WHITMORE, VIRGINIA
The second she managed to get a moment alone, Buffy had to let loose. The optimistic attitude from Caroline with her subtle comments about Elena and Jeremy had been one thing, but spotting Stefan hovering around town was driving her nuts.
Her skin had been on fire, the desire to rip them both apart growing more intense by the second.
She either needed to have her brains screwed out, or she needed to slaughter something.
Either one would settle the chaos in her chest.
The second her first class had ended, she had ended up shattering her professor's arm then compelling him to sit in a corner like the annoying child he was. He was still sitting there now, even four hours later.
Yet, it hadn't been enough to settle her.
She needed to get out of here.
Stepping into the hall, Buffy bit the inside of her cheek, forcing herself to wave as she spotted Caroline in her cheerleading outfit skipping over to her. How her face never hurt from all the smiling was beyond Buffy's understanding. It defied the laws of physics.
A familiar face caught her attention from the corner of her eye.
Hanging from one of the activity boards were two photos. A memorial photo for the one and only Jeremy Gilbert and the other was a get-well-soon poster for Elena Gilbert.
Buffy rolled her eyes.
Yanking them off the board, she ripped them into pieces before tossing them into the trash. It was bad enough Caroline had been bringing up her dead cousins all day but having their pitiful faces staring back at her had Buffy ready to fill the halls of this campus with blood.
"Hey!" Caroline piped up as she appeared at her side, starting to lead them toward the cafeteria for lunch "How was your first day back in the real world?"
"Good." Buffy lied, her fingers twisting around her bracelet as ideas of how much damage she could cause to everyone annoying her today ran through her head.
She needed to kill something.
Or at least burn something to the ground.
"Are you going to stick around for the competition?"
Buffy froze for a second, her eyes flashing with a hint of excitement. There were several other schools coming today for this competition. Annoying peppy cheerleaders she could have fun playing with. It would be the best way to settle the heat in her chest before going home.
"Sure."
Caroline grinned happily only to quirk a curious brow as the two of them climbed into the line of students, grabbing food for their trays. Buffy looked antsy, which she suspected was mainly because this was the longest period of time she had been away from Joy...but at the same time, she couldn't stop thinking about the way Klaus and Buffy had been around each other this morning.
The sexual tension had been off the charts.
For months, Buffy and Klaus had been building more of a friendship and partnership as they prepared to co-parent their daughter together, yet the slight touches this morning had her suspicious. That and the way Klaus looked ready to go into a rageful jealous fit the second Stefan announced he would be driving them to Whitmore.
She was almost positive something had happened between them.
Had Buffy backpeddled in her grief? Finding comfort in the one unkillable person in her life?
"So...you and Klaus are seeming closer than ever."
Buffy rolled her eyes at the insinuation, Caroline was not subtle "We live together and have a baby." She deadpanned as she grabbed a bowl of pesto pasta placing it on her tray before reaching for the garlic dough.
So what if they had screwed last night?
It wasn't a big deal.
It had just been something in the heat of the moment, both of them getting off on the power as they slaughtered their way through their enemies.
"I just-"
"Caroline." Buffy snapped, her facade slipping for a fraction of a second as she narrowed her gaze at her nosy god-sister "Leave it alone."
It was no one's business what she did with Klaus.
"If this is you trying to get me to use Klaus to free Tyler, not happening." The fact of the matter that no one seemed to have noticed was that despite his declaration, Klaus wasn't exactly hunting Tyler down to the corners of the earth. Tyler Lockwood was the furthest thing from Klaus's mind, just an annoying pest that he forgot existed once he was no longer in sight.
As long as Tyler kept his distance, he would live.
Klaus only hunted people he cared about hurting, threatening Tyler, and actually hunting him down were two drastically different things.
"No." Caroline assured her, she wouldn't put Buffy in the middle, it wasn't fair to her. Enough people had tried to use their relationships with Buffy to act like they could do whatever they wanted.
Elena had literally thought she would be safe after murdering Kol because she had expected Buffy to defend her.
Forcing her into the middle.
"I'm just concerned. You broke up with him for a reason and the new baby, the grief, emotions all over the place."
"I am not in love with Klaus." Buffy reminded her as they slowly moved to grab a table.
She had never allowed herself to be in love with Klaus, she had ended their relationship out of the fear of falling for him because the guilt was consuming her whole.
"It's okay if you are at least a little." Caroline whispered watching Buffy closely, trying to decipher the look in her eyes.
Yet, there was nothing.
Despite the fact Buffy seemed to be normal, her eyes were hollow, filled with nothing but mischief "He does love you and you do have a child together. Things-"
Caroline's constant pushing had Buffy's nails digging into the table "We work well together. That's it."
Yep, she really needed to torture something otherwise she was going to scream.
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
Joyce Jenna Summers-Mikaelson.
There was an actual baby in the room and it was kind of freaking Damon out, though he could admit, the kid was cute.
It was safe to say, Klaus was going to be in hell when she was a teenager. She was going to be a looker and a complete troublemaker for sure. There was no way a child of Buffy's wouldn't be getting into constant trouble and sneaking out of the bedroom window all the time.
Moving toward her, he stared down at the wiggling little girl in the plan pen who was resting on her back, staring up at the twinkling stars hanging above her, her small fingers reaching for them as she kicked her legs.
Small little babbles escaped her lips.
Crouching down beside her playpen, Damon chuckled as she started staring at him with big eyes before giggling.
Damn her for being cute!
He hated kids but she was adorable and it was annoying.
As her blue-green teal eyes landed on the stuffed bear in his hands, her little hands automatically reached for it Damon smiled, handing it over to her, watching as she automatically brought it to her lips, trying to eat it.
She was definitely part vampire for sure.
"Hey Joey." Given that Stefan had his own nickname for her, it was only fair he got to give her a nickname too. Plus, he had like 35 for her mother so it was only fair that he started on his list for her kid.
As Joy started giggling pointing at Damon like he was one of her toys, Klaus clenched his jaw.
So far, Joy had a habit of screaming around other supernatural creatures that weren't directly related to her by blood. Being able to sense magic in them. She had already blown up every lightbulb in the mansion four times this month just by sensing magic from people who had been showing up trying to see Buffy.
