A/N: The end of Aftermath is here. Enjoy.
Matt shut the door of the car closed. He just parked in front of Caroline's house. He came straight to her after he left Bonnie and the Salvatores. It was dark now as the sun had already set. However, he could see light coming from the house windows. She was at home as she had promised.
He closed the distance between the car and the door rather swiftly. He knocked a few times and Caroline opened the door almost instantly. It was one time when he was grateful for vampire speed.
"Matt," she said and grabbed him by the wrist to pull him inside. "You're here."
He moved in sync with her pull and watched as she closed the door behind him. "Yeah. In one piece, it seems..."
She sighed and started walking away. He followed her into the living room. He knew the house pretty well.
"Make yourself at home," she said as she took a fluffy blanket, which was thrown onto the couch, and put it on one of the armrests.
Matt took a seat and watched as Caroline disappeared for a few moments. He heard cabinets opening and doors slamming, all sounds coming from the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes and had to hold back a laugh when he saw her coming back with a half of dozen different types of junk food.
He got up and helped place all of it on the coffee table.
Caroline dusted herself off and said, "This is just what we need right now." She grabbed a bag of chips and crashed into the couch. "Help yourself. There's more where that came from."
He grabbed a package and started munching on a biscuit. He couldn't not remember the first time they did something like this. It was after she got hurt at the bar, after their relationship started to develop.
Matt was open about their break up and he liked that they weren't the bitter type of exes. They realized they weren't good for each other and decided to remain friends.
Caroline brought one chip to her lips and murmured, "How do you feel about everything, Matt?"
He sighed. "I'm not okay," he said and scraped the floor with his foot. "I'm not okay. I'm going to my best friend's funeral tomorrow. How am I supposed to take that?"
Caroline chewed silently for a few moments. It was surreal to think that tomorrow was the day they'd say goodbye to Jeremy. It seemed like not too long ago when they hugged before taking off on the trip to the island. They didn't know he wouldn't come back.
"We never... imagined this whole mission would escalate like that," she murmured. Between killing Kol and destroying Bonnie's mental health, what else had they done? "And all of this for one cure..."
He stared down at the package in his hands. "It was our only hope. We could have had it all, our lives back."
She shook her head. "I'm not sure about that anymore," she said as she looked away. "The cure couldn't have brought Tyler's family back. What's done is done." She rubbed the edge of her eyes with the tip of her fingers. "Gosh, I'm so sick of all these funerals. I didn't even have to get my little black dress ready. It was still all ironed up since Carol's funeral..."
Matt pressed his lips together and played with the plastic wrapping. He had hope. Sure, Vicky was gone but if he got Elena back, at least it would be easier to breathe. If he got Elena back, she could make everything better like she always did. Compassionate until the end, right?
"I know," he said with an exhale as he looked up at her. "I had my suit ready as well..." He didn't want to talk about him like this anymore. When he was with Kaithlyn, they bonded over the good times they shared with him. He thought they did at least. But with the others it was a continuous stream about how he was dead, how he was not coming back, how the funeral was tomorrow...
He could never catch a break. Everybody was too detached or grieving to reach out to. He watched as Caroline mindlessly checked something on her phone. He knew she felt bad about what happened and that she suffered because they lost Jeremy too, but something seemed different about her. Why would she be so pessimistic?
Liz was right. Something had happenedto Caroline. How did he not see it before? She was at Klaus' the other day. It was when they dropped water on Kaithlyn to prove that she was a vampire.
Which she isn't, she's a werewolf hunter, he thought. She was probably laughing her ass off at their little plan. He wouldn't put it past her. He wouldn't put anything past her anymore.
"Hey, Care," he started and she snapped her illuminated eyes from the phone to him. "Did something happen between you and Klaus? You seem... off."
She frowned at him lightly, then smiled. She couldn't tell Matt what happened. Not now. Not when Kaithlyn could get information out of him so easily. "He just wanted to talk about the prom. He was thinking about donating some ancient decor. We had a debate and I won, of course." She shook her head. "I'm not letting anything that old come to our prom. I mean, seriously, it's about being young and reckless."
She held up her finger. "Which reminds me..." She searched through her favorite photos on her phone to the right ones and leaned in to show them to him. "April thought it would be a great idea to have a few projectors with photos on the way to the prom building. She called it 'a walk through the past'. What do you think about these two?"
The first picture was of him and Elena. It was back when everything was truly normal, when they were dating before her parents passed away. He broke a smile when he saw how young and innocent they were.
The second picture was of Elena, Caroline and Bonnie on the first day of junior year. It was then that Elena's life had started going up rather than down. She met Stefan and he changed everything. For the better at first, then for the worst.
