Title:These Woods Aren't Safe For Us

Authoress:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:see chapter one

Disclaimer:don't own.

This chapter didn't take that long but it still took awhile. And I can't wait until I"m done this story. I have so many other fics that I want to work on but I want to finish this first.

Chapter 11:Seven Days of Blood

(Jeremy's POV)

Confronting Alaric had always been a part of the plan;out of all the other children of the dark, he knew Damon and I the best and, therefore, he was the one we most had to convince of our new allegiances. He had to believe we weren't together anymore-otherwise, our entire plan would go up in smoke. And it had to succeed if we wanted this war to play out the right way.

I exhaled soundlessly, breath coming out in a visible puff condensed in the subzero air. I knew what was coming next;I had to convince the strongest of the light that I was really on their side.

Fortunately, one of them happened to be right on the other side of my door.

I entered my room of the old office building to find the younger Winchester standing behind my desk, telekinetically pointing a .35 at me. "You should really learn to lock your door,"Sam told me by way of a greeting, crossing his arms over his chest.

Unfazed, I closed the aforementioned door, responding in a cool tone. "You're not strong enough to kill me and the rest of your brethren are smart enough to know that I'm not a threat to them, not while I'm here of my own free will,"I shot back, leaning against my door almost lazily and not even blinking at the gun barrel directed between my eyes.

Brown eyebrows furrowed, knitting in a frown of consternation. "And why exactly are you here, Gilbert?"the psychic inquired flatly, undoing the safety catch on the pistol with his mind.

My expression stayed utterly blank;I didn't look even the slightest bit concerned. "You know you can't hurt me with that thing, Winchester,"I stated without emotion, tucking one of my ankles behind the other, "But since you're so curious, I'll tell you:I'm here because the dark ruler and the lamia lied to me. They engineered the destruction of the Virginia sanctuary and made me believe that I helped of my own free will while I was actually being used the whole time. Your ruler knows this-he resurrected my ex-girlfriend so she could tell me,"

Sam's frown deepened, bemused by that revelation. He hadn't been privy to that part of Raphael's plan;he'd known they brought back my dead vampire girlfriend, but he hadn't known why.

"So that was their big play in resurrecting that girl,"he muttered more to himself than to me. Shaking his head almost disparagingly, he raised his voice and addressed me again. "And you really didn't know that before she told you? Thought you were supposed to be some badass purveyor of darkness, being the Anti-Light and all;you couldn't see through some simple compulsion?"

My companion's mouth twisted into a flat, mirthless smile. "My powers had to be awakened and before they were, I was just a child. I could see ghosts, but I couldn't control it and it was only because of Damon's manipulations that I learned how to. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize them as manipulations at the time-

I thought he helped me because he cared about me. I was stupid to ever think that, though;he was always much too selfish to care about helping anyone other than himself,"I explained in a dull, lifeless tone, keeping my face completely blank when I talked about Damon.

I watched Sam carefully through my bangs as my words sunk in. I could see the younger Winchester's brain working to process my explanation, analyzing it for any flaws or deceptions;there were none. I'd made sure of that.

A moment or two passed in silence before Sam commented. "And that was enough to make you defect?Enough that if Raphael wanted your help in killing Salvatore, you would give it to him?"

I inhaled deeply. Alaric had asked me this question and I'd deliberately avoided answering because I knew the shykari would be able to sense a lie from me.

But I couldn't evade it this time-so I steeled myself to respond without hesitation.

"I would."

I met the older man's sharp copper orbs as they fell on my own ebony ones and stared back, unflinching. I wasn't a child and I was stronger than the psychic;we both knew that. I wouldn't be the one to blink first.

You know what you have to do, Jeremy.If it comes down to it, you will tell them where to find me and what you know about how to kill me. They'll never know exactly what they're dealing with-not until it's too late.

Me and Damon had prepared for this;if the light ever did want my help in killing Damon, I knew what I had to do. They didn't know about my boyfriend's true self yet-if they tried to kill him, they were in for a nasty surprise.

