A Change of Destiny
By maddog2260
Author's Note: After several years on hiatus I have decided to return to writing fanfiction, I have been a big Damon/Elena supporter and I have had this story rattling around in my head for several months now and couldn't help but write it up. Anyways on with the show.
Chapter 1: Portals to Another Place
Cave Beneath Mystic Falls, Virginia
2018
"This is how it ends Salvatore…I must admit I am disappointed" the dark-skinned man said almost conversationally despite the dire circumstances. Arcadius, Cade or lucifer (he'd had many names over the centuries) kneeled on the fainted skinned, dark haired man. Damon Salvatore had given everything he had stop Cade and it still had not been enough.
"You will live with your failure" Cade declared, standing, and walking over to the coffin in the corner of the cave. Damon rolled over and slowly rose to his knees, a hand clutching his chest. Red stains of blood dripped slowly through the dark fabric, but this didn't seem to deter the vampire in the slightest.
"GET AWAY FROM HER" Damon roared, using what little strength he had rushing cade and sending him crashing into the wall, causing a thin mist of dust to fall from the rock ceiling. Damon rushed him again crashing straight into him and viciously punching and kicking. Suddenly Cade put his hand up and an invisible force seemed to knock Damon flying. He crashed into the wall a loud crack cracking echoing out in the cavernous space, Damon cried out in agony and hit the floor unable to move from where he fell.
"She truly is a beautiful soul" Cade said, brushing the dust off his suit jacket and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I can understand the attraction" Cade said beginning to walk towards the coffin, Damon made a move to get up but whatever had been broken ( he was pretty sure it was his pelvis) was keeping him down and no matter how hard he tried Damon couldn't get his legs to work like they should. Cade raised his hand towards the coffin, and began to chant, a long-forgotten language. Suddenly a portal burst open with a blinding flash of light and a burst of heat washed over the room.
"My soldiers will come through…we will take this world and you know why?" Cade said not realizing that Damon had subtly snapped his broken bones back into place.
"Because the human flesh is weak, and the human mind is even weaker" Cade said, closing his eyes and channeling even more power to be force into the portal. A faint glow was travelling from Cade outreached right hand, which was held steady over Elena's coffin whilst the right held steady channeling even more power into the portal.
Damon slowly rose to his feet and looked at Cade who was distracted by the magic that he was performing which had caused a literal hell on earth to be opened just below Mystic Falls. The plan had been different, Stefan was supposed to be here, but Damon had realized Cade's intentions with Elena's sleepy form which was hidden inside the coffin. He needed a pure soul, a good and kind one and Elena was ready and unable to defend herself. If she had been awake Damon knew she would be doing everything she could to stop from taking her life, but the spell had cast on her left her nothing more than a sleeping beauty.
As Damon slowly took in the picture, he realized that his choices were rather limited, if he didn't act Cade would suck the life force from Elena and use it to unleash hell on Earth. A sudden realization slid over Damon when he realized that he would have to make Cade close the portal…and the only way Damon knew for sure that would work would be if he pushed Cade in. It would be a one-way trip, but Damon had long ago made a vow to never let anything happen to Elena Gilbert, he would sacrifice anything…even his life.
As Damon slowly started to edge towards Cade, he footstep feeling like a mile Damon realized everything he was going to leave behind. It wasn't just Elena who Damon had bonded with in the years since his return to Mystic Falls all those years ago. Bonnie Bennet, the proud and strong witch whom he had become best friends flashed into his mind. Stefan followed quickly after, Damon remembered his smiling face when he had returned from the Civil Ware, barely alive atop his old stead who had served him well during that conflict. Caroline was next, her nagging voice and bubbly personality had helped him through some of his darkest days.
Finally, Elena filled his mind as Damon came within inches of Cades back, her smiling face as she saw him enter the Mystic Grille, rolling over to find her soft brown eyes staring at him with, wearing a smile and nothing else whilst stretched out in his bed, her chestnut brown locks billowed out on his pillow, he knew it that moment he would never love another being as much as he did her.
As this final image burned into his mind Damon's hand shot up and disappeared into Cade's chest.
"What-what are you doing?" Cade asked in shock as he looked down to see the blood forming on the front of his shirt, the force of Damon's punch not only travelling though his heart but basically impaling Cade on Damon's hand.
"What I must" Damon said starting to push forward, neither noticing that the power that had been being drained from Elena was now being taken from Damon.
Cade put his hand out to stop his momentum, but Damon punched him face, which caused Cade to spin and fall to his knees, one hand outstretched behind struggling to keep the portal open whilst the other was stretched towards Damon who now fell to his knee's; the spell Cade had been casting was working double time on Damon.
