This story kind of branches off from the episode Founder's Day. It introduces an original character, Alaric's sister, Brighton. Oh BTW, Isobel and Katherine's appearance will either be postponed or entirely forgotten. I haven't decided yet. They don't know about Isobel and Elena's connection yet and no one but Stefan and Alaric know that Damon turned Isobel. Sorry if anyone seems out of character. I just wanted to write something that had everything I loved about fanfiction and Vampire Diaries. If you can't tell, I love Damon and Alaric and I'm not a big fan of Elena and Stefan. Sorry if that disappoints you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the plot and Brighton and any random things that you don't happen to recognize. This is merely for enjoyment.

I knew I should have gotten there sooner. Alaric was in trouble again and I would now have to rescue him. He had gotten himself mixed up with vampires and I don't know how many times I've learned that myself. I mean, first his wife, whom I never really liked, and now this. I ran into the square looking for him. The crowd was immense and loud. I knew what was going to happen soon; I had overheard that Gilbert guy talking to the mayor about it. Through the mass of people, I saw Ric running towards the parking lot. I went to follow him.

"Hey Ric. How's life treating you these days?"

"Bri- wait, what?"

"I heard you might need a little help tonight".

"What are you doing here?"

"Look, I know about this town's undead problem so I came to help you out. Is there a problem with that?"

"How do you even know about vampires?" Alaric whispered as a crowd of noisy students stumbled by.

"College teaches you all kinds of things these days, Ric".

"Brighton, you shouldn't be here. It isn't safe."

"Alaric, I've known that the world isn't safe for four years now." I opened the bag I was carrying and showed him my weapons. "Is this going to be enough or do you have extra?"

Ric, now speechless, unlocked his trunk and pulled out his black bag. He tossed it to me and I unzipped it. "I've got a stake gun, extra ammo, and vervain darts." He turned back to look me in the eyes, "Are you sure you can handle this?"

I stared right back. "I've been handling this longer than you have."

He sighed. "Alright, let's go".

We jogged back to the town square where the mayor was speaking.

"…to call home- safe, prosperous, welcoming. And we have the founders to thank for that. That's why I would like to dedicate this evening's fireworks display to their legacy."

This guy had to be kidding me. Mystic Falls is safe? He was laying it on a bit thick for him not to know. Plus if he is really a Lockwood, then he has to know about the vamps. I scanned the crowd for suspicious characters. I noticed one guy glaring at Mayor Lockwood and stalking towards the stage. I nudged Ric and pointed. "That has to be one of them. Do you recognize him?"

Ric shook his head and motioned me to follow him. Suddenly the fireworks were underway and everyone was cheering. It got harder to see. Ric got distracted from the one we were following. "Damn it, I have to help someone." He ran into the street. "Wait, Ric, where are you going?" I ran after him. He stopped a cop.

"Hey, I got this one. There's one over there. Take this." Ric slipped a stake into the cop's hand. "Go, go, go!"

I thought he was going to stake the vampire that was writhing on the ground but he helped him and the girl into a stairwell that was off to the side. "Ric what are you-".

"Who is she?" asked the brunette girl.

Ric opened his mouth to answer but I answered for him. "I'm Brighton, his sister. You are?"

"I'm Elena and this is um…" She looked at the guy crumpled in pain and I knew immediately who or rather what he was.

"He is your boyfriend?" I asked matter-of-factly.

"Yes. But I don't know what happened. He just dropped."

"He's not the only one. Cops are grabbing everyone who's gone down." Ric managed to say. "They're injecting them with vervain".

"Whoa, that's cruel. How are we going to stop it?" I asked urgently.

Elena looked up at me stunned. "Wait, you know about vampires?"

"Ya, I known for awhile now. But more to the point, how are we going to stop it? Based on my brother and your current situation", I motioned to the guy still on the ground, "I assume there are a few vampires y'all are willing to save".

"Yeah." Elena suddenly realized something. "They're rounding up the vampires."

I thought for a second. "Do you think a John Gilbert has something to do with this?"

Elena and Alaric stared at me startled. "How do you know John?" she asked me.

"I don't but I overheard him and the mayor talking about getting rid of the vampires. But I don't know how they're doing this." I looked up at the crowd and there were more citizens being dragged away by the police. "Whatever it is, it's taking place in that building." I pointed toward a small storefront.

"Bri, stay here with Elena and Stefan. Make sure they stay hidden." He started to go up the stairs before I stopped him.

"I know what you're trying to do, Ric, and it ain't going to work. I've done this longer than you have and no one knows me. I can get in and out with out being noticed." He started to protest.

"Ric, don't argue with me-you'll lose. Just tell me who to get and meet me there."

Elena, who had been watching us with worry on her face and some amusement, said, "Damon. He's Stefan's brother. Black hair, blue eyes, about 5'11''." I nodded. "What building are they holding them in?"

I ran upstairs to look. "They are taking them to the Gilbert's MD building. Do you know it?"

"Of course I do. I'm Elena Gilbert."

I made the connection real fast. "So John Gilbert is your…"

"I thought he was my uncle but now I'm not sure."

"Okay, I'm gonna want until after this thing before I crack open that egg. So how do I get in?"

"If the police are holding them in the basement, which they probably are, take the side entrance. The front is most likely locked."

"Got it." I grabbed a few stakes and placed them in certain hiding spots on my body: ankle, waist, and at my wrist. I then pulled my handgun from my lower back and proceeded to check it. I looked up when I was finished securing my weapons to find Elena and Ric staring at me dumfounded. "What? I like to be prepared."

"The gun is for…" Ric asked me shocked. He had never seen me like this. I was his innocent younger sister.

"The living can be dangerous too." I moved to leave.

Elena grabbed my arm. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ric pulled me into a tight hug; "Be safe. You still have some explaining to do."

I extracted myself and climbed the stairs. I broke into a run and made it to the building. I creeped around the corner until I found the back door. Shit, two cops were standing guard. I thought fast.

I stumbled from my shadow so the cops would see me. "Help! Help! Something just attacked me." They ran over. "Are you okay? What attacked you? Where?" I punched Lackey One in the face and kneed Lackey Two in the gut. When One rushed me, I kicked him across his chin and slammed his head into the ground. One down, Two to go. Two recovered and hit me in my nose. I motioned for him to stop. "Stop! I'm sorry! I've had a bit too much to drink." He dropped his stance. He looked relieved to not have to battle a young woman who had simply had too much fun at the festival. I surprised him and roundhouse kicked him in his face. He fell like a 260-pound man would. I did my little victory dance and proceeded to the door.

I cracked the door and peeked in. No one was there. I cautiously walked down the steps and scanned the room. Six vampires were carelessly strewn across the floor. I stepped over a leg and jumped over the body of another. I knew that these vamps were filled with vervain but I was still on edge.

"Damon? Damon?" I called out, hoping that I could grab him and get out quickly.

The door opened and a man strolled in. I leapt behind a stack of musty boxes. "The device is done. The only thing keeping them down is the vervain. We don't have much time. Let's finish this." A policeman began to pour gasoline over the bodies. I knew I had little time and this would not go well if I got stuck done here. A groan ripped through the room.

"Anna. You can head up. I'll take it from here".

I snuck a peek around the corner of a box. A blonde man was standing over a vampire who didn't look over the age of eighteen. She was holding on to his ankle. He pulled a stake out of his jacket. Why was he going to stake her if he planned on burning the place down? As he leaned over her, the girl, Anna, pleaded him not to. He did anyway. I knew that he was John Gilbert. Only he would be so cruel.

As he backed his way up the steps, pouring gas as he went, I crawled out of my hiding place to continue looking. "Damon!" "Damon!"

I crept forward when I realized the fire had been lit and my time was shortening increasingly fast. "Damon!" I cried more urgently. A vampire turned his head to look at me. I met his blue eyes and hoped that this was Damon.

I ran over and knelt next to him. "Please tell me that you're Damon, Stefan's brother?" He groaned yes. "Thank god because we have to get out of here fast." I grabbed him under shoulders and helped him to his feet. "Come on buddy, a little help would be nice." He stopped to glare at me with his amazingly bright blue eyes. I glared back and said, "I'm sorry for hurrying you but we're both gonna die down here unless you get off you're lilywhite vampire ass and help me."

Damon struggled against the vervain and climbed to his feet. I looked over at the girl who had been staked by the sonofabitch. She wasn't yet covered in flames. I ran over and pulled her to where Damon was kneeling. He stared at me like I had grown a second head.

The fire was raging now. The other vampires were permanently dead and the flames were ripping at the building. I could feel myself fighting to breathe clean air. Damon was supporting me now more than I was supporting him. "Who are you?" I inhaled to answer but I couldn't get anything but smoke. I fell to the floor coughing. Damon covered me with his body when a fiery beam collapsed from the ceiling.

I listened as the roar grew quiet. I looked up to see the flames begin to contain themselves and the stifling heat let up. A guy suddenly ran down the stairs. "Damon!" It was Stefan, thank the lord. He ran towards us, noticing me underneath Damon. "Come on!" Supporting all three of us, Stefan ran vampire-style up the stairs and out of the building. I laid the girl's body down and removed the stake. Elena rushed over and fretted over Damon and Stefan. I was still hacking up my lungs. "Where's Alaric?" I managed to get out.

"He's finishing up business in the crowd." Elena answered. "Who is- Anna! What happened?" This drew everyone's attention to the vampire I had battled to carry on my shoulders when Stefan rescued us. "Gilbert staked her- just her. Something about her made him do that. I mean to find out."

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