy on the women," he added, making Rebekah snort with laughter.
"You're such a caveman," she teased.
Damon just wiggled his eyebrows, turning around and rushing through the forest in a whirl of air. He was just hoping Matt and Elena wouldn't see him – that would certainly put a damper on things and would have Stefan asking questions that Damon wouldn't be able to answer at the moment.
He reached the clearing, his heightened hearing combined with Klaus' allowing him to pick up the reverberations of Matt's truck coming up the road. That tingling seeped throughout his entire body as he felt himself being taken over by Klaus.
"I'm going to enjoy this," he murmured sinisterly, his voice echoing around in Damon's head, and a small, sick, part of Damon realized he would too.
Matt's truck finally rolled into view, and Damon let Klaus walk him out into the open road, staring straight at them through the blinding glare of the headlights. Matt was screaming nonsensically about something, punching and slapping the steering wheel and dashboard, while Elena tried desperately to get him to calm down. Neither of them noticed Damon standing in the road until Elena gave Matt a hard punch in the arm to get him to stop the truck swerving.
Then Elena's eyes widened in horror. "Matt, look out!" she cried.
Damon gave an eerily Klaus-like sneer as Matt slammed on the brakes, reaching out a hand to push the truck towards the barrier, the sounds of tires screeching, metal creaking, and the teenagers' screams of panic were like a strange music to Damon's ears – no doubt it would be an orchestra to Klaus' – as the truck flew off the bridge and smashed straight through the untouched surface of the lake like a stray bullet.
He found himself laughing as the truck began to fill with water and drag the trapped occupants down with them, Elena's screams quickly becoming gargled as the water continued to flood the truck.
"I feel there's something poetic about that,"Klaus' voice rang out in his head, Damon sighing as the pressure of Klaus' 'spirit' lifted from his body,"Now, how good of an actor are you, Damon?" he asked, and a wicked smile suddenly appeared on Damon's face.
"I think the question is, how good of an actor are you?" he retorted, folding his arms with a smug grin, "You are the one in my body, controlling my brain," he reminded him, chuckling.
"You wouldn't dare," Klaus said with a dangerous tone, but Damon was undeterred – what was the worst thing Klaus could do to him from inside his head?
"Oh yes, yes I would," Damon laughed, knowing he was only going to be able to take advantage of Klaus just this one time.
He sighed, relaxing completely and letting his mind flood and go blank.
Damon heard Klaus sigh through him, as he stared at Alaric's body through his own eyes, although was unable to control his brain to do anything. He looked about as peaceful as a vampire-vampire hunter with a twisted darkness could be, save the swollen and bloated grey skin and his veins grotesquely sticking out from underneath it. Had he even realized he had died? Damon supposed that was a better way, rather than Alaric actually feeling his life ebb away without his control, and knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Well, this is depressing," Damon muttered to himself, his words coming out in Klaus' voice, "I've lost two friends within minutes of each other," he said, folding his arms. While he hadn't been classing Elena as a friend as of late, he still felt something, and as for Alaric, he had lost one of the few people whose company he actually enjoyed and didn't feel the need to constantly keep him in check.
"Since when was Elena your friend?" Klaus wondered in confusion, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, she was the first person I truly loved after Katherine," Damon explained, sounding – well, Klaus' voice did – more vulnerable than he would have liked.
While he wouldn't necessarily be able to class Elena as a 'friend' after what he thought of her as of late, but she would always have some significance in his life since she made him realise there was light at the end of the tunnel after he realized he had wasted a hundred and forty-five years on a woman who didn't give a damn about him.
"I may not love her now, but it'll always be there, y'know?" he added, unable to truly explain what it was; it wasn't love, but it wasn't complete hatred of her entire existence either.
"Even if you think she's a condescending bitch at times?" Klaus asked in slight amazement.
"Even if I think she's a condescending bitch at times," Damon repeated, feeling Klaus nod in what seemed like confused understanding.
It was like Katherine and Stefan, he would hate them both at times, but at the same time, couldn't truly imagine a life without either of them, no matter how many times he had imagined it or had come close to making it a reality.