He closed his eyes for a moment and whispered, "They're perfect."
"We had a lot more with... people who died." She bit her lower lip. "I can't believe so few of us made it through senior year."
Matt leaned back and stared at the ceiling for one moment. "It's not over yet, Care," he muttered and played with his fingernails as he looked back down. "I mean, look at April. How much time can we give her?"
Her posture slouched and she reached out to rub his shoulder. "She's going to be fine, Matt." She had only seen the girl at the organizer's meeting. She appeared to be working through her sadness. She didn't want to sit around and lament over Jeremy. She wanted to be strong, to move on.
"This is what everybody said about Jeremy," he retorted. "And it's not like Connor didn't almost kill her. Next Kaithlyn might use her to get to us."
Caroline leaned her head forward and sighed. "We saved her and we won't make the same mistake again this time, okay?" She got up and grabbed the fluffy cover she placed on the armrests. She threw it over the couch and over Matt's legs and then slipped right under. "Now tell me. We're going together, right? It's friend prom."
Matt shook his head but laughed. "Yes, we are." He low-key wondered what Rebekah would have to say about that. Did he even want to invite her? He knew she'd be there.
She grabbed the edge of the cover. "I hope it's clear that you shouldn't go with Rebekah," she said and he turned his body towards her. "Or hang out with her all together." He reached down and took off his shoes. "Matt, you need to understand. Rebekah's dangerous on her own and moreso, because of what she did to the hunter on the island. It's because of her and Damon that Stefan was tortured. I can't imagine they'd go after him when they come back. Just stay away from her. I don't want to think about what they can do to you."
He brought his feet on the couch and he rested on the opposite end under the covers. Their legs were actually touching. He decided to ignore the topic. There was no point in arguing because there really was no other way to stay safe. The rule of thumb to survive: stay away from vampires. He would explain this to her, though. He wasn't the type to just disappear.
"So you think they're coming back?" he asked and she nodded. "What if they never left?" Her whole face lit up. "I've been thinking about it and you're right. Kaithlyn's a monster and she cannot be trusted. I think she played hero just to gain our trust. For all we know the hunters could be hanging out at her hotel right now."
She felt him stiffen. "I was thinking about that as well," she said and massaged the back of her neck. "We have no idea what Kaithlyn's after. She said she'll fix this but I have no idea what she means. And I didn't get a chance to get a hold of Stefan today." She suddenly raised a little bit. "Oh, and don't get fooled by Elena's behavior. She wanted to talk to the teacher privately when class was over, so he sent me out. I stayed and listened. Turns out she just wants less schoolwork and more free time."
Matt's heart started to speed up. She didn't know what went on in that classroom later that lunch break. He gulped and hurried to change the subject. "I understand," he said curtly and then more leisurely, "I saw Stefan and Damon today."
She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really?"
"Before I came here, I stopped by Bonnie's," he started and smiled at the memory of her hug. "I brought her lasagna to make her feel better." Caroline smiled and nudged him with her foot. "Apparently, they were having a meeting about the blood bags and the hunters who went after Stefan." She nodded and prompted him to continue. "She's going to them tonight. There's a chance she might do a locator spell on his clothes and find them this way."
She shrugged. "At least we'll find out if Kaithlyn really sent them away or not."
He murmured back and looked down, "At least..."
Caroline stretched towards the coffee table, grabbed a bag of chips and threw it at him. "Helps with the stress." She pointed at the bag. "Does Kaithlyn scare you, Matt?"
He popped the bag opened and grabbed a chip. He chewed and looked away from her. "Of course that she does, Caroline. She's the new threat. I wish the circumstances were different. Bonnie said she can take her down..."
"So I take it she's better?" She cut him off.
Matt sighed. "I guess so." He grabbed more food in one hand. "What about you? Does she scare you?"
Yes, she thought in a heartbeat. Everything that Kaithlyn stood for scared her: deadly hunter; member of the council who would punish anybody who hurt witches, including her; and a bitch who went as far as torture Stefan in order to get their trust.
"No," she answered breathlessly. "As you've said, Bonnie can take her. And we know how to deal with a hunter. It's not exactly news." She couldn't tell him because if she let this slip, she let everything she did on Wednesday slip with it. She wasn't ready to tell him —the man who was so terrified when she bit him that he made her compel him— that she killed twelve witches.
Matt frowned and looked around the room aimlessly. "I just can't understand what's the endgame. Okay, so she got our trust. What next? Is it Tyler? Does she want to kill Tyler?"
"I took it under consideration," she said and nudged him so he'd look at her. "We need to have our guard up in the case of anything, okay?" He nodded. "We cannot... lose somebody again. Do you get that Matt? We aren't letting anybody die anymore. Even if it means making some sacrifices." She was referring to Rebekah.
