The Vampire Diaries
Season 2: Episode 22
As I Lay Dying
The screen lights up and the first scene that everyone sees is Klaus waking up on the forest floor, naked.
"Ok, woah! No need to EVER be seeing that." Damon was the one to speak up but the rest of the Mystic Falls gang seemed to agree with him. On the other side of the room the Originals just rolled their eyes. However, one person did react differently than the rest. Åse shot a subtle up-and-down look towards her husband who, in return, just rolled his eyes at her playfully.
As the screen keep playing we see clothes being thrown at Klaus' lying body.
"You've been busy." Elijah is seen speaking up from his spot against a nearby tree. "That was amazing." Is all Klaus can say in return. Klaus starts to get up and dress himself while keeping conversation with his brother. "How long has it been?" "Almost two days," Elijah gives it a few seconds for the information to sink in before he continues. "Full moon came and went. You remained a wolf."
This seemed to shock everyone in the room except for a select few. The Scooby Doo Gang seemed to be stuck in a state of horror. Upon some realizations they silently came to the conclusion that everything about Elijah's story about Klaus being a hybrid was devastatingly true. All of them were so stuck on the fact that there was now a hybrid amongst them that they completely forgot about the mystery woman on the other side of the room.
On the Originals side everyone, except Elijah and Åse, was looking to Klaus with the same expectant expressions. Klaus took a quick glance at all of them and answered shortly, "Yes, I broke mother's curse. I am now the Original Hybrid."
All the siblings were shocked into silence. They were quiet for so long that the screen started playing once again.
On-screen Klaus was buckling his pants as he spoke, "I can change at will then." He then looked to his brother with smirk on his face, "It's good to know." "I remember every single kill." Klaus speaks with complete satisfaction in his voice. "Yes, I've been cleaning up your little mess along the way."
Åse snorts quietly to herself at this. Klaus looks to her with a quirked eyebrow and she just playfully rolls her eyes while discreetly tapping her temple. "I was watching from the background the whole time darling. Don't think I would miss any part of your curse-breaking for the world." Klaus sends her a sweet smile as he grabs one of her hands and gently caresses a thumb over her knuckles.
Klaus looks to Elijah with a teasing smirk, "Just like old times brother." Elijah's demeanor quickly turns serious, "You've had your fun. I believe we have a bargain." Still teasing, Klaus moves to put on his shoes while he says, "That's right. Now, what was it again?" Elijah just gives his brother a look that screams "just get this over with already." "Oh, yeah. Wait. I remember. That's it. You wish to be reunited with our family."
Surprisingly, someone from the Mystic Falls side decided to speak up about this. Caroline asked, "Why does it feel like he's saying the truth but at the same time not?" For a few seconds no one responds to the young blonde vampire. When it seemed that nobody was going to answer the question Rebekah spoke up, "That's because Nik has a certain way with words. He can speak just the right way so that there is an undetectable loophole. Unless you've known him for as long as we have, and even then there's exceptions, you wouldn't be able to figure it out." The Original sister spoke without emotion, but if you looked in her eyes you would see the hurricane of feelings she was hiding.
Elijah is dusting off a jacket with his eyes averted from his brother as he speaks, "You gave me your word, Niklaus." "What kind of brother would break his bond?"
This question gained several snorts from both sides of the room. The Salvatore brothers were looking at anything but each other and the Mikaelson siblings seemed to be in the same predicament. However, Klaus sat slightly less tense because he felt Åse quickly squeeze his hand in reassurance.
Klaus looks back at his brother as he is putting on his shirt and says, "Even though you did try to kill me." Elijah doesn't give much of a reaction to this but he does falter, just slightly, before he starts to speak again. "I could have. But I didn't."
Åse rolls her eyes at on-screen Elijah. She knows that Elijah could never truly kill Nik. Yes, they will get angry at each other, furious even, but none of the Original siblings would want to see the others die.
Finally dressed, Klaus speaks quietly while taking a quick glance behind him at his older brother, "And now no one can, not even you." Klaus takes a few seconds to turn around so he can properly look at Elijah. He looks right in his eyes as he says, "Relax, Elijah. All is forgiven." "Where are they?" Elijah asks, referring to the rest of the Original family. "You need to lighten up." Klaus says as he pats Elijah's bicep, "I'll bring you to them soon enough." Klaus then starts to walk away so that the brothers can find an exit from the woods.