"I still cannot believe she was willing to leave you to die alone in a storage locker," Klaus said, and Damon knew if he could see him, as opposed to a restricted viewing from his own eye sockets, he would be wearing a look of disbelief and folding his arms – which Damon felt him do several moments later.
"Stefan and I did tell her to make a choice, she made it," Damon said, not really giving as much of a damn as he probably would have if he had been the same person he was a few months ago.
He wasn't mad about her initial choice – why would he be when he had Klaus? – it was the fact she had chosen to leave him alone, and turn around when she was closest to him and go back to Stefan, who was already surrounded by friends, while he just had a comatose Alaric and Klaus' charred corpse.
"And for her safety, I'm glad she picked him," he admitted, chuckling.
"For her safety?" Klaus repeated in bewilderment, Damon able to feel his own brows furrowing.
"She couldn't compete with you," Damon said, feeling Klaus smile in response, "You'd probably rip her tongue out," he said off-handedly, wondering how possessive Klaus could actually get.
"And all her internal organs, but..." Klaus trailed off, leaving an eerie silence inside Damon's brain until he followed it up with, "Details."
The smile on Damon's lips faded as Klaus turned to face Alaric's body, the latter being replaced by a sneer and Damon wondered for a split-second if he was going to start stamping on his head again.
"What are we going to do with you?" Damon said, the words coming out strangely upset-sounding in Klaus' voice.
"You know what I'd suggest," he chimed in, "But he wasn't my friend," he added in a gentler tone, and Damon wished he could actually raise his eyebrows – that was an understatement.
Damon then took a minute to process his current situation, then he couldn't help the incredulous snort of laughter that snuck out of his mouth – his best friend was dead and the man he would've once called an enemy was currently cheating death by inhabiting his body and was riding shotgun.
"Am I actually having this conversation with myself, right now?" he asked in bewilderment, realising it must sound to an outsider that Klaus was just talking to himself.
The returning answer from Klaus was not what he expected at all: "It's okay to admit you care, Damon."
"I thought you thought it was a vampire's 'greatest weakness'," he said, seeing Klaus turning and feeling him raising his eyebrows as if the two were separate people and were having a conversation that made Klaus sound less insane.
"Sometimes it takes strength to admit you do," Klaus said, sounding weirdly profound with his sudden wisdom, "Even though I despise such things myself, a lot of the time," he admitted, shrugging his – Damon's? – shoulders.
"Okay, who's hitching a ride inside my brain now?" Damon asked in surprise, "'Cause I'm sure it's not Klaus Mikaelson," he teased, the two of them laughing in tandem together, the sounds blending as a strange cacophony as they only had one mouth to come out of.
Their laughter was cut short as Damon's phone rang. Klaus picked it up and examined it, growling lowly at the caller I.D. Damon just hoped he could pull it off without Stefan suspecting anything.
"Stefan, what is it?" Klaus asked, in an almost perfect imitation of Damon's voice, sounding a little tetchier than Damon himself probably would have been.
Thankfully Stefan hadn't noticed: "Oh thank God," he said, sounding like he was going to pass out from relief. "You're okay," he said, taking a minute to catch his breath.
"Still breathing," Klaus said proudly, smiling even though Stefan couldn't see it, "In a manner of speaking," he added, smirking to himself and 'conveniently' forgetting to mention Damon wasn't 'at home' currently and had a front seat as to what was going on.
"What's wrong?" he asked; unless anyone from Klaus' bloodline was suddenly dropping dead around him, they both had a fairly good idea of what Stefan was calling about.
"It's Elena," Stefan said, "Meet me at the hospital," he added urgently.
"Stefan-" Klaus tried, but Stefan hung up before he could ask further questions.
If they had somehow managed to resuscitate Elena at the hospital, did that mean Alaric would come back as well? Damon could tell Klaus wasn't going to stick around to find out. He sped out of the storage locker, Damon feeling like he was moving much faster now that Klaus was controlling him.
When they arrived at the hospital, Damon sensed that Klaus really did not want to be there in the slightest, especially to pretend to be him, and pretend to care about the girl that conspired to kill him and his siblings, and had actually helped kill Finn when he had just been minding his own business and was finally starting to get out of his suicidal Oedipus shell and wanted to live his life with the woman he loved.