Yet, now she seemed comfortable around Damon like she could sense how much the vampire cared for her mother.
It sickened him.
"What do you want?" He still had no idea what Damon wanted to talk to him about and since the girls and Stefan had left, he hadn't exactly been too willing to reveal his plans.
"I came up with a list." Damon said with a smile as Joy reached for him again finally getting him to surrender. Nervously, he carefully lifted her up and placed her on his lap.
It was his first time holding a baby and he was a little panicked.
This wasn't just any kid, it was Buffy's kid.
Joy babbled, her fingers clutching against the leather of his jacket before giggles erupted from her chest.
Biting back a smile, Damon focused back on Klaus, having to use the baby as a slight shield as he spotted the yellow eyes now focused on him. Clearly, Buffy wasn't the only one who went into Mama-Bear mode when someone dared to go near the baby.
But as long as he was holding her, Klaus wouldn't touch him and risk hurting her.
He was literally playing with Klaus's biggest weakness in the world.
Oh, how the tables had turned.
Pulling a piece of paper out of his jacket, he made sure to hold it out of Joy's reach as she tried to grab it, clearly fascinated by the new object "Called things you suck at." Pausing he looked down at Joy who just blinked up at him with those big teal eyes of hers "Cause your evil daddy sucks a lot."
Joy just focused back on the sleeves of his jacket, dribble getting all over it which had Damon groaning.
She was cute and all, but babies no matter how cute could be so gross.
As Joy started developing an early love for leather much like her mother, Damon smirked over at Klaus adjusting her in his arms slightly "Number One: Finding Katherine, ever."
Not entirely true.
In truth, Klaus had known exactly where Katherine was...he had only hunted her in the times when she was not living with his sister.
Despite how complicated his relationship with Marianna was, deep down he did care for her happiness, so there were times when he would see Katherine and let her go. To let Marianna keep some semblance of happiness in her life.
Something he would never admit.
He would eventually.
"Number Two: Covering up your secret phone conversations to that little backstabber Hayley. Number Three: Forgetting that Hayley is a friend of Oz, who is a friend of Buffy's. So he spilled all about his and Elijah's offer. What was it? They help her find her family, and she helps fight against enemies to this one-" He tapped Joy on the nose "In New Orleans. But first, she has to spill about Katherine. And obviously, Number Four: not being able to pull off the hot-dad thing. Fatherhood is aging you man. You were younger than me when turned yet you look twice the age!"
Damon had been 25 when turned and he was pretty sure Klaus had been pushing 22 at max.
Clearly not getting any sleep was giving him frown lines though. That and all of the times he probably screamed his sisters's names in a fury.
With his speech done, Damon smirked and tossed the list over to Klaus before focusing back on the little girl who was yanking on his sleeves for his attention.
"You are gonna steal my jackets like your mother does aren't you?" He teased only to be met with babbles.
He could seriously not have a conversation with this child.
He had to put in all the effort.
Looking around, Damon let out a whistle "So where is she? And what does she know about Katherine?"
Klaus just smirked.
If Damon seriously thought he would be keeping a wolf he in no way trusted in his house overnight while his child slept, he was an idiot. Plus, he had been a bit occupied last night helping Buffy so had sent one of his minions to protect the wolf after he saved her from the threat Katerina had sent after her.
He had saved her and then tossed her at a minion before bolting to Atlanta.
Hayley was currently stuck in a motel, with several compelled vampires who had been told to bring her straight to the mansion when he told them to. They were also ordered to kill her if she tried anything that put his child at risk. She had made a deal with Oz and Elijah, not him.
Plus, Elijah obviously fancied her. It had been beyond obvious when he had originally mentioned the wolf Oz had introduced him to.
She was his type after all.
The fact she shared the same features as the doppelgängers though, just proved that Tatia's death had ruined Elijah. Every woman he got involved with always had similar traits to the Original doppelgänger.
"I should help you?" He questioned, trying to remain calm and not cause his daughter any distress as she continued to glance around the room and babble innocently.
She was not to be touched by his rage or witness it.
Never.
"After you lot killed my brother and imprisoned me in the Gilbert living room, before failing to protect the mother of my child after dragging her to an island where she was poisoned and repeatedly attacked."
"You might want to prioritize Klaus." Damon warned as he handed Joy back her toy before standing with her still in his arms, so tempted to take her away from the hybrid where he knew she would be safe "You have much bigger problems. Katherine has the cure. Isn't that right Jo?"
Nickname Number 2.
Joyce ignored him, her focus completely on the stuffed bear she was struggling to keep a grip on.
"My guess is she's gonna want to cram it down your throat. You help me find Katherine. I'll get the cure, and give it to Stef or Buffy if she goes full demon crazy. Everybody wins. Just let me question Hayley about Katherine."
The prospect of anyone giving Buffy The Cure had Klaus wanting to slaughter everything.
He was not going to part with her.
The second he had the cure, he was destroying the blasted thing.
Forcing a smile on his face, Klaus snatched his daughter out of Damon's arms before shrugging "Can't help you mate. Hayley's off-limits. Although I did have a run-in with a vampire who may know where Katerina is, too bad for you I bit halfway through his neck so he probably won't have much time for chit-chat." He revealed causing panic to spread through Damon's eyes, much to his amusement.
As Joy latched onto him happily, her head resting on his shoulder, Klaus smirked and sat down on his chair smirking up at Damon.
"We're done here, Damon. Show yourself out."
**
WHITMORE, VIRGINIA
Her skin was aflame.
The longer was away from Joy, the harder it was to pretend she was just regular old emotion-filled Buffy.
Even with the football player in front of her, hitting on her, Buffy found herself beyond bored. She had originally come to this area to find a distraction, yet all she found herself wanting to do was tear the guy's head off.
Her demon side was practically singing as she spotted the other cheer teams starting to flood into the gym though.
So many people to kill and torture...so little time.
Zeroing in on one of the girls from the other school, Buffy chuckled as an idea started to form in her brain. A way for her to raise chaos, keeping Caroline and Stefan distracted from their watch Buffy mission so she could go and scratch the urge screaming at her to slaughter.
Without a glance at the guy who had been speaking to her, Buffy vaguely heard him ask for her number but she paid him no mind.
