Buffy gasps as she collides with a brick wall violently, she had never used this speed before, only ever once when Wes was testing to see if the experiment with vampire blood had worked.
It had been the first time she had been left outside in 5 years until now.
Stumbling out of the building still in just old army trousers and a green sports bra the blonde gasps as sunlight fills her eyes for the first time in 9 years.
Taking a shaky breath she blinks her eyes shut tightly wincing at the harshness of the light before inhaling tightly, finally allowing her eyes to open fully.
As she finally takes in her surroundings she couldn't help but exhale in disbelief as she glances around the small town, stumbling forward in her barefoot state the blonde takes a shaky breath as she spots the buildings and grass, it was insane to see something other than the same four walls.
Stumbling forward the blonde frowns as she quickly grabs a newspaper off a nearby bench only for her eyes to widen as she spots the familiar name on the page.
"Mystic Falls." She whispers as memories she had shut away of her old life threaten to break through but that name...it was so familiar.
"1864... tiny little town in Virginia. Nothing special like you're Hellmouth just another small town filled with vampires. That pretty much sums up Mystic Falls."
Taking a shaky breath the blonde crumbles up the paper in her hand tossing it to the ground before glancing down at the vial in her hand as she quickly remembers what she was doing.
"Enzo."
As he filled Stefan and Aaron in on the story of what happened that night back in the '50s when Damon had abandoned him, Enzo couldn't help but scoff at how deathly silent Damon was right now.
"He looked me right in the eye as if he doesn't even recognize me turns around and leaves me to die." He finishes before a small smirk covers his face.
"Now...onto the story of a certain Vampire Slayer."
At that Damon's eyes snap wide open in panic, he couldn't hear this, what had been done to her "Enzo..." He warns but the British vampire merely smirks ignoring his old friend's protest "I'm talking mate." He hisses before turning to Stefan "I'm sure you're curious Stefan." Pausing the Brit turns to Damon who looked about ready to snap at this point "A vampire in love with the Slayer. Rather poetic isn't it?"
At that Stefan's eyes widen and he turns to Damon who refuses to meet his gaze, he just couldn't believe it. His brother of all people who happily killed any risk to his own existence fell in love with a vampire Slayer. For years he had thought for Damon it had always been Katherine before Elena, but clearly, that wasn't the case.
Enzo chuckles at the awkward silence filling the room before clapping his hands together "Well I let you two deal with that, I'm going to find something to wet my whistle."
With that Enzo strolls out of the room leaving the brothers and Aaron alone and while Aaron merely frowned in confusion having no idea what a vampire Slayer was, Stefan stood in disbelief "The Slayer...you were in love with her?"
Damon groans in annoyance, he did not want to be reliving this right now, he just wanted to get Enzo to tell him where the hell Buffy was...and Elena "Doesn't matter." He mumbles before moving to follow Enzo only for Stefan to grab his arm forcing him back around.
Stefan sighs as he watches his brother "How...you never mentioned anything about her?"
"Because she died Stefan!" Damon snaps shoving his brother's arm off him in anger, this was exactly what he didn't want, he didn't want to be reliving all the pain he went through when he lost her but his brother kept pushing and pushing "She died in my arms, Stefan! I had her...I had the girl, a girl who chose me first...and then she died, she was choking on so much of her own blood that I couldn't get my blood in her system to heal her, so she died slowly and painfully in my arms. So excuse me for not wanting to have a heart to heart about the worst night of my life!"
Stefan gulps slightly as he spots the emotion swimming through Damon's face, he had never seen Damon like this, not even when it came to Elena or when Katherine hadn't been in the tomb. This cut him deeper, whatever had happened that day to Buffy... had destroyed him and honestly, Stefan had no idea what to say at that moment.
However, before he could say a word a figure kicks down both doors causing all three of them to jump, and while Stefan quickly caught one of the doors before it could hit him Damon remained completely frozen as he stared at the figure in the doorway, at that moment she looked so much like she had the first time he had ever laid eyes on her.
The dirt covering her face, the blood on her knuckles.
Yet there was something different about her eyes.
They were darker, tainted with unimaginable pain "Buffy."
