A/N: Hi, guys! Hope the wait wasn't too painful. I decided to split this chapter up into two parts so it wouldn't end up being such a monstrosity. I'm almost done with the next one so hopefully it will come soon after this is posted.

Again, thanks so much for all your continued support. All of your predictions were very interesting to read. :)

Chapter Seventeen: We Are All Monsters Here

Caroline didn't even blink as she stared at her boyfriend in horror. Her muscles were stiff and her breaths came out ragged. Everything she knew made no sense at all, except for the reason why he chose her. She understood now. She was an easy target, naive, gullible enough to fall for his charms- an easy meal.

Her frightened expression stared back at her in his golden eyes. She loathed how weak she appeared in this moment, but she couldn't pull herself together. Her entire world had just shattered before her eyes.

Her eyes focus on the razor sharp fangs hanging below Klaus's lips. She wondered how many times he could have sunk them into her neck, how many times he contemplated making her suffer.

It finally hit her where she had seen this before… in a dream. She had had a dream about Klaus. He was a monster- he looked exactly the way he did now. Her mind had attempted to warn her and she waved it off as just a mind trick.

She deserved this.

Suddenly, she dashed towards the door, only to be cut short by Klaus's hand slamming the door back in place. She winced, tears blurring her vision. There was no avoiding it- she was going to die.

"Just do it." She thrusted her head up to meet his now human face. "Kill me already if you're going to do it."

Klaus's face softened, appearing genuinely offended. "Why would I kill you?"

"What?"

"Caroline, I'm showing you this because I want to be honest with you about everything. Your death is the last thing I desire." He strokes her cheek with the back of his knuckles, and Caroline's body is coiled up tightly, barely leaving room for her to breath. "Look into my eyes."

She reluctantly lifted her eyes to stare into his shifting blue ones. His blue irises were replaced with glowing gold ones, and she forced her eyes to remain glued to them. To her surprise, they weren't threatening, instead, they seemed familiar, like the all-consuming gaze Klaus would regard her with.

Eventually, she gained courage and let her fingers touch the purple veins underneath his eyes. She softly gasped as she felt the blood rush through his face. Tilting her face down, she removes his hand from her face and tries to level her breathing.

"If you don't want to kill me, then what do you want?"

"What I've wanted from the beginning: you," he uttered matter-of-factly, and her eyes widened. He leaned over her, a hand pressing on the door on either side of her head, and his nose nearly brushing hers. "I want you, Caroline, and I know you still want me. I shared my secret with you because I believed you would understand."

She breathed heavily and eyed him warily. She couldn't help but notice how his lips hovered over hers. She would give him that; she was still insanely attracted to him, but she wouldn't cross that line with how precarious their current relationship was.

"Why should I believe anything you say?" She frowned.

"Because you know me." His voice dropped to a tone that made her shiver. "You remember every moment you shared with me, every moment of vulnerability you spent with me. I could have killed you, or injured you in any of those instances, but I chose not to." Caroline felt her cheeks heat, vividly remembering her most vulnerable moments with him. "Not to mention, now that you know, I have no reason to be dishonest."

She slowly shook her head. "I thought I did… but you're a stranger. And I don't understand any of the things you choose to do. Maybe continuing to lead me on is part of your sick little game. How far can you lead on the dumb blonde until she figures out she was always just a toy?"

"You don't believe that."

"Don't tell me how to think!" she snapped, and her body stiffened as his thumb carefully pulled her bottom lip down, and her heart pounded inside her chest. Her eyes watched his face shift, expressing wonder and pride. "Stop it." She slapped his hand away, her senses on high alert.

"You have blood residue on your teeth." The corners of his mouth curved up into a knowing smile.

Caroline's hand flew to her mouth, the memory of biting Edwards resurfacing. It suddenly occurred to her what Klaus must have thinking then. She met his eyes and understood the pride dancing in his blue eyes. "You want to turn me into a vampire."

He paused, letting her sit on the idea. "Yes. I want you and I want you to be with me for eternity."

She exhaled deeply and ran her fingers through her hair. This was too much. She just found out her killer boyfriend is also a vampire who wants to turn her into his vampire bride in the span of ten minutes. Or, did he just call himself a hybrid?

"What if I don't wanna be what you are?" she challenged.

