Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

A/N: Again, so sorry for the wait. I feel like I only have excuses for you guys. It's been some time since I've been inspired to continue this, and I didn't want to, lest it be totally horrible. I have many plans ahead. Thank you so much for the reviews! You can shout at me to continue and inspire me some more!

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Twenty-Two

At the sight of Elena's house, relief flooded through AJ, a sweet feeling that loosened the tightness in her throat. Standing there on the sidewalk, the past several months seemed oddly surreal, as if they'd been nothing but a dream, a long-lasting nightmare. Of course, she didn't feel so resolute about everything that had happened during her time away from Mystic Falls, but all the death she had witnessed was an incorrigible scar on her memory. Yet it had all been well worth it, if it meant her best friend was okay.

However, that wasn't the entire reason why she had left with Klaus in the first place. She found herself glancing around uneasily for Elijah, wondering what he'd think of her now. Ashamed didn't begin to cover how she felt about hurting him—she deserved to be hated for it. She deserved much worse. But she wouldn't rescind anything, because the only regret she had lay within the love she still felt for him, after all this time. She'd destroyed that love; taken it from him and used it as the very weapon that hurt him.

Unbidden, she wondered if it was possible to love two people at once. There were two halves to her soul, weren't there? She didn't want to consider the possibility that perhaps her polar sides had their predilections.

The deep purple dress fluttered in the wind, its fabric ghosting the skin on her thighs. Klaus had requested she wear it, so she wouldn't arrive late to the Lockwood mansion. He'd made somewhat of a sour look at her departure, his unwillingness to share her evidently growing with each day. She promised to meet him there on time.

First, she needed to see Elena. The thought of truly being able to see her best friend concretely created a flurry of childlike excitement within her. Without further hesitation, she crossed the yard and stepped before the front door.

Custom would typically grant AJ immediate uninvited access into the Gilbert house. But customs had faded away with distance, and she had no clue what to expect. With due respect she only offered those she truly admired, AJ rang the doorbell and waited as patiently as she could while sheer energy vibrated through her being. Eagerness exuded from her as she bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet. It had been too long since she last felt this way—like a teenager.

After several silent minutes passed by without any sign of movement within the house, AJ's shoulders fell in disappointment. No one was home. Or so she thought. To reassure herself of the assumption, AJ opened the front door—who locked their doors anymore when invited vampires could rip it off its hinges, or uninvited ones couldn't touch it?—and stepped into the house.

A sense of nostalgia immediately overcame her; she sucked in a quiet breath. Aside from the thin layer of dust covering the mostly unused furniture, everything looked exactly the same. This was the same house that had harbored her on many a dark night; the same house she and Elena had shared secrets in; the same house that had, alone, symbolized family and safety all before Elena's parents had died, before Stefan and Damon, Elijah and Klaus. This is where their friendship had begun, had been nurtured.

Yet, there was a loaded sense of emptiness radiating the space before her. This was not the same house she had left; it was not the same as it had been three years ago. It was hollow. A shell.

Shoving the thoughts into the back of her mind, AJ did a quick search through the rooms. Who knew what could happen anymore? For all she knew, Elena was bound and gagged somewhere, awaiting rescue.

But in fact, she wasn't. AJ had found the house void of all life-forms. A throbbing pang struck her heart when her eyes perused the old photographs of the group of friends together, but she couldn't look backwards. She had to keep moving.

There was only one other place that immediately came to mind for AJ to search.

She had returned to the car she borrowed from Klaus and drove determinedly down the winding road that led to the Salvatore home. The familiarity felt all too dreamlike. When the house came into view, her heart clenched.

Before allowing herself time to think, she parked and was at the door. This time, she threw all respect she felt she owed to the curb and threw the heavy door open, sauntering inside.

Her fingertips buzzed with uncontained excitement. Voices drifted into the wide hallway from the parlor. In an act without any forethought, AJ darted through the hallway and entered the parlor, eyes wild, smile almost silly.

Any sense of joy quickly dispersed, evaporating into the air. Her face fell immediately and her blood ran cold.

