Lizzie woke with a start, blinking quickly as she tried to orient herself. Beside her was Josie. That was enough to tell her that it had worked.
Her sister looked the same as she always did. Now Lizzie needed to figure out what the date was before she proceeded. She had taken a gamble, one that could have gone very wrong.
"Lizzie, where's Hope? What was that flash? Where are we?" Josie asked, looking around frantically.
Lizzie blinked. This felt familiar. Very familiar.
This had happened before. Not so far in the past that it was a distant memory, but enough that it was just beginning to turn fuzzy.
The prison world. That was where they were. 2018. So, it didn't go completely according to plan, but Lizzie could work with it.
"I don't know, let's look around," Lizzie said, watching Josie head to the door. "I'll be there in a minute."
Josie frowned but nodded. There was something like confusion in her eyes, but Lizzie wasn't sure if it was directed at her or at the situation itself.
Lizzie stood up and went to the mirror in the corner of the room. Staring at the person in the mirror, she found she didn't recognize herself.
She hated it. This wasn't her, but she found she didn't feel any different, which gave her hope that this part of the plan worked.
Lizzie closed her eyes, took a breath, then opened them. Veins were trailing from under her eyes and her eyes themselves were bloodshot.
Not only could she feel her magic, but she could also still feel the magic from Ken that had been imbued into her very bones after she siphoned it from him. And don't even get her started on his name. It was so stupid…
You'd think that since they were gods, they would have picked better names, but no. They called themselves Ken, Ben, and Jen. That didn't even include the time god, who decided Ren was a great name.
It was kind of funny how unoriginal they all were since they weren't even together when they picked their names.
Although, Ren wasn't a bad name for a god, but it was ruined by the others.
Under her breath, Lizzie whispered a spell. Breathing out as she felt the magic wash over her. Her hair changed back to how it was in the future.
WIth that done, she turned and left the room.
She could hear voices arguing. Looked like Josie found out about dad playing judge, jury, and executioner. Huh, was Sebastian here already? She remembered how angry she had been when she found out.
Now she didn't care. It wasn't a concern of hers anymore.
However, it did remind her of a few obstacles in the form of the locked up students, who had also decided to release her dangerous uncle.
She'd deal with them when they came after them, especially since she wasn't planning to be running off with Sebastian this time.
Shaking her head, Lizzie prepared herself to face her dad again. He was a massive hypocrite and whatever relief she had from knowing that he had woken from his coma was gone.
It hadn't taken long for him to return to his no killing, no feeding, and no using powers outside of the school rule, now that it was deemed safe from any supernatural threats.
Lizzie didn't take that well. Neither did Hope. Given that they were two of the most powerful beings in existence, he couldn't really do much against them.
Well, except play disappointed dad and harp on them for turning the school into monsters.
Please, they were literal supernatural beings. They were always monsters.
Acting human didn't change their nature. No matter how much her dad wished it did.
Thankfully, they weren't alone against her dad, seeing as her mom had put her foot down and declared that Lizzie and Hope were right.
It did help that they had been constantly attacked, while her mom was gone. Pretending like they were human made them easier to kill.
That pissed her mom off quite a bit.
Besides, her mom might be a good vampire but she had a tendency to befriend the so called bad ones.
And her mom pointed out that her dad had as well at one point.
That made Lizzie even more annoyed. Honestly, her dad should just wear a sign that says 'Hypocrite Coming Through'.
Seeing as everything he said was wrong and bad was something either he did or someone he was friends with did.
His self righteousness had to be exhausting to maintain because how can one person be so blind. That must be where Josie got it from. Although, Josie was nowhere as bad as him.
Her worst issue was her jealousy that made her do stupid things, like when she told the whole school she was bipolar and crazy, which was still something she had never actually apologized for, but Lizzie was used to that type of hypocrisy from Josie.
When Lizzie did something bad, she had to apologize but when Josie literally caused her life to be hell from revealing her business to the school, it was just an accident and she needed to stop holding grudges.
Although, to be fair, that last part came from her dad but Josie didn't disagree. So there was that.
Okay, so maybe Lizzie did still hold some agitation for her sister but wouldn't you, if your sister made the whole school think you're a crazy freak that was gonna snap at any moment?
What did it matter though? Lizzie had mostly let it go. If she held every single thing her sister had done over her head, she would be Josie or worse…her dad.
Can you imagine that? Hell no.
Besides, Lizzie was a heretic now. She had forever. Josie didn't.
She could be angry at her after she died from old age. And, that was a morbid thought.
But what could she do? Josie would never become a vampire. She knew her sister like the back of her hand.
Josie wanted to grow old. Maybe have or adopt kids. Depends on if she was willing to let the Gemini Coven's line continue.
