KOL noticed the hybrids standing on the porch and addressed Klaus as though they were strangers without completely concealing his true identity. "Oh. Hello, darling. Back to huff and puff and blow the house down?"

Ingrid was about to reply when Kol shot her a warning look and she realized he wanted to mess with his big brother for a second. Smirking, she hid her laugh and licked her lips.

Klaus glanced over at him, unamused. "You know, it's funny how often a person's sharp tongue can end up cutting their own throat."

Cami sighes in frustration and rolled her eyes at him. "Klaus, he's just a kid. Give him a break."

"Yeah, she's right. You know, you may want to try a bit of lavender under your pillow. Does wonders for stuck-up pillocks with anger issues." Kol antagonized him with a patronizing smirk.

Cami groaned in annoyance and turned toward the witch. "Hey! Shut it."

"I promised not to kill Davina. I said nothing of this insolent sod." Klaus sneered furiously as Kol smirked at him.

Cami stood up from her postion next to Davina and walked over to him. "Klaus, come on." She called outbto him but he continued to stare suspiciously at Kol. "A minute ago, you had the opportunity to kill your father with this thing, and you didn't. You're not going to kill this kid with it, either!"

"Camille, do not underestimate Niklaus." Ingrid remarked, a knowing expression in her face. "Also, please stop wasting your time with your assumption that you have any hold."

Klaus, tired of Cami attempting to talk him down, handed her the car keys. "Go get the car and take her to the hospital."

Cami smiled in appreciation at him and grabbed the keys from him before leaving the cabin and walking toward the SUV.

Klaus turned back toward Kol, his face slowly falling in realization and Ingrid nodded to herself. "You've got a way with words."

"Well, I've traveled." Kol responded simply, stating up and walking over to Klaus so they could speak face-to-face.

"You seem to have crossed continents to order to weasel your way into Davina's good graces, thereby meddling in my family business." Klaus passive-aggresively remarked with a smile. "Strange, isn't it?"

Kol smirked but said nothing, which seemed to confirm Klaus' suspicions. "Unless it's your family business. You know, ever since my mother and Finn, I was wondering when you might make an appearance, Kol."

"There it is." Ingrid whispered to herself and flattened her lips into a line. "Finally. I was waiting for you to figure it out and it was hard to keep it to myself."

Kol, clearly amused by this exchange, couldn't help but laugh as he bowed dramatically to them. "Then the jig is up!" He remarked and Klaus smiled as though he was genuinely pleased to see him. "Hello, brother! Hello again, Indy."

"Hey, Kol." She greeted him with a wide smile.

"It's not that I begrudge you hitching a ride back to the land of the living." Klaus remarked with a smirk and looked at him in concern. "It's just that you're making all the wrong friends, brother. And, I have half a mind to show you how wrong you are."

Kol continued to smirk as he leaned in to whisper to Klaus. "But you're not going to do that, are you? Because your little blonde friend told you to leave me alone." The younger brother commented in a patronizing tone and Klaus chuckled, looking down at his feet and shaking his head. "But then again, you don't care what she has to say, do you? All you care about is Ingrid, who won't allow you to kill me."

Ingrid shrugged her shoulder and pursed her lips. "Yeah... I don't know about that one. If you continue on the path that you're on then we may have no other choice."

The pleasant tone of conversation had evaporated and Klaus began to show his annoyance as he raised his voice, calling out to the blonde. "Cami? I changed my mind, I am going to kill him after all."

Kol smirked at him but when Cami didn't respond, they all shared confused expressions and the hybrids walked toward the SUV.

"Cami?" Klaus walked to the driveway, where he found the driver's side door of his SUV open, the window smeared with blood. Furious, Klaus rushed around to the trunk where Ingrid was staring at an empty spot with a stressed look. She slammed the door closed and ran her hands down her face.

Realizing that Klaus had put the white oak stake in the car, she aggressively swung the passenger door open, about ripping it off its hinges, and opened the center console to see that empty as well.

Slamming that shut, she walked around the car and pointed a finger at her husband. "I love you more than life itself, Niklaus, but how the hell could you be so willing to trust that---" She was so angry that she couldn't come up with a suitable word and snarled at him. "You... Camille tells you to have some humanity by not killing your father but that is exactly what you should have done! The whole bloody point was to kill him!" Ingrid yelled then laughed humorlessly, anger seeping out from her voice. "This was unbelievably stupid! A pretty blonde begs you to spare someone's life and you fall for it. Ridiculous..." she snarled, shaking her head.

"Do you realize what you have done?" She asked him with terrified and furious tears rolling down her cheeks. "Mikael is going to kill us. Mikael is going to kill us all and this could have been prevented had you just done the one thing that you came here to do." She whispered, panic written all over her face, and threw her hands up. She looked at him with a face of exasperation and shook her head. "Niklaus you are significantly smarter than this and somehow... You allowed Camille to fill you brain with stupid, human psychology that doesn't even apply to you. How... I am... I cannot..." she trailed off before shaking her head and walking away, toward the cabin. "Nope. We will discuss this further later." She yelled back to him then screamed at her brother-in-law. "Kol! Wake her up. NOW!!"

Klaus stood in his spot, frozen in shock from her rage, and licked his lips anxiously. He gulped and wiped away any tears that have formed before following after her. He looked to see Kol sitting in the rocking chair and snapped at him impatiently. "Tell her to get Mikael back here, now."

"Well, let me-- let me think about that." Kol tapped his chin thoughtfully and smirked over at them. "No!"

Ingrid slammed her palms against the doorframe and snarled at her brother-in-law. "Cut the childishness! My patience with this family at this moment is gone. Do you understand me, Kol? Wake her up! I am not asking."

Kol was slightly terrified of Ingrid, he hadn't seen her that angry in a millennium, but he shook his head and kept his cool demeanor. "In fact, you should probably get going, Nik. Mikael, he's probably jonesing for a restorative snack about now. It'd be a shame to find-- uh, Cami, is it?-- nothing more than a bloodless husk."

"We're not done here, you and I." Klaus sneered furiously and Kol just smirked at him as the couple sped away.

They had made it to an abandoned warehouse and Klaus noticed a smear of blood on a nearby tree and followed it, which lead him to a "Hillbilly Halloween" bonfire. When he walked over there, he found all of the party-goers standing completely still and silent in their masks, presumably compelled by Mikael to speak for him.

"Did you honestly think to hold me with a blade forged from pain?" The first one sneered at him, mimicking what would have been Mikael's tone.

"Unlike the weak, unlike you, I gain strength from pain!" The second yelled in disgust.

"Soon, you will know the taste of white-oak as it pierces your heart." The first one spoke again in a taunting voice with a laugh.

"It's very clever, Mikael! Compelling the locals to say to my face what you dare not?" Klaus yelled out into the warehouse in amusement. "Enjoy the theatrics! They only delay the inevitable."

The second human attacked Klaus, but he easily disarmed and killed him. Then another compelled guest quickly followed but Ingrid sunk her fangs into his neck, quickly killing him as well.

Klaus fed off the other body and another partier, who stumbled as he tried to attack Klaus. Klaus simply took his weapon and hit him upside the head with it. Ingrid snickered while tossing the dead body carelessly to the ground.

Suddenly, his phone rings, and Klaus reluctantly answered it. Klaus groaned and tried to catch his breath as he greeted them. "Uh, I'm a tad busy. What is it, Hayley?" He questioned in annoyance as Ingrid growled lowly to herself.

Hayley paused and whispered quietly. "Something has happened to Elijah. He was supposed to be our decoy last night, and now he's vanished. There's blood everywhere-- werewolf and vampire. There's a trail. I need you to help us track it."

"Well, as much as I might like to help you find my brother, I have more pressing matters as the moment." Klaus informed her in annoyance and one of partiers tried to crawl toward Klaus, who kicked him in the face, knocking him backward.

Ingrid sped toward the human and began feeding on him while Hayley scoffed and replied incredulously. "What's more important than your own brother?"

"My life?" Klaus responded in a snarky tone and Ingrid laughed before unlatching from the now lifeless human. "Davina had Mikael on a magical leash, and it broke. Now Mikael has Tunde's blade, the white oak stake, and Cami. I'm gonna get her back." He said with determination.

Another human came out of the woodwork and tried once again to attack Klaus but Ingrid sped toward him and snapped his neck easily.

"And then, I'm gonna end this. Either Mikael or I will be ash by day's end." Klaus explained harshly and watched Ingrid tear into the human with a hidden face of admiration. "And, if you do find my brother, please, tell him I could do with a hand?" He questioned before hanging up and turning to Ingrid. "I think that's all of them, love, and Mikael's no longer here I'm afraid."

She nodded in understanding and dropped the body to the ground. The couple then began wandering around the outskirts of the Bayou, looking for Cami and Mikael. He noticed a rock soaked with blood outside the abandoned building, and frowned anxiously as he approached it. He inhaled the scent and realized that it was Cami's blood. He saw a shovel nearby and broke it in half before entering the building. Ingrid followed suit, empty handed but ready to fight with just her fists.

Inside, Mikael was holding Cami at knife-point. Cami was weakened by blood loss and was swaying on her feet, only still standing because Mikael was holding her up. Klaus became furious at this sight and pointed his handmade stake at Mikael threateningly. "You're gonna pay for hurting her."

Mikael carelessly let go of Cami and dropped her to the floor as Klaus watched, concerned for her. "Aw, how sweet. The cur whines for a bitch."

"I am kind of getting sick of you comparing us to dogs." Ingrid commented with an annoyed face.

Mikael ignored her and held Papa Tunde's blade in one hand and the white oak stake in the other. "I'll be sure to drain the rest of her right in front of your eyes, just before you burn."

Furious, Klaus leaped a dozen feet into the air and lunged at him with his makeshift stake. He tackled Mikael, but they both quickly rose to their feet in defensive positions.

Ingrid walked over to Cami and grabbed her by the arms. "On your feet." She said harshly and pulled Cami into a standing position. The blonde leaned against her as she struggled to hold her own weight. The Original lead her outside the building where Davina and Kol had just arrived. She handed the human to them and spared a glance Kol's direction but he shook his head at her.

Rolling her eyes, she walked back into the building to see that Mikael had pinned Klaus against the wall and was struggling to stake Klaus in the chest.

Just as Klaus was about to be staked by Mikael, he fought back by kneeing Mikael in the gut and the face before the two began to fight again. Klaus then tackled him and the two slammed through a concrete and brick wall into the next room

Klaus kicked Mikael to the floor then straddled Mikael, and though he tried to stake Klaus while he was down, Klaus easily turned the stake on him, and mustered up all his energy to break his grip to kill him.

"Not as weak as you remember, am I?" Klaus taunted with a smirk and broke the stake out of his grip and went to stake him, but Mikael threw Tunde's blade at Ingrid, forcing Klaus to sped toward her and catch it before it stabbed her in the chest.

This gave Mikael the opportunity he needed to steal the stake back. While Klaus was distracted by saving his wife, Mikael sped toward them and stabbed Klaus in the chest with the white oak stake.

Mikael smirked proudly as Klaus shrieked in pain and fell to the floor. Ingrid bellowed in horror when she saw Klaus' face begin to desiccate. "NOOOO!!" She ran toward him but Mikael intercepted, glaring at her. She glared back him, fury filling all her senses as all she could see in that moment was red. Speeding toward him, Ingrid slammed him against a wall and began beating him aggressively. Blood covering her fists and the occasional blood splatter on her face.

For a moment, it seemed as though Ingrid was winning but Mikael managed to stop one of her blows and push her across the room. She smacked into another wall and fell to floor with a low groan.

