17: This is Our Sweet Blasphemy.

Lethia had found Nova unconscious and immediately called out to her. When she wouldn't stir, the blonde read the letter from Damon that had fallen to Nova's side. Her heart ached for the couple. It took a couple of minutes but Nova did finally awake with vast confusion. At first she didn't remember anything of the blonde child, until she met her best friend's eyes. Lethia asked what the hell happened and Nova hesitated at first before telling her what she remembered. When she heard about the child siphoning what she could from Nova, Lethia admitted she already knew about her daughter being a siphoner. She explained with sorrow how the child was siphoning off of her, sucking away the Moore spell that linked her and Nova and whatever else she could feed on.

"So she can essentially siphon your life out of you if she stays in too long," Nova deduced.

Lethia nodded solemnly. "And there is no guarantee to how long. When she has enough life of her own is when she will make her appearance."

Nova assured her she would figure something out because she would be damned - with or without humanity - if her best friend was going to die. She wouldn't let it happen if she had the power to. However, she couldn't stay in NOLA. She loved Lethia and understood it had become her home, but the Mikaelsons were not Nova's friends or family. She knew Lethia would be cared for until she found a solution to protect her. Lethia pleaded that she stay at least a few days, especially after reading the letter. Nova thought about it for a moment, but she had too much to figure out. She gave her best friend a long hug, promising that when Lethia saw her again things would be different.

The ravenette got in her Firebird and just sat there without even turning the key for a few minutes. Where would she go? What would she do? She longed for Mystic Falls strangely enough, but she couldn't go back just yet. Not in the state she was in. Maybe she would just aimlessly drive. That was when her spare phone in the glove box rang suddenly. Who would have figured the thing was still charged and active.

"Let's go to Maine," came Zina's voice on the other line.

"How the hell did you get this number?"

"Psychic abilities, remember? Don't worry about it. I'm actually just getting back into the states now. I want you to meet me in Maine."

"Uh, there's definitely a lot of questions piling up pretty quickly. Such as: where the hell have you been and why Maine?"

"I took an impromptu trip home to Romania. Had my own little epiphany I guess. And Maine because it's not insanely hot, no one we know should be anywhere in the vicinity or guess that we're there, and there is so much open land."

"For what?"

"Practice. We activated our own magic touch into Oblivion and we haven't done jack with it since we failed at bringing back Katia. I know you used to do things with ice. We might as well hone whatever we've got."

She hesitated for a moment before deciding it might as well have been a sign if they existed. Turning her key the Firebird roared to life and sped off for Maine. Meanwhile, in Mystic Falls, Damon got a call from Lethia who let him know Nova had stopped by. She had no way of knowing where Nova was headed when she left but at least he got some kind of peace of mind that she wasn't manic and out to murder humanity. All he could do is focus on the problems at home and hope Nova would make it back to him once again.

While Qetsiyah channeled the three Petrova doppelgangers to bring Bonnie back from the Other Side, the Romanian twins dove head-first into Oblivion who surprisingly welcomed them both eagerly. The celestial was fairly impressed with the twins since they had been originally cursed to loathe each other and go through life with the desire to kill one another. The two young women were valiant warriors in their own ways. She knew she could use them wisely; that they would be greatly beneficial. Through her link to Zina she finally showed herself to Nova.

"Oh," the emerald eyed Romanian's brows raised when she saw Oblivion in her bodily form. "You're… you're not just another realm of power."

"No," Oblivion responded with some amusement to her tone. "I have an actual form. Where you draw your power is from my astral plane."

"Alright, listen, I know I've been around for a century and a half but this shit is getting out of control. I'm gonna need a lesson in this 'astral plane' stuff."

Oblivion actually snickered a little. She sat, which consisted of her floating on nothing with her legs crossed and feet off of the ground. With a wave of her hand she created a little map for the twins to visualize. "Up above you have Heaven, and down below Hell with Earth in the middle. That is the basis that everyone seems to acknowledge. However, Earth is merely one realm of many." It showed up as a tiny blip of blue and green in the middle. "Down in Hell you've got Lucifer's Cage way off over in the dark, and on the complete other end the only thing I can describe as a pitiful jail for the worst of the worst supernatural creatures, usually vampires."

"But I thought the supernatural went to the Other Side in death," Zina commented.

"Generally, yes, but you also have Purgatory somewhere over here," a chunk of black and grey appeared to the right. "That would be where God shoved the Leviathan - don't bother asking about those, you don't want to know. Zarya and the Winchesters have already had a run-in with them. Amongst the Leviathan, most supernatural creatures also wind up there in death as well. I suppose the only way I could explain it to you is that when a human soul dies, it goes through judgement of going to Heaven or Hell. If you make it to Heaven you get to live in eternal peace, but if you wind up in Hell your punishment is based on how dreadful you were in life."

