AN: Be warned, my Klaus is not pleasant.
Chapter 12: Enter Klaus.
"I don't understand, why we have to kill Klaus at all, "Darwin said, "I know Elijah doesn't like it, no matter what his plans are. And if we could destroy the moonstone, Klaus will have no reason to hurt Elena."
Darwin was sitting cross-legged on the ground, and Katherine sat in a similar position across from him inside the tomb. She was drinking slowly from the bottle, he had brought her.
"You don't know how vindictive Klaus can be, "she told him, "if you get in his way, he'll hunt you to the end of the world."
"You must know, where he is. You've been running from him for centuries. In order to keep away from him, you must've kept some track on him."
She didn't answer right away. And when she did, she sounded hesitating. "I know he was somewhere in New York City last year, but I doubt he's still there."
"I would feel much better, if we had Kol, Finn, and Rebekah, "Darwin said, "I'm guessing that none of them would be too happy with Klaus."
"Rebekah would never turn her back on Klaus." Darwin turned his head and saw Elijah standing by the stairs. "It is impossible to predict what Finn would do after all this time, and Kol is beyond anyone's control."
Katherine jumped to her feet. She could not see Elijah, but she could hear him. Darwin remained seated on the ground.
"Kol is nice enough, once you get to know him." And here he was defending him again.
Elijah gave him a small, crooked smile: "Meaning: He's a jackass, but you'll get used to it?"
Darwin had to laugh. "Yes, something like that."
"Come, Darwin. Jenna is waiting for you."
"Right." He finally got up and followed Elijah up the stairs. When they were far enough away that Katherine couldn't hear, he said: "You know as well as I that without the sacrifice there is only one other way to kill Klaus, and I assume that's not an option."
"No, it's not."
"Are you going to tell the others about Mikael?"
"No, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't either."
"I won't. He would kill us all." Darwin sighed. "It just seems that no matter what we do ... "
"I know. It's impossible to formulate a perfect plan."
They were walking through the new cemetary now. Darwin wondered where Jeremy and Elena's parents were buried. He couldn't find his own mother's grave in Jutland anymore. The land had changed too much. She had been buried in the same barrow as her father. It had probably been dug out by now. He didn't really like the thought of his mother's remains laying on lit de parade at some Danish museum.
"We cannot allow Klaus to break the curse, "Darwin suddenly said, "Too many people would die."
They had slowed down, when they entered the town and were walking at a human pace along the sidewalk.
"No, "Elijah agreed, "it would give him too much power. But it won't be easy. You should realize that before this is all over, you may have to kill again."
They came to a halt outside the Library, and Darwin sent Elijah a sick smile. "I know, "was all he said.
(Break)
Klaus was standing by one of the window in his office, gazing down at the activity in the yard below, his hands were clasped behind his back. The movers were busy moving in one truckload of furniture after the other. Two servants, who had worked for him for more than three centuries, were shouting out orders and giving directions.
He never participated in such mundane activities himself. The only thing he really cared about how was handled and placed, was his collection of artwork.
He had purchased the large mansion only days ago, but as soon as the deal was closed, the moving in and renovation had begun. The movers had to go around painters and carpenters.
He preferred to keep a low profile, but didn't really care, who knew he was here in Mystic Falls. After all, there was nothing they could do about it.
"So, tell me again, what did the moonstone look like?"
"It was small and smooth. And white, almost transparent." The voice sounded hoarse and tired.
He turned around and looked at the young werewolf.
Stevie was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. His hands were nailed to the armrests. Blood was dripping on the newspapers that were layed out beneath him.
It was after all a new carpet.
Klaus took the nail gun from the desk, but Stevie was too frightened to even look scared. His head was hanging.
"And you are sure Elijah has it?"
"Yes."
It had been the same questions and answers all day. It wasn't really nessecary. Stevie had spilled the beans as soon as he had been captured on his way out of Mystic Falls. No torture or compulsion had been needed.
Unfortunately for Stevie, he didn't know much, and that irritated Klaus. And Klaus wasn't pleasant company when irritated.
He shot another nail into Stevie's hand and the werewolf's body jerked slightly.
"Fine, I guess that's all I'm going to get out of you."
Stevie looked up. "So you'll let me go then?"
Klaus put the nail gun back on the desk. "Oh no, I've got another use for you."
He took his cell phone and left the room, patting Stevie on the shoulder on his way out. He checked for new messages as he walked down the hall.
Maddox said: Caskets secure at the warehouse. Spells are in place.
I said: Good.
There was one more unread message.
Darwin said: Deal's off.
He wrote back 'Your funeral' and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
(Break)
There was a long silence, after Darwin had finished relating his story to the four teens at the Grill that evening. He left out nothing. Not Niklaus, not the dagger, not being related to him and Elijah.