They were different in the way. Lizzie had never had an overwhelming desire to have kids. First of all, she didn't know if she would be a good parent.
If there was one person she knew better than she knew Josie, it was herself. She was possessive, impulsive, controlling, impatient, and temperamental.
All bad parenting characteristics.
And let's not forget her homicidal tendencies. She could kill most anyone. As long as she didn't see herself in them - cough cough, Aurora.
Or they weren't family - aka Hope.
Although, Hope's dad was a massive murderous maniac and Hope said he was a better dad than her own, so maybe killing urges don't play a part in the ability of a parent.
However, the others certainly did.
And at the end of the day, Lizzie really did not want to pass her genes down. The world didn't need anymore Gemini's out there. The ones that already existed were dangerous enough.
Honestly, she would prefer Josie didn't have bio kids for that specific reason. Not even just that. Can you imagine if she had twins and both were witches instead of siphoners?
Those kids would be doomed, especially since they wouldn't have the option of becoming heretics.
Speaking of heretics. How was she going to play off being a vampire, when she hadn't been one mere minutes ago.
Maybe no one would notice?
Although, Josie should notice. She should definitely have already noticed, given that their bond was gone.
Was that the reason for the confused look on her face earlier? It would make sense.
Josie wasn't stupid. Sure, her intelligence tended to rely more on her knowledge and book smarts rather than practical things such as scheming, but she would definitely be able to tell something was different.
But would she assume it was because she was dead though? Or did she think this whole transportation into a prison world situation was simply affecting their bond?
Either way, it would come out eventually.
First things first though, Lizzie had to find a way to deal with the sand clock.
She wouldn't allow Josie to break it this time. The question was how to manage that.
How would she get rid of it before it became an issue. She wasn't worried about being trapped here. The magic she gained from Ken was far more powerful than any dark magic. It was from the god that magic literally came from.
It would be enough to get them out. However, she had to make sure her uncle didn't learn about the Malivoire pit.
The last thing she needed was to forget him. And if he got out, he'd be trying to destroy the prison world.
And given that she still needed time to figure out how Josie used the black magic to break the prison world, that would not be preferable.
That was the one advantage that the dark magic from the sand clock had over the god magic. It came with some instant knowledge because the magic itself was partly sentient.
Now that was an idea. A bad one, but one nonetheless. She could break the sand clock herself and as long as it was done away from Josie, she wouldn't feel any of the effects.
The bond wasn't an issue anymore.
But Lizzie also knew that she didn't react well to dark magic. A part of her wondered if it was because of its inability to sink its talons into her brain, so it attacked her physically.
Dark magic was something that wasn't just dangerous and powerful magic but it was also corrupting. Particularly of the brain and one's thoughts.
Given that she couldn't be possessed and could break a sire bond by resisting it, maybe her disorder would give her protection against the control of the dark magic.
It was funny how she had hated being bipolar for so long. Only for it to be her greatest protector. And it was something that no one could mess with. And very few knew about it.
It made her untouchable in certain ways. And given that she was now one of the most powerful witches to walk the earth, Lizzie now had the advantage against most.
Not that she was invincible. She wasn't an original. She could still die fairly easily but she certainly wouldn't make it easy for anyone that tried.
It was for that very reason she knew she had to be the one that faced Kai rather than her sister.
Josie had done well the first time but had made the mistake of exchanging information. Said information gave Kai the ability to escape this place.
Lizzie would be even more careful and would have the advantage of being a heretic like him.
Finally, stepping in the room, the three figures turned to look at her. Huh, she had forgotten that since Sebastian was here, she would have to speak to him.
"Elizabeth," he breathed out, staring at her like she was a goddess come to life.
She used to love that. Loved being worshiped. Loved being valued with such esteem.
But now it made her feel a little sick. It was one thing to adore someone. It was another to be obsessed.
He saw his old girlfriend in her and that was why he wanted her. It was the whole doppelganger situation that her mom told her about all over again.
The difference was that she wasn't a doppelganger and she wasn't who he viewed her as.
He was hot and she was attracted to him but he wasn't happy in her time period. She couldn't begrudge him that. She understood but that also meant that they would have never worked. She'd come to accept that a while ago.
It kind of reminded her of MG and his inability to take her no as her final answer. She wasn't an object to be won.
It was different with him though. MG wouldn't press. He wouldn't let go of his feelings and stop borderline stalking her but he was still a good guy.
He was also a friend first and foremost. He was willing to stay that way too.
The major difference was the people around her and their opinions. They thought Sebastian was some terrible monster, while also thinking she should just give MG a chance because of how good a guy he is.
Like it was their life they were making choices for. She was honestly tired of everyone trying to tell her what she should do.
