The White Oblivion

The black mass of shadows, now known as Amahl Farouk, slithered closer to the duo in the intimidating manner. As he drifted nearer, Damon had been able to get a better look at their captor. Farouk looked much more terrifying up close, than he had in the distance. The being was easily over seven feet tall and rippled with strength. While he possessed a human form, Amahl Farouk had none of its distinguishing features. There was no face, only a mouth full of sharp gleaming teeth. There was no distinct human skin color, only the tiny, black, slightly metallic scales that covered him from head to toe. There was no hair or fur or any other covering thing his humanoid head. Black, snakelike tendrils moved frantically across his torso and even darker particles vibrated down his arms. Everything Amahl Farouk radiated power and alluded a force not to be reckoned with. Damon doubted they would be discussing puppies and rainbows…

Amahl stooped down to their level and stared at them like he was examining cattle. "An anchor and a vampire…" he tutted in amusement. "It's a shame the original didn't make it over here…" He turned his stony gaze on Damon, but he refused to be intimidated.

"Where are we? Why are we here?" Damon demanded as he rattled off questions. He doubted that this Amahl Farouk guy was another victim that survived the collapsing of the other side. He must have had something to do with this place they were captive in, or at the very east prior knowledge on the white oblivion. Apparently, it was the wrong time to ask.

"You are in my dominion…" Amahl growled. "You are here because you owe me a debt."

"What debt? This is literally the first time I've seen you in my life?" Damon asked incredulously.

"You let my dead go back into the world of living." he spat, his mouth twisted into a grimace, making his teeth look even more menacing. "You will compensate for this loss."

"What loss? The other side is gone! Everyone is gone!" Bonnie piped up. Damon glanced over at her. She had straightened up to appear tougher as well. She no longer sat in the curled position but sat up straight as if she still had power behind her name.

"The other side isn't gone. It is merely on a different plane of existence. I had to stop pathetic beings from like you from letting them escape. When you let the dead return to the living, you alter the reality that was supposed to occur. Stupid fools! I merely rebuilt the other side, on a plane that wouldn't be accessible to earthlings like you." Amahl seemed to get more angry as he spoke, the black tendrils moved more rapidly around his torso. Damon leaned back as the entity lurched closer and observed what the monster had said. There was a major plot hole in his story though. If this was the new other side then where were the rest of the super natural beings. Then he remembered the stark difference in their disappearance and the others. Silas, Vicki, Katherine, and the others were sucked up in a black vortex, while Bonnie and him were absorbed into the light. Damon shifted away from Amahl, if he had truly created the other side they had no idea what they were dealing with.

Amahl did not notice Damon's lack of participation. "Then Sheila came to me with a proposition. To get her little granddaughter an arrangement for peace! The same little girl responsible for releasing the occupants of the other side!" Amahl made noise that vaguely sounded like a snow, but because he had no nose it came out muffled." She thought she could negotiate with me! Amahl Farouk! The SHADOW KING! My days of kindness are over! But, I let her think… I let her believe the she'd made a deal with me. I waited until she talked with her grandchild. Then I obliterated her." Farouk turned towards Bonnie and gave her a wide toothed grin, her eyes were burning with unshed tears as she absorbed the fact that yet another family member was dead. Damon wished he could say something, anything. But he was partly the reason her Grams was their in the first place, somehow he doubted that she would take any comfort in whatever he could come up with.

"When I'd sucked all the others through my vortex, I transported them to a better place. A place of happiness. A place Sheila did not deserve. A place you do not deserve! A place you will never deserve! So you are in my dominion. Where you will remain! Until you pay of your debts and suffer the pain of all those you let through… For them. Alaric, Stefan, Markos, Elena… You will sit here and you will compensate for my loss and only then will I release you back into your plane of existence.." The Shadow King was feral at this point. He bent down and placed one hand on Bonnie and the other on Damon. His hand was cold. Dread, uncertainty and fear seeped into Damon from it. At first he didn't realize why Farouk was touching them both, but when he realized why it only made the prospect more terrifying.

"What you have experienced up until now has been a field day. I will make your existence into a living hell! You will tremble when you hear my name. Scream when you see my face. I will take your memories, your dear moments, your life and I will turn it into a nightmare. And when I send you back to earth. Back to your friends! You will be so hurt. So broken. That they will barely recognize you. Then maybe you'll think twice of trying to mess with the other side." Surely this all couldn't be a result of letting a couple of people back from the other side. Markos and his travelers weren't even a direct result of their doing. Damon swallowed the lump in his throat. He refused to admit that he was afraid. Afraid of the prospect of everlasting pain. It brought him back to his days with Enzo. Days he would rather forget. He had perked up at the prospect of returning home, Damon did not want to be a vulnerable mess when he saw Elena again. Damon was the strong one. The one who was infallible. He did not want anyone to see him otherwise. So when the Shadow King's hands slid down to their chests, he only looked away and clenched his jaw. The black tendrils that encircled the man's chest were moving up to his arms and leaving his body. Encircling themselves around the duo. The black tendrils felt cold and smoky, like dry ice, as they slithered from Amahl to his own body. They'd felt foreign on his skin, which was only used to the touch of his clothes, his blood, and Bonnie after all this time. After the tendrils had completely left the hulking mass of shadows, Amahl stood up straight and retreated back to where he'd first appeared. Then he evaporated into thin air. Nothing but the white expanse left in his place. That an overwhelming since of dread.

Damon looked at the tendrils that encircled him, writhing all over his torso, resembling snakes having a seizure. Bonnie's did the same, but she was to glassy eyed take any real notice. He glanced at her with a smirk and attempted to lighten the mood a little.

"Shame he had to leave us so soon. He seemed like a charming fellow. He didn't even tell us what these snake thingy's were fo-" Damon was painfully interrupted when the tendrils abruptly stopped moving, opened a hole filled with sharp tiny needles, and burrowed into his chest cavity. Within seconds his entire chest was filled with a fiery, burning pain. It was worse than anything he'd experienced before. Worse than the fire from when they blew themselves up. Worse than being bitten by Klaus, the original hybrid. Worse than the treatments in the 60s with Enzo. The tendrils only dug deeper. Cutting a whole into his shirt and cracking ribs as they dug into his skin. He heard a loud scream, but quickly realized it was himself and Bonnie, who was no doubt suffering the same fate. He fustily grabbed at his chest as he tried to alleviate the pain, but the bonds remained strong as ever. Only allowing the tendrils ample opportunity to bite into his skin. His eyes blurred from the agony and his chest constricted as he struggled to breathe. Blackness seeped into the corners of his eyes and Damon had never prayed for unconsciousness for more in his life. He could feel the foreign body enter him and the smoky substance expand on the inside. Spreading to his organs and other extremities. Damn it! Another scream hit the air. Bonnie. If he was reacting this way as a vampire, Damon could only imagine what she felt like. The tendril entered further. He could hear a crackling noise and smelt smoke drifting up from his body. Why hasn't he blacked out? It was probably a trick of the Shadow Kings. Then blessedly, he slipped into unconsciousness only the Bonnie's screams resounded in his head.

….

The Shadow King smiled as he listened to their terror. He thrived off of their pained screams of agony. And this was only the beginning of their torment. The Shadow King absorbed back into the white wall of the oblivion. He smiled thoughtfully. He'd release them, when they were ready for his real plan. When he was ready to unleash his pain on the rest of humanity. The voices started up again.