Darkness, that all he could see . he didn't how much time has passed while he was flotting into nothingness , he didn't even know if he was flotting . all he knew is that he couldn't see anything , that blackness surrounded him from every direction , both inside and outside of his body .somehow,he didn't feel frightened , it's quite the opposit , he felt peaceful . He didn't remember who he was , there was no past , no future , no present , he lost his sense of time and space . He felt as if something was blocking all his senses , he couldn't feel the rest of his body , he knew it should exist but he couldn't feel it , there was no smell to be sent , no taste to be tasted , no voice to be heard , there was just void , nothingness . and then everything started to change , it started with a small source of light , so far that he could barely see it , and then it became bigger and bigger and bigger , until it swallowed him whole , and everything exploded . memories , feelings , desires all howled like strong wind around him , he was in the heart of a hurricane , feeling out of time and space , feeling everything : he was happy and sad and frightened and tired and thrilled and strong and weak all at the same time , these contradictions were driving him crazy . He wanted to run and kick and scream but he couldn't . once again he lost his track of time inside this endless light , he didn't know for how long he stayed there , it could be a billion year or a split of second but one thing he was sure about , he wanted it over .
He shot up into sitting position as he sucked in a huge breath , his eyes snapped open and blinked . his vision was still blurry so he blinked few more times . first thing he saw was croline sitting right next to him , looking as beautiful as ever , but something about her was diffrent but he didn't know what
"you finally woke up sleeping beauty " she started in sarcasm " I've been waiting for like an hour "
"where are we ?" it was all he could manage to say , still feeling dizzy
"the other dimension I guess " she said with a shrug "I wasn't exacly expecting paradise but I think this place could get better"
stefan stood on his feet , taking a good look at their surroundings . The first thing that hit him was the sun , it was the weidest thing he ever saw . It was crimson red , four times as big as the ordinary sun and a hundered times as menacing . the sky was like a pool of blood , red , cloudless and sending a both sad and dangerous sensation to the place . he looked around him , they were in a forest , but its trees were's green and full of life like the ones in mystic falls , they were white and dry with their branches extending like deperate hands begging for help , completely naked from leaves , deseased . crows were staring at them from the top of trees , their sounds was making this place more frightning , it was like everything existed on this place was to sent terror into their hearts . everything was dry and dead and the sun was sending it deathly glow making everything red . and he realized what was diffrent about caroline , her hair was looking orange in the red light instead of yellow , her skin looked darker , her blue dress became purple . so this was the other dimension , he thought , I didn't spend fifteen minutes here and I hate it already .
he realized that they were standing next to a huge rock and he climbed it , hoping that the altitude would give him more information about this bizzare place .wilderness extended infront of him , miles and miles of sick trees , reflecting the red light of the sun , surrending him from all directions except one ,north-east. the woods stoped there , against a massivly tall wall. it was 3 miles away , but from where he stood he could tell that it was enormeous . he jumped to earth and went to caroline who was standing several feet away from him
"we need to go north east , there's a wall there . We have to see what's in there " he said
"how do we know it's the right path ?" she questioned , her eyes reflecting a worried look
"we don't" he answeresd quickly , avoiding her eyes, and then he remembered something "wait , do you have the neckless? " he asked , his heart pounding in fear , if the neckless wasn't with caroline their whole quest would be in vain . caroline pulled the silver neckless decorated with blue patterns made of a substance he didn't recognize and he sighed in relief , he himself reached for his pocket and found the little bag kira gave him . he nodded to caroline and her face lit up , for the first time in forever something actually went right . they headed northwest , as they had no time to sit and chit chat , he wanted to find lucius , katherine , his brother and their friends as soon as possible and get the hell out of this place that was sending him creeps . deep down he was terrified , he could count a trillion think that may go wrong , they didn't have a plan to convince lucius , or katherine in case she started to like this place , or find his brother . it was depressing to even think about the possiblitity that he and caroline sacrifised their lives for nothing . he could pass , after all he lived beyond his time span , but caroline was still young and her life was ahaid of her , they needed to secceed for her sake , for damon's sake who only started to taste happiness to be ripped out of it , for bonnie's sake who sacrifised everything for them .
