Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

A/N: Last chapter! The sequel is already posted!

Chapter Sixty-Seven

"You know," AJ said, shooting a dirty look at the nameless vampire who'd been gripping onto her arm the entire time they walked, "I'd probably much more amenable to going wherever it is we're going if you'd just let me walk on my own."

The vampire smirked at her and gave her a brisk shove, almost causing her to stumble onto the forest floor again. "Maybe if you'd shut the hell up, like I asked earlier, we wouldn't be having any problems, now would we?"

"Maybe if you'd stick a stake up your ass," AJ mimicked his sardonic tone, "There wouldn't be any problems at all!" She stomped down at twigs and leaves as they went, ignoring the blatant pain of her still dislocated shoulder. The sun had risen hours ago, but the vampire had still forced her to walk. Exhaustion couldn't even begin to describe how she was feeling.

His lips pulled back into a snarl, exposing his fangs. "I'd watch what you say, little girl. I haven't had my fun with you yet, but believe me when I tell you I'm anxious to begin."

"Or," AJ began to counter, "Maybe you're too afraid of what Klaus will do to you should you hurt me. That's why you haven't done anything yet. Your threats are completely empty. And here I thought vampires weren't cowards."

He growled deeply. The next thing AJ knew, she was being shoved off her feet, flying through the air until her body connected with the rough bark of a tree. With a yelp, she fell down it, scraping her back the entire way. When she hit the ground, the air rushed out of her lungs and her back felt like a million needles had pierced it and dragged down it at the same time. She knew it had to be pretty bloody, and an icy-hot feeling diffused over the area, matching the pain in her shoulder that was now ten-fold what it'd been minutes ago.

The vampire was standing several feet away, looking at her with disgust. "Get up," he spat, crossing his arms impatiently. "We're almost there, anyway. As much as I don't mind the privacy being in the forest provides us, I'd rather not be out here while he is."

AJ still lay with her back against the tree, feeling like she wasn't even capable of moving properly. She looked at up the vampire with her brows pulled together as she breathed in and out. "He? You mean Klaus?"

"Who else?" he said peevishly. "Now get back on your feet. He wanted you back there hours ago."

"Do you always do as you're told?" AJ asked mockingly, making no attempt to get up. She really wasn't sure if she could. "Tell me, what is it you get out of this? A pat on the back? A human to feed on? Or maybe instead of a pat on the back, a steak through the heart? How useful will you be to him once you've done everything he's asked?"

Analogous to the previous night, the vampire pinned her up against the tree, barring his fangs. AJ grunted in pain, and tears stung behind her eyes, making their way to the surface. "Shut up, you stupid child!" he screamed, his eyes wild. "I have been by Klaus's side for centuries! Do you truly think that you can bait me with your words, to try and get me to release you?"

"Yes," AJ replied smugly, despite the pain, "I do. But of course, you're brainwashed to think otherwise. So please, continue with your angry ranting. I've got all day."

He snarled at her once more, and much to AJ's surprise, he didn't retract his fangs. His head lunged forward, and the tips of his fangs pierced the skin on her neck. She yelped and shoved at his chest; she did anything to unlatch him from her, but he was too strong. She could feel the blood being sucked painfully from her body at a rapid rate, and her vision began to darken around the edges.

"Stop it!" she screamed, banging on his chest with her fists, "Stop it now!"

The vampire pulled away from her, looking feral. His chest heaved up and down with anger, and his mouth dripped with her blood. AJ quickly put a hand to her neck and brought it back down to examine. He'd bit her deep, and it wasn't coagulating like it should be. She felt a warm trickle of it slowly makes its way down her neck.

"Now," the vampire said with a barely-contained fury, "Will you walk, or will I have to do more damage to you?"

AJ avoided looking at him as she slowly began walking in the direction they'd been headed to. Her back and neck ached terribly, and her shoulder was almost numb with pain. But she had absolutely no care whatsoever for these things. She only wanted to know about Elijah and Elena. Were they all right? Did Elena live? What did Klaus do to Elijah?

After the vampire had made her walk from the quarry late last night, he'd kept to the forests for reasons beyond her knowledge. But she somewhat recognized where they were at, now. There were bike and running paths delineating around the area as it came closer to a set of apartments. AJ realized upon walking closer to the apartments that she knew why it was a little familiar. Alaric lived here. Well, he had lived here, but Klaus had made it off-limits as he resided here and at the other house in the middle of nowhere. A feeling of dread settled in AJ's already frazzled stomach.

