Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However, I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).
I have replaced all of the chapters up until chapter 10 with modified versions to align them more towards TVD mythology. I have changed the nettle juice to vervain and mystifying to compulsion. The story was not initially meant to be a fanfic, which is why the mythology is different. I will also keep the method of turning the same for this story. Extended mythology is remaining and how compulsion and vervain work will differ slightly because of my story rules. My feelings are that the story is too far away from TVD mythology to really qualify as a TVD fanfic. If you have been reading the story and suddenly notice the changes, I have amended the first 10 chapters. This message will be posted on the first 11 chapters only. I hope this makes the story more enjoyable.
This is an extremely short chapter and I do not normally write ones this short, however the full chapter 5 would have been extremely long and complex, so I turned it into 2 separate chapters. This was supposed to be the chapter where Damon goes back to 1530, however when I got to 7000 words, I decided I needed to split them into 2 chapters. I hope you enjoy it.
The day after Damon underwent surgery, he was to meet Vincent and Rick in the department which was known as Technical, currently run by the 2 of them. This was an area housed underneath one of the pre-fab buildings which although was an original part of the school, was now hiding the real labs underneath which was a massive technical centre, where the creative minds of Vincent and Rick would build some of the most sophisticated pieces of equipment used for whatever mission was required. There were other people who worked in the department, however Rick and Vincent were the men in charge. Vincent Griffiths was a witch and Rick Saltzman was human, and engineer and married to Jo Laughlin, the doctor who had helped operate on Damon the day before.
Damon followed Esther down the stairs to the laboratory where he was instructed to don a white coat and have his eye scanned before he could enter. The area was so top secret, that only a few were allowed to enter. Every piece of technology which MI5 and MI6 had access to was also available to MI666. The difference would be that Vincent could modify any item with magic if need be, this gave them a huge advantage over the rest of the secret service and why the most difficult jobs were left to MI666. When it came to being undercover, they had an edge on every other secret agency in the world as this was the only one which to their knowledge, was supernatural.
Once inside, Damon was faced with the clinical white room which looked more like something the internal workings of a Formula One factory than a supernatural mission assistance department (or mad scientist team as Damon preferred to call it). Meeting the gadgets was always his favourite part of the mission, it involved seeing the knew technology he would be using and learning how to use it in its new magical function. As a vampire who had lived through the centuries, the advancement of science had fascinated him, it was the one thing which was eternally evolving, none more so than in the last 250 years. Right from steam engines, to lightbulbs, putting a man on the moon and microchips in computers, the advancement of science never ceased to amaze him. However, sometimes his missions did include older tried and tested technology which was the most apt for whatever he was tasked with. Today was going to be a mixture of old and new as there was no way he could walk around in 1530 with a laptop or tablet, or even a pen as it would be a complete giveaway, therefore he was intrigued to discover what he would be taking with him.
"Esther, Damon." Vincent nodded politely as Damon and Esther returned the greeting, each shaking his hand.
"Damon!" Rick's voice boomed from across the room as he walked over with what looked like a iPad in his hand. "Esther." he nodded at Esther, who nodded back with a smile on her face.
"Are you going to show Damon your goodies?" Esther asked, her eyes lit up as she was also highly interested in the technical side of the work they did in mission assistance.
"Sure thing." Rick smiled as he beckoned Damon over to a side room, to which only Vincent followed.
"I'll leave you to it." Esther called out from behind them. "I need to speak to Bonnie about the equipment, she'll be down later to go through her training." she added before leaving Damon alone with Rick and Vincent.
"It took some time to find a Master carpenter who was talented enough to create a Spanish bargueño from the original designs we had." Rick told him.
"The magic part is the easy bit." Vincent laughed. "Finding a carpenter capable of making one like we needed was much harder." he said. "Although as it turned out, if we'd have looked into the past of some of the team, we would have found one much quicker."
"Who?" Damon frowned.
"Klaus." Rick laughed. "Who would have guessed it. The evil git turns out to be an excellent carpenter. Apparently it was what he did as a human. Since he's a bit of an artist, he was able to put his hand to applying it to his carpentry skills."
"He's never going to let you live it down." Damon sighed and shook his head, causing Rick and Vincent to laugh. Klaus was one of the older vampires on the team, however he had only been with them for 10 years, making him a junior in the ranking, something which irked him as he was a Viking who was over a fifteen hundred years old and didn't like taking orders from younger vampires who he called arrogant, upstart, whipper-snapper, snowflakes (and that was when he was being nice to them). He did however have deep respect for witches, thus he kept his mouth shut when in her presence. This was the first time Klaus had been able to contribute to anything other than going on a mission or providing knowledge of antiquities and art (his specialist subjects), therefore it was known his head would be swollen from having input from such a monumentally important item and also being top of the list for other potential works of that matter.