"Oh? And how do we know that we can trust you?" Damon was saying disbelievingly, his back turned to AJ whilst the other occupants of the room quickly discovered her presence. "Let's look at your track record, shall we? You've—"Damon stopped himself short upon noticing the gazes that fell behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, his eyes darkened when they met AJ's. "Well," he drawled slowly. "Guess we know who's officially back in town."

"Good to see you, too," AJ said tightly. Her eyes were trained on the stranger in the room: a well dressed man with an austere look and piercing eyes. The angles of his face resembled Elijah's, the cock of his head Rebekah's, and that gleam in his eyes Klaus's. This was the man from the memory-dream AJ had in Chicago—this was Mikael. They had been deceived.

She was not prepared for the sudden attack of hate provoked by the sight of him. Without consideration, AJ lunged forward.

Stefan had been a step ahead of her. Grabbing her arms, he pinned them behind her and held her at bay while she squirmed and fought his grip, blindly wishing to do this man harm. She felt like a feral animal trapped in a cage with its prey dangling just before her. And she wanted to bite.

"AJ," a voice breathed suddenly, so softly that AJ almost missed it. She stopped her futile efforts to fight Stefan and froze, her eyes falling on the one person who could bring back her rationality.

"Elena," she said, speaking the one name she hadn't dared to utter in months. Stefan released AJ as the other dark-haired girl approached and embraced her friend, holding her dearly, tenderly, as if she might slip from her fingertips and disappear once more. AJ held firmly on to Elena; suddenly everything horrible she had witnessed was brushed from her mind, and she was reassured that all was worth it. All was well.

The moment was short-lived, however. The instant Elena pulled back, AJ's eyes automatically fell back to Mikael. Rebekah was nowhere to be seen. The fear that had imbued Klaus's eyes the night they escaped Mystic Falls returned to AJ; if even Klaus feared this man, what was it he was capable of?

Mikael's eyes glinted. A small smile curved his lips. "Well. I see we finally get a proper introduction, Warrior."

"Don't call me that," AJ said from reflex. Her eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Elena's face folded in horror, suddenly; the others in the room straightened. AJ was tense, sensing the imminent danger treading close.

Mikael's smile grew. "Looking for you, actually."

Numb. That's how AJ felt. It was as if his words were muffled underwater, slowly reaching her ears. It only took few meager seconds for realization to click: he knew. He knew he could use her against Klaus.

Fleeing to the door was not an option. Neither was stabbing him. All she could do was stand there, returning his stone-like gaze, and try to think of something clever to say.

She had nothing.

Elena started towards her, her self-sacrificial instincts kicking in. "AJ—go!"

Mikael was much faster. He had AJ in a vice-like grip in the doorway, hesitating only to look back at the others with a warning look. "If you follow me," he said solemnly, "I will kill the doppelganger."

And then the world bled into itself as AJ's head spun.

She found herself on wobbly feet when Mikael stopped at last and released her. The world slowly settled into place around her, but she did not recognize where they were. Just inside a foyer, with the door still open. Mikael followed her gaze outside and stepped around her to close it resolutely.

She had hardly been in his presence for five minutes, and already she wanted to stake him. That was a record.

"It won't work," she said stubbornly, setting her jaw, squaring her shoulders. "Klaus doesn't care that much about me. He would have his hybrids over me any day."

There was an edge to the way Mikael regarded her; something slithering just beneath the surface. "I beg to differ," he divulged. It sounded more factual than haughty, reminding AJ of Elijah once more. She cringed, watching as he crossed the room with considering steps, his eyes tracing the stonework on the hearth before them. "From the things I've heard, he's quite taken with you. Klaus will realize your importance to him when it's challenged."

AJ shook her head. "You're wrong. It's been challenged. He chose them over me once already." The words, though she knew were true, stung her to her very core more than she could have ever imagined. When it came down to it, Klaus didn't care as much as she wanted him to. He still saw through warped glass when it came to love and belonging: he thought that by creating other creatures like him, he would feel complete. He couldn't see what was right in front of him.

"I suppose we'll just have to see, won't we?" Mikael said, drawing an ivory-colored stake out of his jacket. It was carved intricately, precisely. He traced the tip of it with his finger.

Swallowing hard, AJ tried to mask her expression. That object could puncture Klaus's heart and kill him for good; it could be his undoing. She had to get her hands on it.

"You're such a simple creature to have captivated the interest of two of my sons," Mikael commented, studying her pristinely. "You haven't even completed transition into the Warrior, yet. You're merely a gun without bullets. A tool to be discarded."

Her eyebrows came together as she replayed his words: You haven't even completed the transition into the Warrior, yet. Transition. "What are you talking about?"

"Your transition into a vampire," Mikael said, faintly amused at her ignorance. He quirked an eyebrow. "Did they not tell you?"

AJ couldn't breathe.

"You can't let this happen!" Elena shouted angrily, letting her panic overcome her. She looked from Stefan to Damon disbelievingly. "This is AJ we're talking about!"

"She's a traitor," Damon said flippantly. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"She's my friend," Elena shot back. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Stefan shifted; the waters were still precarious between him and Elena, but he wanted to diffuse the situation. "Letting Mikael take AJ was never part of the plan," he tried to reason with Damon, though weakly. He could see its uses.

Damon snorted. "You got a better one? 'Cause I'm all ears if you are. There's no other way to get to Klaus—she's his weakness."

Elena was plaintive, her eyes beseeching. "No. This isn't the way."

There was no sway to Damon's decision. He would turn off all emotion should he find the necessity to; he would sacrifice his friend for his love. Stefan no longer made an argument; he saw his brother's logic.

Klaus checked his watch for the fifth time in ten minutes. The party was in full-swing, but he had yet to see AJ. A strange sort of anxiousness bubbled within him: did she have regrets about him? Would she not return to him?

He did not have to guess who she had gone to see. Elena had always played in the forefront of her mind, fraying at her nerves with worry, a symbol of reassurance when she was hopeless. But she had departed several hours ago and had yet to turn up. Her cell phone went straight to voicemail.

He was worried. And she could easily discover the death of Elijah. She could easily leave him.

No—he wouldn't let her.

After pacing another moment, paying hardly a mind to those mingling around him, his eyes fell Damon Salvatore. Elena was not with him.

Striding over to the young vampire, Klaus became impassive. Damon was not surprised to see him.

"Where is she?" Klaus questioned.

Damon made a show of looking confused. "Who?"

Temper flaring, Klaus slammed the dark-haired vampire into the nearest wall. They were nose to nose, glaring at one another. "Where is she?"

"Can't you take a hint, Klaus?" Damon mocked. "She's gone. AJ's a thrill seeker. I guess you don't thrill her too much anymore."

Klaus allowed the words to bounce off him easily, but not without a hint of lingering doubt. He gripped Damon's neck. "Tell me where she is," he gritted out, "or I'll find your doppelganger and rip out her heart."

The resoluteness wavered in Damon's eyes. His gaze fell on something behind Klaus for a millisecond, but that was long enough. Klaus darted back, stopping Stefan from making an escape.

"Stefan," he greeted with artificial friendliness. "Have you seen my girl?"

Stefan's lips tightened as he tried to refrain a response; he was still compelled by Klaus and at his mercy. His eyes flicked to Damon uneasily.

"Yes," Stefan answered simply.

Klaus arched an eyebrow, prompting. "Where is she?"

Struggling to bend his words, Stefan said, "She was at the house, earlier—"

Klaus's eyes narrowed; the veil Stefan wore to mask his resistance. "What are you hiding?"

Stefan ground his teeth together painfully, drawing blood into his mouth. Damon could only linger and watch as he prayed for a miracle. When Elena came into view at the top of the staircase several paces away, Klaus's patience had run out. AJ was not with her.

"Stefan," Klaus said carefully, his tone sharpened with knives. "Tell me exactly where AJ is this precise moment."

Pinching his eyes shut, Stefan struggled to breathe. It was imperative to hide this from Klaus until the moment was right, or the plan would fail. But he could not fight it—it was like an avalanche, pushing the words forth from his lips. "Mikael," he said in a strained tone. "She's with Mikael."

There only one thing Klaus hated more than being lied to and manipulated: his father.

Klaus broke Stefan's neck.

Woah, things just got crazy. Hopefully this didn't seem rushed… I was just excited to write again. I can't wait to show you guys where this will go. (-: Please review and tell me what you think!