"Why wouldn't you?" he counters, sounding very full of himself, and his familiar annoying cockiness actually offers her comfort. "You already have control of the most difficult aspects of being a vampire, Caroline. Remorse, temptation, sorrow… they can cripple even the greatest vampires. You can kill without slipping into depression and you exercise control like a vampire fifty times your age. You won't have the weaknesses, Caroline, only the benefits."

"What benefits?"

"Come with me and I'll show you." He offered his hand for her to take, but she didn't move.

"I don't trust you anymore."

"Caroline, my plan won't exactly work out if you're dead."

"And everything will still go according to plan if you force me to become a vampire."

He grinded his teeth as he finally allowed her space to breathe, standing upright again. His eyes still remained trained on her like a hawk. "I could introduce you to a world that would extol your darkness. If you think this school is paradise, I can show you heaven for people like us. Choose the humans and you'll be thrust right back where you started. Choose us and you'll always have a home, always feel wanted, always feel powerful."

She scanned his face, recognizing the pleasure on his features. She knew he was speaking the truth, but she couldn't shake the dubious thoughts in the back of her mind. "I need time… all of this is just… I need to process the fact that you lied to me for months."

"All I have given you is time," he stated in frustration.

"Well, if you want me to even consider being your vampire bride, you're going to give me some more," she bit out, and he relented. As she opened the door, Klaus's hand slammed it shut once again. "You cannot keep me in here."

He leaned his face close to hers, his eyes burning with intensity. "I'm not kidnapping you, or threatening you, but it is imperative that you mention to no one what you've learned here. If you value your life, you will speak this to no one but me."

She nodded, and he let her through the door.

Immediately, she raced straight to the old room she had shared with Elena, locking herself inside. Sinking down to the floor, she let her tears come down, burying her face into her arms and let herself scream.

Storming into the room, the door slammed into the wall, causing Kol and a vacuous girl to flinch from their spot under the sheets in the bed. Klaus appeared lethal, snarling like a wolf at his brother.

The girl moved to get out of bed, but Klaus stopped her.

"No. You're going to want to see this, love. You don't want to miss witnessing me removing all necessary organs from your lover here."

Kol cracked his neck, seemingly unaffected by Klaus's threats. "What have I done to you this time, Nik? I thought I already rectified all my misdemeanors."

Klaus tossed him a small, black object, and Kol caught it. "Does that look familiar? It should. It's yours."

Kol glanced down at it, confused. "My phone? Oh, thanks, Mate, I've been looking all over for this."

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Do you want to know where I found it?"

"Perhaps, if I didn't suspect the answer would lead to you marring my face."

"It was in Caroline's possession." Klaus stood in front of the bed, towering over Kol, who sat up against the headboard, only a bed sheet covering him. "Apparently, she stumbled upon a picture of you with Taylor after intercourse. She figured out that you were the one to kill the girl and now she knows what we are."

Kol's brown eyes widened dramatically. "What? How the devil does she know that?"

Klaus stared at him resentfully. "I told her. More like showed her."

Kol ruminated over their newfound situation. He shouldn't have been surprised; Klaus had told him beforehand his plans for Caroline. "Alright, she knows… what do you plan to do next?"

His eyes looked anywhere but at Kol. "She's angry with me at the moment- which is expected, but not preferable. She needs time to calm down. She's angry that I omitted the truth for so long."

"That's it? There was no attempt to burn you with a holy cross?" Kol teased.

"No. Caroline has an appreciation for the art of darkness. She is not held back by the ideals that society tries to instill in you. She will come around after some persuasion."

"Well, it seems you have your work cut out for you. Now if you would excuse me." Kol flicked his fingers, motioning for Klaus to make his exit.

Klaus smiled maliciously back at Kol. "I wouldn't mind at all actually." He seated himself on the bed, right in front of Kol, successfully making him as uncomfortable as possible. "I do recall you wishing to spend more time with me. Now tell me about the progress you've made on breaking this curse. The clock is ticking."

Kol sighed, exasperated. "We've been doing a bit of trial and error with the part about sins reverting to virtue. We used some of the humans to experiment and they seem to be irrelevant to the riddle. I'm assuming mother intended for us to commit virtuous acts. Quite predictable."

