Ch.15 – Kill or Be Killed and Plan B 2x05-06
A/N: This chapter gets dark. There are some potential triggers here; I don't know how bad. There is nothing too explicit, I think. I don't think I wrote anything worse than what is shown in the show, but there are hints to darker things. I don't want to improperly tag this but just be aware that there are some harder hitting scenes in this chapter. Spoilers for the chapter: we are diving into some of what Caroline went through with Damon in season 1, also some of the backstory that I have hinted for Emilia and with that comes some triggers. Just be aware and proceed at your own risk. I will put some asterisks to designate the worst scenes if anyone wants to skip but I will summarize what went down in this chapter in the next one if it is too much of a risk. Please be warned and be safe. Do not stress yourself out over this story. I will say this, this chapter is full of Emilia being a stone-cold badass and some of her previous badass scenes are a good indicator of how bad this chapter gets. But still, be safe.
A/N #2: There is a more lighthearted Omake at the start of this chapter. I would normally do it at the end, but I am still playing around with how to do these and this scene starts before any of the others in the episode, so I put it at the beginning. Let me know what you think.
Edit: 1/9/2022
Omake: Scene with Mason and Tyler when they are looking for the moonstone. Tyler has it but doesn't trust Mason to give it to him.
"All right, where's the moonstone," Mason says. "Deal's a deal. I answered your questions."
"Um…" Tyler looks around. "Yeah, I'm not sure. But I'm guessing it's in here." Tyler gets up and moves one of the chairs to get at a spot in the floor. "My dad, he was very kooky about his hiding spots." He leans down to flip the corner of the rug and lifts a loose wood panel off the floor, revealing a safe. "But I've figured most of them out over the years."
Mason walks over as Tyler fiddles with the safe lock. "How'd you do that?"
Tyler pauses the lock turning and smiles gently, "Emilia Gilbert, actually. She found the first one back when we were kids, before you even left."
"Little Emilia Gilbert, huh?" Mason nudges his nephew as he crouches on the floor.
"It wasn't like that" Tyler pushes Mason back. "We were friends, you remember that. At least, we used to be back in the day. And back then, she loved this house and the history and whatnot. And she had a serious knack for finding the best hiding spots, whether it was for Manhunt or-" Tyler spins the last number of the code. "finding secret crap my dad left." There's a click and Tyler moves his hand to the handle on door of the safe. "She found this one when we were like 9 or 10. It was the last one we found together." Tyler takes a breath and opens the door. "And it's all yours."
Mason takes a moment before he starts going through the safe and murmurs, "Emmy Gilbert, I'll be damned." He chuckles, shakes his head, and gets back on task, with rifling through the crap in the safe.
"You gonna tell me what's so important about this rock or what?" Tyler asks.
And with that, all thoughts of Emilia were over.
break
"I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf," Jeremy says, as he leans against the hallway entrance to Elena's and my bathroom. Gilbert genetics must be strong because I am doing the same thing against the doorway to my room. Or is this more of a nurture thing?
Elena is drying her hands, "We're not sure about that yet."
I finish for her, "I'm pretty sure he isn't. But we do know for sure that Mason Lockwood is. And based on the folklore that I've read, I'm pretty sure that Tyler has the potential to be one too. We just don't know how exactly the change happens."
"It should be easy enough for us to figure out," Jeremy says. Woah, wait.
"There is no us," Elena says exactly what I'm thinking. "We said we wouldn't keep things from you anymore. That doesn't mean we want you involved in it."
Jeremy chuckles as he fixes his backpack on his shoulder. "By definition of being in this family, I'm involved." He flashes us the Gilbert ring in defense.
"Hey, that is for protection, not an excuse to get involved in something dangerous," I say. "It brings you back from a death due to the supernatural. It does not stop any maiming or damage to your body before your death. It also doesn't protect you from stupidity. You are going to stay out of it."
"All right, just saying," Jeremy replies as he heads out. Elena walks out of the bathroom too.
"Wait, it's the Historical Society Volunteer Day today! I want you both there to help out!" II shout to my siblings.
I get a moderate response of, "Ok, Emilia," from both. Close enough.
It's a beautiful day to work on building a park and a perfect day to be stuck on the sidelines due to my stupid arm. The volunteer day had to happen when I'm injured. It's enough for Carol Lockwood to make a few comments about it when she sticks me on food duty. C'mon woman. It's not like I planned this. I'm the future of the Historical Society and the only Gilbert who is actually interested in history. Well, the only tolerable one.
So, I'm watching from the side as Carol gives the big speech to start the day, "This is all part of the Historical Society's continuing efforts to give back to the community. Thanks to the generous donation from the Fell family, we are now standing on the site of our newest public park. Thank you to everyone who has shown up today to lend a helping hand. Thanks." With a round of applause, she walks off and I move back to my table to help unload the food and water for the real volunteers. Luckily, Mason is the one to bring the boxes of water bottles to me, so he is the one keeping me company for a bit, ruffling my hair every time he passes and tossing me water bottles to catch with my left hand. He also tries to juggle water bottles before he drops them and gets reprimanded by his sister-in-law, Carol. He goes to get another box and I move to help the children who have also been stuck on snack duty, just to make it even more apparent that I am stuck where I shouldn't be. I get frustrated, so I go join Caroline and Elena who are painting.
"So, suddenly, she's in the running for Mother of the Year," Caroline is saying. Oh, I thought I saw Liz Forbes walking around here out of uniform. It just never happens so I didn't believe it. I guess Liz is finally trying to step up. It might be too late. "Just when I am trying to avoid her the most." Elena is looking off into the distance, which Caroline notices and comments, "I'm babbling. You don't want to hear all this."
"Oh, um. No, I'm sorry," Elena says as they start to paint the wood pergola. "Then what happened?"
"Well, I was a bitch, which is par for the course with us," Caroline says.
"I'm sorry about that Caroline. I know it's been hard," I say as I lean against her while she paints.
"Yeah," Caroline sighs. "So, Elena, how are things with you and Stefan? Anything?" Oh, right. Caroline is a spy for Katherine. And Katherine wants Stefan which means he can't be with Elena.
"No, not since the fight," Elena replies. "He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me." To be fair, she would. She has killed for a lot less. "I just don't know how to change his mind."
