Getting this chapter written was like pulling my own teeth. It is partly because of my difficulty lately in finishing this story, and partly because I've got another story idea competing for my attention that I desperately want to write. I promised myself that I would finish this first, but I can't get this other story out of my head, so that is the reason for the delay. We are so close to the end of this story, but there are still a few more chapters before it is over. I hope you all enjoy.
Future Elena's POV
As I stare down at the vampire who single handedly ruined my life, and I am struck with a strong need for vengeance, an eye for an eye. So I grip the wooden stick that I am holding with both hands and tauntingly swing it closer and closer to Klaus' body as I verbally harass him. "How rude of me," I state with feigned remorse. "We haven't been formally introduced in this time. I'm Elena Gilbert," I state with a piercing stare, "and my face is gonna be the last thing that you see before you die." I swear with a deadened look in my eyes. Klaus struggles to get back on his feet, but the spell is taking its toll and he is too weak to run or fight. "Oh, don't try and get up," I advise with a smile, "believe me it won't help. See my friend behind you is doing some major witchy mojo. Can't say as if I entirely understand it, but I do know that with each passing moment, he is draining the life out of you. I would relish these next couple minutes, because they will be the last of your wretched miserable life." Klaus simply stares back at me as his entire body is practically convulsing from the pain. His words barely make it past his lips, and they require great effort to be spoken.
"A lot of hatred for someone who doesn't know me love," Klaus states with his typical arrogance, present even in his death. I wonder if he'll be so smug once the blood stops flowing through his veins and his body turns grey and lifeless. Klaus doesn't hold any power over me anymore, and it's time that he realizes that. He's nothing anymore, and he's at my mercy now.
"On the contrary," I contradict with a false sense of levity, "I know all about you, poor sad orphan wasting all of eternity searching for someone to love him, all the while alienating the only people who ever did. If you weren't such a vile, vindictive bastard, I might actually feel sorry for you. Granted not sorry enough to avoid torturing you in these last precious seconds, but just enough to appreciate the dramatic irony that your own brother hates you so much, he concocted this entire plan just to kill you. Shame he can't be here to truly appreciate the moment. I guess I'll just have to enjoy it for us both. We really should be getting on with the torture, because there is a rather pressing time constraint. So let me tell you how this is going to work, I am going to stab you repeatedly with this sharp, pointy stick, one hard poke for every life that you stole from me," I explain coolly, as I step closer with my weapon.
I jab him as hard as I can muster in the stomach, and I find the scream of pain particularly satisfying. "This is for Isobel," I yell at Klaus as the wood enters his body. "She might have been the worst maternal role model since Mommie Dearest, but given enough time, she could have changed, found her humanity again, but you compelled her to kill herself before she got the chance." I remove the stick and immediately bring it down in a new spot just under his rib cage.
"This is for John," I respond with bitter hatred. "Again, not exactly winning any awards for parent of the year, but he tried, for me, he tried to be a better man, a better father. He was forced to give his life to save mine during your precious sacrifice." John might not have died directly at Klaus' hands, but he was certainly responsible. Once more I remove the stick from Klaus' chest only to reinsert it in a new location on his body. Another yelp of pain brings a smile to my face, as I move on to more of Klaus' victims.
"This is for Jenna," I state as I drive the stick further into his chest. "She just wanted to save me, protect me, and you sacrificed her in front of my eyes. You drove a stake through her heart, you son of a bitch." This time, after I pull the stick out, I tie a bit of vervain, which I had taken from Alaric, to the end of my improvised weapon, before driving it deep into his chest.
"This is for Bonnie," I spit out in a fury. "She was loyal and strong and all she wanted was to protect me and protect this town from people like you. My only regret is that she can't be here to watch you die." I repeat the stabbing motion with gusto, earning another grunt of pure agony.
"This is for Alaric," I declare with malice in my heart. "He stayed with me, kept me safe, and acted as my guardian after you had taken away everyone else. You murdered him because he knew me, because he loved me, and because you had something to prove. Alaric Saltzman is a hundred times the man that you will ever be, that's why your father never loved you, because you weren't good enough, and you never will be." I see a flicker of anger and hatred. I've finally struck a nerve, and I delight in the feeling of control over this man who spent so long controlling me and everyone that I love. The stick once again finds its way to a new home in Klaus' body as I continue my assault.
"This is for Matt," I proclaim, while making an extra twisting motion with the stick. "He was the only person in my life who entered into this supernatural world by choice. He wasn't a werewolf or a vampire, and he didn't see ghosts. But he chose to fight at my side, because he was a truer friend than anyone could ever hope to deserve, and you were the one who took him away." Klaus no longer fights against the pain, either because he knows he can't win or because he's simply lost the will to live, either way, it serves as a positive sign. I feel better after I once more drive the weapon into his chest as retribution for another fallen friend.
"This is for Tyler," I state with a grim expression, as the weapon disappears into his body. "He was bound to you by a sire bond, forced into false loyalty, but more than that, he was a decent and honorable man who fought against his worst instincts for the girl that he loved. I was forced to watch her mourn for him after you ordered him to rip his own heart from his chest, so I think one more stab for good measure for what you did to Caroline." I bring the stick out and stab him twice, once for Caroline and once for Jeremy.
