Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:see chapter one

Disclaimer:I, unfortunately, own nothing. Vampire Diaries is my favourite show and Damon my favourite character in it and that is all. This plot is mine, though and the whole idea of phantasmists(which will appear later)is mine, too.

Whoo, finally getting around to typing up this chapter. It took me not that long to write this actually, which is quite the feat.

Note:the chapter title is a lyric from the song "Confession"by Bury Tomorrow. I thought it fit, considering all the people who die in this chapter.

Question:what do you think of this becoming a crossover with supernatural?


Chapter 3:Bodies Will Fall

~Flashback~

He woke up, lying face down on the cold, hard earth and everything was black-although that was probably mostly because his eyes were still closed.

He didn't understand what had happened;he had been dead and then he had been here. It didnt make any sense.

"Open your eyes, vampire,"

Damon froze.

That voice was so cold, it couldn't have been human;it was male, though, that much was for sure. It was also deep, smooth and utterly devoid of emotion.

Deciding to throw caution to the winds, Damon did as the voice commanded and opened his eyes, rolling over onto his back so he could work himself into a somewhat more dignified position.

Upon opening his eyes, he found himself in the center of a place he recognized all too well;the Mystic Falls was back at the site of his death.

And standing in front of him was clearly the man who that inhumanly cold voice belonged to.

The man cut a pretty impressive figure, even being several inches shorter than him;but what he lacked in height, he made up for in sheer menace.

Clad in a heavy black coat, gloves and boots with 3-inch blades jutting out of the toes, the man seemed to almost blend in with the darkness of the night sky surrounding them. Adding to that image was the fact that his hair and eyes were also similar shades of pure obsidian;though, conversely, his skin was as pale as the moon.

Damon actually found it difficult to meet his eyes-they were the colour of pitch and completely empty;it was impossible to tell where the iris ended and the pupil began.

"Who are you?"he finally managed to work up the nerve to say, forcing himself to look the shadow figure full in the face.

The corners of the blacknette's sallow mouth twitched slightly, "I'm the one who brought you back to the land of the living."

The vampire blinked, frowning.

"Why?"he questioned sharply, eyes narrowing in evident suspicion.

"Because I have a task for you-and you're the only one who can carry it out,"the shadow replied in an icily matter-of-fact tone.

Damon raised his thin, dark eyebrows.

"And what exactly might this ''task'' be?"he quipped coolly, crossing his arms over his chest.

The shadow cast him a glance with dead eyes.

"I want you to destroy Mystic Falls,"

"I tried that once-it didn't work out so great,"Damon commented flatly, getting to his feet and brushing off his pants.

"Yes, but that time you lacked one advantage that you shall have this time,"

"Such as?"Damon prompted stubbornly.

"The powers of a God,"

The vampire frowned. "Who are you?"he repeated his initial question, this time with a far more guarded tone, his face becoming a mask of stone.

"I believe I already answered that,"

"Your name,"Damon insisted pointedly, baring his fangs.

The shadow shook his dark head. "My name is not important,"he stated cryptically, "All that matters is I brought you back to life-but I can kill you again just as easily if you don't do what I want,"

"Fine,"Damon surrendered, "To get these ''powers'', then, what do I have to do?"

His companion tugged off one of his silk gloves with his teeth and, drawing a knife from the inside of his cloak, severed the vein in his wrist.

"You get ordinary vampire powers from drinking human blood. I wonder what powers you'll get from drinking Death's blood,"

~End Flashback~

(Damon's POV)

Returning to the cemetery was probably not one of my better ideas, but it was necessary.

Something was here-something I needed in order to carry out my plans to destroy this town and the people who wronged me along with it. Plus it was the place where I had been brought back from the dead by the blood of the god of Death.

If that wasn't an unbelievable coincidence, I didn't know what was.

Not only that, but this was the site of the Originals' deaths and our fight, which had resulted in my death at the Hybrid's hands.

That wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, but it was a reminder that there were still some things in this universe that remained a mystery to me. Although, now there were few things that could stand up to me, thanks to my new powers.

Another day, a new phase to my master plan. I had originally planned to kill my next victims straight up, but apparently, it would be more prudent to keep them alive.

"I'm here. Now what the hell do you want?"a voice called from behind me, guarded and a suspicious.

My upper lip curled.

"I have a job for you, kid,"I said as I turned around to face the witch's new beau, doing that thing with my eyes that people seemed to hate so much.

Taking a step forward so I was directly in front of him, I reached up to slip off my sunglasses and locked eyes with him without blinking.

"How did you compel me?Bonnie said if I ingested vervain-"

"Bonnie was wrong,"I interrupted smoothly, clasping his chin so he was forced to look at me, "And now you're going to return to your mama vampire and drive a stake through her heart the first chance you get, and then drive a knife through yours,"

"I'm going to drive a stake through my mother's heart and a knife through mine,"Jamie repeated in a vaguely dazed voice, his eyes now unfocused and dilated like what usually happens when humans get compelled.

I inclined my head.

"Excellent. Now get out of here and forget everything except what I just told you. Tell no one about this,"I ordered, dismissing him with a flick of my fingers.

The human left without another word and I smirked. Well, that took care of one other vampire and made one less target in my way of getting to the witch.

Inhaling deeply, I replaced my black Ray-Bans over my eyes and left the cemetery behind.

It was time to take my plan to the next level.


(Jeremy's POV)

Getting to sleep after a night like the one I'd had previously had been next to impossible, but I had made it to the next day. And once the day started, it was just going to be a matter of getting Damon's message to Ric.

That wouldn't be too hard;after all, not only was he my history teacher, but my current guardian as well. I probably didn't even have to wait until school rolled around to tell him.

I was a little iffy on actually telling him about that-Damon had actually scared me pretty bad last night and I didn't really want whatever nasty plan he had in mind to be carried out-but unfortunately, I didn't really have a choice.

Compulsion, my permanent Achilles' heel.

I came downstairs to find Elena and Stefan together at the table, Elena staring, baggy-eyed and unfocused, into the cup of coffee she was cradling in her hands.

"Earth to Elena-anybody home?"I waved a hand in front of my sister's face to get her attention as I sat down on her other side, pouring myself a cup coffee as I did so.

Elena shook her head frantically, as if trying to dislodge something.

"Sorry, Jer, did you say something?"she asked offhandedly, forcing a guilty smile in my direction.

"Still upset over last night, are you?"

"I think we all are,"Stefan cut in firmly, putting a hand on Elena's shoulder and casting a furtive glance at Alaric.

I shrugged, "Well, I understand Caroline because she was one of your best friends and all-hell, I'm upset over her, too, but that Meredith person, I never even met her, so,"

"Ric cared about her, didn't you, Ric?"Stefan looked at our resident history teacher-slash-vamp hunter pointedly as if appealing to him to control me.

Alaric gave a hesitant nod.

"I did,"he admitted lowly, "But I can't go to pieces like I did after Jenna. I've got these two to watch out for now. So I'm not happy she's dead, but I'm not going to dwell on it, either,"

"Exactly,"I acceded in a supportive tone, "And that's how you deal with these things healthily,"

Then, thinking it over for a minute, I made a split second decision.

"And on that note, Alaric, can I talk to you in private for a second?"I asked calmly, trying to make it seem like this was a throwaway matter of no real importance, standing abruptly.

"Sure, Jeremy,"Alaric followed me out of the kitchen and into the hall. I was pretty sure Stefan's enhanced hearing could still pick up what we were saying, but it wasn't like we could go any further without it looking suspicious.

"So what's up?"Ric said curiously once we were safely out of human earshot.

I took a deep breath before responding, preparing to have my sanity questioned or something to that effect, "I saw Damon last night. And he wanted me to tell you he was back in town,"

Contrary to my expectations, when I said those words, Alaric didn't look at me like I was doing drugs again. His reaction was quite the opposite, actually;he heaved a vaguely rueful sigh and smiled grimly.

"Well, I guess that means my part of our deal is being called into effect,"he muttered, more to himself than to me.

Then, apparently realizing he had spoken aloud, he quickly turned his smile into a reassuring one.

"Thanks, Jeremy. Don't worry about it. Now you should get to school before your sister starts getting suspicious,"he waved away my concern , heading back into the kitchen without a backward glance, leaving me extremely puzzled.

Had he known Damon had returned from the dead before anyone else had?Even before the vampire had shown up in my bedroom the previous night?

I shook my head again.

Even if that was the case, there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. I did what I was compelled to do-it was out of my hands now what Ric decided to do with the information I had just given him.

As I walked out the front door to get into my car and drive to school, I realized I was wrong.

The second I was outside the door, a leather-gloved hand clapped over my mouth and a smooth, velvety voice growled in my ear, "Well done, little Gilbert. But I'm afraid that's not all I need you to do,"

Something large and sharp was pressed into my hand.

"You're going to take this and, when you get to school, you're going to use it chop Tyler Lockwood's little hybrid head off, something I believe you're very talented at,"that voice intoned firmly in a tone laced with power.

Then, just like that, the hand over my mouth vanished and I was alone on the porch once again.


2 hours ago

(Normal POV)

Blood dripped sluggishly from the roof of the Mystic Falls high school onto the step beneath the entrance, forming a steadily expanding crimson puddle.

Body after body was thrown to the ground after they had been bled white and/or had their throats effectively torn out by the murderous vampire standing on the lawn.

He tossed the last dead student against the door carelessly, like the boy was nothing more than a bag of trash.

Well, that was what Damon considered him, anyways.

"Damon?"

A familiar female voice broke into his reverie in a simultaneously surprised and horrified tone, causing the vampire's upper lip to curl.

He turned around and found himself face-to-face with the mayor's wife, Carol Lockwood-someone who was once his friend.

"Carol,"he smirked.

The current mayor stared at him as the dark veins surrounding his eyes gradually faded back into flawless ivory skin.

"But-but you died;I-I don't even..."she was clearly struggling for words;such was the severity of her shock at seeing him in his full vampire glory and with blood seeping from his mouth like a particularly viscous wine.

Damon's smirk widened.

"Was dead,"

"But how-?"

"It's not important,"the vampire cut her off swiftly, eyes hardening into ice, "What is, is that you allowed it to happen. I gave everything to defend this town and you didn't even lift a finger to keep me from dying. And even after I died, I'm not even known as a martyr when I should be known as a fucking hero,"

He blurred from sight, reappearing behind her.

"I saved your life and it cost me mine,"he hissed into her ear, his frigid breath causing her to shudder involuntarily, "A mistake I am about to remedy,"

Carol choked when she felt him shove his hand through her back into the cavity of her chest and rip her heart out as easily as if he were tearing down a picture from the wall.

She slumped to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as well as the hole in her chest.


(Still Normal POV)

Jeremy arrived at school with a stainless meat cleaver hidden in his jacket and a single goal in mind:kill Tyler Lockwood.

Compulsion is a fickle thing;whatever you're compelled to do becomes your sole ambition-but once you complete it, you don't remember the compulsion. Events blur and make it appear as though you were merely a victim of circumstance.

The cleaver was an uncomfortable weight against his chest, but he forbore.

After all, it wasn't like he had much leeway in how to kill a hybrid;it was either rip out his heart or chop off his head. And since he wasn't a vampire like Damon who ripped people's hearts out with the ease of any predator, there wasn't really a choice to be made. It was chop his head off or nothing.

The real challenge was going to be catching him unawares. His girlfriend had recently been killed so his guard was going to be up;he might even be expecting an attack.

But not from Jeremy. Not like this.

Now what Jeremy wasn't expecting was to get to school and see the front doors painted crimson with a thick red substance that looked uncannily like blood.

"Oh my god,"he heard someone next to him exclaim in horror as they spotted the pile of mangled bodies lying at the foot of the doors.

All Jeremy could do was stare.

More than half had their throats ripped out;bite marks littered every inch of their flesh. Arms and legs were covered with all sorts of different nuances of red.

And every last one of them had been sucked dryer than the desert.

Jeremy heard the comments of the students around him;this was almost frighteningly similar to the animal attack that occurred in the woods the previous night. All those victims had been sucked dry, too.

Vampires-it had to be the vampires again.

Or one vampire in particular, anyways, Jeremy thought ruefully, fighting down the mad desire to grin.

"Students, school has been cancelled for the day until such time as we can solve the homicides that have occurred on our premises today,"the PA announced in a voice of forced calm, "Anyone found on campus will be suspended and under suspicion,"

Students dispersed almost instantly, but Jeremy remained, hazel orbs staring, unblinking, at the carnage in front of him.

He didn't know why, but for some reason, the sight of all those mangled bodies didn't really bother him.

Perhaps it was because, at sixteen, he had already experienced so much death;Vicki, Anna, his parents, his aunt, Alaric-several times. Hell, he had even died twice before.

Of course, he had come back both times-but that was beside the point.

"Hey, Gilbert!"Tyler's voice called to him from what sounded like a few feet behind him.

Jeremy turned slowly to face the hybrid, but he didn't move to close the distance between them, standing stubbornly still as a statue.

"Didn't you hear? School's out,"the Lockwood said as he ran up to the younger, carrying his school bag over one shoulder so it hung awkwardly half-against his back.

He looked Jeremy over pensively, taking in his stony expression and the hand he had stuffed on the inside of his jacket, "And maybe that's good news for you, huh? You don't look so good,"

The male Gilbert gave him an artificial smile.

"You're about to look much worse, Lockwood,"

He suddenly lunged forward with inhuman speed that bypassed even that of a vampire, pulling the silver cleaver from his jacket and, in one swift motion, slicing the hybrid's head off clean as a guillotine.

And Tyler's body keeled over sideways, hitting the ground next to his severed head.

Wiping the bloodied blade off on Tyler's front, he tucked it back inside his jacket, stepped over the hybrid's body deftly and made his way back to his car.


(Still Normal POV)

When Jeremy got back to his house, Damon was waiting for him on the front porch, looking for all the world like he was supposed to be there.

Dressed in his customary all-black, he was leaning up against the wall next to the door, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and legs stretched out in front of him with one ankle tucked behind the other.

Seeing the vampire standing directly in his path, Jeremy stopped in his tracks, bottom lip caught between his two rows of teeth and a decidedly neutral expression on his olive-skinned visage.

"I'll go out on a limb here and say the hybrid is dead now, isn't he?"Damon said wryly by way of a greeting, his dark head swivelling around to face the human youth, sunglasses flashing in the feeble sunlight.

Jeremy sighed and withdrew the cleaver from the inside of his jacket to show the vampire the still faintly rose-stained silver blade.

Eyes catching on the no longer stainless knife, Damon nodded his acceptance of the evidence, "Good. And that means it's time for phase three of my plan,"

Jeremy frowned.

"What's phase thr-? "he started to ask, but before he could get all the words out, the vampire's gloved hands covered his mouth and he vanished, taking Jeremy with him.

They reappeared in the center of a barren expanse of land, shaded by the leaves of the large, dark trees.

The second they were on solid ground, Jeremy lashed out, attempting to ram one of his elbows into the vampire's sternum, but the strike just seemed to bounce off him like hitting a brick wall. And Jeremy only succeeded in causing himself pain.

"If you stay still, I'll let go of you,"Damon told him, his voice a quiet rumble in the boy's ear as he slipped his hand off of Jeremy's mouth.

The male Gilbert made a low noise of grudging assent and he stopped struggling reluctantly, forcing his limbs to go slack.

"That's better,"the dark-haired vampire said mockingly, retracting his arms from around the boy and taking a step back so he wouldn't feel caged.

"Okay, so you brought me out here to the middle of nowhere;what now?"Jeremy questioned acidly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Damon smirked.

"Is that any way to talk to the vampire who's about to give you the secret to unlocking your powers?"he chided in a cold, derisive tone, the smirk not quite reaching his ice-cold eyes.

The male Gilbert shook his head, frowning in confusion, "You mentioned that before. What ''powers'' are you talking about?"

Steel-blue orbs locked on brown without blinking.

"You're a phantasmist, Jeremy-that's what ''powers'' I'm talking about,"the vampire declared matter-of-factly.

"A what?"Jeremy quipped blankly, uncomprehending, his twin eyebrows shooting up so high they were in danger of disappearing into his hairline.

Damon sighed.

"A phantasmist,"he repeated slowly;then, seeing that Jeremy's frown had only deepened, he elaborated, "It means you have the power to manipulate the dead;bring them back, bend them to your will, the like. That whole thing with your dead girlfriends wasn't just because Witchy got her voodoo wires crossed bringing you back to life,"

His companion blinked, processing this new revelation with scepticism furrowing his brow.

"How do you know this?"he managed to ask hesitantly, digging his nails into his palm to try and keep his composure.

The vampire let out a low, humourless chuckle.

"Let's just say I have a sixth sense about these things-and it takes a hell of a lot more than the power of some hundred-odd dead witches with sticks up their asses to bring back a gunshot victim when vampire blood doesn't do the trick,"he said evasively, upper lip curling.

Jeremy rolled his brown eyes expressively.

"Okay, fine, you won't tell me how you know about my so-called ''powers'', "he conceded grudgingly, "Then tell me this:how do I unlock them?"

"Interested now, are we?"Damon commented caustically, his rakish smirk growing.

When Jeremy just stared back, he let out another chuckle, "It's quite simple, actually;all you have to do is die,"

Without warning, he was directly in front of the boy, grabbing his hand and deftly removing the ring on his index finger.

Pocketing it, Damon moved his gloved hands to either side of Jeremy's head and they, in a single fluid motion, snapped it to the side with a violent crack and he slumped to the ground, unmoving.

When the human hit the ground, Damon seized his wrist, locating the artery to search for a pulse.

Conversely, when he felt nothing, his mouth twitched into a satisfied smile and he reached into his back pocket, withdrawing a plastic vial filled with thick black liquid.

Pulling the stopper out, he pulled Jeremy's head back and tipped the contents of the vial into his unresisting mouth and forced him to swallow it down.

Emptying the entire vial down the boy's throat, he tossed the plastic tube carelessly aside and gathered Jeremy into his arms, hoisting him over his shoulder carefully.

He vanished then, reappearing at the boarding house, which was currently empty since his brother was out with Elena.

He carried Jeremy down to the cell in the basement and set him down on top of the bed there while pulling his cell phone out with his free hand.

Dialling a number rapidly, he raised the sleek, black device to his ear while it rang.

"Hello?"Alaric's voice spoke when the other line picked up.

"Are you alone?"Damon asked him softly, ,leaning back against the drab, gritty wall and tucking a hand into his pants pocket.

"Yes."

"Good. I have the kid at the boarding house. How fast can you make it over here?"

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

Damon paused.

"Make it five,"

He hung up.


~Flashback~

Alaric was sitting in his classroom at the Mystic Falls high school, eating his lunch when his cell phone began to ring from where it was perched on the edge of his desk.

He lifted it up to eye-level to check the called ID;it read ''CALLER UNKNOWN''. Frowning, he hit the green answer button and pressed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"It's been a while, hasn't it...Ric?"

The history teacher froze. He knew that voice.

"Damon,"

The latter gave a singularly humourless laugh.

"You always were a quick one. So now that you know who I am, how about meeting me in the front of your school? I have something?I'd like to discuss with you,"

Alaric paused, as if considering.

"I'll be there,"he decided abruptly.

The line went dead.

Alaric put down his lunch, pushed his chair away from the wooden desk and, stuffing his cell phone in his jacket pocket, exited the classroom hastily, heading for the front entrance.

But before he reached the double doors, a black-gloved hand clapped itself over his mouth and a pair of strong arms dragged him backward into the men's washroom.

The lights were off inside, so he wouldn't be able to see his captor even if he turned around.

Cold breath rushed past his ear before his captor spoke.

"I'm going to let you go, but if you make any moves against me, I will kill you,"the same dark, silky baritone he'd heard on his phone earlier tole him lowly, "Blink if you understand,"

Alaric blinked.

The arms around him retracted and the hand over his mouth was removed;he coughed and stepped away.

"I'm assuming you know who I am?"

Alaric nodded.

"Damon-I knew you would figure out some way to cheat death again,"he commented archly, "So how did you do it this time?I know it wasn't Stefan, so what?"

"That's irrelevant. The reason why I asked you to meet was not so we could have a cozy catch-up;it was because I have a proposition for you-and if you're wise, you'll accept it,"

Both of his companion's sand-coloured eyebrows shot up in faint bemusement, "Oh? Let's hear it, then,"

"The only reason I was brought back from the dead was because someone had a job for me-and I'm going to need your help to finish it,"

"What do you need me to do?"his friend questioned slowly, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

Damon's eyes glowed like blood in the lack of light.

"I need you to bring me Elena and my brother,"

~End Flashback~

"What's the next step, then?You have the kid-what do you plan on doing with him?"

"I plan on using him, obviously,"Damon stated flatly, slipping off his Ray-Bans and tucking them inside his jacket, "Or to be more specific, I plan on manipulating his powers to my own advantages,"

Alaric scoffed.

"Well, he's already more or less completely vulnerable to your control, so you won't have much of a problem with that,"he commented dryly, casting a cursory glance at the the unconscious teen lying on the bed behind him.

The corners of Damon's mouth twitched slightly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Ric,"the vampire said in a mock wounded tone, his pale mouth quirking into a sly smirk.

Alaric rolled his eyes expressively, "Do you really intend to destroy this town?Or just kill everyone in it?"

"Not everyone,"Damon corrected smoothly, "Just the ones who have had the nerve to pretend to mourn my death when they really couldn't care less. And you're changing the subject. If you have a problem with me using the kid, feel free to say so,"

"I don't have a problem,"the history teacher denied his claim stubbornly, eyes showing no trace of dishonesty.

The vampire raised his dark eyebrows.

"Really?"he drew the word out into two distinctly disbelieving syllables, crossing his arms over his black-clad chest.

"If I did, I would tell you,"Alaric shrugged offhandedly as if it were a throwaway matter of no real importance.

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night,"Damon said indifferently;he scuffed the toe of his boot on the stone floor of the cell and switched topics, "Anyways, your part is something decidedly less complicated. You do remember what I asked you to do?"

Alaric inclined his head in an affirmative.

"Of course. I'll get it done,"he acquiesced firmly, waving a hand in the vampire's direction.

He turned to leave, but he was barely a step out of the cell before e head Damon call after him emphatically, "Alive, Ric. I need them alive."


(Elena's POV)

Since school was cancelled for the day, Stefan and I went back to my house to discuss the new attacks with Alaric.

I was in shock;first that girl at the Grill, then Caroline and Meredith;now over half the student body at my high school was dead-murdered-and I had a sick feeling that I knew exactly who it was that had killed them.

The three of us went into the kitchen where Stefan courteously helped me into a chair before sitting down next to me while Ric went behind the behind the counter.

"Coffee or tea?"he asked us.

"Well, it's the middle of the day, so, tea, probably,"I responded in an attempt to be flippant about it.

"Tea it is,"my history teacher said, picking up the kettle off the stove and turning on the sink to fill it with water.

"So who do you think killed all those people?"Alaric wondered almost conversationally, like he was only asking about the weather or something, "Or maybe I should say what?"

I shot a cursory glance at the vampire in the chair next to me before voicing my thoughts in a slightly shaky tone, "I think it was Damon,"

Alaric turned around, setting the two cups of tea in his hands down on top of the counter with his eyebrows raised.

"Damon?"he repeated in bemusement, frowning.

I stood up and picked one of the cups off of the counter in both of my hands, raising it to my lips and taking a sip;the second I did, I began to feel dizzy and I collapsed.

(Normal POV)

Alaric caught Elena before she hit the ground, gagging her with a length of cloth from his pocket.

Stefan stared at him in horror.

"Ric, what the hell are you doing?"he exclaimed furiously, advancing toward the human male threateningly.

But before he could get close enough to do anything, Alaric pulled out one of his vervain grenades.

"I'm following up on my end of the deal,"he replied tersely before flinging the grenade at Stefan, where it exploded in his face.

While he was distracted, Alaric pulled out a hypodermic needle and stabbed it into the vampire's neck, making sure to aim for the artery and emptying its full contents into Stefan's system.

Once he was sure both of them were fully comatose, he withdrew his phone from his pocket and dialled a number before holding it up to his ear.

When the line picked up, he uttered two words;"It's done."


Damn, sixteen pages. That's the longest chapter yet. And next chapter is going to have to wait for a while because I have exams and things to study for so...yeah.