Vampire Diaries: Season 6 - A Matter Of Life & Death
Chapter One: Let's Make A Deal
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my story line :)
***Flashback: Three Months Earlier***
"Please don't leave me"
The words fell through her tear soaked lips and my heart broke into a million pieces.
"I don't have a choice baby"
***Flashback Ended***
"It was the only thing I could say" Damon stared into the brightly heightened sky as he tried to replay his final moments with Elena in his head, "If I had just one more minute to tell her that I love her, to tell her that I was okay… to tell her how sorry I was for trying to push her out of my life…"
Bonnie placed her hand softly on Damon's shoulder as his heavy breathing tried to disguise the mere pain escaping him, "She knows Damon. She knows how much you love her; she'll be okay… in time"
"In time?" he looked at her with questionable eyes, "In time Bonnie? It's been almost three months and she's barely removed herself from my bed, she's barely spoken to anyone except Jeremy" his voice heightened, and Bonnie swallowed hard knowing all too well that Elena wasn't making any signs of progress, "She's sinking Bonnie and the last thing I want her to do is end up here with us, stuck in this never ending reminder that we're dead; stuck wandering around aimlessly without ever being noticed. She needs to live again Bonnie, before she ends up doing something stupid"
"I know" Bonnie gave in; there was no denying that Damon was right. Elena was plummeting, and fast.
There was nothing anyone could do to rip her from the overwhelming sadness. It had consumed her whole, and she'd barely stopped crying since everything happened.
Stefan wasn't any better either; however, he did seem to be coping a lot better than Elena was. He tried to focus on other things, like Jeremy, and helping him move on from Bonnies' departure; but at night, while Damon and Bonnie roamed around the big Salvatore household, all they ever heard was sobbing.
Sobbing coming from Damon's old bedroom, where Elena was drowning in her own tears. Sobbing coming from Stefan's room as he mourned his brother and a good friend. And sobbing from the living room, as Jeremy failed to fight back the heartbreak of losing his girlfriend.
Both Damon and Bonnie tried many times to avoid going back there at night, when the lights were dimmed and the sobbing echoed the halls; but despite the painful repeats, they always seemed to return, and every night was a painful reminder that they were gone… and how much their loved ones were suffering because of it.
"I can't keep watching her Bonnie" Damon's head fell forward and his hands traveled behind his neck, trying to suppress the pain, "This is killing me, and I'm already dead"
Bonnie couldn't help but let out a small chuckle in response to Damon's irony. It was true; dead, and yet watching everyone felt like they were being killed a hundred times over again.
After a few seconds of silence, Bonnie stood up from the wooden bench in the town square. "I'm going to go check on Caroline, meet you in the usual spot later?"
The usual spot meant Damon's house. Where they continued to spend grueling nights as they watched their loved ones suffer in pain.
Damon nodded, even if it hurt; he knew that's where he'd be regardless. Sitting on his bed next to Elena, wishing he could wrap his arms around her and she could feel him comfort her.
Shortly after Bonnie disappeared, Damon continued looking at the sky. He thought about everything, wondering why things seemed even harder to deal with in death. After the 'other side' vanished, he thought that he and Bonnie would just end up in heaven, or in his case, hell. But instead, they were stuck in the same world they'd been in; only now, they were completely unreachable to the living. Even Jeremy was unable to see them; it was like being lost in a world that they weren't a part of.
"Maybe this is hell" he muttered to himself.
It only made sense for him; but Bonnie? She'd done everything to keep her friends alive and to keep them safe, why would she be in hell?
Damon shook the thoughts out of his mind, and tried to focus on something different. After all, it seemed as if he had all of eternity to wallow in the mistakes he'd made while living.
"Sucks don't it?" A woman's voice caused him to spin his head around.
"And who the hell are you?" Damon asked with narrowed eyes as he examined the woman dressed in an all-black satin and laced gown, with a laced black veil over her eyes.