She was going to do what she wanted to do and if anyone had anything to say about it she would snap their necks - or knock them unconscious. It depended on their species.
Can't go around committing mass murder while her dad was still in his prison world trigger happy phase.
She was impulsive but not that impulsive.
"Sebastian," Lizzie greeted as if she were surprised. Her eyes flickering towards her dad, who's complexion was pale. "I see we haven't learned to stop lying yet."
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Josie staring at her for a moment. She was confused before she remembered that she changed her hair.
She waved her off. Josie frowned before turning back to their dad, who looked like he was scared for his life.
It made her want to snort. Her dad could face monsters but not his angry teenage daughters.
The next few minutes consisted of Josie accusing her dad of a dozen things and Lizzie wishing she had popcorn.
It wasn't often the daddy's girl laid into their dad. She ignored Sebastian who was trying to catch her eye. He was a persistent one, wasn't he?
She had to give him props for his determination.
Finally as she listened to her dad explain that Kai should still be imprisoned and the likelihood of him being having escaped was low.
'But never zero', Lizzie couldn't help but think ironically.
He was severely misremembering how lucky they tended to be in these situations.
Although, to be fair, lady luck did seem to love to make an appearance when they were about to kick the bucket.
It was for that reason alone that she wasn't going to even think of underestimating her uncle or even anyone else in the damned prison world. She may be way more powerful than she had ever been but even the mighty can fall.
Magic always had a loophole and her dear uncle that she'd never met seemed to be as good as her at finding them.
She couldn't give anything like that away or he'd use it, but that still left the question of whether or not she should leave him here when they left.
Lizzie was a lot of things and naive wasn't one of them. She knew that prison worlds were worse than death itself. It was torture in the most inhumane way. A person was in total isolation and couldn't even kill themselves to escape. And to be trapped here for who knew how long…
She found it funny how she had to find out from her mom that her uncle wasn't just crazy.
Sure, he was originally a sociopath. And don't get her wrong, Lizzie was aware of what caused a person to turn out that way and it wasn't a good look for the Gemini Coven.
Or her bio mom.
But her mom had revealed something that her dad had never mentioned. Kai Parker had been trapped for around 18 years in a prison world before he escaped to eventually kill his twin.
He also apparently gained her other uncle's emotions after merging with him. That was something she'd ever thought before, but now that might be relevant.
Turning into a vampire wouldn't get rid of that consequence of the merge. The only way would be to turn off his emotions. That was a high possibility.
If he wanted to be a sociopath again, that would be the way to do it.
Basically, she had some decisions to make.
"Lizzie."
Lizzie blinked looking at the fingers snapping in front of her face. She followed them to see Josie staring at her.
"Have you even been paying attention?" Josie asked, exasperated.
"Yes. Dad's going to make sure our psycho uncle is locked up and you were planning to stay here," Lizzie summarized easily - it was the same as last time.
Josie's brow furrowed. "What do you mean by plan to? I'm going to."
She shook her head at her twin. "No, you're not." Before Josie could open her mouth to argue, Lizzie spoke. "You're going with dad. He's human and it's not a good idea for him to go alone. I'll stay here and Sebastian can leave."
Her sister and her dad looked both confused and surprised. Lizzie wasn't sure about what. Was it her confidence?
"Elizabeth-"
Lizzie held up her hand to cut him off. "We're done Sebastian. You don't deserve an explanation, seeing as you didn't give me one. And if you even think of coming back I will desiccate you and you'll spend another 100 years as a corpse."
He was gone before she could blink an eye. Maybe that last threat was a little too much, but at least, he wasn't an issue anymore.
"Lizzie," Josie said slowly in concern, reaching out towards.
Lizzie shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just done with guys, especially ones like him."
Alaric was staring with something close to approval in his eyes and suddenly she wanted to take back everything she had just said and get Sebastian back here just so she could see the light die in his eyes.
Her dad was starting to piss her off. This was what gave her his approval. Rejecting an what he seemed an evil vampire?
She needed to remind herself that killing her dad would just cause more problems than it was worth.
He still hadn't mentioned the locked up students that weren't meant to be in here. Did he want them to get killed? Or was he assuming that they would have gone far away from Mystic Falls by now.
Whatever. Lizzie wasn't in the mood to challenge her dad and get him to admit something she already knew.
"So, are you guys gonna get a move on? The longer we're here, the more likely our potentially free uncle might make an appearance, so vamoose."
Alaric frowned. "I don't think Josie should come."
"Why?" Josie asked, narrowing her eyes at their dad.
Looked like she was on board with her plan. That made things easier.
"Why? Don't want her to meet our uncle? Don't know if you know this or not, but if he's not locked up, we're gonna be meeting either way," Lizzie said, crossing her arms.
