Damon

*Eight hours before Stefan left*

"So do you know why I asked you to meet me?" she asks, twirling a blond strand of hair around her finger.

I look nervously around, searching for any signs of the archangels, oblivious to her question. "You sure that this place is safe?" my eyes wander over the crowded café we were sitting in.

"Relax Klaus has no idea what we're up to. I already told you that his sole focus is on devising a plan on how to ensure that he will survive." She puts her slender hand over mine, capturing my attention.

"And how do I know that you're not setting me up?" I accuse her, but she merely shrugs.

"Well, you don't." her white teeth flashed. "But, Damon, you know that I without my help, you can't win."

"I thought that Klaus had you under his paw."

She rolls her pale blue eyes – "That is what I want him to think."

"So, whose side are you on?" This woman is impossible, I swear. Maybe I am wrong to out my faith in her, the small amount I still have left.

"No one's." she purses her crimson lips. "I am just looking out for myself. Currently, what's best for me is Klaus dead and heaven freed. Damon, I've waited a very long time for this." Destiny's eyes flash, sending shivers down my spine. This woman is dangerous. Sexy in a way, I can't deny that she's hot, but damn, she's scary.

"Do. Not. Screw. This. Up." She puts pressure on my hand, scratching the back of it with a fingernail, drawing blood.

I grimace at the pain – "What do you need me to do?"

Destiny smiles sweetly – "Now we're talking."

"So…" I frown, waiting for her instructions.

"Ooh, cocoa with peppermint syrup!" she exclaims, and only now I notice that there's suddenly a menu in her hands.

"What the hell, we didn't come here to have a cup of cocoa!" I groan, thoroughly annoyed with her.

"I want one." Her face is gleaming like she's a little kid.

"What are you, twelve?" I ask, unable to hide my frustration with her.

"Go get me one and then we'll talk." She nods with her head towards the counter.

"You've got to be kidding me." I mumble when I stand up and go where the bored-looking waitress is currently sitting. When did Damon Salvatore start to serve other people's needs? It's me who should be served I think to myself while the girl is making the hot drink.

I slam the cup on the table, making the liquid slosh over the edge. I earn an angry look from the blonde woman across me.

"Happy?" I sneer when she takes a tentative sip.

"It's okay." Destiny says.

I rub my forehead, shutting my eyes tightly. Why did I agree to this again?

"Humour me, Damon." God, her voice is annoying. Beautiful, but annoying.

"What?" I glance up to look at her.

"I'm bored." She whines.

"Did you ask me here because you're bored?" I can't believe it.

"No. But while you're here, we might as well have a little fun." Her eyebrows rise and she smiles again.

"No."

"What do you mean no?" she drags out the no, making her sound like a petulant child.

"No." I stand up, ready to leave, but she grabs my arm and yanks me back.

"Fine. Maybe Stefan will be more fun." This raises some alarm clocks in my mind.

"What do you want with Stefan?" I ask.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" there's an evil look to her. "I need you to deliver Stefan to me."

"Why?" My interest is piqued, although to my surprise, the thought of handing my brother over to her nauseates me.

"We need to complete the prophecy before we can make our move against Klaus. You do remember the one missing piece?"

I feel like I'm hit by a ton of bricks.

"I won't do that." My voice is clipped and I clutch the table with my hands, trying to keep myself from launching at her.

"Ah, Damon, but you see…" she pauses, licking her lips. "You are running out of options. And time."

"I can't, I won't do that to Stefan. I might be heartless, but this is too much."

"And here I thought that you fallen folk had no emotions left." she says. "I guess that's not entirely true. Maybe family do come first." She says in a sing-song voice. I feel like ripping her head of right here, right now.

"What do you know about family?"

I still am reeling from the thought of making Stefan go through that. She clearly has no idea what it's like to be a fallen angel. There's nothing in my life. No joy, no feelings, nothing. Only emptiness and the want for destruction. One may think that it would be easy to live like that, having no regrets, but they don't know how it is to live knowing that you once had it all. I had everything I ever wanted – Katherine. And she was ripped away from me so cruelly and too quickly. She left me with memories - memories of happiness, love, and that is not so easily destroyed. So, one may think that I'm soulless, that I don't care for no one, but that is not true, because Katherine left me with a mark that can never be erased no matter how hard I try. And the worst of all is the knowledge that I can't end this, my life. Not before I make Klaus pay.

"I know more than you can think." Destiny's voice brings me back to reality. "But enough of that." she takes another sip from the cup, her eyes never leaving my face. "I thought you wanted revenge on Stefan, this is the perfect opportunity, wouldn't you agree?"

"I did want revenge. I do." I correct myself. "But I thought that killing Elena would be sufficient enough after this ordeal." I smirk. Let my brother go through what I did, that would serve him right. Letting him fall? I don't know. I mean, I want his loved one being ripped away from him, like mine was, that would be satisfying. But when he's fallen and then I kill Elena, it may not have the desired effect.