He turned and set the empty chip bag on the table. "I understand," he said. "Did you warn Tyler?"
Caroline pushed her hand against the forehead. "That's the problem," she said. "I can't get a hold of him. I've sent him like a million messages. He has yet to call me back."
"Maybe-," he started but stopped as Caroline held up a finger and was looking in the direction of the entrance of the house. She could hear the door opening and a few slow steps inside. Then a set of keys dinged as they hit a wooden surface. A puff.
Caroline exhaled. "Mom?" she called out and the woman immediately came to the living room.
"Caroline," she said at first but then noticed Matt on the couch. "And Matt. How are you doing?"
"We're just talking," she said and saw her mother's eyes trail over to the mess on the coffee table. "We'll clean when we're done."
The woman shook her head. "That's not it." She stuffed a hand into one of her pockets and pulled out two neatly folded sheets of paper. "Put everything on the other sofa," she said and Caroline quickly obliged. They couldn't see what was exactly happening until Liz came back in the living room with a marker and what appeared to me a folded map.
She spread it across the table and slapped one of the papers on top. "As I've promised, I tracked the phone numbers down." She looked at the paper in front of her and began circling seven locations. She closed the marker and said, "They were sent from different locations. Two from Canada, one from Brazil and the rest from the United States."
Matt switched his position on the couch so he wasn't laying on his back anymore. "Mystic Falls?"
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "None, not even close." She pointed at the circle that went over Boston. "This is the closest location."
"Can you find out more?" Caroline asked and her mother shook her head. She turned to the map. There was no geometrical pattern. They were just seven locations scattered across the continent.
Liz raised her shoulders. "Anything to add?" she asked and the two teenagers shook their heads. She began packing the map. "Show this to Stefan and see what he makes of it. This is the map, the paper with the phone numbers and the paper with the locations," she said as she handed them to him.
Liz yawned and covered her mouth. It had been a long day of work and tomorrow wasn't an easy Saturday. "Well, I'm tired," she said and walked over to her daughter to kiss her on the forehead. "You guys do whatever, just be quiet. Matt, stay here, it's late enough."
As her mother moved to leave, Caroline grabbed her wrist. "Wait," she said. "There's something you need to know." She moved her right hand as she spoke. "A new hunter's in town. Her name is Kaithlyn Downright. You need to stay away from her. We don't know what-"
Liz narrowed her eyes. "Who did you say?"
Matt got up as well. "Kaithlyn Downright." He frowned and looked from one to another. "Why?"
The sheriff placed a hand on her face and let it move down to her chin. "You know that she came by the police station on Tuesday, right?"
"What?" they both snapped.
She stepped backwards and sunk into one of the living room chairs. "You said that she's a hunter. Well, Kaithlyn Downright isn't exactly known for that." The two took a seat to the sofa they were previously on. "She is... what you'd call a one hit wonder in the crime world. She's a detective. Are you sure that she's a hunter?"
Caroline nodded her head repeatedly. "Yes, mom, tell us what you know about her, please," she begged.
Liz sighed. "She's a detective who is known for capturing one of the worldwide worst criminals, the leader of a gang called The Black Spades. His name is Diablo. She got a lot of spotlight because she was only nineteen when she did it."
Caroline turned to her mother. "What was she doing at the police station?"
Liz rubbed the area around her nose. "She was looking for Jeremy's file. She wanted to research deaths in more secluded places in order to link it with a criminal. She left the station with a copy of his file. Back then I didn't even imagine she was a hunter."
Caroline blinked rapidly and looked around. Matt reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What does the file contain?" he asked.
"The file's structured in four parts: general info, doctor reports, witness testimony and referential names. I had Elena, Stefan, Damon and I noted on there," she explained. She saw her daughter's breathing intensifying. "What is it? Is she dangerous?"
She could feel tears in her eyes. This is how she knew what to look for, she thought. Her voice appeared broken as she spoke. "She's a werewolf hunter, mom. And I think she's coming after all of us." She sniffled. "She went undercover as a friend of Jeremy's from Denver. She talked with Bonnie, Damon, Stefan and Matt. She wanted to talk with Elena and me, but she couldn't. I think she wants revenge."
"Caroline, what are you talking about?" her mother asked. "Revenge for what? What did you do?"
Thatquestion coming out of her mother's mouth broke her down. She started crying. She killed twelve witches and Kaithlyn was going to kill her for it. Matt wrapped her in his arms. She would probably kill her mother just like Klaus killed Tyler's. She would kill everybody she loved. Her only way out would be to run. She would literally become Katherine, the person she despised the most.
