A/N: I'M BACK! Well...it's been waaaayyayyyy too long. Anyone still there? Lol. I dedicated myself to write another chapter in thanks to The Originals' premiere that I did not watch or plan to anytime soon. I hear Kol is back, which I guess is cool, but he's not Nate! Anyway, here you go!

**EDITED

Chapter 8: Treacherous

This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I, I, I like it

Once realizing what she had just done, Caroline broke out of her erogenous daze. She leapt off the bed to quickly search the floor for her castoff clothing.

Klaus sat up on his forearms, watching her tussle about the dark room.

"Can't believe what we…what I just did." Caroline muttered under her breath as she ineptly redressed herself.

"Me either, sweetheart. Your friends are God knows where and look at us. Granted, it wouldn't be the first time." She glowered back at him. She could see his devilish smirk running across his face from the city lights that shone through the windows.

If he wasn't stronger, faster, and of course the original hybrid, she undoubtedly would have killed him then and there.

Caroline huffed as she threw on the rest of her clothes with her vampire speed.

"I'll be outside, where everyone else is waiting for you." She made her way to the front door and let herself out without any further words to Klaus. She began to feel extremely upset with herself, now deriving down from her high she experienced only moments ago.

She patted and smoothed her hair back down so nothing would appear too obvious. She glanced down below and it seemed like the others were still conversing about the Travelers and the Other Side. Caroline began descending down the stairs.

The night was chiller than the previous. Although the cold did not affect Caroline as it used to, she still felt the human need to clutch at her elbows for warmth.

Once she made it to the bottom of the steps, Elijah glanced over at her, frustration filling his features.

"I take it my brother is refusing to be of assistance?"

"Bingo," Caroline uttered. Her face began to flush, hoping the others wouldn't suspect anything. It hadn't been too long, she thought. Surely not as long as she believed it to be. To be safe, she avoided Elijah's raking eyes.

Caroline joined the circle next to Bonnie and furtively skimmed each of their expressions. She caught Damon slightly grinning at her.

"You look quite steamed, Blondie. Did you let him have it?" Damon asked.

The warmth in Caroline's cheeks began rising. "If you mean by lecturing and criticizing him in a complete control freak way, then yes."

"Well, what else would I mean?"

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't know. The way your mind works, it could be anything."

"Caroline," Elijah interrupted. "We were just made aware that the barrier spell is, indeed, lifted." Elijah announced, looking on to her, seemingly shaken off his former irritation with Klaus.

"Really? Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find them!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Without their known location, it could be near to impossible to find them. Even witches cannot track them," Elijah said. "But we do know, however, that they will remain close by. At least, within the state, that is."

"That's hardly helpful," Caroline said.

Everyone then glanced up in the courtyard as they heard noises coming from above. Caroline was astonished to see Klaus leaning over the railing looking down at them. He had the old, dusty book in hand that Caroline found him rummaging through before.

"Don't stop on my account. Please, continue, brother." Klaus taunted as he began to making his way down the steps.

"Niklaus, have you resolved to finally be of use and abet us with this task?" Elijah questioned. "This matter, regrettably, does concern you, as well."

"I'm offended that you're under the impression that I would forsake you in a time as such. Has it absconded your mind that I'm the one who found one of the little clowns from the traveling circus who in turn gave us viable information?"

"You must be mistaken. I believe you meant the one you killed before anything else could have been discussed with him," Elijah clarified, shaking his head.

"Well, one less clown that we eventually have to hunt down. And, besides, I have found supplementary information that may be of further service."

Elijah's expression changed to that of interest as he waited for Klaus to join their circle.

Caroline could feel her heart begin to quicken its tempo as Klaus drew nearer to them. She turned away from him to hide any sign that he was bothering her.

"Is that one of mothers?" Elijah asked as he inspected the book Klaus was holding.

"Indeed." Klaus walked up besides Elijah and placed the bulky book down on the table in front of the others with a loud thud. He opened it to a marked page and gestured to Elijah. "Have at it," Klaus said. Elijah immediately began to read the contents within.

"How is some old, filthy book going to help us find my girl and my brother?" Damon asked, his tone becoming impatient.

"Reading can be useful once in a while, Damon." Caroline rolled her eyes.

Klaus eyed them humorously and focused his attention back to Elijah who was quickly skimming the pages.

Elijah was finally done and straightened back up.

"Well? Doe someone want to cue the rest of us in?" Damon asked, looking around.

Elijah sighed. "It's not much, but something that does explain the reasoning to their actions."

Klaus spoke up. "Our mother had a run in with a rogue Traveler awhile back, before turning us into vampires. Of course, she killed the nuisance, but only after they had passed along some valuable information. She was kind enough to write a few of their words down."

"And those would be?" Damon asked.

