A/N: At long last I'm finally about to wrap up Devil in Me and the first half of Dark Paradise! It was literally like pulling teeth to finish season 5 of TVD I swear lmao

The next chapters are the finales!

xoxo
Kuraki-chan

24: Cherish Everything That You Love.

"Rise and shine, asshat."

Damon and Nova stood over one of the Travelers tied to a chair at the boarding house. While they had been dealing with Enzo's spirit nearly killing them, someone snatched up Stefan and Elena. Nova tossed a glass of water in the man's face after Damon grabbed his ID tag on his shirt. As he started to come to, he realized he was bound and tried to speak which let him know his mouth was duct taped shut.

"Oops, sorry about that Mr…" He glanced down at the ID. "Sikes: head of corporate accounts. Yeah, can't have you mumbling any of those traveler ditties. It's a sure migraine."

Nova grabbed another chair and spun it around to sit backwards across from Mr. Sikes. "Listen, here's the deal - his idiot brother and my clueless progeny have both been kidnapped by travelers and we can't seem to find them anywhere. I mean, like, poof, gone. We had to tend to a spirit with a grudge and they can't handle themselves for fifteen fucking minutes."

"And now aside from a completely clueless hybrid in my basement," Damon continued, "and a cave full of sleeping Travelers, I've got nothing to go on except you. So we're going to need you to tell us where we can find your leader, Markos."

When the Traveler only told them it didn't matter, Nova sighed and went outside for a smoke. After she had taken a long drag to light it, Damon joined her. He swiped the cigarette from her fingers to drag it himself before giving it back. "So, did you really mean it about bringing Enzo back?" She handed him the cigarette after another few drags.

He took it and inhaled before answering. "Markos found his way back. It's not impossible unless you want him terrorizing us for the rest of eternity."

She shrugged. "Enzo is the least of my concern in the living. It's the Travelers that need to go."

"And how do you propose we accomplish that, dolcezza?"

"I have a couple of ideas, but you're not going to like them."

Slowly, his eyes moved onto her. She was right - he already didn't like it. "Well, you've already been playing around with dark magic with Zina so go ahead and lay it on me."

"Blood for blood, right? The Travelers did that massive spell killing them all so their one powerful leader could return. Bonnie died so Jeremy could return. Katia died because Zina was resurrected. The veil is already thinning onto the Other Side. The Travelers want to collapse it; smash it to pieces. But if we can give it enough strength through some high level deaths…"

"And just how would you think of accomplishing any of that? Who would you try to kill and perform the spell?"

"It has to be a trinity each way - three dead, three in the circle."

"Alright, where the hell are you getting any of this?"

She shrugged again. "Zina and I may have been doing some light reading recently. There's people over there who shouldn't be and people here who shouldn't be. We're just looking to fix the problem."

Damon sat down, pinching the bridge of his nose after his call with Stefan when a whittled peace of wood went flying into his abdomen. He groaned loudly and called for Zina. The ravenette bounded down the stairs hastily and frowned when she saw Enzo. She rolled her eyes. "He says you promised to bring him back."

"Ah, you're paraphrasing." said Enzo. "He said, quote, 'I will find a way'."

She shook her head. "Whatever."

"Hey!" Shouted Damon. "Still here. And I know what I said."

"Remind him that he doesn't have a very good track record for keeping promises."

"Please stop talking."

"The other side is on the brink of collapse. I plan on pestering all of you until I'm safely returned to the land of the living."

Zina cut her eyes at Damon. "You need to fix this rather quickly. I'm getting sick of getting harassed by ghosts, let alone obnoxious ones."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've got two missing doppelgängers; I've got a traveler that wants to rid our town of magic; and I've got the friendly banker, Mr. Sikes, in the coat closet. So your escape from the netherworld is going to have to wait till tomorrow."

Zina sighed when Enzo got angry and tossed an alcohol bottle into the fireplace. "I think he wants to be penciled in for today."

He opened his mouth to say something when an idea struck him. "Liv is cooking up a spell to pull Bonnie back from the Other Side before it goes 'kaboom'." Neither of them noticed Zina's force to hide her disdain. "So whatever happens with that, they can just include Enzo in it."

She made a face. "That's not quite how it works, Damon. It's-"

"Blood for blood, yeah I know. So if we can take out, like, a fuck ton of Travelers, then we can bring back whoever we want, right?"

She scratched the back of her head. "I mean, I guess? It would be more like whoever you can get through the veil before it closes entirely. The Other Side is kind of a reflection of our world, just for the dead with magic in their blood. You literally have to go around and find everyone you want. And if you don't make it before the door closes then you're there for the 'kaboom'."

"Then I guess we're going to need all hands on deck, huh?"

Nova was back at the letters from Damon when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen, frowning at the unfamiliar number. Before she could even say 'hello', Zarya's voice greeted her. "New number must mean you're ditching at least one or both of the Winchesters," the Romanian drawled. "I'm unfortunately going to need you to make this quick, kiddo. Shit is about to hit the fan in Mystic Falls."

"That's fine, I have things to do. I just needed to know if you got that address for the Styne's."

"Of course - the plate you gave me is registered to Eldon Styne out of Shreveport, but no physical address. Best I've got for you, kid."

"That's plenty of help. Thank you, Nova. Don't get yourselves killed dealing with those Travelers and maybe after I do this I'll swing back up a little north and help you myself."

The call ended abruptly, causing Nova to chuckle. That kid was always getting herself into something. It gave her some kind of fucked up hope for the future of the Vasiles. She stared endlessly at each letter opened on the floor around her. Why did Markos need to know about the Vasiles? Was he afraid of them for some reason? The only thing that came to mind was their tie to Oblivion which allotted them some form of magic. Even creatures of the night could do magic but Travelers couldn't settle down with theirs. Then what about Remiel's Stone could affect them, especially Markos?

Abjuration, she realized with widened eyes. With enough power, Mystic Falls' magic could be protected and the Travelers' negated. She closed her eyes as she sat on her floor on her knees surrounded by Damon's letters. Everything felt like it slowed down until she could clearly hear only the slow sound of her faint heartbeat. Nova needed to find Remiel's Stone.

"Enzo's not around right this second," Zina snapped quickly when she ran into Damon. "Thank the gods."

He rolled his eyes. "Right this second I actually need you, Zina. I need to have a word with someone."

"It doesn't work like that, Damon. I don't just summon ghosts with my br-"

"I need to talk to Lucifer."

Her eyes widened and a chill ran down her spine. "Why?"

"Because if all of this goes bad, I need to know Nova will be protected at the end of it."

"Damon… you don't just ask Lucifer to do something and he goes, 'Yeah! No problem!' No. If you want something like that, then you'll need something just as hefty to offer in return. Are you willing to sacrifice something just to ensure my sister lives when she might not be in any peril at all?"

Damon smiled mournfully. "Knowing your sister, she'll put herself in some kind of peril. So, yes, I'm willing to sacrifice anything to make sure that she lives."

Zina stared up at him. She couldn't believe the lengths Damon was willing to go just for Nova. It was something she always dreamed of for herself. After a minute, she let out a sigh. "You're all fucking insane here. Fine, come on."

She begrudgingly led him upstairs to her room and took out the things she needed for her spell. When at first nothing happened, Damon opened his mouth to comment. Zina immediately held up a finger to silence him before he even made a noise. Just moments after, the archangel appeared in the circle with them. He smirked and raised a brow with curiosity. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Zina?"

She jerked her thumb towards Damon. "Dummy over here wants a favor from you."

Lucifer's gaze shifted slowly to Damon. "What could I possibly do for you, Mr. Salvatore?"

Damon's expression remained calm and firm. "Shit's about to hit the fan around here. I need to know that at the end of it Nova will be protected and alive."

"Oh, isn't that just so sweet." He chuckled. "I can't say I'm surprised to see the both of you having imprinted on one another. I think you two might be the only two to have and know their eternal mate in the whole clan. I mean, there's Daciana and Klaus, but those Mikaelsons are something else, aren't they?"

