Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).
I'd like to thank those who've reviewed the story so far. They are much appreciated.
Three months later.
"Morning sunshine." Damon grinned as a sleepy looking Elena walked into the kitchen. "Coffee?" he asked offering her a mug of steaming hot coffee as Elena simply nodded.
Elena looked at the clock, noticing it was only just turned seven, she looked at Damon and frowned. "What are you doing up so early?" she asked, yawning, noticing the kitchen island strewn with pieces of paper where Damon had been making notes.
"I'm sorting through the big Halloween opening party idea's for the bar." he frowned. "I was wondering if I should add a touch of realism and offer Bloody Mary Bags." he smirked. "Have them all wrapped up all like a blood bag, something a vampire would actually use."
"Do you think people would believe real life vampires survived on blood bags?" Elena raised an eyebrow. "It takes the whole scariness out of it. People want the horror of Halloween." she said sleepily.
"Hmm, maybe." Damon said thoughtfully. "Oh, yeah, the guest list of those we're supposed to be dodging but who are instead coming, is growing." he told her, changing the subject. "Bonbon as you know. Ric and Jo are coming down. Deputy Donovan is taking time out from playing cop to grace us with his presence and is escorting Blondie in place of my brother. The updated gossip is Liv and Wolfboy are back together again. So they're coming. Jeremy of course..." he continued.
"Basically everyone except Stefan?" Elena interrupted as Damon nodded sadly as Elena walked over to him and kissed him. "This was his decision." she said as she stroked his cheek.
"He could have asked an Original to compel him not to tell anyone where we are." Damon grumbled.
"And that will work right until said Original gets daggered by Klaus." Elena sighed.
"Then get the big bad wolf himself to do it for all I care." he complained. "It didn't have to be this way."
"Have you suggested it to Caroline?" Elena asked as Damon nodded.
"I think Blondie thinks Stefan is better off without me." he said sadly.
"Yeah well, she hasn't met the human you yet." Elena smiled. "Oh boy is she going to have a shock." she laughed.
"I haven't changed that much." Damon protested.
"With me, no." Elena agreed. "You let me see your humanity a long time ago. Same goes for Bonnie and Ric, and now Jo." she added. "But only the people who were allowed to see it saw the sweet person you can be. Now you can't hide that sweetness behind the vampire facade, and you're nice to everyone, well mostly." she laughed.
"Well Mrs Biggins shouldn't let that damned dog poop all over the sidewalk without cleaning it up." he scowled.
"Yeah well, you didn't need to clean it up and leave the doggie bag outside her door with a message tied round it saying 'Clean me' did you?" Elena asked raising an eyebrow.
"Sometimes you have to use shock tactics." Damon replied innocently.
"I guess it's an improvement from ripping hearts out." Elena sighed as Damon's eyes dropped guiltily.
They remained quiet for a moment before Damon broke the silence. "It's Stefan's birthday the day after the opening." he said sadly, changing the subject.
"Look, let Caroline see you at the opening and I'll suggest Klaus compelling him as an option to allow you both back into each other's lives." Elena suggested.
"But you won't even be there." Damon complained.
"I've managed to get the hospital to move my shift." Elena smiled. "I'll miss the opening itself, but I'll be there for the last couple of hours."
"Thank you." Damon whispered. "You have no idea how much that means to me." he smiled, wrapping his arms around Elena's waist and pulling her into him.
"Oh I think I do." Elena grinned as she felt Damon harden against her hips.
"I love you Mrs Salvatore." Damon told her as he kissed her.
"It's Thompson now remember." Elena raised her eyebrow.
"Not in here." Damon said and he pressed his hand to his chest. "To me you'll always be Mrs Salvatore."
"Well then Mr Salvatore, this Mrs Salvatore needs to shower and get ready for class." Elena said, kissing Damon before downing the contents of her mug and heading towards the bathroom. "You wanna join me for a shower?" she grinned as Damon's eyes lit up before following her.
Two weeks later the grand opening of Bar Eternal was already upon them. The apartment where they lived above the bar had three double bedrooms. Ric and Jo were staying in one of them. Caroline and Bonnie had chosen to share the other room, while Jeremy slept on the couch and Matt had a foam mattress rolled out on the living room floor. Liv and Tyler were staying in a hotel just one block away, meaning they wouldn't even need to get a cab. Damon had invited Enzo, but he'd had no response to the invite, so Damon simply assumed he wasn't going to turn up.