The woman chuckled as she walked closer to Damon, "Well aren't you a friendly one?" the woman's thick Spanish accent let out a sarcastic response, "I'm Jessenya"
Damon's eyes skeptically scanned the woman, and he raised one eyebrow in response, "I don't remember you dying in Mystic Falls"
"That's because I didn't" she smirked, "I've also been dead for a very long time now; something I know we do not have in common"
Damon scoffed, "And would you like a medal for your observations?"
Jessenya narrowed her eyes a bit, and then proceeded to walk closer to Damon, eventually allowing a grin to reappear on her face, "We do have one thing in common, you and me"
"Oh really? And what's that?" Damon trolled his head to the side, rolling his eyes until they eventually focused on Jessenya with yet another raised eyebrow.
"Well, it's quite simple" she took a seat next to him on the bench and Damon again looked at her with suspicion, "We're both dead; stuck in this place of nonexistence, and we both desperately want to communicate with someone still living"
Damon looked at her for a few seconds in question, "You don't know anything about me"
"Oh, I know a lot more than you think Damon," she winked and then cracked a small smile, "I may have been listening in on you and your friend Bonnies' conversations for some time now"
"So you know my name too huh? Cause that's not stalker-like at all" Damon said as his narrowed eyes continued scanning Jessenya, "And uh- why exactly are you talking to me, and listening in on Bonnie and I's conversations?"
"Well, let's just say that I might know of a way to get you back to the land of the living, per say" Jessenya smiled surreptitiously.
"Yeah? And what if I told you that I think you're full of it" Damon snapped back, his quick tongue getting the best of him.
"Fair enough" Jessenya nodded, pursing her lips together a bit, "But I'm sure, what's her name? Elena? Would want nothing more than to have you back in her life again"
Damon continued staring at Jessenya with skeptical eyes, and he had to admit, the woman's mysterious claiming of know-how was starting to intrigue him a little bit, "So, let me ask you, Jessenya" he emphasized her name with a hint of sarcasm, "What exactly are you, some kind of witch? Because I'm pretty sure we've lost all supernatural abilities when we died"
"True" she said with a confirming nod, "We did lose all supernatural abilities when we died; but let's just say that I've been here long enough to discover some… loopholes"
"So you're telling me, that you know how to bring someone back to life? Then why haven't you done it to yourself? You said you had someone you wanted to be with again, someone living, didn't you?"
"Well I said I know how to do it, I never said I wanted to go back" she raised an eyebrow, "but you on the other hand… you do want to go back, and I know with certainty that you would like to do so before Elena ends up here"
"And remind me" Damon stopped her from talking, "Why is it that you want to help me? What's in it for you?"
Jessenya chuckled, "Let's just say that there is something I'd like you to do for me when you get there"
"And that is?" Damon waited for an answer with no signs of expanding patience.
"I want you to find my daughter… Isabelle" she smiled and a ray of sunlight expanded over her veiled face, illuminating her piercing gray eyes, "and I want you to kill her"
Damon's face furrowed, "So you want me to kill your daughter? Well I have to say, that isn't exactly motherly love if you ask me"
"Maybe to you it isn't; but I assure you, I will be doing my Isabelle a favor. A favor she has been long searching for"
Damon was now extremely confused, and almost certain that the woman was clearly insane, "Wait a minute… Didn't you say you died in the 17th century? How is your daughter even still alive?"
Jessenya smiled, "Oh come 'on Damon, surely you can't be that oblivious. Put two and two together"
"She's a vampire?" Damon asked.
"Ding ding ding, that is correct" she said sarcastically.
"Okay, you are going to need to explain all this a little bit further for me; because honestly, I am a tad bit confused with everything you are telling me here. You have not answered me about being a witch, your daughter is apparently a four century old vampire that you allegedly want me to kill for you, for reasons I clearly do not understand, and if I agree to do this for you, you will bring me back to life? Sorry if this is a bit offensive, Jessenya, but this seems a bit strange to me… you've been dead for centuries and you are just now propositioning this deal to someone, and of all people, me?" Damon hardened his face, "Why?"
