authorsnote: so a few weeks ago I was watching katherine's death scene on youtube (I pretty much stopped watching tvd after klaus left, katherine's death was the final nail in the coffin for me), and what she said to damon sparked this idea. I've been deliberating and procrastinating and finally I wrote this. It's a bit weird, kind of AU and you almost have to suspend reality to believe it, but hey tvd has no issue suspending their own laws from time to time *glares at julie plec for killing off the best character in the series* so yeah, this was will probably be two shot, maybe a three shot. depends what kind of response I get. I hope as always you enjoy it!

song recommendations: gives you hell: all american rejects, princess of china: coldplay.

not believing in hell doesn't lower the temperature down there one degree.

- neil t anderson.

...

He has lived a long, full life.

That is the only thought that keeps him composed, stops him from swallowing his pride and begging for mercy. Instead he eyeballs his executioner and juts his chin in the air. He wouldn't beg, and besides, he knew it was no good.

The year was 2272, and he had lived for so long. He had seen nations rise and fall, technology advance and decay. He had seen deplorable things and beautiful things. He had lived longer than should be allowed. He had lived.

And so as the man in front of him swung the stake he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had lived a long, full, relatively happy life. He was ready to go.

(Or as ready as he could be when he didn't have a choice in the matter).

And as he felt the pierce in his chest, and his heart squeezed in on itself, he didn't scream, he didn't cry. He just fell with an anticlimatic slump.

In seconds he could feel any kind of conciousness he had leaving his body, he feels his mind dettatch from the greying corpse now below him. He feels himself leaving, and suddenly finds himself in front of her; the new tether to the other side.

'Lets get this over with' He sounds cocky, and is relieved when he looks himself over that he's not grey and corpsy but rather fully intact and as handsome as ever. 'Take me over'

'I can't' The tether speaks, and he raises an eyebrow. After Bonnie died the title passed on randomly from witch to witch, the girl in front of him can't be a day older than sixteen. 'You won't go through' He feels pity for a moment; this girls too young to hold such a responsibility.

The supernatural world sucked sometimes.

'What do you mean..' He's cut off then as he hears the roar of wind. He turns and his eyes only meet oncoming blackness, and endless darkness. He raises an eyebrow before he's knocked off of his feet. He roars as he is pulled into the darkness, his body falling and crunching.

And then he's gone.

'Your Majesty?' She hears a voice, and turns her head, one eyebrow cocked in annoyance. Didn't she already explain she was busy? With a roll of her eyes she turns on her seat to look down at the man daring to grace her presence.

'What?' She growls and the bodyguards around her advance forward. She smirks to herself before glowering back at the idiot who was fool enough to interrupt her. She is in no mood for killing for sport today, she wants to be left alone.

'I'm sorry my Queen' He blinks furiously and takes a step back 'It's just, you said to update you the second he passed over' He blinks again 'You did say that'

She pauses for a moment and a gasp leaves her lips. She is immediately on her feet, and her hands are balled into fists. 'He did? When?' 'When?!'

Her eyes are glowing, her cheeks are almost flushed and for once she looks excited. Katherine was normally known for having a typical 'resting bitch face', and happiness was either a great cause for celebration among her people or a dire cause for concern.

Her curls bounce as she jumps down onto the highest of the steps and looks down at the man who a second a go had been an annoyance and was now her source of important information. 'When?' She almost screeches the word and all those around her look over in fear.

'About 5 minutes ago Your Majesty' He quivers under her gaze, but is spared any pain as she squeals loudly and claps her hands together apparently in delight.

With a small smile she turns to her guards 'He'll be arriving any minute, we have to make sure it looks right. He needs to know what he's getting into' She raises an eyebrow all traces of her former excitement gone, her usual sour demeanor firmly back in place. 'You understand me?'

'Of course' One nods, and she moves back onto her seat, her legs dangling over one side, bodyguards flanking her at every side. She runs a hand through her curls, and smiles to herself once more.

Flames as high as skyscrapers flicker either side of her, and brimstone coats the ground. Her home is hundreds of thousands of caverns filled with workers and fighters and all manner of evil. She is the ruler.