"So the worst of the worst - which usually ends up being us with fangs because we can shut off our humanity and do the utmost worst - get to go to 'vampire hell', but your average monster will probably go to Purgatory?"

Oblivion shrugged. "Sounds close enough. Over yonder is your darling Other Side which was only ripped to be thanks to Silas, Amara, and Qetsiyah. As you've both noticed it's also a supernatural purgatory. However, it is particular to the balance of nature. So that's for the witches, hunters, your breed of vampire that emerged by magic, and the Vasiles. It is not a permanent plane. It can be wiped from existence which makes it different than the rest.
"Lurking between and spanning infinitely is my Oblivion." Purple smoke appeared swirling between Purgatory and the Other Side but beneath Earth. "On the mirrored side of my plane is one where angels and demons go - the Empty." Black slime appeared alongside the purple smoke almost like two halves of a coin. "With all of that being said," various colored blips appeared in all of the dead space between each realm, "Earth is not the only human plane to exist. There are other realities, and other realms. There is a way in and out of each, but it requires special keys to cross through."

Zina's jaw had partially dropped. Nova's eye visibly twitched before she actually let out an audible, "Oh fuck me."

With Bonnie back from the Other Side, and Silas, Amara, and Qetsiyah all dead, Elena and the Salvatores counted it as a win. Damon wasn't certain if he could reach Nova at all, but he figured he would at least try calling the spare he knew she generally kept in her car. It did ring, but she never answered so he left her a voicemail.

"Thea told me what's going on," he spoke as he sipped a glass of bourbon on the front steps of the boarding house. "It's alright, dolcezza. I'll be here for when you return. I just wanted to at least keep you updated. Silas, Amara, and Qetsiyah are all out of the equation once and for all. Can you believe it? If only you had been here to see that shit show." He chuckled a little. "The best part is that we got Bonnie back. She already offered to do a locator spell but I told her not to. I know wherever you are you're doing the right thing. I love you, Nova."

Oblivion tested Nova's power first since she had been fried by Remiel. The ravenette admitted that she never really called upon her power much before, let alone recently. Oblivion told her to get over it. It took some focus, but after a couple of minutes the temperature began to drop rapidly and frost formed over the grass. It spread to the trees and thickened until it was all ice. Nova's emerald eyes turned violet which caused Oblivion's snow white brow to arch curiously.

"Your element is ice yet your eyes glow violet." She commented. "No wonder you've always been so trapped in the middle. Tell me, child, in your heart of hearts if you absolutely must choose one of the two damned archangels to be any kind of loyal to, which do you seek?"

Nova scoffed. "Remiel fried my brain and has tried too many times to use us and abuse us." Especially Zarya. "I guess you can count me as team Lucifer. He's at least got some kind of backhanded but decent reasons for the stupid shit he's done."

Oblivion nodded slowly and turned to Zina. "And you?"

"Remiel is a lunatic. I will never bow to her."

Another slow nod before her head tilted to the side. "Perhaps then we three could work something out. With Zina being my anchor, after proper training she can have nearly full access to my plane. If you prove yourself worthy, Nova, then you could also be granted great access. Work with me and I could shield you both from the archangels. I have no desire to use either of you for my bidding, but should I deem someone to be an ally or an enemy I expect you to heed my words."

"But you wouldn't be sending us on ridiculous jobs for some endgame we don't know?" Zina questioned.

"That is correct. I will train you to properly use the power of Oblivion so long as my allies and enemies are yours as well. That is all."

The twins exchanged looks. It was in that moment that the two actually felt some kind of 'twin bond' between one another. They turned back to the celestial and both nodded. "Deal."

Oblivion then turned to Zina with her usual blank expression. "Very well. Then show me what your power is."

The younger twin jumped slightly and became flustered. "I-I just have psychic abilities. And not even very good ones, honestly…"

"You have clairvoyance and an ease of access into the mind, yes. But each Vasile is connected to the Earth they were damned to which bestowed an elemental magic upon them should they be strong enough to call upon it. Nova is clearly ice. Daciana and Sofia control air. I want to know which you have; there are six."

"Six?" Questioned Nova. "Last I checked there were only four elements."

"Four basic ones, yes. Alongside those four - earth, air, fire, and water - are ice and lightning. Or electricity. Depends how one uses it I suppose. Then again, it depends how you use any of the six. With earth you could have control over the plants, the ground, or metal. Fire could spawn into sparks or smoke. All that matters is your will and training." She shrugged.

