Klaus hated that he was required to be at this funeral, he had only met the man a few times, but he knew it was expected of him. He also knew there was a possibility that Mikael or Katerina would use this as an opportunity to create a scene. There was no way that Elena could miss the funeral of her own father and they had to be there to protect her. They were also hoping that Stefan and Damon would be in attendance and that they could lure them away, to get them into the safety of the mansion as well. The church was still relatively empty when they arrived, the only other people present were the Fells and Forbes. Margaret Fell rushed to James, pulling him into an embrace before the two of them walked over to her father. Elena followed after, her hand firmly in Elijah's as she did so. This left Klaus and Rebekah to follow behind, both of them scanning the church for signs of danger. None were visible and did not take long for the rest of the town to slowly filter in. George, Crystal and the other werewolves all took up positions at the end of pews. Klaus hoped that Mikael would not attack a church but he was leaving nothing to chance. He heard Rebekah give out a sigh of relief as Mr Salvatore walked through the door, both of his sons behind him. Klaus nodded, at least they could accomplish something today.

Nothing occurred during the service in the church that was unwarranted for a funeral. More than a few of the citizens of Mystic Falls cried at different points during the service, especially when the pastor mentioned how Jonathon was now in the kingdom of heaven with his beloved wife and daughters. Klaus knew that Caroline would have been moved by the words.

Eventually they moved out to the cemetery, the coffin being carried by James, Stefan, Damon, George, Elijah, and a Fell boy whose name he could not recall. Margaret walked behind with Elena, both women had tears on their cheeks. Klaus was happy that James could find a woman so willing to care for his sister, he hoped they would soon have a chance to wed. His eyes roamed the grounds as the body of Jonathon Gilbert was laid to rest. They were out in the open now and that left not only their family, but the entire town exposed to attack. A flash of blue at the treeline caught his eye. He was already at the back of the gathered group and therefore no one saw him when he flushed away. Caroline had been wearing a blue dress the day she had been taken, he had burned every detail of that day into his mind. The last three days had consisted of little else for him than a frantic search of the Mystic Falls area. He had never felt more disappointed in himself than he did at failing to find a trace of her or his brother. If this was a chance for him to fix that, he was going to take it.

He did not have to go far, there was a small clearing a half mile in the woods from the cemetery. There, in the center, was Caroline. Her blue dress was dirted and covered in her own blood, the vervain leached from her system. Everything about this screamed a trap in his mind but he had to touch her, hold her, tell her how much he loved her. He was about to step forward when a hand gripped his arm, he looked down into his sister's eyes.

"This isn't right." Rebekah told him.

"I have to go to her." Klaus replied and once again attempted to get to his wife.

Rebekah kept her hold, "You do not know what will happen, what they have ordered her to do. She might have the stake on her, just waiting to stab you in the chest with it."

"He would never pass up the chance to stab me himself." He answered, never taking his eyes off his wife, who had not looked up even though she could very much hear them, "I need to go to her Rebekah."

"I cannot take on Father, Katerina, and Victoria all by myself if they spring a trap and Elijah can't leave the others to help us." She pleaded, "I love Caroline too but this can only end badly."

Klaus let out a low whistle before answering, "I understand your concern Rebekah, but I have to do this." He pulled his arm out of his sister's grasp and walked forward, he kept his ears open for any sign of attack but otherwise his focus was on the figure before him. He knelt down before her, reaching toward her carefully, "Caroline."

Her head snapped up before he could touch her and he recoiled, her eyes were blank slates, no emotional visible in their blue deeps. She looked at him and said, "Hello Niklaus. I am supposed to give a message to you." She handed him a piece of paper that had been folded between the skirts of her dress.

He carefully took it, his eyes scanning the words his father had written, "You took what I love, so I took what you love."

Movement caught his eyes and he managed to stop the stake before it pierced her heart, he broke her wrist to make her drop it. She let out a small scream of pain but there was no other emotion displayed. No anger at failing at her mission, no peace from having broken the compulsion, just, nothing at all.

He cupped her face with his other hand, "Speak to me love, what did they do to you?"

"Love. What a silly thing to call a person." She responded instead of answering his question, "How can someone like us actually love? We are nothing but monsters, we bring nothing but pain and misery to all those we encounter. Look at poor Elena, before she met us, she was a happy young woman, looking forward to the next chapter of her life. Now, she is an orphan, trapped in the game of the supernatural. It is sure to cut her life short."

"Nik, what is going on?" Rebekah asked, she had remained at the edge of the clearing in case there was an attack.

Klaus shook his head, "You do not mean that Caroline, you have never believed that."

"Beliefs can change." She answered, and turned her now healed wrist, "Can I have that stake back?"

"No!" He roared and hauled her onto her feet with him as he stood, "If Mikael wants you dead, he should have staked you himself."

"He wants you to suffer." She said in response and he hated the tone of her words.

