All characters from Vampire Diaries belong to L.J. Smith as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

A/N: The end is finally here!

There were so many ways I wrote this ending but it finally came down to this. Honestly, I could have probably continued to write this story forever but I know it needed to come to an end. I love these characters so much and I love this story and I'm so sad to see it end but it's time to move on. I want to thank you all for sticking with me, even after it ended up muuuuch longer than I had initially planned for but these characters just wouldn't stop playing around in my head.

I'm planning on writing another (as I've mentioned before) but I'm taking a bit of a break as I brainstorm and lay out an outline for my next story.

I hope you enjoy the ending and I will see you all on the next one!

Chapter 48 Epilogue: My Light in the Dark

After we had our emotional family moment, I discovered we hadn't lost a single person on our side.

When I disintegrated Bogdan, I had simultaneously placed a shield around every single one of our army. After that the battle was practically over, whoever dared touch them would automatically be released from the witches control. The remaining werewolves and witches who willingly fought were instantly disintegrated upon impact. The battle was over but I was nowhere to be found. It took Niklaus' mating bond to find me trapped inside my own shield, once he managed to release me from inside I remained unconscious. My heart was still beating, the only indication that I was still alive. Niklaus was forced to dive into my mind to pull me back out. I knew for a fact it wasn't as easy as he had made it sound but for whatever reason he wouldn't say more, no matter how much I tried.

We returned back to Volterra and many were eager to leave and return home but I stopped them before they departed. If I learned anything from this war was that we couldn't continue to live like we used to. The world was evolving and we need to evolve with it. Things needed to change and the supernatural world needed to be kept in line. To say Aro was unhappy with my decision was an understatement. Especially when he realized I wasn't willing to leave all supernatural laws and rules up to him. Oh no, I knew Aro was quick to take control over the supernatural world and I didn't know what that would mean for the humans… but I did know it wouldn't have been anything good. He was placated when I reassured him he and his brothers could continue to lead their own kind as they used to. The supernatural world, in its entirety, was another matter to be discussed.

To solve this dilemma I came up with a solution. We would create a council composed of one representative for each supernatural community. Each supernatural community voted on their own representative, basically it came down to the one person that was known most and well respected amongst their own. For the cold vampire's Marcus was chosen, much to the displeasure of Aro. Tapacoh was in charge of the shapeshifters, a man named Michael was put forth on behalf of the werewolves, Elijah was chosen for traditional vampires, and a woman named Lucinda was chosen to represent the witches. As a council they had all asked Niklaus and I to take leadership positions in the council but we had refused. We had spoken about travelling the world together as soon as everything was settled in Volterra and no one would change our decision. Every council member was incredibly unhappy with our decision so we ended up having to compromise. Niklaus and I would stick around to help establish rules for our new world but after that we would be leaving. We did not want to rule directly but we would be available to be called on whenever they needed our help or advice. It was the best offer they were going to get so they quickly accepted.

I know what you're thinking, Niklaus refusing power? What? But my mate had changed since meeting me and ruling the world was not something he was tempted to do in the slightest. He wanted to spend his time with me and get to know each other more, I mean technically we had only been together for a few months and didn't know much about each other. Our souls were intertwined but that didn't mean we automatically knew everything about each other, things that could only be learned about your partner with time. We'd met during an impending war and it would be nice to spend some time alone with him without the pressure of a war looming over our heads. I was excited for our trip but things have not been at all what I expected them to be since the war ended.

Niklaus was… struggling. Whenever I asked him about how he pulled me out of my unconscious state he would refuse to speak about it. He'd change the conversation quickly and distract me with sex, which I wasn't completely opposed to except I knew exactly what he was doing. Things began to unravel when Niklaus would never leave my side, literally. At first I didn't mind, after thinking I had lost myself in the darkness it was a blessing to have him with me always. That is until I realized he was taking it too seriously.