"But why not let Stefan fall?" Destiny asks. "It would be killing two flies in one shot. We need another fallen angel to complete the prophecy and at the same time you'll get some amount of revenge on your brother. You can kill Elena later."

"I don't know, it's not something I wanted on him." I hesitate.

"Really?" she cocks one eyebrow. "You're telling me that you don't want Stefan to be a fallen angel, because it's too much, however you're willing to kill the love of his life? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that worse?"

I repeat Destiny's words over and over again in my head. What do I want? In such short amount of time so much has happened with Stefan and Elena, most of it I brought upon them when I entered their lives with the prophecy shit and all.

"Why does it have to be Stefan?" I ignore her last question.

"No reason." Her eyes flash in amusement. "He is the quickest way to achieve what we want. Sure, we could look for another fallen angel, but I'm pretty sure that Klaus has already tracked them down. Stefan is the most obvious choice."

"I need to think this over." I say, trying to buy myself more time.

"No, Damon. You don't have a choice." She smiles sweetly, although her whole demeanour changes from being at ease to being angry in a second. "Bring me Stefan."

"What if I don't?"

"Then you'll never get what you want. Remember, Damon, you have no idea what I'm capable of and you already know that I am basically your only shot for winning this war. You have two days." Destiny says, and I detect a hidden threat behind her words.

She stands up and turns to leave.

"Thanks for the cocoa." She calls before exiting the café.

I slam my head against the table, which draws some unwanted attention to me, but I don't care. All I can think of right now is what I have to do to my baby brother.

Elena

*Present time*

I wake up to loud noises coming from the living room. I hide my head in the pillow, hoping that it will pass soon, because I want to sleep more; this is the first night after Jeremy's death that I had a good night's sleep. I turn to look at Stefan, but when I open my eyes he's not there. I jolt upright with a gut wrenching feeling that something is terribly wrong.

"Stefan?" I call tentatively, giving myself some false hope that maybe he can hear me, but in my heart I know that he can't. I'm right, because he doesn't answer.

I scramble off the bed, throwing my clothes on in a hurry and I almost run to the living room where I discover Damon demolishing the room. The red sofa has been torn to pieces, the wallpaper which was ratty to begin with has been completely ripped off the walls, the small wooden coffee table that was in the middle of the room looks like someone tried to torch it and then there are those gaping holes in the walls.

Damon is standing near the fireplace with the biggest hammer I've ever seen ready to give the fireplace its death-blow.

"Damon," I croak, my throat is so dry. "What are you doing? Where's Stefan?"

"The bastard went." He mumbles. "Damn him, why can't he be selfish for once?" he raises his voice and with that also the hammer, giving the stony structure a hard blow, making half of the fireplace crumble down in dust.

I cross my hands over my chest, feeling cold all of a sudden. "What are you talking about?" I take a hesitant step towards Damon.

"Stefan!" he yells, and I'm taken aback by the look on his face – it's crazed. There are also several cuts on his arms like he had been trying to destroy the things in the room with bare hands.

"Damon, what did you do?" I feel myself starting to shiver, not with cold, with fear.

He runs his hands through his hair, dropping the hammer on the floor, the thud of the impact echoes in the room. "I let him leave." He whispers. "I just stood there and let him leave and I gave him a fucking pep-talk on how I'm glad that his leaving when it wasn't fucking true." His voice is again scarily loud and he kicks the rest of the fireplace with his boot, making a few stones fall out.

"Y-y-you let him leave?" I stutter, "What does that mean?" Although I already know the answer and Damon's response is a mirror image of my thoughts.

"You know what I meant." He says and turns to look at me.

"Why?" I barely manage to get out.

"Because I had to, Elena!" he snaps, "Because that's the only way we're going to beat Klaus, because that is the only way we're going to survive!" he's now pacing back and forth.

I can feel my knees giving in, I need to sit down before I fall down, but there's no other seating option than the red sofa and that has been torn to shreds by Damon so I try hang on, but I can feel how my body is shivering, my lungs are so deprived of air and the back of my eyes are starting to sting with tears.

"How could he?" I cry out, the first tears are starting to fall down on my cheeks. He promised he wouldn't leave me. How could he do that to me?

"That's my brother for you, always trying to do the right thing even though it might cost him his life." Damon stops for a second and looks at me with empty eyes, then he continues his pacing.

"His life?" I panic, I can't breathe. "What did you do, Damon?" my knees buckle and I fall down on the floor, hyperventilating.

"We need another fallen angel, Elena." He says like it's obvious. I feel bile rising up to my throat. No. This is impossible, it can't happen. I won't let it happen. There's no way.