He winced as it clicked into place, "Did he compel you turn off your humanity? Is that why you are acting like this?"

"I am a monster, I deserve to be a monster." She said and started to lean down for the stake, but he grabbed her and held her close.

"You have never been the monster Caroline, that has always been me." He said, keeping her arms trapped against his chest.

"I know who you are and I know who I am too." She said, her head pressed against him.

Usually in this position she would have her arms wrapped around him but she gave him no such comfort. Instead her body was stiff in his embrace.

He needed to get her back to the mansion, there they could try to talk her out of her decision to flip the switch. A snap of a bone followed the sound of a body falling to the ground had him turning back to where Rebekah had been, only instead stood his father, flanked on one side by Katerina and Victoria on the other. He felt his heart seize, Rebekah's body lay at their feet, and he was outnumbered.

"Niklaus." Mikael said, slowly walking forward, "Did you really think I wouldn't be able to find you here?"

"It was Elijah's idea actually." He responded, keeping his eyes solely on his father.

Mikael stopped when they were a few feet apart, "You should have just let me kill you all of those centuries ago. There was no need for all this bloodshed."

"I am not in the mood for this lecture, can we just get on with it?"

"You have always been impatient." Mikael scolded and drew the white oak stake from his jacket, "Are you going to put up a fight over this?"

"I am not just going to allow you to kill me." Klaus responded, ready to shift and bite his father. They had never really tested what werewolf venom would do to an Original, he was ready to find out.

"Might want to reconsider Niklaus." Mikael said and nodded behind him.

Klaus turned, he had been too focused on Mikael, the only one here that could kill him, but he had forgotten for a moment that Caroline had no such protection. She had picked the stake up once more and Victoria was standing beside her, the woman's sadistic smirk raising his anger. He looked back at his father, "Are you going to claim that if I let you kill me that you will let Caroline live? I know you better than that."

Mikael shook his head, "Think of all the ways this could go Niklaus. I can give you the swift death now or I can draw it out. There is no help coming for you now. Not while Elijah is busy protecting his little doppelganger. I could overpower you here, take you to my house, and torture you in so many ways before I eventually kill you." He replied, "Your brother is there, weak and useless, but he could tell you all what we did to your precious Caroline. There is so much more we could do to her too. She is nothing but an emotionless, vervainless shell at the moment. Ruled only by her instincts, the things she could do to this town. The options are limitless."

Klaus growled, "Leave her out of this."

Mikael smirked, "She has always been your weakness Niklaus. It was why I allowed Victoria to become a vampire, as the weakness to your weakness."

"I will kill you this time." Klaus swore, and his ears picked up on the arrival of his pack, he smirked, "This ends now."

He rushed at his father, who was ready for him and dodged, slashing at him with the stake. He had used it for pure distraction however and his hybrid pack broke through the trees. They had been given clear instructions to not kill any of the vampires, only to capture them. He saw Crystal go for Caroline, throwing the stake away and snapping his wife's neck before she started to drag her away. Even as just a regular werewolf, she was strong enough for the task. With his wife safe, he focused on his father, who it was clear had not been expecting the assistance of a dozen werewolves. He watched as Freddy fought with Katerina, getting a good bite on her arm before the woman had enough and disappeared into the woods. A scream and a snap behind him let him know that Victoria had been subdued and soon enough the entire pack had Mikael surrounded.

"Made a deal with the local pack I see." He said, his eyes looking for an exit, the stake still in his hand.

"Don't act surprised, you knew I had, or you wouldn't have attacked them." Klaus replied before he said, "Now is your time to choose Father. Quick or slow death."

Mikael shook his head, "This isn't over Niklaus." He drew something from his pocket and a cloud of wolfsbane erupted. They scattered back and Mikael used the chance to escape, not bothering to save his conspirator as he did.

George came up to Klaus, "What now?"

Klaus looked at the body of his mother-in-law, "We go back to my house. She has a lot of explaining to do." His eyes scanned the area, "Where is Caroline?"

"Crystal has her." George assured him, "We have her, she is safe."

Klaus shook his head, "We might have her body but Mikael still has her mind. This is far from over."

Elena rode back to the Mikaelson mansion in a daze. She was pretty sure she would never forget the sight of watching her father's body lowered into the ground. She had been thankful for Elijah's presence, he had helped keep her grounded and from completely falling apart. Maggie had been there for James and she was glad her brother had found a woman to share the rest of his life with. Maggie was riding with them back to the mansion, as was Stefan and Damon. Elijah had had to compel them into the carriage when they would not do it voluntarily. She was worried for her lifelong friends and hoped that something could be done to free them from whatever Katerina had done to them. Neither James or Margaret seemed to have noticed the Salvatore brothers' odd behavior, they were too wrapped up in the grief. Elena wished she could be as well, but instead she was worried about where Klaus and Rebekah had disappeared too. Elijah had insisted there was no need to wait for them but that did nothing to assure her.