After a couple of weeks, Niklaus didn't relent. He had me incredibly worried. Ever since we had come back from the battle he hadn't been acting like himself. He followed me everywhere, not once allowing me to leave his sight. This was not at all how Niklaus usually acted. Yes he liked to be around me most of the time but this was different, the man wouldn't even let me pee alone. I knew he was still mentally recovering from almost losing me but it had become too extreme. I had tried to give him time to come to terms with what had happened but I wasn't exactly sure how long it would continue for or for how long I would be able to stand it. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to have him around me as well but not as literally as he took it. When I say he never left me alone, He. Never. Left. Me. Alone.

By the third week I had become incredibly frustrated so I decided to go to the only person I could think of that had the ability to talk some sense into him. I asked Elijah to speak to him. No sooner had he entered our room that I quickly took the opportunity to have a shower on my own which turned out to be the catalyst that broke the self-restraint we had both placed on our emotions…

I relaxed under the water, letting my muscles let go of the tension I have been holding since I came back from the darkness. Niklaus wasn't the only one still recovering from the trauma. I was afraid to go to sleep, the fear of never waking up again felt all too real. The way my family described my unconscious state seemed to have lasted around five minutes, but to me it had felt like a lifetime… trapped in an endless darkness with no way out. It was the first time in my life when I had truly experienced hopelessness, the devastation I felt was like no other thinking that I would never be able to resurface and join my family and mate. I knew it would take time for me to get over it but it was difficult to do that when I had the constant reminder in Niklaus. His abrupt change forced me to push my own feelings to the side in order to take care of him but nothing I did helped and I knew I was getting to my breaking point.

I was rinsing my hair when I was startled by the shower door suddenly opening. No sooner had I opened my eyes when I caught a glimpse of Niklaus' fully clothed form rushing into the shower with me and encircling his arms around me.

"Why did you leave?" He asked breathlessly as he bent down and nuzzled his face into my neck.

"Nik. I'm just taking a shower, I thought I would give you some privacy to speak with your brother." I said quietly as I softly brushed his now wet hair. I was trying to soothe him but it wasn't working, his body started to shake in my arms and I had no idea of what else to do. "Niki, you have to talk to me. You've been different since we came back from Serbia and I need to know why."

He didn't say anything, just shook his head as he held onto me tighter.

"Niki, please." I begged him in a broken voice. I couldn't handle it anymore. My own pain mixed with his own was becoming too much and I was about to explode.

Hearing me and finally registering my distress he pulled away from me and cupped my face. "I'm sorry, Angel. I just…" He closed his mouth when he didn't know what else to say to express himself correctly. "I didn't mean to project onto you. I'm sorry." He said remorsefully as he caressed my cheek with his thumb but I shook my head, closing my eyes in frustration.

"No." I said sternly. "We need to talk and we need to talk now. I can't handle this situation any longer, Niklaus. We can't continue on like this. The battle is over and while we're supposed to be celebrating our victory we're both still grieving, as if we had truly lost each other forever. But we didn't Niki, we're both still alive and in each other's arms now. You're physically pulling me closer but you're emotionally pushing me away… You have to let me in." I said fiercely, hoping I could finally break the iron hold he had on his emotions.

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as if he were fighting with himself to hold it all in. "I can't…" He whispered.

I pulled his head down to mine and pressed my forehead onto his. "I know, Niki, but you have to. We can't continue on like this… I need you too." I said brokenly.

He opened his eyes and looked deeply into my own, like he was trying to see through me and into my soul. I wouldn't doubt that he could. Niklaus could always see me like no one else could. Without saying a word he slowly nodded and pulled me down onto his lap and onto the shower floor, letting the water continue to rain down on us.