The vampire led her into one of the complexes and up the stairs until he stopped at a heavy wooden door, labeled 2B. He pulled a key out from under his pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open. Then he shoved AJ inside and shut it behind them.

AJ tensed immediately. She was in Klaus's domain now, a place he could walk into at any given moment, and she'd have no heads-up as to when. Her eyes scanned Alaric's cluttered-yet-somehow-neat apartment, and she completely froze when she saw Elena. Narrowing her eyes, she realized it definitely wasn't Elena. Katherine.

"You're the second to last person I expected to see," Katherine commented as she lounged on a bed on the far side of the room, examining her nails with an air of boredom.

AJ raised an eyebrow, slowly walking into the room further. She glanced back to see the other vampire leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, before looking back at Katherine. "And who'd be the last person you'd expect to see?"

"Jesus," Katherine said seriously, but then rolled her eyes. "Who else?"

AJ regarded her cautiously. "I never really thought of you as the religious type. Of course, I never really thought anyone could be as selfish as you are, either, but you surprised me with that, too."

"Religion," Katherine said flatly, "Is for losers who think they need someone to solve their problems for them. I learned that a long time ago. Now, I solve my own." For the first time, Katherine's eyes flicked up at AJ, looking her from head to toe with revulsion. "You look like hell. What happened? Jenkins get a little rough?"

AJ whipped her head back to the vampire leaning against the wall. "Jenkins? Really? You're mother must have had something serious against you."

Jenkins snarled at her. He moved to zoom up to her, but Katherine moved faster. AJ's eyebrows shot up with surprise as Katherine stood between her and Jenkins.

"I wouldn't," Katherine warned him, "Not when she already looks like this."

Jenkins narrowed eyes flicked from her to AJ. Reluctantly, he backed away, choosing to lean against the wall again.

Katherine turned and walked back to the bed, plumping down onto it.

AJ followed her hesitantly, holding a hand to her shoulder. "I don't suppose I can also get you to hold him off while I leave?"

Katherine looked at her darkly. It was perturbing—she looked too much like Elena, and yet not at the same time. "Don't push your luck. I'm stuck here. Now you are, too."

AJ sighed. She looked around the room once more, feeling a little awkward. Weren't there laws about students being in their teachers homes? Did it apply when a demented vampire took it over and forced an equally egotistical vampire to stay there? Maybe. Maybe not. It was weird, all the same.

Katherine sat back up quickly. She was glaring at Jenkins with a harsh intensity, her mouth pulled into a scowl. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go see when he's coming back? I'm sick of waiting."

Jenkins growled at her. "You do not give me orders."

"No," Katherine said peevishly, "But I do give you advice. You don't want him walking in with this mess standing here," she pointed at AJ, "do you?"

Jenkins was impassive. A moment later, he was gone.

"Why'd you—"AJ started to say when suddenly the apartment door began to open. AJ whipped around again, her heart hammering like she was running a marathon. But it slowed down when she realized who it was.

"Stefan," she breathed, and relief flooded throughout her.

Stefan looked at her, eyes wide. "AJ—what are you doing here?" He looked her over, much in the way Katherine had, but with concern. "And what happened to you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," AJ said quickly, "But is—"she stopped herself, hard. No, she couldn't ask if Elena was okay. Not with Katherine around. It wasn't safe. "But what are you doing here?"

Stefan shut the door quietly behind him, his eyes locking on Katherine.

She crossed the room with a huff, shooting daggers at him. "Two days I've been waiting," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm supposed to be free from Klaus's compulsion by now—he's supposed to be dead! What the hell happened?"

"We ran into complications," Stefan said plainly. AJ blinked between the two of them, completely confused.

"Complications?" Katherine asked incredulously.

Stefan regarded her with hard eyes. "It doesn't really matter—I just need to find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Katherine clenched her hands into fists and a moment later had Stefan pinned up against the wall, out of AJ's view. She held a finger to her lips, hushing him. She quickly went back to grab AJ and set her beside Stefan.

They could hear the door open once more. AJ's heart started beating rapidly—surely Klaus would hear her heartbeat, and Jenkins already knew she was there. What'd been the point in hiding her?

"Klaus," Katherine said, her eyes never leaving Stefan's, "You're back. I see Jenkins did find you." She pulled Stefan out into view, then, as Klaus and Elijah walked through the door. "Look who decided to come for a visit."