even with using their vampire speed , they reached the walls two hours later . the distance seemed to be strentching whenever the wall finally appeared , everytime he told himself that they were there the wall became farther .eventually the trees thinned and became fewer and fewer and then the woods ended against a massivly big wall . the wall was so tall that stefan felt dizzy just looking at it , he didn't know how such a structure could exist , it was as if the wll could touch the sky and a sense of vertigo hit him .He looked at caroline who seemed to be as stunned as he was . eventually he shook his amazement and forced himself to concentrate , he felt like he could stare at the wall forever .
"alright we're here , what's next " caroline asked
"we follow the wall until we find something , there must be a reason for its existence right ?" he wasn't sure he was right , a place with a huge red sun and a red sky can have walls with no purpose , but he prayed that at least there was the minimum amout of logic in here .
"and which side should we go ? " well that's something he hadn't thought of , he might go in a direction and find nothing while there's an entrence or something on the other side
"we split , that's our only chance " he said " let the crows be our signal "
" the crows " caroline was confused
"yes , when you find something , an entrence , a gate , when you find yourself in a tough situation shake a tree , they are just few feet from the wall and the crows will fly , I'll see them and come for you , I'll do the same "
caroline just nodded and said " alright be careful "
"you too " and each of them took a the side he was standing on and started running
stefan ran full speed for half an hour , his mind spinning in all direction , trying to make a plan , at the same time he was glancing behind him to see if caroline was sendind him a message . the wall stetched endlessly , it seemes that he will go on forever , making stefan feel desperate . few minutes later he saw tiny black things in the distance behind him . it was the singnal . he took off in the opposit direction and and in an hour he was able to see caroline's shadow in the distance , hiding behind a tree, she sensed his presence so she turned facing him , he stopped running and started walking , trying to catch his breath , surprisenly the air in this dimension was even purer than the one on earth , at least this place wasn't all bad .she gestered to him to come and he did , wondering what did she find .
"follow me " she said and she moved silently between trees , he did the same . in a minute he was able to see what was it all about . a huge line of people appeared , no not people , there were some that looked like humans , but the others , some had furr , others where half humen-half animals , and by animals he meant all kind of animals , horses , butterflies , lizards , cows , lions , litterally all . they were all waiting to enter through a huge gate , and by huge he also meant thirty meters tall huge . it was made with bronze , decorated with rubies and emralds and dimands , or that's what it looks like from a far . two guards standing on both sides of the gate , and almost had the same hight , wearing golden and white armors from the roman age and holding golden spears decorated like the gate , they were looking like status , their posture reminded him of the beckingham palace's guards , immobile but somehow he knew they were alive . the gate wasn't open , people were getting in from a small open door inside the gate itself . next to the small door was a man on a desk , wearing the same armor as the guard , but his size was normal , and so was his face . by turn , people appraoch him one by one , they exchange few words he couldn't hear from afar and the man writes something , then he holds a metal square again the other person's wrist for seconds , the he gesters to him to go inside , and he receive the next person in the line .
"we need to go inside " he said " let's go in line "
"what" caroline's eyes was wide in terror "what makes you think that it's safe t go in there , what if it's hell or a slaughter house for supernatural creatures , what if we don't find them and we need to get out , I don't see another line for people leaving"
"relax caroline , look around you , people look eager to go in ,we'll look for them here , and if we didn't find them we'll figure something out , we always do " caroline was about to say something but she stopped herself "ok , let's go"
they went to the end of the line and stood there , time was strentching to an eternity and the ine was moving slowly
"stefan ?" caroline said , standing right infront of him "what if we fail , what if we couldn't make it back " she was making his heart melt in sadness , he wondered what will happin to elena , knowing that her remaining friends were dead too
"we will make it back caroline " he said smiling reassuringly "we will all be back , I promise "
"swear it to me " she said with a serious tone , stefan wasn't sure about it , but he said anyway " I swear on my hero hair " and he hear her snicker , he had a surge of relief , his friend was still there , strong and fighting and with him . no matter what will happin they'll stick together .