Damon had decided he didn't like the idea of actually working behind the bar, instead it was his job to ensure the business ran smoothly. Law hadn't been the only subject Damon had studied at college. Back in the late eighties, he'd gotten a degree in business and accounting, which was where he'd met Bree, the witch who he later murdered by ripping her heart out after she tried to kill him in Atlanta.
This was a side of Damon Stefan had never known, one he had only told Elena about. Which was why, when Stefan had threatened Damon with paperwork and filing taxes as a reason not to become human, he'd given a sarcastic reply. This was the part of being human Damon had been the most confident about, although he'd have never let on to Stefan about it. All that was left for Damon to do, was to run the bar and make it a success.
The doors were due to open at eight, and there was already a large crowd waiting outside. Damon had employed two doormen to make sure there was no trouble. He'd suitably decorated it in keeping with the theme of Halloween. Carved pumpkins adorned the room with fake candles inside them, flickering to give the bar ambiance. Skulls, bats, spider webs and various other Halloween themed decorations were purposely placed across the room. The bar staff were all dressed up as either vampires or witches. Dress code for the evening was anything goes, but for those who'd made the effort to dress up, they got a twenty five percent discount off their drinks.
When the time came Damon walked outside as the crowd hushed, apart from the sound of a few female giggles at the sight of him. He took out a large pair of scissors and took the red ribbon outside in his hand.
"I'd like to declare Bar Eternal open." he called out to the crowd as he cut the ribbon and let it drop. "Have a great evening." he added as he walked inside and opened the doors fully to allow the crowd to enter.
Damon headed back to his own private darkened booth at the far end of the room near the bar, where his and Elena's friends were already sat. Music filled the air around them as they sat chatting away and catching up with the comings and goings of their new lives.
The night progressed smoothly until around nine thirty when Ric went to the bathroom. Just then, out of the corner of Damon's eye, he noticed a number of figures approaching their booth. He had no idea why but the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he suddenly felt like he was on edge, something didn't quite feel right. Even from a distance and with his human eyesight, he could tell the group were dressed in period costume. As they arrived at the booth, Damon could make out three men and three women, who all looked vaguely familiar, although he couldn't initially place where he'd seen them before.
"I hope you're having a good time." Damon grimaced at the group who stayed silent, unnerving him even more. He glanced around as he noticed the uncomfortable looks from Bonnie, Liv and Caroline. These were not ordinary customers, he could tell. His suspicion was confirmed when he heard a woman's voice, which he immediately recognized from behind the group of strangely dressed people in front of them.
"I believe you forgot my invite." the woman said as the group parted and his mother stood in front of him.
"How did you find out about tonight?" Damon eyed her.
"I told her." Enzo announced as he emerged from behind Lily.
"You remember my children." Lily smiled as she opened her arms to introduce the six people around her. "You met them in the Prison World, remember?" she smiled sweetly.
Damon stood up in anger. "What have you done with Stefan?" he demanded angrily.
"What does it matter?" Lily asked. "There's nothing you can do to help him, you're outnumbered." she smiled smugly. "Where's Elena?" she asked.
Damon noticed Bonnie closing her eyes and screwing her face up, he knew that look, she was trying to give Lily a witchy aneurysm, yet for some reason it wasn't working.
"It's none of your damned business where she is." he scowled at his mother.
"You know Bonnie, that's not going to work" came a voice from behind Damon which sent chills down his spine. One he'd never wanted to hear again. But considering who the group of people surrounding them were, it shouldn't have come as any surprise he would be with them. Slowly Damon turned to see the smug face of Kai Parker, sat in Ric's seat next to Jo, with a machete in his hand. "Miss me?" he grinned as he ran the blade into Jo's chest. "Invisique!" he cried and disappeared.
Caroline tried to rush over to help Jo, but her neck was suddenly snapped by an invisible force and she fell to the floor. The next moment blood began to seep out of Liv's lower abdomen as she screamed with pain. Tyler waved his arms around to try and stop the culprit, but Kai had was nowhere to be found.