Stumbling forward Buffy launches the blade in her hands at the wall only for it to be caught as Enzo walks back into the room holding it and a bottle of whiskey "Told you Luv, I always have a plan."
Buffy rolls her eyes in annoyance before she freezes as she finally spots the three figures in the room, one was a terrified human boy the other was a man with hair too tall, and the last one...was one she very much recognized.
Clenching her jaw as her green eyes meet his for the first time in 9 years the blonde swallows down a gulp before completely ignoring him speeding over to Aaron grabbing him by the throat and yanking him off his feet "You're Aaron Whitmore right? I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer...and right now you have something I need."
Damon who was still in a state of shock after seeing the love of his life again quickly speeds over grabbing her arms pulling her away from Aaron, he may not give a crap about Aaron but he couldn't let Buffy kill him at least not yet "Get him out of here." He tells Stefan who with a brief hesitation grabs Aaron speeding away while Buffy's eyes darken as she finally turns to look at Damon glaring down at his hands that were still resting on her arms.
Damon merely stares down at her in disbelief before slowly his hand moves up hesitantly moves up to cup her face as he exhales a small breath of shock, he still couldn't believe it, after all this time here she was in front of him.
Buffy merely tilts her head as she stares up at Damon his touch feeling foreign to her, clenching her jaw tightly she shocks him by slamming her forehead against his before sucker punching him across the face sending him flying into the chairs of the lecture hall.
Scoffing the blonde reaches into her pocket and moves to grab Enzo's cure only to groan as a sudden wave goes through her head. That familiar unimaginable pain causes her to let out a horrifying scream as she drops to her knees her hands clutching her head.
"Ahh!" She screams causing Damon who was pulling himself back up to his feet to panic, he had just got her back, he couldn't lose her again "Buffy!" He yells as he speeds over only to have Enzo quickly push him to the side crouching down in front of the blonde in worry.
Buffy groans in agony as she collapses into Enzo's arms tears streaming down her face "Enzo..." She gasps "It's happening again."
Enzo groans as he holds onto the shaking blonde, this was so not good "Oh bollocks." He mumbles, they needed those damn Augustine files and now.
As Buffy continues to scream in agony Damon couldn't help but stare down in horror as she continued to clutch her head yelling out profanities in a range of different languages. He just couldn't understand what was happening to her and that terrified him more than anything, more than losing Elena... watching her like this, made him feel like he was dying all over again.
"What's happening to her?"
Buffy groans barely processing Damon's words as images of past Slayer's lives continue to flash through her eyes, their last words stumbling through her lips. It was too much, all the death and anguish...it was too much. Blinking through her tears she takes a shaky breath as she looks up at Enzo with a begging gaze "Kill me...please...just kill me."
"Hey." Enzo whispers forcing her to look him in the eye through her tears as he quickly shakes his head "I can't. You know I can't...we will find the cure. What are we?"
Buffy whimpers slightly as tears continue to stream down her face "We're a team." She mumbles before finally, the pain became too much and she fell forward consumed into darkness.
Enzo sighs as he catches the blonde's small figure, her episodes were getting worse, what Wes had done to her...it was killing her.
Ignoring Damon's gaze he carefully lifts the blonde into his arms and places her down on the desk at the head of the classroom before grabbing the vial of cure she had grabbed for him out of her pocket.
"You're bloody amazing Luv." He mumbles as he downs the antidote before grabbing the bottle of whiskey once again bringing the bottle to his lips, hoping to wash out the bitter taste of his cure "Bloody hell."
Damon ignores Enzo as he stumbles over to the unconscious figure on the table, his eyes scanning over her form slowly "She hasn't aged a day."
"Vampire blood." Enzo explains as he continues to drink his sorrows away "Wes pumped her full with so much her Slayer side latched onto it. Like a little upgrade. She hasn't aged, she heals faster and she even got our speed."
Damon sighs before slowly he raises his hand, his finger delicately stroking her cheek pushing the small strand of blonde hair out of her face as he does "What's happening to her?"
"I had an insurance policy...so did she." Enzo admits as he stands by the window gasping in the feel of the sun on his skin "The Doc messed with her head a few years ago, turned her into a ticking time bomb. She's basically having a million small aneurysms being forced to relive old Slayer's deaths. Doc has a way to stop it...in his files, he agreed to hand it over in exchange for one thing."