Mikael glanced over at Klaus and sneered in aggravation. "Why aren't you burning? If you were dead, it would burn. BURN!" He roared furiously then sensed Davina and Kol outside the room and rushed to find them.

Ingrid quickly pulled herself from the floor and sped toward Klaus. "Niklaus!" Her eyes pooled with tears as she gazed at her husband's desiccated face. She wrapped her hands around the stake and pulled it out from his chest. Color started to return to his skin and she sat back with a loud sigh of relief..

Mikael, having just fed on Davina, rushed back into the room and found Ingrid sitting next to Klaus's body with the white oak stake in hand. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving my husband. What does it look like?" She questioned him a snarky tone and stood to her feet, gripping the white oak stake tightly in her hand and pointing it at him. "I'm going to do what Niklaus should have done." She snarled at him with a glare.

Mikael threw his head back and laughed. "You think you can defeat me?"

Rolling her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not doing this taunt each other until one gets angry thing." She snapped then sped toward him, catching him off guard for a moment.

He tried to push her away but she avoided his arm and grabbed onto it, forcing it behind his back. He yelped in pain as she twisted his arm and shoved him to the ground. She raised the stake to strike him with and just as she brought it down, he shoved her off and this caused her to miss his heart, stabbing him in the shoulder. He gritted his teeth and ripped it out from shoulder with a loud roar.

Ingrid rolled onto her feet and sped toward him again, jumping up halfway through the air and kicking off of him in the chest. Mikael stumbled backwards causing him to drop the stake and Ingrid rushed to grab it. He sped toward her and grabbed her wrist before she could and sneered at her. "You are weak. Like your father."

She punched him in the nose, breaking it and causing a waterfall of blood to pour from his nose. While he reached up to react, he let go of her wrist and this allowed her to grab it.

"Now, ENOUGH!" He screamed furiously after his nose healed. "This night has been a long parade of fools. I'll enjoy killing every last one of you."

Marcel arrived and threw a chain around Mikael's neck and yanked on it so hard it knocked him off of his feet. Ingrid smiled over at the vampire and nodded in appreciation.

Suddenly, Klaus woke up with a gasp and turned to see Ingrid and Marcel had subdued Marcel. Determined, he jumped to his feet and rushed over to them. Ingrid handed the stake to him and they, now joined by Davina, all stood in tableau and smirked at him, knowing that they finally had the upper-hand.

"It's over, Mikael. You're outnumbered. Are you going to beg for your miserable life?" Klaus taunted his father with a smirk.

Mikael laughed at him and mocked them. "You think having people makes you strong? It proves how weak you are. Come find me when you don't have fools, women and children fighting your battles." He threw a scrap of wood at them and sped away to heal.

Klaus, looking relieved, just sighed and turned to Ingrid with a smile. She glanced up at him and smiled slightly back.

When the arrived home, Ingrid threw her jacket on the bed before making her way toward the bathroom. Klaus followed her into the room and closed the door behind her, his light blue eyes following her every move. He sighed heavily and sat on the end of the bed. "Alright, love. Let me have it."

"Hmmm?" She mused in acknowledgment and raised an eyebrow, walking back to stand in the doorway.

"I know you're furious with me and I'm prepared for your anger." Klaus answered with a face full of regret. "I deserve it."

"You're correct, Niklaus. I am furious with you." She commented in a dull tone and pursed her lips. "This was the most irresponsible and stupid thing you have ever done." She jeered in anger then paused for a second. "But I'm not found to reprimand or chastise you."

He glanced at her in surprise and paused in worry. "Then what are you going to do?"

"Nothing." She answered simply with a matching facial expression. "I think you almost dying was punishment enough."

Klaus looked down at his hands in remorse and nodded his head slowly. He stared at the gold wedding band resting on his left hand for a moment before speaking in a hushed whisper. "I won't put what Cami wants above what this family needs again."

"No." Ingrid said in a stern manner, shaking her head while watching him intently. "You won't."

---
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