He saw a white coat out of the corner of his eye, running towards them, that Klaus was trying to ignore, until the voice called out, "Damon!" and made him stop abruptly.
It was Meredith.
"Where's Elena?" Klaus asked, and Damon was surprised at the level of concern he could fake.
"She's in the morgue with your brother," Meredith said, and Klaus immediately made to brush past her, but she grabbed his arm, "But I need to tell you something," she said in a low voice, licking her lips nervously as someone bustled past.
"What?" Klaus asked, and Damon was curious himself.
"You need to know," she began in a nervous voice, "That when Jeremy brought Elena in here earlier her injuries were much worse than I let on; she had a cerebral hemorrhage, bleeding on the brain," she explained.
"Okay, so...?" Neither Klaus nor Damon could see the point in her telling them that Elena drowned with bleeding on her brain.
"I had to help her," she said, "She needed my help," she emphasized, and as soon as Damon caught on, he felt the expression on Klaus' face as he understood as well.
Oh shit...
Klaus pushed past Meredith, storming inside the morgue just in time to see Elena jolt upright, gasping for air. Out of view of both Stefan and Elena, Klaus scowled – no doubt at having lost his only source of making hybrids. While Elena was becoming frantic, he walked over to Stefan, his face a fake mask of worry.
"Stefan."
"Damon," He was enveloped in a hug, and Damon was glad he wasn't in control of his body, or else he would be laughing uncontrollably at the pinched expression he could feel on his face as Klaus uncomfortably wrapped his arms around Stefan, his anger radiating through their shared body.
"Damon, I'm going to kill you..." he growled in a low warning inside his head, but Damon paid it no attention and decided he was going to enjoy seeing Klaus 'suffer' while it lasted.
Both of them then turned their attention towards Elena, who was desperately trying to gasp for air she more than likely didn't know she would no longer need. Stefan broke the hug apart – Klaus feeling entirely grateful – to kneel down in front of her, rubbing her arm and trying to soothe her.
"I'll take her home," Klaus pitched in quickly, not leaving any room for an argument, "You deal with things here," he said, Damon no doubt knowing that Doctors would start asking questions if an accident victim – dead accident victim – starting walking around.
"Damon..." Elena murmured in confusion, sitting up and rubbing her eyes as she saw him. She wasn't screaming nonsensically about her murder by 'Damon's' hand. Yet. Either way, Damon could tell it was Klaus' cue to exit stage right.
Klaus scooped Elena up in his arms, her head lolling around like a ragdoll as her eyes closed once more. He then looked over to Stefan, Damon wishing he could say something, as opposed to Klaus' rushed, "I'll see you soon, okay?"
He didn't stick around to see Stefan's reluctant nod, and sped out of the back door of the morgue, rushing through the forests to avoid any prying eyes of passing motorists they would no doubt encounter if he had taken the road instead; not that Klaus wouldn't have slaughtered them regardless.
Once Klaus reached the Gilbert home, he pushed down on the door handle with his elbow pushed the door open, stepping inside and being met with a worried Jeremy Gilbert. Damon was just glad Klaus had been invited in beforehand, as he wasn't sure what the whole 'invited in' situation would entail if Klaus hadn't been, yet he was inside his body.
"Damon!" Jeremy rushed up to Klaus, staring at Elena's limp form in horror. "What's Elena–?"
"Meredith didn't tell you earlier, Jeremy," Klaus cut him off softly, "But she'd given Elena vampire blood for her injuries," he explained, Jeremy's face falling as the reality of his sister's situation hit him like a freight train.
"Does that mean that...?" he trailed off, not able to bring himself to say the words.
"Yes, it does," Klaus affirmed, nodding somberly, shifting Elena's dead weight in his arms as she was becoming heavy, "I'm gonna take her upstairs and get her comfortable, okay?" he added, trying to attempt some levity.
"I should be with her," Jeremy said forcefully, but Klaus shook his head, Damon amazed at his patience with the kid.
"Jeremy," he said with a heavy sigh, one Damon could envision himself doing. "She's going to need blood when she wakes up," he added, trying desperately to get Jeremy out of the house, preferably without throttling him, as in Damon's body it would raise too many questions.