He took a few minutes to gather the courage he needed and then finally began to speak. "After the battle, when I couldn't find you… I broke, Angel. I went a little crazy and destroyed the forest around us. You never asked, probably because you figured it was caused by the battle but it wasn't, it was me. It took my three brothers to restrain me and pin me down to the floor for me to stop for just a single second but I was so broken that anger was the only emotion I wanted to feel and I fought them off. I wanted to hurt them so badly just to take my own pain away. Though I know now it would have only made me feel worse, but at the time, I wasn't thinking clearly." He said brokenly, stopping for a second to brush my hair behind my ear and placing a gentle kiss to my lips. "I was preparing to run away, to be left alone in my own misery when I suddenly felt a gut wrenching pain in my heart. Similar to when you know someone is in danger. I felt you, I felt your panic. I didn't know where you were but I could still feel you somehow. I knew you weren't dead and that you were still near but not where you were exactly. I kept saying your name, over and over again and I think I must have said you were there because the next thing I knew Paul was walking straight towards me, slinging his arm back and putting a well-placed punch to my face. He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me, telling me to get my shit together and find you. In any other situation, I would've been infuriated and probably killed him but it turned out to be just what I needed. I finally got my head on straight and I closed my eyes, I concentrated on the pain in my heart and it tugged me towards the disintegrated body of Bogdan. I reached up and felt your shield. We couldn't physically see you but we could feel your shield, as if you were hiding inside of it. I placed my hand on your shield, I don't know how I did it but I managed to burst it but all you did was fall out of your shield and into my arms unconscious. I thought you were dead… you have no idea how much it hurt. We had both been so confident we would win the battle that it had never crossed my mind that I could lose you. In my devastation I didn't realize you were still breathing until Marcus pointed it out and told me our mating bond was still intact. You were still breathing but everything else about you was… gone. Marcus told me to try to reach you telepathically but I didn't know how, it didn't matter though, all I knew was that I needed to figure it out somehow. I managed to get into your head but it was so dark in there, it was nothing but emptiness. I wasn't giving up though so I pushed forward knowing you had to be in there somewhere… and then I felt you. I called for you but you didn't respond. I didn't let that stop me though and I continued to call for you until finally you answered back… Did you really hear me?" He asked quietly, wanting to get some type of verification from me.

I smiled lovingly at him as I grabbed onto his hand and kissed it. "Yes, I heard you. It was darkness and nothing more until I finally heard your voice, faintly at first but it got stronger as if you were physically getting closer but I still couldn't see you or anything else. It didn't stop me from following your voice though, I felt like I followed you for hours but I didn't dare stop until I finally I woke up." I bent forward and kissed him. "You helped me find my way out. You brought me back."

He smiled at me as he brushed my wet hair away from my face. "That's not all is it?" He asked me without a shade of doubt in his voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not wanting to delve in deeper than what I needed to.

He rolled his eyes at me and gave me an incredulous look, telling me he didn't for a second believe I didn't know what he was talking about. "Come on, Angel. You told me to let you in and I did… now it's your turn." He gently reminded me.

He was right, I had made him open up and now it was my turn. I knew I needed to tell him everything but I also didn't want to fall back into that place. It was now or never though and he needed to know what was really going on with me if I wanted him to help me. I closed my eyes as I spoke, a frown deepening my expression as I remembered what it was like. "It was so dark, Niki. I couldn't see and I couldn't feel anything. At first I thought I was dead, stuck in purgatory forever. I tried to walk around, hoping maybe I could find a way out or a light to guide me… but there was nothing, nothing but emptiness and loneliness. I walked for what felt like years until I finally gave up, I dropped to the ground and I screamed and I cried but there was nothing and no one there to hear me. Then I felt it, the darkness starting to consume me, not just around me but inside of me too until I was drowning in hopelessness. I was so alone. I know it might have been minutes for you but to me… it was a lifetime." I said. I could feel the tears falling down my face as I spoke, finally releasing all of my emotions as I said it out loud. "I had resigned myself to being there forever, the only thing that kept me relatively sane were my memories. Memories of my family, friends, but most importantly my memories of you. I held onto you like a lifeline, hoping my memories of you would be enough to keep me from disappearing into the darkness. At one point I thought I had heard you and I thought I had finally cracked, but I didn't care. Hearing your voice was like a gift sent from the heavens, even if I had just imagined it. Until suddenly I heard your voice again and again until I started to realize that I wasn't just imagining it. It was really you." I said with a small smile, I opened my eyes and looked deeply into his own feeling instantly connected to his soul. "You pulled me back out of the darkness and into the light… into life. I love you, Niklaus. I promised you once I would follow you till the ends of the earth and I did. It will always be you and I, Niklaus, for all of eternity." I said tearfully.

