The Reckoning
September 5, 2010
Just over a week had passed since Louise had parted ways with Klaus and Stefan, and during that time no one had tried to kill them, take over the town, or use her blood to break some kind of ancient curse. In fact, the Original's absence had ushered in a period of almost eerie calm. Louise had tentatively embraced the sudden peace, gradually accepting it as reality. Her new normal had begun the day before school had started with Senior Prank Night.
She tried to enjoy all the teenage rites of passage without worry that a psychotic vampire might show up and kill everybody she loved. However, Klaus wasn't the only vampire she worried about.
Louise stared down at her cell phone that wasn't ringing. A knot of anxiety twisted her stomach as she gazed at the silent, black screen. He'll come back when he's ready, she told herself for the millionth time, but the platitude offered her little comfort. Dejected, she picked up another mouse trap as a distraction from her thoughts. It had been hours since her and Damon's had their tiff, and he hadn't so much as texted to let her know he was okay.
Which I'm sure he is, she thought darkly. She knew worrying about her vampire boyfriend was silly, but if growing up in Mystic Falls had thought her anything, it was nobody was truly safe. Not even supposedly immortal creatures of the night.
She shook her head, trying to concentrate on what she was currently doing. Louise pulled the metal bat of the mouse trap backwards, being careful of the positioning of her fingers. She had hurt herself one too many times from the trap slinging back itself on her finger after it slipped out of her grasp. Suddenly, the lights of the classroom came on and the hundreds of mouse traps that littered the entire floor all reacted to the single touch, bouncing off each other in a domino effect until they returned to their original state.
Louise pulled her hand back as the trap caught her finger once again, the noise had startled her which forced her to loose focus. Her brown eyes snapped up to see an innocent Matt Donovan in the doorway in complete shock.
"Ohh! Oh, come on! Seriously?!" Caroline exasperatedly yelled, her voice dripping with annoyance. "Do you know how long it took for us to set all this up?!"
Tyler leaned against the table, titling his head slightly as he eyed his sweat drenched best friend. "Forgot about senior prank night, huh?"
"Clearly." Matt responded as Louise, along with Bonnie and Elena all rose from their positions on the floor.
Caroline stared at him in disbelief. "How could you forget? We've only been waiting for this since like freshman year."
"Don't poke the bear, Matt." Louise warned jokingly. "I already had an earful before being dragged down here."
"Yeah, Matt. If I'm doing this, you're doing this." Elena pointed at him with a small smile on her lips.
Matt frowned slightly as his eyes flickered around the classroom. "I'm kind of surprised any of you are doing this."
"Caroline's making us." Bonnie stated bluntly.
The blonde vampire's head snapped towards Bonnie, demonstrating an unimpressed look before her shoulders eased and her voice calmed. She turned back to face Matt. "We're about to be seniors. These are the memories that will stay with us forever, and if we don't-"
Elena interrupted her, poking a bit of fun at her friend as she finished her sentence. "-create these memories now, then what's the point of it all?"
"Go ahead and make fun, I don't care." Caroline brushed off with a sigh.
"You're all lame. And I've got ten more classrooms to prank." Tyler said. He picked up his bag of pranking supplies that sat on the cabinet behind them as he moved towards the door with Caroline pointing at him with approval.
Louise began following him with a huge grin on her face. She had an amazing idea.
Bonnie jumped up. "Hey! Where are you going?"
The brunette glanced over her shoulder at the witch. "To superglue Alaric's desk shut." Louise grinned. "I'm making memories." She winked at Caroline as Elena followed her twin from the room.
"I love you!" Caroline called after them.
Louise and Elena exited the classroom to see Tyler giving instructions to other students while he handed them rolls of saran wrap. "Ge the faculty toilet seats." He spotted the two. "Hey, Elena! Dana needs help in the gym, you down?" Elena thought about it for a slight moment before she nodded and moved towards Tyler and the group. "Let's go!" Tyler instructed excitedly as they all headed towards the gymnasium.
Louise shook her head as she laughed and continued down the hall towards her history class. She opened the double doors, but smashed into a hard chest. She took a step back, eyes roaming up to meet a pair of sea blue mixed with forest green eyes beaming down at her.
"There's my girl." His voice granted terror in any given context, the trenchant drawl that would visit her in many a night terror. Now it cooed across the meagre distance between them, the hybrid flaunting egomania behind a thing guise of charm.
"Klaus." Not a greeting, but an insult. Dubbing him with a name of late was interchangeable with monster. Doe eyes narrowed as Louise took a shaky breath. He doesn't frighten her, that was what she decided and attempted to perceive as fact. A challenge however when there's little she can hear above the pulsing thump in her ears.
"Let's skip the formalities, shall we?"
"I'm bored." Vivienne drawled.
Damon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Sorry your highness, but is that supposed to be my problem?"
Louise sighed and leaned back on the co-pilot seat, angling herself to look at him with a raised brow. "You could be a part of the solution. Or are you too busy keeping those pretty eyes on the road."
"You know me, safety first." Damon said.
"Are you hungry?" Katherine asked, leaning between the two front seats. "Let's stop for a bite. A truck stop. Or a trucker."
"Oh, stop being cute." Damon rolled his eyes, his tone annoyed.
Katherine shrugged. "It's not possible."
Road. All Damon could see in front of him in the glow of his Camaro's headlights was road. And he was sick to death of it. Maybe he should've taken Katherine's suggestion to pull into a rest stop. "We've been driving around aimlessly for hours." he declared in a bored sounding voice. "Where are we going?"
"Far enough away so that you can't go running back." Katherine responded cryptically.
"Not to worry." he assured her. "Mystic Falls and I are on a bit of a break." he added, his hands tightening around the steering wheel as he fleetingly thought about his fight with Louise.
"You and Mystic Falls or you and...well, everyone in Mystic Falls?" Vivienne asked in a knowing tone, as if she had read his mind. "What did you do?" she asked curiously. "Realised you truly didn't want to follow in Stefan's footsteps or Louise's guide on how become a nice vampire?"