Klaus stared at Stefan blankly. "You just keep popping up, don't you?"

"I need your help," Stefan said matter-of-factly, "For my brother."

"Well whatever it is, it's going to have to wait," Klaus said. "You see, I have an obligation to my brother. It requires my immediate attention."

AJ's eyes widened. Elijah was here? She stepped out from her hiding place so quickly that another spasm of pain went through her spine. All eyes turned to her.

"Ah," Klaus said, "And you're here, as well. Perfect."

Elijah stared at her, his mouth open. "AJ," he said hoarsely, "AJ—what's happened to you?"

AJ tried wiping away the blood on her neck with her good arm as she tucked her other one at her side gently. She stood as straight as she could, but winced again, involuntarily. Klaus's eyes scanned her scrupulously.

"Yes," he said with underlying menace in his tone, turning to Jenkins, "What has happened to her? I did leave her in your care."

Jenkins looked at Klaus, baffled. "You said that if she wasn't willing to comply, to force her to. I supposed you meant—"

Klaus had him pinned up against the wall by his neck in less than a second. "You supposed biting her had been appropriate? Tell me. Just how much of her blood did you drink?"

Jenkins stuttered, regarding Klaus with wide eyes. "Just—just a little. Her blood—it tastes different than anything I've ever had. It was hard to stop."

Klaus smiled disarmingly at Jenkins, patting the side of his cheek roughly. "I suppose it was," he said backing away from Jenkins. "You've done your service to me. I have no need for you anymore." And in one swift movement, Klaus had ripped out Jenkins heart, and his body crumpled to the floor. Klaus dropped the heart on top of Jenkins body, and it made a sick plumping noise.

AJ started when she realized Elijah was directly in front of her. Much to her relief, he seemed to be unharmed. She grasped onto his hands, and their warmth comforted her. "AJ—had I known—I would never have left you there. You shouldn't have come back—you should have done as I asked and gone with your parents."

AJ shook her head, squeezing his hand. "No—not when everyone I love was at stake. I wasn't going to risk you getting hurt—I—"

So quickly had a dagger been plunged through Elijah's heart that it took several moments for AJ to register what had happened, and she looked at his graying face with wide eyes. "No!" she screamed suddenly, "No—Elijah!" This couldn't be happening, she thought desperately, it couldn't possibly be. Elijah was her love—her other half. He was part of her.

"AJ," he struggled to say, his eyes glued on her. He reached out to touch her, and his skin felt rough and sand-papery on her arm. "AJ, you must—"

Klaus twisted Elijah's neck and threw his body down onto the floor. It hit with a lifeless thunk. Tears formed so rapidly in AJ's eyes that they were already falling down her cheeks in rivers, dripping to the floor. Elijah couldn't be dead. He couldn't be gone. If he was gone, then what did she have? What was there worth living for—what purpose was left of her? None, she thought instantly. Without Elijah, she was nothing; incomplete; broken. She moved automatically to pull the stake out, knowing it was the only way to mend the shattering heart inside her chest, but she was caught by the waist.

"Ah ah," Klaus said, holding her back easily. "Look away. Just look away."

Pure fury came over her in that instant, and mixed with her sudden heartbreak, she lost all sense. No longer did she feel any empathetic emotion for Klaus the way she had the night before—there was nothing but passionate hate, bleak and stinging in her heart like icicles. She beat her fists on Klaus's chest and scratched and kicked and yelled at him, feeling even more pain as her spine protested against her movements and her shoulder fell even more out of its socket.

"What have you done?" she screamed at him, "What the hell have you done?" Her breathing was ragged, and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh my God," she said quietly, and her voice cracked. "I hate you, Klaus. I hate you so much. Bring him back. Bring him back to me!"

"Shh," Klaus said, staring at her intently. He moved quickly to place her on the bed on the far side of the room, blocking her view of Elijah's body. "Quiet. You must stay right here, do you understand? Stay here."

He left her there, staring wide eyed and sullenly at the comforter on the bed. She only seemed to half hear him, but it had to be good enough. He returned to Stefan and Katherine, keeping an eye on the both of them, should either one of them think to revive Elijah. Then he shoved Stefan into a wall.

"Now," he said, "What am I going to do with you?" He pulled out another stake and shoved it through Stefan's torso.

Stefan cried out in pain, kneeling over. Katherine watched with a tiny frown, sticking close to the other side of the room.

"Do you feel that?" Klaus asked Stefan darkly. "It's scraping against your heart. The slightest little movement… and you're dead."