Rick led Damon further into what could only be considered a workshop, which Damon suspected may end up becoming Klaus' new office. In the middle of the room stood 2 large, ornate Spanish bargueño's. They were made from various different types of wood, including ebony and walnut. There was a central small cupboard, surrounded by 12 different sized drawers. The drawer handles were made from what looked like ivory, however Damon knew it had been bio-fabricated, there was no way real ivory would be used in modern day furniture, and for good reason, although it was very popular in the past. As the science to create faux ivory didn't exist in the 1530's, Damon knew nobody would know the difference. Each drawer had 2 mother of pearl inlay circles either side of the handles, suggesting to Damon that they were more than just ornamental. The part which was to used for writing was of green leather with a gold edging. Finally there was a brass inkwell and quill holder at the top of the writing pad. As beautiful as the desk was, there was one thing Damon noticed straight away which seemed to contradict what Vincent and Rick had told him, the desk didn't look like it had just been made, it looked used.
Obviously spotting the confusion on Damon's face, Rick smiled. "Vincent magically aged it by twenty seven years." he explained. "This particular design is from 1503 and is going to be the reason you ended up in a fight in the tavern in Antwerp." he told him.
"You will take this with you back to England and claim it was won after a game of Primero in Antwerp." Vincent started.
"Primero as in cards?" Damon asked, looking uncomfortable.
"Hmm, you have a terrible poker face." Rick shrugged. "But that doesn't matter, if you lose, just beat the shit out of them." he added. "In fact isn't that supposed to be the plan?" he joked.
"Who are the men I am playing?" Damon asked, ignoring Rick.
"They are 2 Portuguese merchants who were meant to be sailing back to Portugal the following week. Edmund will gamble with them and take their chest, which they don't actually have in the first place. You will have to compel them that part. They will end up with a broken nose and a black eye, but nothing more. You will take this chest back to England with you which will be your portal between us and you." Rick told him.
"How does it work?" Damon asked.
"The drawers are time corridors." Vincent explained. "They are identical in every way, down to the last scratch. Think of the drawers being a tube. We put something in one of them, the spell is cast and it arrives in the corresponding drawer in its brother chest. It doesn't matter how far apart the drawers are in time or location, this will always happen. Think of it like the teleportation in Star Trek, except this is a bit more advanced." he grinned.
"How do you know it works?" Damon asked.
Vincent pulled his phone out of his pocket. "See this?" he held it up and placed it in one of the drawers. "Now call my phone." he told Damon, who took his phone from is pocket and called Vincent's number. Suddenly the muffled notes of Marvin Gaye's 'I heard it through the grapevine' emerged out of the drawer Vincent had just put his phone in. Vincent closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath as the source of the song moved to the other bargueño, which appeared to be coming from the same drawer, but the other chest. Vincent opened it and pulled out his phone which was still ringing until Damon pressed stop on his phone.
"Are you sure this will work under time travel?" Damon asked.
"We experimented as soon as the desk was complete." Vincent told him. "Bonnie did a future time spell, which allows for the item to be sent to the other chest forward in time, just like what you will do when you return send items to us, which is what the brother chest is designed to do. We only did it for half an hour, but it worked. It was her first attempt at a time spell." he smiled proudly.
"How will it work for me?" Damon frowned. "I can't perform magic."
"The spell will always be ready for you to activate." Rick explained. "These mother of pearl circles aren't purely for decoration." he pointed to the front of the drawers where the beautiful circles were embedded in the wood. "When you put something in the drawer, you have to press your finger on the left circle and you will send it. When we send something to you, you need to press the right circle to open the drawer, otherwise it will appear empty. Only your fingerprint can complete the spell." he continued. "Should anyone else open it, they would only see materials available in 1530. for instance, this drawer here..." Rick pointed to the top one. "...would contain a blood bag, however should anyone look inside, they would see a wine cask filled with red wine. All blood will be spelled to taste like wine should it touch human lips." he smiled.
"Clever." Damon nodded, clearly impressed.
"You will be provided a modified laptop. Instead of a keyboard you will have to write manually on it. For appearances sake, it will look like a wax tablet and stylus. Nobody will be able to see the screen except you, and that can only happen when you turn your chip on in your eyes. Those chips aren't just there as a camera for us, they are to enable you to see the screen." Rick handed Damon the wooden block which looked like a typical box, however it was weighted down. When he opened it, both sides appeared to be filled with wax.
"How will I know which side to write on?" Damon asked.
"You can write on all of it." Rick explained. "There are 2 tablets, one on each side. If we need to communicate, only you will be able to see the letters. In the meantime have a version for you to train on using our new software feature called WaxWord. This will allow us all to get used to your writing while using the wax tablet. Vincent has spelled it to give the exact resistance it would have when you write on a real wax tablet. Our estimates suggest the training will take 2 days to allow everyone who will be communicating with you time to get used to your writing."
"What about me getting used to the responder?" Damon said sarcastically.