As he turned a corner, Damon felt her fingers reach across and lightly dance up his thigh. "Let's just say Louise's friends and family and I have a bit of a different opinion on how I should behave." he informed her, trying to play the non-plussed card as Vivienne's fingers continued upwards.
"Ooooh," she sang, her eyes lighting up mischievously. "Let me guess..." His hand clenched around the steering wheel again as her hand brushed against his crotch and up his shirt a little, touching the bare skin of his stomach. "Everyone wants you to be the hero," she said with a slight air of disgust.
That hand then began to stroke up his neck and Vivienne's body heat was radiating against his own, her breath brushing against his ear. He didn't want to humour her, but he couldn't help but give her a tiny glance.
"And we both know you don't like playing pretend." she deduced in a breathy voice, her glossed lips now right beside his mouth.
Damon could just keep control of the car as Vivienne's fingers, ever-determined, began to curl under his jaw and edge his head towards her, his lips towards hers. "Something like that, yeah." he said, dismissively.
She then pressed her lips down against his and kissed him desperately, messily, kissing him like she was drowning and he was her oxygen. He let her kiss him for a while longer - only long enough to get her worked up over it - before he finally shoved her off harshly, throwing her back against the passenger seat.
Damon kept his eyes glued to the road, but knew Vivienne bore a furious expression in her eyes. "What are you doing?"
"I thought I'd give it a shot." Damon muttered with a shrug as he whipped her lip gloss from his swollen lips with the back of his hand. "Truth is, you just don't do it for me anymore."
With a tight grip on her upper arm, Klaus marched Louise through the school halls. "You lied to me."
Louise's brows furrowed together in confusion. "I've never lied to you."
He growled. "You said I killed your sister."
"And that's true; you did kill her. She was dead for a few hours..." Louise trailed off, giving the hybrid a smirk so smug she deemed it worthy of Damon's.
Klaus gave a grunt of anger. "The whole point of breaking the curse and becoming a hybrid was to make more hybrids. I haven't been able to do that. Now my bet is, it has something to do with the fact that your sister is still breathing."
"If you're going to kill her, why did you come to me first?"
Klaus scoffed. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked as they stopped outside the doors that led to the gymnasium. He cupped her chin, titling it up to get a good look at those liquid brown eyes raging with anger. He grinned. "I wanted to see you.." Klaus kicked the door open, collecting Louise in his arms and dragging her through, letting the door swing close behind them. "Attention, seniors!" He called, using an American accent. Elena, along with the other students, froze. "You have officially been busted. Prank night is over. Head on home." There was a choir of disappointed moans from the teens as they headed towards the doors.
The scene in front of her was enough to startled Elena out of her frozen surprise. She surged forward, the desperate need to see if her sister was okay, strong enough to override the terror of the situation. But there was nothing quite like a hybrid doing the exact same thing to stop you in your tracks. "You are supposed to be dead."
"Klaus." She rewarded him with a delicious shutter. "What do you want?" Despite the confidence in her voice, she was all false fire. He could hear the way her heart thundered in her chest, could see the delicate veins throbbing violently against her pulse points.
"You put a rather large kink in my plans, sweetheart."
"Klaus!" Louise called out in a warning tone.
"Oh, don't worry, love. I'm not going to kill her." He paused. "Yet. But I do have ways of making her suffer." He spotted two almost-seniors trying to leave the gymnasium with the rest of their classmate. "You two." Klaus approached Dana, the preppy cheerleader and her boyfriend Chad. "I remember you."
"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Dana's brows creased in confusion. The last time she had seen the original, she was under compulsion, and he had been possessing Alaric's body, so it was fair argument that she didn't know the hybrid was.
"Oh, don't worry, I wasn't in my right head last time we met." Klaus smirked before he began compelling her. "Lift your foot up, please, Dana." She complied and lifted her right foot off the ground. Klaus then looked over at Chad who was utterly confused by it all, then he compelled him. "If she drops her foot, Chad, I want you to beat her to death. Understood?" Chad nodded to show his understanding.
"Don't, Klaus." Elena begged. "You don't have to hurt anybody."
"Oh, come on, love. Of course I do."
Damon had enough. He pulled off the secluded highway into a little nook with a few picnic tables laid out. He could feel both Vivienne and Katherine's stares as he all-but ripped the keys from the ignition and lifted himself from the car.
Vivienne demanded, getting out the vehicle with annoyance in her tone. "Why are we stopping?"
Damon turned at her nonchalantly. "I thought we might want to stretch our legs. Take a break. I'm tired of driving. One of you, drive, now." he said, holding the keys up. Vivienne sighed and her brow twitched as she scowled at him. He shook the keys gently, indicating that he was serious.
"Fine. Ill do it." Katherine appeared. When her fingers brushed against the metal, Damon turned in a blur of air and tossed the keys as far as he could into the nearby undergrowth.
"Hey!" Katherine cried indignantly, whirling around in the direction the keys had been thrown with her arms thrown up in exasperation. She opened and closed her mouth in shock, before gathering herself and angrily rounding on him. "What was that for?" she demanded in a hiss, folding her arms.
"We're not going anywhere until you spill your guts." Damon's eyes flickered between her and Vivienne with a raise of his eye brow. Then he folded his arms.
Katherine and Vivienne looked at each other as if having a telepathic conversation. He could tell they were weighing up whether he was bluffing or not. They must've corrected deduced he wasn't, because after a pause Katherine nodded at her sister before they turned back to him.
Reluctantly, Vivienne said. "Fine." She took something from her pocket and held it up to reveal Elena's vervain necklace. "Do you recognize this, hmm?" Damon hummed in agreement. "A little birdy told me that Klaus wants to get his hands on it."
He narrowed his eyes. "Why would Klaus want Elena's necklace?"
"Does it matter? He wants it, and I have it. It's leverage, Damon. Always stay one step ahead of your enemy." Vivienne gave him a coy grin, to which he returned cheerfully.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"But more importantly, when we stole the necklace-"
"When I stole the necklace." Katherine interrupted.
