You guys are the best. Yes. You are. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

"So are you going to tell me anything about that?" Stefan asked Klaus as they drove through the dark streets back to the city.

"What's there to tell Stefan?" He challenged as his foot slammed further down onto the accelerator.

"You forced me on this mission of yours. Everywhere we go, every person we talk to has to do with making hybrids. Hayley doesn't know you're a vampire-werewolf hybrid. She doesn't even know your real name. Why did you see her?"

Klaus smirked at how interested Stefan was with her. "Why is it so strange to you that I would go and see a friend, Stefan?"

"It's not strange that you would see a friend. It's strange that you have a friend? Especially one like her." Stefan clarified.

Klaus' smirk faltered a little. "Careful, Stefan. You're nearing dangerous ground." It would be his one and only warning. "Especially since you used to be one of my friends." He pointed out, completely switching moods again. Stefan refused to reply. Instead, he looked out the window.

ONE MONTH LATER

Hayley was actually asleep for once. Her windows were open, letting in the cold air. The colder it was in her bedroom, the more likely she would sleep. But with such temperatures also came nightmares. Her window shades slammed against the window frames every time a gust of wind flew in. Hayley tossed in turned, tangling her legs within the bed covers.

She was walking through a forest barefoot. All the trees were black and seemed to be dead. They threatened and frightened her as she walked faster and faster, trying to get out of the web. The forest got thicker and thicker the more she tried to escape it. Then, suddenly, she was out in the open. Hayley turned around in a circle to see that she was in an empty field. The stars shined overhead and the moon was perfectly full, giving her light to see. Then she was confused to find a tree so tall that she had to arch her neck to see all the way to the top of it. Yet, it sat a few yards away from where she stood. It was so white that it almost seemed to be glowing silver. It hypnotized her as she slowly walked toward it, one step at a time.

When she was only a few feet away, she heard murmuring echoing all around her. Hayley stopped walking, frightened at the sound. It was hard to even understand, or even believe it was words. But then it slowed and separated. 'Stay away, Hayley. Run. You have to run.' Hayley gasped when she recognized the voice. "Elijah?" She whispered. Then the sound repeated, saying the same exact thing.

Her eyes fell on the tree that was so close. She started back away without taking her eyes off of it. But before she could truly escape, the giant tree broke into flames as if by magic. Hayley swore she could feel the warmth. The murmuring started again. But this time, Elijah's voice changed. 'RUN, HAYLEY, RUN!'He his voice yelled at her. She turned away from the blazing tree and started into a sprint.

Hayley shot up in bed trying to catch her breathe as if she really had been running. Even though she was sweating, shivers broken across her skin. It took her a few moments to realize she hadn't woken up on her own. Someone was knocking loudly at her front door. She squinted at her clock as her fingers stressfully combed through her long hair. It was 1 o'clock in the morning. Who could possibly be knocking on her door? Then she immediately thought of Luke or Nick. They were the only ones that showed up at her house, unannounced. There was someone else too, but she wouldn't let herself even think of his name. Hayley jumped out of bed, without even thinking about putting pants over her boy-shorts or a robe over her off the shoulder crew-cut sweater.

Hayley sprinted down the stairs to the front door; now convincing herself that one of her friends was in trouble. She whipped open the door to find a stranger observing her. He was old enough to be her father. He had blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. He had a thin beard and mustache that made him look gloomier.

For some reason, Hayley immediately thought of Nick when she looked at him. "Can I help you?" She asked, regretting opening the door while in such attire.

"I'm Detective Michaels. Do you mind if I come in for a few minutes?" He asked her emotionlessly.

"Actually, I do." Hayley surprised herself by saying it rudely. "Whatever it is you need to talk to be about, we can do it here."

The detective's eyes seemed to narrow in amusement from her attitude. She couldn't tell if it was admiration or hidden rage. "We have quite a few things we need to discuss. It's quite cold out here. And seeing as you're not wearing much clothing, it would probably be best if we spoke inside."

Hayley glared at his passive-aggressive comment. Then for some reason, a chill ran down her body just like it had when she'd woken up from her nightmare. She got a weird feeling, the ones that she only got around Elijah. But this one felt different. It wasn't calming; it was a warning. "May I see your badge?" She said low and evenly. Her grip on the door handle tightened as she waited.