Sam finally nodded, apparently satisfied that I was telling the truth. "Well okay then,"he conceded, lowering the gun and letting it fall to the floor. He zipped up his jacket and picked it up, tucking the pistol into the back of his pants.

When he came to stand directly in front of me, I raised a single dark brown eyebrow, refusing to move until I knew what the psychic planned to do next.

"Since you're on our side now and you probably have no love for Katherine Pierce, how about you play a part in getting rid of her?"the taller brunette suggested casually, as if he hadn't been interrogating me mere seconds ago.

I didn't even have to think about that one;the female lamia had been the cause of more than one tragedy in my life. The only reason I hadn't killed her myself was because I was another child of the dark so I wasn't able to-but now I would have the pleasure of being the catalyst for someone else to do my dirty work.

I pushed himself off of the door in a single fluid motion and inclined my head in acquiescence. "That I can do,"I consented, "What did you have in mind?"

A slight grin spread over the elder male's mouth. "Well, it just so happens that the female lamia is on her way here right now, looking for info on our new digs and on whether or not you've actually turned,"Sam informed him matter-of-factly, "I'm thinking you distract her while I finish her off," "Got it,"I accepted his plan;it was a pretty simple one. All we had to do was wait.

(Normal POV)

Alaric had tracked the children of the light to an old office building just outside the city where they were hiding out. Whoever had worked there had long since abandoned it, though, because when Katherine arrived there, the first thing she noticed was how derelict it was. The windows were grimy and fogged with the cold and inside, everything was layered in dust and frost.

She entered the lobby silently, taking slow, careful steps so as to not draw any attention to herself while observing her surroundings with a critical eye. The first floor was dark and uninhabited;that much she could tell from the lack of beating hearts.

Her brethren wanted intel on the light's new hideout for future reference and since their other vampire was not only out of the picture but apparently not a vampire at all, Katherine had been their best option. She hadn't declined;she wanted a chance to do some damage since the light was doing everything they could to make sure that none of them survived this war. She also wanted to know if what Alaric had said was true, that Jeremy really had turned against them.

Fortunately, she was going to get the chance to ask him herself because when she walked off of the staircase onto the second floor, the last Gilbert was waiting for her. "Katherine,"the Phantasmist greeted her with feigned courtesy, observing her from where he sat, perched on the edge of a varnished pinewood desk.

The doppelganger froze in her tracks at the sound of that familiar voice. She peered through the darkness and found herself looking into a pair of hard, emotionless brown-ebony eyes, veiled by a row of almost black lashes.

"Little Gilbert,"she responded in a deceptively casual tone, scanning the brunette's form dully, "I can't say I've missed you. What exactly is it you think you're doing with the children of the light?"

The corners of Jeremy's mouth quirked faintly. "Don't tell me Alaric didn't fill the rest of you in,"he quipped with mock surprise. He shook his head before gesturing, as if the answer should be obvious, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Katherine took another step into the room that had obviously once been an office, putting her hands on her hips as she came face-to-face with her last remaining descendant. "It looks like you've turned traitor against the man who made you,"she observed, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. She folded her arms across the front of her velvet blazer. "What does Damon think about your little defection?"

"Damon happens to be the whole reason I'm here in the first place,"Jeremy stated conversationally, as if they were merely discussing the weather, meeting her probing stare without flinching. He lifted his chin, resting his hands on the edge of the desk on either side of his hips,"But you wouldn't understand that;after all, you're a manipulator just like he is-you've never been manipulated,"

Katherine scoffed derisively. "And what, you're just going to betray everything you care about, let the only family you have left die just because Damon lied to you?"she shot back, tone a mixture of condescension and disbelief. This was not the same Jeremy Gilbert she'd encountered while trying to make his sister's life hell-he wasn't even the same person as when she'd last seen him a few days ago. Something about this just didn't seem to click:she didn't buy that finding out he'd been compelled would be enough to make the teen turn against the only tie he had to his normal, human self.

Jeremy raised a single dark bronze eyebrow. "You don't mean you, do you? Because I have absolutely no problem letting you die,"he declared dismissively, expression completely impassive.

