VII. The Sharpest Lives

There's a place in the dark where the animals go

You can take off your skin in the cannibal glow

Juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands

Drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, Romeo

'Do it, right now, or I'll kill you, and everyone you've ever met.'

Still up to your old tricks, brother?

I'm disappointed, really. Using a witch to bring me back, because Elijah might turn on him? He's more paranoid than ever. No horrible thing Niklaus has ever done meant anything to Elijah in the shadow of his family. I haven't been around any of them for months, and I still know that.

Maybe he's just looking for an excuse. Perhaps Nik has gotten lonely now that his little blonde treat doesn't care to sit around and twiddle her thumbs at casa Mikaelson. Losing your humanity can make one a bit…restless. I do wonder how that came about. Bizarre how he's taken such a liking to such an ordinary girl…granted, she is a pretty little thing.

"Kol Mikaelson." The voice is directed at me. I thought we were done with this summoning business. "Yes, I'm here, get on with it already." I shout in the witch's general direction, spreading my arms wide. I don't want to be here. But I am. Because Niklaus is too stubborn to not get what he wants. The witch's voice sounds again, not aloud this time, but in my head. 'He's going to kill me anyway, isn't he?'

I nod, unable to push down the poisonous seeping of regret I already feel for this witch's life, though it's out of my control. I shove my hands into my pockets. "But-He won't kill everyone you've ever met if you do it, just you." She nods. I would stop him if I could. I offer, but I know she's not listening. She has something in her hands, a watch, I think, that must have been mine. The witch chants, speaking loudly in an ancient language. The candles lined up on tombstones all around us flare up and down in tandem with a beat that grows in the air.

Suddenly I feel very warm. It's an uncomfortable feeling, one that I haven't felt in centuries. It's the warmth of life. A roaring sounds in my ears and the pain kicks in, sharp pinpricks all across my body as if every pain receptor in my body were firing at once. I clench my fists in my pockets-I'll be damned if the first time Nik sees me is moaning in pain on the ground. Very gradually my body feels weighed down to this earth, and I hear the witch's chanting slow. Could I save her? Nik is standing right behind her, at the ready to snap her neck as soon as he sees me in the flesh. No, I suppose I can't.

Finally I feel grounded again, I feel alive. I look up to my brother's face and his eyes widen. He can see me again. I turn my head to the witch, and I speak very quickly, so that I can at least get it out before she drops dead at Niklaus's hands, a murmur of my thanks.

There is a sickening rip and her body slumps to the floor. "It's good to see you again, Kol." Nik's accented voice rings cheerily.

"Wish I could say the same, brother." I reply, my eyes on the dead witch on the ground between us, blood pooling on the floor where Niklaus has ripped out her heart. "Isn't that a bit dramatic for your taste?" I mutter, uncomfortable with this being the first reacquainting with blood now that I'm back from the dead. He shrugs, "I was feeling a bit peckish." Nik brings the disengaged heart to his lips and I promptly throw out my leg, catching his hand and causing the organ to go flying.

"Come off it, Kol!" He shouts, angry, "Would it kill you to be a bit bloody grateful? I just brought you back into the realm of the living, for Christ's sake."

I stalk up to him and growl, "Well I didn't have any choice in that, did I?" I lean back, narrowing my eyes, "You think I wanted this?" I say, spreading my arms. "You can't just get everything you want, Niklaus, dead things are meant to stay dead!"

The bugger actually grins at this. "And yet here you are."

Yes, here I am.

"I'll admit, I've missed this place." I sigh, throwing myself on the long couch of the sitting room. "It does have a certain charm." Nik agrees, looking around, eyes settling on a spot above the back of the house. That must be where she sleeps, I decide. The girl. Caroline Forbes of Mystic Falls. The owner of my brother's rotting heart.

"How did it happen?" I ask, nodding toward where his eyes have drifted. A frown blooms across Nik's face. "Her humanity." I clarify. I've only gathered so much information in the short time I spent observing: Caroline has inexplicably agreed to move in with Klaus (though they sleep in different rooms), Niklaus has—likely unfounded—suspicions about Elijah's loyalty, and the blonde has turned flicked the switch, for reason's I'm not aware of yet. Then there are the obvious things, the Quarter is run by Marcel, and Nik likely is finding a way to take back what is Mikaelson's by right.

He smiles, "Ah, that is a bit of a long story, little brother."

"A child. You have a child?"

He shakes his head, "I would have, but little Caroline got a bit—temperamental. It was rather touching, really."

"How long ago did this all happen?"

A shrug, "A few weeks ago…" Nik avoids my eyes, "I would've thought you'd be keeping tabs on the family." He says pointedly.

"Not much of a family left, I'm afraid." I remark, "If I wanted to watch children fight, I could just watch the program on the telly with the awful parenting and blinding dresses."

"You've watched television, Kol?" He smirks.

