Me: I'M NOT DEAD! (Sorry for the long waiting) What about you Stefan?
Stefan: Hum, lemme see...*checks pulse then gasp* I feel nothing! I'M DEAD! *faints*
Me: *blinks*
Damon: *mumbles* Idiot...
Me: I know right...and he's your brother.
Damon: ugh, please! *covers his eyes with his hands* Don't ...make me remember this... .
Me: Sorry. Anyway, HUGE thanks to Poppy and Diimoziiana Belikov for their very appreciated help with this final chapt. So I really hope you will enjoy it!
Elena's POV
It was a lazy morning. We just didn't want to wake up to face what we knew would be happening later today.
I just wanted to stay in bed, to snuggle close to Damon and rest my head on his chest. To tell the truth, I was scared. Scared to see Damon get hurt, to see my little girl in the presence of a deadly threat named Katherine. However, I had to keep those emotions well hidden; I had to stay strong for my family.
I sighed and reluctantly lifted my eyes to look into Damon's ocean blue ones. He knew how I felt about all of this, but we never talked about it and I was glad we didn't. It would have only increased my anxiety. I felt his hand sliding softly on my cheek, catching my attention.
"It'll be fast. By the end of the day, everything will be over." he whispered, giving me a small smile intended to calm me down. It didn't work, but I nodded.
"I'll go wake Felicia up," I said, getting out of bed. He nodded and exited the room a few seconds after me to go downstairs and make breakfast. As I approached Felicia's room, I tried to wipe the fear off my face so as to not scare her.
I knocked and called, "Felicia, Sweetheart? Wake up. Dad is making breakfast." I tried to put a little life into my voice, to help reassure not only her, but also myself.
There was no answer from her so I knocked a little bit harder and called her name again before I just opened the door. She wasn't in her room, her bed still made. It hadn't been slept in. Then, I noticed the window was open… no! Unable to stop the panic invading my body, I yelled at the top of my lungs for Damon. He was here in less than 5 seconds, holding my upper arms and looking at me in the eyes.
"Elena, what's wrong?" he said, his eyes filled with concern.
"Felicia! She's not here… and the window's open!" I said between sobs. Damon's eyes swept the room and I saw his panic rise.
"I know she didn't run away, she wouldn't do that!" I said, trying to control my trembling body.
"Stefan's smell is in here," Damon announced, his voice filled with rage.
"What's wrong? We heard you yell" Bonnie said, standing at the door with a sleepy Nic. He was rubbing his eyes, groaning as he slowly woke up.
"It's Felicia! She's gone! Stefan's scent is in here… he must have been the one that took her!" I said, feeling some anger replace the fear. That bastard better not touch her or I'll tear his head off.
Nic immediately reacted, "What? Damn it, we have to go now! We have to get her back!" he said, worried sick.
"I agree with Nic. We can't wait any longer… we have to do something about it." Damon agreed.
Felicia's POV
"No way in the damned w…" I said, before being cut off.
"You don't get a choice in this, girl," Katherine said, in a voice almost as if she didn't care.
I was tied on a chair and I couldn't move. It was almost choking me.
"I would never betray my family, I'm not like Stefan!" I said, venom in my voice. My Uncle growled menacingly at me, but was shut up by Katherine's glare.
"You can kill her when we've finished with her, but not now my love," she purred sweetly. He smirked, and it made me feel ill. I would have been sick if I had eaten anything.
"It's a fair deal… you will help us and your life will be safe," she said, trying to sound friendly, but I knew better.
"Didn't you just tell Stefan he could kill me when I'll be of no use?" I said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I might let you live if you do well," she said. I knew full well this was a load of bull.
"If you think I'll help you, you should save yourself the trouble and kill me now," my voice harsh.
If looks could kill, she'd be burning right now. She matched my glare, but I didn't let it drop. I couldn't show any weaknesses, I couldn't let her win.
"If it's what you want, I'm feeling generous right now," she said, coming closer to me. Her vampire features appeared and I closed my eyes, holding my breath, waiting for the pain to come, but it never did.
"Miss Katherine, she could be of use," Said the little girl possessed by Emily. "She could be used as a trap,"
Katherine pondered what Emily had said for a little while and answered, "Yes Emily, it's a rather good idea, actually," She then turned to look at me and saw my eyes widen in surprise that it was Emily. Of course it was all an act but she couldn't know that. I couldn't betray Emily's trust. "Yes, it's Emily; you weren't expecting her to be here, were you?" Katherine smirked.
