Mystic Falls III

Before Klaus left town with Stefan, there was one loose end left to tie.

Mystic Falls had always been a battleground—one where humans foolishly believed they could control creatures far beyond their understanding. The vampire task force, as they so boldly called themselves, had been hunting his kind for too long. And now, it was time for them to be reminded of their place.

Under the cloak of night, Klaus and Stefan moved like a shadow through their hidden outposts—secret safe houses, heavily armed checkpoints, underground bunkers filled with weapons laced with vervain and wooden bullets. He tore through them effortlessly, his strength unmatched, his rage unchecked.

Gunfire rang out in the darkness, but bullets meant nothing to him. Screams echoed through the woods, cut short by the snap of necks, the tearing of flesh. One by one, they fell—officers, mercenaries, men and women who had spent years training to kill creatures like him. They were nothing more than insects beneath his boot.

By the time dawn approached, the entire task force had been wiped out.

All except one.

Sheriff Liz Forbes stood outside her car, hands clenched into fists as Klaus approached. She did not run.

He smirked. "You must have friends in high places," he mused. "Leon requested I leave you alive. I must say, I was tempted to ignore that request."

Liz didn't flinch. "And yet, here I am."

Klaus tilted his head. "Do you feel grateful? That I've spared you?"

She met his gaze without fear. "No. I feel tired."

Klaus chuckled. "I imagine you do." He took a step closer, lowering his voice. "Consider this mercy a gift, Sheriff. The game has changed. The vampires of Mystic Falls are no longer your enemy. You have much bigger threats to worry about."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind a trail of death and the promise of an even greater storm to come.

________________

At the Salvatore Boarding House, the silence was shattered by the sudden crash of glass as a group of vampires, their eyes black with hunger and rage, descended upon the estate. More converging on the property.

Inside, Damon and Elena barely had a moment to react before the onslaught began. Damon lunged toward the first intruder, slamming a stake through his chest, but more swarmed in behind him. Elena barely managed to duck as another vampire came at her, his fangs bared and hands reaching for her throat.

"David?" Damon gritted out as he snapped another vampire's neck, sending the lifeless body crashing to the floor.

Elena's heart pounded in her chest as she dodged yet another attacker, barely keeping herself from being overpowered. She wasn't supposed to be in the middle of another supernatural war—not tonight.

"Under the couch!" Damon shouted.

Elena moved and found a vervain grenade. She pulled the pin and threw it up. 

Bang!

It exploded and cleared the living , unfortunately, Damon was hit too. But she could stop when more were coming. 

And then, Leon arrived.

The moment he stepped through the shattered doorway, the atmosphere shifted. A blast of raw magic erupted from his body, sending a shockwave through the house. The invading vampires froze mid-attack, their bodies seizing up as if they had been caught in an invisible force.

Damon, breathless from the fight, and picking at his body to pull glass shards, stared in shock. "What the—?"

Leon's aquamarine eyes burned with power as he raised his hand, the flickering candlelight in the room intensifying around him. The vampires screamed as they were suddenly yanked backward, their bodies suspended in mid-air like marionettes on invisible strings.

Then came the coven. As they moved in, vampires outside of the house dropped one by one.

They appeared at Leon's side as if summoned by his mere presence, robed figures, knowing eyes, their hands raised in silent incantation. The air grew heavier, thick with a powerful energy that crackled through the house.

Leon's voice was calm, almost cold, as he turned to Damon and Elena.

"All of them are after you and Stefan"

"What?" Elena looked at Damon.

"Dave. That's Malcolm. That one is Stacy." Damon began to point them out.

"Alice picked up on their moves. Isobel made moves to end you guys." Leon lied, "Whoever kills you first gets a good payout and access to a spell to make a daylight ring."

The vampires were in fact recruited and organized by Alice at his command. One, it fucked with the Salvatores, two, it applied pressure on Mystic Falls, three, it allowed the coven to get their next sacrifices.

Damon's breath hitched.

"Anyway, like I said, my town now." Leon finished.

The vampires hanging in mid-air began to convulse, their bodies trembling violently as the coven's spell took hold. Dark veins spread across their skin, their shrieks filling the air. It was as if their very essence was being drained from them, siphoned into the witches who stood before them.

One by one, they fell silent—their bodies lifeless, their power stolen. The Salvatore Boarding House fell into eerie silence once more.

Damon, still gripping a stake in his hand, stared in stunned disbelief. "What the hell just happened?"

Leon and his coven didn't answer. Without another word, they turned and vanished into the night, leaving only the scent of death and magic behind.

"Thirty some vampires. Dead. Just like that

Elena clutched her arms to herself, shaken. "It's like that night at the Bonfire."

Damon swallowed, his expression dark. "They just got stronger."

________________

The next morning, the Mystic Falls Council Members awoke to an unmistakable warning.

First was the mass text that Sheriff Forbes had sent out about the destruction of their forces and arsenals.

Then, each of their houses bore the same gruesome sight—a severed vampire head, its lifeless eyes staring blankly into nothingness, mouth slightly open in an eternal scream. The blood was fresh, dark crimson staining the doorsteps of the most powerful families in town.

Pinned to each vampire's forehead was a single folded note in elegant, precise handwriting.

"You pay for protection against the danger that lurks while you sleep and kills before you can react."

Sheriff Forbes stood on her porch, her hand shaking as she clutched the bloodstained note. Her stomach churned at the sight before her—the unmistakable head of a vampire she had personally tried to track down just days ago.

Across town, other council members reacted much the same—some horrified, some angry, but all very, very afraid.

Leon had sent a message, and it was crystal clear.

Mystic Falls belonged to him now.