Impossible
Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.
Chapter 10: The Last Stand
"Do you actually expect me to believe that vampires, werewolves and witches exist Jenna said incredulously, looking around at the serious faces around her, "And that somehow Elena is in the middle of this because she's the key to some ancient curse? Are you all out of your minds? I'm calling the police."
"No," Katherine said with a shrug, casually knocking the phone out of reach "Stefan, just show her already to shut her up or compel her. We don't have time for this."
Stefan glared at Katherine before turning to Jenna, "I know this isn't easy to accept but this is real, Jenna. Getting more humans involved in this will be dangerous. This is beyond the police."
"I just…I just can't, Stefan…" Jenna said looking around, her eyes landing on Jeremy, "Please, Jeremy, tell me this is a lie."
Jeremy shook his head and sat down next to his aunt, "I'm sorry. It's a lot to take in but you need to try. Even if you can't fight, at least you need to know when you need to ask for help or just run like hell."
"Oh for goodness sake," Katherine said throwing up her hands. With a hiss her face transformed, her eyes were suddenly rimmed with red as she bared her fangs at Jenna, moving with inhuman speed to grab Jenna. Stefan pulled her back roughly without missing a beat, his own face morphing to match Katherine's.
"Katherine!" Stefan said in warning, gripping her tightly.
Katherine allowed the mask to slip away, a smirk left in its place. She simply shrugged Stefan off and tilted her head towards Jenna, "This story is more of show than tell, Stefan. You have to admit it's effective. I hardly think she can doubt us now."
Stefan ignored her and stepped towards Jenna cautiously who backed away instinctively, "Are you okay? I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."
Jenna cleared her throat nervously, "So…you're a vampire and this Katherine is one too, the one who looks like Elena."
"That's correct," Katherine said stepping forward to stand next to Stefan, "Just so we're clear—Caroline, Vampire Barbie; Bonnie, Witch with the power of dead witches inside her; Jeremy, annoying human little brother; Alaric, human vampire hunter, ex-husband of Isobel, who incidentally was Elena's biological mother. Oh, Tyler is a werewolf but he's not here since he's about to be sacrificed like Elena. Did I miss anyone?"
"Damon," Jenna said in a hollow voice, "He's a vampire too, isn't he? He has her.?"
Elena thought I was unconscious but somehow I could see and hear everything. He did this. He's got this huge elaborate plan and—"
"No, Jenna," Bonnie said gently, "That wasn't really Damon. Klaus is using his body and he's the one pulling the strings. He's the one we need to stop."
"Klaus?" Jenna said looking completely overwhelmed which each new bit of information, "Who is he?"
"He's my brother," Elijah said as he entered the room, "How unfortunate, Jenna, that you had to be included in this. I had once hoped you would never need to get to know the truth about what I am but it appears it is simply inevitable for you to find out about these things "
"Oh, right, Elijah meet Jenna, aunt of current doppelganger. Jenna meet Elijah, an original vampire who is frustratingly always calm and brother to the most evil Klaus," Katherine said gesturing to each of them with her hands, "Are we done now? I really don't see the point of having to explain all this when she's not coming with us anyway."
Jenna's head snapped up, "No, I'm not staying here. I'm going with you to wherever they're keeping Elena. I want to help."
"Just because you want to do something, doesn't mean you can," Katherine said, "Besides, you'll be in the way."
"I hate to agree with her, but Katherine is right," Stefan said with a sigh, "We can handle this. We only told you all of this so you can protect yourself while we're out there. The best thing you can do for Elena right now is to stay safe. Jeremy, you're staying with her."
"No," Jenna said stepping close to Stefan, "I know you think I'm pretty stupid for not having figured this out long ago. Maybe I am weak but I refuse to just sit around. I'm supposed to protect her. I'm her guardian. Her parents left her in my care, Stefan. I have to be there. She needs me."
"Let her go," Elijah said calmly, "The witch, I'm sure, can do something to protect her."
Jenna looked hopefully at Bonnie who seemed to be struggling with her response. After a while, Bonnie nodded and motioned for Jenna to follow her outside. The rest of them walked out after the pair until only Katherine and Elijah were left in the room.