Jeremy threw his arms up, giving him an exasperated look: "And where am I supposed to get that from?" he asked with a hint of disgust in his voice.
Klaus rifled through Damon's back pocket, pulling out the keys the Boarding House, tossing them to a bewildered looking Jeremy.
"In the Boarding House, down in the basement," Klaus began, "There's a fridge full of blood, bring some back here," he ordered.
"Any particular type?" Jeremy asked jokingly, but was quickly silenced with a withering glare from Klaus.
"Right," he said, hurriedly making to dash out of the house.
"Ugh, children," Klaus muttered distastefully as soon as the door slammed shut.
Elena was beginning to stir in his arms; Klaus sped up the stairs, and unceremoniously dropped Elena on her bed. She gave a loud scream of alarm, scrambling as far back away from Klaus as her sluggish, tired state would allow her.
"No, get away from me!" she shrieked, backing up even further; Klaus ignored her yells and advanced on her further. "No! You killed me! No–"
Silencing her, he seized her hair in a terrific grip that felt like steel, even to Damon, and tugged her upper torso off the bed, snarling venomously in her face, "If you even so much as breathe a word to anyone about what happened, I promise you I will make your life a very short and painful one," he growled, all pretense now abandoned came out in a Damon-esque imitation of his own voice.
Klaus then released her hair, and sent her body sprawling across her bed with a sledgehammer of a whack. Klaus sighed happily to himself, and began rearranging the pillows and bedsheets around her, pulling her up into a comfortable position as some sort of mockery.
He walked up to the curtains. "And now we play the waiting game," he declared to the empty room, pulling them closed on the early morning sunrise.
"Can't help but feel there was some unresolved tension, there, buddy boy," Damon teased in an echo, being met with a chuckle, as Klaus crossed the room and sat down on a beanbag chair.
"How did you know where my keys were, anyway?" Damon asked curiously.
"I've torn your jeans off you enough times to know what you keep in your pockets, Damon," Klaus said bluntly, and Damon was sure if he was in control of his body and he wasn't dead, he would be blushing.
A few hours later, Klaus sighed impatiently, pulling a curtain slightly open to stare out at the lawn below. It was nearly noon; Elena still hadn't woken up, and where the Hell were Stefan and Jeremy? How long did compulsion and a blood delivery take?
Although he was glad he didn't have to wait another hour, as the front door soon opened and both Stefan and Jeremy arrived in the room, Jeremy placing the blood bags on Elena's beside table as he followed Stefan to Elena's side. Klaus remained by the window.
"How is she?" Stefan asked in concern.
"She's been in and out of it," Klaus replied, rolling his eyes in disdain as Stefan's back was turned. "Wasn't like she needed you or anything," he added smarmily, Damon silently willing Klaus not to overdo it, and it seemed to work, because he at least made the effort to sit up and look like he gave a damn.
A loud gasp of air signalled Elena's arrival back into the world, both Stefan and Jeremy starting forward in surprise, while Klaus sat still, watching Elena's confused and desperate movements with quiet amusement. She eventually managed to settle down as Stefan took a hold of her hand.
"Stefan?" she asked in confusion, looking at his hand in a daze, and then Jeremy, who was looking at her worriedly.
"Hey, I'm right here," he murmured softly, reaching out to stroke her face.
She leaned into the touch, making to close her eyes, but before she could, her expression became a mixture of horror and disbelief as her eyes landed on 'Damon' sat across from her.
"Damon..." she trailed off in shock.
Behind everyone's backs, Klaus waved at her, Damon's limited field of vision briefly becoming filled with black and gold and his gums aching as Klaus flaunted his hybrid visage to her, the latter disappearing about as quickly as it had come.
She shook her head, bewildered, and looked around the room, registering Jeremy and Stefan's grave expressions.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Long story short," Klaus chimed in before anybody could attempt to sugar coat it for her, "You got ran off the road with vampire blood in your system," he said, smiling thinly at her. The sooner she accepted her situation, the sooner Klaus could get out of there, and Damon privately agreed.
Elena's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What?" she asked, sounding desperately like she was wishing all this was a nightmare.
It is, Klaus thought with glee, she just won't be waking up from it any time soon.