Spotting an excited Caroline approaching her, Buffy quickly plastered an excited grin on her face as the peppy cheerleader pulled her into a tight hug.
This was a special kind of hell.
"I am so glad you stayed." Caroline grinned ear to ear as she looped her arm through Buffy's "The competition is so much better than last year. It's gonna be great." Kissing Buffy's cheek she started walking backward, closer to the other cheerleaders "I'm gonna go stretch. Find a seat! Drinks after?!"
"Totally." Buffy mimicked her excited tone before letting out a relieved sigh as Caroline finally vanished into the crowd.
No Stefan and no Caroline watching her like a hawk.
Just the desire for pain, fear, and death.
Spotting the girl she had eyed earlier walking over to the bus that had brought her team, Buffy skipped along, her body vibrating in excitement. It was a sign that she probably should have started calling Klaus to come and clean up the mess she was about to make, but all she could focus on was the glee in her chest.
This was going to be fun.
Following the cute probably 19-year-old freshman girl onto the bus, Buffy leaned against the driver's seat as she watched the girl reach for her bag, rifling through it.
"You know, I never got the cheer competition thing." The girl gasped jumping around to face her in shock "Even when I was a cheerleader, it was just to meet cute guys on the basketball team."
Stefan had technically been her first football jock. Hemery High had been more of a basketball school and so had Sunnydale.
Football hadn't been the go-to in either school.
The cheerleader in the yellow and blue uniform, which was making Buffy's eyes burn in disgust, just stared at her blankly before placing her hands on her hips. A very stereotypical cheerleader attitude dripped from her which had Buffy rolling her eyes.
Clearly, this girl had watched 'Bring It On' too many times.
"What do you want?"
Buffy giggled at the question and without hesitation pulled the dagger out of her leather boots tossing it over to the confused cheerleader who squelled. "What I want is for you to start a riot." She admitted with a shrug before speeding in front of the girl, grabbing her by the throat "You see, I have two pests currently following me around like a bad ex. Ironic given one is literally the ex-love of my life. And I need a distraction so I can go tear through a demon bar before I start killing every cheerleader in 10-mile radius."
Even with her emotions bullied and her demon side running things, there was still a voice in Buffy's head.
A voice screaming at her not to hurt innocent people.
It was an annoyingly insistent voice. A voice she only listened to because killing humans was so boring. They couldn't put up a fight so it just made the whole situation dull.
Before the cheerleader could start screaming, Buffy wrapped her fingers tightly around the girl's jaw and looked right into her eyes.
"When Whitmore is performing, you are going to stab every girl on your team. You don't have to kill them...just stab them till they scream."
As the compulsion settled in, Buffy turned on her heels and climbed out of the bus.
This competition was about to get a lot more chaotic.
**
Tossing some caramel popcorn into her mouth, Buffy strolled down the halls and headed right for the gym.
The show was about to begin and she was ready to get the hell out of here.
The second hell broke loose, she was gone.
Any love and compassion she did have for her friends was hanging by a thread. The second the thread started to shred she would tear them all apart, choosing to follow the out-of-sight: out-of-mind mentality. There was a part of her already screaming that they would ruin everything, that they would put her baby at risk and the louder that voice got...the more tempted she got to start killing them all.
Spotting a familiar face approaching her, Buffy forced herself to smile instead of rolling her eyes "Stefan." She breathed as he slowly approached her, his eyes dripping with concern.
Stefan scanned her up and down, trying to reassure himself that she was still alive in front of him before moving to walk beside her "Hey-"
"You keep looking at me like I'm going to combust into dust."
Stefan sighed as they started making their way to their seats in preparation for the competition to begin "I don't mean to it's just, the last time I saw you really..."
When he trailed off, Buffy froze.
The dark walls around her heart shook slightly.
Stefan had been the first person she saw when she woke up after her death. He had once again been forced to hold her dead body after helplessly watching her die. The first time she had shoved him off the tower and the second he had been forced to relive that moment as he watched her be brutally murdered.
"I'm immortal." She whispered clenching her jaw tightly as she tried to force everything back down "No baby girl draining my power."
She had gotten up again like she always did, yet her death had caused damage to those she loved.
Klaus and Stefan more than anyone.
They were the ones forced to watch the slaughter with their own eyes.
"I will go on until the world burns." She said as she took her seat in the middle row, Stefan taking the seat beside her, his hands shaking slightly as her screams continued to haunt his mind.
"I know you did something that night." He said as he stared ahead watching as the first team moved onto stage cheering loudly "No matter what, you go on. The world has taken too much from you, but you have never given up until that moment, never given in. I know you better than most..."
An accurate statement.
He had been the first person to click that something more had been going on. The first person to click just how exhausted she was last year, how she was channeling everything into destroying Klaus.
"You're clever. You always have been no matter how many times you let people believe you're not." He had helped her study for her finals in High School, he knew she was smarter than she let people see. He had seen just how calculated she was when it came to war.
To beat six apocalypses, you couldn't be an idiot.
You had to be a genius that was underestimated time and time again.
"You never give up. That's why you didn't turn it off. Because you would never give up on your daughter." Turning off her emotions completely would have been doing just that "You get up and you go to work. Over and over again."
He had watched her ignore her own pain for years, always putting it on the back burner to ensure those she loved survived and got to be happy.
"You gave into that darker part of yourself. To ensure you didn't crumble and leave Joy unprotected." The darker side of her that: Emily, Isobel, and Mary had warned her about.
"But this addiction to destruction, to burning down building after building will get more intense. Until you have no control over it. And it will destroy you."
Ironically, while most would relate her condition to turning off her emotions, Stefan saw it slightly differently. It was like his Ripper side. Something that could be controlled over time but the feeling itself was an addiction.
The very accurate description had Buffy's nails digging into the palms of her hands, drawing blood.
"You're wrong." She hissed, her eyes darkening as she focused on his face, if he wasn't buying her act then fine, she would change tactics "You think you know what is happening? Well, guess what Stef? Take a warning, get your friends to back off, and leave me alone. Because the longer you keep pushing...the harder I will push back. My life isn't a democracy. So take the warning, because I'm just getting started."