"He's just trying to help his brother," Katherine spoke up quickly, stepping forward.

Klaus ignored her, digging the stake in more as he smirked. Stefan sputtered blood, coughing harshly. "The witches said you had a cure," he said gruffly, panting, "Just give me the cure, and I'll do whatever you want."

Klaus frowned, yanking the stake out. Stefan cried out again, falling to his knees as he held a hand to his chest, moaning wretchedly. Klaus approached the kitchen counter, placing the bloody stake on it. He glanced at AJ, noticing that she was still staring unfocusedly at the comforter, but now her knees were pulled up to her chin and she was rocking from side to side in shock. Her wounds still showed from when Jenkins had injured her earlier. He frowned deeper, picking up a blood bag and pouring it into a glass.

"Trouble is," he said to Stefan, bringing the glass to his lips and taking a drink, "I don't know if you'll be any good to me, the way you are now." Stefan looked up uneasily, sensing the turn of events. "You're really just shy of useless."

Klaus turned his back on AJ once more, and kneeled down to Stefan. "I heard about this one vampire," Klaus began in a confiding tone, "Crazy fellow, always on and off the wagon for decades." He held the glass of blood close to Stefan, tilting it so that the fluid moved delectably. Stefan looked away, breathing in and out. "And when he was off, he was magnificent." Klaus stood up quickly. "Nineteen-seventeen, he was in Monterey and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true ripper," Klaus drew out the word, looking at Stefan intently. Stefan looked at the floor, frowning. "Sound familiar?" Klaus asked darkly before taking another sip of blood.

Stefan looked up at Klaus steadily before pushing to his feet. "I haven't been that way in a very long time."

"Well," Klaus said, "That's the vampire I can make a deal with. And that is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town." Stefan tensed, watching Klaus cautiously. "Katerina," Klaus held his hand out without looking at her, "Come here."

Katherine, who had been standing off to the side, was wary. She walked towards him slowly, placing her hand in his. Klaus raised her wrist to his mouth and bit it savagely, his eyes flashing yellow-gold.

Katherine cried out. "No," she whispered when he released her, looking down at her wrist. "No," she shook her head, disbelieving. He'd bit through to the flesh, leaving an angry bloody patch on her arm. A werewolf bite.

Klaus sunk his fangs into his own wrist, drawing blood, and shoved it in Katherine's mouth, against her protests. She struggled and gasped for unneeded air when he pulled his wrist back. Looking back down at her wrist, her eyes widened. The bite mended back together until her skin was flawless once more.

"You want your cure," Klaus said menacingly, "There it is."

Stefan's mouth tightened into a hard line as he looked from Katherine's wrist to Klaus. "Your blood is the cure."

Klaus smirked. "Gotta love Mother Nature. Now," he said, placing a hand on Stefan's shoulder as he guided him to the kitchen, "Let's talk, you and I."

Klaus pulled a chair up to the bar area and left it there for Stefan. He crossed the kitchen to the knife set, and pulled out the biggest one. Opening a cabinet, he grabbed a small jar and returned to the table. He took the knife and placed the razor-sharp edge over the center of his wrist, digging it in and pulling it through slowly as it cut his vein. Blood poured out as if turned on by a facet, and he let it fill the jar to the brim. His skin healed itself, and he set both the jar and the knife back on the counter.

"Well," he said, "There it is."

Stefan frowned down at the table, clenching his hands into fists.

"If you want to save your brother," Klaus continued, "How about a decade long bender?" Klaus regarded Stefan now, a small smile on his face. "You know I have big plans for you, when we leave this town."

Stefan tried to reign in his erratic emotions and remain calm. "I'm not like that anymore."

"Well that's too bad," Klaus said, picking up the jar of his blood once more and holding it over the sink. "You would have made a hell of a wingman." He tilted the jar, spilling its crimson contents out slowly, letting them sink down the drain.

Stefan sucked in a breath, looking down. "Wait," he said quietly.

Klaus tilted the jar upright. A single drop of blood dripped down the side, splattering into the sink. He smirked. "Now that's more like it. I want you to join me for a drink." He picked up a bag of blood sitting on the table and slid it down to Stefan. Stefan stopped it with his hand. Impassively, he looked down at it and tore open the top in one swift movement. Katherine watched from her place off to the side with interest.

Stefan stared at Klaus, his mouth pressing into a tight line. Then slowly, he raised the bag of blood to his lips and took a small drink. His eyes became dark and veiny—the smell was so intoxicating. But he knew how to fight the urges. He could fight it.