"I thought you were in such a hurry, Katerina," Elijah said as he dusted off a piece of lint from his shoulder, "What are you still doing here?"
"You're not telling us something, Elijah," Katherine said circling him, "Why did you let Jenna go? She's a liability. Why would bring along extra baggage?"
"You make assumptions too quickly, Katerina," Elijah said, "What makes you so sure that Jenna has no bigger role to play in all of this?"
"She's human, Elijah, this doesn't make any sense," Katherine said growing increasingly frustrated, unable to figure out what she was missing.
The corners of Elijah's mouth turned up in mild amusement, "Didn't we all start out that way? As humans… Let us go, Katerina. Now you are the one wasting precious time."
Caroline stared out the window of the car, watching the world blur around her as they sped towards the old tomb that the 1864 vampires were once trapped in. She sighed heavily, as she watched the full moon against the inky black sky. She stared out at the side mirrors, counting the cars behind them, noticing how Alaric was trying hard to keep up with Stefan's insane speed and how Katherine and Elijah seem to be locked in a suffocating silence in the last car of their convoy.
She traced what she could of the stars in the black sky outside, wondering how she got her life moved from being about boys and cheerleading to something bigger than her small town life. Caroline sighed, wondering what it would have been like to still be oblivious to all of this, or to still be alive. Her hand rested on her chest, where her heart remained completely silent.
Tyler. Every five minutes or so, her restless mind, would always return to his name. Her frustration centered on his name, driving her crazy that he was out of reach and just might not live through the night.
Caroline closed her eyes trying to remember the time before the supernatural madness came into her life. The Tyler she knew then was an arrogant bully with so many walls so that no one could see how messed up his relationship was with his father. And then one by one, the pieces fell. His father died, his Uncle Mason soon followed and then his own transformation happened. Stripped of everything, Caroline saw someone who needed her, someone she needed to protect. And now she felt like she was going to fail him.
"Why is Klaus so powerful?" Caroline asked suddenly, sitting up in her seat, "He's an original, I know that, but isn't Elijah one too? Why can't they just face off in a death match and be done with it?"
"Because Elijah would lose," Stefan said, "Klaus is more powerful."
"And?" Caroline said, drawing out the single syllable question, "Don't leave me hanging, Stefan. Why is he more powerful?"
"He's killed a doppelganger before, the first one since Anna." Stefan replied, "At least that's what the witches said, they weren't very clear about it and Elijah couldn't really confirm it. Supposedly, it was during his first attempt at breaking the curse. Obviously, it didn't work but he gained a lot of power from that ritual. He got a taste of what it would be like to actually unleash all that the curse held back."
"And now he's not going to stop until he has more," Caroline said defeated, leaning back against the window. "Are we there yet?" she asked, a hint of whine in her tone, trying to hide the worry she held close. If she still had a pulse, she knew it would be racing by now, knowing that Tyler was in Klaus' clutches.
"Almost," Stefan answered, his eyes never leaving the road, but somehow able to sense the unease of his companion, "Caroline, hey, we'll get them out of there. Nothing's going to happen to any of them."
"You need to believe your own lies for them to work on someone else," Caroline said in a faraway voice, "What hope do we have of destroying Klaus? I mean really, what are our chances? I get the whole Bonnie has the power of a hundred dead witches, and there's you and that psycho Katherine…but…"
"But what, Caroline?" Stefan said, glancing at her briefly, "What makes you think we can't take on Klaus with our numbers? If we all go for him at once, then one of us is bound to find a weak spot."
Caroline bit her lip and leaned her head against the cool glass, "Because killing him means you kill Damon too. I'm not sure you can do that. Worse, I don't think you will let anyone even try."
Stefan didn't respond, his jaw clenched as his car took on a manic speed. Caroline sighed again, looking at him this time, "For the record, if I find an opening, I'm going for it. I'll kill Klaus…and I guess Damon. I'm sorry but my friends need me...Tyler, needs me."
Stefan nodded once before letting the silence blanket them once more, lasting only a minute before Caroline started again.