His attempt to leave comes to a screeching halt with Elijah's next words, "Where is she by the way? I know that the two of you are never truly separated. Where one of you is the other is bound to be there as well." The older Original spoke calmly, but if you looked in his eyes you could see the slight fear he held as he thought about what the consequences of his actions would be with a certain special someone to Klaus.
"Oh, you know," Klaus casually began as he turned slightly to smirk at his brother, "I'm sure she'll turn up soon. She did always have a flare for the dramatics." Klaus turned his gaze to the forest floor as a small genuine smile took over his features. When he looked up again he had a smirk worthy of the devil painted on his lips. "I'm also quite sure that when she does show up a certain retribution will be in order. Don't you think Elijah?" The hybrid then turned away once again and continued his trek out of the woods.
Elijah, however, was rooted to his spot for a few more seconds. The screen zoomed in to look at his face and it was clear as day that he held slight fear and possibly even regret in his eyes. It was obvious that whoever this "she" was had enough influence to even scare an Original vampire.
The last conversation between the brothers seemed to strike a chord within the Mystic Falls residents.
It was Damon who ended up voicing the question that all of them seemed to be thinking, "Who the hell is the 'she' you two were talking about?" The Originals all seemed to share the same thought through their quick glances, and it was Elijah who spoke up on their behalf, "Someone that you do not want to get on the bad side of. She is just as brutal as Niklaus if not worse."
While he knew he kept his explanation short he couldn't care less. He and every other Original knew that the woman they were all speaking of was currently in the room and only a few seats away. Elijah knows that the only reason he hasn't been attacked for nearly killing her husband was because she wanted to remain anonymous for as long as possible. He was eternally grateful for that fact.
While Elijah's explanation wasn't much, it did give the Scooby Gang enough to keep them quiet. They all figured that since this mystery woman seemed to be important enough to Klaus and could scare Elijah that they will eventually see her on-screen.
The next scene shown is Stefan quietly walking into Alaric's apartment. He sees Katherine who immediately speaks up.
"Two days, I've been waiting. I'm supposed to be free of Klaus' compulsion by now. He's supposed to be dead."
Simultaneously, Åse and Klaus clench the armrests of their seats to the point that their knuckles turn white. They both hate Katherine with such a burning passion that they would very much like to see her head separated from her body. To make matters worse, the vampire doppelgänger was speaking very freely about wanting Klaus to be dead. At this point Åse wanted to pulverize the bitch.
Stefan, seeing Katherine's anger, speaks up quickly, "We ran into complications." "Complications?" Katherine fires back. Stefan dismisses her question as he looks her in the eye, "Doesn't really matter. I just need to find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?"
Katherine seemingly hears something that Stefan doesn't because she grabs the younger vampire by the neck and speeds him into a nearby wall. She keeps a tight grip on him while holding a finger to her lips and uttering a quick, "Shh."
The door is heard opening and Katherine chooses to speak up, "Klaus, you're back." She steps out from behind the wall and pulls Stefan with her while saying, "Look who decided to come for a visit." Klaus looks straight at Stefan as Elijah is seen behind him closing the door. "You just keep popping up don't you?" Stefan takes a second to gather himself for what he is about to ask. When he speaks he makes what should be an innocent statement, "I need your help... for my brother."
Klaus has no change in facial expressions as he responds, "Well, whatever it is, he's gonna have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention." As he finishes speaking the hybrid walks off to the side and picks something up off the nearby counter.
Elijah decides to speak up towards Stefan as Klaus walks away, "You understand how important family is, or you wouldn't be here. My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own." Klaus is not seen but he can be heard speaking from behind Elijah, "And so I shall." As fast as he can Elijah turns around only to be met with a dagger straight to the heart. The older Original screams out in pain as he is stabbed. Klaus only drives the dagger deeper while keeping a blank look on his face. Once Elijah starts to desiccate and fall to the ground, his brother gently shushes him before letting him fall completely.
The entire theater is quiet after watching the two Originals. On one side the Scooby Gang is horrified at how blank Klaus looked while he was essentially killing his brother. On the other hand, the Originals themselves, bar Åse and Klaus, all wore scowls or faces of true anger at the sight of one of the daggers being used.
Åse tries to comfort her husband as much as she can at the moment. She knew how hard it was on Nik to keep daggering his siblings. She also knows that the real reason he does it is to keep them all protected. That was all he ever wanted. To keep his family protected from the very real danger that could pop up when they least expect it.