Hayley was surprised when Detective Michaels started laughing darkly. "Clever girl. Not naïve like I was expecting." Suddenly, his voice had a British accent. He took a step closer, almost a centimeter away from the door that he could not enter. "Okay, then. Let us not play this game, Hayley. Take a step outside." He ordered as he locked eyes with her. He watched as her eyes dilated under his compulsion.

Hayley's breathing shook as the realization flew against her. He was a vampire. Was this the Niklaus that Elijah had failed to kill? But the compulsion pushed the thought out of her mind. Hayley tried to fight against it, but it was useless. Slowly, she stepped outside and was now a mere inch away from his face.

"What do you want?" Hayley whispered. Her voice was even and front. She knew there was no way of escaping. But she wasn't scared. There was nothing left to lose.

Mikael smirked at her bravery. "Go to sleep." He commanded with his compulsion. Hayley's eyelids slammed shut and her body went limp.

Hours later, Hayley slowly regained consciousness. She shot upright when she remembered the last thing that happened before she passed out. She was in the backseat of an SUV. But it was parked in what seemed almost like the middle of a forest. Hayley glanced out the windows to see that she was completely abandoned. She tried to move about but felt strangely restricted. She felt that her hands were bound. She glanced down to see that she was wearing handcuffs. Out of panic, Hayley started trying to break free of them or even slide her hands out. But it was useless and she soon stopped out of hopeless frustration.

Hayley looked at the ignition to see that the keys hadn't been left and then looked for any cracks in the windows or any openings at all. But there were none. She grabbed at the door handle, but it was locked and refused to respond when she pressed the button. Clearly the car had been tampered with to make sure she couldn't escape.

Hayley let out a sigh and slammed her head back against the headrest. What did he want with her? He had to be Klaus. She was sure of it. But what advantage would Klaus have from kidnapping her if Elijah was dead? Then Hayley's heavy breathing held as a thought came to her. What if Elijah wasn't truly dead? No. She told herself. Stop being so pathetically hopeful. He's dead. He's dead and he's never coming back for you.

Then Hayley wondered if this was her own end. She never really believed in the afterlife or anything spiritual. But the thought of meeting Elijah there made her relax and not fear the unknown future soon to come. But just as she was becoming comfortable with the idea of being killed, Hayley stilled herself. Stop it. Her heart told her. You are not giving up. That's not you.

Hayley looked around the car, urging herself to think harder. She turned around and looked in the trunk of the car. Her heart sped when her eyes landed on a breaker bar. She quickly grabbed it and stared at it for a moment. A wave of hope fell over her. Maybe she did have a chance.

Gripping the bar tightly in both of her cuffed hands, Hayley slammed it against the passenger window closest to her. Only a web of cracks appeared on the glass. But now, her adrenaline was rushing. Putting all of her force into it, she smashed the bar into the window again. This time, the glass shattered and fell on the window. Hayley almost let out a cry of relief, but tried to make as little noise as possible even though the breaking window would have already alerted anyone nearby. She scraped the remaining shards from the frame so she wouldn't injure herself while climbing out.

After Hayley was sure she wouldn't rip her hands apart, she flung her legs out and gracefully landed outside the car despite her cuffed hands. She was barefoot and thankfully the ground below her was soft grass and didn't meet any lose pieces of glass. She didn't even acknowledge that she was still in just a light crew sweatshirt and her boy-short underwear. She was too busy trying to stay alive.

Hayley looked in the grass to see the breaker bar she'd thrown out the window once she'd smashed the glass. She grabbed it, seeing it as the closest thing to a weapon that she'd get. But just as she grabbed it, a feeling washed over her. Her head snapped up to see someone standing a few yards away in the field.

It was a girl, somewhat her age. She had dark brown hair that was perfectly curled. Her eyes were also a deep brown. There was nothing about her that made it obvious she was a vampire, but Hayley could sense it. She didn't move or breathe as she stared at the stranger.

"You're quite the little survivor. I'll admit I wasn't expecting that." The vampire cooed. She took a step closer. And her eyebrows rose when she didn't hear a jump in her heartbeat. "I'm Katherine by the way."

Hayley narrowed her eyes, as her grip on the bar tightened even more. "Little?" Hayley scuffed, already able to tell that she would tower over the vampire if she were to stand next to her. "Katherine…That wouldn't be some sort of nickname for Katarina, would it?" She said with a smirk.