"Not much to do on the other side, brother." I murmur. It's maddening. The boredom, the anger, the silence... I shudder inwardly and decide that perhaps I am grateful after all.

Nik nods and tosses me an ugly red blood bag. I catch it and raise an eyebrow at him. "Caroline's—when she first arrived, anyway." He says, as explanation. "I imagine you're parched, and I'm not through yet."

At his words, I realize that I am famished, though it does not make the idea of slurping down this refrigerated swill any more appetizing. "I can wait." I chuckle, throwing it back at him.

"Suit yourself." He shrugs, placing it back in the icebox.

"Let's get straight to it then, what's the real reason I'm here?" I ask, standing up to have a look around. He can't really think he's in any danger from Elijah anymore. Niklaus's eyes drift over to the staircase.

"That would be me." The voice of Caroline Forbes floats down from the upper level of the house, entering from the balcony of the second floor. She settles down in front of us. "See, Klaus doesn't have the spare time on his hands—what with plotting one of his only real friend's downfalls and all—to ensure that I don't cause a supernatural scene, go buck wild on too many tourists, or, god forbid, one of Marcel's men." She says, with mock horror. "That about right?" She chirps, the question directed at my brother.

Nik raises an eyebrow, grinning like a shark, "Carful, love, you almost sound bitter. Wouldn't want to let any of those pesky emotions back in, would we?" He wants her to. It's so painfully clear it's almost nauseating. For whatever reason, Niklaus, of all people wants this girl to feel human again.

Caroline smiles, practiced, eyes as blank as a Ripper's "Don't worry about that Klaus, I don't give a shit about anything, including you, and your little plans to rule the world."

A little chuckle finds its way to my lips and Niklaus's eyes shoot daggers at me. "Relax, brother," I exclaim, walking over to him and giving his shoulder a light shake. "Even the emotionless need a bit of fun. A rise out of you is exactly what she was looking for."

I see Caroline glaring at me in my peripheral vision and give her a little wink. "But," I start, "I am not a babysitter, Niklaus. If what she's saying is true I'll have no part in it."

"You'll take part in whatever I want you to take part in, Kol. This isn't just about me, this was our home, and Marcel has taken it from us. I want it back, don't you?" I do. New Orleans has always held a special place in my heart. There's culture here, something that's rare in the modern world. But there's no reason to get any of it back without family. The whole family.

"Get Rebekah here."

"What?"

"Darling brother, convince Rebekah to come to New Orleans, and I'll help you." There's a moment of consideration on Nik's face. He doesn't like being told what to do, and he certainly doesn't like giving people what they want.

"Fine. I'm sure the news of your re-arrival will be reason enough." Klaus fishes his phone out of his pocket and starts walking away. "Doubt that, big brother." I call over my shoulder.

I turn my eyes on the blonde who's been looking jadedly at her nails for the entirety of this exchange. "Why you've taken up with each other, I'll never know." I remark, letting my eyes wander over her lithe frame. Not entirely true, I suppose. Even in her emotionless state, I can see the kindness in her face, there's a lamb-like innocence there, deceptively heartbreaking in its sincerity. A lamb up for the slaughter. Her glossy, green eyes flash to mine, then to the doorway Nik left through. She shrugs, "Maybe murderous psychopaths are just a turn on for me."

Is that so? "In that case, maybe I can regale you with tales from the 18th century. I was quite the vicious git." I smirk, getting up to move closer to her. I approach, stepping close enough so that I'm only inches away from her face. She doesn't move a muscle. "Not anymore?" She murmurs.

"No…eventually the screams are no longer satisfying, just annoying." I brush the hair off one of her shoulders. "It takes more and more blood to reach that nirvana, and ultimately the effort just doesn't seem worth it." Hearing myself speak the words aloud makes me wonder if I still wholly feel that way. Thinking back on the carnage brings the hunger I've been ignoring back with full force.

"Someone's hungry." Caroline's finger trails across my lower lids, tracing the veins there. "I'm not sure that I believe you." She taunts.

"Tell me, darling," I say, deciding to ignore her comment, "where's the most crowded club in the Quarter?"

She smiles.

Maybe babysitting wouldn't be so bad after all.

AN: Oh my lord, 90 followers? Y'all are crazy, and I love every single one of you glorious bastards so much :') You make this story possible by inspiring me to write more.

Sorry this whole chapter was in Kol POV, but I'm not sure how much I'll be writing in Caroline's POV while she's humanity-less, cause it'd be kinda dull most of the time. I like writing as him, it's fun. I'm not sure how I did though. With Kol there's not a whole lot to go off on-since he was idiotically killed off the show-except that he's famously dangerous, unpredictable, and fond of witches. Oh, and sexy... (Though, no where near as hot as Klaus)

Tell me how I did, pretty please?

Edit: Also, tell me what 'too far' with Kol and Caroline is? Given her state, I can't promise anything, but I know how sensitive people are about their ships. Oooh, I've always wanted to write a threesome. I might be crazy.