"You said that Katherine's dangerous," Caroline says as she moves to squat next to Elena.
"Oh. she is," I murmur.
"Maybe he's got a point," Caroline finishes.
"Yeah, I know he's dangerous," Elena says. "And I know that he is just trying to protect me. But it feels like giving up. And I… I just-" she stops and sighs.
"Just what?" Caroline asks.
Elena looks at Caroline. "I thought that we were stronger than that." Elena and Caroline go back to painting while I wander around for a bit. I should be more responsible, but the kids are on task and Liz Forbes is there and I tend to avoid the Sheriff in solidarity with Caroline and for my own reasons. I see Elena stalk towards Stefan in determination. Oh, this must be their fake fight. Damon flashes behind Caroline in a completely unsubtle way. I walk over in time to see Stefan nods over here and them both look away really quickly. I glance over to see Elena looking over here and look back at the two vampires to see them faking busy.
"Wow, you guys are nothing close to subtle," I state. The three of us watch as Stefan and Elena fight, with me being the only one knowing that it's fake, and watch as it ends with Elena storming away.
"Relationships are about communication," Damon says, looking at Caroline on the word communication. Caroline glares at him and storms away. I roll my eyes at him and follow Caroline, hoping to find Elena.
I find both of them on a rock by the water. Of course, they are on the other side of the creek, so it takes me a bit to get there and they are making their way into the woods. I follow behind for a while. First, they go up a hill to high ground and stop. I am just about to catch up with them when then they start running, which leaves me further behind as I have to track where they went.
I know I'm on the right track when I hear Caroline say, "They've been here." I look around and I notice that we are by the old Lockwood estate. Tyler, Matt, and I used to play in these woods all the time. I think there are some ruins nearby somewhere. I start heading in that direction and towards where I heard my friend.
"What are you two doing out here?" a voice asks. Is that Mason? What is he doing here?
"Have you seen Stefan?" Elena asks.
"Yeah, Elena, I've seen him. I've seen Damon too," Mason replies. I've never heard him sound like that. He sounds threatening. I start moving faster.
"Where are they?" Elena asks.
"You don't need me for that," Mason says in an even darker tone. "I'll let your friend here sniff it out. Does your mother know what you are? I'm happy to tell her." He just threatened Caroline! And with exposing her to her mom. Oh, he's going to hurt when I am done with him. I don't have much, but I've got a knife and sheer determination.
With a rush from me and a gasp from Elena, I come to the scene with Mason arms wrapped around Elena's head. "Don't be stupid. Necks snap easy around here." No!
He's officially not my Uncle Mason anymore.
He's a threat.
I walk up to the group with my scared girl routine, tears clouding my eyes, shock and confusion on my face. "Mason?" His head snaps to me. "What are you doing?" I ask, voice choking up.
"Emilia," he starts, looking guilty.
I interrupt before he can say anything else, "Let her go."
"That's not how this works," he says.
I walk closer, still teary eyed. "But that's my sister. My twin. You have to let her go."
He shakes his head, "I can't do that. I do that and your friend over there hurts me. And I can't let that happen."
My head falls, my arm crosses over my sling, and I bend, choking out a quick sob. "Oh, I bet you are going to hurt either way," I whisper.
"What?" Mason asks, not hearing my comment. And before the word really leaves his lips, I spring. I get my knife out and I stab the arm that is holding Elena's neck. Mason yells in shock and releases Elena, but I don't let it stop me. I pull out the knife before Mason can get away and I kick him in the chest. I go to attack him more, but Elena grabs my good arm and Caroline flashes in and pushes Mason into a tree by his neck before she knees him in the balls. He drops to the ground and she kicks him flying into a another tree further away.
Caroline, being a badass now, just flips her hair and says, "Come on." I am about to follow up on my threat to Mason when Elena drags me with her, following Caroline. Caroline leads us to the ruins.
"What is that?" Elena asks.
Caroline shushes her with a finger and stills, listening. Whatever she hears is bad, because she gasps and covers her mouth.
Elena grabs her arm asking, "Caroline, what is it?"
Caroline puts her hand on her chest and answers, "My mom. She's killing them." Crap. That's what Mason was doing here. He was plotting to kill the Salvatores.
"What?" Elena gasps out. She starts to rush in to get them, but Caroline and I grab her, both of us telling her 'no'. "We have to stop her," Elena says.
"No, I can't," Caroline pleads. "Elena, she is going to find out about me." Oh, shit. We need Caroline's help. I can't take down Liz and a couple of deputies with just Elena for back up. I can barely do that on a good day, let alone with my arm in a sling. But I feel for Caroline. She's never had a great relationship with her mom after her dad left and this could shatter their already limited relationship. Elena slips away before I can grab her again and Caroline just lets her go.
Crap. She's going to get herself killed.
"Ok, Caroline," I say turning to my friend, "I know this is hard. It's hard to adjust to being a vampire. Everything about that is difficult and that's not including all the relationship issues with Matt and Bonnie. And your mom is part of that. And I hate to bring all this up, but you need to know that the people who are here for you, the ones who understand what's going on, are down those stairs and they are about to die. But you can save them. You know what you need to do. You just have to do it. And I'll be with you no matter how this ends." Caroline nods sadly and takes a few deep breaths before flashing down the stairs.
I walk down after the Salvatore's have been rescued. I try to help Caroline clean her bloody face in the corner, while the guys heal with Elena's help, and Sheriff Forbes sits quietly in the corner. It could be from the shock of Caroline's vampire status, Stefan's healing groans, or it could be the fact that Damon is feasting on the bodies of her former deputies. None of those are pleasant.
The conversation turns to what to do with the now-knowing Sheriff. Of course, Damon's comments lead us to think he wants to kill her and that leads Caroline to give a heart-wrenching speech trying to persuade her mom to keep their secret. But Liz drives the knife in our hearts further with a plea to Damon to kill her. Shit, Liz.
Damon, surprisingly, doesn't take the death route. The plan becomes to take Liz to the cellar in the Boarding House until she can be uncompelled. I go with Caroline to her house to get clothes. I know my friend is just moments from a break down after what happened, and I want to be there for her. It's dark by the time we make it to the Boarding House.