She leaned over to him and whispered, "Are you sure they will be alright?"

"I have to look out for you, James, and the brothers. That is my duty, they have their own." He told her, giving her hand a comforting squeeze, "They shall meet us back at the mansion once they have finished."

Elena shook her head, "I don't like it. I noticed the others run off as well."

"We can discuss everything once we are home and safe." He replied and she could see how he was still on edge. There was nothing to stop an attack on the carriage afterall.

She nodded and they continued the rest of the journey in silence. When the carriage arrived, Elijah got out first, before Elena followed. James and Margaret came next, James leading his future wife up to the house and not waiting for the rest of them. Neither Salvatore brother made a move to get out, causing Elena to look at them in confusion.

Elijah let out a long sigh before he climbed back in, he looked Stefan in the eye, "You will get out the carriage and go into the house. Once in the house, you shall begin to act like yourself. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Stefan answered, getting up and doing as Elijah instructed. He then did the same to Damon, and together they followed the brothers into the house.

Damon seemed to come back to himself first, "Where are we?"

"My home." Elijah replied and looked over the eldest Salvatore, "How much did Katerina tell you?"

"Do you mean Katherine?" Damon asked and smiled, "She said she was Elena's cousin, they are practically identical, more like Elena's long lost twin."

Elijah shook his head, "Did she tell you what she is?"

Damon frowned, "What do you mean?"

Elena noticed that Stefan had taken a seat, his head resting in his upturned hands as his elbows rested on his knees. She carefully approached him, "Stefan, are you alright?"

He shook his head, "My brain is a mess Elena. What did I do?"

"I don't know." She answered, for she didn't really know. All the information she had was given to her by Rebekah and all that was taunts from Katerina or Katherine, whatever she wished to call herself.

Emily joined them from the hallway, "Should we try the tea?"

Elijah nodded at her, "Yes, we should."

Elena got to her feet, "What sort of tea?"

"I am attempting to make a cure for compulsion." Emily explained, "To help mortals break free of their orders and have their mind to themselves again."

"Has it worked before?" Elena questioned, feeling a hope well in her chest.

"I have not tried it before but I hope that it will. If anything, it will at least prevent Katerina from doing any further compulsion to them." Emily assured her.

Elena looked back at Stefan, he had still moved from his position on the bench. He looked so sad and broken, he hoped that whatever it was that Katerina had done to him was something he could eventually move past. She smiled at Emily, "Can I do anything to help?"

Emily shook her head, "Just get them both into the study, I will bring the tea there. Your brother and Miss Fell are in the library."

"Thank you Emily." Elijah said, coming up to stand beside Elena, "We will be waiting for you."

Elena went over to Stefan and offered him her hand, "Come on, let's go sit somewhere more comfortable. Emily is going to bring us all some tea."

Stefan seemed to look at her with an haunted expression as he took her hand, "How can you stand to look at me?"

"You are my friend Stefan and that means we stick together, no matter what happens." She promised him, leading him toward the study behind Elijah and Damon.

She looked at Damon and gasped, there was a bite mark on his neck. She felt an anger settle in her chest then. That woman had hurt him more than she had thought, she had not just gotten inside his head but had taken from his body. As worried about what else the woman that shared her face had done to her friends.

Emily joined them only a few minutes later, handing a cup of tea to each of them before taking a few steps back. Elena assumed she was remaining behind to see the effects of her special tea on the brothers. She was curious as well but didn't want to seem suspicious, so she took a sip of what seemed like normal tea to her.

Stefan reacted first, hastily putting the tea cup down with shaking hands before he fell back into the chair he was sitting in. His eyes rolled back into his head and his entire body started to convulse. Damon repeated his actions a few moments later, Elijah catching him and carrying him over to the couch.

Elena watched in horror as her friends shook but she also knew there was nothing to be done. This was magic and if the witch who had become her friend was not worried, then she had to trust that everything would be alright. After a few minutes both men stopped their convulsions and seemed to fall into a restful sleep.

"Will they be alright?" Elena asked, "Did it work?"

"We will not know until they wake up." Emily replied, going over to look at Stefan. She lifted up one of his eyelids, looking into his eye before nodding. She did the same to Damon before she spoke again, "I think they will sleep until morning. The reversal of the compulsion will surely have taken a toll on their minds, it will need to rest."

Elijah nodded and picked Damon up, "I will take them to the guest rooms."

He was gone in a blink of an eye, a gust of wind rushed by her, and Elena gasped.

Emily let out a small, tinkering laugh, "You shall get used to it."

Elijah was back before she could respond, a sly smirk on his face while he picked up Stefan before once again rushing from the room.

Elena was let out a small laugh herself when she heard a loud crash come from the front of the house and then Klaus' voice yelling, "I need some bloody help here!"

A/N: We are back! Sorry for the long wait (3 years is a lot) but if you are still with me, I appreciate it so much. Don't be afraid to review!