All because she was the one who killed the witches. Why, Stefan, why? she thought through her whimpers.Why didn't you do it instead of me?
Matt whispered calming remarks in her ear, but this was so much more than anybody could fix. Kaithlyn outsmarted all of them. And they'd pay the price one by one.
˜.˜
It was pitch black by the time Kaithlyn and Ava pulled up in front of the Salvatore Mansion. It wasn't as difficult to find it this time around. Kaithlyn turned off the engine and made sure she had her phone in her trench coat.
She exited the car and turned to Ava on the other side of it. "Are you ready?"
"Yep," she said and reached her hands over her head to stretch. She looked up at the impressive building and then turned around, taking in the forest surrounding it. "Is this a haunted house by any chance?"
Kaithlyn moved towards the entrance and Ava followed in behind still looking around. "Not exactly." They stopped in front of the door and she was about to knock when it opened on its own. Ava made a face that quickly went away when she saw the man in front.
"You're here," the vampire said with a certain breathlessness. It seemed as if they had been waiting for them. "Come in."
They moved past him inside. "Stefan," Kaithlyn said and started walking towards the living room. How different things were just this morning. This morning she came here knowing Jeremy was dead. This night she came here knowing he would be back.
Ava was behind Kaithlyn. She waved enthusiastically at Stefan. "Hi, I'm Ava. It's nice to meet you." Stefan smiled and looked her into her beautiful brown eyes. Ava stared back at him and exclaimed, "I thought you didn't exist!" She burst out laughing and looked away.
"What?" Stefan asked and frowned.
Kaithlyn turned to the giggling witch and rolled her eyes. The girl held her stomach and covered her mouth with her hand as they walked into the living room. She moved past Kaithlyn and took notice of Damon. He was by the alcohol table preparing a drink. "And there's more of you!" she said and wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes. "K, I thought you were into werewolves."
The hunter sighed. Could she go anywhere with her friends and not get joked on about befriending a vampire? She shook her head lightly. Not with Ava laughing her ass off right next to her. Given the circumstances, you figure the atmosphere would be more sullen, she thought.
"Somebody's in an oddly good mood," Damon said, but Kaithlyn ignored him and slowly walked towards the couches. Ava smiled and waved at Damon as well.
Ever since they entered the room and Ava couldn't stop laughing about Kaithlyn and the vampires, Bonnie was staring at her, mouth slightly open. Perhaps she wasn't expecting something like that. Her eyes were shinning rather strongly for it to be a coincidence. She drew in a sharp breath and shook her head lightly.
Kaithlyn stepped in front of her and whispered, "Hey, Bonnie. How do you feel?"
Bonnie slowly turned her head from Ava to Kaithlyn and narrowed her eyes. She then snapped her head back to the witch. "Is this a joke to you?" she asked, voice crystal clear.
Ava's eyes widened and she caught herself. She gulped and shook her head lightly. "No, I just found something funny about this situation." She cleared her throat. "Who are you people? And why are you so ten-...?" She stopped with her mouth open mid word. She suddenly shut her eyes closed and touched the edge of her fingertips to her eyelids. She moved her hand in a circle as she spoke. "It's the... body, isn't it?"
Damon nodded and brought the glass of liquor to his lips. They had overestimated Kaithlyn. This awkward witch was the best she could come up with to save Jeremy. What a joke, he thought. This was completely pathetic.
Stefan walked towards them with his arms up. "Wait, there's no need to fight," he said.
Kaithlyn just shrugged and pointed to each of them as she spoke. "Stefan Salvatore. His brother, Damon. Bonnie Bennett, witch."
Ava nodded her head and exhaled slowly. "Oh, I see. Pleased to meet you?" She then looked over to Kaithlyn, who didn't seem that bothered by the whole situation. She wasn't afraid of the strangers in the room because Kaithlyn was with her, but she didn't receive any information regarding the body. She figured that it meant a great deal to her and she didn't want to offend her.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Tick, tock," he said eyeing the hunter.
She pressed her lips together and turned her head from Bonnie to Stefan. "Where is it?"
He pointed to his left. "It's in the cellar. In a coffin as you said."
Bonnie was the one to get up and start walking towards it. Nobody said anything and followed her. First, Stefan, then Kaithlyn and Ava side by side and finally, Damon. The blue-eyed vampire insisted he'd be last.
The hunter hunter doesn't trust me, Kaithlyn thought as they entered the room with the coffin. Whatever. She crossed her arms over her chest and focused on the people around her. If Damon tried anything funny with Ava, he'd pay.
Bonnie stepped closer to the coffin, placed a hand on it and turned to the rest of the group. "Where do you want to do this?"
"I'll do it here," Ava said and placed her purse on a table top in the corner of the room. Everything was full of dust in there.
