…

"Elijah," Klaus smiles as he approaches his brother and Elijah returns the smile, turning towards him. They embrace and pat one another on the back. "You're looking well."

"You as well," Elijah nods once they step apart. "But where is the ever lovely Caroline?"

"High school," Klaus answers with a bit of a smirk.

Elijah is quiet for a moment, blinking at him, and then he gives his own little half smile, understanding, having known the blonde for nearly as long as his brother. "She is an amazing creature," he compliments his brother.

"The best," Klaus nods as he turns towards the staircase that leads down into the cave, his smile completely disappearing and his eyes hardening. "Tell me."

"She's down there," Elijah nods. "Scarlett is waiting for your word on whether to keep her there or to let her go."

Klaus is silent, staring down the stone steps, taking a minute. "We're going to let her go," he says, looking back to Elijah who understandably looks surprised. "I can't very well torture her if she's in a crypt that makes her virtually untouchable to me."

"Perhaps we could-"

Klaus sets his steel gaze onto his brother. "No, Elijah. Perhaps we can't."

Elijah closes his mouth and reluctantly nods his head. "I've spent many years chasing her," he says, staring down the stone steps. "I just suppose I don't know what I'll do with myself now."

Klaus' lips twitch in a somewhat smile and he claps a hand onto his brother's back. "No worries, Elijah. You've been around for many years. You'll find a new hobby."

He begins to descend down the steps, entering the dark crypt with Elijah behind him. Moisture clings to the walls and he hears a few drops of water drip down from the earth above as they enter the dark cavernous room. He smiles when he sees Scarlett, one of the few allowed in his inner circle after proving her loyalty to him time and time again. She is his own personal witch and she walks to him as he enters.

"Klaus," she smiles.

"I see you got my message," Klaus says.

She nods. "I came the instant I received it." She looks past him but only sees Elijah. She looks back to Klaus with curiosity. "Did Caroline not come with you? Is she in Canada still?" She asks.

Klaus smiles again. Apparently, he and Caroline are allowed to never go somewhere without the other. "She is seeing to her own task for me at the moment." His eyes drift past Scarlett and look to the large entrance hole in the crypt wall. "You can release her?"

Scarlett nods again. "A Bennett witch has trapped her in there with a containment spell. It's strong but I can break it. If she can do this however, for the ritual-"

"Caroline will be seeing to the Bennett witch. Now, release her," Klaus orders.

He and Elijah stand off to the side as Scarlett stands in front of the entrance. They have yet to see Katherine but Klaus can sense her. She is in the darkness, hiding somewhere. He hasn't seen her in so long and he is eager to be reunited with her.

Minutes pass, Scarlett murmuring an incantation to herself, her hands held up in front of her, her eyes closed and a slight breeze appears, rustling her hair. It is a quiet process and when she turns to the two brothers, she gives a slight nod.

"It is safe for you to enter," she informs him.

Klaus does not hesitate. He strides past her and enters the cave. He can smell her and she is afraid. He smiles to himself. Good. She should be. She has managed to escape him for centuries now but today, there will be no slipping past him. Today, she will face him. She has many things to answer for and once she does, he will enjoy using her spine as a backscratcher. Maybe he'll give Caroline her heart as a memento of sorts. After all, because of her, Caroline almost lost her own in New Orleans.

Katherine gasps and chokes with surprise as suddenly, she finds herself pinned back against a wall, her feet dangling above the ground and Klaus' hand wrapped around her throat. His eyes are already flashing yellow and she scratches at his arm, desperate to be put down again though she knows that he will keep her there all day if he so wishes.

"It's been a long time, Katerina," Klaus says in a quiet voice. It's calm and steady and that's what completely terrifies her. "Not as long as you would think though. What was it? New Orleans. 1923? Or was it four? You must forgive me. Years tend to run together when you've gone through so many," he smiles at her.

"Klaus," she gasps. "I didn't-"

His smile vanishes. "That is what you always think, Katerina."

He stares at her, tilting his head slightly to the side, studying her. She is beautiful. He will give her that much. But while she has left men – including his own brother – panting after her, he has never wanted her. Just what flows within. But then she had made that completely useless to him by turning and she forced him to wait centuries for the next doppelganger to appear. And as he waited, her very survival had taunted him.

She reminds him of a cockroach. She will always survive. No matter what. She takes care of herself and does what she has to in order to keep her eternity. He almost respects that.

But New Orleans is still fresh in his mind. Not just the frustration of having her so close and not even knowing until Caroline told him of her presence in the city but for the hand he was sure she played in Caroline's abduction and torture. It has happened before. It is why being with him is so dangerous for Caroline. There will always be some foolish sort that will think that to get to him, they must go through her.