"No! Emily is long dead! How can she be here?" I was obviously a good actress and Katherine bought it.
"That's why you should never underestimate me. I always have more than one trick up my sleeve," she smirked again, and I longed to rub in her face that I knew about her so-called 'tricks'.
Quickly, when Katherine wasn't looking, Emily blinked at me twice, thanking me for covering for her.
"There's something I don't get, though. Why are you after us? What's the point?" I asked bitterness in my voice.
"Well, it's a game and I love games. I make the rules and if I want you to die, you'll die. I have control over everything. Pretty easy to understand, isn't it?" she purred. My dad was right, she was a crazy bitch.
"And you, Stefan? Betraying your own family?" I asked, glaring at him.
"Your father made my life miserable. It's the only thing he lives for! If he dies, he won't ever bother me again," he replied, not showing one ounce of emotion.
"It's understandable. He loved Katherine, and it's because of you that she has been taken away from him. You practically asked for it!" I replied, satisfied that I had made a good point.
Stefan growled at me, not liking what I said. He was crouched in less time it would take to blink, and would have jumped and attacked me if Katherine hadn't held him back. She has a hint of amusement gracing her features.
"Not now my love. Later, I promise," she whispered sweetly, kissing him. I wanted to puke.
"Get a room," I mumbled, looking away in disgust. Katherine looked like my mother, and seeing her kiss Stefan…just ew…
Either they didn't understand what I said, or they just chose to ignore me. I vote for the latter, if I'm completely honest. Emily seemed annoyed too, but it last only a few seconds before she masked her face with indifference.
I took the chance to try to get free from the damn ropes that were holding me in place. They were tight. Too tight. I wouldn't be able to get myself free any time soon.
Suddenly, I heard knocking at the door and the "happy couple" broke apart. Stefan went to open the door in exasperation.
"What are you doing here?" my uncle said, a slightly surprised tone taking hold of his voice.
"I passed by to see if Miss Katherine needed anything else done." I immediately recognised Nic's voice… but what was he doing here? Wasn't he on our side?
"We don't need you anymore. After all, you failed miserably last time," Stefan replied harshly.
"I wasn't asking you, broody. I asked Miss Katherine," he replied coolly. Stefan growled and reached out toward Nic, but Katherine stopped him. What was with Stefan and his weird little mood changes? I guess that's what human blood does to you if you're not used to it…
"Hmm… I might still need you… but don't disappoint me again." She said, seriously. "And how exactly did you escape the Salvatore's mansion?"
"It was pretty easy, really. I made them believe I was cured from Emily's spell and they bought it. They let me go anywhere in the house, without locking any of the doors. How stupid could they get?" he grinned as he finished this sentence. Inside my head, I was smiling as well. Nic was good at making stories and I know for sure they would buy this one.
"I always knew my brother was stupid. So very, very careless." Stefan said, grinning.
"So where's Felicia?" asked Nic. He was still stood outside and both Katherine and Stefan were standing in the doorway, blocking his view of the room.
"Felicia?" asked Katherine, her face scrunched up in confusion. But then, ever so slowly, a wide evil grin spread across her face. "Ah, you mean the girl?"
Nic nodded once, his jaw clenched. I saw him quickly relaxed his face in case Katherine picked up on it.
Katherine and Stefan both stepped a little way away from the door, to clear a small passage between them. Inside, Nic could see me tied to a wooden chair and I noticed him gulp.
Nic POV
I had to use all my control to keep myself from running over to her.
"Nic, help me! She's a maniac! And so is Uncle Stefan! Help me get out of this chair!" she yelled fruitlessly. I was aware that Katherine was watching me closely. Stefan started to laugh at Felicia as she called out again. I knew I had a job to do so I joined in, laughing with a slightly unhinged tone to my voice. "Bu-but… you were on our side? You promised me Nic, please Nic!" She started again, believing my act. I just hoped I was good enough to trick Katherine.
"We better get going," I said. "Damon's planning to meet us in about half an hour… I was thinking we take the advantage and get there before him? Have the whole thing done and dusted before it even starts."
"Clever boy," said Katherine, nodding in approval. Any signs of suspicion that she might have held were completely gone. Stefan seemed a little miffed – like he didn't realize why he hadn't thought of the idea himself.