Katherine and Stefan can only watch as Elijah falls to the floor motionless. Klaus looks at his brother on the floor for a couple seconds before he quickly looks up and then speeds Stefan into the nearby wall and holding by his throat. He whispers to Stefan as he keeps his hold tight, "Now, what am I gonna do with you?"
The screen transitions to show that a small amount of time has passed but the next clear image seen is Stefan getting stabbed in the chest with a wooden stake.
Stefan is hunched over, only standing because Klaus is holding him up, and groaning in pain as Klaus starts to talk. "Do you feel that? It's scraping against your heart. The slightest little movement, and your dead." The hybrid is shown with a smirk on his face as he holds the stake firm. At hearing Stefans groans of pain Katherine decides to speak up for the younger vampire, "He's just trying to help his brother." Stefan takes this as an opportunity to interject, "The witches said you had a cure. Make me a deal. Just give me the cure, and I'll do whatever you want."
Stefan's bold statement caused an uprising on the Mystic Falls side of the room. There were multiple loud "WHAT?!" and "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" coming from every single one of them. On the Originals side, they weren't making any loud exclamations or anything of that nature but most of them did sport matching looks of disbelief. They couldn't imagine being so willing to strike a deal with Klaus.
The only two who weren't reacting negatively were Klaus and Åse. They were wearing neutral facial expressions but that was mainly because they were trying to hide the fact that they were conversing through their heads.
Åse had been the one to reach out to Klaus first, "I know we trusted him in the 20s Nik, but he's changed now. We both know that the doppelgänger should have died in that sacrifice, yet we quite literally saw her walking around alive. I don't trust him." Klaus took a few seconds to ponder over his wife's words. He knew she was right, of course she was. The evidence was right there in front of him. It just hurt him because he knew he had lost a friend that he had come to think of as a brother. "Yes love, I believe you are correct in your assumption to not trust him." Åse could hear the saddened tone in her husbands voice even if they weren't speaking aloud. She held Klaus' hand as she responds, "Others will come my love. It does not do well to dwell on those who can be considered a traitor." Klaus lets a small smile grace his lips at his wife's words. He knows that only she would be the one to comfort him in this type of situation, and he loves her all the more for it.
Klaus looks at Stefan blankly for a second or two before he decides to remove the wooden stake. He doesn't look back as he moves into the kitchen to pick up a glass and a bag of blood. The blood bag is then opened and poured into the glass as Klaus says, "Trouble is I don't know if you'd be any good to me... the way you are now. You are just shy of useless." Klaus is still yet to turn around but he looks up from his pouring and takes a drink of the blood with what can only be described as a look promising pain in his eyes.
The hybrid brings his glass of blood and moves to Stefan who is sat on the floor and still in pain from being staked. Klaus crouches to Stefan's level before he starts to speak, "I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterey and wiped out an entire migrant village... a true Ripper. Sound familiar?"
The entire time Klaus had been talking Stefan just wanted to avoid eye contact as much as possible. He didn't want to relieve those days. Even Katherine had been looking warily between the two men in the room.
Stefan finally looks up from his spot on the floor, "I haven't been that way in a very long time." Klaus' response is rather simple, "Well that's the vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town."
To say that the Scooby Gang was worried for Stefan would be the understatement of the century. All of them were very much freaking out, some definitely more than others, about the possibility of Ripper Stefan coming out to play once again.
Klaus just watches as Stefan stands up from the floor. He then silently decides on something and calls out, "Katerina, come here." With nothing to do except listen and do as told Katherine moves forward to Klaus' now outstretched hand. The second her hand was placed in his Klaus brings his mouth to her wrist and bites. Katherine, obviously in pain, keeps repeating, "No, no, no, no, no," under her breath. As Stefan is stood by watching he sees Klaus bite his own wrist. He watches in curiosity and confusion as Klaus force feeds Katherine his blood. After a couple seconds both Katherine and Stefan watch as the hybrids bite heals. "You want your cure? There it is."
Stefan has a very clear look of realization on his face as he says, "Your blood is the cure." Klaus just looks at Stefan with a smirk, "Gotta love Mother Nature." He then grabs Stefan by the shoulder and guides him to the kitchen counter, "Now... let's talk you and I."