Caroline holds a small bag of clothes and I've got toiletries. "Hey, sorry. That took forever," Caroline says when Elena opens the door. "I just didn't know how long my mom was going to be here."
"Damon says it will take 3 days tops for the vervain to leave her system. Maybe even sooner," Elena says as she closes the door behind us and leads us downstairs.
Caroline, being the person she is, doesn't stay focused on the bad things and takes the moment to greet Stefan and asks if he "got some bunny in him". Stefan tells us he is feeling much better. I nod as I start to head downstairs.
We can hear Liz on the phone as we make our way to the cellar. "A stomach bug. Yeah, it came on fast. I'll definitely be out tomorrow," A throat clear from Damon "Or longer. I'll text you. Yeah goodnight."
"Thank you," Damon says in his usual snarky tone. "It's not exactly the Ritz, but it's secure. I brought you good thread count. And once the vervain's worked its way out of your system, I will compel you to forget everything, and you'll be a free woman." And that point is when we turn the corner to the room with the sheriff.
"Keep Caroline away from me, please," Liz says. "I don't want to see her."
Damn.
Caroline.
She stops dead in her tracks. God, I hurt for her.
Damon obviously sees Caroline stop and hide through the open door, "She's your daughter, Liz."
"Not anymore. My daughter's gone." Liz says. Oh, no.
Damon responds with my thoughts, "You have no idea how wrong you are about that." And with that Caroline sets down the suitcase and runs off. I drop my bag to follow and Elena and Stefan come shortly after, but Stefan turns early and Elena, being psychically linked with him notices his distraction before she gets upstairs, so Caroline and I are the only ones to make it upstairs. I catch her right as she leaves to go outside, when she stops.
She starts to cry as she realizes, "I can't go home."
I immediately grab Caroline and head to the car, "Well, we don't have to stay here." She stops before we make it and I encourage her the last few steps with, "Don't worry. We won't be far. Just enough that you can cry in peace without anyone but me to hear." Caroline nods and we get in my car and drive off.
I drive us into the woods located close to the Boarding House. I get some blankets and a lantern from my trunk and lead Caroline to a safe spot. With a blanket on the ground and one around each of us and the lantern on low, Caroline finally break down sobbing.
She sobs for a while, way longer than I expected, and I finally have to get her some water to get her to calm down.
When she is at a point where she can breathe enough to answer, I ask, "What's wrong, Caroline? Talk to me. Tell me what's got you like this, cause it's more than what just happened."
Caroline nods and takes a few deep breaths before answering, "I can't go home… because I'm scared."
"What's got you scared?" I ask.
Caroline hiccups. "Katherine is going to be there. And she's going to want me to tell her everything that happened today." A swipe at her face and another hiccup, "She told me I had to spy on Elena and report back to her."
"I know. And so, does Elena, but I don't think she is gonna be mad at you anymore." Caroline sobs again. "And I will make sure of it. Now, who did Katherine threaten?" Caroline sobs more. And I understand. "It was Matt, wasn't it" Caroline nods, still sobbing.
She keeps sobbing, her body heaving. When Caroline breaks down, she breaks hard. It's the compartmentalization thing. She's really good at being focused and breaking things down to deal, it's why she is a great planner. But if something goes really wrong, then everything crumbles. And this is her crumbling. She is shattered. But this feels more than Katherine. More than her mom. I think this is something from before she became a vampire. This feels like something I went through too.
"This is more than fear of Katherine." Caroline pauses, her body heaving from the tears. I hold her face and wipe her tears. I take a deep breath and smooth her hair away from her face before I look her in the eyes and ask, "Caroline, tell me what happened." Her body shakes more. I breathe and start crying a bit. "It's okay. It's okay. You can tell me. Let it out."
Caroline starts a fresh round of tears again and I know I hit the mark. She opens her mouth and covers it before anything comes out. "I can't. I can't" she whispers.
Oh, god. I shouldn't have done this. "It's okay," I tell her. "You don't have to. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to push. I was hoping to help. I should've been more supportive." I keep apologizing, rubbing her back.
Caroline grabs my hands. Tears still going down her face, "No, you were right. I need to say it." She takes a shaky breath and hiccups. Another big inhale and she tells me, "It's Damon."
Oh, no. I knew it. I was hoping it wouldn't be this.
"What did he do," I ask, looking down at her clasped hands. My hands are squeezing her cold vampire hands so tight it might actually hurt her. But it seems to ground her.
"Damon compelled me when I was a human," my head drops to our hands and a tear slips out. "He manipulated me, pushed me around, abused me, fed on me, and erased my memories. But those memories…" She takes another shaky breath. "The memories came back when I turned, and I confronted him about them." She breathes out a chuckle, "I kicked his ass." Then another deep breath. "But the memories keep appearing when I sleep. And then he's there when I'm awake and I'm back to being shallow little Caroline who he did all those things to."
I swipe the tears off both her and my face before saying, "You are not the same person and he was so wrong to do that to you." Caroline stares at me in shock. Like she expected me to pick Damon's side. Her drunken words from Stefan's birthday come back to me 'stupid, shallow, waste of space'. "And if you asked, I would kill him for what he did to you. No questions asked."
"No, we can't," Caroline interjects.
"I don't care. You shouldn't have to feel afraid of him and if that is what it takes, I would do it, no hesitation."
"No. I don't want that." Caroline says, quietly and then more determined. "I don't want that. He's Stefan's brother. And I can't do that to Stefan. He's done everything for me." She's a much better person than I am.
I nod my understanding, "Okay," but really planning something for myself. He can't get away with this. I'm tired of men getting away with things. No. Focus on Caroline. "But Caroline. You are not the same girl anymore." I pull her face to look in my eyes. "You are a badass. You kicked Damon's ass. And Mason's. And you saved Stefan and Damon right after that. You are not scared little Caroline. You are all the best parts of her with all kinds of new confidence. And you shouldn't let Damon or Katherine, or Bonnie or Matt... or your mom, take that away from you."
Caroline gasps out a laugh and she sniffles. She takes a few deep breaths and finally stops crying. "I feel better now." She leans over and pulls me in a hug. "Thank you, Emilia."
"I'm glad I can help." There's a moment of pause where Caroline just keeps her head on my shoulder and my good arm around her. "I'm sorry about your mom, Care. That was really shitty of her. But I don't think this is the end for you. I think you have a chance to fix some things."