"And have any of you committed any virtuous acts in the last few days?"

"Yes… but we're also finding that virtuous acts cannot be forced, nor can they be fueled by impure motives, or they cease to be virtuous…"

Klaus calmly stood to his feet, inhaling, and then he punched the wall, leaving a large hole. He turned back to Kol, resting his hands on his knees as he bent over. "Then you fools had better start growing a heart of gold before I tear out your current ones and replace it with a pound of gold." He strided out, shutting the door behind him.

Walking into History class the next day, Caroline's mission was to avoid Klaus at all cost. However, that plan was blown to pieces when she realized that presentations were today, and like the overachiever she was, she had volunteered them to go first…

She really regretted that decision.

They had gotten up there, and Klaus was his usual smug self, and it only set her on edge. Every time she saw him, her mind kept flashing back to images of his face with fangs and glowing eyes. It wasn't that she was afraid of him at this point, she just couldn't get over the shock.

He purposefully emphasized words that set her off balance and he had her so turned around her mind kept blanking in the beginning. Thankfully, her bullet points had saved her innumerously during the presentation. She wondered if Collins could sense the strain on their relationship. Fortunately, he hadn't said anything at the end of class; she really did not need an "I told you so" about her love life from her teacher.

She was the first one out the door when the bell rang and even skipped her locker just in case Klaus intended to corner her.

"Caroline." Klaus grinned, seeming to have appeared out of nowhere. "I'm glad I caught you."

She looked bewildered, her head turning from Klaus to the back of the hall. She could've sworn she put at least five yards of distance between them since the last time she saw him. "You know, I don't believe stalking is a very effective method of convincing someone to grow a pair of fangs."

"Really? Rebekah tells me it was quite useful to that Edward fellow."

She narrowed her eyes and brushed past him. "What do you want?"

"Well, yesterday you hadn't explicitly stated that you didn't want to pursue a relationship with me any longer, which means you're still very much mine." He intertwined their fingers as he walked beside her.

Caroline abruptly halted, giving him an incredulous look. Her eyes drifted from his cheeky ones to their joined hands. "Seriously? Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"If you're considering my offer, then you don't want to say goodbye to me. Admit it." His other hand pressed on her lower back, pushing her body flush against his. His hot breath warmed her skin, her neck feeling like it was on fire. "Do you feel my hand on your back, Caroline? If you try to move, you will find that you might as well have a building pressed against it. I could fracture a human spine with one finger and the slightest pressure."

"I really hope listing all the different ways you could kill me is not your pickup line."

He chuckled. "Everything I can do is something you will be able to do if you let me turn you- well, almost everything. We'll get into that once you understand vampirism. You'll never have to be afraid of anyone, or anything, not even death itself. I know you crave power. I am offering you more power than you will know what to do with."

She stared at him, considering his words.

Klaus came around behind her, resting his hands on her ribcage, his lips brushing against her ears. She audibly sighed, wanting nothing more than to lean into his touch. "Do you remember how it feels to have my hands on you? My teeth to leave marks against your flesh? My tongue to eat you out?" She felt something hard poke her ass and she had to bite back a moan. "Vampires have to hold back when they're intimate with humans because they're not as durable. Imagine taking me in, fucking you with all my might. Imagine rough vampire-hybrid sex with me, love."

She breathes heavily, her body overheating. "Would you bite me?"

Klaus turns her around, trapping her body between his and the wall. "Of course, I would." His voice is low and dangerous. "Because you would beg me for it." His eyes dropped down, his eyes catching sight of her cleavage that was hidden by her white button up, and she prayed that he would rip it open.

His lips are right above hers and her teeth reach up to nibble on them, but he abruptly stalks away from her, turning back with a large smirk on his face.

She groaned, letting her head rest against the wall.

He was not going to make this easy for her.

It had been almost a month since that night Caroline found out she was dating a vampire- and that sounded like such a trite teenage drama, she can't believe she used that sentence to describe her life.

Klaus had given her space somewhat. He had been good about keeping his distance, aside from the warm greetings he presented her with whenever he passed by her in the halls, or in class.

She still felt his eyes on her whenever he thought she wasn't paying attention, or maybe he did know. Sometimes, she wondered if she was being ridiculous trying to punish him like this. It was hurting her as much as it was hurting him. It didn't make her feel any better about Klaus's deception and only made her miss him even more.