"Hmm… Someone has a bit of a trust issue" Jessenya made light of the conversation, and then let out a deep breath, "fine, let me explain"
***Flashback to 1609, Northern Spain (Jessenya POV)***
It was a dark night. The sound of thunder cracking outside our window made it all the more petrifying than it already was. There was chanting everywhere, the people of Logroño were on one mission and one mission only: to rid the town of the 'unholy', hence translation, the witches. My husband, Tobias, and my daughter, Isabelle, were packing just enough clothing to escape. We'd planned to get out of town before morning, to run far away before anyone even noticed we were gone.
I was a practicing witch; but I'd never done anything to harm anyone, I'd never even attempted it. My magic was used to heal, used to help the wounded that was all. However, not long before that night, a group of witches, black magic witches, arrived in Logroño. They wanted to strip the town of anything that did not benefit them. They burned homes, they slaughtered innocent people, and they even used magic against their own families if they tried to prevent them from taking over the town.
You know the saying; it only takes one bad person to ruin it for everyone, right? Well, the town of Logroño put together a 'secret society', something they'd been working on for months. Meeting in undisclosed places, formulating a plot to destroy the town witches. This plot did not only include the black magic witches; it included all known practicing witches. The Basque witch trials began shortly after, and those, good and bad, were being ripped from their homes and burned on stakes, in front of the entire town. People would shout in joy as they watched bodies shrivel in the fire one by one.
Tobias was a member of society, a well-known business man who conducted trades for the town of Logroño. He was highly respected by all means, and all who knew him, loved him.
When things became crazy, and word got out that I was one of them, that I was one of the 'unholy'; they tried to warn Tobias that I'd be killed. That there was no way to protect me from my fate, and anyone who tried to hide an 'unholy' practitioner would be burned at the stake along with them.
Tobias came home from work that day in a panic, I should've sensed something was wrong, something was off about his behavior; but I didn't. I told myself he was just worried, and he was doing everything and anything to protect Isabelle and me from harm.
So we left in the middle of the thunder stricken night, chanting heard from every direction and people walking around with flame lit torches as they knocked on doors and snatched practicing witches from their homes.
We'd made it about two miles before the chanting lessened and we finally reached a buggy that he'd claimed he left there to use for our escape.
My daughter Isabelle was five at the time, and I remember holding her hand tightly as we approached the buggy on the dirt road, anxious to get inside of it and hurry away from Logroño.
As we approached it, a man stepped out of the front seat and walked towards us. I didn't seem alarmed by his presence; because I was sure that he was helping Tobias and our family.
The heavyset man nodded at Tobias, and handed him a piece of paper, which Tobias slipped into his coat pocket. Again, I didn't question what it was. It was simply not my place to do so.
Tobias, then grabbed a hold of Isabelle's hand, and then turned to me with weary eyes.
"Go ahead, get on in my love" he said, and I remember hearing his tone hitch slightly.
"Señora" the heavy-set man held out his hand, to assist me in entering the buggy.
My hand separated from Isabelle's, and I grabbed a hold; but as soon as I placed my hand in his, I was hit extremely hard in the back of my head, causing me to lose complete consciousness.
I should've known something was wrong, I should have noticed; it was written all over his face.
When I woke up, not too long afterwards, I was tied down to two wooden boards. It was impossible to even move an inch.
"What are you doing to me? Please, I have a child, please, let me go" I pleaded, but not one person acknowledged my begging.
They looked at me like I was a disgrace, like I was the devil himself.
It wasn't long after that they'd carried me out to the town square, where the fire burned at all-time levels. People were chanting everywhere, throwing rocks and calling me all the names in the book.
At that point I stopped begging for my life. I knew my fate. I knew I was going to die. All I kept thinking about was Isabelle and how much I was going to miss my little girl.