"Wait, why did Klaus fail the first time he tried to break the curse if he did manage to kill the doppelganger?" Caroline said, "You mean there's more?"
"There's always more," Stefan said, making a sharp turn, "Until his body turns to dust, there will always be more."
Stefan pulled to an abrupt stop, followed by Alaric's truck and Katherine's car on either side.
"We're here," Stefan said.
"Duh, Stefan." Caroline said, pushing open the passenger door and stepping out into the night.
The leaves crunched under Bonnie's feet as she made her way through the forest, following Stefan's stealthier steps. Her hands balled into fists by her side as she felt the magic crackle in the air. Even at this distance, she felt the malice of the power that touched her skin.
She was scared, the kind that made her want to run in the opposite direction and never look back. The witches whispered so many things to her, words that never should be repeated or the courage that each of them tried to hold on to would vanish.
Bonnie looked at Jeremy, taking in the hard lines and shadows on his face. He had grown up far too fast and for tonight it seemed like a good thing. Her eyes automatically focused on his hand, checking to see if he still wore the ring that protected him from an unnatural death. He had wanted to give it to Jenna but Bonnie stopped him, assuring him that the spell she cast on the necklace his aunt wore did the same thing at least, she hoped it would. She didn't dare waste any part of the magic she carried around like a burden, worried that somehow any less will mean Klaus will survive.
"Not all can live. Not all can be protected. The battle has upset the order of things and the magic you possess will barely be enough to restore it," the witches said to her in a haunting chorus, "Choose or you all perish."
Bonnie sat up in bed, her forehead beaded with sweat as she clutched her chest, breathing heavily. She yelped in surprise, jumping backwards, when she saw someone sitting on the edge of her bed.
The person was more a wisp of smoke than an actual body. Bonnie could see through her but there was enough of her that she could see that it was a woman. She gasped when it turned to face her, a somber expression on its face even as it tried to smile at her.
"Anna?" Bonnie asked hesitantly, surprised to finally come face to face with the woman who had possessed her. But the woman shook her head and spoke in a voice that was no more substantial than air.
"No," she said, "I'm Elena."
"Elena?" Bonnie said alarmed, "What happened...are you dead?"
"No, I'm not the Elena you know. I'm not your friend."
"Then who are you?" Bonnie asked still unwilling to believe.
"Anna was my great grandmother," Elena said, "I am the first doppelganger."
Bonnie felt her skin tingle from the memory, finding it unbelievable that the first doppelganger had Elena's name. From her vantage point, Bonnie watched as Katherine walked in front of everyone, impatient that they couldn't move at a faster pace given the humans with them. She was itching to fight, to get things over with, and so unlike the passive doppelganger she met.
"You cannot defeat an enemy you do not fully understand," Elena said, her voice calm and soothing.
"The witches told me how to kill him," Bonnie said, "He will be vulnerable when the ritual begins because the curse will be emptied from him before it is replaced by what has been sealed for so long. It is with the essence of the curse that seeps out that I'll transfer to the dagger that will kill him."
Elena smiled, "He knows this, Bonnie. He will be ready for it. You must do better. No amount of magic will suffice if he can dodge it before you even use it."
"Well, there's nothing else!" Bonnie said angrily, her frustration rising to the surface as hot tears trailed down her cheeks.
"Me." Elena whispered sadly, "Use me. I am his weakness, Bonnie."
Bonnie was inclined to believe it was a trick. She didn't know how but she wouldn't put it past Greta to be able to pull off something like it. Dark magic was something Bonnie didn't fully understand and maybe it was possible to create this kind of illusion to push her to the wrong path. But the truth was something that settled in Bonnie even as she tried to block it. She felt the words were pure and the offer was real.
"Let me talk to Klaus…through your Elena," she continued, "Even if I will not be able to change his mind, at the very least I think I can make him pause a little. Enough for you to do what has to be done."
"Why I should trust you? Why are you doing this?" Bonnie asked
"If he succeeds," Elena said, her voice breaking, "he will be too far gone. There will be nothing left but destruction. He will be lost if I let him continue on this path."