She sits on a regal chair lined with gold, elevated above all below her; even her bodyguards stand on a platform underneath her. Hundreds of stairs showed the descent down from her throne.

Atop her brunette curls sits a crown sparkling with every gemstone from earth. Her eyes are alight and her clothes are leather, a large train following from her top. She looks like a goddess.

With a small smirk she hears the door behind her go and she gets a nod from one of the assistants. With a deep breath she settles her best bitch face in place and nods herself.

'Send him in'

'Ow' The word left his lips before he could stop himself and he glanced around to make sure he was alone. Indeed he was, and immediately it struck him: he was dead. He felt bemused for a moment, he had doubted any kind of afterlife beyond the Other Side. Where the hell was he if not there?

Leaping to his feet he was pleased to find he had all the abilities from his vampire self, still fully intact. With a grin he bounded forward, though where to he wasn't sure. He seemed to be in an area of constant white. There was nothing else.

Immediately he knew this was bad. He wasn't being promoted to heaven. Could he be in his own form of purgetory? Not even allowed to be with others on the Other Side?

Had he been that bad a person he deserved solitary? Is this where Katherine had gone?

Ahh Katherine, it had been years since he had thought of her. It was impossible to forget ones maker, she lived on in his blood everyday, and yet she had caused him so much pain, so much heartbreak.

He had loved her, still did if he admitted it to himself. Not quite the level he had when he had been a foolish human but on some level he still loved her. He felt a love like that could never really go away. It could only be ignored.

It had been harder to ignore when Elena had left him for Stefan. He had sobbed and screamed and raged and thrown things. He had thought of Katherine, and had hated her and himself.

It had been a hard few years but he had got over Elena. He had loved her too, but even now he could see that she hadn't held a candle to Katherine. His first girlfriend may have been a psychotic, crazed, evil bitch but she was worth remembering.

Clearly it took death to put his love into perspective.

With a sigh to himself he glanced around again and was met with a surprise. Walking toward him was a woman dressed in all white. He licked his lips; did he need to feed now he was dead? He needed some kind of afterlife handbook.

'Hello?' He spoke uncertainly and glanced her up and down. She was his only source of information, not a good idea to eat her. He would save that for later.

'Hello Damon Salvatore, son of Giuseppe and Lillian Salvatore' She spoke quietly holding up a hand when he began to interrupt. 'You were made vampire in 1864, and have lived as one until now' Her face remained impassive. 'You have killed hundreds of people, have turned seven, two of which still live' She turned to one side, extending a hand towards a white door that had appeared. 'Judgment is normally cast on the dead but as a vampire you abandon the right to judgement, instead you will go through this door and face the consequences of your actions'

Damon flinched as she motioned for him to move forward. This was certainly not good. 'I..' He began but the women merely smiled and cut him off again. He rolled his shoulders, shaking off his worry; he wouldn't show this bitch any level of fear.

'It is not me to judge, nor you to question. You can remain here or move through that door. Either way, each is its own punishment' She nodded and motioned again and Damon felt he had no choice but to move forward.

He turned away from her and made his way to the door. As he turned she was gone; so much for having a nice meal before facing eternity in hell. That was where he presumed he was going; heaven was clearly off the cards. With a grim smile and balled up fists he walked forward.

To meet his fate.

The second he stepped over the threshold and the door clicked behind him he wanted to go back. However as he turned the door vanished, and he cursed himself for being stupid. Of course, now he was stuck here. Wherever 'here' was.

The grim smile remained on his features as he walked forward. Yeap, definetely hell; no question about that.

The floor was black, and he seemed to be in an endless cave system. Hundreds of people he passed, pouding at rocks, fighting one another, chalking symbols into the floor. Pools of lava and flames of fire were prevelant everywhere. It was the stereotypical version of hell spouted about in hundreds of books.

But here it was real.

He made an effort to smirk as he walked through the system, he would not look weak. He held himself rigidly, and didn't flinch at anything he saw. Though he did notice it was all vampires around him, no humans, no witches. Curious.