The female lamia smiled without humour. "Believe me, I have no real love for you, either. The only reason I didn't betray all of you myself is because I'm pretty sure the light would have killed me on sight,"she said honestly, "But that's beside the point. I meant Alaric. He's the only thing left of your old life. He's also a child of the dark, and a pretty powerful one at that. You know the light are going to make you help them kill him, just to prove that you're really on their side,"

The Anti-Light appeared utterly unmoved by her words. "I think I'm just about to do that,"he said cryptically, giving a nod to someone over her shoulder. She'd been so caught up in their little confrontation that she hadn't heard someone creeping up behind her.

The female lamia turned around just in time to see the younger Winchester before he jabbed a needle in her neck, backhanding her so that she fell to the ground. She recognized the poison entering her veins too late;the dark ruler wasn't around to save her. This was the same poison the light had used to try and take down Damon and it was meant to kill her.

Jeremy slid almost lazily off the edge of the desk, squatting down so that his face was directly above hers. "It wasn't too long ago that you would've killed all of us if it meant saving yourself,"he whispered contemptuously, eyes flashing, "I guess I just beat you to the punch," He let out a quiet, mirthless laugh, "Goodbye, Katherine,"

He sat back on his haunches and watched as the poison took its toll on her body;he didn't even bat an eyelid when she started to scream nor when her skin started to burn. He just watched until her screams petered out and it was clear that she was dead.

"She's right, you know,"Sam pointed out once Katherine had fallen silent and Jeremy was in the process of getting back to his feet. He waited until he knew the younger male was paying attention before finishing his thought, "The shykari will most likely be next on Raphael's hitlist. Your former lover cares about him, too-getting rid of him will weaken the God of Lamia,"

I wouldn't bet on it, Jeremy thought wryly, but out loud he said, "Well if I have to, I'll help you kill him just as I did her. The shykari means nothing to me anymore;like Katherine said, he was a part of my old life-a life I want nothing more than to forget,"

He held the psychic's gaze firmly while the taller man appeared to scrutinize him for any traces of deception. Luckily, Jeremy had developed one hell of a poker face.

After a moment, the elder nodded, apparently satisfied. "They'll be coming after us next. Now that the first blood has been spilled on the kingdom of Myrkur's ground, the final battle has begun."

First to the finish line, then.

(Damon's POV)

I'd followed the other children of the dark to the place they'd decided to take up refuge through the crystal walls of my current home. They acted as a sort of spying glass, allowing me to see my brethren's exact location so I knew where they were at all times. I had to know;the next step to my plan meant that I needed to have another little chat with them-and this time with the entire group as a whole.

While our enemies had chosen to set up shop in an old office building, my former brethren had opted for something a little less high profile;an unoccupied cabin by a frozen river. The place was quite large, if a bit shabby but it lacked any sort of supernatural security so I was able to get in without being seen relatively easily.

Katherine was missing from the proceedings, but Alaric, Dean and the previous ruler of the light were all congregated in the cabin's family room, clearly in the middle of one of our quasi-war council meetings. In the absence of Itachi, Dean appeared to be leading this meeting.

"Katherine hasn't returned yet,"he declared grimly, shooting the shykari a furtive glance out of the corner of his hazel eyes. He scuffed his boots on the wooden floor, "If she doesn't get back soon, we pretty much have to assume that she's been captured or killed, which means the game really has changed. We're not firing warning shots anymore-this really is an all-out war,"

"Which isn't a good thing,"the hybrid's boyfriend chimed in, looking deeply unsettled by this notion from where he sat stiffly on a light blue armchair, "If I know the children of the light, and I'd like to think I do, they'll be trying to pick us all off one by one, turn whoever's left against one another," He ticked his head in Dean's direction, "Dean's half-light. They won't kill him unless they have no other option, but the rest of us, they'll probably be trying to rip us apart on sight,"

"Especially you?"Dean cut in half-jokingly, arching one of his dirty blonde eyebrows.

The dark angel cracked the merest of smiles at the attempted levity. "I could be wrong. They might be trying to kill you, too,"he amended with a perfectly straight face.