He had her so turned around that she couldn't decipher the sky from the ground anymore. She was just so confused.

Nursing her drink, Caroline stepped out into the cool fresh air, her body immediately cooling. She had hoped that she could unwind tonight, drown in the liquor to forget her problems for just one second. However, she quickly found that the alcohol was only encouraging the thoughts to rush to the forefront of her mind.

Hearing the door squeak open behind her, she turned to see Jared and some other intoxicated student chuckling with him. Her eye immediately landed on the prosthetic hand that hung from his sleeve. She should have felt grief, knowing that she had taken something so valuable from another human being, but she did not. He was a repugnant human being and she didn't regret doling out a fitting punishment.

They both eyed her, cocking their heads to the side, lust taking over their expressions.

She straightened her posture and stared them down. She did not have time for trivial flirtations. They should know better than to try to engage provocative conversation with her. After all, she was superior to them both.

"Hey, Caroline," Jared started. "I heard you and Klaus broke up."

The other came up behind her, his breath drenched in vodka. "If the king ditches his queen, I believe that makes you nothing."

She snarled at them and her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I like your new hand, Jared. I much prefer it over your old one. It was so delicate, so easy to slice off." She stressed the "S," as if her mouth could cut right into him, and Jared's body shook slightly.

His body immediately tenses, obviously trying to stop himself from punching her. "You know, now that Klaus seems to be through with you, there is nothing stopping me from avenging my hand. Maybe I'll mess up that pretty little face of yours in retribution."

Caroline gulped, taking a few slow steps back. "The two of you are dead, do you hear me? If you were smart, you'd start running now. I will have you gutted and let your bodies rot in the sun."

"Who says we'll let you live?" The boy behind her whispered.

Jared reached for her throat, and she twists his arm and headbutts him, leaving him disoriented. Caroline pulled the other boy by the hair and knocked his skull against her knee, letting him fall to the ground.

Jared lunged for her, but she dodged and punched him in the face. She groans, shaking her throbbing hand.

Caroline screamed as she fell to the ground, finding that the other boy had grabbed her ankle. She managed to effectively kick him in the face, causing his nose to fracture.

Jared climbed on top of her. She tried to push his arms back, but he was far stronger than her. Instinctively, Caroline bit down on his forearm, and Jared cried out, allowing her to throw him off of her.

Caroline laid flat on her back, catching her breath for just a moment. She was a horrible person who did terrible things to other people, but she was so scared of what would happen to her.

Jared's scream cut through the air, and Caroline innately sat up, leaning on her hands for support. She audibly gasped. Klaus had already paralyzed Jared's body from the neck down and was viciously ripping into his neck, sucking him dry. The human was crying, pleading to die, and Klaus refused to let the torture end until there wasn't a drop left.

The other boy was attempting to crawl away, and Caroline dug her knee into his spine, and he winced. Removing her heel from her foot, she drove it into his skull over and over again, blood splattering into her face with every collision. Her heel was buried completely into his head by the time she stopped.

She panted harshly, relief washing over her.

Turning to the side, she found Klaus staring at her with those same golden eyes he had shown her before; he seemed entranced by her appearance. When she realized why, she stood to her feet, backing away from him. She was covered in blood. She was like a rare steak to a lion.

Klaus appeared in front of her, and she sucked in a breath. His face returned to normal as he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. Gently, he smoothed it across her skin, revealing her creamy white skin.

Her eyes fell to the ground as she was locked under his heavy gaze once more. She felt the pull, the undeniable tension that always surrounded them, she always did in his presence.

"Are you alright?" He deposited the handkerchief back into his pocket and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look into his deep blue eyes. "Caroline."

"Fine." She looked at him defiantly. "Thanks." Spinning on her bare heel, she headed straight for the school, praying he wouldn't say anything else.

"Caroline."

"What?" She halted, irritated.

"May we talk about what happened?" He walked beside her once he caught up with her.

"Two drunk idiots tried to kill me. They didn't. You killed one. I killed the other one. The end," she snapped. "This isn't my first day, Klaus. I know what goes on in this school."

His face hardened, his eyes trying to search her soul. "I'm well aware. But you… you are not subjected to those incidents. Not you. Never you."