"mhmm" Caroline murmurs sleepily.
I chuckle. "Ok. Time to get you to bed." And with that, I pack up the stuff and shuffle a tired Caroline into the car. I make it back in time to pick up Elena who whispers her argument with Stefan about him and human blood while Caroline sleeps in the back. I get Caroline up to my bed and I find Stefan in the hallway, so I figure there is another argument about to be resolved. It also means that the Boarding House is empty.
I collect a bag full of different things and one special bottle and I make my way to the empty Boarding House. Damon is not on the floor when I first get in. I take the time to get myself a drink and set myself and my stuff down on a couch. I have plenty of time to set up my specific attack by the time Damon gets downstairs. He is freshly showered and changed, and he stops when he sees me on the couch.
"Emilia," he finishes walking down the stairs. He pours himself a drink. "What are you doing here?"
"I just had an interesting chat with Caroline," I reply calmly.
"Oh, really," Damon says. He crosses in front of me and leans against the fireplace mantle. "What about?"
"You, actually."
Damon chuckles blithely into his, "Hmm, really. What did Blondie say?"
"Oh, nothing," I say as I finish my drink. I cross my arm across my body. "Just somethings you did to her when she was human."
"What?" he asks looking up. And then, just like with Mason, I spring. I throw my knife at him, hitting his left side, around the shoulder, and pinning him to the mantle he was leaning on. "Ah! Fuck! Emilia, what's going on?"
"You don't know?" I say, stalking to him. I sharpen another knife as I walk forward. "You don't remember how you compelled my friend to show no fear. To let you bite her, no matter how much she wanted to scream." Each accusation is another slide of the stone on the knife. "To cover up every mark no matter how bloody and raw. And not to think about how every mark was coupled with every degrading thing you said to her. Every time you threw her away like she was nothing." My tone lightens to a more sarcastic bravado, emulating the man in front of me, but darkens back with every accusation after. "Well, all of that, you just fix with compulsion. No harm if she doesn't remember. It's not like she doesn't have unexplained gaps in her memory that make her feel crazy. Or weird shape bites that make her feel crazier."
I take a look at my newly sharpened shiny knife before I point at a still and bleeding Damon. The vervain on the knife keeping him exactly where I want him to stay. "But no, you don't remember the feeling of all how all those memories rush in during a time when nothing makes sense." I place the knife right on Damon's neck, slicing him and burning him with vervain. "You didn't wake up in a hospital feeling new levels of confusion as your body goes through something that had never been imagined, let alone explained."
I stab his other shoulder with my knife. "But guess who does remember all of that." He grits his teeth as he screams.
I step back and Damon's head falls as he gasps in pain for a bit and finally whispers, "Caroline."
"Yeah," I say as I walk back to my bag. I pull out a couple stakes, a bottle of vervain, and my special bottle. "And you've seen what I do to people who hurt my family." I down the contents of my special bottle, grimacing. "And just how far I am willing to go." I start to remove my sling, revealing the healing shoulder. Vampire blood works fast. I pick up a stake and flip it in my newly freed, dominant hand a few times. I then take off the cast that's been on my arm. God, it feels good to get all this crap off. "If I told you that someone had done this to someone who I considered family, what do you think I would do to them?" I stop flipping the stake. "Or better question, what do you think I will do to you?"
Damon lifts his head in fear and with that I send the stake up into his stomach. Another screaming groan comes from his mouth.
"I could kill you right here. Incredibly easily. I have you, all 160-some odd years old vampire pinned to your own wooden mantle. You are pinned with vervain-dipped knives. In front of a roaring fire. I've got plenty of stakes and vervain and vervain-infused items. Plenty enough to spend days finding new ways to make you feel a fraction of what Caroline went through with you. What you put her through."
"I'm sorry," Damon says. "I'm sorry about all that. I didn't mean to."
I stab him with another stake, this time in the leg. "Yeah, you never do. It's all about you in your world. I mean, Caroline, Vicki, Lexi, Grams." Another stab in the stomach. "Jeremy. All people who were hurt or died because of your decisions, your plans, or on your whims. Innocents who got caught up in Hurricane Damon and paid for it with their lives."
"Caroline and Jeremy are fine," he defends, groaning his words out and lifting his hands in a defensive position.
"By luck more than anything." I spray some vervain on his hands which are wandering to the handles of the knives.
"But they are alive." Damon grits out, dropping is now burning hands.
"And guess what," I say holding up bottle of vervain up to my eyes, and then to his.
"What?" he asks, fearfully, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"They are the reason you are still alive," I answer quietly. I spray vervain as I rip out the knives. Let him feel those marks for a bit longer. Damon falls to the ground, groaning on his back, the moment he is released.
I lean over his writhing body, "If this were up to me, you would be dead. Left in a ditch like Vicki or dragged off and forgotten like Lexi." I remove the stake from his leg and kneel on his bleeding wound for a moment before I back up. "But it's up to Caroline, and she decided to leave you be." I remove the last stake from his stomach and walk back to get another drink.
I walk back to Damon still healing on the ground. "Caroline is the bigger person. She decided to forgive and forget, for Stefan's sake. She's better than I could ever be and it's a goddamn travesty that you, even for a moment, broke her down to your level." I quietly whisper to myself, "To ours, I guess." I shake the thought off and lean over him. "In fact, all those people that you killed were better than you. Vicki was making moves to turn her life around. She was keeping a steady job and she was getting close in a healthier way to my brother. He loved her. Lexi spent most of her last century cleaning up your brother and his messes. How many lives did she save from the 'Ripper of Monterey'? Grams dedicated her senior years to raising her granddaughter after her daughter and son-in-law split. And when she wasn't doing that, she was a killer professor. And Caroline and Jeremy are loving, forgiving people who see the benefit of keeping you around, all for the sake of Stefan and his relationships. And they are the ones who told me not to kill you."
"Caroline is the only reason you are alive right now. And your life is in her hands. If she so decides that you are no longer worth the effort to contain your murderous rages and emotional instability, then we will be back to this exact position, but instead, the stakes won't stop in your stomach." I stand back up and take a sip of my drink. "Lucky for you, Caroline is better than both of us and right now, we are all focused on getting rid of Katherine. I suggest you save any thoughts of apologies, or romantic gestures, or whatever you might take away from tonight and focus on doing exactly that." And with that, I leave the rest of the drink next to his stunned body and I grab my things.
