Sorry this took so long! I wrote the tomb scene so many freaking times. I just wasn't happy with it. I had to delve into emotions I don't examine often and try to make sense of them, plus, trying to fit them in with the character profiles of these characters was just ugh. I hope you like it, I've worked all day on it and I'm knackered. I want a bath and a lovely bowl of chocolate mousse.

Happy reading. Don't forget to let me know what you think. Who knows, if it's terrible I might rewrite it entirely (X_X)

WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Chapter 18

"Jeremy? Are you home?"

Elena slammed the front door behind her, barely slowing her pace as she headed straight for the stairs.

"Living room."

Elena stumbled to a halt at the unexpected information, spinning on her heel to get a look at her brother. He was sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees and a slight frown on his face. There was a half empty glass of coke in front of him on the coffee table.

"I was expecting you sooner," the boy admitted, gesturing to the glass that was surrounded by a pool of water. "It's warm, but it's yours if you want it."

"Jer," Elena ignored it completely as she came to sit beside him, a hand on his shoulder for emphasis. "Are you OK? Look, I know you're friends with her, but you can't hang around Lia anymore. She's dangerous, Jer."

"She's only dangerous to her enemies, Elena," he rolled his eyes, sighing slightly as he leaned back in his seat. "She saved your life for me."

Elena scoffed, removing her hand from her brother, eyes blazing. "Saving me? Jeremy, she killed someone!"

"Oh?" Jeremy leaned forward, looking Elena in the eye. "Why haven't you called the cops? Murder's a pretty big crime, Elena." Jeremy didn't wait for her to answer. "Maybe, maybe the reason is because it wasn't just anybody. Maybe she ended a threat. Maybe she took out a vampire, ensuring that the town had one less vampire to worry about."

Elena pulled back as if slapped. Her anger fled her as panic slowly started to pool in her belly.

"You know. Jer, it's too dangerous. You need to stay away from all of this," Elena pleaded, her puppy eyes in full effect. Jeremy simply rolled his eyes.

"No, Elena, I'm not going to do that. Lia is the best friend I've ever had. I won't jeopardise that because you're afraid of the supernatural."

"It's not about being afraid, Jer!" Elena came to her feet, pacing away before spinning on her brother. "It's about being overpowered! About getting dragged into a world we have no chance in!"

"I have Lia," Jer shrugged, meaning that in more ways than one as he unconsciously raised his hand, decorated by two rings and a bracelet, to his newly pierced ear, running his fingers over the 3 silver sleepers looped snugly through his helix.

"She's not always going to be there to protect you!" Elena yelled, frustration coating every word.

Jeremy sighed in exasperation. "I didn't come home to argue with you about Lia. I came home to answer what I could about the questions you no doubt have."

Elena straightened in surprise. She licked her lips, her earlier questions coming back full force as she looked at her calm, though slightly irritated, younger brother. She nodded to herself, squaring her shoulders before starting her interrogation.

"Do you know what Lia is?" Elena demanded, crossing her arms and staring her brother down.

He didn't so much as blink. "Yes."

"What is she?"

"Pass."

Elena balked. "Pass? Jer-"

"Pass," the young man repeated firmly. "Some things I will not answer, Elena. Out of respect, loyalty and honest ignorance. But, if you want answers, you're going to have to accept those I'm willing to give you."

Elena took a step back and surveyed her 15-year-old brother. He sat with a confidence she'd never seen him wear before. He wasn't depressed, wasn't high, wasn't full of angst over his unrequited love. He was a calm young man who was prepared to have an adult discussion.

"What happened to you?" the question escaped her before she could stop it.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "What happened? I have friends. Friends I cherish and that cherish me in return, friends that happen to belong to a world I didn't believe was real until a few weeks ago. You can't let the knowledge overwhelm you, Elena. You accept it, you change your world view, you move on. Why worry over something you can't change?"

"I can't see knowing as a good thing," Elena shook her head in denial. "Knowing what's out there? It's terrifying. Knowing it's a world of inhuman strength, speed and death? What good comes from knowing?"

Jeremy leaned forward, elbows returning to his knees as he gazed at his sister intently. "Not knowing doesn't mean it doesn't exist, Elena. Are you saying you'd prefer to not know? To not know that the nights can be dangerous? To not know that simple words can give a dangerous being access to our home?"

Elena winced, thoughts immediately flying to Damon. She blinked in surprise.

"Lia tried to stop me," she whispered, seeing the warning for what it was now rather than the sarcastic dismissal of the new arrival.

"Ah," Jeremy nodded, a wry smile on his face. "Couldn't exactly cry 'vampire' in the middle of a dinner party, but yes, she told me she tried to warn you as best she could."

"Why didn't you tell me, Jer?" Elena's voice broke as her eyes turned glassy. "How could you keep something like this from me?"

Jeremy looked at her, slightly incredulous. "Because, of course, you came running to me as soon as you found out about Stefan and Damon," he sassed, raising an unimpressed eyebrow as her tears receded and her anger flared again.

Elena shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "So, what? You're going to stay with them until you die? Get killed or, or grow old? Do they grow old?" she questioned angrily, a sneer crossing her features. "You're going to waste your life with a group of people who'll kick you to the curb as soon as you start getting grey hair?"

"If I do, it will be my decision," Jeremy replied calmly, drinking the last of his drink before standing, glass in hand, and heading toward the kitchen. "I know you're freaking out about this, Elena; I get it. But don't think for a minute that you can somehow make this about you and your wants. You have your life to do with as you please. If you don't want anything to do with the supernatural, fine. But don't think you get to dictate what I choose to do with my future. If I want to continue having a happy, human life with immortal friends, be happy that I have such a great support network not only emotionally but physically. If I choose to turn into something that will allow for an eternal lifespan, th-"

"No!" Elena cried, racing in front of the younger Gilbert and gripping his biceps tightly, shaking him with all her might. "They're monsters, Jer! You can't!"

"I can, Elena!" he snapped, finally fed up. He watched, sad and frustrated, as she let her arms drop, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's my choice and if I choose to, I will. You don't have to like it, but you will respect it as my decision."

Jeremy continued into the kitchen, leaving a stunned and scared Elena standing at the end of the living room. She gasped, not realising that she'd been holding her breath. Shakily pulling out her phone, she sent Stefan a text.

How soon can you get here?

She slipped her phone back into her jeans pocket, blinking away her tears and wiping their tracks from her cheeks. Inhaling unsteadily, she stiffened her spine and turned, heading straight up the stairs and into her bedroom.

She paced as she waited, though she didn't have to wait long. Stefan slipped in through her open window.

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked, his ever-present frown deepening as he took in the frazzled appearance of the girl he loved.

"It's Jeremy," Elena admitted shakily, running her hands through her hair for the umpteenth time today. "I think-he's saying things that… I think something's been done to him," she whispered, sounding as though she was confessing something scandalous. "He said he'd decide if he wanted to stay human or not."

Stefan's jaw clenched and his eyes pinched. He compared what he knew of the Kaliope that stayed at the boarding house to the girl he knew now. He recalled it; the haunting glow of her eyes, the way she set his instincts off. He thought about Slater and Enzo, wondering what they were. He should have paid closer attention; that's what he got for being wrapped up in love, he supposed.

The supernatural world always followed those that lived in it. He was a fool to ever think he'd be able to escape.

Elena, on the other hand, was a mess. She knew her brother was staying out more often with Lia. She could be filling his head with all kinds of things. Dangerous things! And Caroline! Elena gasped as her gaze snapped over to her vampire ex. What did Caroline know?

"Oh, my God," she whispered, her whole body jolting as she swung around and marched toward Jeremy's room, assuming he'd returned there after she'd left the living room.

Barging in without knocking, she watched with frantic eyes as her brother sighed silently, taking his headphones off and turning in his computer chair to face her.

"Caroline; does she know?" Elena asked harshly, her eyes narrowed.

"Of course," Jeremy replied easily, visibly stumping his sister.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Elena whispered to herself, her unseeing gaze drifting away from Jeremy. "She would have known weeks ago."

"Because you're not her friend, Elena. Not really," Jeremy responded to the rhetorical question quietly, gaining the brunette's attention once more.

"What do you mean? Did Lia tell you that?" Elena spat. "Of course, I'm Caroline's friend! We've been friends since kindergarten!"

Jeremy sighed, closing his eyes briefly before focusing all his attention on his idiot sibling. "Elena, you tolerate Caroline. She sees you as a dear friend, sure, but even she knows that you can only take so much of her company. You don't respect her. How do you think that feels? Would you tell someone all your secrets if they only wanted to spend so much time with you a day?"

Elena opened her mouth to defend herself before pausing, unable to deny that Caroline was a friend she could have treated better. Her jaw tightened as those words reverberated in her head again and again.

'You don't deserve her.'

Elena growled and spun angrily, stomping from the room to find Stefan.

The vampire, who'd been listening from his seat on the end of her bed, looked up as she entered, his eyes dark.

"Do you see?" Elena waved her hand in the direction she'd just come from. "Lia has obviously done something! Jeremy's defending her, Caroline is keeping her secrets! We have to stop her, Stefan!"

Stefan took a deep breath before responding, knowing that what he had to share was just going to add to the weight Elena already had on her shoulders.

He should have stayed away.

"I'm afraid that your brother and Caroline are not our biggest problems at the moment," Stefan shared reluctantly, his grim countenance unmistakeable, making Elena pause in her angry pacing as dread started to climb up her legs and into her gut.

"What could be worse than two of the people closest to me being brainwashed?" Elena scoffed weakly, her arms crossing for some stability.

"I found out why Damon is here."

Stefan told her everything; the fact that Katherine was apparently still alive and one of the vampires in the tomb, that Damon was here to open it, that Anna was also here to get her mother out, and, worst of all…

"It's Kaliope that has the key to opening it."

Elena gaped at the vampire as her anger and terror warred with each other.

"We have to stop her, Stefan. Figure out what she is, find out what she wants so she can leave," Elena began her pacing again, her eyes forward and her brow furrowed as she tried to plot. "We have to get that necklace; that's it, isn't it? Bonnie told me she's a witch. Bennett, right? Emily Bennett owned that crystal? It must be the key, right?"

Stefan nodded, his eyes going to the bedroom door. "I'm not on the proper diet, so I might not be strong enough, but I could try and compel your brother?" Stefan offered hesitantly.

"Do it," Elena didn't hesitate. "He knows what she is – he admitted it – but he wouldn't tell me."

With a solemn nod, Stefan silently left the bedroom, Elena hot on his heels. He knocked before entering the teen's room.

Jeremy, unbeknown to the dramatic ex-couple, had heard everything, taking note that Stefan had told his sister everything except the fact that she's the spitting image of his ex. He was pissed that Elena would allow his mind to be controlled so easily, but he was fully protected and prepared for it. He turned calmly in his chair as the door closed behind Elena, watching as she leaned against it while Stefan came to a stop just beside him, squatting down so they were eyelevel.

"Hey, Jeremy," the vampire smiled pleasantly enough, even if he couldn't completely erase the sullen set to his brow. "I'd like to ask you some questions, if you wouldn't mind."

Jeremy's gaze flicked to a fidgeting Elena before settling back on the vampire, a tranquil smile stealing across his face. "You're welcome to ask, but I can't guarantee I'll answer."

"That's fine," Stefan smiled, looking back at Elena, waiting for her nod of approval before his first attempt. "What is Kaliope?"

"Pass."

Stefan's eyes shuttered, disappointment flooding him at his own weakness before he steeled himself, mustering all his strength before attempting again.

"What does she want with the tomb vampires?"

"Pass."

"Jeremy, please, you don't understand what's at stake!"

"I understand perfectly, Elena, but the tomb is none of your business," Jeremy turned his piercing gaze onto Stefan. "You shouldn't interfere."

The Gilbert male rose to his feet, causing Stefan to stand and back away, taking his position next to Elena. The pair watched as Jeremy methodically worked around his room, stuffing clothing and art supplies into his duffel.

Zipping the bag and throwing it over his shoulder, he finally turned his attention back to Stefan and Elena. "I'm going to stay with Lia for a few days. I'll call Jenna and let her know."

"I can't let you go, Jeremy," Elena shook her head, pressing herself firmly against the door. Stefan took a step forward, ready to hold the boy still at his love's request.

Jeremy just chuckled. "It's a good thing you can't stop me, then, isn't it?"

Stefan blurred toward him, reaching out to hold the boy by his shoulder but was stunned when his wrist was grabbed, restraining his movement.

"Jeremy, what have they done to you?" Elena whispered in despair. Jeremy sighed heavily, rolling his eyes at the dramatics as he threw Stefan's arm back at him.

"God, Elena. I've tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, tried to be understanding about the fact that you're not taking to the supernatural well, but Jesus! Listen to yourself! They haven't 'done' anything to me! They've helped me protect myself! The world of magic and monsters isn't exactly human friendly! Now, I'm going to my friend's house and you won't get in my way."

Jeremy took two steps before he spun around and socked Stefan right across the throat, sending the vampire reeling.

"That was for trying to compel me, dick."

Jeremy left the room, listening to Elena whine and Stefan choke with a small smirk on his face.

Enzo would be proud.

*TVDM*

Slater smiled, unable to stop himself from looking over his MacBook at his Susie as she laughed her happy laugh. She was on the phone to one of her friends who was currently touring Europe, catching up with the woman she'd apparently known for near-30 years.

He still couldn't believe how drastically his life had changed; traveling America, researching to his heart's content and being ridiculously in love instead of hunched over his super-computer set-up in his tempered-glass apartment in Richmond, repeating college for the umpteenth time while trying to convince his human girlfriend to watch a movie instead of talking about turning her.

Answering that Craigslist ad was the best thing he'd ever done.

He looked back at the screen in front of him. He was currently trying to find out more about the sun and moon curse. With the doppelganger – and wasn't that a shock! – so close, it had been something that had crossed his mind more frequently. He'd been especially stumped when, after talking to Lia about it, she'd scoffed.

"It's fake," she'd said, so matter-of-factly he couldn't not believe her. "Witches everywhere would know that, too, if they kept up their history studies. The existence of vampires and werewolves literally came to be by magic." Lia had snorted heavily. "For all their preaching about being nature's servants, they certainly like to make more work for the poor planet. Lycanthropy is a 1500-year-old curse; 7 bloodlines that were responsible for killing who they dubbed 'The Hollow' were damned to an existence of misery; forced to suffer through an agonising transformation on the night of the full moon, becoming a mindless beast, as an eternal reminder of their part in her death. Vampires, on the other hand, are the creation of a mother who wished to make her family strong in the wake of grief. She used and bound them to the sun for life and the white oak for immortality. Nature accepted the binding but turned them into weaknesses as payment; even the little flowers that grew around the white oak harmed the new species and foiled their abilities."

"Vervain," Slater had remarked in surprise.

Lia had nodded. "Vampires and werewolves have never had free-reign under their respective balls of light. Who ever spread word of the curse, spread it for a different reason; to find the moonstone and the doppelganger, or just the doppelganger," Lia had shrugged. "Either way; what better way to find anything than for two supernatural species to be on the lookout, you know?"

"How do you know so much?" Slater had finally caved. "I mean, I know you have a connection to the planet, but surely that couldn't give you so many details!"

"The earth and I have tea every Thursday," Lia deadpanned before she'd rolled her eyes and huffed. "The planet's voice is getting clearer the more I use magic. It might have something to do with my near-God status, but everything that has anything to do with magic – and I mean anything – has slowly started creeping into my mind when I connect with the ley line. They're not clear, and sure as hell not complete, but the more I get, the more I understand. Eventually, I'm sure I'll find out about this curse business and I'm hoping one day soon I finally understand the difference between Travelers and witches and how they came to be cursed or whatever, but it's not exactly a google search. I get what I'm given. I don't really get it myself, but it's nifty. Soon I'll be the Ravenclaw of our motley crew." She'd stuck out her tongue and skipped away.

Slater sighed, turning his attention to his phone. He scrolled through his contacts, wondering if he should ask Marcel if his network could pick up anything about the curse when he came across a name that had him kicking himself for not thinking of sooner.

Rose-Marie.

He knocked the phone into his forehead twice, trying to wake his braincells up from their apparently lazy Sunday lie-in. He hit the call button, not having to wait long until the line connected.

"Slater, it's been a while. How are you?"

"Rose, I'm excellent, thank you for asking," a dreamy smile slid across his face as his gaze found his love still happily chatting away. "Listen, how soon do you think you could get to Mystic Falls?"

"We're in Ohio now, it wouldn't take us more than half a dozen hours in the car. We could be there by tonight?"

Slater grimaced. "Tomorrow would work better, unfortunately there's a bit of a mess happening here and it's been scheduled for a few hours' time. I'd prefer you guys not get in the middle of it."

"We've got a car that can drive us throughout the day. Is your set up UV tight?"

"Are they important to you?"

Slater jumped, fumbling with the phone as his eyes locked onto the suddenly-there Lia. Slater startled again, registering her question before he nodded vigorously.

"A bippity boppity boo, or two, I do, for you!" Lia sang, kissing his cheek and sending him a wink over her shoulder as she skipped away, no doubt going to find Enzo. Slater couldn't do more than gape after her. Seriously, the girl was a maniac. Rose was over 500, same with Trevor, and they'd never been able to find a willing witch, and yet, Lia was willing to throw her hocus pocus at anything her friends pointed to. It was touching, knowing that he had a friend that seemed to want to do anything for him and those she cared about. He felt ridiculously lucky and humbled again; grateful for finding the path his life had taken, all thanks to Craigslist.

Maybe he should have a shirt made?

A quick grimace stole across his features as he heard Rose repeatedly call his name.

"Sorry, sorry! I have good news! How do you feel about finally walking in the sun?"

The girlish squeals coming from one as refined as Rose brought a bright, amused grin to Slater's face instantly.

*TVDM*

Damon stared down at the blood bag in his hand, wondering if he should grab another.

He hadn't been able to keep his mind off his Sire all day; wondering where she'll want to go, wondering what she'll think of how the world has evolved…

Wondering if she'll stay with him.

He shoved the thought aside. He loved Katherine; all of Katherine. He knew she was selfish and manipulative and used a fake name and had seen his brother behind his back, but Stefan knew. Stefan knew that he loved Katherine, and he didn't care. Besides, it was Stefan's fault that Katherine was in the tomb in the first place!

No, Katherine would remember that; she'd remember that it was Stefan that got her caught, how he'd run to their father and begged him to help her, practically handing her over himself.

She'd see how devoted Damon had been; how he'd waited for her, how he'd gotten her out.

She'd stay with him.

She wouldn't have made sure he'd turn into a vampire if she didn't care.

Damon gripped his glass, filled with his poison of choice, just a little tighter as he watched the sun start to sink over the horizon. He was excited, anxious, desperate. He'd see Katherine soon and that both thrilled and terrified him

He didn't want to be alone anymore.

Katherine and Stefan were all he had.

Stefan. A silent snarl briefly curled the blue-eyed vampire's lip. The brother he'd waited for, the brother that was so caught up in his 'oh-woe-is-me' routine that he hadn't even realised Damon had been missing for 5 years. He couldn't believe it. He thought things would be different after New Orleans in the 40's, but they weren't. He'd bowed out, accepting Lexi's logic, and leaving his brother be and giving the young vampire his freedom. Then Augustine happened; the betrayal of family, Dr Whitmore and Enzo.

Damon swallowed heavily, taking a drink and pushing his thoughts along.

His rage was quick to consume his guilt as he thought of '77. It should have been Stefan there, trying to help him switch on his humanity. Damon would admit, if only to himself, his own attempts at helping his brother in the past could have gone better, 1912 stood testament to that, but he'd tried.

He didn't send in someone else to do the job for him.

He felt a little guilty for leaving Lexi so close to the sun on that roof, but really, could anyone really blame him? His humanity was off and he was pissed at Stefan. What better way to get back at the asshole than by killing his best friend?

Then Gail happened.

Damon ripped his thoughts away from that subject, glad he didn't have to look at Zach's face anymore.

Downing the last of his drink as the sun finally sank below the landscape, Damon walked over to his favourite armchair, setting the empty glass on the table beside it. He walked with purpose toward the front door, pulling his leather jacket on as he went. Blood bag in hand, he took a deep breath.

He wouldn't be alone for much longer.

He threw a smirk on his face and reefed the door open, stepping out into the night.

Across town, another vampire was watching the sky slowly brighten as the moon started to climb higher. She's lost Noah days ago, the idiot vampire proclaiming he'd found a new toy before vanishing. She didn't care; she didn't need him. He'd be useless as backup anyway.

Not that she was going to go against the raven-haired, green-eyed demon again.

Anna shuddered as those hauntingly bright emeralds crossed her mind. She couldn't wait to leave this town. She wanted to take her mother and run.

The small vampire stood, drawing her shoulders and snatching the blood bag she'd stolen for her mother. This night would be behind them soon enough, hopefully just like this town would be.

*TVDM*

Lia appeared in front of the tomb entrance, startling Anna and Damon, who were already waiting by the tomb entrance; both leaning on their own piece of wall.

Lia bounced on her toes; her excitement palpable.

"This is gonna be sick," she declared, eyes brighter than either vampire had every seen. "Ya'll ready for this?!"

Not waiting for a response, Lia turned toward the tomb door.

"You can't!"

Lia paused and sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration while her other hand settled on her hip. She dropped her arms to her sides with an exasperated groan, spinning to face the newly-arrived Stelena.

"Dear me. Seriously? What are you doing here?" Lia asked, spreading her arms wide with a disbelieving eyebrow raised. "Are you going to talk me down? To take me down? Don't make me laugh, Stefan."

"Yeah, Stefan," Damon glared at his brother as he spoke through gritted teeth. "You're sense of humour is so last century, so how about you exit stage left."

"Lia," Stefan stepped forward, ignoring his brother completely. "You don't want to do this. Give me the talisman and we can all just go, leave the vampires in the tomb. They're a danger to the people of this town; innocent people."

Stefan's forehead was so furrowed that Lia couldn't even see the colour of his eyes right now. It was casting some serious shadow.

"Please," Elena decided to try. "You obviously care for the people here, like Jeremy and Caroline. Please don't do this. Just give us the talisman."

Lia blinked. Damon growled. Anna sneered.

Enzo was probably somewhere close, laughing his ass off.

Ugh.

"I now see the error of my ways. I can't believe I've been so blind. Thank you for helping me see the light. I promise to never be bad, ever again. As a show of gratitude, please accept this token of my esteem," Lia deadpanned as she removed the talisman and threw it at the vampire, much to the 'do-gooders' delight.

"What are you doing?" Anna shrieked before she could stop herself.

"I'm making them go away," the 'duh' was implied. "They wanted the pretty sparkles. Now they can play with it while the adults do business."

Refusing to listen to anymore idiocy, Lia spun around and kicked.

The vampires could only gape as they watched the stone fly apart, dust and rocks barely the size of a fist spraying everywhere. Stefan barely had time to grab Elena and run from the debris flying at dangerous speeds.

Smiling, Lia looked at the magic that was covering the doorway. Reaching up and pulling the earth's power into her fingertips, Lia gripped the side of the invisible barrier and pulled.

Damon and Anna, both of whom had started immediately for the empty archway, braced themselves against the closest wall as the ground shook.

"What are you doing?" Anna demanded, as she was wont to do, apparently. Damon kept silent, his tentative trust for Little Snow holding firm as he watched on.

Finished pulling the barrier away, Lia made quick work of obliterating it between her hands. Though the other two couldn't see what she was doing, they sure as hell heard it. The sound it made was comparable to crushing metal.

The barrier finally dissipated; the magic of the spell returning to the earth. Clapping her hands together as if brushing off dirt, Lia turned with a satisfied smirk to face her audience. "What? You think a door that was weak enough to simply kick in was the only thing keeping those vampires locked up?" Lia scoffed. "Please. I may not have the most respect for witches, but even I know they're not that daft."

Anna took that as confirmation that the witchy work was done, wasting no time in blurring into the depths of the cavern. Damon nodded at Lia before doing the same.

Stefan and Elena had already left, their brief triumph torn to shreds in the face of the sheer power that was Kaliope.

"Let the fun begin."

Lia didn't bother to turn, simply leaning back against the newly-arrived Enzo, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Dumb and Dumber, though. Am I right?"

Enzo chortled at the reminder of the idiot couple.

Anna was the first to return, carrying most of the weight of the weak vampire who was obviously her mother. Lia gave Enzo's arm a squeeze before vanishing, appearing in front of the mother-daughter duo with a sweet smile.

"Thank you," Anna was nervous. She finally had her mother and she wanted to be away from this town and, specifically, from Lia as soon as possible.

Lia didn't spare them a glance, her gaze firmly on the tomb. It was Enzo that answered.

"Better get comfortable, gorgeous. You and your mother aren't leaving quite yet," he smiled charmingly as his chin rested easily on Lia's head.

Anna's breathing hitched at the words, grabbing her mother and trying to run for the stairs.

An invisible barrier stopped them.

"You didn't think I'd be the barer of bad news, did you?" Lia finally looked at the family of two, eyebrow raised.

"You want me to tell Damon Katherine was never in there?" Anna asked, halfway incredulous.

"Of course," Lia frowned. "You think he'll believe me? Uh, no, you're the one with the connection to her and has actually seen her. Most I've seen is her human copy."

"Are you-!"

Anna was interrupted by a heart-wrenching cry.

"Someone's having a bad night," Enzo commented lightly.

Lia snorted.

*TVDM*

Damon's world was closing in around him.

Katherine wasn't here.

Katherine wasn't here.

The blood bag he'd brought for her splashed across the wall as he threw it with all his might, a bellow of fury escaping him as he watched the blood ooze down the stone. He angrily tore out the heart of the closest vampire, a feral snarl curling his lips as tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. He'd waited 145 years for this moment, and she wasn't here? His breathing picked up as his mind spun.

He viciously scrubbed his hands through his hair, looking around him once more before he sobbed.

She wasn't here.

Where was she?

Was she dead?

Alive?

Had she left him?

Swallowing down his tears, he stumbled to his feet, not sure when he'd sunk to his knees. His rage and sorrow were draining out of him with every step, leaving him feeling numb. He didn't even know why he was heading outside. There was nothing for him there, just like in here.

He had no one.

No, that's a lie.

He had Stefan.

And wasn't that so much worse.

He watched the floor get brighter as he got closer to the exit. He couldn't think, he could barely breathe. All this time, longing for a woman who was, what, gone?

His attention snapped to the sound of the one person who could give him his answers.

In an instant, he held the weak Pearl by the throat, looking at her with vague disinterest.

"Why do you get your happy ending?"

"Damon, please, let her go!"

"Where. Is. Katherine?"

"A guard," Pearl rasped, weakly scrabbling at his wrist. "He was obsessed with her. She promised to turn him. He let her go."

"The last I saw her was Chicago," Anna admitted. "1983. She knew where you were, Damon. She just didn't care."

Damon dropped the woman, stumbling back as he looked at the mother being comforted by her daughter. His world froze.

Katherine knew where he was.

Katherine had played him.

Katherine didn't care.

Katherine didn't love him.

He was alone.

"Sorry," Anna muttered as she pulled her mother to her feet.

Alone, alone, alone, al-

"You've been very helpful."

The next thing Anna knew, her mother's head was splattered against the far wall.

"Mama!" she shrieked, falling to her knees beside the headless body. She snarled ferally, her game face coming out as she stared at dispassionate, unnaturally green eyes. "You! Why?!"

"You behaved," Lia shrugged, her smile still firmly in place. "I promised to let you see your mother. Surely you saw this coming?" Lia chided her lightly. "I did warn you about the consequences."

And then Anna saw no more.

Damon stared at the mess of blood, brain matter, bone and hair. He almost felt bad for the pair, but decided almost instantly that they'd deserved it, if only because Anna had tried to use him to open the tomb when she'd known that the one he'd sought wasn't in there. He slowly turned to see Lia looking at her gore-covered boots forlornly.

"Do you think they'll ever be the same?" Lia pouted as she looked at him. No, not him. Behind him.

"I'll buy you some new ones, my little songbird," a British voice offered generously. Even in his emotional state, Damon's hackles still rose at an unknown behind him. Quickly turning, he felt his breath leave him all over again as he stared at a familiar set of dark eyes that glittered, matched with a familiar smirk.

"Enzo," the name was but a whisper carried by his heavy exhale.

A hand was gripping his throat in an instant.

"Damon," the ex-Augustine test subject squeezed tighter, his smirk widening slowly into a gleeful grin. "You look like shit."

He threw Damon into the closest wall, watching in satisfaction as the emotionally drained vampire slid down the wall, his stare never leaving his face.

"How?"

"Well, it's certainly not thanks to you," Enzo chirped, relishing in the full body flinch he witnessed as he strolled over to Lia. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before she disappeared, running into the tomb to kill all the rest of the vampires that had spent an unlucky amount of years starving.

"Now!" Enzo clapped, turning to face Damon again, extremely pleased to see he had the blue-eyed traitor's undivided attention. "Sorry about that; family first, as they say. Where was I? Oh! I was telling you my story. Well, you see, after you left me to burn alive, one of the scientists saved me; they'd already lost one vampire, you see. They couldn't afford to lose their last one when they had so many experiments to do and, well, I'm sure finding vampires isn't as easy as popping to your local supermarket."

Enzo started to casually pace. "For years, the torture continued. They were more careful now; pushing my rations further apart and garnishing it with vervain," Enzo grimaced.

Enzo spared no detail.

The suffering.

The humiliation.

The scientists Damon knew.

The ones he didn't.

Enzo held nothing back.

"You know," Enzo glanced briefly at the dazed vampire. "All my life, I've only wanted the simple things; family, love, friends. I didn't want to be alone. It's why I always pushed you to not hate your brother; family is important. Even in the bowels of Whitmore, being tortured for science, I couldn't completely hate the place, because I had something that I'd never had before," Enzo paused, eyes finding Damon's. "I had you, and I had Maggie. I loved and was loved in return, and that… that was everything."

Enzo blurred to Damon, wrenching him off the floor by his jacket and slamming him into the stone. Both vampires had tears in their eyes; Damon didn't even register that his were there while Enzo refused to let his fall. "When you abandoned me, I couldn't even hate you. I had sent Maggie away, compelled her to forget me. You understand what that means? That means, that all I had, was you. You were all I had, Damon, the only one in the world who knew who I was. But you left me to burn," Enzo growled through gritted teeth, a single tear escaping his tight restraint. "You want to know the real kick in the teeth? It wasn't you leaving me behind that made you my monster, Damon. It was your eyes. You looked at me like you didn't even recognise me. You looked at me like you didn't care, and then you turned your back, and walked away."

"Enzo," Damon choked, his hands coming up to grip the dark-eyed vampire's wrists. "I never wanted to leave you, believe me. The fire was spreading too fast," Damon swallowed heavily, his eyes burning. "You were still in the cell and I wasn't strong enough. I was terrified. I wanted to get you out so bad. We had a plan. But I caved." Tears streamed steadily down Damon's face; his gaze unwavering even as his voice broke. "I thought… I turned my emotions off. I flipped my switch. I didn't think…"

Enzo's breath caught, the leather in his hands sliding through as his grip slackened. "You left me."

"I didn't want to!" Damon bellowed, eyes wild and teeth bared. "You were my best friend! I've never had a best friend," Damon declared fiercely, his voice trembling but firm. "I didn't want to leave you there."

"I thought I was ruined," Enzo whispered, finally stepping back. "I thought your betrayal had ruined me. But I was saved."

Damon had seen the look on Enzo's face once before; when Lia spoke of her brother.

Loren

It all made sense.

"She took me from my suffering," Enzo explained gently, his eyes so incredibly fond. "She waited for me as I took my revenge. She gave me a life outside of the cage. More than that, she gave me friends, family, home. She asked for my trust and gave me unwavering loyalty in return. She's my sister in all but blood."

Enzo looked up; glassy brown met blood-shot blue, a genuine smile on his face as he spread his arms wide. "You see, Damon? I finally got all I ever wanted; I love and am loved in return. I have friends. I have a family. I'm no longer alone. You haven't been my friend in a long time; you stopped being my monster, too. You're not my anything, anymore." Enzo dropped his arms, his smile long faded. He held Damon's gaze solemnly. "I don't need you."

Damon's heart broke for the second time that day.

Damon's fists clenched as tightly as his jaw as he stared at the vampire he hadn't seen in 60 years. Katherine left him raw, like a gaping wound that had come from being dragged along bitumen by being tied to the back of a car for miles. Enzo left him feeling like the car had driven off a cliff, diving into the sea. He was suffocating and burning; the farther that car dragged him down, the heavier the weight on his chest became. He was desperate to claw his way to the surface, to scramble away from the salt.

He needed to breathe.

"But," Enzo said quietly, so quietly that Damon almost missed it. "I don't want to lose you, either."

Damon choked on the harsh gasp that passed his lips.

He launched himself at the vampire that had been his only company, his confidant, his solace, for 5 years. The vampire he'd left behind.

Enzo held his once-friend just as tightly, even as he scoffed. He couldn't stop the slight smile as his eyes meeting the concerned yet amused gaze of Lia at the entrance of the tomb. "Come on, Damon. We're murderous vampires. Don't ruin the reputation."

"You weren't fooling anyone; we all know you're just a teddy bear with fangs," Lia chimed, startling Damon enough for him to take a step back.

"No!" Enzo cried indignantly, honing in on the cheeky grin. "You take that back! Right now!"

"I've turned a new leaf, Loren. I've promised never to lie again," Lia's face wore a serene smile as she looked at her outraged brother. "You're a Bitey Bear. Accept it, embrace it, love it."

"You can buy your own shoes!"

"What?!" Lia was immediately scandalised. "But you promised!"

"I'm a murderous vampire!" Enzo decreed. "I break promises as easily as I break necks!" he turned to Damon for back up. "And we break a lot of necks, yes?"

"Totally neck people. It's our kink," Damon's eyebrows jumped as he smirked at Lia salaciously, surprisingly earning himself a tinkling of laughter he hadn't heard from her before.

Probably because it was genuine.

"Well, Damon," Lia didn't seem to mind that she trekked blood with every step; her boots had obviously been her weapon of choice in the tomb, too. "I've never given a shovel talk before; I couldn't do it when Slater brought home Susie. She just- ugh, you'll understand when you meet her," Lia rolled her eyes before she was on him, his jaw in one hand and her other at his chest, looking like a claw ready to tear his heart out. "Betray Lorenzo St. John again and it shall be the last thing you ever do. I will make Augustine look like Disney Land."

Damon's eyes flashed.

"Of course," he smirked, looking into the green, green, green. "When I make a bad choice, I tend to make it big, but I don't tend to repeat it. I'm on the cusp of psychopathy; not insanity."

Lia grinned gleefully, moving the hand from his chest and patting his cheek with the other before heading over to Enzo, who'd bent down by the corpses of the Zhu family. The blue-eyed vampire closed his eyes briefly.

Lia was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

And there was something wrong with him if he was getting horny over the shovel talk.

His thoughts were, thankfully, distracted by the curious hum that escaped Enzo's throat.

"Oh, hello, there," Damon turned to see Enzo bent down to collect something gold. "What are you?"

"Oooh," Lia cooed, accepting the pocket watch look-alike and looking it over, her boots forgotten. "Another Gilbert device! We truly are lucky, aren't we, brother dear?"

"Indeed, we are, my little songbird," Enzo smirked, wrapping an arm around the excited mermaid. "Tell your brother what that does, will you?"

"According to Emily and Jonathan, it's part one of two for a music box that makes an awful racket," Lia explained, pulling out the cog-looking piece. "This here slips into a box and makes a piercing sound that will incapacitate any with supernatural hearing. Like the ultimate dog whistle."

Enzo grimaced at the thought. He'd heard those things; unpleasant, to say the least.

"Best hide that from its partner, hm?"

"Obviously," Lia rolled her eyes.

Damon had zoned out; the night starting to catch up to him. He was rung out. His mind was trying to make sense of the fact that Enzo was here. He was alive and here and apparently Lia's adopted brother and he'd been in that shithole all along and Damon could have saved him.

He scrubbed his hands down his face as his thoughts turned to Katherine. His bitch of a sire. He felt cheated. He'd spent 145 years thinking she was waiting for him, when in reality, she couldn't give a fuck.

Oh, how his rage burned.

He wanted to find her, to rip out her eyes and feed them to her. He wanted to answer Lia's question regarding intestines and suffocation by experimenting on the two-faced whore.

He wanted to see the light die from her eyes and her skin turn grey.

Never again would be put Katherine Pierce above anyone else. Never again would he love a heartless bitch.

He would send her to hell himself.

Enzo looked over at the emotionally spent vampire. "I picked a hell of a time to come barrelling back in, didn't I?"

"Tell me about it. What, you couldn't reschedule when you realised I had plans?" Damon sassed, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

"It was because of those plans that I decided to wow you with my miraculous survival," Enzo smirk was equal parts mischievous and malicious before smoothing out into something remarkably more fond as he gazed at Lia. "Why don't you run home, sweet songbird," Enzo kissed her forehead before he wrapped an arm around Damon's shoulders. "I'm going to get this one home. And drunk."

"Drunk is good," Damon was immediately onboard.

Lia smiled and nodded easily, about to run off when she paused. She still didn't like Damon, but Damon was Enzo's and Enzo was her family. She'd offer the olive branch.

"For what it's worth, Damon," the vampire looked her way, feeling vulnerable and slightly defensive. "Katherine doesn't deserve your love. Even if I have to catch her myself; she'll get her comeuppance."

Damon relaxed slightly, dreading the idea of being pitied. Revenge plans, however, he could do.

"I know," Damon smirked, stronger than it had been earlier. "I'll be the one to dish it out."

The immortal trio shared a grin, baring too many teeth before Lia vanished, leaving the boys to their night.

"So, shall we drink the night away?"

"Fuck, yes," Damon groaned.