What neither Cade nor Damon had realized was the form of Lilly Salvatore watching the battle between the two unfold. Though she had failed her son in life she didn't want to fail him in death, raising her hand in determination, the portal shifted from the being lit by the fires of hell, instead a soft blue glow erupted, not a moment too soon either Damon as raised his eyes, anger and determination filling his look as he stood and grabbed Cade by the scruff of his collar, showing surprising strength for his injuries.
"Looks like we are going for a trip to hell Cade, I hear its nice this time of year" Damon said before his vampire visage started to spread from his eyes. Damon gave a roar and threw Cade into the portal but not before the other man grabbed his wrist, forcing him to follow his trajectory and fall through the portal. The last thought that travelled through his mind was only a simple apology to the two people he cared about most.
I'm sorry Elena, I'm sorry Stefan…I didn't have a choice Damon though as his eyes his closed and he fell through. As soon as both men fell through the portal it pulsated several times before evaporating into nothing, leaving nothing but a coffin and its sleeping occupant.
Salvatore Boarding House, Mystic Falls. Virginia
2011
It was a quiet night in Mystic Falls as Damon pulled his powder blue Camaro into the Salvatore boarding house driveway. Damon sighed as he thought over the events of the night, Klaus and Stefan had returned to Mystic Falls with a vengeance. The sight of Elena unconscious in that hospital pierced his soul.
As he slowly walked up to her bedside, he saw the gauze on her neck and realized she had been fed on he swore he would rip and tear whatever had made her perfect skin. As he stopped just beside her bed, he picked up the tell-tale IV line and shook his head trying to suppress the rage he felt at seeing his angel hurt.
She's not yours his demon whispered softly, before Damon shut that avenue down before it took off. That was always the difference between himself and his brother; Damon had complete control of the monster and Stefan didn't.
"Damon" whispered a angelic voice, sighing and letting out relieved breathe he slowly walked up to her.
"Hey" Damon whispered trying to convey as much love as he could with that one little word.
Wrapping one of her hands gently around her neck Damon slowly hoisted her into his arms. When her head was safely tucked into his neck, he slowly walked from the hospital swearing vengeance on those who harmed her and that they would have to step over his dead body to ever harm a head on her head again. After he had taken her from the hospital, back to the boarding house was there he swore to her that he would never leave her again.
After Stefan had returned, Damon had taken Elena to Matt Donovan house where the other members of their little group he had left swiftly spouting that he was going to have a word with his brother.
The sound of thunder cracking in the night sky and the sudden downpour snapped him out of his thoughts.
Odd Damon thought to himself, the weather forecast had not predicted this storm, hell it was supposed to clear skies for the next week.
Shaking his head about the odd weather patterns he opened the car door and stood in the rain for a moment, extending his hearing to take in all the sounds of the house. He couldn't hear Stefan in the house, Damon was confident in the location of where Elena was; Matt had never invited Stefan, Klaus, Katherine or even himself. To his knowledge the only vampire who had acquired an invitation inside was Caroline.
A lighting strike less than 20 feet away made him jump (not that he would ever admit). Moving swiftly towards the door, he never noticed the dark clouds swirling above him or the next lightning strike coming straight down from the center and strike him directly in the chest.
Pain like nothing Damon experienced before shot through him as the lightning strike continued to surge through his body. As his body started to shut down from the pain his last thought was that Elena and thinking that he must have burned down a mirror shop in the past life.
Where was he, Damon thought as he slowly gathered his bearings. Sitting up swiftly he took in his surroundings, he was in the Mystic Grill, but it looked completely different, there was a wide window where the bar once stood, and the styles of the tables and chairs had changed as well.
"Things change in 10 years" a voice spoke behind me, a voice that I had heard for the last 170 odd years, it was his voice.
Slowly turning his mouth dropped in shock at the figure that was sitting at the bar; it was a carbon copy of him. The Damon seated at the bar poured a glass of whiskey out of a bottle that seemed to appear, then suddenly another glass appeared in the air.
Damon sitting at the bar set about fixing a second drink as the Damon who had been lying on the floor stood up and slowly approached the spot at the bar where his…well doppelganger was seated.
"I'm not a doppelganger, I'm you…well give or take a decade or so" replied the Damon seated at the bar, slowly sliding a drink to seat next to him that the other Damon had taken.
"Where are we?" Damon asked slowly taking in his surroundings.
"Between life and death" replied Damon taking large swallow from his glass, enjoying the feel of it going down.
"What do you want?" Damon asked his double in shock, he was finally dead.
"Don't worry it's not permanent we could be in contact with one another" the other Damon replied giving himself a brief smirk. He took a deep breath and poured himself another bourbon, swirling the glass around.
"Our time is short, the events that led up to my being in this time and place are too complex to explain, what I want to do is this; merge our minds and souls together" The other Damon said causing the past Damon to drop his jaw in shock.
Damon thought about this for less than a second before a single thought entered his mind.
"Can I protect Elena better from Klaus?" Damon asked the other Damon, causing him to smirk into the glass.
"Of course," the other Damon replied draining his second glass, after which he stood up and walked swiftly behind Damon causing him to stand and spin.
"I warn you" the other Damon replied, "if you decide to accept my soul into yours you will gain all of my memories…I will say there is pain but more happiness than we ever dreamed possible."
"If you succeed in changing things your happiness…our happiness will be a casualty"
The other Damon replied. Present Damon thought on his double's words before the same words as before came from his mouth.
"Can I protect Elena better from Klaus?" present Damon replied causing the other Damon simply smirked in response and took a step closer.
"You will be able to protect her from any threat I know of; my knowledge of the future will be yours" the other Damon finished.
"Let's do this then" present Damon said picking his glass from the bar and throwing the rest of the whiskey down his throat. The other Damon simply smirked in response and raised his hand.
"Raise your hands and join them with me and whatever you do…don't fight this too much" the other Damon replied barely giving present before he snatched both his hands and the pain started again…but it quickly grew and centered around his head, it felt like someone was shoving a hot piece of metal into his brain.
Memories started to flash before his eyes, it felt as if he was reliving the moments of his future self. His memories of Elena were the strongest and the last image Damon had before everyone went black were a pair of brown doe eyes that lit up his world.
Damon came to slowly take stock of his body but as soon as he tried, he realized every inch of himself was in agony.
"Damon, Damon are you ok?" a voice sounded through the haze of pain. Wrenching his eyes open his stared into the concerned brown eyes of the love of his eternal existence; Elena Gilbert.
"I'm fine Elena" shaking himself off trying to calm himself.
"What happened?" Damon asked Elena looking everywhere he possibly could but into her eyes…if he did, he doubt he would be able to keep his composure.
Elena's eyebrows shot up in disbelief, both at his inability to remember the events that led up to his unconscious.
"You were struck by lightning Damon…how do you feel?" Elena asked with concern laced in her voice.
Damon raised his eyebrows at Elena, seeing the concern shining through behind her brown doe eyes before she looked away from the intensity of the moment. Even that momentarily meeting of the eyes had sent Elena's hear racing and a small smile to appear on Damon's face
As he stared at Elena, the memories of what would happen would to her irrevocably. It was difficult to separate his future memories from his past memories. Everything was jumbled and Damon took a deep breath to stop his spinning head. Damon stood up slowly and took stock of his clothes.
There was a singed hole in the middle of his shirt, where the bolt of lightning struck. His skin was red and raw however it appears to have already healed causing Elena's eyebrows to shoot up higher if that was possible.
"How did you heal so fast" Elena asked, a slight tinge of disbelief showing on her face.
"I don't know Elena" Damon replied slowly looking at the women he loved more than his own existence for a moment.
Damon moved before Elena knew what was happening, he moved fast than he had ever moved in his life appearing in front of Elena. He pulled her into a hug, crushing her to him. He knew this was out of character but the feel of her warm body against reassured him that she was alive and awake, her arms slowly wrapped around his neck gently, unsure of exactly how to act. Damon savored this moment as he realized where and when he was.
He would change things, he would make sure Bonnie didn't suffer through her tragedies, that Stefan would not lose more of his humanity than he already had, Alaric would not suffer through the tragedies of his lost loves, Caroline would not lose her humanity in the future. But most of all, Elena would not suffer as she had in the future. She would not turn into a vampire, he would ensure she would get everything she wanted out of life even if that life did not include him in it.
The greatest threat to Elena Damon had come to realize was himself; he was dangerous to be around, the greatest threat he thought he posed to Elena, the main reason he felt he would do would be to change her. Though they had their happy times in the future that as he thought about them caused a stab of longing to piece his very soul. He would do anything to ensure that protect her dream of a normal human life.
Without Damon in her life his mother would not have told Kai about the spell that had entrapped her in the world of dreams. He would protect her, and as he slowly released Elena and turned his head away, he felt a resolve form, an iron wall slamming down around his heart. He would protect his family and the woman he loved even if it cost him his life.