INGID was sitting on a sofa in the living room in front of a lit fireplace while drinking from her glass of wine. She smirked over at her guest and raised an eyebrow. "I have to say that I am rather surprised you came here, Elena."

Elena shifted anxiously in her seat and licked her lips. "I need your help."

Klaus laughed as he walked into the room and stood behind Ingrid. "A bit ironic, you coming to us for help. Weren't your friends just trying to bury me in a cement tomb?"

"This is your fault." She sneered at him, narrowing her dark brown eyes. "You started this when you forced Jeremy to kill those vampires."

"Actually, you started it. Had you left Connor's life intact, I don't think you would be asking for our help." Ingrid remarked with a pointed expression. "Now, if Jeremy hadn't been such an insubordinate and done as he was told, then we would not be here, yes?"

"And now my little brat of a brother has gone and made things worse." Klaus added with a smirk and placed a hand on Ingrid's shoulder. "Well, he never did like Damon. I suppose I should do something, shouldn't I?"

"Call him off." The doppelgänger demanded in a stern tone.

The couple shared a glance before laughing in amusement and turning back to her with mocking expressions. Ingrid set her glass down on the table beside her and leaned forward in her seat. "Need I remind you that you aren't exactly in the position to give demands." She remarked through gritted teeth, her eyes boring holes into the brunette across the room. "We do not serve you. We do not owe you anything. This continous need for our help after attempting to kill us not even a few months ago, is tiring. Pick a side."

"Is that an order?" Elena questioned in a harsh tone.

Ingrid snickered and shook her head. "Oh, no. You'll know when I give you an order. So unless you want me to order you do something like, I don't know... kill your boyfriend, I would suggest you mind your tongue before I tear it out. Or... maybe I'll order you to rip it out yourself. Your choice."

Klaus beamed at his wife for a moment before gazing at Elena in aggravation. "Whilst I'd like to cure you to make more hybrids, I do have other reasons for finding the cure, not the least of which is destroying it so you lot can't use it against us."

"Whatever our differences, we want the same thing." She attempted to plead with them.

"I can assure you that we don't." Ingrid replied in a dull tone of voice and sat back on the couch.

Elena realized there was no getting through to Ingrid and glanced at Klaus, hopeful that he would he the more understanding one. "Please, Klaus, I'm begging you."

"Oh, really?" Ingrid questioned with a smirk then tilted her head to the side with a devious expression. "Beg."

"What?" Elena gaped at her in confusion.

"Get on your knees and beg for it." Ingrid repeated in an aggressive tone of voice, challenging her to defy an order.

Elena looked at Klaus, who simply gestured for her to do as told with a pleased expression, then back to Ingrid, who had an impatient expression plastered on her face and her elbow resting on the arm rest of the sofa. She began to stutter out a rejection but found herself falling to her knees in front of them with tears in her eyes. She clasped her hands together and stared at the hybrids. "Please, help me. Please." She repeated several times.

Having enough, Ingrid waved a hand at her and dismissed the order. "Okay, that is quite enough for now." She then titled her head to look at her husband and smiled. "I think that will suffice, yes?"

"Yes, darling." Klaus smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her on the lips then pulled out his cell phone.

Elena grimaced at them and rolled her eyes. "How can you sleep at night?" She questioned the female hyrbid in disgust.

"Completely naked in silk sheets next to my husband. You?" Ingrid replied with a wide smile and Klaus chuckled as he dialed Kol's number.

When the call stopped ringing, Klaus spoke immediately with a teasing tone. "Little brother. Just two days home, and I'm told you've already gone and made a mess."

"Come on, Nik. I was only having some fun." Kol responded in a smooth voice, a smirk evident in his tone.

"Those vampires were for my hunter." Klaus informed him, his smirk falling into an angry sneer.

"I'll make some more. There's no shortage of people." Kol remarked in a careless manner

"Where's Damon Salvatore?" Klaus questioned curiously.

Kol laughed from the other before speaking. "I gave him a good and proper beating just for old time's sake."

"Yes. Well, you've had your fun. Now let him go and come home." Klaus ordered sternly. "Avoid any more trouble, or you'll find yourself back in a box." He threatened and Ingrid rolled her eyes to herself.

"Hey. No need to be nasty about it." Kol replied in offense and grew angry at the usual threats.

"On the contrary, I find nastiness to be essential whenever my siblings try to sabotage me." Klaus stated calmly and his voice grew sterner and darker as he continued on. "Listen closely, Kol. Stay away from the Gilbert boy. You understand?"

Kol sighed in annoyance then agreed to his brother's terms. "Fine. I won't touch him. You have my word."

Klaus hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket before glancing at Elena with a condescending smile. "There."

Elena expressed a few gracious phrases and stood up from her seat. She was about to walk out of the mansion when Ingrid called out to her with a warning. "Be warned, Elena, Kol does have a mind of his own and he's not one for listening. Just know, we tried."

Later on, Kol walked into a room as Rebekah entered from the other side, blocking his way. "Going somewhere? I would if I were you. If Damon kills the hunter, Nik will not be pleased."

Kol laughed at her efforts and smiled widely. "I told Nik I wouldn't touch the kid. I didn't."

"Oh. Well, that was clever. I'm sure he'll really appreciate it." She remarked sarcastically and crossed her arms over her chest.

Kol pushed passed his sister to leave but Rebekah pulled out the white oak ash dagger and pointed it at his back. Kol stopped in his place and finally looked afraid. "You'd really dagger me?"

"If I do, Damon's compulsion ends and this is all over." She responded in a dull tone, just wanting to be human again.

"And then you're no better than Niklaus. Daggering siblings when you disagree with them-- Look at what this family has become." Kol snapped in anger and glared at the wall in front of him. "I mean, Elijah won't even show his face, he's so disgusted by our bickering. This cure has ruined us, and it hasn't even been found yet. Just imagine what would happen if it is."

"This family was ruined long before we knew about the cure." Rebekah responded pointedly as Kol sped around to face Rebekah and pointed the white oak stake directly at her heart. She gaped at him in disbelief and her heart pounding wildly in her chest. "Kol!"

"I won't let you raise Silas." He yelled frantically and raised the stake.

Ingrid walked into the room and paused in shock before speeding toward them. She attempted to get in between them but Kol grabbed her wrist and pointed the stake at her in return. She looked down at it, terrified, then back at him with a clenched jaw. "Do it. Do it, Kol." She challenged harshly and grabbed ahold of his wrist. "But know that you would be next. Niklaus would kill you in return." She warned him as he took a small step away from her. "I think we both know he wouldn't even bother daggering you at that point. Go ahead!"

Klaus sped into the room and aggressively shoved Kol away from her. His blue eyes were narrowed into furious slits and he pointed a finger at his younger brother. "Enough of this foolishness. Put it down, Kol."

Kol glared at his family before speeding out of the house with the stake in hand.

Rebekah looked at her siblings in complete disbelief and scoffed. "He was going to kill me!"

"Well, then, I think you need a lesson in how to properly dagger a sibling." Klaus replied with a bitter smile, suggesting that had she simple daggered Kol then he wouldn't have attempted to stake her.

"Burn in hell." She snarled furiously before turning away and storming out of the house.

Klaus turned toward Ingrid and placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes wide with worry. "Are you alright, love?"

She smiled at him in appreciation and nodded her head. "Yes. I am fine." He pulled her into a tight hug and she laughed lightly. "Niklaus, I am okay."

The couple was then tasked with watching over Damon in his cell to keep him from attempting to murder Jeremy. After awhile, Klaus pulled his phone out and groaned quietly in annoyance. "Your brother's lack of communication is infuriating."

"It's one of his trademarks, like his brooding and his hair." Damon commented with a small smile as Ingrid chuckled in agreement.

Klaus began pacing the floor again as he anticipated Stefan's update. "I don't understand what's taking so long. I mean, how hard is it to steal a dagger?"

The Salvatore glanced over at him with a pointed expression. "From a vampire who's been stabbed as many times as your sister, I'd say difficult."

"Niklaus, you do not have the slightest idea of what is like to be on the receiving end of the daggering debacle. It is going to take a vast amount of convincing to get Rebekah to hand it over. Especially from Stefan." Ingrid informed him with a stern expression causing Klaus to sigh loudly and roll his eyes. He then tossed Damon a vial of blood.

Damon caught it with one hand and smiled at the vial. "Sweet."

"You disappoint me, Damon. You're not trying very hard to get out of here. I expected more the daring escape artist, less the cell potato." Klaus commented based off of his observation.

Damon threw back the vial and sighed in pleasure then shrugged his shoulder. "Well, I am compelled to kill Jeremy, so I figured it's probably smarter to sit here and chit-chat with you than bust out of here like the Hulk."

"How do you think Elena felt about that, by the way? Your inability to overcome Kol's compulsion for a single moment even though it meant saving the person she loves most in the world?" Klaus questioned, hoping to get a rise out of him.

"She's met me. She knows impulse control's not my strong suit." Damon relied in a simple manner, not giving him the satisfaction.

"Still, must be hard trying to live up to Stefan. I remember when I compelled him to feed off Elena. He fought it so hard, he actually managed to resist. Now, that's love." Klaus mused with a mischievous chuckle.

Damon scoffed and glanced over at him with a blunt look. "What do you know about love?"

"Are you stupid?" Ingrid questioned in confusion and leaned forward. "I am not poking fun. I am genuinely asking."

Klaus chuckled at his wife before turning back to Damon with pursed lips and a shrug of the shoulder. "I know that you're in love with Elena. But I think you're afraid of what might happen when we find the cure at the end of the rainbow. Personally, I don't see a fairytale ending for you. All I see is Stefan and Elena. I think you see the same thing." He taunted as Damon refused to respond and stared down at the floor.

