(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Six

Later, Elijah, Matt, Stefan, and Elena are together in the kitchen, positioned around with unease. Elijah reappearing now does not bode well for their plans or their victory. They finally got a lead on everything happening only for Elijah to throw a spanner in the works. It worries them. Especially without Daphne being here to help them should they need magical assistance. Bonnie left earlier, along with Tyler and Caroline. It is just the three of them left to deal with this.

"All we need is to take that stake away from him" Elijah explains. "Once he's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us"

"And you'll just run?" Stefan sits next to Elena.

"We've done it before. Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half-century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?"

"We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back" Elena argues.

"I give you my word, Elena. I will not revive Klaus within yours nor even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."

"Why should she trust you? All you've done is screw her over" Matt points out.

"And for that, I am deeply ashamed" Elijah offers. "But know this, she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight, so Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not" Suddenly, Damon responds. He is on the phone from the road.

"Not! Hello? Did that concussion give you brain damage?! His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get! Put Daphne on the phone, let the adults talk" Elena and Stefan share a look. Elena shakes her head. Not ready to tell Damon yet. That him knowing what it cost them to put Klaus down, will not help in this situation. "Stefan?" Damon pushes.

"She's not here" Stefan answers. "She went to get food with Jeremy" Elena mouths 'thank you' at him.

"Rebekah and Kol will honour the terms" Elijah offers. "If you return Klaus' body to us, Elena will come to no harm. Do we have a deal?"

"No! No, no, no, no! Did I mention no?" Damon argues.

"Elena, it's up to you," Stefan tells Elena.

"Oh, come on!" Damon complains.

"Why do you want Klaus' body?" Elena asks Elijah who leans forward slightly.

"He's my brother. We remain together" Elijah answers. Elena studies him a moment and then sighs.

"We have a deal" She answers and turns to look at Stefan who tries to give her a reassuring look, but he's not sure what he would have done in that moment. It's complicated but Elena has lost the most because of Klaus and his vendetta.

.....

Damon and Bonnie exit an elevator into a room of storage units. Bonnie had joined him after he text Daphne's phone wanting a witch to help him stop Alaric from magically tracking Klaus' body. It is the best they can do to keep him hidden from Alaric, and any others that might seek to kill Klaus or wake him.

"You know, I'm not halfway out of Virginia and Elena sells our souls to the Originals?" Damon asks, annoyed by the events that are now happening.

"It was her call" Bonnie defends.

"You know what else is her call? Everything bad ever. Where's Daphne anyway, I text her?" Damon asks, Bonnie looks uncomfortable.

"She and Jeremy are leading Alaric on a wild goose chase" She answers flatly. Damon narrows his eyes at her. "Where's the body? As long as it's unspelled, Alaric is one witch away from finding it"

"Hidden. I was gonna use Unit 666, but figured that would be a little obvious. So..." They stop in front of a unit. "1020. Mini fridge, a couple of bird cages, a box of old Playboys. Damon opens the unit's shutter door. "One beef jerkified Original" Bonnie opens the casket. Klaus' chained and desiccated body lies within it. Suddenly, Klaus opens his eyes and looks at them. "Oh, creepy"

"I need a minute"

"Where is she, Bonnie?" Damon asks her, repeating his earlier question. He knows something is going on. And the fact that no one is telling him, makes him worry. "Where is she really?" Bonnie swallows a little and looks at him. The two of them share a look, something passing across her eyes that gives him his answer, but he doesn't want to see it, he doesn't want to believe it until she says it out loud.

"Dead" She answers. His breath catches in his chest and he shakes his head, violently denying that answer. It wasn't that long ago that he saw her, it can't be that simple, it can't be that cut and dry, Bonnie has to be lying to him, he just can't understand why she would use that as the lie.

"You're lying" He snaps at her, and she shakes her head.

"No" She whispers. "Why would I lie about this?" She asks him. "Damon, I'm sorry...but the spell that put Klaus down....it took everything from her"

"But she was fine" Damon argues as it sinks in, he doesn't want it to sink in, he wants it to be a lie. They had plans. They were going to go away. Spend time together. Be all in love and that shit. That was their future. The two of them. Together. It can't just be gone. "She was fine, I saw her...." He draws off, remembering that moment in front of the house. That knot in his stomach. The unease that settled over him. He knew. A part of him knew what was happening and he ignored it. "No one told me" He realises. They all kept this from him.

"They didn't want to tell you in case you screwed this up" Bonnie admits. Damon clenches his jaw, staring at her. He wants to lash out. He does. But Bonnie has at least told him the truth. No one else did. "Damon" Bonnie steps closer to him, wanting to comfort him. She knows how much Daphne meant to him and how much he meant to her. She might not be Damon's biggest fan, but that has been changing in recent months. Since Daphne crawled under his skin and into his heart. She doesn't want him to go back to being the person he was before he met her. But she fears it might happen.

"Just jam the witch locator, bat signal or whatever and get on with it, Bonnie," He tells her, voice low and broken. She's never heard him sound so despondent and lost before. So sure and confident in everything he does. "I want to go back" He adds, Bonnie nods. She knows that Damon and Daphne have plans in place for this situation, and he's going to want to do that for her. He's going to want to say goodbye. Damon leaves and closes the door of the storage unit. Bonnie leans over the casket, looking down at Klaus.

"You should burn in hell. But if you die, so do my friends. So does my mother. What am I supposed to do about that?" Bonnie asks Klaus' body and then lets out a sad sigh.