Bonnie's expression grew stoic. She couldn't understand how she could take things so lightly. "Here? What type magic do you plan to use? What are you gonna channel?"
"Just my magic," she answered and shrugged. "Maybe I'll channel a little bit."
"What?" she snapped.
Kaithlyn uncrossed her arms and walked forward. "Bonnie, that's enough," she softly said. "Ava's got this. Trust her, okay? Back off." The witch sighed and looked away. "She can do this, okay? I know you want Jeremy back, but so do I. Let's not fight over it," she simply stated and walked over to the coffin.
Ava smiled at her and felt her heart grow in her chest. Of course that she'd stand up for her. It wasn't like Ava couldn't say anything back to Bonnie, but she already felt bad enough for laughing and she didn't know what Kaithlyn felt for these people. She wasn't about to pick a fight with her friends.
Damon rolled his eyes at her words. He wondered for how long she'd keep this act as Jeremy's friend up. At least she didn't threaten Bonnie, he thought. He wouldn't accept that. He caught a glimpse of his brother. He was focusing on the girls in front of him. Bonnie was staying next to the wall opposite to them. Ava was searching through her bag. Kaithlyn was working on opening the coffin.
It creaked once it opened and revealed a body —the shape of it at least— covered by a piece of white cloth. A horrible smell invaded the room and the only person to visibly flinch was Ava.
When Ava found the crystal she was looking for, she closed her purse and put it in her pocket. She gulped and went next to Kaithlyn. She focused on ignoring the smell and the horrible images that invaded her mind and brought her hands up with her palms facing the ceiling. She closed her eyes and started chanting.
Ava had just started when Kaithlyn moved her right hand with the palm up and placed it right under Ava's left hand. She grabbed her wrist with her left hand and sat like this while her friend did the spell. The witch grinned and shook her head. Even with a simple spell like this Kaithlyn insisted on helping her.
The people beside them didn't say anything. Perhaps it wasn't that much of a shock that Kaithlyn was a witch. So, this is how she stopped Ricky, Damon thought as he recalled Kaithlyn raising up her hand and the man standing there frozen as she got close to him. However, he did wonder, why wasn't she more physical with her powers? He knew a great deal of witches and most of them, if not all, would have tossed the hunters away with telekinesis.
Bonnie pulled her hair behind her ear and listened closely to Ava's words. The spell seemed familiar, but she noticed that she pronounced the words differently and accentuated different parts of it. She also took noticed of Kaithlyn's stance. It appeared that she was a witch, but there a few odd things. In a group spell, both of the parties chant along. Kaithlyn didn't mutter a word. Witches don't hold their wrists like that. Hmm.
With every word in Latin Ava whispered, the smell that tainted the air in the room was slowly disappearing. It wasn't noticeable at first, but when Bonnie took in a healthy amount of air, the difference was crystal clear. Everybody watched the two girls in expectance. The smell was completely gone. It was just as if Jeremy was never a corpse to begin with.
Bonnie wrapped her hands over her chest and swayed from one foot to the other. How much time was there left until Jeremy would rise from the coffin? How were they able to do it so effortlessly? She glanced at them again. They weren't shaking, they weren't on their knees scrambling for the last bits of their power, they weren't pleading for anyone to help them.
Unlike me, she thought recalling the night she begged the witches for Jeremy.
She looked down at her chest and her hands. If Ava was able to do this on her own, then what was she capable of? Her own magic, the spirits, the darkness, expression? Maybe she could bring the others back without dropping the veil. Maybe she could do a protection spell on the town. Maybe she could even reverse her mother's vampirism. Maybe...-
The room fell silent. Ava finished chanting. As Bonnie moved sideways to see between the two girls, Ava reached out and grabbed the white blanket covering Jeremy to push it to the edge of his torso. This is what they saw: polished white skin instead of dark charred bits of flesh that were twisting and pulling in places; the sharp edges of his face instead of the whiteness of his jaw; healthy cheekbones instead of maroon blood oozing out of wounds; two eyes covered by eyelids with luscious eyelashes instead of empty sockets; soft black hair and eyebrows instead of a bold head smeared with blood. It was the Jeremy they knew, the Jeremy that was resting on the couch as Elena set the house on fire, the Jeremy that was alive before the trip to the island.
The witch moved his arms so they were resting on his bellybutton, hands on top of each other. She grabbed the crystal from her pocket and placed it under his hands. It appeared as if he was holding it while asleep.
She resumed her stance with her spine tall and palms facing up. Kaithlyn followed the pattern she had before as Ava started chanting again. Everybody noticed that what she was saying was different than the last time. Bonnie pinched her lips together as she listened. She didn't recognize the spell at all, despite ignoring the accent. Hmm, she thought. She'd look over Emily's grimoire later.