"Finish it," Klaus demanded, giving Stefan a hard look. "All of it."

Stefan tensed, reigning control over his urge to do just that. He kept the blood bag down resolutely.

Klaus smiled disarmingly. "You do that, and I save your brother. That's the deal."

Stefan hesitated before putting the bag back to his lips again as he drank the blood once more. Only this time, he squeezed it out, sucking at it until it was dry. He crumpled the empty bag in his hand, breathing in and out raggedly.

Victorious, Klaus smiled to himself. He lifted another blood bag off the table and slid it down to Stefan. "Again."

Closing his eyes momentarily, Stefan took a deep breath. Then he grabbed the next bag and drained it, succumbing to the darker part within him that'd been craving human blood all along.

On the bed, out of Klaus's view, AJ watched with wide eyes. Klaus was turning Stefan—he was making him into a monster. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room. Katherine seemed as engrossed in Stefan's alteration as Klaus was. And then there was Elijah's body. She could just barely see the top of his head around the corner of the wall separating the small office from this room. It was the color of ash, drained of life. She knew in her heart that he was the only one who could stop all of this—she needed him.

The sound of Stefan viscously tearing at blood bag after bag filled the room, perturbing AJ.

"You're very cooperative," Klaus observed, watching Stefan intently. He walked over to him, his arms clasped behind his back. "It's almost as if you enjoy it." He threw another bag—the ninth—down at Stefan once more, waiting with keen interest to see him devour it.

Stefan shook his head. "No more," he said gruffly, "Not until you give me the cure."

"Not until we make a deal," Klaus said simply. "It's your choice Stefan. You can either remain here, living your life in Mystic Falls . . . or you can embrace what you truly are. Leave town with me," Klaus said slowly, picking up the discarded bag and held it in front of Stefan, "And save your brother's life."

Stefan stared at the bag, his mouth hanging open as crimson red blood dripped down it. Less than a second later, he'd taken it from Klaus's hands and tore off the top with his teeth, slurping it down.

"That's the spirit," Klaus said triumphantly. He turned and grabbed the jar of his blood, and then crossed the room to Katherine. "Sweetheart," he said, pulling her up out of a chair by her chin and catching her eye, "I want you to take this over to Damon and come right back."

Katherine stared into Klaus's eyes as if being compelled. "You want me to leave?" she asked breathlessly.

"No!" Stefan spoke up quickly; alert to the problem this now presented him with.

"Yes," Klaus answered her, "And if I were you, I'd hurry."

Katherine was out the door a second later, not sparing any more time to be around the demented Original.

Stefan gaped after her in a panic. He stared at Klaus, who was lazily taking a seat at the small dining table. "She'll never take it to him!" he said incredulously.

Klaus shrugged, a small smile on his face. It diminished in an instant at his gaze flicked over to the empty bed AJ had once occupied. He moved like lightning, and an instant later his arms were wrapped around AJ's waist just as her fingers brushed the tip of the dagger in Elijah's heart. At the very last second, she'd pinched onto the dagger and pulled it out of Elijah just as Klaus was pushing her the other way. With his back to Elijah, he couldn't yet see her success. But she looked down at Elijah's body with his skin returning to its normal pallor, and she smiled. The smile diminished just as fast. Klaus wouldn't spare a second to kill Elijah again. He had to get out of here. He had to leave her behind.

Elijah was coming back much quicker than he had the first time she'd had to revive him. He was on his feet in an instant, his eyes locked on AJ and Klaus with fury. Just as he was about to open his mouth, AJ started her distraction. Before she did, however, she gave Elijah a look that said everything he needed to do. He froze.

"No!" AJ screamed as she kicked and struggled, digging her nails into Klaus's arms. If he still believed that Elijah was dead, he would expect her to, as well. "No! Let me go, Klaus! Let me go!"

Klaus sighed. He flung her across the other side of the room, but instantly regretted this decision. Crying out as she stumbled to the floor, her already severe injuries sent a shock of pain through her body. After she landed roughly on the ground, she pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to hide the tears resurfacing in her eyes. Elijah was still standing silently on the other side of the room, his features hardened and his expression torn. She knew he didn't want to leave her. She could see it so clearly in his eyes. But he must. She furtively gave him a look that expressed just that. Elijah pressed his lips together. His entire body was tense, and he hated seeing her the way she was. He hated the idea of leaving her with Klaus for even a second. But he was no good to her now. He would be back. He would come back for her. In a flash, he'd left the small apartment through the front door. It'd been open from when Katherine had left earlier, making for a quiet escape. AJ had to hold back any tears that threatened to surface at seeing him leave. It might be the very last time she saw him. But he was alive, and that was all that mattered.