The second the threat left her lips, the screams started.
**
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
Making his way through the parking lot where Klaus had saved Hayley the night previous, Damon couldn't help but grumble in annoyance as another presence approached him.
The one blonde he never liked seeing.
"You." Damon groaned as he turned to face Rebekah "I thought you were still playing super nanny for Bubbles Jr, or crying that you will never have your own.."
Rebekah shot him a sharp glare "Do not start with me."
Damon shrugged, he had no interest in dealing with Rebekah, one Original was enough for one day "Guess you won't turn into a real girl after all."
"I'll get the cure. I just need Katherine and I'm betting you can help me find her." She called as he turned his back on her, only to freeze at her mentioning Katherine's name.
This wasn't good.
"Why would I help you?"
Rebekah smirked before raising a vial of blood she had bribed off her brother after almost walking in on him and Buffy last night demolishing the music room. The moans that had been echoing from the room had been traumatizing enough so he had owed her.
He had spent the night violating her best friend, a little blood was the least he could do.
"Because I was smart enough to bring a pinch of my brother's blood. Now how else would you interrogate a vampire who's practically dead from a wolf bite?"
Damon clenched his jaw before sighing, as much as he hated it, it's not like he had much of a choice "Fine. I may know where to start."
**
WHITMORE, VIRGINIA
All hell had broken loose.
One second Caroline's team had been competing and the next horrified terrified screams had echoed through the gym, bringing their entire routine to a halt. A girl on the opposing team had turned around and stabbed one of her teammates in the leg before going into her murderous rage, stabbing every single member of her team, one right after the other.
Stefan glanced away from Buffy for a second, his eyes widening as he spotted the chaos ensuing around them.
But one second was all it took.
There was a gust of air.
Buffy was gone.
Glancing around the screaming crowd in a panic, Stefan froze as he spotted Buffy standing by the exit, her eyes glued to his dangerously as a smirk started to form on her lips.
She had planned this.
Planned to ensure he couldn't get to her if he pushed her. Their conversation had set her off, revealing her true colors. While he now had a confirmation that Buffy had surrendered to her demon side, it just made everything all the more complicated.
At the end of the day, Buffy was an Original.
Now that she had her full strength back, he couldn't stop her. She had been playing nice but the constant pushing and questing had caused her to snap. She had been acting the whole time as he suspected, but shattering the act had ensured blood was being spilled.
As she raised her arms out to her sides, basically daring him to come after her, Stefan let out a frustrated growl.
He was forced to let her happily stroll out of the gym so he could try and contain the screaming around him.
Buffy had wanted a distraction that entertained her and that was exactly what she had gotten. She had wanted chaos and so had created it from scratch.
"Dammit."
**
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
They had set a trap.
Given that this vampire who worked for Caroline was almost at the 24-hour mark since being infected with werewolf venom, he would be in full hallucination mode, desperately thirsting for even a tiny droplet of blood.
So Damon and Rebekah had sent him a walking buffet.
As the nurse with blood dripping down her neck walked through the parking lot, Damon spotted the figure moving.
In less than a second he vamp-sped forward, slamming the vampire up against a tree only to freeze up as he got a good look at the guy's face.
He knew this vampire.
"Damon?"
Damon couldn't help but sputter as he stared down at the familiar face, a face he hadn't seen in over 20 years "Will?"
Will sighed in slight relief before smiling weakly, though his eyes were filled with pure anguish and pain. The werewolf venom was still spreading, slowly killing him torturously "Hi buddy." He winced out before pulling down the collar of his jacket, letting Damon get a good look at the ever-worsening bite mark "I think there's something wrong with me. I need help."
Damon sighed as he watched his old friend sadly "It's okay. I know what to do." He promised before shoving his hand into Will's chest, ripping out his heart before he could even blink.
Rebekah was still hovering around and he couldn't risk Will telling her anything.
Plus, at least now he knew exactly what he had to do to find Katherine.
He was headed for the Big Apple.
**
WHITMORE, VIRGINIA
14 people were in the hospital.
Buffy's little demonstration had resulted in 14 people with almost fatal stab wounds and another 20 bruised from the panicked riot that had broken out as people desperately tried to get out of the building.
Stepping out in the parking lot, Stefan narrowed his gaze as he spotted Buffy leaning against his car, an amused smirk on her lips as she tossed the last few kernels of her popcorn into her mouth.
The demon in her clearly had a thing for chaos.
She looked gleeful as she watched the ambulances go by, only for her entire body to tense up once they were out of view.
Stefan watched the action closely, she was already desperate for the adrenaline rush again. Despite all the damage, fear, and terror she had caused, it hadn't been enough to settle the desire.
How the hell had Klaus been keeping her under control?
He was beginning to think she would have been easier to deal with if she had become a damn vampire and just wanted to eat people. A chaotic demon who enjoyed the fear that ensued in others was more dangerous. She would cause more damage than just an emotionless vampire feeding out of boredom.
"You love chaos." He announced as he approached her "That was a big show, but it's not enough to scratch the urge, is it? What do you do for an encore?"
"I could do you." Buffy suggested with an amused smirk, a small laugh escaping as she spotted the way his jaw clenched and his eye twitched; shocked by the joke "But I prefer the good old fashioned chaos. Just as Nik, he took me to a vampire-fighting warehouse last night."
Stefan wanted to scream at that.
He had been right, Klaus had known about this desire for destruction of hers. He hadn't just been keeping them from seeing Buffy for her grief, it was because he had been the one covering up her vengeance gig. Klaus was probably loving it, enjoying the way she was letting go of her inhibitions "Was that before or after you slaughtered a pack of wolves last night?"
Buffy rolled her eyes "After. Don't give me judgy eyes..." She warned wiggling her fingers at his green eyes "Those wolves tried to get me and my daughter killed for some promise of moonlight rings from a dead witch on the ancestral plane. And it wasn't all of them. Just the main groupies, I still have at least another 12 to hunt down." Pushing away from his car, she slowly started circling him "Rest assured, I will find them. I have some compelled vamps looking for them."
Stefan's eyes widened at that "You compelled vampires?" He breathed in shock. Since when was she able to compel vampires?
Why the hell had she never said anything about being able to do that?
"Well, duh. Original benefits."