With a shrug at this trivia he continued on forward. Where was he supposed to go? He asked a nearby vampire this and was met with a grunt and a finger pointing forward for his trouble.

So he carried on forward, stepping over the occassional lava spillage and dodging various vampires. It was odd but none seemed unhappy or worn out. Rather most spoke in cheerful voices about the day they were having.

If it werne't for the fire and brimstone it would seem like any normal city. It was weird. Part of him guessed that this was hell for vampires, maybe other creatures were confined to different areas of hell? He wasn't sure and was giving himself a headache just thinking about it.

He walked for what felt like half an hour. It was all caves, huge, high, spacious caves. He didn't stop walking, sure he would find out what to do when he had walked far enough.

Another ten minutes passed and finally he made progress. He continued forward, his eyes roaming over a high set of stairs about half a mile in front of him surrounded by flames that obscured the top. As he took another step he was stopped by a vampire covered in tattoos and scars carrying a spear.

'What is this a horror novel? I just need to know where I'm going and what I'm doing' He cocked an eyebrow and kept his stance firm. It wouldn't do to look weak here, it was like prison; any kind of fear would single him out as a target.

'If you have not been invited to the court you may not pass' The tattoed vamp spoke but was elbowed out of the way by someone he vaguely recognised but couldn't place.

'Are you Damon Salvatore?' As he nodded the tatooed vampire raised his eyebrows in shock. What the hell was this? Was he expected? 'Follow me'

And so he did brushing past what he could only presume were bodyguards. He gave them a cold smirk as he followed the vampire in front of him. He just couldn't put a finger on where he had seen him before and it was bugging him.

Still he kept his mouth shut, he felt now was not a good time to ask questions; even he, Damon Salvatore had gained a level of tact over the years.

'Am I expected?' He couldn't stop that one from slipping out. It seemed that he was in hell, how on earth was he expected in a place like this? Did Lucifer fancy a one on one meeting or something?

'Yes' The vampire didn't say anything more but instead lead Damon over a bridge suspended above a lava pool. The stairs he had seen were getting closer. He wondered if he was going to meet some version of Satan. He didn't even believe in the Devil and here he was, possibly on his way to meet him.

For a moment he felt nervous but pushed it down. He kept up his smirk as they approached the high staircase, the top obscured by shadows; it must have been well over one hundred stairs and Damon wanted to know what was up top; clearly whoever sat at the top was in charge here.

'Presenting Damon Salvatore Your Majesty' The vampire spoke again, bowing low and deep at Damon's side. Damon raised an eyebrow; so it was a woman ruling. How interesting, he wondered if flirting with her would do the trick, or get him beat up. Either way he'd try it.

'Thank you Trevor' That was where he knew the vampire! He had been one of Katherine's play things, Rose's Brother. For a moment he nodded, pleased he had solved that riddle before he realised that not only had he recognised Trevor, he recognised the voice coming from the shadows.

His entire body went cold and he felt a weight drop in his stomach. He heard taps on the steps and shook his head, his entire body felt like ice. 'No' He spoke softly but a high pitched giggle told him she had heard him.

'Hello to you too Damon' And so she continued down waving off her bodyguards to stand in front of him. 'It's customary to kneel before a Queen' She raised an eyebrow as he glared at her, but she glared back and placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing him to his knees. Even in hell she was eons stronger than him.

'Welcome to my Kingdom' She motioned around her, and adjusted the crown on her head. 'You told me you'd see me in hell, well here I am, ruling it' She laughed again, a high, cruel laugh. 'You didn't think I'd die and stop being me did you?'

She laughed again and Damon scowled. This was much worse than he had imagined.

so what did you think? enjoy/hate? please let me know, no review is a bad review (well sort of!).

also to clarify, I have always shipped this pair and believe a part of damon will always love katherine, she had such an impact on his life. however, in this fic he still feels A LOT of hatred for her, hence his reaction to seeing her.

anyways, please fav/subscribe/follow/review, and check out my other fics: especially 'her sanity' a multi klaroline fic, and 'fascination' a two/three shot klaroline fic in the making! and as always hope you enjoyed it!

see you soon xo.