Damon found himself in the room with the doors. He opened the one that lead to the Darkness and when he reached the end, he prepared himself mentally for the dim vision. He then opened the door and stepped out into the Darkness. It was only when he got there that he realised that in his hurry to get back to the Passage, he had forgotten to take the stakes from Alaric. He absently decided to retrieve them whenever he went back to earth again. Just as he opened the door to the Passage, he caught movement in the corner of his eyes.

-xx-

As Katherine heard the door open and shut, she realised that a guardian must have entered or left the Darkness. She heard the door open for a second time and being curious as to why there was so much activity she quickly made her way to the door. She wasn't sure if the guardian had left or if he was still standing there so she did her best to make no noise. It then clicked in her head that she had just heard the door open but it didn't close so there was a good chance that the guardian was standing by the doorway. She took a step backward praying that she wouldn't be heard or seen. Just then she heard a voice ask, "Katherine?" She knew the voice. It wasn't one that she was expecting to hear but she knew her ears weren't fooling her. It was Damon. Katherine Pierce couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Damon Salvatore was a guardian.

"I should have guessed you would be here", he said. Katherine couldn't see but she could tell that there was smirk on his face as he said this.

"I really thought you would join me when you died", said Katherine. "I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I would have never guessed though. Damon Salvatore is one of the guardians."

"And you're one of the Knights?"

"I'm something like a junior member. But you know me; I'll be at the top very soon."

Damon let the door swing shut behind him. "So what's the master plan?" he asked.

"Who says I have one?" Katherine countered.

"I've known you for a long time Katherine. You always have an evil plan."

"The whole not being able to see thing has kind of been keeping me from coming up with one", she sulked. "Do you think you can help a friend out?"

"We're not friends. Not in this side of the century anyway", he said. "I fed you to Silas remember and you possessed my girlfriend for a while too."

"That was fun, wasn't it?" she asked grinning cat-like at him.

"I'm curious", said Damon. "Let's talk." He put his hand on Katherine's shoulder and steered her away from the door. He didn't like the idea of Katherine Pierce standing that close to the exit. If anyone was going to figure out how to get out, he knew it would be her. However, the minute his hand touched her skin, he felt an odd prickly sensation. He figured that this was the sign that she was to spend more time in the Darkness.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"I don't know. Somewhere we won't be overheard. It's only my second time in this place."

Katherine let him lead her. "You just want me away from that door because you think that I might try to get out."

"I don't think you'll try to get out Katherine, I know you will."

"I want to get out of here as soon as I can and you know I always get what I want."

"You also wanted to live but you still died." Damon sighed. "If you really want to get out of here, joining the Knights is a bad idea. They like it here and they're not going to be leaving any time soon. The only way out of here is by paying your dues for what you did on earth and when the universe is satisfied, you'll get to move on to your afterlife. You might even get to spend it with your daughter. Play your cards right, Katherine. The Knights aren't your ticket out of here. I don't know a lot about this place but this, I'm sure of."

"How did you end up joining the guardians anyway?"

"It's not a choice. It's by descent. My mother was a guardian so when she chose to go back to earth, the deal was that I would take her place when I died. I'm about a hundred and fifty years late thanks to you turning me but everything's back on track again."

Katherine paused. Then, just when Damon was about to make his excuses to leave, she asked, "How long has it been since I died?"

"It's been a year since I died and you died about 6 months before that. So a year and a half I guess. Although I have to say I was surprised you didn't pay us a ghostly visit from the other side while it was still disintegrating."

"I was never on the other side. I got sucked right out of earth and I ended up here. Didn't Bonnie tell you?"

Damon looked confused for a moment. "I don't think so. Or maybe she did and I just wasn't listening to her. It wouldn't be a first."

"How did you die?"

"Explosion. Let's just say that I went out with a bang."

"You're proud of the way you died, aren't you? That obviously means you did something incredibly stupid." Katherine thought about everything for a minute. If Damon was right and he'd been here for a year as a guardian, he was bound to know something. That gave her an idea. "How about I make you a deal? I tell you something you don't know and you tell me something I don't know."