Moving over to the boot of his car, she pulled it open, tossing her bag inside before focusing back on him, her gaze narrowing dangerously "You guys just couldn't leave it alone. You had to go digging because I wasn't grieving properly." She moaned in annoyance "You know, this..." She pointed to the police cars surrounding the campus "Wouldn't be happening if you had left me be. I mean come on, I am leaving town for good soon. All you guys had to do was not go digging into my personal thoughts for two months then poof I would be gone."
Apparently, though, there was no such thing as privacy in their little Mystic Falls group.
Something that had been proven time and time again.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Stefan contemplated her warning carefully. She was basically giving him one final warning. To back off or she would start taking things to the extremes, leaving body after body.
But the problem was...he didn't buy that she wouldn't do that anyway.
He could see the way her eyes were jumping with mischief and excitement, her body already craving more chaos. No matter what she said and promised, that desire was going to take control whether she liked it or not. One way or another, she was going to start dropping bodies.
Klaus adding fuel to the fire by supplying her with things to kill was just going to make the urges stronger.
It was like giving a recovering addict one drop of their poison and expecting them not to go off the bandwagon.
"Okay, fine. You want fun? A bit of destruction?"
His sudden shift caused Buffy to laugh, he was trying to play her. She could smell the mix of Angel Dust and salt in his jacket. He wanted to lock her up and get her emotions back to normal.
No way in hell was that happening.
"Oh, I like the way you talk." She teased as she pulled on her black leather jacket, smiling up at him.
The boot of his car was still wide open.
Stefan grinned down at her "There's a demon bar off the beaten path. New place. No humans or innocents to settle this rage inside of you."
Liar.
Tilting her head, Buffy slowly placed her hand on his chest before moving the other to his cheek, her thumb slowly stroking his cheek causing him to inhale tightly, his body automatically reacting to her touch.
She still had him in the palm of her hand, it was almost adorable.
"As fun as that sounds Stef-" His neck snapped to the side with a violent twist, his body hitting the ground by her feet "You are not the best actor in the world honey."
Hauling his body up she dumped him in the boot of the car, before grabbing the vial from his jacket and tossing it to the ground, stamping it on her with her boots "Your idea of locking me in the cellar, not this gal's idea of a good time. But maybe I'll give you a demonstration."
**
Blood.
The smell was so intense that it was all Stefan could focus on the second his body started to stir. Groaning, he rolled his neck slightly only for his eyes to slam open in panic as he felt the burning against his flesh.
Looking down, that was when he took in his current predicament.
He was tied to a chair in the middle of a bar, vervain ropes around his wrists, and at least 12 dead bodies surrounding him. 6 demons, 3 vampires, a werewolf, and...two humans.
Buffy's Human kill count: 5
Looking up his eyes widened in horror as he spotted the state of Buffy who was just standing in the corner of the room, blood all over her hands as she stared down at the corpses she had strategically placed around him like a demonstration of her power.
Showing him just how easy it would be for her to tear him apart.
"The humans were hunters." She admitted as she stepped over the bodies and crouched down right in front of him "Hunter using dark objects, intent on completing a hit list given to them by The First. Which AKA: Joy is number one on. That thing is getting on my nerves but luckily... dark objects don't work on me."
The beauty of being immune to magical attacks.
"You think you know what I am doing, Stefan..." She whispered as she grabbed his jaw forcing him to look at her in the eye "I am taking down enemies after my daughter. I'm just enjoying it a little."
"So those cheerleaders were what?" He growled out forcing himself out of her reach "You were out of control."
Buffy rolled her eyes "I had to spend all day at Whitmore with Caroline trying to act peppy and convincing me to talk to my vegetable of a cousin. You're lucky I didn't burn the campus to the ground."
Leaning back in his chair, Stefan couldn't help but sigh at the familiarity of the situation. They had been in this exact position before, him tied to a chair while she looked ready to kill him. The early days of their relationship had been beyond complicated and it had only grown more complex as time went by.
"Buffy come on, this isn't you. Slaughtering, jumping to murder at the first sign of trouble."
Sighing at his insistence, Buffy pushed away from him making her way over to the bar, pouring herself a shot of tequila "Why do you care Stef?" She asked as she downed the shot before turning to face him "I broke up with you. I screwed Klaus and had a kid with him. Any normal guy would have run."
"You warned me I had to be a little crazy to like you." He reminded her, trying not to smile as he spotted the slight twitch in her jaw at the memory from the night of their first kiss "Plus come on, I can see the similarities. Demon you and Ripper me would probably get along really well."
"Shame I never met him." Buffy hummed flatly as she jumped up onto the counter and let her eyes focus on Stefan.
She needed him to give up.
She couldn't be focused on keeping her daughter safe with his little group of friends trying to get her back to normal and messing with her every move.
"You sure your attachment to me isn't just because I am the one girl you have loved who would never screw Damon?" She gagged at even the prospect of it "I mean given how many times you two have shared partners, it's gonna be nice knowing that I would rather slit my own throat than go there."
Stefan bit the inside of his cheek at her comment before rolling his eyes "I love you, you know that."
"Maybe you shouldn't."
"I don't get a choice in that."
The pointed tone in his voice had her faltering for a second as he threw her own words from years ago back at her. The words she had said when they had broken up after Katherine compelled Jenna to stab herself.
Downing another shot, she jumped off the bar and started pouring the tequila over the corpses one by one causing Stefan to tense up in his chair as he watched her.
If she set him on fire he was going to be really pissed.
"Buffy, I am trying to help you before you take this too far. Klaus encouraging this is going to make it worse. What happens one day when you regain control over your demon side? What happens when you remember the faces of everyone you killed? You have to live with that for eternity! Killing Warren and Connor crushed you and you killed them for a reason! The longer you keep going, the less about Joy this will be."
Her eyes flashed black and before Stefan could blink she punched him in the face sending him crashing to the ground, the chair shattering under him.
Bringing up Joy had sent her over the edge.
"You should have stayed away!" She yelled as she launched herself at him, tossing him across the room causing him to crash into the bar, bottles shattering around him as he hit the ground with a thud.
The walls around her were shaking.