"Right." Vivienne rolled her eyes. "When Katherine stole the necklace from Bonnie, I found out something else...Something better."
"Oh, yeah?" Damon prompted, eyes darting between the pair extremely sceptically. Vivienne walked around to the trunk of the car. "What's that?"
"Are you willing to do whatever it takes to stop Klaus? No turning back?" Vivienne proposed to him, a sceptical look matching his own. Damon looked at Katherine before he looked over his shoulder at Vivienne.
"I'm not turning back."
"Good. Because this isn't going to win you any points at home." Vivienne popped the trunk opened. Bundled inside was Jeremy Gilbert, unconscious and with a bloody wound on the side of his head.
Damon raised his eyebrows while Vivienne continued to smirk. "Jeremy? Really?" Damon realised she was completely and utterly correct; this would not win him any points at home. But he didn't have a choice, did he? All he could do was give Vivienne his most disappointed look at he lifted Jeremy from the trunk of the vehicle and put him down on the picnic table, the unconscious body slumping over the side. Damon exhaled disinterred. "I'm listening."
"What if I told you there was a way to kill Klaus? And not Dagger dead. Dead dead."
"I'd say you were desperate and lying. Or drunk. Or desperate, lying and drunk."
"Do you remember my friend Pearl?"
The woman that gauged his eyes out?! Damon frowned. "Vividly."
"Centuries ago, she told me about a vampire who knew how to kill Klaus. Then she wouldn't tell me any more."
"Well, why not?" Damon asked getting annoyed.
"Leverage!" Katherine piped up, making him look at her before looking back at Vivienne.
"She knew it was valuable information, and wouldn't share it." Vivienne continued.
Damon stalked forward, annoyance in his face. "Well, this is all great...But she's dead."
"Which is why I never brought it up." Vivienne agreed in a matter-of-factly tone, narrowing her eyes at the Salvatore. "Because she only ever told one other person...her daughter. Anna."
"Also dead." Damon pointed out.
"Which brings us right back around to our very own resident ghost-whisperer." Katherine informed him.
"Me." They all turn their heads to see Jeremy Gilbert rise from the picnic table, finally conscious after hearing the entirety of their conversation.
"Keep it up." Klaus instructed Dana was wobbled a little as she continued to balance on one foot. Chad was standing next to her scared for what he might have to do if she were to fall or become unbalance while Louise and Elena stood by, watching helplessly.
"Where's Stefan?" Elena questioned beside Dana with a large, uncomfortable exhale. "What did you do to him?"
"Stefan's on a time out." Klaus stated and Louise just scoffed. As Elena began to retort, the gymnasium door opened and in walked Matt and Bonnie.
Elena let out a warning cry to her witch friend. "Bonnie, get out of here!"
Bonnie looked up in confusion but her eyes widened in panic at the sight of Klaus. The hybrid wasted no time as he flitted behind Bonnie and sighed. "Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up. Now we can get started." He looked over at Dana. "Ah, Dana, why don't you relax? You and Chad sit tight." Dana let out a sigh of relief as she sat down next to Chad. Klaus turned his attention back to Bonnie. "I assume you're the reason Louise and Elena's still walking around alive?"
"You're half right." Bonnie replied unfazed, her chin stuck out. "I'm the reason Louise's still alive but I can't take the credit for Elena, that was all down to your brother."
Klaus gave a sarcastic grin. "Well your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you caused the problem, I'm going to have you find the fix."
The gymnasium's door burst open once again and a blonde-haired girl who no one in the room recognised walked in with Tyler, dragging him by his shirt. Tyler cursed as the girl tightened her hold on him and ordered him to hush.
"I'd like you all to meet my sister Rebekah." Klaus introduced. "Word of warning...She can be quite mean."
Rebekah frowned at him. "Don't be an ass." It seemed as if though she was tired of trying to hold the squirming werewolf and she happily took the opportunity to shove him at her brother the moment he turned his attention to them.
"Leave him alone!" Elena ordered.
"I'm going to make this very simple." Klaus began as he spun the still cursing Tyler around to face his friends, the pleas and demands for him to release the werewolf falling on deaf ears. "Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It's quite horrible, actually."
Louise's face puckered up in irritation as he gestured towards Tyler - the moving vital part that would either see success or be dubbed another failure. "Find a different werewolf, Klaus."
Klaus hummed a terribly thoughtful sound as his head tilted curiously at the request. He considered her for a moment, blue eyes darting across her face. He bit down on his wrist and forced Tyler to drink his blood. "I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler's sake...You better hurry."
Louise's eyes fluttered close, trying to shield her eyes from the act she knew would soon follow. Her ears however were not saved from the same horror. The snap that sounded, the unmistakable sound of bone breaking, had her heaving a tire and all too exasperated sigh. There was no going back now. The hybrid had started his new game and now the clock was ticking away.
When she opened her eyes, she found that Klaus had thrown Tyler aside and a shell-shocked Matt was now kneeling beside his friend, his fingers trembling as he checked for a pulse that wasn't scheduled to return for some time.
"He killed him." Matt's voice echoed the shock etched onto his face.
"He's not dead." Elena muttered. "Klaus' blood will turn him into a vampire."
Klaus nodded in agreement, sounding all too please. "And if Bonnie's successful, he'll live through his transition. Go on, then. Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments and what-not. I'll hold on to Louise and Elena...for safe-keeping."
Bonnie stayed put and Elena made a sigh to Bonnie which prompted her to head for the door.
"Bonnie." Louise called out as they reached the gym doors. The witch turned to her, eyes swimming with frantic determination. "Don't do anything stupid. Just find a way to help Tyler." Bonnie looked as if she might reply, but whether it was to agree or protest was unclear. Instead, she clenched her jaw and gave a stiff nod before hurrying off with Matt.
Louise's gaze darted to the side when she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes. A disgruntled looking Rebekah was scanning her and Elena from head to toe.
"So these are the latest doppelgänger. The original ones were much prettier."
Elena eyed the original warily and Louise scowled her. It was a stupid remark to make where identical faces were concerned.