And they are right.

He will do anything for her, go to any lengths to protect her or to get her back to him. He will burn down cities and murder hundreds if it means her safe return.

And in New Orleans, that is exactly what Katerina forced him to do. He still remembers finding Caroline, bloodied and tortured and near death and he knew that the three brothers weren't the only ones responsible for it. Someone with strength must have helped them. Someone with more strength than Caroline and who had that besides the older vampire she had been spending time with and who knew that Caroline belonged to him? Who knew that the quickest way to hurt him was to hurt her?

Katerina.

For a vampire who has been running for him for centuries and who has been able to allude him, she is certainly a stupid little thing.

His fingers tighten around her throat and he stares at her with fangs retracted and yellow in his eyes.

"I hope you don't have someplace you need to be, Katerina," he says to her calmly and she gasps, still clawing at his arm and shoulder, her legs kicking back and forth. "We've been apart for so long, I was hoping to take my time in reacquainting myself with you."

He smiles as she looks at him with those big brown eyes of hers, completely petrified.

"Caroline still has her doubts that you had anything to do with what happened in New Orleans," he then takes a step closer, his hand tightening even more, crushing her throat. She chokes though she doesn't breathe. He stares into her eyes. "But I know you," he whispers. "You want me dead, don't you, Katerina?" He smiles a little then. "You know, in all of my centuries of existing, I have never gotten tired of watching what desperation drives a person to do."

"Klaus," she tries to say his name but is choking instead and he keeps smiling, watching her. He can do this all day – all eternity. She deserves to suffer for that long. "Caroline…" she coughs.

He snarls. "I'll snap your neck if you say her name again."

"But she…" Katherine coughs again. "They are going to kill her."

Klaus stares at her. She is not to be trusted. She will do and say anything to be spared and he has never been one to fall for her charms. He isn't going to start now.

Still, the mention of Caroline makes him pause.

"And who is trying to kill her?" He asks.

He must admit, he's a little curious. Katherine's instincts to survive this have kicked in and she apparently has chosen his love for Caroline as a way of maybe saving herself.

"Let me go," she stares bravely into his eyes. "I'll tell you everything. They told me their plan. I told them how stupid it was."

"They?" Klaus raises an eyebrow. "There is more than one of them?"

"Let me go," she says again.

He doesn't and lets a few more minutes tick by. With a sigh, he then releases her throat and takes a step back, allowing her to fall to the ground with a thud. He almost smiles but he does as he watches her scramble to her feet.

"You run, I rip your heart out," he tells her bluntly, his voice calm and nonchalant. "Who is trying to kill Caroline?" He asks.

Katherine rests a hand on her throat, struggling to swallow. "Damon Salvatore and his brother, Stefan."

Klaus growls at both names. He has never met Damon but he has heard so many stories about him. He's an insolent pup – cocky and thinks himself something of a bad boy. The term makes him laugh. Klaus imagines flicking him away like a crumb on his pants.

But Stefan, he knows Stefan very well. There had been a time when they had been a trio. Himself, Stefan and Caroline. A family of sorts. They had lived and hunted together. He and Caroline had both looked to him as a brother. They had had so much fun together. But then something flipped in Stefan and he decided that what they did was wrong and he wanted to feed on bunnies in the forests instead.

Stefan Salvatore has been one of his greatest disappointments in nearly all of his existence. Hearing his name still conjures up such anger and frustration and regret.

And to think of him being part of a plan to kill Caroline… Klaus isn't sure what to think. This is, after all, Katerina telling him such things. She will speak of anything and try to convince him that it is the truth.

"They know that she is your greatest weakness," Katherine continues. "Your only weakness," she then adds, looking at him. "They will do anything to get to you."

"And why do they bother themselves with anything I'm doing?" Klaus wonders.

"The doppelganger," she answers. "Elena Gilbert. Both of them are in love with her."

Klaus raises an eyebrow. "Again? Weren't they already both in love with you?"

Katherine shrugs and touches her hair. "They have a type, that's for sure."

He almost smiles. He prefers blondes with blue eyes and who giggle and smile often. He grows stoic again, staring at her, his eyes flashing.

"And why should I believe you?" He questions her. "You will say whatever you need to for me to spare you, Katerina."

She shakes her head, frantically. "This is the truth, Klaus. I swear to you. I'll help you-"

In a flash, Klaus has her pinned against the wall again with his hand around her throat. He snarls. "I want nothing from you, Katerina," he tells her in a low voice, his eyes locked with hers.

"It's true though," she says. "They are going to kidnap Caroline and kill her."

"Kidnap and kill her? That sounds familiar," his fingers tighten.