Ava's voice came to a stop and she took a short breath. She turned to Kaithlyn and everybody's breath caught up in their throat as they waited for what she had to say.
Her tone was solemn. "K, this was a preservation spell," she explained and her eyes looked straight into Kaithlyn's. "To undo it you have to..." She paused as she made sure the hunter was following her. "Light up ten candles, put them in a circle with the body in the middle. You grab a bowl of fresh water and place a pine needle inside. When it's steady on top, you walk from the body to each of the candles and dip the ring finger on your dominant hand in the bowl. You let a drop fall on the flame." She gulped and grabbed her shoulders. "K, you must do it clockwise." She pursed her lips and looked at the body for a small moment. "When you finish, return to the center, grab the pine needle out of the water and pour the liquor on his head. And," she started and let go of her shoulders to press her hands together. "Place the pine needle in the middle of your dominant hand as you whisper." She licked her lips. "Surgere Vobis."
Kaithlyn furrowed her brows during Ava's speech. "What!" she said as she moved her shoulders forward and raised a hand.
In that moment Ava's composure disappeared and she started giggling like crazy. "No..." she started to say but couldn't finish. She leaned her head down and pressed a hand to her forehead. "You don't have to do that." She shook her head and brought the hand on her forehead to cover her nose and a little bit of her cheeks. "You just have to take the crystal out of his hands." She lifted her hands and looked up. "You should have seen your face!"
Kaithlyn started laughing as well and she nudged the witch with her left elbow. "How did I not see this one coming?" she asked and sighed.
"Well, you-" Ava started to say but was cut off.
"I don't see how this chit-chat is bringing the boy back to life," Damon said and walked next to Bonnie. "Do you, Kaithlyn?" he asked and eyed her from head to toe.
Bonnie stepped in. "Ava, I can help you with the spell. You don't have to do it alone. I have a lot of power. We can do it together."
The witch blinked a few times then looked at them, at Kaithlyn then back at them again. "What are you talking about? I finished what I came here to do."
Bonnie frowned and turned to Damon. He nodded and they both looked at the hunter. Damon was about to say something but Stefan came next to him and patted him on the shoulder. He was the one to speak. "Did we misunderstand you, Kaithlyn?"
Bonnie made a move towards the two girls. Kaithlyn placed her left arm in front of Ava, forcing her backwards and behind her back in the process. She eyed the witch. The real message was clear: do not come closer. "No, you did not," she said with a new coldness. "Ava won't bring Jeremy back to life. I will."
Bonnie opened her arms wide and leaned forward. "Fine, Kaithlyn. But we could do it together. If all of us do the spell, there are less chances for things to go wrong." Her voice started to soften. "Three witches are stronger than one."
Ava peaked from over Kaithlyn's shoulder and started laughing. She rested her hands on the hunter's shoulders and leaned her head on the back of her neck. "Did you just call her a witch?" she managed to ask.
The girl nodded. "Yes, is there a problem?"
Kaithlyn shook her head and sighed. "I'm not a witch, Bonnie." Her voice was soft. She already had enough of this. "I'm a psychic." She pointed to her chest. "And I understand your concerns, but I will do this on my own. Is everything clear now?"
Bonnie nodded. It seemed as if they misplaced Kaithlyn once again. She was about to ask her again if she could be of any help, but it was clear by what the hunter said and the way she said it that she was confident in her abilities. "I see," she said and licked her lips. "Are you going to do it now?"
Ava walked from behind the hunter and sighed for the first time this day. Kaithlyn glanced at her and she knew she was due to some explanations. She turned to the group in front of her for now. "No. I still need to prepare a little bit. I'll do it tomorrow while everyone's at the funeral."
Damon rolled his eyes and headed towards the door. "There's no point in staying here anymore now, is there, Kaithlyn?"
Kaithlyn pressed her lips together, grabbed Ava's hand and walked past Damon out the door. The two of them returned to the living room and the rest of the group followed.
"Ava," Stefan said and lifted up the peach bag in his right hand. "You forgot this."
The witch smiled and pulled her wrist out of Kaithlyn's grasp. "Thank you," she said and grabbed the bag. "Apparently, I was in a hurry because I left so fast." She eyed Kaithlyn.
Damon and Bonnie ignored the girl's comment. "So, is this settled then?" Bonnie asked as she raised her brows.
"Yes," Kaithlyn said with a nod. "I'll be here tomorrow."
Damon crossed his arms over his chest. "Not so fast, psychic hunter," he said and narrowed his eyes. "I don't think it's fair you'd do this alone, without any of us to make sure you aren't screwing us over."