"Enough, Rebekah. Take the wolf boy elsewhere, would you?" Klaus ordered. Rebekah frowned at him but gave little protest as she swooped down to grab a hold of Tyler's arm and began dragging him behind her towards the gym door. Klaus looked between Louise and Elena. "Just ignore her. Petty little thing."
"This isn't going to work." Jeremy told them firmly from where he sat on the picnic table. Katherine halted her pacing when she felt Jeremy's phone vibrate. She grabbed it from her pocket and saw a message from Bonnie; Where are U?
"I think that your witchy girlfriend's worried that you've run away with your ghostly lover." Katherine pouted about to hand him the phone but Damon snatched it away just as Jeremy was about to grab it.
"Stop with the teenybopper drama." Damon ordered with narrowed eyes. He gave Jeremy a serious look. "Focus."
Jeremy nodded as his eyes fluttered close. It took a few minutes but he eventually felt it, the small chill down his back, the tilt in energy that informed him somebody else was present.
"I'm not helping them." Anna told Jeremy as she appeared to sit beside him.
"No, it's okay to help." Jeremy promised her. To Damon, Vivienne and Katherine there was just an empty space, but to the medium, he could see Anna, clear as day. "They're looking for a way to stop Klaus."
Anna crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest. "I don't care. Katherine and Vivienne are not friends to you. Neither is Damon."
"What's she saying?" Damon questioned.
Jeremy gave him a small shrug. "Well, she doesn't want to help you."
"My advice?" Vivienne looked at Damon, lowering her voice so only the vampires could hear. "If you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs."
Damon hummed in agreement before he stalked towards Jeremy. "Jeremy, I just want you to know, it's nothing personal." He grabbed his hair before slamming his head against the table he had been sitting on. Jeremy cried out in pain. "Anna, I know you can hear me. Tell us what you know. The sooner, the better for your little boyfriend here."
Before Damon could slam Jeremy's head into the table once again, Anna finally spoke up. "They're looking for Mikael."
"Mikael!" Jeremy exclaimed.
Vivienne and Katherine shared a look as Damon released the younger boy.
"Mikael. Is that his name?" Vivienne asked.
"Who's Mikael?" Damon asked, giving them all a clueless look.
"The vampire who hunts vampires. You don't want to wake him. He will kill all of you." Anna said.
"What's she saying?" Damon asked the teen who had been focusing on Anna.
Katherine got impatient and slapped Jeremy's arm so he could relay the information on faster. "Hello!"
"He's a vampire and a Hunter, and you guys would be idiots to wake him." Jeremy informed them. He turned back to Anna. "What do you mean, wake him?"
"It's time to go find the keys." Damon announced and began walking toward the woods.
Louise looked over at Klaus, sitting on the bleachers deep in thought and she let out a heavy sigh as she continued to pace back and force behind Dana and Chad, who were comforted by the warmth of her sister on the gymnasium floor. The room was pin-drop silent. That was before the door opened ad Stefan Salvatore walked in, earning the attention from everyone in the room.
Elena jumped up from the floor. "Stefan..."
Stefan ignored her, eyes fixed on the hybrid. "Klaus."
"Come to save the damsels, mate?" Klaus challenged but he wasn't enthusiastic about it.
"I came to ask for your forgiveness." Stefan began as he moved forward. "And pledge my loyalty."
"Well, you broke that pledge once already."
"Elena means nothing to me anymore." Stefan stated angrily, shooting a glance toward her. Elena tensed and Louise watched intently, confused. He moved towards Klaus once again. "And whatever you ask of me...I will do."
Klaus eyed the Salvatore for a moment before he perked up with an idea. "Fair enough." He got up from the bleachers and walked down to the gym floor. He sauntered towards Elena. "Let's drink on it." He suggested. But instead of going for the doppelganger, he pointed at the humans. "Kill them." Dana and Chad scrambled to their feet and Louise stood beside them, eyeing Stefan warily. Stefan's eyes flickered towards her for a moment. "What are you waiting for?" Klaus challenged. "Kill them."
"No! Stefan, don't." Elena chimed in, stepping forward. "He's not going to hurt us. He already said-"
She was cut off by Klaus smacking her with his back hand forcefully, causing her to spin out of control and hit the hardwood floor with a bang. Louise gasped before she rushed to her sister's side while a furious Stefan rushed over to Klaus, fangs bared but Klaus was quick as he grabbed the younger vampire by the throat.
"She means nothing to you? Your lies just keep piling up."
"Let her go! Louise too!" Stefan choked out. "I'll do whatever you want, you have my word!"
"Your word doesn't mean much. I lived by your word all summer, during which time I never had to resort to this..." He locked eyes with Stefan and his pupils dilated. "Stop fighting." He compelled.
"Don't do this, don't do this." Stefan begged.
"I didn't want to. All I wanted was your allegiance. Now I'm going to have to take it." Klaus continued to compel him, ignoring the younger vampire's pleas. "You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run, you will not hide, you will simply just obey."
"No. Stefan!" Elena breathed out.
"Now kill them. Ripper." Klaus ordered.
Dana caught Louise's eye, pleading wordlessly with her eyes for help. Louise froze, tears of pity flooding her eyes. Stefan slipped out of control, pulsing, black veins standing out around his eyes, as Klaus's compulsion took over. He lunged forward, biting down on Dana's neck. She screamed out but it was no use as Stefan drained her of blood, dropping her lifeless body carelessly when he was done before moving onto Chad.
Louise froze, once again trapped by the scene of torture before her. Elena was shaking, sobs rattling through her chest and she knew without a doubt that until this moment, Elena had never thought Stefan was capable of this kind of carnage. He'd fallen off the wagon before, but that was far more preferable to the ripping of head that was ensuing all around them.
It wasn't the bodies, the blood or the ripped off heads that made it such a bad sight for Louise. It was the horrified fear that had ensnared her twin who was being forced to watch it all.
"It's always nice to see a vampire in his true element." Klaus announced. "The species has become such a broody lot."
Elena's eyes doe eyes squinted into a glare at the hybrid as she spat out. "No. You did this to him."