The tender look on his face meant everything to me as we stared at one another getting lost in each other's eyes. He gently pulled me forward to capture my lips but I pulled away. He frowned at me in confusion but I shook my head at him. I knew if I let him kiss me we would not finish this conversation and it was vital that we did.

"We can't continue on like this, Niklaus. Neither of us have been the same since we came back. I know you're hurting, so am I, but we're pushing each other away instead of leaning on each other like we should. We can't let what happened to each other push us even further away. We're finally together but we're not acting like it. I know it'll take time but I need you to relax around me." I said honestly, I didn't want to hurt his feelings but I also needed to be truthful with him. "I can't have you following me everywhere and then panicking when you can't see me, it's adding more pressure on me and I don't know for how much long I'd be able to handle it. I love you, Niki, more than life itself but I also need my space… and I know you do too."

He looked down for a while and I gave him the time to think over my words. He finally released a long drawn out breath and looked up at me. "I know, Angel, and you are right. I need to give you and myself some space… it's just so hard. That fear of losing you is still too fresh, when I don't see you I fall back into that moment when I thought you were gone forever and I lose it. I have never loved anything on this earth as much as I love you. Without you I'm…" He closed his eyes in pain, not wanting to continue to speak. He didn't have to finish that sentence though because I knew exactly how he felt.

"I know, Niki, I know. I feel the same way but we're both here and we're both still alive. We need to be thankful for that instead of mourning what could have been. I know it'll take time and that's ok." I said reassuringly as I cupped his jaw and lightly scratched behind his ear.

He tilted his head towards my hand and smiled. "It's a good thing we have forever then." He said as he turned his head to kiss the palm of my hand.

I smiled and bent forward to give him a smacking kiss on the lips. "Forever." I repeated happily. "So, now that we've made a deal. I say you take your clothes off and we shake on it. You know, to cement our promise to one another."

He smiled devilishly at me and spoke, "A handshake that requires my clothes off. How exactly would that go?" He asked as he simultaneously started removing his clothes.

I laughed and helped him take them off faster. "Oh, I have a few ideas." I said as he pulled me back onto his lap cementing our promise in the most delicious of ways.

After that, things have been better. We still had some difficult days but for the most part we were both adjusting relatively well and learning how to heal and navigate our new world. It had been a few months since that encounter and we had arrived to Mystic Falls about a week ago after finally setting up the council to take over.

We had spent a good amount with my family in peaceful serenity but we were now ready to take the next steps. I was currently packing my suitcases preparing to leave for our worldwide tour. Niklaus loosely planned a trip around the world, and by loosely I mean nothing concrete. He said we could stay in any one place as long as I wanted. He figured I would love one place more than another and didn't want to limit my experience in any way. I thought he would hate the idea since I could only assume he had already seen everything the world had to offer but that wasn't the case. When he had told me he had lived a much different life than I had thought, he wasn't exaggerating. He moved from place to place whether to take control of the area or to just keep someone he ruled over in line when they rebelled. Therefore, although he had traveled the world many times over he had never truly stayed in one place long enough to enjoy what was around him. He was excited to finally experience the world in a different way, especially if it meant experiencing it with me.