Grabbing a knife Klaus cuts his palm and lets the blood drip into a vial he set on the counter. "There it is. You want to save your brother? How 'bout a decade long bender?" Stefan stays quiet while staring at the vial of blood so Klaus takes this as his queue to keep talking. "And I have big plans for you when we leave this town." The younger vampire tries once more to defend against becoming the Ripper again, "I'm not like that anymore." Sighing, Klaus says, "Well, that's too bad. You would have made one hell of a wingman." Before Klaus can continue his movements his feels a pinch in his head that he briefly shuts his eyes at. It was gone just as quick as it came so it wasn't noticeable to those on-screen.
However, those off screen noticed. The culprit was trying not to laugh at what she had done but she almost couldn't help it. Klaus looked over to his wife with an eyebrow raised due to seeing the amused smirk on her face. Keeping her same expression, Åse spoke through their mind link, "I don't know what you're looking at me like that for. You deserved it. 'Wingman.' What could you possibly need a 'wingman' for?" Klaus only glared at her with no heat behind it before saying, "I'm sure it was supposed to be meant as an expression, love."
Klaus mutters so quietly that even the vampires that are around him don't hear, "Yeah, yeah, always watching. I get it, love."
This small tidbit also didn't go unnoticed. The residents of Mystic Falls were all very confused. They were honestly hoping that it was some kind of weakness that could be exposed so that Klaus could be taken down. What they didn't realize through all of their plotting though was one woman reading their minds and getting increasingly more angry every time one of them thought about killing her husband.
Coming out of his own thoughts Klaus holds the vial of his blood over the sink and starts to pour it out. Stefan barely waits a second before a whispers out a desperate "Wait." Klaus immediately stops pouring out the blood and says, "Now that's more like it."
The hybrid picks up a nearby blood bag and slides it across the counter towards Stefan. "I want you to join me for a drink." As Klaus grabs his glass Stefan hesitatingly opens up the bag of blood. Both men take a sip of the blood, but as Stefan looks like he is going to put his down Klaus stops him with a stern command, "Finish it. All of it." Klaus sees Stefan's hesitation. So, without looking at him he lays out terms loud and clear, "You do everything I say, and I save your brother. That's the deal." Stefan, not seeing any other option, brings the blood bag up to his lips and quickly downs all of its contents. The empty bag is tossed aside and Stefan is staring at Klaus who looks like he slightly approves. With a smirk crawling its way onto his face Klaus slides over another blood bag and says, "Again."
The next scene flashes on and shows Stefan still at the kitchen counter. Only this time the front of his shirt is drenched in blood and he is still drinking from bags of blood. The screen flashes once more and then stops to show Stefan. This time he looks much worse. He is crouched on the floor draining the blood bags quicker than ever and his chin is now also dripping in blood. The young vampire is quickly losing control.
Klaus is standing in front of Stefan a few steps away holding yet another bag of blood in his hands. He speaks up as Stefan is staring at him still trying to not go full animal. "You're very cooperative. It's almost as if you're enjoying it." The hybrid takes those few steps closer to Stefan so he can drop the blood bag in front of him, but this time Stefan doesn't go for the blood. "No more. Not until you give me the cure." Klaus quickly responds with, "Not until we make a deal. 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, and save your brother's life." He holds the blood bag out to Stefan who only has to glance once before he is snatching the bag and drinking almost ferociously. "That's the spirit."
Klaus moved back to the kitchen counter to grab the vial of his blood. Katherine, who has been quiet this entire time, is then addressed by Klaus with a simple, "Sweetheart..." and is pulled up by the throat and compelled to "Take this over to Damon and come right back." Still being held Katherine asks, "You want me to leave?" Stefan speaks up from the floor with a "No" while Klaus says "Yes." Klaus then goes on to say, "And if I were you..." Katherine is already out the door before he finishes with "I'd hurry." Stefan is seen on the floor with a horror stricken look on his face as he whispers out, "She'll never take it to him." Casually, Klaus sits down at the dining table and just looks at Stefan with a smirk on his face. Coming to the dreadful conclusion that this was the whole point, Stefan looks down while repeating, in a defeated tone, "She'll never take it to him."
Everyone in the Scooby Gang was feeling an avalanche of emotions. They couldn't believe that Stefan was gonna go Ripper and they couldn't believe that Katherine was given the cure for Damon. They were just angry, sad, or just plain scared.
The scene changes to a warehouse where Klaus is seen standing at the head of Elijah's coffin speaking to him. "I suppose, brother, you've been reunited with our family."
"I knew it! I knew it had to mean something else!" Caroline called out her earlier statement. Members of the Scooby Gang just looked at the vampire fondly while some playfully rolled their eyes.