I had to grin a little from my place in the shadows. Being that I actually knew what the light was up to and what our currently estranged ruler was trying to do, I was the only one who could bring us back our advantage-which is why I chose to reveal myself at that precise moment.

"Katherine's already been killed,"I said bluntly as I stepped out of my hiding place, coming to stand next to the sofa that Dean was perched on. I met his and Alaric's surprised gazes both in turn before adding, "Sam killed her-with Jeremy's help,"

Doing his best to conceal his shock at my sudden materialization, the elder Winchester's other eyebrow lifted to join the first. "And how exactly do you know that?"he questioned suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

"I saw it,"I told him flatly, not offended in the slightest by his less-than-friendly tone. "They poisoned her with the same substance they used to try and kill me and without Uchiha around to heal her, she died slow and in agony."

I remained completely stoic, even when Dean got to his feet, arms folded as he rounded the sofa to stand right in front of me. "And you wouldn't happen to know where our almighty ruler is, would you?"he shot back carefully, scrutinizing me for...something, I wasn't really sure what.

I stared back at him, and his breath came out in a visible puff of air between us, condensed by my frigid aura. "Uchiha's gone rogue,"I said matter-of-factly after nearly a full moment of silence, not at all fazed by the piercing look Dean was throwing my way, "He's been reaping souls left and right ever since he discovered what my true identity was,"

"Your true identity;you mean that you are the one and only child of ice?"Castiel surmised shrewdly, waiting until after I'd inclined my head in an affirmative before posing another question, "Do you think that could have something to do with his sudden mad scramble for power?"

I lifted a leather-clad shoulder in a shrug. "It seems the most likely explanation, considering he's even begun taking souls before their time and I'm pretty sure that goes against the entire nature of his being,"I answered evasively, deliberately avoiding telling them the whole truth:that I knew my sudden escalation of power was the precise reason why Itachi was breaking every one of his rules. They didn't need to know that-not yet, at least.

A frown creased the dark angel's tan forehead. "He's reaping the souls of the living?"Castiel quipped in horror, blue eyes wide and shocked. And he had every right to be stunned;being Death didn't automatically mean that Itachi had a free pass to do whatever he wanted. He was bound to the rules of nature just like any other entity-or at least, he was supposed to be. "How do you know this?"

"I've witnessed it,"I answered bluntly, "Up-close and personal. He's not playing by the same restrictions as he was before, which makes this a whole other ball game," "We can't play that way,"Alaric cut in firmly, clenching his jaw with evident distaste. He met my icy eyes, "War or not, you know that it's wrong to bring innocent lives into this,"

I didn't smile;I merely looked at him, utterly void of emotion. "Haven't you heard, Ric? We're supposed to be the bad guys;we're expected to play that way,"I retorted without rancour, lasering in on him from the other side of the room. I could tell he didn't like it;this no-emotion thing was definitely going to test our friendship.

(Normal POV)

Alaric shot him a withering look, crossing his arms over his chest. Inhaling deeply, he turned to the other two men in the room. "Could you give us a minute? I think my best friend and I need to have a private talk,"he asked Dean and Castiel, but his eyes were back on Damon a second after he'd averted them-and the complete lack of humanity in the black-haired male's expression was deeply troubling.

He waited until Dean and Castiel had acquiesced and left the room before speaking again with a very concerned expression on his face. "What happened to you?"the shykari questioned, brows furrowed as he crossed his arms over his broad chest, "You've never been what I'd call a champion of morality, but you've never been this ruthless before, not even when I first met you,"

The other man didn't seem at all affected by his disapproval and his features were utterly as his ice-blue eyes bored holes into Alaric's brown ones and he remained infuriatingly silent. After several minutes without a response, Alaric shook his head. "This attitude change of yours wouldn't happen to have anything to do with you being this "child of ice", would it?"he probed carefully, arching a single eyebrow.