One of the girls stood with Lily turned to Damon's mother angrily. "You never told us she was pregnant." she said with an English accent.
"What does it matter?" Lily spat. "Kai is making sure the Gemini Coven can never have another set of twins to replace him and put us back in that Prison World." she said. "While ever he is in charge, we are safe." she assured the girl, who closed her eyes and began to move her lips although Damon couldn't make out what she was saying.
"If you believe that, then you're an idiot." Damon cried. "He's a psychopath. He'll kill you the moment he gets bored." he added as he turned his attention to Jo who was bleeding profusely from the chest. "Jo!" he cried, cradling her head as Ric emerged from the men's room.
"JO!" Ric screamed as he ran over to them.
Suddenly everything seemed to turn into a scene from a horror movie. Chandeliers crashed to the ground, trapping customers beneath them. The bottles from behind the bar exploded, sending glass flying everywhere. Chairs took off into the air. People were screaming, frantically trying to leave, without success as the doors were sealed shut. The music stopped as Kai reappeared with a microphone in his hand, standing on the small stage near the bar reserved for bands, dj's and karaoke.
"I'm sorry for being a partypooper and all." Kai announced feigning sadness. "But, I can't allow the Gemini Coven to move on now that I'm it's leader and immortal." he grinned. "Jo's dead." he nodded towards Ric. "And sorry Liv, but trust me, I am saving your life. Something inside me wouldn't let me kill you, so I just made sure you won't be able to have kids in the future." then he turned to Bonnie. "You lied to me and left me there in 1903 to rot. Although, in some ways you did do me a favor." he shrugged. "I'm a vampire now. That gives me a permanent source of magic. Which is why I'm going to be really nice and give you, Damon and Elena a head start of a week. After that I'm coming to get you." he grinned. "Invisique!" he cried out and disappeared once more.
"Damon!" Lily said sternly as Damon looked up at his mother. "I would strongly suggest you and Bonnie leave here immediately. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when he finds you." she added with a smirk before she, Enzo and the rest of her family left.
"Will someone call 911?" Ric screamed frantically.
"Already on it." Matt called out from behind Damon.
Elena had half an hour left on her shift before she could leave and go to Damon's opening party. She had been shadowing Dr Shah in ER for the last seven hours. Elena hadn't decided on her specialty field, but after only a month in the emergency department, she'd seen enough to know this wasn't going to be it.
Suddenly the doctors were pulled to one side by the head of department, Mr Collins and Elena followed Dr Shah to the meeting. Elena had seen this type of meeting before. A couple of weeks earlier there had been a car accident involving multiple vehicles, which had meant a sudden influx of casualties. Elena stood at the back of the room to observe proceedings.
"So, I've just received a notification from the police." Mr Collins announced. "They have declared a major incident." he told them. "A new bar called Bar Eternal has been attacked. At least one person dead, dozens injured, some seriously." he went on. To Elena, after hearing the name of the bar and confirming at least one fatality, his words seemed to float into thin air as the shock of her husbands bar being attacked hit her. Suddenly she began to feel nauseous and dizzy. Her could feel her heart rate going through the roof before everything around her went black.
"Elena, Elena..." Elena heard Damon's voice whispering to her softly. She could feel someone's hand was wrapped tightly around hers and softly brushing the back of her knuckles.
"Damon." Elena whispered groggily as she opened her eyes to see her husband looking down on her.
"It's okay, I'm right here." Damon smiled sadly.
Elena frowned. "What happened?" she asked.
"You passed out." Damon told her. "Apparently you were in the meeting when they announced the major incident at the bar..." he started.
"Oh my god!" Elena sat up in panic. "What happened?" she asked.
"Calm down." Damon told her quietly as Elena slowly sat up from the hospital gurney, clutching her head.
"They said someone was dead. I... I... was scared it was you." she told him with tears welling in her eyes. "Was it one of the customers?" she asked.
Damon shook his head sadly. "Lily turned up." he started.
"How did she get out and find out where you were?" Elena frowned.
"Enzo I think." Damon shrugged. "We didn't go into too many details. However, she decided to bring her new family along." he said. "You know, meet the foster siblings."
"Wait what?" Elena shook her head. "But aren't they..." she started.