Damon considered Katherine's idea. He had to admit it was appealing. Any insight into the Knights would be really helpful at the moment but at the same time he wasn't sure there was anything he was fine with Katherine knowing. She was sure to turn anything he said against him. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with her for any longer than he absolutely had to. It then struck him that the best way out of this was to give her information that wouldn't give her any hope for escape. So, he agreed. "I think I could use a little inside knowledge about the Knights. But you have to go first. I don't really trust you."

"Fine. Be that way", said Katherine and shot him a look filled with annoyance. "The Knights don't like it here. They want to get out. This place is just their battlefield of choice."

"So the Knights are just waiting for the guardians to come down here so they can start an uprising against the universe?"

"That's the short version. Now it's your turn."

Damon hoped that Katherine wouldn't find a way to turn this against him and said, "There's no way out of the Darkness. To get out you need magic and without that you're stuck here for good."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't", said Damon. "Also, you should remember that the Knights don't really have an advantage here. They've been here for ages but they still don't have magic."

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" asked Katherine. "I know that the guardians can't perform magic in here. If we have a war here in the Darkness we're almost even. Of course, you guardians can see and we can't but all these years in here have taught us how to get around that. But if I pull out your heart right here, you'll die just like the rest of us."

"How do you know that?" Damon challenged. "You've never gone up against a guardian. When the guardians are exceptions to so many rules, what makes you think they aren't an exception to this one too?"

"I take it the other guardians haven't told you then."

"Told me what?"

"Once a guardian did attempt to tame the Darkness and he had his heart handed to him for his efforts. He disappeared from the Darkness but he was never seen again. That was the last time a guardian was seen messing with the Knights. Although now that you're here, I'm guessing that's going to change."

"It is", said Damon thoughtfully. "And I think I'll start with you." He then turned on his heels and went back to the doors and headed back to the Passage leaving Katherine smiling coyly behind. What he didn't know was that Katherine's mind was already coming up with a new plan and all she needed for it to work was for Damon to visit the Darkness atleast once more.

Damon stepped into the Passage and immediately found Derek who simply said, "You're back."

"I had an interesting run in with one of the Knights while in the Darkness. She had some very interesting things to tell me, like about the last time the guardians tried to attack the Knights."

Derek sighed before answering. "That's why we wanted you to stay away from the Knights as far as possible. But they don't know the whole story either. When that guardian had his heart ripped out in the Darkness, we all thought he was dead just like the Knights did. But a while later, he turned up in the Passage again. It was only an hour on earth but in the time when we thought he was dead, he was actually being punished by the universe for failing. The only people who know about this are the members of the High Council. The other guardians are unaware of his attempt. The Knights don't suspect a thing because if you kill anyone in the Darkness, they simply cease to exist."

"What do you mean he was punished? He was trying to do his job", said Damon, shocked.

"Nevertheless he did fail. If you think it might help, I'll talk to the High Council and see if you can talk to the guardian."

"I would like that", said Damon.

Derek nodded. "I'll see what I can do. In the meantime stay in the Passage and help as many people as you can pass on. Don't go anywhere until I get back." And just like that Derek was gone without even waiting for Damon to agree.

Damon turned back to the Passage again. The place looked as full as ever. He knew that Derek had been sending people to their afterlives for a long time now but it didn't seem to be making any difference. He thought of Cece and the Golden Pathway. He knew that there would soon be a time when the Passage was just as empty. But for now, he just had to soldier on and keep sending people on.

-xx-

Bonnie was happy to be back in Mystic Falls. She had never appreciated the joy of waking up in her own room. She had clearly slept in, seeing how it was nearly noon. She lazily went about doing her morning chores and she found that she was actually enjoying the mundane. When she was satisfied that her house was now liveable, she made her way to the Salvatore boarding house to take a look at the books that Damon had found along with his mother's things.