"When Jeremy brought you to the hospital before all this happened, your injuries were worse than anyone knew," Stefan explained in a much gentler tone, whirling around for a split second to give 'Damon' an incredulous glare. "Meredith Fell made a choice, she used Damon's blood to heal you," he said softly, Elena slowly shaking her head in denial.
"And when Matt's truck went off the road, you had my blood in your system, Elena," Klaus added, now in a less snarky manner.
Elena shuddered in revulsion as the reality hit her, looking like she was going to be sick: "Oh my God..." she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes, "Does – does that mean that I – am I dead?" she asked with a hard swallow. It was almost pitiful to watch.
She was met with an eerie silence that even Klaus didn't try and fill.
"No, no, no, no! That wasn't supposed to happen!" she cried in anguish, the tears beginning to stream down her face. Jeremy rubbed her back sympathetically.
"Maybe it doesn't have to," Stefan said in reassurance, all three others in the room looking at him with a puzzled expression, "I was talking to Bonnie, she says she's stronger than ever, there might be something that she can do to help you," he said, and Elena gave him a watery smile of relief, but Jeremy's expression didn't falter.
"Is that even possible?" he asked in a quiet voice, leaning over towards Stefan.
"No, it isn't," Klaus interrupted bluntly before Stefan could open his mouth, "The only thing that's going to help is for you to feed and complete the transition," he said in a grave sounding tone.
"We have all day before she has to feed, Damon," Stefan retorted, turning to stare at him in disbelief, while Klaus just raised his eyebrows. "That's a day to exhaust every possible way out of this," he added, but neither Klaus or Damon were convinced there would be anything at all, even for a witch of Bonnie's capabilities. Yes, there was magic to create immortality, but had anything ever been created to reverse it?
"There is no way out of it," Klaus said, Damon sure he would be saying the exact same things if it was left up to him, "We all know the drill; you feed or you die," he went on.
"There is no door number three," he finished, not bothering to apologise for the bluntness towards the little snowflake.
"I was ready to die," Elena admitted tearfully, making both Klaus and Damon sigh in frustration, but luckily no-one noticed the overlapping of sounds, "I was supposed to die. I don't – I don't want to be – I can't be a vampire!" she cried, a fresh wave of tears causing Stefan to pull her into a tight hug.
"We'll try everything we can," he said softly, still embracing her, "I promise," he swore, the sweetness of it all threatening to give Klaus and Damon cavities.
Klaus got up, rolling his eyes, and left the room. As they were walking down the hallway, Damon decided that Klaus had suffered enough, and regained control of his body, the passage much easier than he would have suspected, although he sensed Klaus was more than willing to give it up this time.
Damon stopped at the front door, standing and admiring his reflection, which had become an image of Klaus. He clapped quietly with a grin on his face, whilst Klaus looked inches away from smashing the mirror and trying to murder him.
"Bravo," Damon congratulated him, Klaus giving him a thin smile that told Damon he was going to sincerely regret everything once he got his own body back, "I'd give you an Oscar if you weren't stuck inside me," he said proudly.
"Ignore how that sounded," he said a split second after, sniggering to himself.
"Let's go see that witch," Klaus said, almost pleadingly, "She's the only one that can put me back," he added.
"You know she won't until she's found a way to help Elena," Damon reminded him knowingly, looking up towards the stairs and catching a faint conversation between Stefan and Bonnie over the phone.
Klaus didn't look fazed. "Luckily I can be extremely persuasive," he said with a smirk, Damon swallowing as he knew all too well about that, although with Bonnie, something told him the hybrid's methods were going to be slightly different.
"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Damon replied.
He was met with a devious smirk.
Damon sighed, hanging up his phone. He should've known better than to ask Bonnie for a favour, especially when Elena's life was considered top priority in all things, but Klaus was not letting him hear the end of it, although he was grateful - kind of - that Bonnie had taken his coffin back to the site of the witches' massacre. Then Damon wouldn't have as long a trip to get to it.
He was just praying that the witches weren't going to have a hissy fit and refuse to let them both in.
When he arrived, Damon tentatively poked a foot through the threshold, and then stepped inside, waiting to see if his ring would suddenly stop working.
"So far, so good," he muttered to himself after several moments of his skin not sizzling.