She sighed. "Well, I don't have any intention of ever letting it happen. I can handle myself." She began to walk again, but he stopped her. "Klaus-"

"I know you're still angry with me, but I only wanted you to see me for who I am and not what I am. And I know that I told you I would give you time to think my proposition over, but I can't, knowing that I would be leaving you vulnerable to attack. I can't leave your side again, Caroline, even if you loathe me for it. I won't do it," he insists.

Caroline inhaled deeply. She never wanted him to think that she resented him because he was different; that was the last thing she wanted. In all honesty, she knew virtually nothing about being a vampire, or a hybrid, or a creature of the night.

"Klaus… how do you feel about me? Really."

He was taken aback by her bold question. "If I could choose between owning the world and being with you, I would choose you. You are greater than all the magic in this world, the forces even beyond my reach. Caroline, you are cosmic. I never want to be without you again."

Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his lips with hers. He responded instantly, matching her fervent enthusiasm. They poured every emotion, every tear, every bit of anger and sadness they felt during their separation, into their kiss. It was heart-wrenching and incredible, yet it was like picking up right where they had left off.

Klaus pushed his tongue into her mouth, and she moaned, taking him in fully. She adored those lips and tongue. She thought that she had missed him before, and now that she was finally with him again, she really understood how much she had missed him.

Klaus pressed her tightly against him, like he was already trying to chain her to him. He breathed raggedly against her mouth, showing his appreciation of everything her mouth was doing to him. She could tell that he had been missing her equally as much, and it just made her heart flutter.

"Promise me that there will be no more lies. Full disclosure from now on. I know that you're not human and… I don't care. I like you for everything you are." She stroked his rough cheek.

A genuine smile appears on Klaus's face. "I promise. And to follow through on that promise, if I'm being honest, I want to turn you as soon as possible. Now would be preferable. I am not exaggerating in the slightest."

She looked at him incredulously. "Klaus."

He lowered his head, their foreheads brushing. "Caroline, you can't honestly believe that turning you immortal is not currently on the top of my priorities after this incident. You will never know if you want to be a vampire if you do not allow me to show you everything you could be. Give me twenty four hours, and I will show you why you are meant to be a vampire."

Caroline opened her mouth to answer and quickly dove to the side, vomitting on the ground.

Caroline moaned. Her arms were loosely wrapped around Klaus's neck as he carried her bridal style through the threshold of the room she had shared with Elena. Klaus had initially intended to carry her back to his room, but Caroline insisted that he take her to her room. She had smiled at the way he pouted the whole way there, obviously thinking she intended to sleep by herself again.

As if she would choose to do that to herself after the kiss they shared. All she wanted to do was curl into his body and feel him hold her.

Klaus laid her down on the bed and climbed in with her, stroking her hair.

"You can stop pouting now. The only place I'm sleeping is in your arms." She offered a small smile.

Klaus's lips stretched into a large smile, his mood taking a radical shift. "That's my girl." He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer against himself.

She giggled. "I brought you here for a reason though… I meant it when I said full disclosure for both of us."

Klaus's brows furrowed in confusion for a moment and then his eyes widened. "Caroline, are you saying what I think you are?"

"Yes. You were brave with me and I've realized that I want you to know. I want you to know my secrets."

"I don't want you to feel obliged simply because I-"

She pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "I want you to know, Klaus. I think I have for a while now. I think I've just been trying to find the courage to say the words. But I'm also realizing, when I'm with you, I'm not afraid of anything."

He squeezed her hand, a proud look on his face. There was a gentleness to his eyes that he only ever allowed Caroline to see.

Caroline pressed her lips together, attempting to suppress her nerves. "Can you reach your hand underneath the nightstand? There's a secret compartment. I need you to pull out the thing inside."

He raised a curious brow at her as his hand felt underneath the piece of furniture. "You know, I don't remember this being on the original design." The corner of his lips lifted into a teasing half smile.

"Well, you learn to be resourceful when your roommate turns out to be mental and obsessed with you."

"Well, you are magnificent, love." He smiled flirtatiously as he handed her a thick manilla folder, and his expression shifted when he glanced at it. "Is that the missing file from the school records?"

"Yeah." She watched him suspiciously. "How'd you know it was missing?"