Katherine's step faltered just the slightest bit at such a guess. But it was enough for Hayley to notice. "I see Elijah told you more than we expected."

"Apparently I've just been underestimated in general." Hayley countered. Just because these vampires had heard about her didn't mean they actually knew her.

That was when Katherine eyed the bar in her hands. "Oh, honey. There's so much you don't know."

Hayley sighed and shook her head. "What do you want? What are you, one of Klaus' slaves or something? If you're going to kill me, just do it already." Hayley knew she could try and run or she could try and fight. But what good did it ever do? The odds were never in her favor when she was against the supernatural.

Katherine closed the space between them at vampire speed. Even then, she didn't catch Hayley off guard. Their difference in height was even more apparent now. Just as Katherine leaned forward, Hayley thought fast as she extended her hands to harm the vampire in some way with the bar. But just as it swung down, Katherine caught it effortlessly in her hand. She ripped it from Hayley's grasp. The attempted attack caused a surge of rage in Katherine. Who did this foolish human think she was? Katherine raised her own arm to hit her.

"Katarina!" A voice yelled out of nowhere. It was filled with warning and indignation. Hayley was surprised to see fear suddenly spread across Katherine's face. They both looked over to see the detective that had kidnapped Hayley in the first place. She looked back and forth between the vampires. Clearly he was in charge. After all, he was the infamous Klaus.

Katherine dropped the bar instantly to the ground. It was like watching a kid realize they'd been caught doing something bad. "I wasn't going to do anything." She immediately defended.

Hayley's jaw clenched in defiance as Mikael stared at her instead of the younger vampire. "Perhaps you shouldn't underestimate the young human, Katarina. It appears she has a higher intelligence than you." He said to her without breaking his stare with Hayley. "If she escapes again, I won't be as merciful." He finally looked over at Katherine to confirm the fear in her eyes. He began walking away, but only got a few steps before stopping. He glanced back at Hayley. "Get her some proper clothing as well."

And then Mikael disappeared. Katherine roughly grabbed Hayley. But she ripped her arm away. "Don't fucking touch me." Hayley hissed at her. But the only reaction she received was getting hit over the head so hard that it rendered her completely unconscious.

Klaus knew there was something going on. He could feel it. Maybe Mikael was dead. But there was another reason the occupants of Mystic Falls brought him back to their pathetic town. He moved about the party until he happened to fall upon Elena.

"Where's your date?" He asked her mockingly.

"Getting me a drink." Elena replied tightly.

Klaus smirked and offered her his own but she ignored the gesture. He shrugged, already expecting her response.

"Seems I have you to thank for Mikael's demise."

"He came at me." Elena barely explained. "I didn't have a choice."

Klaus' eyes narrowed. "Still, I'm impressed. It's not easy for a human to dagger an original."

"It wasn't the first time." She retorted.

Klaus nodded his head with a smile. "Right…Elijah." Then he looked back at Elena to see she was acting strange. "You seem nervous." He pointed out.

"I'm not nervous. I just don't like you." She almost jeered at him.

"Well, I'll get straight to the point then. Shall I, love?" He stepped closer. "People have been after me for a thousand years. And I am always one step ahead. So whatever it is you're thinking of trying. Go for it! Give it your best shot. You won't succeed."

But just as Klaus hissed the last of his threat, a strange sensation eroded over him. He looked around the party. It was as if someone had called his name, but he knew no on actually had. Then he remembered that Elena was standing right next to him, watching him. He shook his head and walked away from her.

Klaus quickly walked to the trees lining the Lockwood's estate. No one would be able to hear him from where he was standing. He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and before he knew what he was doing, Hayley's number was already dialed. But after countless rings, it went right to her voicemail. Klaus didn't know what he expected. But a part of him was regretting leaving her alone without that mutt he'd killed. At least then he knew she wasn't completely alone.

"Kelsey." He said loud enough so she would hear. The hybrid was at his side in a second, waiting for instruction. "I want you to go to this address. There is someone important who needs safe keeping." She nodded her head and started walking away but Klaus roughly grabbed her arm. "Tell no one where you are going. And do not intervene with the girl's life or even let her know she's being watched. Do you understand?" Klaus instructed darkly. Kelsey looked confused but still nodded her head.