"Scared of a few witches, are we, Damon?" Klaus teased him, Damon rolling his eyes.
"Do you wanna get your own body back, or not?" he asked bluntly, deciding that Klaus must have, since he didn't say anything in response.
As he ascended the stairs, Damon caught the sound of panicked screaming coming from Jeremy. What was he doing here?
He walked into the main room, catching sight of Jeremy trying to violently shake Bonnie back into consciousness. She was unmoving and there was a drying trail of blood dripping from her nose.
"What's going on?" Damon asked in concern, kneeling down beside Jeremy. He felt his eyes rolling with Klaus' influence.
"She was trying to find a way to save Elena and she killed herself to try and do it," Jeremy explained hurriedly, "But now she's not waking up!" he cried, desperately shaking Bonnie still.
"Come on. Open your eyes," he pleaded softly, the latter seeming to have some affect her as her eyelids fluttered open.
"You're awake!" Jeremy said in relief, exhaling.
The both of them pulled Bonnie up into a sitting position, Jeremy taking hold of her. She buried her face into his shoulder, Damon's hearing picking up her soft sobbing.
Jeremy sighed happily, kissing the top of her head. "You're alive."
"I couldn't do it," Bonnie whispered in distress, "It didn't work," she said with a swallow.
"What didn't work?" Damon asked curiously.
"Elena," Bonnie said, pulling away from Jeremy and wiping her eyes and under her nose, "I couldn't bring her back," she said with a shake of her head, and Damon became confused. Elena wouldn't technically be dead until she fed to complete her transition, so what was Bonnie trying to bring her back from?
"My Grams, they were..." she trailed off, swallowing hard and struggling to catch her breath.
"Shhh, it's okay," Jeremy said soothingly, although there was a hint of despair in his eyes. He helped Bonnie off the ground, both of them brushing dust off of themselves.
It was then that Jeremy actually realised Damon was in the room with them. "What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion.
Damon ignored Jeremy, feeling his neck crack as Klaus took control of his body once more. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he said in exaggerated wonder, eyeing his charred, yet still preserved, body in the coffin.
"Why are you here, Klaus?" Bonnie asked in a pinched tone, folding her arms and regarding 'Damon' with a scathing look.
"Klaus?!" Jeremy yelled in surprise, his eyes narrowing as to him, it clearly looked like Damon was stood with them, despite the fact he was talking with a British accent, "What's going on?" he demanded.
"I'm here to get my body back," Damon explained, still with Klaus speaking through him, "Thanks to Damon, fate and oxygen, I still have one," he added, pulling Damon's jacket off his corpse and brushing the ash off it.
"Put me back, Bonnie," Klaus ordered.
"I can't right now," Bonnie said, sounding shaken. Whether if it was from Klaus' sudden appearance or what she had just witnessed in her comatose state, Damon didn't know.
"Your history teacher outed every single vampire in this town to the Council and now they're on a war path and this body's vulnerable," he explained, Klaus becoming rasher.
"Rude!" Damon chimed in, his voice his own.
"You know what I mean, Damon," Klaus amended softly.
"Still..." Damon rolled his eyes, pulling his jacket on and turning back to Bonnie with an almost pleading look on his face.
"Bonnie, please. This is like a more fucked up version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," he said in exasperation, his neck twitching as Klaus made his discomfort with the comparison known.
"I can't help you right now," Bonnie said, giving him a sympathetic look, "I have to find something that's going to help Elena," she added, and Damon nearly muttered a, 'Called it', aimed at Klaus.
"Elena's dead and no longer my concern, Bonnie," Damon hissed angrily, Klaus' sudden take-over causing his head to spin. The sooner they could get their own bodies back, the better.
"Does someone want to tell me what's going on here?" Jeremy wondered out loud, throwing his arms into the air.
"Long story, wait for the movie, Little Gilbert," Damon said to him.
His hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around Bonnie's throat in a vice-like grip, his fingers crushing his jugular like he intended to squeeze the life out of her. Jeremy started forwards protectively, but Damon's vision instantly filled with amber, his face burning hot as Klaus' visage forced its way through.
"Put me back now, or I'll rip your tongue out," he hissed out of his control, both his and Klaus' voices speaking in an overlap that made Damon's head spin.