At Enzo's hinting Damon sighs before finally stepping away from Buffy and glancing back at Enzo who smirks at him.
Before Damon could do anything Enzo grabs his wrist using his strength to shatter Damon's bones "I owe that girl everything. So when Wes offered to hand over her cure in exchange for your corpse well... killing you to save her life...that's just a plus in my books." He taunts with a chuckle before using his strength to launch Damon out of the classroom window.
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA: 2001
Sitting in the demon bar where Spike had sent him, Damon could feel his anger growing by the second at the words that were being said to him. He had already waited 137 years to be reunited with Katherine, to get her out of the damn tomb.
He knew where the amulet was, yet he didn't have the Comet nor the witch.
With Abby Bennet missing he was out of a Bennett witch to threaten.
"There's no other way?" He hisses out as he glares across the table at the green red-horned demon sitting across from him.
The demon Malic sighs in annoyance as he takes a sip of his cosmopolitan before shaking his head, having to explain it to the vampire yet again. He had explained the situation at least 10 times now yet Damon refused to process anything.
"Sorry man, Amulet, Comet, and a Bennett witch." Malic explains with a sigh "Only a witch from the same bloodline can break the spell and the next comet isn't till 2009. You missed your chance last year Damon...you're in a waiting game now."
Damon clenches his jaw in anger as he stares at the demon across from him and letting his rage fuel him he quickly speeds behind the demon snapping his neck, dropping him onto the table before downing the last of his glass of bourbon "Well, then you're useless to me."
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA: PRESENT DAY
Damon groans as he takes another punch to the face from Enzo, who was angrily throwing hit after hit at him, sighing he grabs Enzo's fist in his palm and launches the younger vampire across the lawn "We both want the same thing, you want to cure Buffy? So do I."
"Oh sod off." Enzo hisses as he pulls himself back up to his feet "Tell me Damon how long did it take you to jump into your new girlfriend's bed after Summers' death? You care my arse. So I'm going to do both myself and her a favor and end your miserable existence."
Speeding over to Damon Enzo launches himself at the elder vampire only for Damon to quickly duck under Enzo's arm and grab Enzo from behind snapping his neck before dropping him to the floor with a thud.
Staring down at his old friend's temporarily dead body he sighs "You don't know anything about me and Buffy."
Buffy groans as she finally feels her body coming back to the land of the living, wincing at her weakened state she pulls herself up however at the quick move her head begins to spin.
"Woah there Luv."
A familiar voice whispers causing the blonde to sigh in relief as she spots Enzo crouched beside the hospital bed she was laid on back in Wes's lab "It took a lot out of you."
Buffy groans as she allows Enzo to help her sit up fully, due to her barely being able to keep her head up straight "Easy does it." He whispers before pushing the hair out of her face and wiping the dried blood from her nose with the back of his hand "You're okay."
"I feel like I got hit by a truck." She mumbles before her eyes land on the files on the table as well as the broken glass on the floor, the room had been torn to shreds causing her to sigh as it clicked.
Wes had taken the information they needed "I should have killed him." She whispers glancing up into his dark eyes "While I still had the chance."
"Hey." The vampire whispers grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at him, it had been the two of them against the world for the past decade, there was no way now that they were free that he was going to let her die on him "I'm gonna find your cure. I promise you. I will find it."
Buffy sighs as she struggles to keep her eyes open, her entire body was completely wiped out "Enzo..." She whispers "I'm just gonna close my eyes okay."
Enzo chuckles before slowly lowering the girl back down onto the bed watching her in worry, she was pale and looked like death, he wasn't sure how much longer her body could take it. Even with all the vampire blood running through her system it wasn't enough to keep her heart going through all the pain.
She was shutting down.
"She doesn't have much longer." He sighs as he stands up straight and glances over at the figure who was standing in the corner of the room his eyes glued to the blonde now asleep on the bed.
She had always looked beautiful when she slept, she looked innocent despite the power residing inside of her.
Damon sighs as he throws the files in his hands at the wall, while yes he was happy Stefan had managed to save Elena from Wes' clutches he felt like he was dying now that he knew about the situation Buffy was in.
