"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, that signifies nothing." - Marilyn Manson [Born Villain]


"He's here."

"Shh," a thousand voices whisper.

"He'll hear you."

Rectangular lights flicker, trembling in fear of the man walking below them. The shadows beyond the ones created by artificial light fall to their knees.

A black fog spills out from the darkness.

The whispers stop.

The warlock barely thinks before killing these creatures anymore. After almost a thousand years of dealing with Leeches, destroying them has become second nature to him; though, he must admit that in all of his years being on the Other Side he has never seen so many in one place.

Leeches aren't very picky creatures, however, when they sense an immense amount of power they run faster than normal and become hungrier than is generally expected. This fair-haired man is sure that whatever supernatural creature died had done so only five minutes ago. Yet, there were at least a thousand Leaches that came in that short amount of time.

So, what exactly bit the dust? It couldn't be a vampire or a werewolf and, to be honest, even claiming that it could be a witch seems too unrealistic. Witches and warlocks attract Leaches like no other supernatural creature but never like this.

Louis is almost anxious, something he hasn't felt for at least two-hundred years.

Whatever this creature is, there is no doubt in his mind that it is powerful, maybe even more so than he is. Someone like Qetsiyah, he thinks.


"She just wanted to get away...like a vacation," Jeremy says.

Damon eyes the boy while Elena nods in understanding.

Caroline frowns. "But she was supposed to go to college with us."

"She needs time...she wants to reconnect with nature. After all of that Expression..."

Elena continues to nod, almost as if she is a bobble head that keeps getting flicked. "Of any of us...she deserves it the most."

"Yeah, but..." Caroline sighs. "Why didn't she tell us?"

Damon looks at Jeremy, feigning curiosity. "Yeah, Baby Gilbert, why didn't she tell them?"

Jeremy ignores Damon's eyes. He knows that he is skeptical unlike the other two in the room who eat up his words like it's their last meal. "She barely talked to me about it," he says, quickly. "She just said that she needed a vacation and then left."

And you didn't bother to ask why? Damon rolls his eyes and, due to his growing annoyance, leaves the room.

Elena glances over at him before returning her attention to her brother. "So if I called her..."

"She wouldn't answer," he finishes.

Caroline's frown deepens. "So you get a goodbye and we don't?" She crosses her arms and scoffs. "The guy who cheats on her gets a goodbye...her best friends get nothing."

"Caroline."

The blond looks at the doppelgänger. "What? It's true."

Elena looks at her brother. "Ignore her. Just...if you hear from Bonnie again...can you tell her to call us?"

Jeremy nods.

She smiles and looks at Caroline. "Don't worry, we can still have fun with just the two of us."

Caroline rolls her eyes. "You mean three, unless you can actually pry yourself away from Damon's side. And, by the way, I don't plan on being in the same room as you two again...so, if you want to have best friend time, perfect. Just not when he is around."

"Caroline...can you not? Just for once," Elena begs, trying to retain her happiness.

Caroline sighs. "Sorry...I'm just...bitter over your choice."

"Yes, Caroline, my choice." She walks over to her friend. "Can we just forget about that now?"

She sighs even louder this time. "Fine. Just as long as you devote the rest of your day to me. That includes a sleepover."

Elena's face shows hesitance only for a moment. She nods in agreement, wanting to please her friend. "I'm just gonna say bye to him first, okay?"

"Five minutes," Caroline warns before she heads for her car.

"Five minutes, I promise."

It is about fifteen minutes later that Elena goes outside to find Caroline and her car missing. She pulls her cellphone from her back pocket and sees a text from said friend.

Thanks.

Elena sighs at the single word that was sent to her. She quickly texts back.

Fifteen minutes, Care. You couldn't wait a little longer?

Her phone vibrates after only a couple of seconds.

No.


Flames fly at Louis' face. With the flick of his wrist, they evaporate into nothing. He looks at the five witches blocking his path.

"He can't have her," the eldest of them says.

At the snap of his fingers, flames engulf them all.

Ten hands raise into the air, each one bending and twisting in an effort to conjure more power. The fire surrounding them expands out until it explodes.

Louis' arms cross to make an 'X'. The flames fly past him, none of them touching his skin.

"Bennetts, I assume?"

It is the eldest that speaks again, chin held high. "We protect our own."

He smiles then, revealing yellow-tinted teeth. "She doesn't belong to you anymore."

Black smoke vibrates from Louis' body. Within seconds the smoke finds the Bennetts' lungs. They begin to choke, eyes widening.

Four are on their knees. The eldest, being the strongest of them, remains standing. Her eyes shine, a glint of fire dancing through them. Her family members' hands find her ankles and grip tightly. Their power pulses through her.

For a moment, the woman seems God-like, surrounded by smoke and flames. She begins mumbling a spell, the rest of the witches following suit.

Louis watches, half amused and half curious. "Let's see what you're made of," he whispers.

The room fills with white flames. Louis remains untouched, though, without a doubt, he can feel the heat, almost burning just by the proximity of it to his skin.

Let us try something hotter, Louis thinks, smile widening.

The flames surrounding the witches change into a blue colour. The eldest witch is quick to respond, sending all the flames, both blue and white, at Louis. His forearms burn, the skin beginning to bubble. He takes a quick step forward, pushing the flames back at them.

The flames explode upon impact.

Louis looks at his injuries, placing a hand on each forearm. Ice leaves his fingertips and cover his burned skin. The pain disappears instantly.

His hands move to his sides and he walks forward, stepping over bones; behind them he sees the supernatural creature he came for: a witch, so it would seem. He studies her body, looking for any sign that she was hurt from the white fire her family created.

The only thing the fire took from her were her clothes. Her caramel-coloured skin remains untouched.

He takes her bare body in his arms and turns around to leave, once again stepping over her family's remains.

Someone like Qetsiyah, he thinks again, this time knowing that he couldn't be more correct.


Stefan has lost count of how many times he has died.

A hundred? Too little.

A thousand? Maybe.

He isn't sure what is worse: the hallucinations or not knowing if he will ever be found. A part of him can't even fathom the idea of dying over and over for eternity, hallucinating every waking minute; though, he is getting pretty close to understanding what it would feel like.

In this particular moment, he imagines Elena coming to save him: her opening the door and revealing her big, brown eyes. And him, coming out of his prison and hugging her, the love of his life.

Then he dies.

A couple of minutes later, he revives.

Once again, he sees someone saving him, though this time it is his brother. This one is more realistic compared to Elena coming to his rescue.

Damon's concerned eyes await Stefan when he opens the door. "Hey, brother," he says. He helps Stefan out of the metal container and pulls him onto land.

Stefan breathes in, the longest he ever has before. Air feels nice in his lungs. "Hey," he manages to say. He is almost tempted to ask how he found him but he is too focused on relishing in the fact that he is finally free.

Freedom.

Then he drowns.