Anger cursed threw her brain as he tried to claw at those little points in her, trying to drill into the part of her buried deep down under darkness.
Warren she had killed for Elena.
Connor she had killed for Jeremy and Joy.
She didn't want to talk about that!
She didn't care anymore!
Stefan clenched his jaw as he climbed back up to his feet only to quickly duck as she launched the broken pieces of wood from the chair at him, empaling the wall behind him with deadly accuracy.
Leaping out of the way of another incoming stake, he rushed forward and tackled her to the ground, the two of them rolling across the blood-soaked floor.
"You didn't turn it off!" Stefan reminded her as he quickly blocked her fist and twirled her into his arms so that her back was pressed against his chest "You are just burying it all. All that grief, all the guilt, all the pain, but the longer you suppress it the more damage you will do. It could make you nullified for the rest of your eternity, never truly able to feel anything. No love, no happiness, no joy. Nothing but static...you have to start letting it in."
Buffy growled before she slammed her head back, shattering his nose with her skull before pressing her foot against the wall and pushing, sending both of them crashing into another wall.
As he lost his grip on her, Buffy spun around and slammed him up to the wall by the throat "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
"Yes." He hissed as he ripped a wooden pillar out of the wall and slammed it across her face sending her stumbling back, releasing her hold on his throat "I am talking to Buffy Anne Summers. Beloved sister, devoted friend-"
Her body started shaking as she slammed her foot into his face sending him flying again "I'm gonna break your jaw, let you choke on your teeth!"
He did not get to use her headstone against her!
To try and get her to give a crap.
Climbing back up to his feet, Stefan quickly jumped out of the way as she swung a broken glass bottle at his face only to let out a growl as she stabbed it right into his chest, digging the glass into his flesh.
Gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain and slammed her up against the wall "She saved the world a lot."
Buffy just growled, "I'm retired." She hissed before launching him up sending him crashing into the ceiling. Leaping up as his body started to fall, she timed it perfectly and sent a sharp kick to his chest, sending him crashing right through the window and out into the road just outside the bar.
Grabbing a lighter out of the dead hunter's jacket she let the flame appear from dumping it onto his body. The flames quickly started to grow, the orange glow illuminating the room as the bar was slowly filled with the stench of burning flesh and alcohol.
Stepping out into the bar, Buffy glanced down at the blood-soaked Stefan on the road, who was trying to peel the last shard of glass out of his shoulder.
Spotting a blonde blur rushing forward, Buffy kept her eyes glued to Stefan as her hand shot up and she grabbed Caroline by the throat. Without hesitation, she snapped her neck like a twig before tossing her dead form at Stefan.
"If I see your face again, vampire healing won't fix what I do to you." She warned before stepping over him and disappearing into the darkness.
Nothing but the dead and fire in her wake.
**
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
Stroking Joy's head softly as she clutched the little girl to her chest, Buffy focused on the warmth holding her child summoned within her.
This was the only warmth she wanted.
Everything else leads to nothing but pointless death and hurt.
Buffy was done being hurt.
A month!
That was all the time these people had given her of peace! A month and now they wanted her to go right back to the same old routine. A routine that left her constantly losing everything she loved, and getting hurt over and over again. A routine that had destroyed her and left her heart desolate.
These people knew what to say, how to dig at the ice currently keeping her from cracking. She needed the ice and the darkness, it was the only thing keeping her knees from buckling under the pressure she was being expected to return to. If she turned her demon side off again, how long before someone else died and she was once again left broken?
How long till she was expected to just forgive and forget?
Until she was guilt-tripped and treated like the problem?
Her friends had called her crazy for not wiping out sire lines!
At this rate...she was going to kill each and every one of them. Out of sight out of mind seemed a more fitting fate for them if they continued to try and force her back into that endless circle of grief she had been trapped in for 7 years.
She had been nice!
She had left them out of her chaotic murder spree for a month! She kept it out of Mystic Falls, ensuring that no one else was affected by the trouble she was in.
But it was not enough for them!
She wanted to kill all of them.
Walking down the steps of the mansion, Buffy tried desperately to focus on the small little girl in her arms who was yanking on her hair with her fingers. The perfect little bubble of goodness in her arms that was the only thing keeping her together right now.
Joy was like a cooling system for that murderous rage.
She had been ready to start slaughtering everything in sight when she had gotten back to the mansion only to melt slightly as she spotted the little girl twisting in her crib.
So far, it seemed like Joy had picked up her inability to sleep.
She really hoped Joy wasn't having nightmares already.
Just as she stepped into the dining room, Buffy adjusted the baby in her arms as she quirked a brow at the interrogation that Klaus had been running.
Clearly, he had switched to bribery.
Hayley didn't seem like the type to give in under torture.
Spotting Hayley walking around, eyeing the pieces of art hung up on the walls and Klaus standing by the fireplace, Buffy let out a loud whistle.
"No medieval torture devices were pulled out? Good for your Hayley."
Hayley jumped at the sudden interruption only for her eyes to widen as she spotted a familiar face holding a one-month-old baby in her arms. A baby that was now staring right at her curiously.
There was a brief pause as Hayley examined the two ladies closely.
Once again, that feeling of connection was spreading through her skin the longer she stared at Buffy and Joy. The same feeling she had felt the day Tyler introduced her and Buffy all those months ago.
Given how intensely Hayley was watching her, Buffy automatically narrowed her gaze, clutching Joy tighter to her.
Hanging up his phone, Klaus quickly moved in front of Buffy before she could resort to ripping the wolf's head off "No threat here love. Elijah is on his way to collect her."
Buffy inhaled sharply before focusing on him adjusting Joy in her arms as he placed a hand on her lower back "Did she know where Katherine is?"
Hayley rolled her eyes and purposely raised her hand "Ah she is still here." She reminded the blonde before leaning up against the dining room table that was still littered with fancy food "I don't know where she is. I know she had a contact in New York."
New York.
It was something at least.
"I have a question, how do you live with all this?" Hayley questioned as she gestured to Klaus and all the paintings on the wall "Way too serial killer for me."
Buffy snorted.
She wasn't wrong. Klaus had all black furniture with dark walls in this room and some of his darkest paintings hung up. Some of which she knew for a fact were painted with the blood of his enemies.
The dining room was beyond twisted.
"He likes to pretend he's Dracula. I've met the guy, not a fan."
Klaus sputtered at that, his eyes widening slightly as he stared down at Buffy "You found that pounce? He stole two of my favorite pieces!"
Buffy rolled her eyes only to tense up as she spotted the painting Hayley was staring at intently.
It was one of her watercolor paintings.
Hayley continued to eye the painting closely, her heart hammering as she eyed the mix of bright colors. The painting was so drastically different from everything else in the room and there was something about it...the shapes in the background... almost appeared like the birthmark on her shoulder.
The Crescent Moon.
A mark she knew for a fact Buffy didn't have given that she had seen Buffy in workout gear during that sparing session with Tyler. The only marks she had seen on Buffy were two tattoos. A piece of Vicking script on the back of her neck and a tattoo of two suns.
"This one I like."
"You have good taste." Buffy chimed, her body still unbelievably tense as she kept her eyes glued to Hayley, ready to pounce at any minute "It's mine. Painted it after my dad crocked." She said flatly before turning to Klaus "I lit another bar on fire, they know."
Klaus quirked a brow.
Clearly, her day at Whitmore had not gone to plan.
Clenching his jaw in frustration, Klaus glared up at the ceiling. How were the people in this town able to successfully push her buttons in such a short period of time? For a month they had kept this quiet and in a matter of hours this group had ruined everything.
He seriously needed to get Buffy and Joyce out of this town.
The second he had his hands on The Cure, they were leaving.
"Love, why don't you set Joyce down and I will set up the basement for you."
Buffy shrugged, not wanting to argue with the idea.
Without another word, she adjusted Joy in her arms and left the room, her back still as tense as ever.
Klaus needed to get Hayley out of this house.
Buffy was unsettled and wound up and if she killed Hayley his brother would never shut up about it.
As Buffy vanished, Hayley kept her eyes glued to the direction she had walked off in, her fingers absentmindedly stroking the birthmark on her shoulder.
"Is she okay?" She didn't know why she asked but she felt the need to. She barely knew Buffy, they had met once!
But she wanted to know.
It was driving her crazy!
Klaus clenched his jaw as he glared down at the wolf "That is none of your concern."
Yet, the concern and worry just wouldn't vanish, no matter how much Hayley tried to shove it down "No...I...is she okay? Something..." She had no idea why she was worried but she could feel it in her gut.
Buffy Summers was drowning.
Why the hell did she care?!
The confusion fluttering through her eyes had Klaus momentarily curious and he slowly approached the wolf eyeing her closer, trying to look for any sign of deceit. Yet, she genuinely seemed confused by why she seemed to care about the grieving demon "I wasn't aware you knew her."
He had never seen Buffy speak to Hayley, not once before the reveal of his hybrids being un-sired.
Hayley clutched onto the ends of her hair, her entire body filling with frustration "I don't! I mean...I don't know her really but...somethings wrong...I can feel it."
"Her entire family died in the space of 32 hours, witches slit her throat and ripped her child from her hands intent on killing her." Klaus deadpanned.
Of course, something was wrong!
Anyone who heard the story knew that there was something wrong with Buffy, it was impossible for her to be okay given everything that had happened.
Hayley winced at his words, that sounded like pure utter hell. Maybe not having a family was easier, then it could never be torn away from you, you would never have to experience the pain of losing the people you loved one after the other "Right um...sorry..." Her eyes drifted back over to the painting, shivers rushing down her spine "I'm just...worried-No not worried dammit!"
She barely knew Buffy!
Just because they shared a friend in Oz didn't make them friends!
She had no reason to care about Buffy Summers like this. While she could be sympathetic given what the girl had been through, the feeling in her chest was more intense. When she looked at the suffering around Buffy, it felt like she had lost her own limb. Her body wanted to scream at the hurt this girl was experiencing.
"It's a wolf thing I think-" She muttered before growling "Which might not even be a thing. Okay, I need to get out of here. I'll wait for Elijah outside."
The second she tried to rush to the door, Klaus was in front of her, his eyes swimming with a mixture of different emotions "My daughter." He said suddenly causing her to freeze, staring up at his now very serious face in confusion "Did you sense it around her too?"
Hayley clenched her her jaw before letting out a huff of frustration "More." She admitted. The second she had seen the innocent little girl, she had felt of wave of protectiveness in her heart, something she didn't quite understand "Why?"
He knew something.
It was all over his face.
Klaus clicked his jaw as a million different possibilities started to drift through his mind. Buffy's father had been adopted and his adoption records had been burned in a fire, leaving no trail of his birth family.
But it made no sense.
Even if Hank had carried the gene, Buffy would have triggered it by now. While being the Slayer meant she couldn't be a werewolf or a vampire like him, she still would have felt an intense pain the second the gene was triggered. The werewolf gene literally being burned out of her system by demonic energy.
There was something about the history of Hank Summers they were clearly missing.
Hank hadn't been a werewolf. He knew that for a fact, the man had been a complete human, not a spec of supernatural in his blood.
"Because it appears, that Buffy's arse of a father may have been keeping more than a few secrets. A mystery for another time."
**
Joyce was finally asleep.
Allowing Buffy's mind to drift to the problem at hand.
AKA: Katherine Pierce.
Katherine had The Cure and was determined to shove it down Klaus's throat, which in no way was she going to let happen. They needed to find the doppelgänger, rip the cure from her hands then probably rip her head off or tear her heart out.
Something poetic like that.
As long as it was painful, Buffy didn't much care how Katherine died.
Walking into the study, Buffy grinned down at her phone as she leaned in the doorway "Damon is headed to New York, he has a lead on Katherine. That vamp you bit apparently was her go-to passport guy."
Glancing up from his sketchbook, Klaus quirked a curious brow as Buffy circled around his desk and jumped up, getting herself comfortable "And how do you know that love?"
Biting her lip, Buffy tossed him her phone causing a small chuckle to escape him as he read the endless text messages that had been filling her in on all the happenings with Stefan and Damon's search for The Cure. A cure which after today and her demonstration to get them to back off, they would just be more determined to shove down her throat.
"Now how did you get this?" He teased as he wrapped his hands around her ankle, yanking her off the desk so that she was positioned on his lap, her legs resting on either side of his hips.
"I compelled Caroline to tell whatever she overhears." Buffy chimed playfully a small moan escaping her as Klaus's hands tightened on her hips, pulling her tighter against his chest as her thighs tightened around him, her skin heating up as he slowly and tortuously started moving his hands under her shirt "No memory what's so ever."
Caroline of all people should be drinking vervain.
Yet, still, she wasn't.
It was stupid, but right now for Buffy and Klaus, it was useful.
It was safe to say, that Klaus was finding this demonic side of Buffy all the more intriguing by the second "We need to get The Cure first."
Buffy just hummed as his hands moved again, this time slipping her skirt causing her to gasp as she felt his fingers moving closer and closer to where she desperately needed them right now "And how do we do that? We can't leave Joy-"
A loud moan escaped her lips, her nails digging into his shoulders causing a bright smirk to graze Klaus's lips as she pressed herself against him, rocking back and forth in his lap her breathing growing more panted by the second.
He did love the way she would fall apart in his arms. Screaming, writhing, and begging for more.
"You my love, are going to highjack Damon's trip."
In less than a second Buffy slapped her hand to his mouth, silencing him "Don't call me your love." She warned her eyes narrowing dangerously.
This was not emotional!
This was simple release, if he was thinking she was suddenly going to turn around and get all emotional with him he was dead wrong "If you are reading more into this-"
"Rest assured camena, I am simply enjoying the ride." He promised as he yanked her closer, frantically pressing his lips against hers before moving his hands out from under her shirt causing a small huff of protest to escape her.
He could not get her wound up and not finish the job!
It was cruel!
Luckily that wasn't what Klaus was planning to do. In the blink of an eye, he had hauled her up onto the desk and had ripped her shirt clean off.
As her shoes were tossed to the ground and she started pulling his shirt out of his trousers, Buffy quirked a teasing brow up at the hybrid whose eyes were darkening with every movement she made "Highjack his trip? Are you asking me to seduce Damon-"
Klaus slammed her back down onto the desk, pinning her roughly beneath him, kissing her frantically as he pushed her skirt up so it was around her waist, giving him the perfect position to gain access to her. Just the idea of her seducing Damon to find out where Katherine was had him ready to tear Damon apart as a primal urge spread through his body.
An urge that was yelling at him to get her screaming his name before she left for New York.
Buffy let out a sharp gasp as Klaus positioned himself on top of her his belt buckle already undone.
Grinning up at him she quickly started unbuttoning his jeans only to let out a small squeal as he stopped her.
Pushing up onto her elbows, she raised an eyebrow as he moved down her body, his tongue moving along her stomach lower and lower which had her whimpering as her head pressed back against the hardwood of his desk.
"What I am saying is..." He breathed huskily as he started kissing and sucking on her left thigh causing her fingers to latch around the desk, cracking the wood as her chest heaved up and down in desperation "Your face is less known in New York. If I step foot in that city every vampire will know I'm there. You, however-"
Her legs circled around his neck as he yanked her to the edge of the table "Incognito.." She stuttered a small scream escaping her as he disappeared between her legs.
It was safe to say a thousand years of experience made him an expert at getting a girl to scream his name.
"Klaus..." She moaned, clutching onto the table desperately "Find out what Damon knows, destroy the Cure. Got it. Oh god! YES! OH GOD! YES!!"
Grinning ear to ear, Klaus moved back on top of her his teeth biting into the flesh of her neck causing her to scream and pant into his ear as she felt his skin pinching at her soft flesh, almost drawing blood.
It was such an intense feeling.
At this rate, she was half a second away from letting him actually drink from her given how amazing everything felt.
Growing more impatient and desperate by the second, her hands automatically started yanking down his trousers impatiently "In a rush love?"
"Shut up." She growled before slamming her lips to his.
**
Stepping out of the Boarding house toward his car, Damon froze as he spotted a familiar face leaning against the hood of his car, her eyes focused on the star-filled sky above them.
The girl who had disappeared after leaving his brother to deal with the fallout of the people she had murdered at the bar in Whitmore.
Buffy.
"Evil-Buffster, must say demon is a good look on you." His eyes scanned the red leather corset top and tight dark jeans shorts leaving her legs exposed. Despite the fact Buffy was on the shorter end of the spectrum, her legs seemed impossibly long for her body sometimes.
Buffy chuckled as she finally glanced over at him "Stef fill you in on our chat?"
Damon shrugged as he slowly approached her, watching her skeptically. After what she had done to Stefan, Caroline, and all those people in Whitmore, it was hard to work out what was going on in her head. She was definitely unpredictable right now and as much as he would deny it to Stefan...it was kind of fun to watch Buffy be so carefree.
She was acting more like him.
"You mean you threatening to ruin his pretty face? Big time."
"You almost sound impressed."
Damon snorted "More surprised it took you this long to finally let the hero complex go for a while."
Twisting the curly black strands of her hair, Buffy chuckled as she glanced over at him "I played happy and emotional. It wasn't enough for them all. So fine, I give. What's the point of being good? Being a hero got me killed. Three times."
Damon couldn't argue with that statement.
Saving the world and protecting the innocent had done nothing but screw Buffy over.
"Not that this little chat isn't fun Bubbles, but what are you doing here?"
"You're going to New York." She shrugged before moving off the hood of his car and circling to the passenger's side. When Damon didn't move she just grinned playfully "Come on, it was my birthday and Klaus has Joy." The idea of leaving Joy for a few days made her sick to her stomach, but she needed to get her hands on The Cure and destroy it before anyone could use it against her or Klaus "I could use some fun with my friend. The one least likely to judge me for taking a well-deserved break."
Given that he wasn't a fan of how Stefan went about things today, Damon just grinned and twirled his car keys between his fingers.
Stefan had gone the serious route, whereas his idea was the fun route.
Stefan's plan had failed epically so he had no problem giving his way a go. Plus, it would be so hilarious if his idea of fun got her back to normal first. He would be able to hold that over Stefan's head for decades.
Plus, if he got her out of town, at least Buffy wouldn't retort to just killing his brother to get him to back off.
"Get it, Buff, guess we're going on a road trip."