"Trapped in the 1903 prison world?" Damon interrupted raising an eyebrow. "You'd think. But no. they found a way out. Don't know how, but we didn't chat for very long."
"So they caused the major incident?" Elena asked, but Damon shook his head.
"No, Lily didn't. Kai did." he said flatly.
"Oh my god." Elena's hand flew to her mouth.
"He's giving us a one week head start to thank us for helping him become a vampire." Damon grimaced. "Therefore we need to get you out of here." he said.
But Elena knew Damon was not telling her something. He was acting slightly furtive. "Damon, who died?" she asked slowly.
"Look Elena, we need to leave, like now. Bonbon is waiting for us outside by the car." he insisted. "And if we don't hurry up, she's threatening to drive it."
Elena folded her arms in protest. "Not until you tell me who died." she glared at him.
"Can I tell you on the way?" Damon begged.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me!" Elena demanded.
"Fine!" Damon sighed with frustration. "It was Jo." he said as his eyes dropped.
"Ric's Jo?" Elena gasped as Damon simply nodded. Elena covered her mouth and tears began to well up in her eyes. "How?" she asked.
"Kai finished the job he started in 1994. He said he couldn't have anyone having anymore twins as he's now a vampire." Damon told her sadly. "Then we think while he was invisible, he stabbed Liv in the abdomen, his attempt to make sure she wasn't going to be able to have children either."
Elena nodded for a moment, before swallowing. "I need to see Ric!" she demanded as she jumped down from the gurney, swaying a little as she was still slightly off balance from her earlier fainting episode.
"Elena, are you alright?" Damon frowned, a look of concern washed over his face.
"No actually I'm not." Elena glared. "One of my close friends has just died and I'm not even allowed to comfort Ric?" she asked.
"Elena, it's not a good idea right now. Ric will understand!" Damon insisted. "You, me, Bonnie in this hospital, we're putting patient lives at risk." he said, trying to use her compassion as his weapon.
"Five minutes Damon. That's all I'm asking for." Elena stood in front of him, arms folded and stony-faced.
"Fine!" Damon sighed in resignation. "Come with me." he said, taking Elena's hand and leading her down the hallway.
The corridors were packed full of injured people from the bar. Most injuries minor, just cuts and bruises. The only real damage was done to Jo and Liv. Everyone else he'd just scared. In fact some of the patients, who were still in their costumes were beginning to question whether it was a spectacle for Halloween gone wrong and were ready to get back to the bar when it reopened and talking excitedly about how great the bar was. Damon shuddered at their ignorance of who they shared their world with. On the way to see Ric, Damon noticed the figure of a woman in period dress as he rushed Elena down the hall. He didn't have time to stop and look, but he could have sworn blind this was the same girl who'd argued with Lily when she found out Jo was pregnant. Damon briefly wondered why she was stalking them if Kai was giving them a one week head start, because that would be cheating, even though he wouldn't put that past Kai.
Eventually they reached a room which surprised Elena when they walked in. Damon had told her Jo was dead, yet here she was hooked up to a beeping heart monitor. Ric was by her side, holding her hand and crying, while Caroline was consoling him. As Damon and Elena walked in, they both looked to them.
"Ric!" Elena cried and flew into his arms, holding him tight. "I thought she was..." she started, not wanting to say the word.
"Technically she is." Ric nodded, tears streaming down his eyes.
"So what's this?" Elena frowned, looking around at the equipment surrounding Jo's body.
"The twins are still alive." Caroline whispered. "Kai missed his real target." she said.
"Jo is brain dead, but they are keeping the rest of her body functioning to see if they can save the twins." Ric sobbed as Elena stroked his back.
"How far gone was she?" Elena asked.
"Five months." Ric told her, his voice that of a broken man.
"There have been a few cases where if the doctors manage to keep the mother's body functioning long enough, it's possible for the babies to survive." Caroline explained. "So I compelled the doctors to do everything they can to give them a fighting chance."
"Um... don't you two think you should be halfway around the world by now?" Ric asked, choking back a sob. "Kai won't stop until he finds and kills you." he said. "And now you're human, you're both easy targets." he said.
"I did tell her." Damon sighed, shaking his head.
"I wanted to come see you first." Elena told Ric.
"Well you shouldn't have." Ric chided.