Suddenly, Klaus' phone rang and he reacted immediately, assuming that it was Stefan. However, he noticed that it was Kol and answered it with a smirk. "Well, if it isn't the happy homicidal maniac."

"Did you know that your darling former blood bag and her brother are trying to kill me?" Kol snarled furiously into the other end of the call.

Klaus' face fell and he paused in his place, a small amount of fear coursing through him. "What?"

"Don't pretend like you're not in on it. Your obsession to find the cure clearly trumps any sibling loyalty you once felt." Kol snapped at him, enraged and betrayed.

Klaus shook his head to himself while sparing a glance in Damon's direction. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm going to rip off Jeremy's arm and kill Elena just for sport. Then I'm coming for Ingrid and then you." The younger Mikaelson brother threatened harshly in a dark tone before hanging up the phone.

Angry, Ingrid grabbed Damon by the neck and shoved him roughly against the wall. "What the hell are you up to?"

"I don't know." Damon answered quickly, gasping for air and grabbing onto her arm.

"What are Stefan and Elena planning?" Klaus demanded frantically as she shoved him harder against the wall and tightened her grip around his throat.

"I don't know. I've been stuck in the penalty box with you since yesterday. Stefan won't talk to me. Elena won't come to see me, so maybe you're right. Maybe she's written me off." Damon responded with a deep frown, gasping for air.

Ingrid was tired of the back and forth and used compulsion to get an answer from him. She stared deeply into his blue eyes with her dark brown ones and her pupils dilated. "Tell me what you know."

"I don't know anything about a plan." Damon answered in a monotonous tone

"Do not leave this cell until we return." She compelled then released Damon and left the cellar, slamming the door behind her. The couple then sped out of the boarding house toward the Gilbert home.

Elena threw Jeremy the white oak stake and he caught it and stabbed Kol through the heart with it. Kol screamed loudly in anguish and burst into flames. He continued to scream as he staggered through the kitchen and fell to the floor to his death. The siblings watched in slight horror as Kol lied lifeless on the floor. Elena noticed that Jeremy was staring at something behind her, so she looked over to see Klaus and Ingrid standing at the open doorway, both looking upset and angry.

Ingrid fell to her knees and screamed loudly as tears poured from her eyes. Klaus was visibly shaking as he watched his brother's body burn with tears in his eyes. He glanced up at them and sneered furiously. "What did you do?"

"We didn't have a choice. He was trying to cut off Jeremy's arm!" Elena argued through shaky breaths and the sound of her own heart pounding beating at her eardrums.

"Lies!" He snarled at them and paced the porch. "He never would've gotten inside if you hadn't have set a trap for him."

"You said you were going to put him down too." Elena reminded him quickly.

"I was going to make him suffer on my terms!" He bellowed furiously at the top of his lungs then sighed heavily and looked at the Gilbert home. "I'm going to burn this house to the ground. And then, when you try to flee for your lives, we'll kill you both without blinking."

"You kill us, you'll never get to the cure." Jeremy snapped and took a protective step in front of Elena.

"I do not care about the bloody cure!" Ingrid yelled angrily as she stood to her feet and glared at them with a dark expression.

"You'll never be able to make any more hybrids." Jeremy continued on with a stern face.

Klaus smirked at him and responded in a slow tone. "You really think I care for an instant about my bloody hybrids? I want the cure so I can destoy it."

"We were going to kill you the second we dug it up." Ingrid informed them with a sinister smirk

"But now we're just gonna watch you burn instead." Klaus finished for her.

Suddenly the couple fell to the ground, crying out in pain and falling to their knees. Bonnie walked in past them and looked at the siblings with urgency. "Invite them in." They looked at her, confused but she urged them again. "Do it!"

Klaus managed to pull himself to his feet and stood up while growling in pain. Jeremy stared right at the couple and nodded slowly. "Come in."

They fell forward as Bonnie magically pulled them inside the house and immobilized them. She turned toward her friends as Klaus grunted and caught himself with his hands. "Living room. Go!"

Elena and Jeremy ran through the living and into the kitchen. Klaus followed and Ingrid called out to him in a panic. "Niklaus, no! No! It's a trap!"

However, he ignored her and chased after them to find that he couldn't get into the kitchen. He punched at the air but there was an invisible barrier. Bonnie turned to Ingrid, who shot a sympathetic look at Klaus. "My apologies, my love." She whispered in Old Norse before speeding out of the house and into the night. She knew that it wasn't ideal to have both of them trapped in that house and he would need her to be free to get back at them.

Jeremy pulled the white oak stake out of Kol and he and Elena ran to the door as Klaus continued to pound harshly on the barrier. He turned to Bonnie with an enraged sneer. "Witch, you can't do this to me."

"You have no idea what I can do now." Bonnie remarked confidently and glared back at him.

Klaus took a deep breath and stared the trio. "I will hunt all of you to your end!" He screamed causing the siblings to jump in fear. "Do you hear me? Do you!?"

Elena, Bonnie, and Jeremy then left the house as Klaus pounded against the barrier futilely.

---
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