The minute she stepped into the large boarding house, she wished she had asked someone to accompany her. The house was so big and now that it was empty, it felt cold and uninviting. Staying alone in a large house might have been nothing for a vampire but for a human like her it was a little frightening. She fought the urge to leave and instead went to the library. The books were exactly where she and Damon had left them on the table. Damon's phone lay right next to it. She sat down and started to leaf through each grimoire. She could tell that these spells could come in handy to any traveller. Almost all the spells were to be cast by a number of travellers together. It was the only way they would have enough power to cast them. She finally decided that they were of no use to Damon at the moment. If they ever needed a spell, she could look at them again but until then, it didn't matter.

Bonnie then turned her attention back to the Damon's mother's book and she started reading again. It said, "Now, I think you're ready to hear about the realms of the dead. I'm sure they must seem puzzling. But it's fairly simple. Guardians are the only people who can perform magic in these realms. All others will exist just as humans do on earth. Even vampires and werewolves will lose their powers. It is important that those who pass on to the afterlife have all been reformed to ensure that no conflict arises in any of these realms. The number of realms is fixed but the realms themselves seem to expand. That's the best way I know to explain it. You see, at any given time on the earth, you have only three or four generations alive so it's easy to fit them all. But in the realms of the dead, you have people who have lived since the dawn of time. To accommodate all these people, the universe can make some adjustments to them. When all the realms are almost full, you'll see that they will once more be able to accept more people. No one has been able to explain why or how this happens and I'm afraid that I'm not sure of exactly how to put that into words. You will understand as you spend more time as a guardian.

There are a few rules that the people living in each of these realms must follow. They must take care of the land and ensure that the environment is well cared for. They must grow their own crops and everyone must do whatever they can to ensure that life continues smoothly in their realm. They must not institute currency of any kind. Violence in any form or fashion is strictly prohibited. If anyone is found breaking these rules, the guardian in charge must decide what is to be done to the offender. If the offence is too great, he may even be sent to the Darkness."

As Bonnie was about to turn the page, she heard a knock on the door. Curious as to who would be visiting a house that was supposed to be empty, she hesitantly opened the front door. To her surprise, she saw Sheriff Forbes standing in front of her. "Sheriff Forbes!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Liz hugged Bonnie and said, "It's so nice to have you back, Bonnie. I just come around to the property every once in a while and make sure that no one gets curious enough about the big empty house and decides to go exploring. Then I noticed the car, and the door wasn't locked anymore and when it didn't budge when I tried to open it, I thought that maybe Damon was here. Matt told me about you two were back. Anyway, are you here alone?"

"I am. Damon was here all day yesterday but he had to go back. He'll drop in once in a while to keep an eye on things here and to learn about the afterlife. I'm here to read up about everything from a book that Damon has. I'll drop by every day to do that."

"I know it's got to be a little scary staying in this house alone. So if you ever feel like there might be any danger, just give me a call. I'll make sure that someone gets here soon."

"I don't think you have to worry. Mystic Falls is now magic free, isn't it?"

"I guess that's true. But if there's anything you need, you can still call me. Now, I think I should get back to town."

"Alright. I should head back home too. I don't want to be driving when it's late out." Bonnie then stepped out and locked the house and walked to her car. Sheriff Forbes' cruiser was parked next to it. After saying her goodbyes to the Sheriff, both women got into their cars and headed back to Mystic Falls.

AN: So from now on, the Mystic Falls gang will start making more appearances now that we have things going on both on earth and in the afterlife. As for the people who want to know if there's going to any Bamon in the story, here's the thing. I'm not so good at writing relationship between people so it never occurred to me to plan that out in advance. As of now, I'm still not sure if there will be any romantic relationships at all because I've been focusing only on the whole Damon vs. the bad guys side of things. All I know for now is that it may or may not happen. If the story allows for romantic relationships to develop between these or any other characters I will write it and do my best to do a good job. Until then, please read and review. I hope you enjoy the story.