Damon's expression stayed coldly emotionless but he did finally answer one of his friend's many questions. "As a matter of fact, it does,"he confirmed the child of the dark's suspicions, gloved hands buried deep in the pockets of his leather jacket. He lifted his chin slightly, eyes flashing almost dangerously, "Being the one and only child of the ice mean a lot of things, but above all, it mean that I am the one creature in existence who can live without a heart-and mine was keeping me from reaching my full potential and my rightful place on the Inverno throne,"

"Not that I have any idea what that is, but is that the reason why you let Jeremy go, then? Because you ripped out your own heart so you wouldn't feel bad about what you did to him?"Alaric quipped, mouth compressing into a thin line. He paused briefly before adding, "Is it true? Did you really compel him into helping you destroy Mystic Falls?"

Damon flicked his fingers carelessly. "Yes,"he answered without hesitation or guilt, "I did compel him. And, as for letting him go, he found out the truth just before I found out about my true self. He left and I didn't stop him-because he was a weakness and the winter-born don't have those," Alaric's other eyebrow rose to join the first, "And I suppose they don't have best friends, either?I'm assuming that's why you didn't see fit to tell me about all of this when it happened and just let me find out about it. "

"Ric-"Damon started but Alaric cut him off, "What about Jeremy, then?Did you know that he's joined the children of the light? Or Uchiha? It never occurred to you to warn us about his going rogue before now?"

The blacknette waited until Alaric had finished before finishing what he had been saying when he'd been interrupted. "Jeremy made his choice and you're going to have to make the same one. If you no longer want to be my friend, I won't stop you-but if you're looking for a reason to stay, I can't give you one. This is who I am now and you can decide whether or not I'm still someone you want to be around,"he stated flatly, the nonchalant tone belying the frigid gleam in his Arctic blue orbs.

Taken aback by his directness, the taller man just stared at him-partially because he didn't know what to say and partially because he was still looking for any trace of the vampire who'd been his best friend. It appeared that that was impossible, though;Damon was stone and there was not a single thing that Alaric could glean from looking at him except that he had changed. He wasn't a vampire anymore-no, he was something even more inhuman. The question was, could Alaric continue to be friends with this new creature?

He swallowed hard, shifting his feet uncomfortable under the winter-born's glacial gaze. "What would you say if I did still want to be your friend?"the former human asked softly, breaking the tense silence. He'd made friends with Damon once before when doing so seemed impossible and he needed to still be able to trust someone;he'd made his decision.

Whether or not Damon was happy about his choice was unclear and his neutral tone didn't help in the slightest. "I'd say do whatever you want,"he said indifferently, lifting a shoulder in a careless shrug, "But don't expect me to change like I did the last time;this time, there's no Elena or Stefan to keep me in check. You'll be friends with a true monster-if that's what you want, then by all means, stick around,"

Alaric shrugged;he knew what he was getting into here. Without Jeremy or Elena or Stefan around, he'd get to see Damon in all his beast-like, humanity-less glory. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he could handle it.

Their conversation was interrupted by Dean clearing his throat from the doorway. "If you two are done-or even if you're not-I think we have more important thing to discuss, like what happens now that Katherine's been killed,"he cut in pointedly, not asking for permission before he re-entered the room.

Damon closed his eyes for a second, taking a moment to switch gears. "What happens now is they've made their move, so we make ours,"he declared, opening his eyes again to meet Dean's hazel orbs without blinking. "There's no love lost between Katherine and I and I may not be one of you anymore, but I said I'd help put an end to this war, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."

He stopped for a second when he caught sight of the former light ruler sidling into the room behind his boyfriend. A plan formed in his mind and he directed his next words at the dark angel.

"I think it's time we start attacking them directly and I think we should start with you getting rid of one of your old cohorts, Castiel,"the child of ice decided smoothly, twin shards of ice focused on the dark-haired angel.

Castiel seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding his agreement. "Who did you have in mind?"

(Castiel's POV)

Damon had suggested I go after one of the ones who had only supported Raphael out of fear. They'd feared him more than they'd trusted me-and I wasn't the same angel I'd been when the archangel had usurped me. I couldn't afford to show mercy to anyone;my target was Rachel, one of my former lieutenants.