Now the only thing left to do was to convince Paul of going with us. As it turned out, this ended up being a lot harder than I initially expected but I was getting my way one way or another. I knew I could get him to break, I just needed to find the perfect words.

I paused my packing and headed downstairs toward the kitchen where I knew the bottomless pit would be. As I entered the kitchen I exclaimed, "Paulie! Just the man I was looking for!"

He froze with a sandwich half way to his mouth in shock at first, which quickly transformed into suspicion as his eyes began to narrow. "What do you want?" He asked.

"Oh nothing, just wondering why you didn't bother to make a sandwich for me too. I'm hungry." I announced as I leaned forward and took the other half of his sandwich and taking a bite.

The suspicion on his face did not dissipate as he continued to stare at me.

"Ok, fine! I want you to come travel with me and Nik." I admitted.

"I already told you no, Bella." He said in annoyance.

"Come on! Why not?!" I exclaimed in frustration. This had been an ongoing argument since we had landed from Volterra. While everyone else decided to go back home after the rules were set in place, he had stayed by my side making sure I was ok. He knew I was struggling and wanted to be there for me just in case, always my self-less best friend until the end.

He dropped his sandwich onto the plate and spoke. "Because it doesn't make any sense, Bella. Why would you want me to go with you and Klaus on your trip when you said this trip would give you a chance to spend some hard earned quality time with your mate?" Paul argued with me.

He didn't want to go with us to travel around the world but he needed to go. My powers told me it was necessary and I had a strong feeling it was to find his mate. I wasn't exactly sure where he would find her but I did know it would be during our travels. I couldn't let him miss this opportunity.

"Yes, I did say that but I thought you would just assume that you were also invited. We always dreamed about traveling the world together and me having a mate doesn't change our plans. Nik wants you to come too." I finally said, hoping that would convince him.

"Yeah fucking right, B. I'm sure that if I asked him he would disagree with you." He said with certainty.

Just as he finished speaking Nik entered the kitchen looking down at his phone intently, not even realizing we were there.

He looked up sensing eyes on him and he froze at the entrance as he took in the sight before him. Paul and I's expression quickly led him to deduce we were arguing at the moment. He looked about ready to run, if there was one thing Niklaus hated doing most was interfering in Paul and I's squabbles.

"Uh, I should go." Nik said quickly as he turned to walk away.

"No way!" I exclaimed, "You're just the person we were talking about. Come back in here, baby." I cooed.

I could tell he didn't want to but complied either way remaining by the entrance in case he needed a quick escape.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Nik, why don't you tell Paul how much you want him to join us on our trip?" I instructed.

"Uh…" He started to say but I quickly threatened him in his head. I swear to God you better say yes before I refuse to have sex with you for a whole year. His eyes widened slightly and he quickly responded, "Oh yeah, totally mate. Our trip wouldn't be complete without you in it." He said cheerily… way too cheerily for him and I mentally face palmed.

"I can tell he's lying, Bella." Paul accused turning to look at me with narrowed eyes again. "I told you I didn't want to be the third wheel."

"What? No. He's not lying, and you won't be the third wheel. Damon, Kol, and Caroline are coming with. Did I forget to mention that?" I asked sweetly.

He continued to stare at me suspiciously but Nik stepped in when I telepathically threatened him again. "You must have forgotten to mention it, Love, but they are going Paul." He said, directing the last part to my best friend. "They will meet up with us within a few days, I believe." My mate quickly lied, a lot more convincingly this time.

Paul still looked unsure but I could tell he was close to giving in so I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, looking up at him with my most irresistible puppy dog look. "Please Paulie? You promised if we ever got the chance you would travel the world with me. Does this mean you are willingly breaking that promise to me now?" I asked him sadly. Ok, so I was emotionally blackmailing my best friend but fuck it. This dude was turning out to be a lot harder to break this time around.

He lifted his hand up to rub his face in frustration, a sure sign of defeat. I knew it would work!