"If I can keep Elena human, you'll still have an endless blood supply to make your hybrids. Isn't that what you really want?" she asked, standing her ground and staring Klaus in the eye.
"What I really want," Damon began in a falsely sweet imitation of Klaus' voice, increasing the pressure on Bonnie's throat and making her eyes bulge, "Is to be back in my own body," he said, Damon surprised Klaus didn't give any indication to wanting more hybrids.
"I'm sure Damon would appreciate it too," he said knowingly, raising an eyebrow.
"She said she's not strong enough," Jeremy interjected, raising his hands in a protective manner, as if he was contemplating to try and pry Damon's hand off of Bonnie himself.
Damon sighed and Klaus let him release Bonnie. He then regarded her with a confused expression.
"You were strong enough to put him in me," he began, trying desperately to refrain from "Surely, you're strong enough to get him out," he added in exasperation, folding his arms.
"I upset the spirits trying to save Elena," Bonnie explained softly, rubbing her throat, but while Damon himself understood, he could still feel himself boiling inside with Klaus' rage, "I can't use that kind of magic again so soon. It's too dangerous," she said apologetically.
But Klaus really didn't give a shit.
"Bonnie, do the bloody spell!" he yelled in frustration, his voice echoing around the room.
"She said she can't okay?!" Jeremy retorted hotly, staring him out.
Damon licked his lips, feeling nerves bubble up in his stomach. It only intensified as Klaus said, "I apologise, Damon," and slashed the collar of his shirt open.
He took a deep breath, and against his will, Damon saw his hand raising towards his now exposed chest, his nails bleeding as wolf claws extended through them. He yelled out in pain as Klaus stabbed his hand through his own chest, digging the claws into his heart, wrapping around it.
"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked in horror, her eyes wide.
"Ripping Damon's heart out," Klaus hissed, Damon grimacing as he began tugging on his organ, "I'll jump into someone else – he eyed Jeremy mischievously – "Maybe you," he smirked, another violent tear to Damon's heart causing him to vomit blood.
"Oh my God!" Bonnie cried, looking like she honestly did want to help Damon, but he knew she was conflicted.
"You're bluffing," Jeremy said boldly, addressing Klaus head on, "You need a witch to do that," he pointed out smugly, folding his arms.
Damon tugged on his heart in relation. "What makes you think I don't have one, boy?" Klaus shot back, raising his eyebrows, "Or ten?" he emphasized, shutting the kid down.
"Pick, Bonnie!" Klaus ordered, another fresh wave of blood erupting from Damon's mouth, "You or Damon!" And he sincerely hoped Bonnie would help him; Klaus had almost completely torn his heart from his chest.
"Fine, I'll do it!" Bonnie relented hurriedly, rushing over to him, "Just please stop hurting him!" she cried.
Damon sighed in relief as Klaus released his heart, his nails shrinking back to their original shape. He winced slightly as the wound healed, rubbing the blood off with the back of his hand. Bonnie put a hand on his arm worriedly. He gave her a small smile of relief.
"Now I see what you meant by persuasive," Damon panted to Klaus, struggling to get his breath back, "Get on with it before he tries that again, please," he begged her, Bonnie nodding quickly, shaken herself.
The door flew off its hinges, startling all of them. Damon whirled around, baring a terrifying combination of both his and Klaus' visages at them. He was met with several men – deputies from the look of their clothes – that backed up slightly.
One clicked the trigger on their gun, and Damon rushed forwards, attempting to rip into his neck and drain him dry, but he was met with a searing pain in his forehead.
The sound of a gunshot rang out in his ears as his vision went black.
So that's that! :) Hopefully I won't take as long to update next time. And just to clarify, the part where Damon has totally given Klaus control, it just sounds like Klaus is talking to himself (that's why I didn't put it in italics, and I referred to him as Klaus) as when he was alone, he didn't need to fake Damon's voice, but when he was around Stefan, Elena, etc, he was faking Damon's voice. Sounds confusing, but believe me, it was harder to find the right phrases to use, haha.
As always, read and review, and I will see you next time. {Which I'm desperately hoping won't be next year; sorry about that...}