She just happened to be on a mission for the new light ruler when the shykari tracked her down in the more obscure reaches of the country we were in. I flew to her location and found her lifting snow off of the ground with her magic, obviously searching for something-but for what, I had no idea.

I clenched my hand into a fist, feeling the steady weight of the angel blade I'd concealed in my left sleeve. This was supposed to be a straightforward assassination, but if there was something that Raphael was having his followers retrieve for him, then that was something I needed to know.

Inhaling deeply, I materialized behind the female angel, putting on an impassive mask so she wouldn't read my intentions;luckily, that was something I was very good at doing. "Hello, Rachel,"I greeted my former follower in a deceptively casual tone, causing her to whip around in alarm.

I wasn't ashamed to say that I felt an immense sense of satisfaction at the unease and tension I noticed in her stance when she saw me standing in front of her. "Castiel,"she returned my greeting in a tone of ill-concealed trepidation, fingers twitching at her sides, "To what do I owe the visit?"

I met her searching gaze evenly, keeping my expression deliberately inscrutable. "You and I used to be close, Rachel. I trusted you once-and then you were one of the first to turn your back on me when Raphael seized power,"I said regretfully, scanning her face;I knew my words would have an effect on her and it would be the exact one I wanted.

Just as I'd expected, Rachel flinched at the condemnation in my voice and tried to keep her composure when she rebutted, "You fell in love with a human, Castiel. And while I didn't want an Apocalypse anymore than you did, you broke the number one of being an angel-and even worse, you let us find out from Raphael. Once he knew and he spilled the secret to the others, he was in charge and anyone who tried to deny him would have been killed. I, at least, told him to give you a chance, to let you prove that you had not completely turned your back on our ways-" "So you suggested to him that I kill Dean,"I surmised, unable to contain my fury at that realization. I saw her quail under my piercing stare but I didn't care;she was the cause for Raphael's ultimatum. I would have gladly let Raphael kill me if it had meant protecting Dean, but she had Raphael make me choose;she had helped him all but cement my fall from grace, because he had known that I would choose Dean.

I took a step toward her, looking at her in a whole new light. "Do you know what that choice would have cost me?"I started to say, but I stopped, shaking my head, "No, of course you didn't. Because you haven't seen what I have and you still think loving a human is wrong, never mind the fact that Dean wasn't even human. I see I failed to teach you one of the most important things as your ruler;that the light was not meant to be the evil party, that we were not supposed to be the ones without a soul-but I'm afraid it's too late now. Raphael has turned you into the true demons and now I'm no longer one of you, I have to stop you."

Before Rachel had a chance to defend herself, I launched myself at her, brandishing the silver dagger in my hand and going straight for her throat. She lifted one of her own to parry the slash, but it was a feint. I got underneath her guard and wrapped my free hand around her neck, pressing the point of the dagger against her neck.

"Castiel, please,"she was no doubt going to beg for her life, but I cut her off, jerking my head at the pile of displaced snow at our side. "What is Raphael searching for here?What did he send you to get?"I questioned softly, tightening my grip around her throat, making it clear that I wasn't giving her a choice whether or not to answer.

"A way to stop the Mykrayk machine,"she choked out reluctantly, fighting to keep her distance from the blade I had pointed at her, "The prophet told him there could be one here,"

I raised my eyebrows, casting a second look at the spot she'd been digging in. As far as I could tell, there wasn't anything there but a hollow crevice, but looks could be deceiving. I narrowed my eyes, trying to look closer, to see into the darkness below ground;could there possibly be a way to stop the Mykrayk machine?Short of stopping it from being activated, I didn't see how-and I didn't think Uchiha would let something that could put an end to his big master plan to destroy the light go unattended for all these years.

But that was beside the point-and irrelevant if Raphael didn't get his hands on it.

I turned my face back towards the angel currently attempting to fly away from me. I whispered a brief grounding spell and raised the angel blade. "I guess neither you nor your new master will ever know,"I declare with feigned remorse an instant before I ran her through.

She disintegrated into rays of blinding white light, and left behind the ash imprints of her wings when I released her corpse so it slumped to the ground. I didn't feel any regret, though-that was one child of the light down.

Now the real war began.