My hands are shaking by the time I reach the front door, but I've got enough adrenaline and very little sense, so I turn around and make my way down to the cellar. I walk into Liz Forbes's current accommodations with a knock and relatively no fanfare.
She immediately sits up, on guard and defensive, "Emilia, what are you doing here?"
I start pacing a bit, "Not important. Well, it is, was, but you know, never mind. I'm here about Caroline." Ok, that works well enough. "You need to forgive her or get over it, or whatever you want to call it. But you need to be a mom to Caroline and stop focusing on the vampire thing."
"Excuse me," the sheriff starts.
"Look, I know this isn't exactly what kind of future you pictured for your daughter and whatnot. And I get the whole 'raised Mystic Falls Founding Family' and 'I'm part of the Council' bias. I really do. But this goes beyond that." I stop pacing. Deep breath. Just do it, elephant in the room, it's okay. "There are worse things in the world. And we both know that all too well."
"What are you talking about, Emilia?" Liz says hesitantly.
"I think you know what I'm talking about, Sheriff. We both remember what happened that night. You saved my life." Liz looks away, no longer looking me in the eye. "It was a bad situation, all around," Deep breaths. Five things. "but you got me to the hospital before it was too late. And even better, you kept it from my parents, at my request. Which I will always be grateful for, despite knowing how much guilt you felt hiding it from them, even after their death" Her hands clasp together tightly. "But I remember everything about that night" Four things I can touch. Focus on topic at hand, not the memories. "And I remember how grateful you were, despite all the awfulness of that night, that it was me and not Caroline." Liz looks down at her clasped hands. "You walked up to me, before you knew who it was, whispering 'Please don't be Caroline,' 'Please let it not be my little girl.'" A tear drops down Liz's face. I take a shaky breath. Push through. Don't stop. Focus on Liz. "And guess what, I was grateful it was me, too." Liz's head whips back to me. Don't let it stop you, Emilia. "I was glad that it was me instead of Caroline, or Elena, or Bonnie. Or anyone else. Because no one deserved to feel as alone, scared, broken, and in pain as I did when you found me." Liz stares at me with tears going down her face. I may have tears too; I can't even tell. Just get through, just get through. "And I made it my mission to make sure that no one else felt the way I did. I imagine you did the same. But guess what, Sheriff, we both failed."
"What?" Liz chokes out.
"We failed. We failed Caroline," I say forcefully. "She died, Sheriff! Caroline died. And she died scared and alone. And because of some twist of fate, and my stupid idea for how to save her from the car accident, she came back. She was thrust into the world we both tried to protect her from. And she was left even more scared and alone as she dealt with the insanity of this new supernatural world. And just when she starts to get back on her feet, a million things hit her at once. Bonnie is avoiding her and probably hating her, she had to break up with Matt, the same person who killed her – because she died at someone else's hand – that same person is threatening her, threatening her to spy on her friends or else they kill Matt, memories from her human life that suddenly make horrible sense. And despite all that… she manages to keep herself upright and smiling. The same bright, bubbly girl we both love… And today, that girl broke down because her mom became the straw that broke the camel's back. Her mom, who she loves so much despite all the fighting and all the time spent in an empty house, her mom decided that she wasn't worth it." Liz is sobbing by the time I finish.
"She died, Liz. She was always going to die. She was not going to survive her injuries from the car accident. There was too much internal bleeding. So, I made the choice to risk her becoming a vampire and to give her vampire blood, just so we would get her back. She was doing great and healing and then, I left her vulnerable to someone who wanted to use her death as a message. But she came back. And now, I have a chance to make up for all the things I didn't protect her from before, up to and including her death."
I take a moment to breathe and let Liz do the same before I continue. "You have the same opportunity. Caroline is still here, and she is everything you raised your little girl to be, all the good and bad things of her personality. She is just a little extra. She's becoming more confident. She has badass powers. She has new friendships and closer ones with me and Elena now. She is still Caroline, just with drinking blood. And because of that, you still have the chance to protect her, to be her mom."
And with that, I leave. Leaving Sheriff Forbes to her thoughts and me to mine.
I make it to the car before I break down. Hands shaking, chest heaving, curled up as much as I can in the driver's seat. I pull my hair and take deep breaths and use every trick I've learned to calm myself down, but nothing works. I squeeze my hands so tight that my nails cut into my skin. The vampire blood in my system heals them, and that sets me off again. I'm fading in and out and I find myself clutching a knife, trying to not revert to previous behaviors. Focus, Emilia. You are safe. I breathe and try to focus myself for a while, still clutching the knife. I dig through my bag and grab a stake. Breathe. Remember what Dad said. I lift my knife. C'mon, Emilia. Focus on Dad. Focus on Elena and Jeremy and Jenna. Focus on Caroline and Stefan. Focus on the homework I have to finish and the tests I haven't taken. Focus on touring Duke or all the colleges that are in Virginia.
I take one more deep breath and my knife comes down.
The wood shavings are going to be hell to get out of the car.
The next day burns bright in my eyes. Elena and Stefan are giggling in her room. It would be gross, but I'm still shaky from yesterday. I made three new stakes and decorated six of my old ones before I made it home. I linger in bed for a little bit longer, just listening to Elena giggling and Jeremy's light snores before I make my way downstairs. It's set up day for the Masquerade Ball at the Lockwood's. Oh, boy. I forgot about the mess with Mason. Ugh, I don't want to deal with that. Or Damon. Luckily, Liz is stuck in the Boarding House cellar for a couple days, so that makes things a little easier. I think I can avoid just about everyone if I get Carol Lockwood on my side and get her to put me on a job that keeps me busy. I drink my cup of coffee and debate whether or not the keep the sling. By the time I finish my coffee and head upstairs to get ready I decide to keep the sling and have her put my on some organizing job far away from everyone else.
The Lockwood mansion is packed with people and moving parts. Jenna is arranging the volunteers while Carol orders the delivery-people around. Tyler and Matt are moving furniture, while Elena helps to organize masks and costumes and Stefan helps with tables and chairs. Caroline is not here, spending the day with her mom at the Boarding House. But apparently, Bonnie is here, according to Elena. They had a little heart to heart, but Bonnie is still on the outs with Caroline.
