Disclamer : I don't own Vampire Diaries, but I love to play around with D. Salvatore.

Warning (mostly for Part 2): character deaths, mild violence.

Pairings : Salvatore brotherly love, slight Stelena/Delena. Hints of Steroline/Daroline friendship.

All is fair in love and war (Part 1/2).

So, yes Stefan had stolen a bunch of dead Originals. And yes, Klaus had retrieved a bunch of now very alive Originals. Needless to say, the Hybrid had sworn he would get revenge. And nothing, absolutely nothing was worse than a vengeful Klaus. When Stefan showed up at the boarding house with his humanity back on and blood all over his shirt, Damon knew it was time to put a plan together.

It was a damn near perfect plan. Since Klaus could not be killed and they were out of daggers, it would be Bonnie's role to trap the Originals in the tomb underneath the church. That place was convenient enough when it came to having potential threats under control. It involved minimal violence – all they had to do was lure them in the tomb and get out before Bonnie put a permanent seal on the tomb. Simple. Damon never thought things would lead to this.

Where did it all go wrong?

One minute, they were killing off Klaus' minions and the Originals were not completely beating the crap out of them, and the next, it was chaos. Damon looked around and tears unexpectedly filled his eyes when he glanced around at the bodies of Alaric and Jeremy. Their limbs bent at an unnatural angle, they were lying on the ground, wide-eyed. Although the two humans would come back to life thanks to the spell Bonnie had put on them, the sight stirred a violent ache inside of him.

Damon grimaced at the sight of Tyler Lockwood's actually lifeless body – he didn't have a choice. The young hybrid's allegiance to Klaus was endangering all of them; he had to be neutralized.

Elena was still nowhere to be found – Damon noticed that Rebekah was missing as well – and Klaus had a strong hold on Stefan. The green-eyed vampire had fallen on his knees and the hybrid's hands were ready to snap his neck, simply for good measure. From where he was, Damon could see a wooden stake in Klaus' pocket.

His eyes travelled further to the right, where Caroline was still trying to fight Elijah. The Original seemed to wait for her to exhaust herself, and it soon happened. Her porcelain skin was strained with blood and tears, and her sobs echoed loudly in the quarry when her eyes fell on Tyler.

Where did it all go wrong?

"I reckon it's time for a brief pause," Klaus said and everybody went still.

Bonnie joined Damon. She was having a massive nose bleed from using so much power to fight the attacks and she was shaking uncontrollably. She grabbed his hand. Damon couldn't remember the last time he had seen her so frightened. Everything was silent. Their eyes met and she shook her head as if advising against any attack.

"Where is Elena?" Damon asked, his voice vibrant with anger.

"Oh, yes," Klaus said. "I almost forgot!"

Damon felt his rage build. He thought he was the king of nonchalance but Klaus was something else entirely – and Damon now understood why everyone around him (his brother, Elena, Bonnie) was continually annoyed with him. Nonchalance was damn near infuriating.

"Rebekah," Klaus sing-sang. "Time to bring the guest of honour."

Bonnie gasped when Rebekah emerged from behind a tree, dragging Elena behind her. The doppelganger was bleeding out – from the many scars marking her death-pale skin, Damon could guess the abuse she had gone through. It took all of his willpower not to pounce on Rebekah and rip her head off. Bonnie squeezed his hand as a reminder that his life, too, mattered.

"We just had a girls' night out, is all," Rebekah shrugged with a cruel smile.

"What did you do to her?" Bonnie screamed.

"She killed me. Tit for tat."

Elena's eyes were frantically searching for familiar faces. She made eye contact with Damon and sent a small smile his way – she was relieved to see that he had made it alive, so far. Bonnie was there, and Caroline, too. Her eyes widened when she registered that Tyler had had his heart ripped out of his chest, and even more when she saw Stefan near Klaus.

Damon knew what was coming next. She'd see Jeremy and think he was dead. She'd scream her brother's name, collapse on her knees and cry. He was ready for that, so when she did, his jaw simply clenched.

"What a mess," the hybrid said as a response to Elena's cries of despair. "Pity we had to come to this."

"This is your fault," Damon suddenly yelled at Elijah. "If you had been a man of honour, none of this would have happened."

Klaus rolled his eyes. Even though he felt a pang of satisfaction at seeing the eldest Salvatore in such a state of distress, the reminder of his brother's betrayal deeply unnerved him.

Elijah's quiet voice rose.

"Brother," he said. "He is right. I'd given them my word, and I failed them."

"How is that my problem?" Klaus drawled.