Klaus chuckled lightly as Stefan wiped his bloody mouth with the back of his hand. The hybrid shrugged. "I invited him to the party, love. He's the one dancing on the table."
The gymnasium's door burst open and Rebekah marched in. Elena wasn't prepare for the level of pure loathing burning in Rebekah's baby blue eyes as she loomed over her, a picture of seething rage. "Where is it?! Where's my necklace?"
"What are you talking about?" Klaus frowned at his sister.
Rebekah rounded on him, shoving a small phone into his hands, frantically pointing at the image on the screen. "She has my necklace. Look."
And look he did. He didn't have the same bitter feeling of see Stefan and Elena together to distract him as his sister did finding the necklace in question around the photographed doppelganger's neck. "Well, well. More lies."
Rebekah was back to glaring at Elena, her words bitten out through clenched teeth. "Where...is it?"
Elena's own eyes glanced at the phone, big doe eyes widening even more as she realised the necklace she'd held so dear was part of the reason Rebekah was looking at her with so much hatred. She shook her head. "I don't have it anymore."
"You're lying!" No answer Elena could have given would have pleased Rebekah as she already loathed the girl's very existence far too much. She struck quick as she lunged forward and bit down on Elena's neck.
Louise moved on instinct, she was at her twin's side in an instant and begrudgingly thankful to Klaus for ripping his sibling away from her sister's neck and shoving her aside. But she didn't want to feel grateful to him. Not in that very moment. Not when her sister was clutching at the wrist of the hand she'd pressed to the gaping wound on her neck, as if the very act alone could stop the bleeding.
"Make her tell me where it is, Nik!" Rebekah demanded.
The hybrid turned towards them, his gaze darting between the two before it settled on Elena. "Where's the necklace, sweetheart? Be honest."
"I'm telling the truth." Elena insisted, tone pleading for her to believe him. "Katherine stole it."
"Katerina." Klaus muttered and there was so much disdain laced in that single word that one might wonder if Katherine got a deathly chill wherever she was out in the world. "Of course. Well, that's unfortunate. If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?"
It wasn't enough that Tyler's fate now had a ticking clock, now they had the gym clock counting down the seconds and taunting them some more. The very sound of the buzzer startling Elena some more. It should have ended there, but Klaus was nothing if not thoroughly devious.
Compelling Stefan was just another drop in the bucket that was already beyond overflowing.
"Twenty minutes. If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again. Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena. You know you want to." He ordered. Elena opened her mouth to protest but Klaus cut her off. "No one leaves. If she tries to run, fracture her spine."
"Klaus!" Louise snapped, the rage that had dissipated when the need to take care of her sister had become far more important igniting right on back. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm giving everyone some little motivation." he said as the turned away from Stefan and was in front of them in a flash. Sparing Elena no further mind, he bent down and before Louise could even protest, he'd thrown her over his shoulder and was making his way towards the gym doors with Rebekah trailing behind them.
Ten minutes later, a few rocks in his shoe and some dirt on his pant leg, Damon finally had the keys he had thrown into the forest earlier. The vampire emerged from the woods, he found Vivienne pacing with her arms crossed impatiently and Katherine sat next to Jeremy who was slowly drifting away at the picnic table.
"Don't fall asleep, Jer. You might have a concussion."
"Thanks for the concern, dick." Jeremy replied, not missing a beat.
"Oh, stop pouting." Katherine dismissed, irate with the moody teenager.. "He took one for the team. Everyone back home will thank you once Klaus is dead."
"Where's my phone?" Damon asked.
Vivienne scoffed lightly. "Do you need to check in with Louise? Make sure it's okay you pummelled her little baby bro?"
"You know you have it." he spat, ignoring her malicious intent.
Vivienne smiled. "What can I say? I needed you present here and now."
Damon held out his hand at her. "Vivienne, phone, now." Reluctantly, she let out a heavy sigh before handing his phone over. He took it with an irritated look before reading his million text messages. He frowned as he read through them. "Bonnie's been texting me."
"What is it?" Jeremy asked, trying to conceal his guilt which arose from the mention of Bonnie's name.
"It's Klaus." Damon muttered under his breath. He looked up slowly to lock eyes with Katherine, who could anticipate his words.
"No turning back, Damon."
But he'd had enough already. "Shut up, Katherine."
"Hey, look at the big picture. The best shot at taking out Klaus is by finding Mikael."
Still Damon ignored her. He turned to Jeremy and thrust the keys at his chest. Jeremy reached up to catch them as Damon instructed, "Stay with them so Anna can guide you. I'm going back."
Vivienne gritted her teeth and grabbed the keys from Jeremy as Damon passed her. She whipped around, furious. "What?! So, you're going go back just like that?" He didn't respond, so she called out. "You're going to get yourself killed. The Damon I remember wouldn't have been that stupid.
Damon turned with narrowed eyes and replied bluntly. "I wouldn't have done it for you."
There was only a single light that greeted them as Klaus entered the wood-shop class and promptly placed Louise on the floor - gentle enough in his handling to make sure her feet were placed securely on the ground. Sanded and stained wooden planks littered the work tables around them, musky scent of materials one that could cloud the senses. Only every other bench had a constructed objects that was starting to resemble a bird house.
It was a nostalgic sight and it hit her with a bitter pang that left her feeling breathless. The birdhouse itself meant nothing to her, but it felt like a lifetime ago when Jeremy used wood-shop and lies about building bird houses to escape Elena and Jenna's attempts at parenting him.
There was an amused quirk to Klaus's lips as he watched her run her fingertips across the roof of a bird house.
Louise glared at him. "You left my sister in the gym with a vampire compelled to rip her throat out if Bonnie fails to give you answers...and yet you're here smiling at me?"
He arched a brow at her, that amusement never dimming in the slightest. "Who else would I be smiling at, love?"
"I get that you're mad at Stefan or whatever, but compelling him to do all that isn't necessary and you can't convince me otherwise."
He had the gull to shrug - ever the picture of nonchalance. "I just invited him to the party, love. He's the only dancing on the table."