I'm moving a box of masks, when someone comes and takes the box away from me, "Whoa. Let's not stress out that shoulder more than necessary. I've got that for you," Mason says. Crap.
I huff a bit, and grab the box back, "I'm fine. I can handle myself."
I start to walk away, when Mason grabs my sling-free arm, "Yeah, let's talk about that." He pulls me to the side "What was that yesterday?"
I let my face turn to stone, "What was what? The fact that you had your arms around my twin's head, threatening to snap her neck? Or the fact that you threatened my best friend with revealing her vampire status to her vampire-hating mom? Or the fact that you did reveal my sister's boyfriend and his brother in effort to get them killed? Which would you like to discuss?"
Mason purses his lips as he replies, "I was going to talk about the fact that you stabbed me. What the hell was that?"
I keep my tone as cool as possible as I answer, "I'm sorry. What did you want me to do? Let you snap my sister's neck?"
"I wasn't going to hurt her."
I glare. "I wasn't going to take that chance."
"Emilia-" he starts.
"No." I interrupt. "No, you may be a werewolf and full of the supernatural shit about vampires and werewolves hating each other and felt that you had to kill the Salvatore's before they killed you. But you had no right to involve my sister."
"Look, I'm sorry about that-"
"I don't care. You hurt my sister. You don't get the chance to say sorry."
"Emilia-" he pleads.
"Mason," I say sharply.
"What happened to Uncle Mason?" he interrupts.
"There is no more 'Uncle Mason,' not from me." I put my box down and get closer to him. "You may think you understand what's going on in this town, but you haven't been here long enough to understand this. I am not someone to be fucked with. You look at me and see the same kid you left behind. Little Emilia Gilbert. But guess what, you were gone for a long time and that little girl is gone. In her place is someone who protects her family at all costs. I have threatened and killed more than you would expect, and I have been to hell and back to do so. I am more knowledgeable and more prepared than you are ever willing to deal with. And the people who underestimate me are the ones to die. You got off lucky yesterday with just a stab wound from me. If Elena hadn't stopped me, you would've been left in pieces in the woods. And that would have been best case scenario. But I let them stop me, because you were once my 'Uncle Mason.' Imagine what I'll do if you cross me again." I pick up my box of stuff, "Now. Move out of my way, Mason."
He steps aside mechanically, and I push past him to deliver the box of stuff to the main room. I hear him whisper, "I'm so sorry, Emilia." I keep myself walking forward, no matter how a little part of myself does want to go back and be 'Little Emilia Gilbert' running to her 'Uncle Mason'. But I can't. Not anymore. I just have to focus back on decorating. And trying not to forgive so easily.
Elena helps me with sorting masks - and other feathered and glittered accessories - in the back of the house. Carol thought this might be far enough away, but we can see the preparations in the backyard. So maybe not. Especially as Elena is staring out the window at Stefan and Bonnie, who have a quick conversation.
Damon stand to the other side of Elena, surprising her.
She whip turns to face him, "Damon, what are you doing here?"
Damon keeps looking out the window. It feels very pointed that he's not looking at me. Which is good. I don't want to deal with him. "Looking for my baby bro," he answers. "Speaking of," he says as he shifts to look at Elena, "Would you tell yours to stop following me around?"
I interject, "I'm sorry. What's going on?"
Damon keeps looking at Elena, "Ask Eager Beaver." And he walks away.
Jeremy appears behind him looking guilty.
Elena jumps in with an accusation, "Jeremy, what is he making you do?" Probably not the best approach here.
"He's not making me do anything," Jeremy answers. "Damon and I-"
I cut in again, "Uh, no. No way! No, no, no. There is no Damon and you."
Elena joins in, "Absolutely not."
"There is Damon and the people he uses to do his dirty works. And those people are either compelled, tortured, or dead." Well, I guess Katherine and Damon have more in common than I thought.
"Whatever's going on, Jere, I want you to stay out of it," Elena says. I nod with her.
Jeremy just rolls his eyes, "I don't really care what you want, Elena. It's because of you that I'm in this mess in the first place. So, sorry, you don't really get to tell me what I'm going to do." And he leaves before I can say anything.
Ugh, I'm going to get that kid someday. Little punk.
Elena leaves to text Stefan as I am pulled to do more simple tasks. Matt joins me at one point then a very distracted Elena. I don't comment anything about her lack of focus. especially as I check my phone, reading the text updates that Caroline has been sending me about her day. I must've gotten through to Liz, because she and Caroline are actually talking. Good. I'm glad that they are bonding. Well, if not bonding, then talking about things.
Matt asks the question I know he's been dying to ask all day, poor boy, "So, where's Caroline? This is, like, her thing. I can't believe she is not here."
"She had something else to do," Elena responds. Yeah, cause that's not a vague and suspicious answer.
"Is she seeing someone?" Matt asks. See this is what vague answers lead to: Matt making his own wildly incorrect assumptions.
"Matt, come on," Elena says.
"No, she's not," I interject. "She's taking care of her mom, who is sick."
"Oh," Matt sighs. "Okay." Stefan walks up to our table and we all start sorting quietly for a moment.
Tyler walks in asking us, "Anyone seen Mason?"
Stefan responds with, "He, uh, took off. Said he wasn't sure when he'd be back."
Tyler shakes his head and murmurs, "So weird," before he walks off. I follow Tyler's path with my eyes. Crap, now I feel guilty for yelling at Mason. Tyler needs his uncle and I might have just ran him off. God, I hope not.
Stefan and I both get texts right around the same time. He checks his phone, makes eye contact with my sister and walks off. Elena sighs and starts folding a dress a little harshly.
Matt and I make eye contact and he comments, "I'm not even going to ask."
Elena stares at the table for a moment before walking away with an, "I'll be right back." Matt and I make eye contact again, before I roll my eyes and follow her. I check my phone and read my recent text.
From: Caroline Mason hid the moonstone in the old well we used to play at. Bonnie is letting me come with!
Wait, Mason had a moonstone. And he hid it?
Wait.
Moonstone. Werewolf. Katherine. She kept Elena alive. Petrova Doppelganger.