The two raven haired vampires stared blankly at Lucifer. Damon cleared his throat. "So… will you do it?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

Zina gaped at him. "That's it?"

"What more is there supposed to be? Do you think I want Nova Vasile dead? Especially when the Other Side is about to be totally shattered? I brought you back so I could have the pair. I'm not just gonna let one go."

"You also don't do things for free usually either."

"Oh, right, that." He shrugged again. "Everything's about to be fucked, isn't it? Ah, alright. Well, first off, I can only protect a Vasile. So if it comes down to you or her then only she gets to live."

"That's fine, I don't care."

Another shrug from the archangel. "Alright then. How about… when Zarya comes running to Mystic Falls, give her the same protection."

Zina elbowed Damon before he could ask some stupid question. He grunted from the force. "Deal… deal. Zarya is protected in Mystic Falls."

September 9, 2009

Dear Nova,

I got to personally meet this Elena today. Gave her such a startle that if there are other vampires in the vicinity, they totally heard her heartbeat freaking out. If you would have come up behind her it would have been perfection. She might have actually had had a heart attack right there. But only half of the act isn't quite as breathtaking.

Stefan tried compelling Vicki Donovan today. She's one of Elena's classmates I attacked at this party in the woods the other night. I left her alive in the hopes of taunting Stefan. Naturally he had to do something to ensure the safety of the town against his monster of a brother so his animal blood drinking self tried to top what I did to her. I almost had him, but if she went screaming 'Stefan Salvatore is a vampire' and the town staked him, there goes our eternity of misery. He came up with it like he wants to be tortured for an eternity. You probably would have thought up something much more exuberant but obvious. We have to be subtle in Mystic Falls. For now at least.

Maybe one day we'll see something different. Together.

Love, Damon

Nova was beginning to go mad reading every letter. Damon put in so much detail that it was like she had been there with him the whole time. Thinking back on the years she had ran from him, she regret it. Her life had been dull and meaningless without Damon. There was no light or shimmer left.

November 1, 2009

Darling Nova,

I'm sure you spitefully remember well what today is. To start off, I was correct - Vicki barely made it to Halloween night. She lost her shit and Stefan actually had to stake her. It was pretty priceless. More of a present for us for his birthday today.

Do you remember Lexi Branson? Of course she just had to pop in and try to keep Saint Stefan on his righteous path. I know it was my screw up that pushed you away, but why should Stefan still get his best friend when I can't have mine? Don't worry dolcezza, I have a grand master plan that will get under Stefan's nerves wonderfully.

Love, Damon

She rubbed her face. Time was ticking. She had ignored everyone all day to sort out the damn letters. If there was any hope against the Travelers, and against anything, then she needed to find where Damon hid Remiel's Stone. If there wasn't such a time constraint then she could honestly sit there and read his letters all day. They amused her so deeply she hadn't realized how long she had been smiling. As her left hand grazed over some of the papers, her engagement ring caught her eye. It shimmered delicately under the light of the bedroom. For some reason, her eyes trailed over to her right hand which had not a single ring on any of her slender fingers.

September 30, 2009

Sweet Nova,

I would have loved to continue saving the honor of finally putting Stefan out of his misery once and for all, but I'm not going to have the chance to because the next time I see him I'm going to rip his beating heart out of his fucking chest. He tricks me at the Founder's Party using Caroline and I get locked in a basement cell that apparently exists in the boarding house. Luckily I was still strong enough to pull Caroline towards here and break me out (finally fucking killed Zach too) but guess what that son of a bitch Stefan did? He took my fucking ring!

So here I am, sitting in the goddamn dark, cussing on a piece of paper that will never get read. You've really driven me insane, you know that? I have thought about giving all of this up, my entire quest in finding Katherine, but you know damn well that would never satisfy either of us.

I could find you in seconds, Nova. Seconds. I could call or find you and tell you I'm coming because I've abandoned my 150 year search. We would both be thrilled but the second we saw each other we would both have questions for the rest of the eternity. I know how much you hate Katherine. I should have told you from the start. You might have been willing to help then if it meant killing her for good at the end. I know you're not satisfied thinking she's dessicating in a tomb under a church. And I'm sure by now both of us are wondering if she's even there, but she has to be Nova. She just does. And when I know that is true I will find you.

We can see if finally killing Katherine is the problem we needed to solve.

Love, Damon

Nova's mind was running past its maximum speed when something randomly clicked. It was 1897. By sheer chance they ran into Bram Stoker of all people just after the release of Dracula. Nova had been strangely obsessed with the novel which Damon took great joy in humoring. Suddenly she flashed forward to 1994 and recalled leaving behind a ring Damon had given her - a silver so dark it looked black with the most glorious emeralds. He had given it to her after they left meeting Bram Stoker with the promise to always make her smile. She abandoned it when she found out he was looking for Katherine because she could no longer be happy. A tear actually slid from her right eye and down her cheek until it splashed off of one of the letters.

Nova leapt to her feet and sped out of her home towards the boarding house. She blatantly ignored Markos inside with Damon as she darted straight for Damon's room upstairs. Damon assured Markos he had no idea what she was doing; nobody had heard from her all day. There was a loud crash which sent them rushing up the stairs. Books had been tossed about except for one in Nova's hands - Bram Stoker's Dracula.

"What exactly do you hope to do with that?" Markos practically laughed at her. "Like I said; this spell will continue to unravel spirit magic as it spreads, which means you're not long for this world."

Nova looked to Damon with panic. "What's he talking about?"

Damon returned the same expression, ignoring the utter confusion about what she was doing. "They already started the spell."

"The sun's about to set," Markos told them with a smile. "Feel free to buy yourself a little time to say your goodbyes. You might be able to outrun the spell for a little while." He shrugged.

Without another question, the couple took off running into the woods. Nova held firmly to the book which Damon had yet to see which it was. They ran side by side until they made it to the road just as a vehicle pulled up - Jeremy in his truck with Zina in the passenger's seat. "Just in time then," the psychic smiled softly.

"Get in," said Jeremy.

Once they were safely inside and speeding away from Mystic Falls, Damon finally saw that the book on Nova's lap was Dracula. He smiled. "You read all of the letters."

She returned the smile before opening the book to the middle with the cut out. Inside laid a black velvet box, and Remiel's Stone. She laid the stone back in the hole while she took out the box. As soon as it opened the emerald ring shimmered against the setting sun. "You wrote to me every single day. Since the day I stepped foot in Mystic Falls you have been there for me, with me, even when we were not near one another. We've spent so damn long together…" She picked up the ring and slid it on her right ring finger. "I have far more happy memories with you than bad ones. Thank you, iubițel."

Zina stared out the passenger window blankly. She was deeply thankful that her sister was in a much better place than when she first arrived, but she couldn't help but feel so horribly empty. There wasn't even an ache in her chest as there was no heart to ache. She couldn't believe that she somehow fell for Jeremy Gilbert. Leave it to her to pick someone who is already in a committed relationship with someone relatively of his own species. A dark part of her hoped that something would go wrong and it would be Bonnie to fall with the Other Side. She still wouldn't try to romance Jeremy at all, but at least she wouldn't have to see Bonnie ever again.

Beside her while she believed he was completely oblivious, Jeremy knew how much it hurt Zina to hear her sister so happy with the love of her life. He honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to believe her when she told him that she would never know her true love. Something in his gut told him that she did know. Was she ashamed to say it? Was it someone she lost in the past? Is it someone she can't have in the present?

You, dumbass, his mind told him suddenly.

Slowly, his eyes slid onto Zina. He watched her stare out the window while spinning her bracelet absentmindedly around her wrist. While he continued to stare at the road he realized he hadn't actually checked in with Bonnie in a while. Had he been spending too much time with Zina? He really hadn't even noticed. For some reason his hunter's instinct to kill vampires was null around her. Once everything with the Travelers was over he was going to have to sort some things out.