"Just stop." she said, the plea in those liquid brown eyes as clear as day. She sounded weary, tired even. "Why can't you just leave? Isn't it enough that you're a hybrid?"
Klaus shook his head. "To walk this earth the only one of your species is not a curse I'd wish on others. And I will not endure it any longer either. Bonnie will give me answers and if it means your sister should meet her ends at my hands, then that is to be her fate."
Louise let out a heavy breath and shook her head. She slumped over the closest work table, her arms tightly gripping at the edge of the table the only thing that was seemingly centring her. But then she did something that was strange - completely out of character.
She gave a resigned sigh, like she was accepting the situation for what it was, and the very sound of it made the hybrid's brows furrow. Louise was stubborn, immensely so, and he had been so ready for her to fight him tooth and nail.
"Okay. I understand."
For a mortal, she was wickedly fast. She snatched up a hammer from the table and swung it right at his head - the sere impact sending vibrations up her arm as it collided with his unbelievably hard skull. He staggered back, more so because of his own disbelieving surprise than anything else. But it was a moment she could take advantage of nonetheless.
Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock.
Time was thief and it left to its devious ways, the lifelines of those she held dear could soon run out just as the taunting minutes on the phone slipped by.
Louise rushed through the school, going from one hallway to the next. She groaned in pain, grabbing her forehead after it banged into something hard. She squinted her eyes to see a worried and very agitated Elena. A loud crash of what sounded like lockers made the teen whip her head over her shoulders. Without a word, Elena pushed Louise in front of her and instructed her to run. They rounded a corner, Louise nearly slipped but Elena grabbed a hold of her.
"Come on." She picked up her pace as they slammed open another set of double doors.
"Who are you running from? Stefan?" Louise questioned between breaths.
"We keep running." Elena muttered and spun around on her heel and gasped as Klaus appeared in front of them, she stood protectively in front of her younger sister.
"No!" Louise hissed.
"We've got to stop meeting like this." The hybrid smirked.
Holding both girls by their upper arm, Klaus dragged them into the cafeteria through the double doors. They found Stefan standing in the middle of the room, a makeshift stake poking out of his stomach.
"Now this is fascinating." Klaus laughed. "I've never seen this before. The only thing stronger than your craving for blood is your love for this one girl." The hybrid looked down at Elena who kept her eyes on Stefan.
"Something you'll never know anything about." Louise spat, her chest was heaving.
"Maybe one day." Klaus uttered glancing down at her. He finally released them and Louise grasped Elena's hand pulling her sister to her side. Klaus returned his attention to the vampire across the room. Klaus cocked his head. "Why don't you turn it off?"
Stefan violently shook his head. "No!"
Klaus moved to perch on a nearby table. "Come on. Your humanity is killing you. All the guilt must be exhausting. Turn it off."
Stefan shook his head once again as he repeated. "No!"
"Stefan..." Elena whispered.
"Just leave him alone, Klaus." Louise begged but Klaus ignored her, instead he got back up onto his feet and moved towards Stefan.
"You're strong." Klaus wrenched the broken mop out of his stomach and threw it aside. "But you're not that strong. Turn. It. Off."
Louise winced feeling Elena's grip tightened.
"No!" Stefan shoved Klaus away from him.
The hybrid felt anger boiling inside of him as he pinned Stefan against the wall and compelled him. "Turn it off!" He yelled and Stefan chocked as his fate paled as his fate sunk in.
"What did you do?" Elena breathed as she noticed the change in Stefan's demeanour.
"I fixed him." Klaus answered as if it was obvious. "But I think a test is in order, don't you?" He sped over to Louise, holding her firmly against his chest as he moved her away from Elena. "Ripper...Perhaps you'd like a drink.. from the doppelgänger's neck?"
"No!" Louise screamed, struggling against his iron grip. "No, no, no! No!"
Cocking his head, Stefan strolled casually toward her. Unable to back way, Elena noted that his walk was different. It reminded her of Damon, the way he'd been when he first came to Mystic Falls - calculating, confidant and deadly.
Stefan continued to advance, stopping when he was mere inches away from her and braced an arm as solid and unyielding as granite on either side of her head. Elena's heart sped faster, but she looked him in the eye. "S-Stefan." she said, reaching for him, her fingers recoiled of their own accord, uselessly falling to her sides, but she continued. "Stefan, it's okay. It's me. Please, don't do this. You don't want to do this. I know you."
The lack of anything - humanity, love, compassion - in his cold, black eyes quickly overwhelmed her, putting an end to her hope. Panic began to eat away at her certainty that she had nothing to fear.
"Stefan!" Louise whispered, as Klaus pulled her body closer, if that was possible. "Let her go, Stefan." Stefan's eyes were empty holes, lacking the slightest hint of humanity in their black depths. "No, please!" Louise screamed, but Klaus clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Just watch." The hybrid ordered. "Go ahead, ripper."
Stefan followed Klaus's orders as his fangs extended. Elena let out a sharp scream for all the good it'll do her. An intense pain strike her and her body literally shut down. As the love of her life began to drink from her, she collapsed, a pained cry being the last sound to escape her lips.
"Klaus, please," Louise cried, finding her voice as she clutched at his hand. "Please, make him stop!"
"Very well. Stefan, that's enough." Klaus said and with that, Stefan dropped her.
As she felt Klaus's grip on her loosen, immediately, Louise rushed to her sister's side. Louise ignored Stefan's presence as she attended to Elena. "Elena," she breathed, tenderly touching her cheek. She didn't seem to hear her. "Elena. Hey, can you...try to focus, okay?"
Elena's gaze was unfocused at first, as blood continued to seep from the wound on her neck. Groping for Louise, she latched onto the colour of her shirt before her eyes rolled back into her head.
Suddenly Klaus was beside them, raising a vial to Elena's throat, letting the thick crimson substance slide into it. "What are you doing?" Louise questioned.
"Seeing if my hunch was correct." With a tight grip on her upper arm, he forced Louise onto her feet, causing Elena to slump to the floor.
"No. Get off me!" Louise thrashed, trying but failing to get out of his grip.