Tor al tzi Metzi
They are going after the Sun and Moon curse.
Guess I'm going moonstone hunting.
I direct Elena to the desired location, and we find Stefan leaning over the closed and locked well.
"What's going on?" Elena asks when we find him.
"You shouldn't be here," Stefan says.
"I know, but I am," Elena replies as she walks to standing next to him at the side of the well.
I add, "We both are," as I walk to her other side.
"What's going on?" Elena asks again.
Stefan turns to face Elena, well us, "Bonnie thinks the moonstone is down here." He grabs the locks and rips it off. He pulls the metal grate covering off and throws it to the side. He grabs his flashlight and shines it down. He sighs, hands the flashlight to Elena, and climbs onto the stone wall of the well.
Elena hands him the flashlight telling him, "Hey. Be careful."
Stefan says he'll "only be down there for a minute." The exchange nods before he drops down with a splash.
And a sizzle. He gasps and groans and shouts up, "Elena!"
Elena shouts his name back down at him. He shouts her name again.
I shout to him, "Stefan, what's happening? What's down there?"
He groans and gasps out, "Vervain." Before shouting, "Oh, god. Help!"
Elena shouts reassurances down the well, while I try to lift the heavy chain on the ground beside it. But damn, this shit is heavy. I can only lift a few links.
Caroline flashes in with a shout of "Elena!"
Elena jumps to her, "Caroline, Stefan's down there. And, and, the chain is rusted" Caroline starts to climb the wall, when Elena continues, rushing out, "no, no, no, you can't. It's filled with vervain." Caroline steps back. "Caroline, we've got to get him out."
"Caroline," I shout. "Come help me with this chain." She rushes over and we lift it together while Elena steps up onto the well. We make a pulley system and wrap one end around Elena while Caroline holds the other.
Caroline tells Elena, "I got you, okay?" Elena nods.
Bonnie rushes up right as we are about to drop Elena, "Hey, what's going on? You just took off in a blur."
"I heard Elena screaming," Caroline explains. "Help her, now." Bonnie holds Elena's hand as she drops her body into the well, now only supported by the chain around her. She is steadily lowered until a loose link forces her to drop faster. Caroline apologizes before lowering Elena all the way into the water. We watch as Elena unlatches herself and pulls Stefan unconscious, burned body to her. She grunts and water sloshes as she works the chain around his body.
"Elena, what's going on down there," Caroline asks.
Elena shouts for Caroline to "Pull him up." Caroline and I move to start pulling the chain. I know her strength is doing most of the work, but I need to help somehow. His body start to lift when Elena screams and we drop him again to rush over to find out what happened. Elena is screaming, backing away from something. She screams at us to pull her up. Caroline rushes to pull the both of them up.
I hug Elena's wet body as soon as she is visible and help her over. Elena, Bonnie, and I help move Stefan's unconscious dripping body out of the well and to lie down on the ground to heal. Elena rushes over to him to start feeding him blood. I ask her, "Elena, did you find the moonstone?"
"I almost had it, but there were snakes," She responds shakily.
"Snakes, why did it have to be snakes," I quote. I turn to Caroline. "Okay, I'm going down there." Everyone rushes to say no, but I interrupt. "We need the moonstone. And I'm not coming up until I get it." I grab a stick from the ground and drop my phone and keys off before I grab the chain. I wrap the chain around myself and hook myself up. I am climbing over the well by the time Caroline grabs the other end. I nod at her. She nods and starts lowering me.
I can see the snakes wriggling in the water. I immediately start pushing away the snakes with a stick, trying to get them to back off, while also searching for the moonstone. The snakes keep hissing at me and snapping from their positions, but they stay far away. I say to myself in a calm tone, "Northern water snakes aren't venomous. Not venomous. They may look similar to cottonmouths, but they don't have venom. And these don't look like either of those. Either way, I am going to stay far away and not going to bother them by splashing a lot. So, they will stay away. They don't want to attack me." I find a floating wood block with a string. I pull on the string slowly. It feels heavy enough to pull something weighted down up, and it brings up a wooden box. Well, if this isn't it, I'll torch the snakes and myself. I pull the chain and yell, "Pull me up! I got it!" And a moment later, I'm being lifted. Me, wooden box, and the flashlight that Elena left.
I see Stefan is sitting up on his own when I get up. "I got it," I tell him. He nods. I get some help over the wall from Bonnie. When I am standing on the ground, I pull out a knife I strapped to my leg and use it to cut the zip tie that is covering the box and holding it closed. I open the box to reveal the moonstone. It's small, oval, and a cloudy milky-white. It's so small for something that holds a curse so big. It feels kind of underwhelming. I figured something that is supposed to hold a curse that enslaves a whole race of the supernatural would feel a lot more powerful. This almost feels like just a normal rock, or a better description, it feels like Emily Bennett's amulet, the one that held the vampire seal on the church. I quickly snap a picture of it with my phone. This needs more research.
And then the feeling of sitting in wet jeans hits me. Ugh. It's decided that Bonnie will take Elena home while I take Caroline and Stefan to the Boarding House to pick up Jeremy who has been there all day. And is now in serious trouble. What part of 'stay out of this to stay safe' does the kid not understand? We make it to the Boarding House and split up. Stefan heads upstairs to change, Caroline heads downstairs to her mom, and I am stuck looking around for Jeremy.
I find Damon in the living room. The same room I confronted him in yesterday. He's staring at the fire, drinking. Classic Damon. "Hey," I call to him. "Where's my brother?"
Damon turns rapidly and starts walking to me, "He's not here. He left. In fact, you should too." He starts guiding me/pushing me to the door. "You don't want to spend time here anyways, after all, why would you want to spend time with an awful person like me? What was it you said last night?"
I interrupt him, smacking his hands away, "What are you doing?"
"I'm escorting you to the door."
"Uh huh," I say, raising my eyebrows at him.
"I also don't want to spend anymore time with you. I mean, especially after last night. I don't want anything to do with you." I mean, I would believe him if he wasn't being so sketchy about it.
"Yeah, that's not it," I mutter.
"What do you mean 'that's not it.' You spent last night torturing me. Stabbing me with stakes and knives and spraying me with vervain."