Zina took a breath that puffed out her cheeks before letting it out. Elemental magic? She had never even considered it. She thought that was something only the damn Moroi had. Why would she have bothered after she was burned? She hoped deep down her power wasn't fire. She would never use it if it was. Her eyes closed slowly and she focused. She thought about the trauma she had endured in her first go at life and what it had done to her; how she ended up. She swore she would never be like that again. Not since she was given another chance. She would be better, stronger, and more worthy of her life. That was when something began to crackle like static around her hands at her sides.

Nova took a step away from her twin when she saw the flashes of static light appearing around Zina's fingers. They kept getting stronger with each second, shining a gallant rose red. Zina's fingers curled in as the electricity grew stronger until she opened her eyes and they were glowing their bright hibiscus red. She threw her hands forward suddenly, causing massive bolts of red lightning to whip past each side of Oblivion and set fire to a tree across the way. Strangely enough, the celestial's lips pulled into an amused smirk.

"Mm, this is going to be much more interesting than I thought."

Back in Mystic Falls, Jesse had been dealing with the effects of the Ripper Virus injected in him by Wes. Caroline worried that she hadn't heard from him in over two weeks, but that was quickly dismissed when Jesse attacked Damon. Elena, who had been nearby, jumped in to stop him. She just wanted to protect her sire's fiance and Stefan's brother. She tried to just keep him at bay, even convince him to go, but something would not let Jesse stop. He tried to attack Elena too so Elena was left with no choice but to kill Jesse in defense. Caroline became furious immediately and turned her back on her best friend.

"I've had enough of this Maxfield guy," Damon left Nova another voicemail as he practically stormed across Whitmore campus. "For what he did to you, and then apparently turned Caroline's boy toy Jesse. He clearly did something else to make him attack Elena and I so Elena had to kill him and now Caroline's all pissy about it. I know I'm supposed to be setting an example for you to behave with your humanity off, but this guy has whatever is coming to him. I'm done. I'm going to get some answers whether he wants to give them to me or not."

And Damon did get Wes. He captured the doctor/professor in his hidden lab and began injecting him with various things around the lab - a flesh-eating bacteria, rabies. Yet Maxfield remained too cool and collected giving vague answers. While Damon was looking at one vial labeled 'Ebola' Wes told him he was trying to change Jesse into a new kind of vampire. Humans were vampires' food sources, so he was looking to change that. Wes wanted to make vampires feed on other vampires until they wiped themselves out. That was when it Damon found a file labeled 21052. Opening it revealed a photo of Nova.

"What the hell is this?" He demanded of Wes. "Why is your file on Nova - which I assume you acquired when you held her against her will - labeled 21052?"

"What do you care?"

"Because I was 21051."

Wes' eyes widened with curiosity. "21051. Hang on. You were an Augustine vampire?"

Damon's eye twitched slightly as flashbacks tried to haunt him. "Augustine. I haven't heard that name in decades. Vampire lab rats, coded subject names. I thought you guys shut down 60 years ago."

"You thought wrong."

While Nova and Zina were working relentlessly with Oblivion on honing their ice and lightning, Wes broke free and hit Damon with atomized vervain. He grinned down at the vampire who fell to his knees with his vision blurring. "I'm sure Augustine will be thrilled to have you back. Don't you worry, Nova will join you soon enough too."

Next thing Damon knew he was back on the floor of a cell barely able to feel his limbs. All he could think of was Nova. He prayed wherever she was she stayed there and off of Augustine's radar. If she got captured again he might never be able to get her humanity back.

Zina and Nova had a cute little cabin near some beautiful Maine mountains. After a long training session with Oblivion they were freed for the night. Nova surprised her sister by cooking them dinner. She told Zina how she learned after living with the Salvatores who were deeply Italian. Even with all of the maids and cooks they had, Damon still taught her to cook. There were even a couple of times that Giuseppe did as well. Then spending the next century and a half with Damon there was plenty of cooking. Zina was actually impressed and shyly stood nearby watching. Sensing her sister's gaze, Nova started telling her what she was actually doing and showed her just as Damon had in the past. While they waited for the food to finish Zina took initiative to make them both some tea which Nova begrudgingly admitted she was no good at. She always left the wait staff to do it whenever she did have tea, which wasn't frequently. Zina smiled softly as she mixed herbs together and poured them cups of tea with dinner. Impressed silently with one another's little talents, the twins ate and sipped their tea in a strangely comfortable silence.