"Whoever replies will be typing and it will appear in a script which has been designed specifically for the mission." Vincent told him. "We'll get you into training on that with Bonnie tomorrow."
"When you write on your desk, we will have a trace of your words." Rick told him. "The leather is a tablet screen for writing only. This way we can see your letters which would prove wonderful for the history minded buffs."
"Do I need to know how any of this works?" Damon asked. "This is a lot more complicated than usual." he sighed.
"Some of it you do." Vincent shrugged. "One of the most important elements is how to shrink the bargueño." he smiled.
"Shrink it?" Damon frowned.
"To allow easy time travel, shrinking will be done prior to the spell to send you back. After the fight, you will compel the Portuguese merchants and your manservant Matthew to remember the bargueño. You will increase the size by completing the regrowth spell." Vincent explained.
"But I'm not a witch." Damon looked at Vincent perplexed.
"Do not worry, we will provide you with the final ingredient to the spell and all you have to do it pour it over the bargueño and voila! It will be back to full size. Trust me." Vincent grinned and raised his hands to the sky before pointing to himself. "I know what I'm doing. This is my area of expertise."
"What else will I be taking?" Damon sighed.
"Vervain will be sent daily." Vincent told him. "We will be able to tell from our records and your notes as to whether we will need to give you a stronger dose so that we can weaken you a little, or whether to just give you enough to appear to age like a human."
"Why would I need weakening?" Damon asked.
"There might be the odd occasion where you could be in a position when a wound would need extra time to heal." Vincent explained as Damon nodded in understanding.
"Anything else?" Damon asked.
"For training, I think most things are now covered." Rick shrugged. "Esther told us she wants you to go and see Michael after this. He needs to take your exact measurements for a fitting." he smirked.
"Oh god no." Damon winced.
"Don't worry." Rick smirked. "You'll be measured through the scanner so that we can print an exact replica of you for fitting purposes. Some of Edmund's clothes might not fit and they will need adjusting, which is what the large drawer underneath the bargueño is for. Put the clothes in there and send them back so Michael can alter them for you. We'll get you scanned, then print a 3-D physical copy of your body and Michael will check the measurements match up exactly. All of your measurements." he added slyly. "The fashions of the 1530's require it."
Damon looked at Rick in horror. "Codpieces." he winced.
Damon made his way into the next room which housed the scanner which had been adapted to scan a human body. In the corner was a curtain on a rail which Damon recognised to be a makeshift changing room, where there was a white terry towelling robe hung up for him. He noticed Vincent and Rick had made their way into a glass cubicle, probably to protect themselves from whatever cancerous rays the machine would cause as he knew it had been heavily modified for this purpose.
"Climb inside, take the robe off and close the machine up, we won't see a thing." Rick's voice came through a speaker. "Oh and I recommend you close your eyes, this thing is really bright." he added.
"I'm grateful." Damon sighed as he went into the changing room, removed his clothes and put the robe on, wrapping the belt around his waist. He walked over to the machine and stepped inside before removing the robe. Damon was surprised by how high the machine came over his head, he guessed it would have to be suitable for all of the vampires and some of them were even taller than Damon. A clunking noise signalled the machine was being switched on, then suddenly he felt shackles around his hands and feet which were fixed, probably to keep him from moving. Not that they would work, Damon could break through this machine in seconds, but he understood the purpose, thus he stood still and allowed the machine to do its work.
Five minutes later his wrists and ankles were free, the machine turned off and he heard the door unlocking. Damon picked up the robe and stepped out of the machine, throwing the robe on as he walked out.
"Do you want to see us build the mannequin?" Rick asked as he and Vincent appeared from the glass room.
Curious, Damon agreed to watch them build it as soon as he was dressed. As a precaution, he took the robe with him to the printing room, he didn't want everyone gawping at all of his bodily pieces, it was bad enough knowing Jo had overseen the nurse shaving off half of his pubes, he didn't want anyone else paying too much attention to his dick.
All three of them stepped into what was known as the control room, it was the where the information from the scanner was fed into the printer and the build was initiated. After Rick set the machine into build mode, they all sat down and watched, fascinated by what would be created.
The printer had been magically tweaked and wouldn't just build a physical replica of the shape of Damon's body, it would look like him with colour, hair and skin. Only the eyes would be missing. The limbs would be malleable to allow for Michael to be able to work out if the clothes would fit when limbs were stretched. For Damon, it was like watching a terminator version of himself being built. All that was left was for the red eyes and for him to say in his best Arnie voice "I'll be back!"
When the build was complete, the three of them walked over to see what it looked like, but before they got there, they saw Esther and Bonnie on their way to have a look. Damon, not wanting everyone to see his lifelike nakedness, vampsped over to the dummy and placed the robe over the top.
"I'll take it to Michael." he volunteered, however he knew it was too late, Bonnie and Esther had seen everything.
"I better text Michael and warn him." Esther sighed as she took out her phone and started to type. "We're going to need a bigger codpiece."
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