God, I just hoped the others stick to the plan. I didn't realize how hard this was going to be… If Damon doesn't get Elena and himself over there like, now, this could all go horribly wrong. I thought to myself.
~GWB GWB GWB GWB GWB GWB GWB GWB GWB GWB~
When Katherine, Stefan and I arrived at the forest clearing, dragging along Felicia, it seemed that nobody was there. Katherine had freed Felicia from her binding but now she held the teary girl by the shoulder. Katherine had made it clear to Felicia that she shouldn't try any 'funny business' and had taken it upon herself to be with her the whole time of the fight, sending her two soldiers out for her. I never realise quite how self-absorbed she was, but now knowing what I did from talking to Damon, all my annoyance toward her just doubled.
I looked around the clearing tensely. Damon, if you're planning to make a surprise appearance, now would be the time! I thought.
"What's wrong, child?" said Katherine. I hadn't realized that she had been watching me, but apparently she had.
"Nothing. Just getting a good feel of the place, you know?" I said quickly, trying to save my skin. Apparently it was said a little too quickly for her satisfaction. Katherine opened her mouth to say something to me, but just then, two figures appeared on either side of her and Stefan.
"You said that they shouldn't be showing up for another ten minutes!" she hissed.
I was tempted to say 'I lied' but instead relied with a safe, "That's what they told me!"
Katherine's head moved from between Elena and Damon. She nudged Stefan and I delicately and said callously, "Well what are you two waiting for? Let's get this over and done with," Just as I was about to go, she added, "If you live through this, which I am sure you will, you're going to have a lot of questions to answer!"
I turned to Stefan and mumbled, "You take Damon and I'll go for Elena." Without waiting for a reply, I ran off.
When I reached Elena, we both crouched low and growled at each other. Elena dodged a well-aimed punch from me. I wasn't trying to hurt her, but I had to make this look real! We went on like this for a few minutes – Elena and I dodging each other's punches, lunges and kicks.
"Is everything going as planned?" murmured Elena as she swerved my kick. I simply nodded instead of chancing Katherine hearing me reply. It was risky Elena even making verbal contact with me but I guess she had to know.
Damon POV
I watched as Stefan strode towards me, a malicious smile on his face. I did my best to look fearful for the element of surprise and Stefan took the bait. What an idiot. I was pretty surprised that my brother had already forgotten how I worked in only a few short days.
As Stefan approached, I spun and kicked out with my strongest leg, using more force than I had originally intended, making Stefan stumble back and trip over his own feet. With his body on the floor at an awkward angle, Stefan growled up at me. In my head, I was slightly alarmed… I mean, I wasn't used to the 'perfect' and 'civilized' brother acting like a feral animal.
With one more snarl, Stefan jumped up. This time he actually pounced on me! Pounced like some mangy werewolf. I was at the advantage though, considering I was already on my feet. As Stefan came to land on me, I threw rapid punches at his face and stomach. Stefan seemed surprised by my accuracy and strength. He really had forgotten how I worked.
I heard a loud noise coming from somewhere, and spun around to see where it was coming from. It was Katherine. What the hell?
She seemed perfectly fine, but Felicia certainly didn't. Just as the answer dawned upon me, Stefan lurched towards me again (didn't this guy already have enough of being beat up?) and I sent him flying. It was one of their tactics. Distract the enemy.
I faced away, pretending to still be distracted by Katherine and Felicia, but in reality, I had all my focus on my slowly approaching brother. I sensed Stefan creeping closer and readied myself.
I leapt up and kicked Stefan in between the legs. He screamed loudly, hand on his crotch, and fell to the floor. Stefan was completely focused on rolling about on the floor and howling in pain. Completely understandable, if you ask me. I kneeled over him and found an opening at Stefan's chest. I whipped a wooden stake from my back pocket and took what would probably be my only chance for some time. No hesitation. Stefan made a sound that could be considered as a painful shriek and fell limp, his skin going leathery and his veins standing out, just as all vampires' did when they died.
I stood there, frozen. I'd just killed Stefan. My own brother. Flesh and blood. The only live reminder of my human life.
I was barely aware anything going around me. Suddenly, a high wailing sound broke through my shock. I spun and realised where it was coming from – Katherine. If Stefan' last cry had been bad, hers was ten times worse.
Had she actually loved him?