It wasn't until I was up on that stake, and the fire began spreading across my body, that I the thoughts of revenge started flooding through my mind. The thoughts of how much I wished I could come back and kill Tobias for what he'd done to me, for what he'd done to his family.
It wasn't long before the excruciating pain consumed my body and I slowly slipped into death, anxious to just get it over with and be done with it.
However, it wasn't until my death that I'd realized I'd be forever stuck in this world, watching Tobias raise our daughter alone, and never able to communicate with her.
I watched Isabelle for years, and it wasn't until her sixteenth birthday that she'd discovered that she not only carried my physical traits; but she'd carried my supernatural traits as well. Things started occurring, and she began realizing that she was able to do things, things that were considered unnatural, unmoral… unholy.
Before Isabelle's magic became known to anyone, especially Tobias, I decided I needed to figure out a way to save her before she inherited the same fate as I did.
So I did everything in my power to figure out a solution, some way to warn her or to protect her. Eventually I figured out a loophole. That's when I met Audrey, a dead heartbroken vampire.
Audrey was here, stuck in this afterlife; yearning for a way out. A way to get back to her lost love, Michelle. So, we made a deal.
I would give her the option of life again, in return for the protection of my daughter. She needed to get to Isabelle, explain what really happened to me, and turn her into a vampire so that she could not be easily killed if her father Tobias ever found out.
Audrey agreed, and the deal was set forth.
I brought her back and she took off towards Spain, eventually finding Isabelle and telling her everything. Isabelle in return took vengeance out on Tobias, after learning the real truth about what he'd done to me. Once Audrey turned her, she completed her transition by sucking the life out of Tobias, and the entire secret society of Logroño. I'd never seen my daughter angrier, more hurt. She'd grown up to believe a lie, to believe her father tried to save me; just to find out that it was untrue.
I can't lie; it was bittersweet to watch Tobias suffer at the hands of Isabelle, right up until his last breath. It was finally the payback he deserved after all those years.
Shortly after, Audrey and Isabelle took off together. They became very close those two, and have never parted ways since. They are best friends, and for centuries, Isabelle has assisted Audrey in finding Michelle; even though they have not encountered much success in doing so.
However, there is more to this story for Isabelle.
Isabelle learned shortly after, that she possesses a gift unlike anything one has ever encountered. Isabelle is not only a vampire, but she has a witch bloodline, and a very powerful one.
My family originates from one of the most powerful witch lines to ever habitat the earth. Our powers are extremely rare, and nothing, not even vampirism has dissipated our bloodline.
When I was younger I was told this; but I never really understood the full extent of what my mother would tell me until I watched it happen with Isabelle.
Even though she transitioned to a vampire, Isabelle's powers grew to extreme strengths instead of disappearing. She has the ability to do almost anything you can imagine.
However, with so much power, comes envy; hate; a desire to illuminate such a powerful force. Isabelle has feared this throughout her entire course of existence. There are thousands of covens who seek to kill Isabelle, because they feel her powers are completely unnatural; out of balance between nature.
I don't want Isabelle to suffer like this any longer. I don't wish for my daughter to live in fear for the rest of eternity; but rather, have her reunited with me; here, together.
***Flashback Ended No POV***
Damon again, narrowed his eyes at Jessenya, "So let me get this straight; not only do you want me to kill your daughter for you, instead of having her live and just bring you back to her; but you also want me to go up against her, which you have clearly stated that she is some insanely powerful vampire/witch combination?"
"Correct" Jessenya nodded firmly.
"Are you out of your mind? I'll just end up killed and back here where I started"
"Not exactly" Jessenya smiled mysteriously, "You have an advantage Damon"
"Really?" Damon said sarcastically, "and what may I ask, would that be?"
"You have Bonnie" Jessenya smiled and Damon's face became even more confused, "And you also have the last living doppelgangers"
Damon's eyes scanned around as his face puzzled even more, "And what's that mean?"