"Fine. You win. I'll start packing my bags." He begrudgingly said as he pulled my arms from around his waist and walked out of the kitchen, forgetting all about his sandwich.

As soon as he left I did my happy dance, jumping up and down with my hands pumping into the air as I twirled in place, squealing with joy at my success. I was so excited I didn't have to ruin my surprise by telling him the truth just so he would agree to come with us.

Once I calmed down I turned to look at Nik, he was standing in the same place as before but this time with his arms crossed over his chest and looking at me in interest. "You're up to something, Angel, care letting me in on your little secret?" He asked.

I laughed and skipped over to him as I jumped into his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. He swiftly caught me in his arms and I wrapped my legs around his waist as I pulled his face to mine, kissing him sweetly.

I pulled away and smiled happily at him. "You know me too well, and yes, I am up to something but it's going to be such a wonderful surprise and I can't wait!"

He smiled at my happiness but arched an eyebrow at me in question, still pushing to know exactly what this surprise would be.

"Ok, Ok! I have a feeling Paul will find his mate somewhere along our travels and it is imperative that he goes. I mean, I could have told him from the beginning and avoided this ongoing argument but I don't want him to be anxious about meeting her. He tends to overthink things and finding his mate has always been a sensitive topic for him. He has a hard time believing he's worthy of finding that kind of love and no matter how much I tell him he is, I still know he remains in doubt. Also, it really will be the first time we travel the world together and I want him to enjoy it with me, at least until he finds his mate."

He smiled at me and caressed my cheek with his knuckles. "That is wonderful news… but things might change between you and him when he does." Nik warned me gently.

I nodded in acceptance. "Yeah, maybe… but his happiness means more to me than worrying about our friendship dynamic changing. I want him to be just as happy as you and I. Finding you was the best thing that ever happened to me, it was and will always continue to be for the rest of my existence." I answered honestly. Not a day passed by that I wasn't thankful for finding my mate, for the fates blessing me with him as my mate. He was everything to me.

He smiled lovingly at me and then smirked. "You know you're going to have to convince Kol to come with us now." He added laughingly, thinking it would be a difficult endeavor but Kol was like my little brother now. Yes, he tended to be flightly and didn't like to stay in one place for too long but if I asked sweetly I knew he would agree.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, I got that asshole in the palm of my hand, I'm absolutely sure he won't say no. Damon doesn't need persuasion and neither does Caroline, you know they're always up for anything."

He chuckled at my reasoning and shook his head. "You're something else, Angel."

I laughed with him knowing he was absolutely right. "Oh I know… you think you're ready to handle me for the rest of our existence?" I asked him as I playfully tugged on the collar of his button down dress shirt.

He smiled cheekily. "I think I can handle it." He said, as he lowered his hand down to my ass and squeezed.

I giggled as he suddenly teleported us into our bedroom. I pulled him in for a fierce kiss and I ground myself onto him.

He growled but gently pulled away from me, cupping the side of my face in his hand as he caressed my cheek with him thumb. "I love you, Angel." He said, with so much love and emotion in his voice. "Until the very end." He vowed.

I smiled brightly up at him, seeing my own love reflected in his eyes. "Until the very end." I whispered back as I captured his lips again with my own.

I have experienced so much in my short life. Falling in love with a cold one, then a shapeshifter and getting my heart broken twice. At one point it had felt as though I was destined for heart break but I pushed on. I evolved over and over again to the person I am today and I was sure there was still so much to learn, I wasn't done growing up yet but my future looked so bright now. Finally I was at a place where I could finally enjoy my life. Knowing my soulmate would always be with me gave me hope for the future and I promised myself I would cherish each and every moment I spent in his presence. He was the light of my life, the bright shining light in my darkness. I knew that life wouldn't always be rainbows and butterflies. Life was hard and complicated sometimes, but as long as I had Niklaus and my family by my side I knew I could conquer it all.