"Damon," Stefan interfered, but Kaithlyn raised an arm in his direction.
"Let him finish," she simply said.
The vampire smirked. "I want to be here with you."
Kaithlyn watched the man in front of her through narrowed eyes. She slowly let her hand go down and hang loosely near her body. She blinked a few times and sighed. "I think that'd be only fair. I accept." She licked her bottom lip. "When was the last time you fed?"
Damon opened his eyes wider and licked his lips. "A couple of hours ago."
She smirked. "Perfect. Do not feed at all until tomorrow."
He frowned. He was taken aback. "What? Why?"
She shrugged. "Do you want to be here or not?" He narrowed his eyes. "I thought so. It's supposed to help with the energies. I don't want you to ruin the ritual."
"Fine," Damon said through puckered lips. Ding. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He just got a message from Rebekah. When he opened it, the only thing written was 'Shots. Shots. Shots' and there was a photo of Elena and her giggling attached.
Stefan walked over to him. "What is it, Damon?" he asked. He was wondering if Damon got a cryptic message.
"Nothing," he said. "Rebekah and Elena are having fun at the Grill." He held his phone out for his brother to see.
Stefan sighed and turned to Kaithlyn. "Is there anything else we could do?"
"No," she answered and shook her head lightly. "I'll see you tomorrow." She turned on her heel and walked towards the door, only stopping near Ava to tell her 'Come'.
Ava nodded and waved at the three people by the couches. "Bye, it was nice to see you." She smiled one last time and turned to follow Kaithlyn. In a few moments the door opened and closed and they were both gone.
Damon went over to his alcohol tray and picked up the glass of liquor he prepared when the girls came in. He sipped on it and took a seat on the couch.
"So this is it?" Bonnie asked.
Damon brought the glass to his lips and said 'Yep' before bringing the burning alcohol down his throat. Stefan crossed his arms and looked at both of them.
"Do you think she can do it?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know," he simply said. "She appears to think so."
"Damon, I hope it's crystal clear that you can't do anything to sabotage Kaithlyn. Understood?" Stefan said and walked in front of him. He eyed his brother who ceased to answer. "Damon?"
"Yeah, I get it," he answered mindlessly and sipped on the drink. "I know what to do, brother. Trust me."
Stefan crossed his arms and frowned. "You just have a habit of messing things, so I need to make sure you know how important it is that you don't destroy the only shot we have at making everything go back to normal."
"I think that's enough, Stefan," he simply said and looked over to the fireplace.
Bonnie came closer to them. "Do you think she's dangerous?" she asked. "Do you think she could hurt you?"
He shrugged. "I don't know," he said and twirled the glass in his hand. "I think that she is after Jeremy right now. But when she has him back..."
"Run," she suddenly said and the vampires turned to her. "Run once Jeremy comes back to life. It's better than sitting here and getting yourself killed." She drew in a sharp breath. "I'll do a locator spell on Jeremy tomorrow and the moment he comes back and moves, I'll know. Stefan and I can come here and we'll deal with her together." She mindlessly brushed three of her fingers together. "She can't take me down."
Damon took in the girl to his right for a minute. She really seemed like she wanted to do this. "Fine, it's a plan," he said, but in truth he wasn't about to follow up on this agreement.
They let Jeremy out of sight for one moment on the island and he ended up dying. He wouldn't have that happen again. He wouldn't let Kaithlyn hurt Jeremy. He rubbed the display on his phone. Elena suffered enough already. He would do this for her, stay in for her and fight Kaithlyn for her even if it meant getting hurt.
Because he loved her and he felt guilty.
˜.˜
There was a certain coldness in the air on the drive to the hotel. Kaithlyn was leaning against her arm, which was propped up by the door of the car, and watching the road ahead of her. Ava tapped her foot and bit her lip. She hated this situation. She turned to her friend as she pulled the brakes at a stop sign.
"Your new clique doesn't know how to take a joke," she said and laughed.
Kaithlyn smiled. "My new clique? Oh, please..."
She placed her hands on her hips and spoke with a lower voice than usual, "Not so fast, psychic hunter." She was imitating Damon, but she could only go so far as she started laughing.
The hunter nudged her even though she was grinning as well. "Come on."
Ava opened her eyes wider and smiled slowly. She spoke with a voice that was lower, but not as rougher as the one she used for Damon. "Ava, you forgot this." She blinked rapidly a few times and then burst into a laugh again. She slapped her thighs and exhaled loudly. "Okay, I think that's enough." She closed her eyes and relived the few moments they had in the cellar. "Oh, gosh, how aggressive they got over the spell joke. Maybe you would have caught on if you knew more about magic. I've been trying to teach you..."