His cell phone begins to ring in his pocket and he drops Katherine again, her body crumbling to the ground. He rips the phone from his pocket and he knows that it's Caroline. He still answers with a frustrated snap.

"What?"

"Whoa, Mr. Cranky Pants," Caroline frowns. "We have talked about phone etiquette before, remember? Especially when talking to me."

He exhales. At least she is alright. "Forgive me. What is it? How's the first day?"

"You are never going to believe who I ran into just now!" She then exclaims and he can easily imagine her practically bouncing with excitement. "Stefan's here! He goes to school at Mystic Falls High, too! Did you know about this and not tell me?"

He feels his entire body go completely still. He looks down to Katherine. She is still on the ground but sitting up now, leaning back against the wall behind her. He doesn't believe her. He doesn't believe a single word she says and yet… Stefan is here, in Mystic Falls. Klaus feels as if he should have known that.

"Caroline, where are you right now?" He asks, keeping all sense of calm in his voice.

Somehow though, she hears something else. They have been together for too long.

"What is it?" She asks, dropping her voice. "Tell me."

"Stefan Salvatore is not to be trusted, love. I need you to leave school this instant."

"Nik-"

"And I don't need you to argue with me about this. I need you to be safe. Now leave school and come home. I will be there waiting for you."

He knows she wants to say so much more. He can imagine her standing there, her mouth open, more words ready to pour out. But she is quiet. She can hear it in his voice. Now is not the time to argue with him. She can protest all she likes – once she's home and he's there with her.

"Please, Caroline," he then adds in a much softer tone and that is what does it.

"Of course," she replies just as softly. "I'm leaving right now. I love you."

"I love you," he nods, relieved as he can hear the tapping of her heels from over the phone, hearing her walk. "What did Stefan say to you?" He asks.

"Not much. He seemed just as surprised to see me in high school as I was to see him."

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing about Elena or Bonnie or-"

"Nothing, Klaus," Caroline repeats herself, more firmly.

He nods again. "Good girl. I'll see you soon."

"And you will explain everything to me," she orders him.

"Everything," he promises. He pulls the phone from his ear and ends the call. He then looks back to Katherine. "You're coming with me. I am not letting you out of my sight." He grabs her arm and pulls her roughly to her feet. I might have use for you after all."

He drags her from the cave, she stumbling next to him, and he sees the surprise in Elijah's eyes when he sees them both. Katherine is no longer supposed to be alive.

"We're leaving," Klaus tells both Elijah and Scarlett. "I know which vampire should be used for part of the ritual."

…

Caroline has no idea what's going on but whenever Klaus uses that tone with her – that soft, gentle tone and adds the word please to his sentences – she knows that it shouldn't be questioned. He needs her to go home – to the house they have on the edge of town – and she is going to go there now without hesitation. She just has to get off school grounds first before she speeds away. She can't run the risk of anyone seeing her.

The grounds are crowded with students – some on their lunch period, others going to their next class – and she feels the pulsating of their blood in their veins and she nearly licks her lips. So many options. So many silly teenagers all ripe for the picking. None of them know what she is and even if they did, they probably wouldn't believe. Vampires belong in the world of fiction. They don't exist. This is what they tell themselves. Even as she feasts on their necks, they aren't able to grasp that it is truly happening to them.

She doesn't stop to eat. Not even snack. She and Klaus will go hunting later.

As soon as she steps into the woods that surround the school, she takes off, rushing away in a blur of motion and she arrives at the house within minutes.

Klaus is waiting on the front porch for her and the instant he sees her, he grabs her and pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her. She is stunned for a moment, still having no idea what's going on, but she lifts her arms and wraps them around him, embracing him. He holds her, crushing her to him, not letting her go and he murmurs something in her hair. She closes her eyes and his lips brush against her temple.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he whispers.

"Nik, what's going on?" Caroline asks, pulling her head back in order to look up at him.

He is quiet and he lifts his hands, framing her face, returning her gaze into her eyes. "It seems that there are some in this town that wish to declare war on us."

She looks at him and his eyes are dark and serious and she feels the tenseness of his body in her arms. This has to do with the ritual in a few nights. He has been waiting for this night for so long. Everything in his world has revolved around this. Everything comes second to this and the doppelganger. Everything. And she loves him so much, she will do anything for him. She will do anything to make sure that this ritual takes place for him.

She does her best to smile. "I so do enjoy a good bloodshed."

His hands are still on her cheeks, his thumbs caressing her skin. "I'm afraid not this time, love. I need you to leave Mystic Falls and not return. I need you to leave me behind."

…

A/N: I absolutely love writing this story and I hope you love reading it. If you do, please comment! Thank you very much to those who do :)