"I understand, "Elena suddenly said.
"What?" That was not what he had expected.
"I would do anything for the ones I love, "she explained, "I can hardly blame you for doing the same. And you've known Kol your entire life, you've known us for a few days."
"Thank you, "he said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.
"And I spent some time spying on Elena and Stefan for Katherine, "Caroline said slowly, "I'm not judging you either."
Jeremy and Bonnie hadn't said anything yet and to be honest, he had been the most worried about their reactions. Jeremy because he knew Darwin the best, and Bonnie because she wasn't exactly kindly disposed towards vampires. Witches hardly ever were.
"If it had just been me he threatened, I would never have done it, "he assured them, "But it's Kol."
"And you told Klaus that you'd no longer work for him?" Jeremy finally said. "That's very brave."
"Believe me; I'm very afraid of what he may do to me. Or to Kol's body."
"So, are you the oldest vampire, who is not an Original?" Caroline asked.
"Probably, but I was not the first one turned. There were a few others before me, but as far as I know, they are all dead now. I was the first one to be turned by Kol, though."
"Then you must be almost as strong as an Original, "she observed.
"Actually, no, "he shook his head, "I live on an absolute minimum amount of blood. I'm stronger than Damon and Stefan, but nowhere near as strong as Klaus and Elijah. I'm not even sure I could take on Katherine. Even if I did know how to fight."
"The question is; what do we do now?" Jeremy tried to get back to the matter at hand.
"Actually, Elijah is discussing it with the Salvatore brothers and Alaric right now. To see if it might be possibe for them to work together."
"And we weren't invited?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Damon said no kids allowed, "Darwin told him, "and I guess I'm not there, because none of them trusts me right now."
"That's complete crap!" Jeremy slammed his hand down on the table, "I'm going to file a complaint with the Volturi!"
"I think Elijah is the Volturi, "Bonnie commented resignedly.
"Well, I guess we'll be here for awhile, "Elena said and got up, "I'll get some drinks. What do you guys want?"
Everybody made their orders.
"I'll come with you, "Jeremy offered and started to rise, but Darwin quickly interrupted.
"No, I'll go."
He and Elena went to the bar and while they waited, Darwin said: "Thanks for understanding. You didn't have to. I've never really been particularly nice to you."
Elena frowned. "The times we've met, you've been very polite."
"Yes, "Darwin agreed, "but never warm."
Elena smiled. "We've only met twice. I wasn't expecting you to be more than polite."
(Break)
What was supposed to be a friendly meeting at the Boarding House quickly turned into an argument ... Between the Salvatore brothers, that is.
"No matter what we do this Klaus will keep coming. I say we track him down and stab him in the head!"
"Damon, are you listening to yourself? Killing Klaus is damn near impossible! Destroying the moonstone would be the only logical action. Without the stone, he cannot break the curse. We have three witches in all. It could be possible..."
"Why waste time? Elijah has the dagger ..."
"And as I explained, Klaus is a hybrid, he cannot be killed by the dagger, "Elijah interjected calmly, "I have to agree with Stefan."
Damon looked at him, disbelievingly: "I thought you wanted Klaus dead."
"My objective is no longer to kill Klaus, it is to find and release my family."
"So that's your plan; More frigging Originals?!"
Stefan rubbed his temples, feeling a million years old. "Damon, we are not getting anywhere unless you start to cooporate!"
Damon glared at him, crossing his arms over his chest. "How about this; I turn Elena into a vampire. Problem solved."
Stefan jumped to his feet. "If you touch her, I will kill you!"
"Oh, really?! You think, you can take me? Come on, I dare you!"
"I'll rip off your head and shove it ... "
Alaric got up and put himself between the Salvatores. "Hey hey hey! How about this? Damon and I will look for a way to kill Klaus, Elijah and Darwin will seek for their family, and Stefan will work with the witches to destroy the moonstone. And everybody will try not to get in each others way."
There was a moment of silence, then Stefan sat back down. "Fine."
Damon, realising he wasn't going to get a fight, scowled at Alaric. "Why do you have to be so damn practical?"
"Someone has to be. And we all know that there's no way in Hell you'd turn Elena without her consent."
"And how would you know that? My sarcasm has reached a point, where not even I know if I'm kidding or not..."
"I will be needing a witch to search for my family, "Elijah remarked, ignoring Damon.
"Right, "Alaric thought for a minute, "Splitting up the Martin warlocks will probably not be a good idea. I'll see, if I can get Bonnie to work with you. She would most likely rather do that than be around Luka and Jonas, anyway."
Stefan sighed. They had a plan now, yes, but it was far from perfect. Perfect would be all of them working together, not splitting up. But how were they supposed to be able to work with Elijah, when it was impossible even for him and Damon to work together?
For now, it probably didn't get any better than this.