And that settled it. Her dad didn't have an argument against that and soon they were on their way.
The moment they were gone, Lizzie was up stairs looking for some clothes. She much preferred not to be wearing this particular school uniform. It wasn't the most comfortable.
And she didn't want to look like a little school girl when she came face to face with her attempted murderer. On multiple occasions at that.
She didn't find much, except for a pair of jeans and a simple red short sleeved shirt. It wasn't really fashionable but it was better than nothing and she could make anything work. She threw them on.
Since she was likely going outside, she grabbed the only zip up hoodie that she could find. It was black, which meant it didn't make her look any worse and would be useful if she needed to hide.
It wasn't long before she got a call from her dad. Looked like he found out Kai wasn't contained anymore.
After promising to be careful and to find the sand clock in the meadow - something she was already planning to do - she hung up.
Heading downstairs she found a bag for the sand clock for when she found it - carrying it out in the open would be incredibly stupid.
However, before she could do anything else, she heard footsteps.
They were quiet and they weren't alone. Well, that was quick.
Looked like her uncle was about to make his play with…what was her name again?
Joan? No. Jane? That wasn't right. June? That felt close. Jude? She honestly had no idea but she'll go with Jude.
So Jude was going to be making her appearance soon. She remembered her sister mentioning this happening.
And she wasn't about to let her uncle play savior.
Turning around she headed towards the cellar. It was a risky play but since Kai needed information from her, it would likely go her way.
Suddenly, Lizzie heard the footsteps behind her. She turned to come face to face with Jude.
"Well, well it seems like little Lizzie Saltzman is all grown-up." The vampire was smirking dangerously.
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Hello Jude."
She blinked with a look of genuine confusion and offense written on her face. "My name is Jade."
"Oh."
The vampire lacking in humanity just stared at her as Lizzie slowly shifted so that she could see the cellar door. Distantly, she could hear the other set of feet pause.
Lizzie narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure? You definitely look more like a Jude and I'm pretty certain your name isn't Jade."
"I think I'd know my own name," Jade said, looking she could decide whether to strangle her or rip her throat out.
"If your name is Jade, why aren't you wearing green?" Lizzie challenged.
The other girl's mouth dropped open in shock and before she could do anything she reached out and grabbed the other girl's wrist, siphoning harshly.
Jade went down on her knee, roaring with pain as Lizzie didn't hold anything back.
She knew that Jade wasn't actually bad but it wasn't like time travel was gonna suddenly make her a good person.
Veins was climbing from the area she had grabbed and when it made it to her neck, Lizzie released her. Then, with a flick of her wrist she sent the other girl into the cellar. The door swung closed magically and she cast a silent spell that would prevent her from escaping.
It wouldn't do anything against her uncle but she wasn't planning to let him out of her sight, so it wouldn't be an issue.
Clasping her hands together, she looked at her victim. She was fairly certain this wasn't how Josie's interaction went but oh, well.
"You know for someone with no humanity that was very easy," Lizzie said looking at the girl who was struggling to her feet. "I was honestly hoping for more of a challenge."
"Bitch," Jade said, glaring at her.
Lizzie smirked. "I didn't know you knew my middle name. It's only fair I know yours. Let me guess - Pathetic? That seems fitting."
"I'm going to rip your head off your body," Jade said looking furious.
She laughed. "Anger's an emotion by the way. Don't tell me little old men is triggering your humanity? I expected better from a big bad vampire," Lizzie mocked.
Okay, she may be getting a little carried away but come on? This was fun.
The sound of clapping came from behind her. She turned her head to see Kai watching her in amusement.
She had forgotten about him. Shit, that was not great. If he had attacked her then, she would have screwed herself.
She paused in her thoughts. Did he hear all that? She felt like he heard all that.
Oops. There went her fledgling plans to pretend to be an innocent girl that would never harm a fly.
"Not bad. A little dramatic for my tastes, but overall a nine out of ten," He said, tilting his head. She couldn't read his eyes.
Lizzie raised an eyebrow. "If you're who I think you are, you're far more dramatic than I could ever be."
Kai smirked and shrugged. "And who do you think I am?" He asked curiously.
"I don't know, Uncle Kai, you tell me," Lizzie said, turning full towards him.
"You're a quick one," He noted. Kai looked toward the trapped vampire. "I was gonna help you with her but it was clear you had it handled.
"I would say thanks if I believe you, but I'm known as paranoid for a reason," Lizzie said, narrowing her eyes.
"I'll take it," Kai said, shrugging. Lizzie could almost see something like respect in his eyes. "But she's not the only danger to be found here. So, if you want to live, you should follow me."
And he called her dramatic?