"Okay, assuming I can figure out a way to do that and buy you some time," Bonnie said, "What makes you think he will listen to you?"
"Because he's doing this for me," Elena answered looking at Bonnie directly, "His guilt and his desire to undo the moment he killed me fuels him. He will not stop. Did you really think immortality and power is all there is to his obsession? Any creature who tasted love will never settle for anything less that everything and that includes Niklaus. I am his weakness because I am the one thing he will die for, Bonnie. So use me, and maybe you will win."
'Maybe,' Bonnie thought to herself, suddenly grateful that at least she had that hope of a maybe. She just wished the old Elena wasn't lying or she would be giving Klaus everything he ever dreamed of and they'd be left to die at his feet.
Klaus watched the flames dance around Elena, imprisoning her in a ring of fire, illuminating her fear and determination. She stubbornly stared at anything but him, refusing to acknowledge his presence. But Tyler's sharp cry as he began his transformation caused her to whip around and their eyes met.
Guilt. He felt guilt for causing her so much hurt. Her eyes spoke of it and his entire body wanted to comfort her. It was so strong that he knew not where it started and ended. He couldn't even tell if it was his or Damon's anymore because somehow he was seeing in her the woman he had killed lifetimes ago.
But Damon was there, able to mask his presence by beingKlaus, doing, feeling and thinking as he did. Including, looking at Elena and wanting to protect her. He hated himself for not helping her, for not ending this here and now but this emotion was dangerous and he shoved it back. Inside his mind, Damon shook violently, thirsting to get out of his prison and reclaim his body, his life. But he couldn't, not yet. If he wanted to end Klaus for good, then he had to let things happen. He needed to forget he was Damon for a little longer and simply be Klaus.
Elena blinked and looked away. As ridiculous as it sounded in her own head, she sawDamon inside those blue eyes. Suddenly it clicked and she understood what he was trying to do. It comforted her that in a way he was truly there with her, hope blossoming in her that they would get through this and that he would strike before anything happened. But doubt reared is ugly head when Damon did nothing and it was only Klaus who spoke to her.
"Don't you just wish Damon would come out now, guns blazing and save the day. I have centuries on him. He doesn't stand a chance," Klaus said with a laugh, trying to be nonchalant but the slight tremor in his voice betrayed him. The steps he took were his, not Damon's, and the desire to hold her was all his.
"It's time, Klaus," Greta said in a clear, strong voice, the fires around them becoming still as she spoke.
"Not just yet, Greta," Klaus said looking around casually, finding it easier if Elena was not in his line of sight, "We are still waiting for some special guests."
"What have you done, Klaus?" Elena said standing up angrily.
"You always think the worst of me, Elena," Klaus said, "You would blame all the world's evil on me if you could, wouldn't you? Well, this one is not on me, my love. Did you expect your merry band of followers to miss our little party? Of course, they're on the way and it would be rude not to wait for them."
"You don't need them for this, Klaus," Elena said, "Isn't that too sadistic even for you? To have an audience watch you murder innocent people?"
"Murder?" Klaus said, his lips turning up into a menacing smile, "See, that was also my mistake the first time around. I assumed I simply needed to kill the doppelganger. I didn't know about the part where I needed the heart of my enemy, sacrificed just before the last bit of life left it and that the intent of the doppelganger is as important as the blood she provides in this little ceremony. It is a sacrifice after all."
"I must be willing to die for the seal to be lifted," Elena said in a hollow voice, "I need to want it."
"Correct," Klaus said stepping up closer to her, just an inch out of reach, "Isn't it convenient that the things I need to be able to motivate you to do that just walked into my little plan?"
Turning to the others, Klaus smiled fully, "Welcome, now who wants to die first?
With blinding speed, Elijah hurled himself onto Klaus, who neatly stepped aside letting his brother fall to the ground. Whirling around Klaus picked up Elijah, his eyes flashing with rage, "You dare betray me again, brother? "
He did not give Elijah a chance to respond. Klaus threw him inside the cave like he weighed nothing and without prompting, Greta waved her had, a spell rising from her to seal Elijah within the tomb. With her other hand, Greta brought down the vampires, forcing a wave of pain on them a hundred times more powerful than Bonnie ever tried on them.