"This is for my little brother," I declare with a deeper hatred than I had ever experienced. "He was sixteen years old. He was entitled to a life, but you stole that from him, just like you stole everything else. Every life you touch is the worse for it. You are a poison, a disease on this Earth, and there isn't a single person alive whose life won't be better once you're gone." Even as I make another stabbing motion, I don't feel quite the level of relief that I expected at Klaus' suffering, because I knew it would never be enough.
"No amount of pain will ever make up for what you took from me," I admit, still caught up in my righteous hatred. "I had someone who loved me, who would have fought for me, killed for me, died for me, and I watched his life slip away in an instant because of you, so I hope this one really hurts," I declare wishfully, as I make several effective wounds in the body of my former tormentor. After I tire myself out with stabbing, I stand hovering over his body, continuing to mock him as he dies helplessly on the ground like the animal that he is.
"The man that I loved died at your hands," I state, trying to keep from crying at the memory. "It only seems fitting that you should die at mine. May you rot in Hell, knowing that no one ever loved you like I was loved. 1000 years on this Earth and you still missed out on the only experience worth having, loving someone and being loved by them. You're going to die sad and alone, no friends to save you, no family left to mourn for you, no one to give a damn. This is a far sweeter justice than mere death."
I pull the stick from Klaus' chest, fully intending to take another whack at inflicting as much physical pain as possible until Klaus' body gives out. The stick just hangs in my hand poised to strike, when I hear a familiar voice in the distance.
"Elena," someone calls out to me, diverting my attention for just a second, as I stare in puzzlement at what my past self is doing here. In that moment, Klaus seizes his opportunity, and uses his last bit of strength to wrench the stick from my grasp. I feel the sharp pain in my left side as I look down and see my weapon stuck within my own chest. I fall to the ground just a couple feet from Klaus' body. I'm not sure whether the adrenaline is pumping through my body, or if I am simply in a state of shock, but I can't feel the pain anymore. I can't feel anything, but I am struggling for every breath, as I see my past self rush to my side.
"What are you doing here?" I choke out, before blood rises in my throat and trickles out my mouth.
"I called Bonnie," my past self explains, "and she said she wasn't with you, so I had her do a tracking spell. This is my fault," Elena claims as the guilt threatens to consume her. "I shouldn't have come, or I should have brought Damon. I still can," she states hopefully. "Damon will come, and you'll be fine. You'll be okay," she promises confidently, needing to believe that I'll survive this.
"No, I won't be," I tell her regretfully. "Damon is miles away, and even racing here, he would still be too late. I'm dying." Another round of hacking, bloody coughs all but confirms my self-diagnosis.
"No, you are not dying," my past self claims firmly. "You can't be dying, because we went through all this time, energy, and effort to save you. You can't just die because I screwed up," she states with tears staining her face. I summon whatever strength I have left to pass on my final thoughts to her.
"This isn't your fault," I promise her, not really expecting her to believe me. "I chose to faceoff with Klaus alone, and I chose not to tell you where I was going. I don't have much time left so let's not waste any more of it blaming yourself. I need you to listen to me, just once more." She nods her head and takes hold of my hand as I struggle to speak. "Don't make my mistakes," I manage to breathe out in a whisper. "Tell Damon that you love him every day for the rest of your lives together. Make him believe that he's worthy of love again, and never take him for granted. He is and will always be the love of my life. You be sure to tell him that," I request pleadingly, as my own tears travel down my face.
"I will," she swears, nearing the edge of a breakdown. "I promise I will." She takes a second to organize her thoughts, clearly having more to say, but I can feel that I am running out of time. I'm grateful once she finds her voice again, because I feel my body shutting down. "I need you to know," Elena tells me in sorrowful whisper. "I need to tell you that if I could save you, I would gladly share my life with you. Every emotion, every feeling, every second, I would share, if I could just keep you, if I could just save you." I smile feebly back at her for the sweetness of her gesture, and I squeeze her hand lightly.
"Don't worry," I order her weakly. "It's okay. I think it's all going to be okay."
"How?" Elena asks hopelessly. "You came here to get a second chance, and you die anyway. How is that ever going to be okay?" Her voice breaks under the weight of the emotion and the unfairness of the situation. My vision gets dimmer and I can feel the blood pooling underneath me, but I use whatever strength is left in me to do what I traveled through time to do, help her.
"Because you were my second chance," I admit. "You were my redemption. So please, don't waste your life hiding your heart from the people who matter most. Love as much as you can for as long as you can. All your heart, give him all your heart," I mumble as the darkness finally overtakes me. Just before I close my eyes, I swear I hear Damon's voice calling out to me, but I can't hold on any longer, and I slip away.
When I open my eyes again, there is a near blinding light that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. There is nothing around but vast emptiness wherever I look, except for a familiar face gazing back at me with a smile.
"Miss Sheila," I speak in disbelief, unsure as to what is happening.
"Hello, child," she addresses me, like she did when I was little and playing over at her house. "We have much to talk about and important decisions to make, so we better get started."
Please don't hate me. From practically the start of this story, I knew what this scene would look like. Everything I did in the story was leading up to this moment where Future Elena would die. I know that this isn't what a lot of you wanted for her, but I do still have a plan for her, as is evident by the end part of this chapter. I really, really want to know what you guys think, and whatever predictions you all have. Your reviews are what keep me writing. There are probably about ten people whose wonderful support is the only reason that this story ever got this far. So as always please read and review.