"AJ," Klaus said calmly, "You must not try that again. I'm afraid that, if you do, I'll have to go to some lengths to keep you contained. And you need to be healed." He crossed the room to her slowly, taking in her suddenly childlike-turned features. There was a heartbroken look in her eye, and her chin quivered as she held in sobs. On the floor the way she was, she looked so small. Small and fragile. There was still a dried bloody spot on the side of her neck where Jenkins had fed off of her, and her shoulder was clearly in disrepair. The back of her shirt seemed to cling to her, also pasted by dried blood.

"Get the hell away from me," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I don't want your blood. I want you dead. You tried taking away the one thing I have to live for on this planet, but—"

"AJ," Stefan spoke up quietly, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He gave her a warning look. "Be careful. I know how much you're hurting right now, but you're injured and making him angrier won't help you any. "He looked up at Klaus now, his eyes void of emotion. "Let her go. You don't need her—you have me. So just let her go."

Klaus ignored Stefan. His eyes never left AJ. "I cannot compel you," he said, "But you must forget Elijah. He'll be joining the rest of my family soon. You won't see him again. It will be best for you to simply make yourself forget."

AJ shook her head, closing her eyes. A small tired smile appeared on her lips. "Is that so?" Slowly, she pulled the dagger she'd held underneath her sleeve into view. "Because I think he'll be just fine."

Klaus looked down at her, his eyes blazing with fire. The rest of his features contained a sort of scary calmness. "AJ," he said very slowly. "You are truly the stupidest creature I know. When I turn around, I swear my brother had better be there." His look now held the unvoiced threat he meant to imply. AJ shivered involuntarily. Klaus glanced over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the room. Finding it empty of Elijah's body, he howled angrily. With his vampire strength, he'd punched a hole in the wall large enough for AJ to walk through. She flinched at the noise and scuttled back. She knew there would be consequences.

Klaus's eyes found hers again, and if she didn't know they were blue, she would have thought them to be pure red in that instant. His breathing was heavy, but it was slowing down. He approached her, a deadly prose in his step. Swiftly he reached down and tore the dagger from her hands. She whimpered, pushing back further until her back connected with the bedpost.

She held her chin up, meeting his eyes. "Do what you have to, Klaus," she said, but her voice cracked. "I love him. I don't regret what I did. Not for a second."

Klaus glowered at her. "Do you love him enough to die for him?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I do."

Klaus threw the dagger at the wall behind Stefan. It hit with a loud thunk. His lips were pulled into a snarl. "Love," he spat, "Is meaningless. It's not something we can feel—we Originals. So you may think he loves you, darling, but you're very, very wrong. I promise you," he said menacingly, "That when I find him again, I will make you watch as I kill him. And he will not be revived that time."

"Go to hell, Klaus," she snapped at him. "I will take whatever consequences I must, but you can go to hell. Just because you've never been loved before, doesn't mean that you can't love. That he can't love. He's a greater man than you could ever be. You can't convince me otherwise. So screw you."

Klaus shook his head slowly, advancing on her. Stefan forced himself to stay put, but glanced back and forth between the two anxiously.

"If you're going to make it tough," Klaus said, "Then I suppose I'll try and make this as painless as possible. But keep in mind, AJ, that not everything is as it seems. You'll hear me out, one of these days. And you'll regret doing what you just did." He loomed up over her now, his expression blank. "When you wake, I do hope you'll be more obliging."

His dark blue eyes were the last things she saw before blackness overcame her sight, and a sense of weightlessness filled her body. Thoughts fleeted through her mind at the last second. Elijah, his grayed and lifeless face had its life returned to it. He was alive. Then they turned to Klaus; Klaus with the fire blazing in his eyes, and the anger and fury. Klaus, who'd tried to take away the one person she truly loved. But he couldn't. And she would pay the consequences for bringing Elijah back. She loved him, and that love would make it enough to get through whatever Klaus had planned for her. Their love was the kind that started wars, and in the end managed to stay untouched, unshattered, remaining in a state of truly forever and always.

Review, and give me your thoughts! I have posted the sequel. Heart at War. Find it on my page. (-: