a/n: That took forever! Sorry guys! This chapter is the beginning to all the Delena goodness to come. Thanks so much for sticking with me on this one guys!
FOUR
Damon sat in his favorite chair in the living room of his suite, sipping at a glass of his favorite scotch. That was the one thing he liked about how the world had turned out; the production of alcohol had never ceased. It seemed like a waste considering vampires needed a high amount to feel its effects, but it was the one thing proven to help curb the cravings. In a world where the food source was scarce, curbing those cravings were something vampires had to do on a regular basis. With that thought in mind, he tipped the glass to his lips and let the liquor burn its way down his throat. His own cravings had been gnawing at him the past few days, but he was determined not to give in.
His eyes sought out the clock on the mantel above the fireplace and a sigh escaped his lips when he saw the time. It was almost time for his meeting with Lexi and Caroline at Anna's. They had important news to share with him; so important that they had risked a lot to send a message to him to up their regular meeting by a week. In eight years they hadn't had any contact except for their meetings an Anna's so to have them get a message to him directly let Damon know exactly how important it was.
Damon swirled the glass in his hand before finishing off the amber liquid. He set the empty glass on the end table beside him and pushed himself to his feet. If he were going to go, now was a good a time as any. He moved to the coat rack beside the door and pulled on his favorite one. However, as he opened the door, any hope of leaving undetected went away as Katherine filled his vision on the other side of the threshold, her hand poised in midair as if she were just about to knock. A smirk tugged at her lips from the look of surprise on his face. "Going somewhere?"
Damon knew she wasn't going to let him go easily, so he stepped back to let her in. She smirked more and stepped inside, turning as he shut the door behind him and took off his jacket. "I was just on my way out."
"What for?" she asked, leaning against the chair he had vacated only moments ago.
He shrugged. "Nothing in particular."
She nodded slightly and then stared at him in a way that let him know she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He knew that look all too well. It meant she didn't come here for conversation. "I missed you at dinner tonight."
"I wasn't aware that I was invited."
She pouted a little and tilted her head to the side. "You don't need an invitation," she said, her voice a little stern.
He shrugged again. Over the years he had attended the nightly dinner less and less; his lack of desire to be around the "royal family" and all. "My apologies my queen."
Katherine's eyes narrowed at the insulting sound of the title coming from his lips. "There was a particular conversation Stefan started that got us reminiscing about the old days and it made your lack of presence clearer than it usually is." She straightened up and added, "And I have news I thought you would like to know about."
He knew it was a test to choose a topic, but he chose the one he knew she could care less about. "What news?"
"The synthetic blood is finished."
That piqued Damon's interest. It had been in the works for a long time now and it was the most important part of the plan Lexi's people had been working on. The time had come. "Oh?"
She nodded her head. "Klaus told me that preliminary studies show that those working on it have created a true formula. So far, those that have been subjected to testing have seen positive results."
"That's a good sign."
Katherine nodded again and took a step in his direction. "It is a very good sign. Klaus says if things continue to progress like this, the product could be out on the market in sight of a month."
"I'm glad to hear that," he said, for the first time meaning it as well.
She was silent as she made her way to him, stopping when she was within an arms reach of him. "Aren't you going to ask what Stefan and I were reminiscing about?"
Damon was quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "No."
Anger flashed through her eyes for a brief moment. That was the one word that Katherine hated most. She was used to getting her way and never being denied. She straightened her shoulders and shook it off, pretending that he had answered differently. "He brought up the time in Moscow where he led a small army to round up a horde of humans. It was New Years Eve and he was shocked that I wasn't there, celebrating with him."
Damon saw the glint in her eyes and the memory washed over him; his eyes fluttering at the images. He couldn't help but smirk at her. "We were there," he replied. In fact, they were right in the midst of everything, but no one paid attention to them. They were down an alley not far from the killing spree where Damon had tracked a few runaways. It was early enough in his undead life where he still liked the path that he had been dealt. He embraced it with every fiber of his being. So much so that when Katherine approached his territory, he abandoned one need to satisfy another. He had taken her right then and there; against the side of the building and on the snow in a pool of blood.
"One of my fondest memories," Katherine whispered as her hands rose to rest on his chest.
Damon wanted to push her away, but he knew doing so would only anger her. He also had to admit that remembering that particular tryst was also diminishing his ability to say no. Fortunately for him, there was a knock at the door, saving him from caving in to Katherine's obvious demands. Katherine pouted as she stepped back to let Damon open the door, revealing Isobel.
"I guess we'll have to catch up another time Damon," Katherine said as she headed for the door.
"Actually, I was looking for you Katherine," Isobel said, causing the elder vampire to stop in her tracks. "Klaus sent me. He says there is something he needs to discuss with you."
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Did he happen to mention what it was?" Isobel shook her head which earned an eye roll from the queen. "Typical," she muttered under her breath before walking away without saying another word.
Isobel watched her leave and turned around to speak to Damon only to see him putting on his jacket. "Where are you going?"
"I was already on my way out when she showed up."
"Where are you off to?"
"Just going out for a walk," he said as he gestured for her to follow him into the hall, shutting the door behind him. "Alone," he added before she could invite herself along.
She smirked at him and shook her head. "Flattering that you think I would have nothing better to do than follow you around, but I have some things of my own to attend to," she said and turned her back on him as she moved toward her own suite. With that, Damon used his supernatural speed to get out of the mansion before he was stopped by anyone else.
Damon sat at the bar in the main room of Anna's place. Just as he figured, Lexi and Caroline had found out about the synthetic blood being almost ready and they were ready to start putting their plan into motion. Damon knew he had reached the time to make one last decision to which side he was on. He agreed with the two blonde vampires and what they were trying to do. The world needed to go back to the way it was before the vampires came along and ruined it, but in order to get to that point, he would have to betray people of his blood.
Deep in his gut he knew he hated the vampires for what they had reduced the world down to and knew that if things kept going the way they were, there would be no people left on the earth within the next century. He hated Stefan for betraying him and making him turn, but in the end, he was his brother and they had stuck by each other's sides for centuries. Then there was Katherine. Just the thought of her made his blood boil. He hated her with every fiber of his being, but he lived because of her blood. Reminiscing about that day in Moscow with her earlier had brought back the memories of the good times they had shared.
Damon sighed and set down his empty glass. As he pushed himself to his feet from the bar stool, he had his mind made up. It was time to do the right thing and stop being selfish. He had wasted too many years being Katherine's lackey and he had had enough. It was time to put an end to the vampire's reign in the world. It was time for the humans to get their planet back.
As Damon stepped onto the street he could sense something wasn't right. There was a scent in the air that was vaguely familiar and it sent a chill up his spine. He followed the scent to around the building across the street from Anna's. He stopped the moment his eyes took in the scene in front of him. There were two of Klaus' best scouts fighting with a human. She wore dark clothes and had her hair pulled up, the dark tresses spilling down her back. Damon growled slightly as she turned to dodge a strike, giving him a glimpse of her face. Elena.
Damon scanned the streets to make sure that no one was around to witness what was happening. If it ever got back to Katherine that he just sat and watched, he would be dead the moment she saw him. However, by the time he looked back at the fight, it was over. Both men had turned to ashen corpses, barely recognizable considering how old they were, the wooden stakes sticking out of their chests. Instead of running away like she should have, Elena simply stood over them, staring down at them as if she were in a trance. A trance that was easily broken as Damon stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself.
She immediately grabbed for another weapon and he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Elena, I don't want to hurt you."
Her eyes widened in fright and surprise at the sound of her name from a complete stranger. It was then that she narrowed her brown eyes as she realized she had seen him before. Her stance slackened enough that Damon knew she wasn't going to launch at him right away. "You're the one Lexi and Caroline keep meeting. The informant."
This time Damon narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn't be out here."
He knew he struck a nerve as she scowled at him before nodding towards Anna's. "And you shouldn't be in there."
He was going to reply, but his ears picked up the sounds of a crowd beginning to form. "Do you have vervain?" he asked, taking a few risky steps forward. She nodded quickly and took a half step back. "Do you remember the last time I saw you?"
"I stabbed you," she stated.
He nodded and looked around; they were getting closer. "I need you to stab me with one and then run like hell. Now."
"Gladly," she said and without hesitation she obliged his command. "Just like old times," she added and after giving him a smirk, she took off into the night. Damon looked down at his stomach to see two vervain darts sticking out of his skin. He knew that without the vervain he had been ingesting regularly, this would be lethal to him. He looked at the spot she had vacated and smirked into the night after her before he collapsed over the corpses she had left in her wake.