"Stefan take Elena to the hospital and insure she has a private room. See to it no one is to disturb her till I come. Compel whoever necessary." Klaus instructed. Catching Louise's eye, he said. "Let's go, sweetheart."
There was no footsteps to announce his arrival as Klaus sauntered into the classroom, Louise stumbling by his side. "Well, the verdict's in." Klaus announced, his gaze flitting from face to face. "The original witch says the doppelgänger should be dead."
Rebekah's delighted grin was instant as she rose to her feet. "Does that mean we can kill them? Oh let me kill the seer, mouthy little brat she is."
Louise screwed her face in response.
Klaus spared his sister nothing but a brief glance. "No, I'm fairly certain it means the opposite."
That got Louise's attention. Liquid brown eyes snapped towards the hybrid, wide and darting all over his face if though searching for any sign of truthfulness in his expression. Whatever she saw made her breath a sigh of relief and the stiffness that had claimed her body melted away finally.
The same, however, could not be said for Rebekah.
"What?!" Rebekah hissed, her furious displeasure as plain as the scowl on her face. She never stopped glaring at her brother, not even when she moved to restrain Caroline who had attempted to shuffle back with Tyler in tow.
"Call it a hunch..." Klaus shrugged at his sister, her fiery glare bouncing off him in a way only a brother could ignore. His attention shifted to the werewolf and he held up the small test tube. "Elena's blood. Drink it."
Caroline jerked forward in Rebekah's punishing hold, panic rising from within her as she watched Tyler struggle to keep his gaze from the small test tube with the mouth-watering scent that must have been calling to the new hunger within him. "No! No, no, no, Tyler, don't!"
"If he doesn't feed, he'll die anyway, love." Klaus waved off Caroline's concern. "Consider this an experiment. It's okay."
As Tyler lost to the new hunger clawing away inside him and gave in to drink Elena's blood, it was the one necessary evil that Louise hope might pay off. He spluttered and sprayed the floor with vomit.
"My throat!" Tyler cried. "It burns." He scratched at his throat as if trying to sooth the ache.
"Guess that didn't work. Let's try something else." Klaus grabbed Louise's wrist.
"What-what are you doing?" She writhed in his hold and paled when he pulled out a pocket knife.
"I'm saving your friend's life." Klaus smirked. She hissed in pain when he sliced the thin delicate skin on her wrist. Louise bit down hard on her bottom lip as Klaus pressed the vial against her gory wound so now her blood was combined with Elena's. "Let's try again, shall we."
Tyler grabbed the vial and downed it. There was nothing easy about the process that came next. The coughing, the screaming and the writhing were no less of an unpleasant sight than the zombie-like werewolf pack in the mountains had been. Just like that time, Louise grimaced and wince with each pain lace groan her werewolf friend gave. Tyler clutched at his head with such a tight grip it was a wonder, he didn't crush his own skull.
Louise braced herself, readying herself for the sight of the bleeding eyes that would confirm Tyler's impending doom. However, that was not the sight that greeted them when he finally lifted his head. Wolf-like yellow eyes, beady and predatory, stared back at them, accompanied by fangs and veins that could only belong to the species that most werewolves called their enemy.
It was the sight that had the Original hybrid's lips quirking in obvious delight. "Well, that's a good sign." He turned to Louise. "So, I guess your blood as well as your sister's is needed." He cocked his head slightly. "I'm guessing a few pints should suffice."
"What?" Louise asked, miffed.
Klaus sat down beside Louise on the hospital bed. With his left hand, he held himself over her motionless body as she leaned forward slightly. He had to touch her - an impulse which the wolf defeated against the vampire in him. He had to give in and feel the warmth of her skin, and the life underneath.
Lost in thought, his right hand reached for her cheek. It was such a natural gesture that for a moment he had forgotten the reality around them. Almost automatically, he gently stroked his thumb over her soft skin, while his other fingers clung fondly to the fine contour of her head.
Her eyes began to to twitch slightly, and the brief, rapidly successive beating of her heart had told him that she was about to regain consciousness.
"Damon," Louise murmured dreamily and Klaus couldn't resist a devilish grin that pulled at his lips. He studied her face and for a moment, he wanted to believe that it wasn't an abstruse form of jealousy which accompanied his grin.
"Try again, sleeping beauty." Klaus replied in an amused smoky tone. Satisfied, he registered that her pulse was now suddenly faster. She began to blink, flighting against the exhaustion that held her body tightly.
"Klaus," she muttered softly, with her brows furrowed together. "What are you doing here?"
"Making sure that you are well cared for." he said, still grinning. "Turns out, you and your dear sister Elena are more valuable to me alive than dead."
Her features were still relaxed, almost as if she hadn't quite understood the extent of her situation, however the agitated, almost panicked of her beating heart spoke a different language. Her breathing was no longer quiet, but short, excited intervals.
"What do you want?" It was then she had opened her eyes and confronted him with her sparkling pair of doe yes. She didn't seem to be surprised that he was close but he was close enough to cause her discomfort.
Klaus cocked his head slightly and smiled at her, his dimples showing themselves. It would be so easy to fall in love with such a smile. "Nothing earth shattering. Basically, just my hybrid, Elena and you with a lot of miles between us and Mystic Falls."
"No." she said so quietly that if he weren't a vampire, he wouldn't have heard. "What do you want with me? There's a reason why you're here and we both know it's not because you've missed my incredibly charming company." Her eyes bore deep into his own, not once breaking eye contact.
For a moment, it seemed as if he wanted to continue to sit beside her, watching her with an amused smile. But suddenly, his hand reached out and grabbed something on the bedside table next to her. Louise's eyes widened in horror when he held it up to her with some satisfaction and complacency of what it was he wanted.
"What did you-"
"I've asked you for a small, involuntary donation. I hope you do not mind." he interrupted, smiling, looking so elegant and charming that you'd think he would present her with a gift.
Her eyes were fixed on the blood bag before they travelled down to her left arm. A desperate sound escaped her lips when she noticed the fine needle stuck in one of her veins, about to fill ye t another bag with her blood. Her right hand moved to grab the needle, wanting to tear it out from her arm, however another hand held her own back with a surprisingly gentle pressure. Angrily, she raised her eyes to throw daggers at Klaus but his eyes were soft but unmistakeably warning.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that." he told her, releasing her had. "I thought this way it would be more pleasant."
He leaned forward again and Louise winced. Her heart began to pound excitedly against her chest as if it's aim was to break through. "You, my hybrid, Elena and myself. We will leaved Mystic Falls tonight." The way he said it was imploring, as if he wanted to compel her. A shiver ran down her back. "Thanks to yours and yours sister's blood, I'll be able to create hybrids."
"What will happen to your sister, if you go away?" she asked.
"If we go away." he corrected her with a wolfish grin, which emerged his dimples once again. "She'll leave with us...or should I leave her with Stefan?"
"Leave Stefan out of the game!" she snapped instantly with suppressed anger.
Klaus chuckled. "Stefan will remain here in Mystic Falls to keep an eye on his brother and your friends."
The message rang loud and clear from those innocuous words. Stefan would stay in Mystic Falls to prevent her friends from doing any reckless missions. Would she try to escape, Stefan would be instructed to her harm one of her friends. That was for sure.
"Why do you want me with you at all? You have what you need."
"Why leave the source behind if you can simply take it?"
"I won't let you use me."
"I know." he said and Louise's eyes narrowed. "That's what makes the whole thing so interesting."
"You know I won't run." Louise began and Klaus nodded almost imperceptibly. "However, if you want my loyalty, you must give me a promise."
"Agreed. " he said, eyeing her with warily. "What do you have in mind?"
"If I'm coming with you - I'll serve you as long as you need me. In return, you'll let Stefan go."
Klaus returned the intense look in her eyes. She had exactly the same determination as he did. If she wanted something, she would achieve it.
He leaned forward a little. "Deal." he whispered in her ear.
Louise could not suppress the unpleasant showers what ran down her back. To have him that close gave her a kind of uneasiness which seized by the boarder between exciting and frightening. It was the kind of closeness that you should only share with someone you trusted with all your heart.
Klaus let himself fall back. He didn't look at her, but rolled his eyes in annoyance. A knowing smile spread in the same moment on his lips. "Look who finally decided to show up to the party." he said calmly and slowly got from bed.
Only then Louise noticed someone standing in the doorway to her hospital room.
"Damon," Louise gasped, breathing a sigh of relief. He let his eyes wander to her shortly before he fixed them back on Klaus.
Klaus's eyes flared with anger and his eyes curled into a snarl. "You know, I promised your girlfriend and your brother that I won't kill you, but I fear I won't be able to keep it this time."
Without responding, Damon moved toward Louise but as he stepped forward, Klaus had him around the neck and pushed against the nearest wall.
"I won't let you interfere tonight."
"You'll have to kill me." Damon growled, which elicited an amused laugh from Klaus.
"With pleasure." he replied and Damon squirmed in his grasp as he tightened his grip on his throat.
"I know about Mikael." Damon gasped.
Klaus paused. His face darkened. A disparaging hiss escaped his lips. "What do you know about Mikael?"
"Only that he knows you're here." Damon said in a singsong voice.
Uncertainty flashed in Klaus's eyes as he looked at Damon with a strained expression which reached close to fear. "You're bluffing."
"We found him. Consider it our leverage."
Klaus nervously turned his head slightly, unsure of what to do. Finally, he let out an angry cry before he threw Damon across the room. Before Damon was able to get up, Klaus had disappeared. He wasted no time, rushing over to Louise's hospital bed. He studied the tube that was stealing her precious blood away from her.
Louise swallowed thickly, watching him. "Damon." It was not a question. It was intended to get his attention. To get him to look at her. To take him away from here. Away from the needles and blood and nurses.
Damon met her eyes and his expression turned genuine. "Hey." he whispered softly to her. He threw the thin hospital blanket off of her and began to scoop her into his arms. She reached for him, knowing he was where home was. He was home. Wrapping an arm around his neck, she let him bring her lip body into his arms and carried her.
"Elena..." Louise cradled against his chest; a warm place that smelt heavenly. She was awfully tired. "We have to find Elena..."
The second Louise stepped into the bathroom, Damon's shoulders slumped as fatigue, frustration and regret slammed into him like a freight train. Cursing the world and the original hybrid - but mostly himself - he groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face as he lay back on the mattress. The muffled sound of water splashing against the tiles emanated from the bathroom.
The water stopped as he eased back onto the mattress, propping the pillows behind his back and stretching his legs out. Closing his eyes, he listened to her move around inside the tiny bathroom. Finally, the door to the bathroom opened, light spilling across the bed, opening one eye at a time, he saw Louise hesitating in the doorway and couldn't help the very un-neutral pang of relief and longing seeing her conscious and moving around on her own.
"Feel better?"
"Much." she nodded. Standing over him for a moment, she let out a short breath and sat beside him, her hip touching his. She raised a brow. "So, I take it you're still mad."
"What?" he frowned.
"Isn't that why you left without saying goodbye?" she demanded, her chin lifted in righteous indignation.
Ah, he thought, eyeing her warily. He tried to judge just how real her anger was. Their arguments danced on the line between actual fights and foreplay. He enjoyed getting a rise out of her, often conceding a point just so she'd shut up and let him kiss her.
Judging by the fire in her expression, however, he was pretty sure that if he tried that this time, she'd punch him in the face.
Courting her temper, he tucked a lock of hair back in place behind her ear. He opened his mouth but closed it once again when he couldn't find the words.
She looked down, face twisted in pain as tears swelled in her eyes. "Where were you, Damon?" It was pitiful to hear those words flow off of her tongue. "I had to watch my sister nearly get her throat ripped out by your brother."
"I'm sorry." Damon said, as he took in her lost expression and took her hand in his own. The only thing on his face was shame. And guilt. "I shouldn't have left." Unconsciously, she squeezed his fingers. "I promise you. I will never leave you again."