Once Klaus was alone again, his hand rubbed through his hair. This was nothing he was used to. Why had he got such a strange feeling? And why was his immediate thought to check up on Hayley? Klaus pushed it to the back of his head and focused on the party. He needed to be on his toes if he truly suspected the Salvatores were planning something against him.

Klaus was an expert at appearing calm and collected. No one knew that he was worried. Not about a possible plan to kill him, but his feeling about Hayley. He was trying to act carefree by playing beer pong when a hybrid walked over to his side.

"You have a visitor." She informed him darkly.

"Well, tell my visitor I'm on the brink of victory here." He said casually with a smirk. Everyone here was technically a visitor. They could wait.

"He said his name was Mikael."

Klaus' composure was instantly lost. His jaw jutted and his entire posture tightened at simply hearing the name. He chucked the ball perfectly into the cup before turning to his hybrid. "Then we mustn't keep him waiting. Move everyone out back." He instructed. "I'm going to have a little chat with my dad."

Klaus took a drink before slowly leaving the room. No one could see his fear. No one could see that he was about the face the one person he truly feared. To think, Klaus used to be willing to do anything to receive his love.

Everyone was leaving the mansion to move to the backyard when Klaus was at the front door. Mikael stared back at him, unable to take even the slightest step closer.

"Hello, Niklaus." Mikael said darkly.

"Hello, Mikael." He replied, refusing to call him his father to his face. "Won't you come in? Oh that's right. I forgot. You can't." He sneered.

"Or you could come outside, if you want." Mikael offered, completely unfazed.

"Or I could watch my hybrids tear you limb by limb." Klaus countered. As soon as the words were said, hybrids flocked from nowhere and stood a few yards away on the front yard. Mikael didn't have to turn to sense them.

"Oh they can't kill me." Mikael stated calmly.

"True. But it will make one hell of a party game." Klaus raised his hand. "All I have to do…is raise these two fingers together and they'll pounce."

Mikael wasn't scared. In fact, he seemed disturbingly entertained by his proxy son. His face had a permanent smirk on from Niklaus' empty threats.

"The big, bad wolf. You haven't changed…still hiding behind your playthings, like a coward. Don't you forget: they may be sired, but they're still part vampire. And they can be compelled by me." Mikael got a sick joy out of seeing the realization in Klaus' eyes. Then one of his hybrids handed Elena over to Mikael. He grabbed her while Klaus could only stand in the safety of the mansion.

"Come out and face me, Niklaus… Or she dies." Mikael threatened as she gestured toward Elena."

"Go ahead. Kill her." Klaus said, surprising everyone.

Elena started to panic. "No, Klaus, he'll do it."

"If she dies, this lot will be the last of your abominations." Mikael informed him.

At that moment, Hayley popped into Klaus' mind. "I don't need them. I just need to be rid of you."

"To what ends, Niklaus? So you can live forever with no one at your side? Nobody cares about you anymore, boy! Who do you have other than those whose loyalty you forced?" Then Mikael glanced down at Elena. Either Klaus thought Mikael wouldn't do it or he truly didn't care.

Mikael started laughing sinisterly. He shoved Elena away from him, causing the hybrid to grab her quickly. He then snapped his fingers. It was just like he was mocking Klaus' earlier threat. A male hybrid this time came to Mikael's side. But instead of having Elena in his grasp, Niklaus was now staring at a semi-awake Hayley.

But she wasn't even conscious enough to recognize him as her friend. There was a cut right over her eyebrow, causing blood to have run down the side of her face. The hybrid had to hold up her body. Yet she seemed to still be trying to fight him off.

Klaus' mouth opened slightly at the sight of her. He'd been right to worry about her all along. He took a step forward and then cursed himself for making it so obvious that he was concerned with her appearance.

"Come out and face me, you little coward!" Mikael spat as he ripped Hayley from the grip of the hybrid. "And I won't have to kill your one and only friend." Then he glanced down at Hayley who's eyes were clenched close in pain. She had a head injury that made it impossible for her to even know where she was or with whom.

"Nothing to say?" Mikael asked. Then he laughed. "Ah, your impulse, Niklaus. It has and forever will be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great." And before he even gave Klaus time to respond, he stabbed the knife into Hayley's back. Hayley, so weak, only gave out a gasp of pain and plummeted to the hard floor.