"Told ya!" Damon added.
"I wasn't going to leave without finding out how you were. Especially if we won't be able to keep in touch for a while." Elena insisted.
"Well, thank you." Ric smiled. "But you really need to leave." he insisted.
"Um... Blondie." Damon frowned. "Before we go, have you by any chance heard from Stefan today?" he asked.
"No. Why?" Caroline frowned and shook her head.
"You try to get hold of him. He'll not reply to me or Elena." Damon told her. "I'm worried about what Lily and Enzo have done to him."
"I'm not going back to Mystic Falls yet." Caroline told them. "I'm staying here with Ric, but I'll try calling him." she offered.
"You two still not got it together yet?" Damon asked as Caroline shook her head. "Well if you can't get hold of him, send in Dumb and Deputy Dumber in to find him." he suggested, referring to Jeremy and Matt, who were practically best friends. "Just keep me posted." he said.
"I will." Caroline promised. "You guys be safe." she said as she hugged Elena, but held off from Damon.
"I'm sorry man." Damon said to Ric, his voice genuinely upset for his best friend, as he gave him a hug. "Take care of yourself and hopefully these little ones." he added as he nodded his head in the direction of Jo's body.
"I will." Ric nodded.
"We'll need to find a way to kill Kai first though." Damon sighed. "Which is now going to become our mission." he added looking at Elena and smiling. "Let's go." he said as they gave Ric and Caroline one last hug before walking away, for what could potentially be the last time.
As they set off to leave the hospital, Damon noticed the familiar face once more of the girl who'd been arguing with Lily. Damon checked there was nobody around them before grabbing the woman and pushing her up against the wall.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" he growled. "Coming to finish off Kai's dirty work?"
"First of all, take your hands off of me!" she demanded. "I could kill you with the flick of my wrist." she spat, pushing Damon away and sending him sprawling across the floor. "I'm not here to hurt you or her." the girl insisted, glancing over at Elena. "I wouldn't have agreed to help Lily if I'd have known the woman Kai was after was pregnant."
"Well, it's a little bit late for that." Damon scowled.
"Who are you?" Elena asked confused.
"Valerie." the girl replied. "Valerie Tulle. And I take it you are Elena." she smiled.
"None of your damned business." Damon growled before Elena got chance to speak.
"I overheard you talking inside." Valerie looked at Damon quizzically. "When you said Stefan, did you mean Stefan Salvatore?" she asked, narrowing.
"And why should I trust you enough to tell you about my brother when you are one of mommies evil little minions,?" Damon asked. "And shouldn't you already know?"
"Lily brought us straight here." Valerie told them. "We didn't stay in Mystic Falls. As soon as we were out of the prison world, we were put into what you call a truck and brought straight here. I haven't even seen daylight yet." she told him. "Lily took us to your bar because she needed help to make sure you, Bonnie, Caroline and Liv wouldn't hinder Kai. And oddly enough, she thought you were a vampire. But you're not, you've become human, how?" she asked.
"Why do you care? We're leaving." Damon grabbed hold of Elena's hand but Valerie stopped them.
"You don't stand a chance against me." Valerie warned them. "Just tell me where Stefan is and I'll let you go. I won't even tell anyone your little secret." she smiled.
"I don't know where Stefan is." Damon scowled. "And there's no point trying to compel me, I'm on vervain. But for the record, you'd get the same answer. I actually thought you wouldd have more of an idea than me as the last I knew, he was holding mommy dearest in a cell in Mystic Falls. So why don't you ask her where Stefan is?" he smirked.
"I'll ask your friend instead." Valerie told him. "I'm sure they'll be agreeable once I've made my offer to ensure the babies survive. But if you do see Stefan before me, tell him Valerie says she's sorry she's late and send him my love." at that Valerie disappeared into Jo's room.
"What was that?" Elena asked, confused.
"I don't know, but we need to get out of here." Damon insisted, putting Valerie's parting speech to one side for the time being because for some reason, he knew the name Valerie Tulle, he just couldn't remember where from. Instead he took Elena's hand once more as they ran down the hallway and through the double doors, finding Bonnie was outside, waiting for them by their car.
"What took you so long?" she asked swirling the keys around her finger.