"According to this, the Travelers desire a place of settlement," Elijah said. "And once they break this supposed curse placed on them, all witch magic comes undone, and they'll finally have a home to call their own. Yet, look who's here." He turned to face his brother. "None other than two of the original vampires created by the original witch. Now that's certainly killing two birds with one stone."

"Killing you and your brother including the entire bloodlines should their plan fail to reach further out?" Enzo spoke, recollecting one of Damon's past stories.

"Glad to see someone is catching on," Elijah remarked

"We'll be damned before we let some Travelers take over our home." Klaus added, eyeing Elijah who nodded in agreement.

Caroline decided to look back up and get some understanding. "So, let me get this straight. The Travelers basically lured us all here so that they would be able to trap Stefan and Elena, and both of you, too? And then, what, take over the Quarter?"

Klaus perked up to her insightfulness. "It would appear so, love."

"You mean, you lured all of us here, Barbie," Damon clarified, his eyes meeting Caroline. "Don't forget the reason why we're all really here in the first place."

Bonnie must've sensed that Caroline was going to snap at Damon, so she spoke up.

"You're leaving out a great detail," Bonnie said, her dark eyes regarding everyone around her. "If either Elena or Stefan dies, the ritual would be ruined for the Travelers. That's why they took them away. I guarantee that the witches around here will want to interfere in any way they can."

"Whoa, whoa!" Damon shrieked at Bonnie, throwing his hand up in the air. "You can't just go throwing that information out to them. If killing both Stef and Elena means they get survive, you better believe they would not pass up that opportunity. Remember all the others times we trusted them? Look how they all turned out!"

"Damon. I give you my word - no harm will come to Elena or Stefan should we find them in time," Elijah assured.

"Well, your word means zilch to me." Damon's fingers anxiously drummed atop of the table as he pursed his lips, seeing he had no other options. "So, what's our plan?"

"First and foremost, find Stefan and Elena." Elijah obviously stated. "However, I believe that we are going to need all the help we can get."

"If there are witches in the city, I can try to convince them to help us," Bonnie added. "Just give me one to contact, and I'll see what I can do."

"We'll take anything at the moment," Elijah said. "Once the Travelers have acquired enough of Stefan and Elena's blood, they will start their spell. Bonnie, I'm entrusting you to contact one peculiar witch within the city."

Bonnie took the information Elijah handed over and left the courtyard.

The rest of the group then concluded that it was going to take the Travelers more than a few hours to get their plan going - a couple days, at least. Therefore, the group split up. Elijah went off on his own. Enzo and Damon went off together in search of more Travelers. Matt and Jeremy stayed back to watch over Julian. Leaving Caroline with Klaus.

Caroline still couldn't find the nerve to look at Klaus, even after the others had split off into the night and in different directions.

The pair paced down the brightly lit streets of the French Quarter in silence for some time. As much as she did not want to break the silence, the uneasiness hanging in the air was becoming too overwhelming for Caroline. Talk, she thought to herself.

"So, where did you run off to earlier today?" She finally asked him.

Klaus let out slight breath. "A friend needed some help, so I merely offered my enduring support."

"A friend…you mean that woman from before?" Caroline questioned, taking minor notice to his discontented tone.

"Yes."

Caroline stopped walking. "Something wrong?" She asked. She wanted to discuss what happened before between them at his place, but the timing was not right. She put it on the back burner for later.

Klaus stopped, as well, and ran a hand through his hair before looking to her.

He answered rather icily. "If you haven't noticed, my life as well as my brother's lies in the balance. It seems that we cannot escape the grasp Mystic Falls has on us."

"So, what, was that just 'we're about to die' sex back there then?" Caroline blurted out. Well, so much for the back burner. She ignored the way his face turned into a scowl. "And, excuse me, but none of us asked for you to even show up in the first place! We also didn't ask to be a part of the mess here. All of our lives are at stake, just so you know."

Caroline blinked and reevaluated what he just said. 'The grasp Mystic Falls has on us'.

"Are you blaming us for the Travelers?" She asked without giving him time to reply to her earlier statement.

"Of course not, love."

"Well, am I here because of the Travelers or witches or both?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Klaus was hesitant at first. He regarded ahead of them and began walking again. "I'm not entirely sure yet."

Caroline scoffed and caught up with him. "Well, I think it would make total sense."

"And why's that?" He asked, turning to face her. His expression lightening up.

"You know…" Her voice trailed off. "How things used to be back in Mystic Falls between us. Just being friends, that is. Nothing more. Plus, you said so yourself, about me being exploited against you. Is that…true?"

Despite all her harsh words, she was surprised to see a faint smile touch Klaus's lips. "Caroline, if there's one person in the world who I could not hurt, I'm sure we both know who that would be. We've already had this happenstance back in Mystic Falls…"

Caroline recalled the night Klaus attacked her. Although out of impulse to get even with Tyler, Caroline knew that Klaus regretted it.