"Considering that these two," he said, nodding towards Stefan and Elena, "have done something to personally offend you and Rebekah, please do him a favour on my behalf."

"You and your morals," Rebekah said lovingly. "You're a good man, Elijah."

Klaus's gaze travelled from his sister's affectionate smile to his brother's more discreet one. The three of them, together again, after so many years; this is all he ever wanted. He was a hybrid, Mikael was gone and his family was by his side again. He sighed.

"Oh, Elijah," Klaus smiled reproachfully, shaking his head. "Being around you is making me feel magnanimous."

Elijah had always acted like a sedative to Klaus' short temper. His outstanding moral sense and his patience made him the ideal advisor and Klaus wanted nothing more than allow him back into that position. He might as well start now.

"Very well," Elijah said, his smile growing slightly. "I understand that all the others must die, but I am begging you, let Damon have his brother. You, of all people, understand the importance of family, Niklaus."

"Rebekah, darling, what says you?" asked Klaus.

The blonde scoffed.

"Let him have his brother," she said.

Klaus noticed that his sister's hold on Elena tightened a bit and he couldn't help but smile at that. Rebekah could be so capricious sometimes – she could use a lesson. Not to mention that Klaus still hadn't decided what her punishment for siding with the enemy should be.

"I have a better idea. One," Klaus said, raising his index in the air. "I will spare one of them. Damon, I will allow you to choose."

Damon's eyes widened. How was he supposed to choose? Bonnie's hand squeezed his. This time, he squeezed back.

"I will spare the bubbly blonde," Klaus informed. "Her life matters little to me, and to you as well. Besides, my very first hybrid was very infatuated with her and it's the least I can do to honour his memory."

Damon's eyes closed for a short second. He'd never admit it to anybody, but Klaus was wrong – Caroline's life mattered to him. Somehow, she was his. The first one he turned and actually cared about. His blood was running through her veins and it meant something to him.

Klaus nodded to Elijah, who let go of Caroline. She instinctively ran to Damon, who put a protective arm around her without letting go of Bonnie's hand. At least, the two of them would stay alive and have each other to lean on.

Bonnie's worried gaze shifted to a glare when Klaus smirked at her.

"As for you, witch," he started. "It seems that you cannot be killed. Since I am the only immortal being walking this planet, I suppose the spell will work for a short time only, but I have no patience. You will walk away from this because I allow it, so I strongly recommend that you don't stand in my way, ever again."

Damon froze. Bonnie wrapped her arms around him and he accepted her embrace; otherwise, he felt like his legs were going to fail him. That left only Stefan and Elena. His brother and the girl he loved.

He looked at Stefan, who was still on his knees and the green eyes immediately travelled to Elena. The message was loud and clear: save her. The doppelganger, exhausted from a night of horror and staring at her brother's supposedly lifeless body, was wide-eyed.

"No," he breathed.

"No?" Klaus echoed, amused. "Shall I kill them both, then?"

"Niklaus," Elijah said sternly.

"Just kidding, Eli," Klaus shrugged. "You don't have to make the decision right this second, mate," Klaus said to Damon. "I'll give you until midnight, tomorrow."

"Nik," Rebekah whimpered. "I am not letting go of her. Have you learnt nothing? They'll trick you, they'll find something!"

Klaus tore his eyes away from Damon and glared at Rebekah.

"Of course, since you won't be helping them this time, we have nothing to worry about, have we?"

Rebekah lowered her gaze. With a pout, she pushed Elena away so violently that the human tripped.

"If you run, I'll find you wherever you are and I will rip you apart limb by limb," she threatened.

"Now, now, Bekah," Klaus reprimanded. "Don't be so dramatic."

He sped towards Damon, Bonnie and Caroline. Resorting to his massive compulsion skills, he spoke slowly.

"Do not run. Do not try to find a way around this, because if you do, I will make you all suffer so much that you'll wish you were never born. Damon, make a decision, but don't reveal it before we meet tomorrow. Have I made myself clear?"

"Very clear," Damon said blankly; the girls imitated him.

Klaus started to walk away, and just as Bonnie let out a relieved sigh, he froze.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said. "You didn't actually expect me to believe that you'd allow humans to come fight us without some kind of magical protection, now, did you?"

In a blur, he ripped the hearts out of Alaric and Jeremy's chests. Elena and Stefan screamed in horror. Bonnie started to cry. Caroline's sobs amplified. Damon fell to his knees.

"I will see all of you here tomorrow at midnight. Enjoy your last twenty-four hours, Scooby Gang."