Before anyone else could move, Klaus moved with blinding speed towards Alaric who fired off stake after stake, forcing Jeremy and Jenna behind him. But in one swift motion, Klaus knocked him unconscious and pulled Jeremy and Jenna to him as Greta rounded on Bonnie.
Klaus shook his head as he threw Jenna inside the ring of fire that contained Elena and Jeremy in the other with Tyler.
"Now, Bonnie, I suggest you stop exhausting Greta or I will compel Tyler to eat Jeremy here and now," Klaus said steadily, "Besides, we both know you won't use your full power just yet…waiting for the right moment, yes? Well, that's not until later so I suggest you back off."
Turning to Greta, he continued, "You know what to do."
With a nod, Greta hooked Bonnie with an invisible line, lifting her off the ground to drag her to the tomb, trapping her with Elijah.
"Now, where were we?" Klaus said dusting off his hands, "Right, motivation for Elena."
In a flash, Klaus plucked Jenna from Elena's reach and held her in front of him.
"I'm…I'm not afraid of you," Jenna said shakily, "Let Elena go. I'll do whatever you want."
"I don't need you scared, Jenna," Klaus said with a malevolent grin, his hand fingering the chain around his captive's neck, his fingers tightening around it.
"Damon!" Elena called out in desperation, "Please, stop him. Don't do this. I beg you."
With a flick of his wrist he pulled on it, breaking the clasp neatly and placing the charmed pendant in Jenna's palm, closing her fingers around it, "I just need you dead."
Looking straight into Elena's eyes, Klaus snapped Jenna's neck and dropped her body on the ground.
Elena howled with grief, her world spinning and darkening as she fell to her knees. She curled into a ball, muttering to herself, rocking back and forth wanting to believe that if she held that position long enough then maybe time would stand still. She heard nothing. She didn't see Jeremy try to leap over the fire only to slam into an invisible barrier. She didn't see Bonnie pounding on the seal that Greta put up, muttering incantations as guilt washed over her face. She didn't see how Stefan crawled on his belly trying to just reach Klaus. She didn't see Caroline break through the spell only to be pinned against the wall by a stake Klaus threw clear across the other end of the pit. She didn't see Tyler collide with Jeremy as he tried to get to Caroline, leaving the younger boy unconscious from the blow.
All Elena saw was blue. His eyes, Damon's eyes, were all she saw. She felt betrayed as everything she held on to fell apart at her feet. Her heart shattered in a thousand pieces she could never hope to mend. He let it happen. Damon was there. But he just watched. He just…stood there. It was just as well if he murdered Jenna himself.
White hot anger burned through Elena as tears streamed down her cheeks, her entire body trembling in fury. She stood up with deliberate slowness and faced her enemy.
"Damon," Elena said shaking, her voice ragged, "why? I needed you. I still do. Where are you?"
She watched as his jaw clenched tightly, his fists closed and planted firmly at his sides. He stood perfectly still, his eyes locked with hers, the struggle to stay in that moment clear on his face.
"Klaus?" Greta said, shattering the moment, "The moon will not wait for us."
He closed his eyes and spoke, his voice hoarse, the effort behind the words almost painful to hear, "I'm sorry, Elena."
Elena blinked and when she opened her eyes once more, Klaus' hand was reaching for Tyler and in a second he would pull his heart out.
"No!" Elena heard herself say the word and yet she knew she did not speak.
Klaus sensed the change and he stopped cold. The hesitation made Greta panic and turn towards Bonnie panic, "What have you done!"
But Bonnie wasn't listening, her eyes were trained on Elena, her lips moving soundlessly as she said the incantation that brought the first doppelganger the precious minutes she asked for and silencing the power of Greta.
"You're not yet supposed to be here," Klaus said shaking his head, swallowing the lump in his throat as he stood rooted to the spot, "This isn't….it isn't time…"
"It doesn't matter, Klaus," Elena said gently, "Even if you break the curse and the binding spell withstands that, there's not enough of me left here for you to hold on to. I cannot be brought back."