"How would the Travelers even know about any of it?" Caroline quietly asked, more to herself than Klaus. Then again, why did Silas appear to her as Klaus that one time in the woods? Silas, without a doubt, knew about them. The guy could read minds.

"It appears they know more than we think." Klaus stated their unvoiced thoughts.

Both continued their walk, eventually coming to the boarder of the French Quarter.

Desiring reassurance, Caroline reached a hand out to where she knew the barrier spell had previously been positioned, and felt relieved to feel nothing but air meet her fingertips. Triumphantly, she grinned and walked forward.

"What do you suppose the odds are of any of these people being Travelers?" Caroline quietly asked Klaus as they passed by a group of people.

"Want to find out?" Klaus questioned, eyeing her mischievously.

"Well, it's not like you can compel them." Caroline huffed. She threw her hands up in frustration. "Urgh, we've been looking for how long and haven't come across anything!"

Klaus held up a hand for her to slow down. "You just need to know where to look, love." He eyed her and nodded his head to the left, waiting for Caroline to look.

Caroline looked past him and saw two individuals gathered collectively quite a few blocks away, standing motionless. They unquestionably stood out from the rest of the raucous people around them.

"Do you think…?" She asked, keeping her monitoring eyes on the individuals.

However, as quick as a blink of an eye, Klaus had pinned her against the nearby building. He swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" She choked out, pushing off his body. She also couldn't help that her face instantly reddened from the sudden closeness.

He teasingly seized her earlobe with his teeth, just careful not to bite, and whispered, "Act natural, love; we're being watched."

Caroline's body froze as her eyes carefully searched over his shoulder for any unusualness. She looked to the two people who she was previously watching before, but they hadn't moved. She failed to see any other threat around them. There were people walking all as if nothing was wrong.

"From who, exactly?" She sharply questioned, bringing her face to his.

Klaus brought his forehead to touch hers and spoke down at her. "It's of no importance." He murmured and brushed the hair out of her face behind her ears with his free hand. "I'm going to leave you in a moment to take care of it."

She swallowed and stared into his eyes as he continued to speak.

"Now, when I give the word, you're going to make way for the alley off to your left." He instructed, his dark eyes reflecting his command.

"No. I can handle myself just fine!" She whispered loudly. "Now tell me what's going on."

He gently put his finger to her lips to shush her while he leaned closer in. "There's another pair of Travelers at the end of this block behind us. Don't look," He added, keeping his eyes fixed upon hers. "If your theory about them possibly bringing you here is correct, then this doesn't appear suspicious. We may have the advantage right now."

"How can you be sure they're Travelers? And you actually believe that?" She arched an eyebrow.

Caroline was also astonished. It wasn't like Klaus to be confiding into someone else's assumption over his own safety.

"You're going to have to trust me," He uttered, his warm breath tickling her face.

A soft breeze blew across Caroline's face, causing shivers to run through her body. What did he just say?

Klaus continued. "We don't want them alerting the others, unmistakably. That leaves us with one action."

Caroline shook her head. "So what if they know? We need to find Stefan and Elena!" She ridiculed.

"If you've been paying attention, love, then you'd know they are more powerful when they're together. Let them join up and we won't stand a chance," He hissed.

Klaus reluctantly lifted his head back up and watched for her expression for assurance that she understood. Like a wolf perceiving the breeze, his head beckoned to the side and tilted up. Caroline could then hear the Travelers behind them beginning to make their move.

"There are only two, and they have been watching us for some time." His firm grasp around her waist began to lessen and their bodies were inching further apart.

"Let me help you," Caroline said.

Klaus seemed to think for a moment before making his mind up. "Markos will not let anyone interfere with his plan. I can relate." Klaus quickly expressed. "We can stop them."

"I don't know if I could do it your way, though...there are innocent people in those bodies." Caroline's words faded, hoping Klaus would catch her meaning. She also had a feeling that he did not care if they were innocent or not.

"You don't have to do anything of the sort, love." He whispered into her ear again and continued to instruct her of what to do.

She nodded once he finished explaining his plan. Although this method was at the bottom of her list of getting answers, she agreed with him. Whatever to help Stefan and Elena.

Once the street around them emptied, Klaus gave her the signal.

Caroline appeared behind one of the Travelers, covered his mouth and pulled him into an alley that was dark enough to hide them from any speculating eyes. Judging from the Traveler's expression, he was alarmed about this unexpected attack. Klaus grabbed the other and did the same.

Caroline kept a strong grasp on the Traveler who struggled and tried to break free from her. She then watched on as Klaus pinned the other against the wall, his hand clutched tightly around their throat.

"You utter one incantation and I'll rip out your tongue. Now, I'm going to ask you only once, where is Markos keeping the bloody doppelgangers?" Klaus hissed at the Traveler, who was a woman, Caroline now noticed.

The woman, who was obviously terrified, tugged and yanked at Klaus's hand around her neck, but it was no use. The man in Caroline's clutch began to open his mouth on her hands, a futile attempt to bite her. She quickly readjusted her grasp, preventing him from moving his jaw.

"I d-don't know where h-he's keeping them!" the woman sniveled.

"Wrong answer, love." Klaus's incensed expression suddenly changed to that of pleasure with a thrilled grin spreading across his lips.

The woman's eyes widened with horror as Klaus's own eyes began to darken and change to that of a hazy yellow. He opened his mouth to reveal his piercing fangs as he lunged for her throat.

Caroline should have been able to predict what he was about to do, but at the same time she wish she couldn't see it. For a moment, Caroline was as horrified as the woman who Klaus had just sunk his teeth into. In addition, the smell of blood struck Caroline like a brick wall. She hadn't had a drink since the other day. Keep it together, keep it together, she repeated to herself.

Klaus bit more viciously into the Traveler's neck and drained her blood until she could no longer stand on her own two feet. Her hands then fell limply at her sides as her fidgeting against him ceased. Klaus released his hold from the woman, and she dropped to the ground with a thud. Her eyes remained open, gazing off at the unknown that was death.

Caroline could feel the man in her hold try to leap to the dead woman on the ground, but his efforts were ineffective against her hold. Caroline couldn't help but feel remorse for the man.

Klaus cocked his head to the side and turned around to face the remaining Traveler. Blood seeped from Klaus's mouth, down his chin and continued trailing down his neck. He licked his lips and his earlier grin returned to his face, exposing his bloodied teeth.

"Let's hope things go better for you." Klaus spoke in a low voice, eyeing the remaining Traveler.

The man tried backing away, but was met with Caroline's unmoving body.

Klaus's yellow eyes looked to Caroline whose own eyes were wide with alarm and panic as she took in his appearance. Klaus blinked, and his eyes returned to normal. He nodded for her to let go of the man.

Caroline's shaking hands were hesitant at first, all the while locking eyes with Klaus, but her fingers slowly released him. The man dropped to the ground. She backed away from them and crossed her arms over her chest, remaining quiet as a mouse. This was for Elena and Stefan, she reminded herself.

Klaus knelt down next to the man, but looked down the alley instead of directly at him. "Now, to be fair, I'll offer you the same selections to you that your companion had. You either tell me where Markos is or…you die." Klaus smirked. "Take your pick."

"We don't know where he is! He made us stay and watch over…" The man's quivering voice halted, as if he was bound to say no more.

Klaus's head turned back to face the man suddenly. "Watch over what, exactly?"

The man exhaled, loudly. "Watch over our bodies."

"And where would they be?" Klaus questioned, tilting his head.

"In the sewers just up the street. I'm sure you already noticed the others stationed there."

The phone in Caroline's pocket began to vibrate. Her trembling hands pulled the phone out to see that Damon was the one calling her. In her whole life, she never thought she would be relieved as she was now to get a call from Damon. He was her rescue to get away from what she knew Klaus was about to do. She stepped away from Klaus's disturbing interrogation to answer.

She cleared her throat before answering. "Yeah?"

"Tell me that you and Klaus found something by now. Enzo and I got squat."

She walked further away from Klaus and out onto the sidewalk, back to where civilization was. "We have a Traveler, and he just told us where they're storing their own bodies."

"That's great! Tell us where you are and we'll head on over there."

"I'll send you the location to your phone because I have no idea where we are." She hung up and sent him the text with her attached location. Phones were miracles.

Caroline, regrettably, walked back into the alley to find Klaus wiping his face and hand with the now dead Traveler's jacket. Beside the Traveler lay a bloody, immovable heart.

"Seriously?" Caroline winched from the sight. "He told you where the bodies were!"

Klaus threw the jacket to the ground, yet the blood still stained his hand. He walked over to Caroline. "Yes, but he never told me where Markos was."

Caroline rolled her eyes.

Klaus dug into his own jacket's pocket and brought out his phone. He quickly typed out a text to someone.

"What was that?" Caroline asked.

"Clean up duty. Now, let's go find that cellar."

A/N: I should have finished this whole shitty traveler arc when season 5 ended, but I sort of lost inspiration. Not that this is going to end quickly, but any ideas in what direction the rest of the story should go?

BTW, check out my other new Klaroline fic: The Flame's Darkness! It's what really got me writing this story again. Caroline head of the homicide unit in Chicago with Klaus being an FBI agent helping out on a case. I've been having a lot of fun with it, so go take a look! Now!

Watch for me on tumblr: winterfoxx5