"NO!" Tears were streaming down Klaus' face as he screamed. He took a step toward her, not even caring about Mikael anymore. But Damon came out of nowhere, tackling him to the ground, and stabbing him with the one weapon that could truly kill him. Klaus let out a yell in agony. But the young vampire had missed his heart, plunging the stake into his stomach instead. Damon tried to rip it out but Klaus was stronger than him even while he was injured.

Elena ripped her body from the hybrid's grip. Her escape caught Mikael's attention. She smirked at him with two grenades in her hand.

"Katherine." Mikael growled.

"Ba-boom." And grenades were set off on all the hybrids.

Just as Damon managed to rip out the stake and extend his arm to drive it into Klaus' heart, Stefan ripped him away. Klaus took his chance immediately, grabbing the stake and tackling Mikael to the ground. It landed right into the original's heart. His body instantly lit on fire as he screamed to his death.

Klaus didn't even watch his ancient nemesis burn in flames of demise. Instead, he rushed to Hayley's body. She was still alive. Her heartbeat was dying, but at least she still had one. Ignoring the Salvatores, Katherine, and the suffering hybrids, Klaus tore into his wrist and shoved the warm blood down Hayley's throat.

"Come on, sweetheart." He whispered, hoping Hayley would wake up and yell at him for using such nicknames like she always did. But there was nothing. She was unconscious. It disturbed Klaus how peaceful she appeared. Klaus glanced up at his hybrids that all watched him now. He could see that their compulsion was gone now that Mikael was dead.

"Watch her." He snapped at all of them. Hayley would live, but just barely. Klaus didn't care how close she'd come to dying, as long as she was alive.

He went back into the house to see where Damon was. He was going to kill the Salvatore just for attempting to kill him again. But he would torture him for involving Hayley in his plans. Katherine was already gone. Not surprising since she was always the one best at running. But Damon was gone also. He'd deal with him later.

Klaus slowly walked back outside to the front porch. One of his hybrids was knelt down at Hayley's side, observing her mending body. His eyes snapped up when he saw that Klaus was there.

"Who is she?" The hybrid asked.

"My friend." Klaus said while looking at her instead. Then he looked at her condition. The cut on her eyebrow had healed. But the blood still remained, proving that it had been there in the first place. The shadows under her eyes were even darker than when he'd last saw her. He should have never killed the boy that had been protecting her. This could have all been prevented.

Klaus glanced at the ashes of Mikael's body and then back at Hayley. She deserved so much more than this. Her life was forever cursed from such associations with his family. That was when Klaus knew…He knew it was time to awake his family. Hayley needed Elijah.

"Take her somewhere safe. I'm leaving town and will be back by tomorrow night." Klaus informed his hybrids. He was going back to Chicago to retrieve his other siblings. If he were lucky, Elijah would be back before Hayley even awoke.

Klaus was walking toward the storage unit that held his family when he received a phone call and instantly read Stefan's name on the screen.

"Stefan! Miss me already?" Klaus asked with a smirk.

"I'm just calling to thank you for my freedom." Stefan said ominously.

"Well, I like to believe I'm a man of my word…more or less." Klaus continued casually.

"The thing is…it came at too high of a price. You took everything from me, Klaus." Stefan pointed out.

Klaus was unbothered by his attitude. "Let bygones be bygones. Trust me, resentment gets old." He told the young vampire as he fiddled with the lock of the compartment.

Stefan nodded his head. "You know what never gets old?" Just then, Klaus opened the storage unit to find it completely empty. "REVENGE." Stefan stated.

Before Klaus could threaten the Salvatore, he heard his phone beep with another call. He ignored it. "What are you doing, Stefan?" He growled.

"Just enjoying my freedom." Stefan said happily.

"I will kill you and everyone you've ever met." Klaus growled. It was all he could think of saying through all of his rage. Then his phone beeped again with the call.

"Do that and you'll never see your family again. Oh, and you might want to get that other line." Stefan said through a smirk before hanging up the phone.

Klaus hissed as he pressed the button to switch over to the waiting call. "WHAT?" He almost screamed.

It was one of his hybrids. They were breathing heavily and Klaus could almost hear the wheezing of some sort of pain. "He took her." The hybrid panted.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus barked.

"We were taking her back to Chicago…He came out of nowhere and flipped the car." He gasped. "He killed three hybrids…Stefan…Stefan took Hayley."

So I worked uber hard on this chapter and I got it out pretty fast. (Well, faster than usual). So review and tell me what you thought!