A few days passed of the same routine - training at dawn with Oblivion with a lunch break, then having dinner and tea. It had become a peaceful routine that calmed them both, until one evening as they ate Nova froze solid with her fork having just lifted off of her plate. Before Zina could question what was wrong, her sister's emerald eyes turned such a shade of ice blue she could only equate them to Damon's. Her hand began to quake as she witnessed her fiance being experimented on by Wes just as she had been. When her eyes returned to normal, the fork fell with a clatter onto her plate.

"What was that?" Zina asked quickly.

"I channeled Damon; he's been taken by Wes Maxfield."

The younger twin's dark eyes widened. "So what do we do?"

Nova stood abruptly, nearly knocking over her chair. "You stay here and continue to train. I don't need these Whitmore bastards getting ahold of you too. I'm gonna go bust out my fiance and kick some ass."

"Do you really think that's a good idea, soră (sister)?" Zina argued, standing to match her sister's height. "They already had you behind bars once. They even had Zarya."

"Exactly why I'm not letting them get any DNA from you too. You only just learned you have lightning. I've known about my ice for years. At least now I can call upon it as needed. That's good enough for me to get in there, get Damon, and get out."

"You're not a superhero, Nova!" Zina's hands slammed down on the table. "Even without any kind of mastery over my power I can at least zap whatever electrical work they have in the place or something. And it's not like I stopped fighting while I was on the Other Side."

Nova let out a deep sigh before approaching her sister. In an odd gesture that caused Zina to freeze, Nova actually reached around and hugged the slightly younger Romanian. However, before she pulled away, she whispered in the girl's ear, "I'm sorry, soră mai mică (little sister). I have to take care of this." Before Zina could react, Nova's hands were on her face and gave a quick, harsh snap of her neck. She laid her sister on the kitchen floor before taking off for Virginia on her own.

An odd tingle of anxiety seemed to poke around in Nova's chest as she ventured with haste through the states. Humanity or not, traumatizing flashbacks to Whitmore or not, she would not let Damon suffer at the hands of Wes Maxfield as she had. Who knew what the son of a bitch was doing to Damon? He could be experimenting with whatever he had collected of Nova's DNA for all she knew. Clearly he had the funding to keep his creepy lab going time after time. She never did particularly care for doctors, or people who enjoyed scientifically experimenting on others. She had enough of it as child.

When Nova did finally arrive at Whitmore she looked to the building with a hateful twitch in her eye. She stormed the building, going directly to the creepy basement laboratory and to hell with anyone who tried to stop her. She tried to be decent and only knock most of the humans out without killing them, but the closer she got the more control she lost. A couple of guards she meant to only choke out wound up with snapped necks instead. The angrier she got reliving her time in Whitmore the colder the halls became. She knew she was nearing the cells. A guard lunged for her and when she grabbed him by the throat his lips began to turn blue. His flesh paled almost to a snow white. He physically froze from the inside out. She kicked in the door and began storming through checking each cell.

"Nova?" came the weakened cry of Elena.

Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me, she thought spitefully. "Seriously, Elena?" She commented as she stared down at the brunette in her cell. "How do you always end up a damsel in distress?"

The brunette pouted. "Maxfield surprised me with a syringe of vervain while I was talking to Aaron. Why did you come here?"

Damon chuckled dryly (literally and descriptively) from the cell beside hers. "I was afraid you might have accidentally channeled me. You shouldn't have come here, Nova. You put yourself in danger."

"Yeah, the longer I stand around talking to you two tâmpiți (morons)." She placed her hand over the locking mechanism of Damon's cell, eyes turning a bright violet, and watched as it froze over. Once it was solid she gave a hard pull and ripped the door open. Damon stared up with surprise but she paid no mind and quickly did the same to Elena's cell door. "Let's go before this was all a waste of my time. Can you two at least walk?"

It took Damon a little extra effort, but he forced himself to his feet and out of the cell that haunted him. The ravenette pushed the two onward, using her ice to keep the few guards left and coming for them at bay. Elena tried to ask about what she was doing but Nova told her to shut up and worry about it when they were 'the fuck away from Whitmore'. She shoved them on through a guard-less path to the exit while she turned around to take out a couple more. However, when she spun around, she was face to face with Wes Maxfield yet again.

"We meet again, Miss Vasile," he smirked at her with some sort of button trigger in his hand. "This time, though, I'm a little more prepared for you."

"I doubt that you-" Before she could finish speaking he pressed the button and purple smoke came barrelling down upon her from both sides and above. She started to choke and cough, her skin burning. She fell to her knees.

"Much like my atomized vervain, I atomized the qualities in Deadly Nightshade that physically affected you." Wes told her with overconfidence in his tone. He knelt down to her level mockingly while her vision blurred and she gasped for air. "You're going to be my best experiment yet, Miss Vasile."