"We got hijacked by one of mom's little minions." Damon told her as he climbed into the drivers seat and Elena sat next to him. "The one who argued about killing kids." he added. "She's going to try and save Ric's twins." he told her as Bonnie frowned.
"That sounds nice and all, but what's she going to do?" Bonnie asked. "Bring Jo back to life?" she asked.
"I have no idea and I'm not going to wait around to find out." Damon told her as he set off.
"Where are we going?" Elena asked.
"Again I have no idea." Damon told her. "Just away from here and not back to Mystic Falls." he said.
"What happened to Klaus's protection squad?" Bonnie asked.
"Good point." Damon frowned. "Again I have no idea." he said.
"Then maybe we should go ask him." Bonnie suggested.
"Are you suggesting we go dance with the devil?" Damon asked.
"Let's see what he can do to help?" Bonnie said. "Offer him a few pints of doppelganger blood to make sure he has some hybrid buddies. We know he needs to keep you alive for Rebekah's cure. As an added bonus, promise to make lots of little Salvatore's to ensure the line of doppelgangers continues in the future." she shrugged.
"Do you think he'd go for that?" Elena asked.
"Why not?" Bonnie replied. "You're volunteering to give him everything he wants. In return you need his protection. Because without it, he'll get nothing." she said.
"Sounds like a fair deal." Damon sighed. "We moved to Houston to be close enough to get to New Orleans if we needed help." he said. "We could offer in a night of passion with Blondie as part of the deal." he added sarcastically.
"I don't think she'll go for that." Elena frowned.
"I thought she already did." Damon smirked.
"That's besides the point." Bonnie snapped. "Caroline is not a prostitute and she wouldn't like you making an agreement like that, especially when she and Stefan are looking like they might get somewhere. Unless of course you want to break your brother's heart." she said condescendingly.
"Okay Bonbon, fine." Damon sighed. "I get your point. But a phone call of the persuasive kind from Blondie to his Evilness wouldn't be too much to ask would it?" he asked.
"I don't think Caroline should know where we are going." Elena intercepted. "In fact, I don't think anyone should know. Stefan had the right idea. If he knew nothing, he couldn't tell anyone anything. The less people who know where we are going, the better." she said.
"Elena's right." Bonnie agreed. "Kai will try and find us. He knows a locator spell won't work as I'm already cloaking us. So he might have to resort to torture or compulsion." she said.
"Oh my god, what if he gets hold of Jeremy?" Elena panicked.
"Jeremy can take care of himself." Damon said.
"I agree with Damon." Bonnie said. "Out of all of us, no offense but you two are the most helpless."
"I'm sorry, but offense is taken." Damon snapped. "So how in all of your eternal witchy wisdom did you reach that conclusion?" he asked.
"Matt is used to facing off vampires as a human, as is Ric." Bonnie replied. "Jeremy is one of the five and the rest of us are supernatural. But you two are humans who have very few abilities when it comes to protecting yourselves as humans. You relied on your vampire powers before. So now you need to learn something new." she said. "And filling in paperwork isn't a skill which will be of much use to you against Kai, unless you want to bore him to death." she added.
"Will you two stop antagonizing each other?" Elena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's like being in a car with two five year old's." she complained.
"She started it." Damon said as Elena glared at him. "Okay, I'll shut up." he said meekly and turned his attention to the road. "New Orleans it is, without the assistance of Blondie. Let's hope Klaus is feeling generous of spirit." he added.
"Thank you." Elena sighed as the car went quiet for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Damon asked her. "I mean you did pass out and all."
"I'm fine. Just stress and worry from earlier." Elena promised. "I was terrified it was you when they told me there was a fatality." she added, putting her hand on Damon's thigh, which he took hold of and kissed her knuckles.
"It'll take more than that to get rid of me." he smiled at Elena.
"Oh boy, you two need to get a room already." Bonnie sighed. "Don't worry about me, I'm just sat here, you know, looking out of the window pretending not to be a third wheel, or something." she complained. "Wake me up when we get there." she added, as she began to close her eyes.
"Holy fuck!" Damon suddenly cried out as both Bonnie and Elena jumped with surprise. "I know who Valerie Tulle is." he said. "Well I'll be damned." he said shaking his head.
If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.
Mandzipop