"Oh, I remember. But you've survived worse. I stabbed you in non-lethal areas and I used a low concentration vervain water spray. It hurt, but you healed. I hurt you more with the things I said. But even, then you are not one to ponder on the words and opinions of other people, you go right back to doing what you were going to do, no matter what. I probably only gave you a moment of pause and I'm sure most of that happened when you were on the ground healing." Damon looks away as the truth of these statements hit him. Got him. "No, this is something else." He shifts, unconsciously. "You've done something. Something you want to keep from me. Something I'm going to be mad about." He shifts again, subtly moving away from me. It hits me. "You want to keep me from lashing out." He flinches. Bingo. I push past him, "What did you do?"
"Wait, Emilia, don't," Damon says, trying to grab my arm. I make it so I see around the couch and I stop.
Mason is on the ground. His heart is next to him.
"Oh, god." I whisper. "You did this."
Damon tries to block my view of Mason with his body as he says, "Wait, Emilia, stop. Don't-"
I push past him again and I walk closer to the scene. I name everything I see around. "Wolfsbane" is crusting on Mason's lips and down his chin. "Fire poker" is sitting on the ground, just outside of the tarp. "Heart" is sitting at Mason's side, ready to be wrapped up with his body. "You tortured and killed him," I summarize, my eyes raking over Mason's body. I squat down next to him.
"He was working for Katherine," Damon explains.
"And that makes it okay?" I ask, sadly.
"…No. But we needed to know what her plans were, and he was the best way to figure it out."
"So, he is nothing more than another steppingstone on your way to Katherine." I say coldly.
"No," Damon defends. "This is about killing Katherine. We need to know why she is in Mystic Falls. Why she wanted the moonstone. This isn't some kind of jealousy thing."
"It always leads back to her. Mason was sleeping with her, wasn't he? That is her usual way of engendering loyalty. She did the same thing to you. Making men love her then using them to complete her goals. He was just another lackey. But that doesn't matter to anyone."
"Of course, it matters. He was part of Katherine's plan."
"I'm sure. He was the way to get to the moonstone" I realize. "For both of you." Damon wisely stays silent. My heart drops as I speak my realizations out loud subconsciously, "He didn't come home for his brother's funeral. Or for time with his family and old friends. He came here to give Katherine a little rock." He didn't even care about any of us.
Damon nods and sincerely says, "I'm sorry, Emilia."
"Yeah, well" I say as I wipe my tears for him, and I wipe my hands of him. I'm done. "He hasn't been here for almost 8 years. He doesn't know me anymore… He didn't. Didn't know me. He died. Past tense for him now." No. Focus. He hurt Elena. He threatened Caroline. He plotted to kill Stefan and Damon. He wasn't here for us. He was here for her. "He died for Katherine. Because of her. You were just doing what you always do. She didn't have to bring him here. He died because she did."
Damon hesitantly walks forward, "So, what do you want to do?"
"Wrap him up and bury him. Tell Tyler that he is gone." I say, standing up. I turn to face Damon and he flinches. Normally, a reaction like that would feel great. But right now, I am just tired and sad. And I don't want to fight. "Being mad is exhausting. And look where his anger at you got him." I hiccup a bit. Damn emotions. My voice cracks and is choked up when I say, "I don't want to fight anymore. Not about him." And with that I leave.
I make it to the woods before I crash, sobbing.
It's been a rough few days.
But it's not over. I get a text from Jeremy and a call from Elena.
Jenna is in the hospital. Katherine compelled her.
I drop my phone sobbing harder.
Just another person I failed. And I can't deal with that alone. I can't let that happen again.
I make it to the hospital with those words repeating in my head. I stay in the waiting room with Jeremy, while Alaric and Elena are in the emergency room with Jenna. Jeremy and I wait silently, our hands clasped together.
Elena comes out of the automatic sliding doors that designate the barrier between the medical side and the waiting room. Jeremy and I both stand as we watch her exit. "Is she okay?" Jeremy asks.
"The doctors told Alaric that she got lucky. She's going to make it," Elena says. Jeremy and I both sigh out in relief. "She's going to be okay."
"Does she remember what happened?" Jeremy asks.
"No, nothing. It's all part of Katherine's compulsion," Elena responds.
"Why would Katherine hurt Jenna?" Jeremy asks.
"Because she's trying to send a message. A threat," I say. "She's trying to show that she has the power. That she can and will hurt anybody."
Elena starts to cry. Oh, right. Katherine did this as a message for Elena. Elena wasn't following the rules of Katherine's game. By staying with Stefan, Elena didn't take Katherine's threat seriously, so she retaliated. If it weren't my family that she threatened, I would respect Katherine more. She does know how to get things done. Based on Elena's tears, she got to her. Katherine just added more reason for her to be on my shit list.
Jeremy and I pull Elena into a Sibling Sandwich, trying to stop her tears and guilt. "It's gonna be okay," Jeremy says.
"No, it's not," Elena argues.
"Yes, it is," I say, strongly.
"She's going to pay, Elena," Jeremy says, rubbing her hair. "I don't know how, but she's going to pay." Jeremy and I make eye contact over my twin's bent head. We nod to each other.
Katherine is not going to get away with this. With any of this.
A/N: Whoa. This is one of our longer chapters at over 10,000 words (not including the author's notes and disclaimer). And boy, this did take forever. The Damon confrontation was planned long before I started to rewrite this and was one of the scenes that inspired me to come back to this project. With how I planned Emilia, I knew there was no way she would let what Damon did to Caroline go easily. I initially planned for this confrontation to happen the day Caroline turns, but 1) I forgot I already wrote that episode and 2) the episode didn't really proceed in a way that allowed for Caroline and Emilia to have that conversation, so it came in this episode. That scene definitely came out very different from what I had originally planned. It was going to be a lot darker, but I wanted some kind of a platonic relationship between the two of them and the way I was going to have it wouldn't allow for that to be a possibility. I did not plan for the Liz confrontation to happen at the same time, but it had to happen here, so this is what came out. I also did not plan for the ending Mason scene to go how it did, but again, I wanted to fix the Damon & Emilia relationship and the emotions in the scene presented the opportunity. Let me know how I did.
A/N 2: Lol, I totally lied in the last chapter's note cause I did a minor scene addition in this chapter.
Feel free to review!