"No…" My voice comes out strangled and hopeless. I take a few big intakes of air before I'm even able to talk some more – "Why Stefan?" I ask, tears are now streaming freely from my eyes, and I don't even bother to wipe them away, knowing it would be no use.

Damon lowers his head – "The prophecy said that two fallen angels are needed. He's the fastest way. Or else we would've had to search for a fallen angel. Sacrificing Stefan is much easier."

"Easier?" the earlier hopelessness is beginning to be replaced by anger. "Easier?" I shout, "Sacrificing Stefan's life is easier?" I struggle back on my feet, glaring at Damon who is not willing to look at me. "How could you?" I'm losing it. "He's your brother!" I scream, finding my confidence.

Damon stops the pacing and finally wills himself to look at me, anger in his eyes.

"I know that!" He stomps over to me, towering over me with his body, his face contorted in something that I can only consider to be pain. "You have no right to tell me what's right or wrong or what is easy or not. Did you really think that I'd give Stefan's life away like that?" he snaps his fingers. "I didn't have a fucking choice!"

"You always have a choice." I counter, not afraid of him. Not anymore.

"Not in this." He argues and steps away from me and I release a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"We have to get to Destiny before it's too late. We have to get to Stefan." I say, deciding it's not worth to argue with Damon.

He barks a laugh – "Get him? And how are you going to do that?"

"With your help."

"No way, besides I can't get into heaven." He picks up the hammer again. "What's done is done. Now we wait."

I stand there, frozen. I can see Damon moving his lips but I can't make out the words, all I can hear is my own laboured breathing.

I finally snap out of it.

"You heartless son of a bitch!" I scream, launching at him with the intention to scratch his eyes out, but before I manage to lay a single finger on him I feel a darkness clouding my mind and the last thing I hear is Damon's icy voice – "Sweet dreams, Elena."

Stefan

We enter one of the thousands of doors that are lining the corridor. I hesitate before entering.

"Aren't you coming?" Destiny's melodious voice asks.

"Yeah." I mumble, but I get a strange feeling that something is not right. I walk through the door behind Destiny and the first step I take is into complete darkness.

"Um, what is this?" I call out; my eyes aren't adjusting as fast as I would like and I really don't want to walk into god knows what.

"Just follow my voice." I hear her, but I can't see her. Did it come from the right? No, it must have been from the left. I am not sure.

"Can't you turn on the lights or something?" I laugh nervously, taking a small step forward. I sigh in relief when I feel solid ground under my feet. I look back to make sure that the door behind me is still there, but I can't make it out. It's safe to say that this situation is starting to freak me out.

"Stefan." I hear my name being called.

"Where are you?" I shout, groping in the dark. One step at a time, I tell myself. I walk a few feet then I stop again. "Destiny?" something is definitely wrong.

"I'm here." Her voice is coming from behind me. I spin around. It's still too damn dark in here.

"If this is one of your games, I'm really not in the mood right now." I squint my eyes, hoping to make out a shape, anything to help me get by, but nothing. Just darkness.

"No, this is not a game." She sings, now it's coming from the left. I turn around. I think I saw a flash of blonde hair but I can't be too sure.

"Yeah, not a game." I mumble. "What is it then?" I say, now with a louder voice. I hear another burst of laughter.

A peal of laughter echoes around the room, it's everywhere, to my left, to the right, behind me, in front of me. I start to panic. I run aimlessly around, hoping to see something, but to no avail.

"This is your downfall." The cold voice coming from behind me is frightening. I spin around and I see a pair of pale blue eyes and then I feel a sharp jolt of pain in my whole body. I want to scream but I can't find my voice. I want to run, but my legs won't obey me. The pain keeps getting worse and worse until it's unbearable, but I can't do anything. It's like my whole being is being ripped away from me.

I see flashes of my childhood in my head, the good times and the bad; I see Damon and then Elena. I feel her warmth for a fleeting moment before it's ripped away from me, I can hear her laughter, smell her scent, but even those things are being supressed to the dark corners of my mind. All I can think of is how much I love her and how I never got to tell her that, but even that thought is torn away from me.

Finally there's nothing left. No feelings, nothing.

I raise my head and I can finally see. There's nothing clouding my eyes anymore.

Destiny is smiling devilishly and her eyes are raking over me, she's admiring her handiwork.

"Now, Stefan, you're ready to play."

Sooo, some of you had figured this out a long time ago, at least you voiced your suspicions in the reviews, which made me happy. :) This was the plan all along and I'm so glad that I managed to get this far, couldn't done it without you. This marks the beginning of the second part of the story, we'll see how it goes. :)

Oh and I wanted to answer to everyone's reviews but unfortunately some of you had private messaging disabled and some of you were anonymous - so let me express my gratitude over here - seriously, I can't thank you enough for reading this, you are the best!