Now was not the time to be wondering about that, because mixed in with Katherine's pain filled cries were cries from Felicia.
Katherine still held Felicia with one arm but she looked like a mad woman. She had her Felicia-free hand tangled into the long strands of her and she was pulling at it furiously.
"Damon! Damon! Look at me, Damon!" yelled Elena, as I felt her give my arm a short tug. I hadn't even noticed her run across from her 'fight' with Nic.
"Stefan…" I whispered into Elena's hair as I held onto her tightly. Elena nodded with a knowing look. She had tears flowing down her own face.
"I know… I know Damon, but this isn't over. Please Damon! Pull yourself together for Felicia! For our daughter!" she said passionately.
"Felicia…" I whispered gently, the full meaning of her words not yet sinking in.
"Yes, Damon. Felicia. We have to help her. Katherine has her… remember?" Elena said to me. I could hear that her voice was getting slightly more urgent and she was pulling away from my embrace.
I finally looked into Elena's eyes, and opened my mouth to speak but just then, Felicia called out.
"Dad! Mum! Help him!" she screamed at the top of her voice. I whipped around for who 'him' was and saw that Katherine had pushed Felicia off to the side and was now looking somewhere to the left of Elena and I, her eyes showing pure hunger.
She slowly licked her lips and smiled. I was confused, to say the least. "Please Dad! Help Nic! She's going to kill him, Dad! Please stop her! Please!"
Let's be honest - I wasn't exactly best friends with my daughter's first 'proper' boyfriend, but that didn't mean I was just going to sit back and watch Katherine rip the kid apart. I took action and shoved Elena behind me, ordering her not to move. As I said this, Elena looked up at me as if I was stupid. "I know you don't like being told what to do you, so you go help Felicia but stay away from Katherine. This is my fight-"
But I never got to finish.
"Damon, Nic!" Elena shouted. I turned around just in time to see Katherine bound towards Nic. As I focused all my attention on Nic, I noticed he looked as prepared as he could - crouching down in a good fighting position.
As Katherine came at him full speed, Nic didn't move an inch. Felicia cried out again and again, but I, also, didn't move. Nic was using some tactics that I'd taught him and I was pretty confident he knew what he was doing.
It all happened too fast. One second, everything was going well, and the next, Katherine seemed to have zoomed right into Nic. Felicia's sobs stopped suddenly as she froze with the terror of the scene before her.
There was a good ten seconds of silence before everyone's brains began to register what had happened.
"She's all yours!" laughed Nic from beside me. I jumped in surprise and patted Nic's back before running after a bewildered Katherine.
It was obvious to me what had happened now - when Katherine had been rushing for Nic, she had put all her strength into it so when Nic quickly swerved to the left as she was upon him, Katherine found herself stumbling into the air. During Katherine's brief confusion, Nic had quickly made it back to Elena and I.
Nic's POV
I looked up to see Felicia on the floor in her mother's arms. Felicia had run over as Damon zoomed off after that evil bitch names Katherine. Apparently neither had realized that I was safe after all. I let Elena and Felicia have a moment and watched Damon fight.
He was an amazing fighter and to say I admired him would be an understatement. Katherine was good as well, but not as good as I'd originally expected.
As I watched the two swerve around and mock each other, I heard Felicia gasp out, "Nic! But you-"
I turned and smiled down at her. I remembered Elena and looked at her, almost asking permission. She gave me a slight nod and stood up, Elena looking out at the fight as I placed myself on the floor with Felicia.
"I'm going to go help Damon," Elena told us. As I started to protest, she cut me off, "Now you listen to me, Nic. I want you to stay here and protect my daughter. Otherwise you'll have me to answer to!"
As I opened my mouth to reply, she rushed off, leaving the place she had been standing only moments ago completely empty.
Damon POV
Katherine and I were still at it - we didn't pause for a second to catch our breath at all. We were both exhausting ourselves and we knew it.
I was totally surprised with Katherine's fighting form. She was… weak. Sure, she was as fast as any vampire and could kill any human within seconds, but she wasn't strong. At least, not like how she used to be.
And I could sense it. All the fatigue and fear was radiating off of her. Although Katherine would rather die than show any sort of weakness on her outside.
"Why are you fighting me Damon? You know you can't win. So just give up, darling. Give up now and I won't kill you. No, I'll let you join me. Think about it Damon. Just you and I. No irritating little brother to get in the way of our profound love," she sneered as the two of them circled each other.