"We'll find the cure."
Enzo scoffs as he pulls out his watch and places it around the blonde's wrist before glaring back over at Damon "No...I'll find it, you just keep her alive try not to mess it up this time." He hisses before speeding out of the room leaving Damon alone with Buffy.
Walking over to her he watches her for a long moment before lifting her up into his arms, he wouldn't let her down again, he wouldn't "I got you."
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA: 2001
Damon sits down on the cold concrete floor of some ally way a bottle of bourbon between his legs as he soaked in the sunshine. He was drowning in his own misery, 137 years, and still, here he was alone in his own misery trying to fight for a woman his brother had all but forgotten about.
Not that he ever admitted it in his mission to save her but there was a small part of his mind worried about what would happen once he did save her. Maybe that's why he kept failing because deep down he knew the minute he saved her she would run into Stefan's arms and not his.
It was always Stefan, he wasn't stupid he saw the way Katherine looked at his brother but when she was with him...it was like she was almost unreachable.
As he continues to dive down memory lane he frowns as he hears the small blue door at the end of the ally open only to reveal Buffy walking out in a cream shirt and skirt, it was definitely different from the last time he had seen her.
As she walks out of the back exit of The Magic Box she freezes as she spots Damon sitting on the floor, but what shocked her more was the fact that he was sitting there in the sunlight "How... Damon, it's daylight and you're not on fire..."
Damon chuckles offering her a small smug smile "Can't have you knowing all of my secrets Buff." Pausing he gestures towards the door she had just exited "So what's that? Scooby central?"
"Sort of." She mumbles as she crosses her arms over her chest awkwardly "It's The Magic Box." She tells him before moving to sit beside him on the floor "My friends are in there and my sister...I just needed a moment alone."
Damon arches a brow before moving to give her a bit more room, placing the bottle of bourbon between them as he watches her carefully "If you're hoping for me to leave, I was here having a moment alone first."
Buffy smiles softly before tucking a strand of her long golden hair behind her ear "It's fine. I can be alone with you here." She mumbles before glancing down at her hands.
Damon frowns as he tilts his head, the girl's entire body was tense, from just being rescued from hell she was pretty miserable. Groaning he clenches his jaw as he feels that tiny speck of humanity digging at him, so despite how much it made him hate himself he turned to her curiously "Buffy...what's up? You look not...okay."
Buffy merely plasters a fake smile on her face as she waves off his question "I'm here. I'm good." She lies only earning an eye roll out of the blue-eyed vampire as he grabs the bottle of bourbon and takes a big gulp.
"My brother is a better liar than you and that's saying something. Pretty sure his hair grows every time he lies."
At his words Buffy turns to look at him curiously, she barely knew Damon, they had just crashed into each other when one of them was in a bad spot "You have a brother?"
Damon nods as he holds out the bottle towards her and the blonde hesitantly takes it into her hands eyeing it closely before taking a small sip "Yep good old baby brother Stef. We're kind of on the outs."
"Oh." She breaths coughing slightly as the harsh liquid pours down her throat.
Damon chuckles in amusement before frowning as he spots her glancing back down at her hands "You know for someone who just got out of hell you're not seeming to have a whole lot of fun..."
"I was happy." She says suddenly causing his jaw to slam shut at her words "Where ever I was, I was happy. At peace. I knew that everyone I cared about was okay. I knew it. Time didn't mean anything. Nothing had form. But I was still me, you know? And I was warm and I was loved. And I was finished. Complete."
At her reveal, Damon despite being confused as to why she was confessing this to him of all people feels his jaw drop. Being a vampire he had always just seen Slayers as a pain in the ass, something to avoid, he had never pictured what it was like from the other side.
But it made sense, they were chosen young and died young without living a full life, their lives were nothing but fighting and pain and death. He could imagine that being done...being at peace without another fight to worry about was a dream for The Slayer.
Buffy inhales tightly as she stares off into the distance not daring to make eye contact as she continues "I-I don't understand theology or dimensions...any of it, really...but I think I was in heaven. And now I'm not. I was torn out of there. Pulled out...by my friends. Everything here is hard...and bright...and violent...everything I feel, everything I touch...this is hell."