The coffin is then closed and Klaus tells two compelled minions to "Put him with the others." because "we're leaving town tonight."
Stefan is leaning up against some wooden crates when he feels his phone vibrate. He pulls it out as Klaus starts talking, "So..." on the phone it shows a text from Elena saying, "Damon's okay. Where R U?" Klaus continues by asking, "Did Katerina make it in time?" Stefan deflects the question by saying, "You won't be seeing her again, you know." Klaus just answers with a simple, "Because she's on vervain?" The younger vampire looks slightly confused by this so Klaus tells him, "I've been around a long time, Stefan. I rarely get played for a fool. Besides, she won't get far. You'll help me see to that." Stefan pushes off the wooden crates and take a few steps towards Klaus as he asks, "What is it you really want from me?" Grabbing Stefan's shoulder Klaus says, "All will be explained in time. Once we leave this tragic little town."
"Then are we done here? Can we go?" Klaus' eyes hold a look that could only promise misery as he says, "Not quite. You see, I have a gift for you." Turning away slightly the hybrid calls out to someone behind him. "Come here, sweetheart. Don't be afraid." From behind some more wooden crates a young woman walks out. As Klaus brushes the hair away from the woman's neck he says, "See, I wanna make sure you honor our deal... that you'll be of use to me." Not even a second after he finishes speaking is Klaus biting into the woman's neck. Once he pulls away, hybrid eyes still on show, he says, "I could've compelled her to behave, but a real Ripper enjoys the hunt." Klaus lets the woman go and she runs off screaming. Stefan stays standing there for a couple seconds, but quickly enough he is speeding in front of the woman and feeding on her until she dies. Klaus makes his way over to a still vamped-out Stefan, "Now we can go."
Stefan finally manages to get himself under control so that his vampire face goes away. He goes to get in the truck that he thought they were going to be riding in but Klaus stops him. "Not the truck, Stefan. We'll be going in that car over there." Klaus had gestured to a black SUV with tinted windows several feet away from the truck he was previously moving towards. "Why?" Klaus was about to answer when they both hear the sound of heels clicking against the concrete floor. They both turn towards the noise but with different expressions on their faces. Stefan with confusion and Klaus with a genuine smile. Stefan was even more confused when he saw that Klaus was smiling and walking towards the noise. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He followed the Original Hybrid.
The two walked a minimum of 15 feet before they were met with another person. The camera slowly panned up. From her heeled feet, to her jean-clad legs, over her mid section where she wore a red, cropped and low-cut tank top along with a black leather jacket, and finally to her face. She has long black hair that reaches her mid-back, dark brown eyes paired with perfectly shaped eyebrows, and to top it all off plump lips painted the color of blood.
"Are you going to stare all day or are you going to say hello?" Stefan realized the question was aimed towards Klaus and he watched as the "big, bad hybrid" looked to floor, chuckling to himself before moving towards the mystery woman. Once he stood directly in front of her he said two simple words that just made Stefan's brain even more jumbled. "Hello, love."
The woman held back an eye roll as she smirked at the man in front of her. She didn't say anything as she put a hand on the back of Klaus' neck and pulled him down to her lips and into a passionate kiss. If Stefan tried to hide his surprise he did a poor job at it because as the two pulled out of their kiss the woman spoke up, "You keep staring like that I'm liable to remove your head from the rest of your body." Stefan was surprised enough by the threat that he looked away quickly before he said, "Sorry, but who are you?"
This was the question that everyone in the Mystic Falls group wanted to know. They had made the connection that the mystery woman on screen was the same woman that said her name was Åse and was sitting in the same room as them. But what they really wanted to know was how she was connected to Klaus. If the kiss they saw had anything to do with it, and they were sure it did, they were not excited for the outcome.
The woman nodded to herself as she pulled away from Klaus to take a few steps closer to Stefan. The young vampire was trying to gauge how he should react but by the predatory look on the woman's face and the smirk worthy of the devil that Klaus was sporting, he knew deep down that he would be fucked no matter what.
She stops only a few feet from Stefan clasping her hands in front of her. A smirk quickly works its way on her face seeming almost identical to Klaus'.
"My name is Åse Mikaelson. Known around the supernatural world as 'Gravedigger.' My personal favorite though..." she pauses for a few seconds as she glances over Stefan's face noting that she has every bit of his attention.
"I'm Klaus Mikaelson's wife."
And the screen goes black.