Klaus opened his mouth to answer, but seemed to change his mind last minute. It seemed as if his mind was wandering back to a previous conversation, one involving full disclosure. "I wanted to know you better from before we had engaged in intimate relations."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Seriously? So you decided to invade my privacy?"

"Well, the probability of you telling me anything about yourself was slim to none considering you didn't like me very much at the time."

She smiled to herself, vividly remembering that that period of time was not too long ago. It was crazy to think about just how far their relationship had progressed. It started with Caroline hating Klaus for his dark tendencies, to Caroline embracing her darkness and connecting with Klaus over it, to Caroline accepting Klaus for everything he is, human or not.

Laying the file on her lap, she inhaled deeply, opening the file for Klaus to see. She met his eyes, noticing the intensity. "This is the first time I'm looking at it. And… I'm really glad you're the one who's with me to see it." She laced their fingers together and a jolt of electricity traveled up her arm.

He kissed the side of her head as they both sat up completely, their backs leaning against the headboard.

Caroline fingered the stack of papers, her eyes first finding a newspaper cut out of the night she had killed Matt and Nadia. Klaus already knew about that part; there was no need to delve into that subject again.

Flipping through the rest, she found notes from the previous psychologists her mother had assigned to her. She gave the papers to Klaus. "Will you read them to me? I need to hear it."

He nodded and scanned the documents. "Caroline Forbes is a tragic case that is a victim of her own father's hand… She suffers trauma, the influence of her ill father, and lack of control over her emotions… She is the daughter of divorced parents. One a psychopath. The other an alcoholic… She is the result of her father's aversive conditioning to become a monster such as himself… Now she is vulnerable to violent outbursts and a lack of empathy towards death, depending on her mood… She is a danger to society and herself. Her future is very dim in terms of any kind of recovery…" Klaus had to periodically stop, wincing at each new poignant revelation.

She reluctantly met his eyes, recognizing rage and empathy swirling behind those infamous blue orbs. "Have you ever seen A Clockwork Orange? They say my story is kind of the reverse- at least it started out that way. My father was one of those silent serial killers that slipped by without anyone ever noticing. He had a thing for handsome middleaged men from what I'm told.

"After the divorce, my mother tried to humiliate him, so he retaliated. He took the one thing she had left: me. I can't even remember how long I was away from home. I lost track of the days. But he made sure that I was never bored, not for a second. He asked me to kill for him at eight, and I did. Over and over again, I did. I cried at first, but he taught me to love it, to crave it. He conditioned me to yearn for the kill. He said we didn't need all those other people in the world, just the people we love, just family. He told me that my mom wasn't family… and it's true. It's funny actually, I don't hate my father. He's the reason I am who I am, and I love who I am.

"And just when you think the torture is over, your mother abhors you and throws you into a mental institution while she tells all her friends at church that she sent you off to France for school. It happened again… except they had the nerve to pretend like they were the heros. They strapped me down to a chair, forced me to watch things, shot me up with drugs, zapped me when I didn't react the way they wanted me to… I was so scared. I didn't understand. My daddy made me strong, made me like him. How could they do that to me? I wanted them to stop. They didn't."

She blinked her eyes, feeling the tears sting her, before they rolled down her cheeks. Klaus pulled her against him protectively, stroking her hair, and she nuzzled her head into his neck. She wanted to be strong, but in his arms, she didn't have to be. Burying her face into his shoulder, she screamed, her cries muffled by his body.

Klaus's arms were like steel around her. It made her feel like she would never have to be alone again, that neither of them ever would. He softly murmured against her ear as he just held her. "It's okay, love… No one will ever hurt you again. We won't give them the opportunity… In time, you'll realize that your past can't hurt you any longer, and your suffering will become your armor and your arsenal… they will die painfully, and you will live."

Thanks so much for reading! It was a pretty long for Caroline to find out what Klaus is and the subject of turning her into a vampire has finally been broached. Now that Caroline has stepped into the "light" ironically, we're really going to go into the supernatural aspects a lot more and see where that takes us.

And I've been teasing a lot about Caroline's "past" which I finally coughed up. Let me know if you have questions on that matter. There will be more clarification in the next few chapters on that.

Please let me know what you guys thought of the chapter in a review! And I'm very excited to get the next chapter out.