As she speaks Damon's mind flashbacks to that moment on the bridge, the way she had stared at him in horror, she hadn't been confused, she had really thought she had been expelled from heaven and taken down to Hell.
Honestly, even in his emotionless state, he could admit he felt for the girl. To find absolute peace and have it torn away... was the worst form of torture.
"Just getting through the next moment..." She breaths trying to get it all out so she didn't bottle it all down "...and the one after that, knowing what I've lost..." With that, she trails off and glances over at him her green eyes meeting his blue ones.
Damon watches her for a long moment unable to tear his gaze from hers before slowly his eyebrows furrowed in confusion "Why tell me?"
Buffy shrugs as she grabs the bottle of bourbon again bringing the bottle to her lips before placing it back down on the ground, it was easier to admit something like that to a stranger than to the people she loved "Because I won't break your heart with the truth." She admits before gesturing to the blue door "I'll destroy them."
With that, the blonde pulls herself back up to her feet not noticing Damon's eyes glued to her as she moves into the sunlight of the main street.
Buffy pauses for a moment before glancing back at Damon "So...I guess this is goodbye then? You got what you wanted."
Despite the words she said being true Damon for some unknown reason shakes his head, he didn't know what it was but right now...he was feeling the strong urge to stay in town a little longer.
"Actually..." he chuckles pulling himself back to his feet "I'm thinking I'm gonna stick around for a while." He admits making her frown in confusion only making his smirk grow "Having too much fun waiting for you to snap."
Buffy rolls her eyes in amusement a small almost smile grazing her lips as she turns away from him "See you around, Damon." She says before leaving him alone in the ally.
Damon watches her figure disappear down the street before a small smile grazes his lips, maybe Sunnydale would be fun after all.
MYSTIC FALLS: PRESENT DAY
As Buffy rested upstairs in one of the spare rooms Damon Salvatore stood staring at his girlfriend in disbelief. She was defending Augustine, defending the way he had been tortured for years, the way Buffy had been tortured.
While she continues to try and defend her father and his place within the Augustine society Damon's jaw clenches tightly. He wasn't stupid, her father's involvement and the timeline worked out, he was the one that would have brought Buffy there, the one that would have started the experiments, would have trained Wes to do the same to her.
"Stop!" He yells suddenly causing Elena to flinch in shock as he glared at her "I don't care that he was your dad! What you're seeing in that book he did that to her! She wasn't a vampire, yet he cut into her like a lab rat and trained Wes to do the same. Elena, you are lucky your dad is dead or I would have torn him apart for what he did to her!"
Elena gasps at his words as she stands, staring at him in disbelief, this was her father they were talking about, she just couldn't believe he would say these things to her "Damon...I don't understand...what...who..."
"Who would be me."
Another voice says from the doorway causing the arguing couple to spin around only to spot Buffy Anne Summers standing in the doorway in one of Damon's shirts and some sweatpants.
Elena's eyes widen as she stared at the blonde girl standing in her boyfriend's shirt, it was her, the girl from the locket, the girl Damon had spoken about from Sunnydale "You...you're the girl from the locket."
Buffy frowns in confusion as she stares at the unfamiliar brunette before instinctively her hand goes to her collar bone and sure enough the locket was gone.
Honestly, she couldn't even remember when she lost it all she knew was that one day it was no longer around her neck "Yeah." She breaths before glancing over at Damon who was staring at her as if she was the only thing in the room "Long time, Damon."
"Elena you should go." Damon mumbles, not even sparing the doppelganger a glance as he keeps his eyes glued to Buffy. He needed this. Since he had found out she was alive, he hadn't a single moment alone with her. Between Enzo, Wes, and her dying, he hadn't been able to speak to her.
Elena's eyes widen and she turns to Damon in a state of disbelief, they were in the middle of a conversation and he was just kicking her out? What the hell was happening right now?
"Just go." He hisses causing her to scoff before storming out of the house finally leaving Buffy and Damon alone together for the first time in almost a decade.
Buffy takes a shaky breath before crossing her arms over her chest clenching her jaw "Now...want to tell me what the hell I'm doing here?"