Kaithlyn shook her head and brushed her hands along the steering wheel. "No matter how much you try, not gonna happen. You can learn to be a psychic, but magic can't be taught."
She smiled and rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. Would be cool if it was possible." She glanced out the window at the forest that was giving her life every time she used her magic. The hunter was right. Magic simply existed outside the context of time and space. She slouched back into her seat and checked her phone.
"Cricket isn't going to message you 24/7, Ava," she said and the other girl smacked her.
Ava shook her head. "I wasn't..." She looked away for a second as she exited out of the messages tab. "Checking that. Why would I do that?" She smiled and then stopped talking for a moment. When they were back at the Salvatore Mansion, she recalled something out place. She licked her lips and softly asked, "K, Damon mentioned a Rebekah back at their house. Are they... are they the Damon and Rebekah that were read in Galen's mind?"
Kaithlyn sighed. "What if I told you they were?"
The witch raised in her seat. "K, I'm not sure I follow. Why would you get involved with such dirty people? They went after Galen. Weren't the two of you hunting partners for a short while?"
The hunter looked down and then in Ava's eyes. "He's not exactly clean himself. Trust me, the two of us are going to have a long talk when he wakes up."
Ava raised her hands. "Fine, fine, I trust you. I'm not going to pry anymore. You do what you see fit." She arranged her blouse as the two of them pulled into the parkway and stopped in an empty spot.
They both went to the trunk of the car, but Ava stopped Kaithlyn before she opened it. She was about to get Ava's luggage out. The hunter turned and watched as she placed her peach bag on the car and searched through it. She grabbed a small jar of what appeared to be a cream for skin care.
Ava turned to face Kaithlyn and grabbed her hand in which she placed the small jar and her other hand on top. "K, look," she started. "I know you plan to do this and I'm not even going to try to stop you. It's your choice, not mine. But keep in mind that you still need to be safe. You can't lose yourself in there." She let go.
Kaithlyn examined the jar and flipped the lid counter clockwise. Inside there was a gold-ish liquid cream that shone in the places where light touched it. She recognized the substance immediately. It was what in psychic mythology would be called Rays of sunshine. The cream served as a light source in the darkness of the Other Side that could keep the monsters in there at a distance. However, it also stopped you from going in the darker places, places she needed to access in order to get to him. So this is what she went back after, she thought.
She closed the jar and placed it in the pocket of her trench coat. "Thank you, Ava," she started and smiled. "But I can do this. The body belongs to a friend of mine. We were close, we are bounded by that." She nodded. "Plus, he was a hunter, he had a mark. It's on his right side, Ava! And mine's on the left! We are Matched. I'll be able to find him in there." She grabbed her hands and squeezed them. "I will find him. I won't need to lurk around for far too long. I can do this."
Ava sighed as she heard her friend's pleas. She was really determined to do this, it seemed. She nodded lightly and grabbed the bag off the trunk. She inhaled sharply. "You still have the option. Just think about it, okay?" she asked.
Kaithlyn nodded and grabbed the suitcase. They walked the short distance to the line of taxi cabs by the hotel in silence. Ava picked one and handed the suitcase to the driver who went to place it in the trunk.
"Take care of yourself," Kaithlyn said as she eyed the driver.
"You kidding me? I'll literally set his ass on fire if he tries something," she said as she smirked.
Kaithlyn reached and wrapped her arms around her friend. "You take care of yourself," Ava whispered. "Call me when you're done with your crazy stunt."
She nodded. "Okay."
They let go and waved at each other as the taxi drove away. Kaithlyn waited in the parking lot for a few more moments as the dust in the yellow light settled back down. She could feel the jar of sunshine in her pockets, but she already made a decision. She was thankful to Ava, but nothing could stop her from having Jeremy back.
Nothing.
A/N: The end of part three of Aftermath, Finally!
Surgere Vobis (Latin) = you wake up
What do you think about the goings-on in this chapter?
Will Kaithlyn bring Jeremy back? We found out that she's a psychic. What do you think about her powers?More so, Sheriff Forbes spilled some information about Kaithlyn's past. Any thoughts about that, about Diablo?
What's your favorite conflict: the gang vs Kaithlyn, Damon vs Kaithlyn, Matt vs Elena, Rebekah vs Klaus, or Caroline vs Rebekah? What type of theories do you have? Predictions? Suggestions? Everything is welcomed.
How do you like the character plots so far? Remember that in the first chapter I said every character would have their own plot? Do you like how's that coming along? Would you like to see anything for a certain character?
What are your inclinations shipping wise? I'm not referring only to Kaithlyn-based ships. Just anything.
And with this ending, we hit our 75k milestone. Woohoo!
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You can drop by and say 'hi' or ask me anything.
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