"Well, if I bring you and Bonnie back to life, all you need is Stefan and Elena's blood, and Bonnie can perform the ritual that will completely weaken my daughters strength and powers, long enough to be killed"
"Okay, you have completely lost me" Damon shook his head in confusion, "What does the doppelgangers blood have anything to do with this?"
Jessenya laughed, "You don't understand just how powerful the doppelgangers are, do you Damon?" Damon didn't answer and Jessenya continued, "The doppelgangers' blood is the only thing in the world of supernatural that has the power to diminish things. That and a spell of course"
"So, you will bring both Bonnie and I back to the land of the living, just so long as I get some of Elena and Stefan's blood, Bonnie recites some weird witch ritual, and I kill your daughter for you?" Damon asked, feeling as if the deal would be a piece of cake.
"Exactly" Jessenya nodded with a confirming smile.
Damon bit his lip for a second as he processed everything in his head, "Okay, so here's a question; how do I find your daughter?"
"Oh, that's quite simple actually, and the reason I've decided to ask you in the first place" Jessenya raised an eyebrow, "Her and Audrey have just arrived in their new location… Whitmore College"
Damon raised a questionable eyebrow, "Whitmore? Seriously?"
"Yes, apparently the two want to return to college, get another degree… pretend that they are booming young teenagers all over again" Jessenya rolled her eyes, "and Audrey has learned that Michelle was last seen around Mystic Falls"
"This sounds too easy, there has to be a catch" Damon scoffed.
"No catch Damon. I just want to reunite with my daughter again, and have her life freed from fear"
"I need to talk to Bonnie about this" Damon said.
"Sure. That is not a problem" Jessenya affirmed, "however, you might want to do so fast. I've seen Elena, and well… you know what can happen when depression goes untreated for too long. Life becomes too hard to deal with, and people decide to give up. Wouldn't want Elena to end up here before you even get a chance to get back and help her, now would you?"
Damon looked over at Jessenya with weary eyes. She was right. Elena was depressed, and it was only getting worse. If this was the way out, the way to get back to her, then maybe it was worth it.
"I'm going to go talk to Bonnie" Damon stood up from the bench and Jessenya gave a nod.
"I'll be here when you've decided" she said with smile, and as Damon turned to walk away, Jessenyas' eyes narrowed at him with a very questionable look.
It didn't take long before both Bonnie and Damon met up in the same place they'd stayed every night for the past three months… Damon house; or well, his house before he died, that is.
"Ready for another painful reminder that our loved ones are hurting and we can't do anything about it?" Bonnie said to Damon with a slightly tender tone.
"Yeah, listen; about that" Damon said to her as they stood by the doorway, "we need to talk about something"
Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed, "What?"
"I think I may have found a way that we can go back" Bonnies face furrowed in confusion and Damon continued, "like undead, brought back to life"
"What do you mean? How?" she asked.
"Well, I met this other dead witch today" Damon sarcastically tilted his head, "and she propositioned a deal for us"
Bonnie's face remained confused, "But that's not possible Damon, witches lose their powers when they die. There is nothing a dead witch can do to bring us back"
"See, yeah, that's what I though; but apparently she is a part of some rare witch bloodline, with some kind of crazy unnatural powers, and well; she figured out a loophole apparently"
Bonnie's eyes widened, "Jessenya? You spoke with Jessenya, Damon?"
Damon's face turned confused suddenly, "Yeah? Why?"
Bonnie shook her head, "Jessenya and her family are far from just unnatural Damon. Their powers are unheard of. Witches everywhere have been trying to locate her last descendent for centuries, they can wreak more havoc that anything that has ever existed. They are extremely dangerous; you need to stay away from her Damon"
"Okay, but here's the thing… her last descendent is her daughter, Isabelle; who has conveniently just settled into Whitmore College, and the deal she offered me, is to find Isabelle and kill her… so isn't that a win/win situation?"