"You bloodthirsty slag! Is this how you manipulated my brother in to his death? You disgust me. This is for my brother!" I ground out as I stealthily punched out at Katherine's stomach. She flinched but recovered quickly. Damon was surprised; he hadn't meant the punch to hurt at all.
Damon flung out a few more punches and Katherine hissed. What was wrong with her? And me? My punches and kicks were feeble and I knew I could go in for the kill but I just… couldn't… To any human eyes, our fighting would be beyond amazing. However, for a vampire, we were both showing big signs of weakness.
I saw movement off to my right and snapped my head round to look who it was. In my one moment of severe weakness, Katherine would have usually attacked, but she didn't move. I turned back to Katherine and growled, "I told you to stay with Felicia!"
Although I had my eyes trained on Katherine, Elena's appearance had still made me lose my focus for a second and she finally leapt forward and punched me in the stomach. I barely winced as I grabbed Katherine's neck with both hands.
I lifted Katherine and slammed her down on the hard ground, wincing slightly as I heard her bones crunch.
"Quick, Elena! The stake!" I cried. Elena didn't need to be told twice.
As I placed the wooden stake over Katherine's heart, Katherine smiled up at me and whispered, "So this is it then? You're sure you want to kill me?"
I hesitated for half a second and Elena, taking charge, placed her hands around mine on the stake, pushing my hands down sharply, and forcing the stake into Katherine's heart.
Finally, centuries too late, Katherine Pierce was dead.
Elena's POV
The nightmare is over; the threat that endangered around my family is gone. I can finally breath for the first time since it all begin. My daughter is fine, Damon is fine and Nic too. I went and hug my daughter, extremely relieved to see her unharmed.
"Mom…can't…breath…" she said playfully. I let go of her only slightly and kissed the top of her head.
"It's over now. Everything will be fine" I told her with a true smile of happiness.
"I know" she replied also relieved.
"That was a hell of a fight" Nic said, rubbing his left shoulder. He must have got hurt during the fight. "But hey, she's gone now" he smiled too.
Once this was done, Emily and Bonnie joined us. Bonnie didn't participate to the fight, but she was making sure Emily would be protected. Emily said that since her work here was done, she could go and leave the child's body so it's original occupant could resume her normal life. Bonnie went with her to take the little girl home.
I realized that Damon didn't join us and I looked at him, staring down at Katherine's lifeless body. We decided to give him a moment to let it sink in. But then, he crouched over Katherine's body and with a swift movement, he tore her Lapis Lazuli necklace and Katherine's body became a mere pile of dust. He crushed it and it broke into pieces, falling on the ground.
After that, he went to Stefan and crouched. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for him to do that. Even though they didn't seem to like each other, they were very close; they were brothers flesh and blood. He spoke a few soft words that I didn't quite understand since they were spoken in Italian, but I figured out it might have been words of apologises. After it was done, he took the ring off watched his brother become dust.
Felicia's POV
I saw my father's back heaving with a sigh and got up, turning in our direction. From far away, I could see a tear rolling down his cheek. A tear for his little brother. He went in our direction and pulled me into a hug, relieve to see me safe and sound. Then, he included mom in it. He released us and turned to Nic, his face regaining his composure.
"Thank you. If you wouldn't have been there, we would be probably all dead today" my father said, extending his hand to him. Nic gladly took it.
"It's nothing Mr. Salvatore" he replied in a polite tone.
"It's Damon, I guess we can forget the formalities since I have the feeling you won't stay too far" he said, chuckling softly.
Nic winked at me and I blushed, grinning like an idiot, but I didn't care. Then, I ran into his arm and hugged him, happy. He caught me and chuckled.
"I understand what you mean now" Nic said to my father.
Mom had snaked a hand around my father's waist and he pulled her into a hug.
Finally, after all those days, those long hours, we could have our normal lives back and not have to worry about Katherine and her diabolical plan. We proved today that as a family, nothing can get through us, nothing can break us. I don't know what the future will hold for me, but what I do know is that Nic and I will grow closer. Good thing my dad doesn't hate Nic anymore. We all went back home and resumed our normal lives…well, as much as a vampire's life is normal.
Et voilà! Talk about a crappy ending :P Anyway, thank you guys for reading this story and review please! :)
