Alaric Saltzman

A lot of things can happen in one night. Alaric died, I sold my house, and I'm moving in with Jeremy and Elena.

The three of us were painting the room Alaric would stay in if he ever slept there. The color was a light green and we're going with a darker green. I dipped my paint brush in the tray when Stefan walked in.

"Going darker, huh?" He asked.

"It's the only color we had." Elena answered.

"That's what happens when you decide to paint your dead guardian's room in the middle of the night." Jeremy said.

"I don't suppose anyone tried to talk you guys out of doing this... so soon." Stefan said.

"We have to keep moving. Otherwise we'll start thinking, and we don't want to think." I told him.

"You want a hand?" Stefan asked.

"So are you two, like, back together or something?" Jeremy asked.

"What? No, Jer, we're just—"

"I was just checking up on you guys, seeing how you were doing. After, uh... after everything." Stefan replied.

"We're fine. But, if you are trying to be the good guy again, why don't you do the right thing and give us one day. Just one day without any vampires, besides Ellie, in it." Jeremy told him with anger then left the room.

"He didn't mean that." Elena told Stefan.

"Yea... yea, he did."

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it." I said. I set my brush down and went downstairs to open the door and Stefan followed.

When I opened the door I saw Damon and Bonnie. Bonnie was still in her dress from last night and had bite marks, with blood, on her neck.

"We have a problem." Damon said.

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"Alaric's alive. He turned." Damon told us as the four of us were in the kitchen and Bonnie held a cloth up to her neck.

"What do you mean, he turned? I thought you were standing guard." Stefan said.

Alaric's alive? I felt my breathing become heavier.

"Don't blame me! Blame Bonnie the blood bank. She fed him." Damon whined.

"I had no idea what was happening. Okay, the witches led me there. They wanted him to feed so he'd turn." Bonnie explained.

"So, where's the stake now?" Stefan asked.

"Oh, you mean the hire oak one? The one that can kill an original and wipe out an entire line of vampires? We don't know." Damon said giving a glare to Bonnie.

"If you are so upset with me, why did you feed me your blood to save my life?" Bonnie asked.

"Because I do stupid things, Bonnie. I do things, like let my friend die with dignity when I should have just killed him." Damon said upset.

"Alright, so how do we kill him now?" Stefan asked.

"We're not killing him." I said.

They all looked at me. "Ellie, it's his dark side. It's not him." Damon told me and I just stayed quiet.

"A witch can't truly make an immortal creature. There's always a way to undo a spell." Bonnie said.

"So? What's the witchy workaround?" Damon asked Bonnie.

"That's the problem. I don't know."

The doorbell rang and Jeremy opened it.

"What the hell do you want?" We heard him say. We walked over to the door and saw that it was Klaus.

"Now is that any way to treat a guest?" He asked.

"What are you doing here, Klaus?" Stefan asked.

"Well, for starters, young Jeremy here could show me some manners and invite me inside." Klaus answered.

"Why don't you go up to your room." Stefan suggested to Jeremy.

"Now." Damon told him.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and listened.

"Hmm. Poor lad. Loses one questionable father figure only to be replaced by the likes of the two of you." Klaus commented.

"Yea, about that. Something happened." Damon said.

"Oh, I know all about my mothers invulnerable little creation. That's why I'm here. I'm leaving town. I just need to pick up a few road trip necessities. Spare tire, flashlight... the doppelgänger and banshee." Klaus said and looked at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Can't help you there." Damon said. He pulled me away from the door then closed it.

"What does he need with me?" I asked them and they shrugged.

Stefan went upstairs to look for Elena. A few seconds later he came back down.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She's not here." Stefan answered.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.

"Klaus wants in." Damon said looking out the window. "We have to keep him out." Damon looked out the window again. "Duck!" He yelled. He pushed me to the ground and something cane flying in through the window he was lookin out of.

"Think you're probably going to want to let me in!" Klaus yelled from outside.

We got up and rushed to the kitchen.

"Elena's car is gone." Stefan said looking out of the kitchen window.

"Why wouldn't she tell anyone where she was going?" Bonnie asked.

The door flew open and a soccer ball came flying in. Klaus came to the door with two pieces of a wooden fence and threw it at Damon. He ducked in time.

"Get down!" Stefan yelled. Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan and I all ducked under a counter.

"Missed me." Damon said. He took the wooden fence, that was once in the wall, and threw it back at Klaus.

Klaus then threw another piece, which hit a picture frame. Then, a phone rang.

"Alaric." Stefan said answering it.

Klaus came to the door with a newspaper on fire.

"Put it out." Stefan told him.

"Come out and make me." Klaus said.

Stefan walked out. "Elena's not here. Alaric has her and Caroline. He's going to kill them both unless you turn yourself over to him." Stefan explained.

Klaus three the newspaper to the ground, in anger, causing the fire to go out. "Now I now you're not asking me to walk into a certain death."

Stefan chuckled. "I really wish we could. But unfortunately, if Alaric kills you, there's a 1/4 chance that we die, too."

"I'll take those odds." Damon said.

"And a 100% chance that Tyler and Ellie die." Stefan said. "Why don't we just figure out a way to put Alaric down, hmm?"

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"Okay. How about Damon sneaks in and distracts Alaric while Stefan grabs Elena and carries her to safety." Klaus suggested.

"Oh, that's a great idea. What's to stop me from being killed instantly?" Damon asked.

"Nothing."

"Caroline's in there. Don't you have a thing for her, or did she just reject you too many times?" Damon smirked.

"This isn't really helping too much." I told them.

"I might have an idea." Bonnie said. "My mom uses a desiccation spell on Mikael that immobilized him for over fifteen years. If I can get it, I might be able to use it on Alaric."

"If and might. Your words inspire such confidence." Klaus told her.

"I'll get it. But even with the spell, we'll need a lot of vampire muscle to take him down. Including yours." Bonnie said to Klaus.

"Just so we're clear. The sun sets in about eight hours. We don't succeed before then, Elena will be dead, I'll be gone with Ellie, and the rest of you will be left to fend for yourselves." Klaus told us.

"What do you want with Ellie?" Damon asked.

Klaus smirked. "You see, when the sacrifice happened, it linked my her life with mine. So, if she dies, then so do I. That's why I'll take her. She'll be safe under my protection."

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All of us were at the school. Bonnie's mom gave her the spell and we found out that Elena and Caroline are in Alaric's classroom.

"Drink this." Bonnie said handing me a bottle filled with blood. "It's my blood. It bridges us all together. So that when I stop Jeremy's heart, you'll have the power to stop Alaric's. You need to make a physical connection to his bloodstream— a vein, artery, something connected to his heart." Bonnie explained.

I opened the lid and took a sip before passing it to Damon.

"One of us gets a clean shot, take it, the other three hold him down." Stefan told us then took a sip and passed it to Klaus.

"Before we all walk through these doors, let's get on the same page, shall we? I was the one who created your vampire bloodline. Therefore I am responsible for your lives. And Tyler's life, Caroline's life, and, of course Abby's life." Klaus said looking at Bonnie. "Should anything fo wrong."

"Or you're just lying to save your ass." Damon said.

"I'm not lying. Go ahead, call my bluff. Let the teacher kill me. You'll all be dead soon thereafter." Klaus smirked then took a sip.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Stefan asked and started to walk inside the school.

"Be careful." I told Jeremy and Bonnie.

"You too." Jeremy said before I followed them into the school.

When we got in, Stefan and Damon grabbed Alaric's arms, holding him back. I froze, looking at Alaric. I can't believe he's alive.

"Ellie, now!" Damon told me.

I hesitated before I placed my hand on Alaric's heart. Alaric was strong. He pushed Stefan off, breaking his neck, then doing the same thing with Damon and I.

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I slowly opened my eyes and groaned. I tried to bring my hands up to my neck but they were stuck. I felt my wrists burning. I let out a groan as I realized my wrists were tied with vervain ropes. I looked around me and saw Elena tied up to a chair with her blood being drawn.

"Elena?" I asked. "Where are we?"

"Klaus took us." She answered. "He's draining me of all my blood."

Tyler came in the room and started to untie Elena as I was trying to get the ropes off of me.

"So much for that sire bond." Klaus said.

"I'm not your little bitch anymore." Tyler told him.

"How did you break the sire bond?" Klaus asked walking towards him."

I pulled my arms apart and I felt the ropes slide off.

"By breaking every bone in my body a hundred times for the girl I love."

"That's impossible." Klaus whispered.

"Is it? Or maybe really love is stronger than fake loyalty. But what would you know about that?" Tyler asked.

"You know, you should be thanking me. I gave you a gift, I took away your misery."

"You didn't give a crap about me!" Tyler yelled. "You just didn't want to be alone." Tyler got up and walked over to Elena and helped her up.

I stood up and Klaus pushed Tyler against the wall, causing Elena to fall and hit her head on the corner. I rushed towards her and helped her up.

Tyler and Damon held Klaus behind while Stefan had his hand on Klaus' heart. Klaus let out a scream. His heart started to beat faster. After a few seconds it slowed down and his skin started to turn gray with his veins popping out.

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Elena and I walked into our house and into the kitchen. Then we saw all our friends with snacks and alcohol.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked. Elena and I had a smile on our faces.

"Welcome to our victory party!" Caroline smiled.

"What victory? We failed. Alaric's still out there." Elena said.

"We know. But we've been trying to get rid of Klaus forever and Caroline convinced us to enjoy it for a night." Bonnie said.

"Got to be honest— I'm a little pissed none of you let me take down original brother number two." Matt said.

"Yea, he would have taken you right down to the hospital, bro." Tyler said and we all laughed.

"Please, I'm more stealth thank that. I'm like a ninja."

"You wish." Jeremy told Matt.

I held my hand out and Tyler poured some salt on it.

"Alright let's drink." Caroline told us.

"Hang on." Tyler stopped us. "Do you guys hear that?" He asked. We all gave each other confused looks. "That is the sound of a Klaus-free life."

We all laughed and held our glasses up.

"To a Klaus-free life. And to all of you; my family." Elena said.

"Cheers!" We all shouted and took our shots.

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