"Damon, there is no way that you'd be able to kill her… she would shred you into pieces"
"Oh but there is" Damon corrected with an extended finger, "See, apparently, the only thing that can weaken her for a limited amount of time is the doppelgangers blood, i.e. Stefan and Elena, combined with some witchy voo-doo spell; hence where you come in; and then poof, crazy powerful witch slash vampire psycho is dead and you and I get to live"
Bonnie processed it all in her head for a few minutes, "I don't know Damon. I'm telling you, my Grams warned me about this family. She told me how powerful they were… I just, I don't think this is a good idea"
Damon was about to argue in response when they heard Stefan yelling in the distant halls of the house, in the direction of Damon's old bedroom. The two of them took off at lightning speed, desperate to see what was going on, even if they were unable to do anything about it either way.
As Bonnie and Damon approached the doorway, Stefan was struggling above Elena on Damon's bed, desperately trying to pry a broken wooden chair leg from Elena's hands. The sharp piece of wood was mere inches from Elena's chest, and her eyes were fierce as she struggled to lower it towards her heart.
"Elena Stop!" Stefan yelled out to her, "Damon wouldn't want this! And what about Jeremy?! You're just going to leave him alone, without any family left at all?!"
Damon's eyes widened as he caught sight of what Elena was about to do. He anxiously tried and tried to grab a hold of the broken wood along with Stefan, but it was no use. Being dead meant that his hand swiped completely through the object, unable to grab a hold of anything.
"Elena Stop!" Bonnie yelled out, but again, it was pointless yelling. The only person able to hear her was Damon.
Finally Stefan managed to peel the wood from Elena and she completely collapsed into the covers, her emotions taking over as she cried out.
"I can't do this Stefan, I can't do this" Elena cried, "Just let me do it, just let me die"
"I'm not going to let you kill yourself Elena! You're better than this; you can get through this, just as I am!"
Damon looked over at Bonnie with a completely flabbergasted expression, and Bonnies was just the same. Jessenya was right, Elena was determined to be with Damon one way or another, and there was no way he was going to allow Elena to be the one to die.
"Bonnie, we need to do this; and now!" he yelled to her, partially out of fright and partially in demand.
Bonnie swallowed hard, Damon was right. If there was only one way to do this, than they needed to take their chances. Elena was her best friend, and she'd do anything to protect her, even if that meant making a deal with the devil.
"Okay" she said softly as Damon looked at her with wide eyes, "I'll do it"
Okay, so I couldn't wait a whole week to post the first chapter, so here it is! I hope you like it, and I know it seems a little confusing or weird right now; but it will all come together eventually, I promise :) Please review and let me know your thoughts!
Also, special shout out to "DamonElena4Ever" for their wonderful creation of 'Jessenya and Isabelle'. These O/C's will play a MAJOR role in this story! Also, to 'Clockwork-Pixie' for the creation of 'Audrey and Michelle'. I haven't gotten too in depth with them yet; but there will be plenty more to come.
For the rest of the submissions so far, thank you for your ideas, I will be adding plenty more as the story continues so just keep an eye out for your characters :) Also, I will take submissions until Monday, so anyone else who has some ideas, feel free to send them my way, either in a review or a PM (The questionnaire is below).
Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and of course, reviews will definitely help to speed up the next update, so please let me know your thoughts!
Until next update... Xxx
O/C Questionnaire
Name:
Nickname: Reg O/C or Villain O/C: Place of Origin: Hair color: Eye color: Any distinguishing facial features: Any distinguishing body features (birthmarks, defects, scars, tattoos, etc.): Any Family: Supernatural Powers: Biggest fear: What does he/she want: Any Secrets: Personality: Ever in love: Ever experienced heartbreak: Style: Era: His/her idea of perfect happiness: Any accents: Strongest asset: Weakest asset: Any additional traits or back story: