Ripper, compelled-to-have-his-humanity-off Stefan called Klaus to lure him back and kill him. "Your father is dead. Oh, my mistake. Not your actual father, and not dead. Mikael. Daggered. What do you want me to do with the body?"

~

One hour earlier

Stefan, Damon, Elena and I walked into the library as Stefan said, "Aye--let's say that Mikael followed Elena in here. He tried to grab her, so he could use her as bait."

"And you want?" Elena asked. "Vervained him?"

"No!" Damon complained. "We vervained him. This guy is an Original. To make it realistic."

"Okay, fine," Stefan said. "We vervained him, and in the process, discovered that he had a dagger."

"Which he planned to use on Rebekah," I said. "But instead . . ."

"We drove it through his heart," Stefan finished.

"And what happens when he asks o see Mikael's body?" Elena asked.

"Good point," Damon said.  "You, my brother, have been compelled to do what Klaus says. So the idea is to lure him back here and kill him--last thing we need is you getting tripped up and tongue tied."

"Well, don't look at me," Stefan said. "I am just in charge of getting him back here."

"Klaus is smart," I said. "If we tell him that Mikael is dead, he'll want proof."

"Than I shall be dead," Mikael said behind us.

I started to walk toward him with Stefan and Elena following.

"What if he wants to see you in person?" Elena asked.

"Well, that means our plan is working," Mikael answered. "Klaus will absolutely want to see my body. You lure him here, and I will kill him."

"With what?" I asked. "Those daggers won't work on him."

"Well, I'm in possession of a stake fashioned from the wood of the ancient white oak tree. The one that left these ashes when it burned."

"Where is it?" Stefan asked.

"Not here," Mikael replied. "The knowing of its location is my insurance policy."

"Against what?" Stefan asked.

"You leaving this in my heart," Mikael answered. "You see, a vampire can't dagger an Original without dying." He looked toward me and Elena. "So, it falls to one of you."

He held the dagger toward us, waiting for one of us to take it. He was leaving the choice up to us.

"Y--you want one of us to actually dagger you?" Elena asked.

"Klaus will leave nothing to chance, especially trust," Mikael answered.

Elena looked at me with a shaky breath.

~

Now

"Well, he is here," Stefan told Klaus on the phone as he stood, looking down on Mikael. "Come by whenever."

He looked toward me.

~

Flashback

Mikael held the dagger toward us, waiting for one of us to take it. He was leaving the choice up to us.

Elena looked at me with a shaky breath, shaking her hand. "I--I can't."

I barely contained from scoffing. "If you won't, I will."

I didn't like any of the Originals. Well, Rebekah I felt sorry for. Elijah, he was the exception.

But when it came to Klaus or Mikael, they could rot for all I cared.

I instantly took the dagger from Mikael, who gave me an amused and curious look as I drove the dagger into his chest easily.

~

Now

"It's true," Stefan told Klaus. "I saw it with my own eyes. That's not a problem. She's right here."

Stefan handed the phone to Rebekah, who took it. "Hello, Nik. It's true. He's finally out of our lives for good. I miss you. I'm miserable here. Good. I'll see you then, brother." She hung up the phone, looking at us. "He bought it. He's coming home."

"Now, was that easy or what?" Damon asked.

"Let's just get this over with," I said, kneeling next to Mikael and removing the dagger I had put there.

~

Damon and I prepared all of the weapons in Damon's bathroom over the sink as we spoke.

"We can't trust Rebekah not to turn on us," I stated as Elena walked in.

"Oh, really?" Damon asked. "'Cause these Original vampires are usually so reliable."

"Bonnie was right," Elena said as she stood next to us. "Rebekah may be mad at Klaus now, but . . .he is her brother."

"Her lying, mama-killing, dagger-happy brother," Damon agreed.

"Wolfsbane's ready," I told them.

"There are too many things that can go wrong with this plan," Elena said. "Too many people that can make it go wrong."

"Well, I am formulating a secret contingency plan," Damon said.

I looked toward him. "Really? What is it?"

"Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret," Damon said, nodding toward the door.

Just as Stefan walked in. "I need to borrow a tie."

"You have your own ties," Damon said.

"Hm," Stefan hummed. "I'm 162 years old and I'm going to a Homecoming Dance. I need better ties."

"You could not go," Elena told him.

"I'm compelled to protect you," Stefan replied. "And if I look at your track record at high school dances . . . it's pretty tragic. With my luck, you'll go and get yourself murdered by the Homecoming Queen."

I rolled my eyes as Stefan left, trying to set up a wolfsbane grenade.

Damon reached out to stop me. "Ah ah! No!"

"I know how to do it!" I said defensively. "Alaric taught me."

Damon took it away from me. "Nikki! If this thing blows up in our face, just remember only one of us heals quickly. Wonder how bad your headache will be then."

I turned my head to give him a glare.

Elena tried not to laugh.

Stefan came back, standing behind us. "Ah, please tell me that you have a better plan than wolfsbane grenades."

"Never your mind, brother," Damon told him. "The less you know, the better."

"My freedom from Klaus rests entirely on you three executing your plan perfectly," Stefan replied. "So, excuse me if I'm a bit cynical."

Stefan started to leave again.

"You're the one that we should be worried about," Elena said. "If Klaus asks you one question, whole thing falls apart."

"You do have reason to worry," Stefan agreed. "But if I look back in our history of epic plan failures, it's usually because one of us let our humanity get in the way. Upon taking odds on how this thing goes down, it's certainly not gonna be me who screws it up. I'll see you at Homecoming. I can't wait."

I seriously hated Ripper Stefan.

~

Without a date at the Homecoming Dance in Tyler Lockwood's house, I stood alone when Klaus stood in front of me.

Oh, great . . .

"Coming to a dance alone is pretty brave, even for you . . .or is the proper terminology 'stag' these days?" Klaus asked.

"Hm, I'm not used to dances," I replied.

"But you're here now," Klaus said, holding out his beer bottle.  didn't take it. "Well, seems I have you to take for Mikael's demise."

"He went after Elena," I answered in a lie. "When I tried to help her, he came at me. I didn't have a choice."

"Still, I'm impressed. It's not easy for a human to dagger an Original."

"It wasn't the first time."

"Right," Klaus said. "Elijah. Though, I assume if you can decapitate ghosts of vampires for trying to kill you, daggering someone would be easy." I looked away, wondering where Damon or 'Elena' were. "You seem nervous."

"I'm not nervous," I answered completely honestly. "I just don't like you."

"Let's get straight to the point, then, shall I, love?" Klaus asked. "People have been after me for 1000 years. And I am always one step ahead. So whatever it is you're thinking of trying, go for it. Give it your best shot. You won't succeed."

That's what he thought.

~

I walked inside, looking around for Damon in a hurry. "Damon? Damon! Has anyone seen Damon? Where the hell is he?"

I couldn't find him.

And someone could die because of it.

~

The plan had failed. Miserably. Stefan had interfeered, stopped Damon, and helped Klaus kill Mikael.

Whole plan--reversed.

Upstairs, with me out of the dress and my hair completely down but still wavy, I held my head at the pain, and I didn't know. if it was from my usual headache, or what Klaus had told me about the hybrids retaliating against Damon, or the plan ruined, or Damon yelling downstairs.

I would tell him the truth about why Stefan had done what he had done.

After Damon calmed his ass down and wouldn't tear my head off if I told him what Klaus had told me. What Katherine had heard him tell me.

~

flashback

"You seem nervous."

"I'm not nervous," I said completely honestly. "I just don't like you."

"People have been after me for  thousand years and I'm always one step ahead. So whatever it is you're thinking of trying, go for it. Give it your best shot. You won't succeed."

That's what he thought.

"It won't be for lack of trying," I said, trying to step around him.

"Ah," Klaus said as he stepped in my way. "You'd be smart to tell Damon to mind his manners tonight, because if I die, I've already ensured that he'll die along with me." What? Was he serious? He smirked at my expression. "Even in death, my hybrids have their orders. So, you kill me, you're killing him too."

I had to find Damon, tell him to stop.

Off a little to the right, about 50 feet away, I saw "Elena", Katherine, by the door.

She had turned the whole thing.

~

now

And she had told Stefan, Stefan had stopped Damon to save Damon.

I had to tell Damon.

Because Stefan really wasn't as gone as he pretended to be.