"No!" Klaus roared, "That is a lie! I will get you back! I cannot lose you!"
"Then you should have never let me go," Elena said, the words cutting into Klaus, forcing him to fall on his knees.
"I wanted too much," Klaus said staring at a spot on the earth, his eyes never leaving it, "When I should have just loved you."
The flames died and Elena walked towards Klaus, her arms going around him as she whispered in his ear the words he said to her as when she died, "In aeternum te amabo."
When the last word left her lips, Elena collapsed in his arms and Klaus kissed her forehead, his tears flowing into hers as his lips touched her skin, "Etiam in morte, superest amor."
"Bonnie," Damon said clearly, finally rising to the surface, "Now."
He reached out with one arm and caught the dagger that Bonnie had infused with the curse itself, the magic of the witches and the sacrifice of Jenna. Damon reaches out and makes a small cut, taking a drop of Elena's blood. Bonnie takes the moonstone and begins the ritual to seal the spell forever, holding vampires and the wolves to the curse using Damon's sacrifice and releasing the doppelganger from it.
He takes a deep breath as a shower of sparks rain on him, Elena's blood on the tip of the dagger, "Sure this will work, witch?"
Bonnie nodded, a small smile passing on her lips in surprise to finally hear Damon, "It should."
"The binding?"
"I can't sense it…she never finished," Bonnie said heavily, "It won't hold you here I'm sorry."
Damon nodded and looked at Bonnie one last time, "Then since everyone else seems to be out of commission, you're going to be the one who gets to carry out my last wish."
Bonnie nodded tearfully, "Anything."
Damon tried to smile but couldn't, shaking his head in defeat, "Tell her I love her, Bonnie. And I'm sorry that I couldn't do better…that I'm not strong enough to stay."
Lifting his face to the heavens, Damon plunged the dagger into his chest, his blood pouring out of him, his life and everything else he shared with Klaus leaving his body.
"You lose," Damon whispered to Klaus, feeling his death as well as his own, letting the darkness envelope him.
Elena gasped as she woke, feeling the tug of the unfinished bond as Damon faded from her, "No, no, no, no,"
She pulled Damon to her while everyone watched in horror, finally free of whatever spell that held them back, the curse unraveling piece by piece.
"Damon," Elena said through tears, finding the dagger and pulling it out, using her hand to cover the gaping hole it left in his chest, "Please, please come back. Hold on, please."
"Elena," Bonnie said, kneeling beside Elena, placing her arms around her friend, "Elena…let him go. There's nothing you can do."
"No!" Elena let out a strangled cry and pulled away from Bonnie, using her body to shield Damon from them, "It's not over. It can't be."
On an impulse, she picked up the dagger and made a jagged cut on her arm, letting the blood flow freely. She ignored their protests and kept going, her uninjured hand reaching for Damon's hand, closing over the ring that he still wore. She pulled out the necklace that was still in her pocket and held it close to his ring. She let her blood mix with his until she didn't know where hers began and his ended, her lips frantically repeating the words of the binding spell that Klaus interrupted.
Elena said the words over and over, her desperation growing as the seconds ticked by and Damon lay in her arms unmoving and paler than death. When she could speak no more, she simply laid her head on his chest and cried. Elena wept for everything she lost and the future with Damon that was stolen from her. She felt a strong pair of arms around her, pulling her to her feet but she resisted.
"Don't touch me." Elena said in a low voice, the warning empty but was enough to make Stefan pause, "Just go."
Elena pulled away from Damon a little, just enough for her to reach up and touch the side of his face, "I should have run to you the day you saved me from Elijah. I remember looking at you and I knew…I was safe…or at least, I felt that whatever came next we'd get through it. But I hesitated and now…I should have run to you, Damon. I love you."
She closed her eyes and kissed his cold lips then whispered the words from the wreckage of another love, another Elena, "In aeternum te amabo."
And then her world exploded in a brilliant and blinding white before it faded into nothing.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed that One more chapter to go…stay tuned