hours passed , while they were waiting there , the sun hadn't change its position . it seems that they'll be stuck with it forever . finally caroline's turn came , the man asked her , his eyes still hanging on the papers on his desk
"name ? " he asked , all business , still not raising his head
caroline looked at stefan , and he nodded in encouragement " caroline forbes "
"age ?"
"20 years old "
"demension ?"
"um earth ? "
"relationship statue "
"single "
"favourite color? " at this question caroline turned to stefan and shruged as if she was saying " what does he need my favourite color for ? "
stefan just shook his head as a sign that he doesn't know . caroline faced the guard again and replied
"purple "
he was writing the information on a sheet , then he asked her to give him her hand , he put the weird metal square on her wrist for seconds and said " purple " , then when he removed it the word "vampire" was printed there in the same color
it was definitly a devise that detects the species of an individual , the gestred to caroline to go inside , she did , clearly stunned, staring at the word written on her hand , and now it was stefan's turn . he moved forward . the man repeated the same cycle of questions in the same indeferent , all in business tone and stefan felt sudden sympathy for the guy who was doing the same thing over and over for like forever
"name ? "
"stefan salvatore "
"age ? "
"167 "
"demension?"
"earth"
"relationship statue?"
"single "
"favourite color ? "
"blue"
he gave his hand to the man before he could even ask , he was eager to go inside and find caroline , the metal was a bit cold against his skin , but other than that he had no sensation that something was getting tattooed on his skin , when the man removed it two words were printed "vampire" and "doppelganger" in dark blue -the same shade stefan liked most - next to each other , the man seemed to frown then he looked at stefan in confusion , he wondered what was that all about
"I recommand that you keep that hidden my friend " he pointed at the doppelganger word " your kind don't come here often and some people might kill to get your blood "
stefan only nodded and got inside through the gate , thinking how being a doppelganger cursed him even in the after life . it was amazing how just being from amara or silas's blood line can make your life a living hell . the original pair ended a horrible ends after living miserable lives trapped and longing for each other , tatia was killed for her blood because she was a doppelganger , katherine's whole family was slaughtered and she was forced to run for centuries because she was a doppelganger , elena lost so many people because she was a doppelganger , tom avery , who was an innocent human was killed because he was a doppelganger . and ever since he learned that he was one too ,he started to meet people who liked to fry his brain and drain him from his blood.
as soon as he stepped inside the gate , he found caroline waiting for him smiling , they both showed each other the writing on their hands , and stefan told her about what the guard said to him . the place he found behind the walls was nothing like he expected . it was like an old roman city , built on a huge hill , and it seems that they were standing in an old market . people didn't bother make their shops presentible , if you could call them shops . their marchandises were put on a piece of wood lifted by two rows of boxs on each side and the sellers themselves were sitting on the dirt floor asking for people to come and take a look , wearing rags and their faces were muddy and dirty . the place was crowded , people from diffrent eras ...and species were passing by not bothering to look at each other no matter how weird or repulsive some individuals were . some people were wearing modern day clothes , others were wearing white greek tunics , some wore middle age cloths and some women had huge dresses that reminded him of the girls back in the 19th century , he felt like he was in halloween party only the costumes were a lot more convincing . he glaced at some people's wrists and he could recognize some species like vampires , werewolves , hybrids , travellers , witches ,hunters but there are others he didn't know like kitsunes , centaurs , ogres , guardians and some were looked pretty weird looking . behind the market there were neighborhoods , the closest and most visible one looked miserable and ugly , cabines made with white wood , obvisouly from the diseased trees of the area , they were poorly made and barely standing . a little farther he could see that the houses looked relativly better , taller and made of stones and at least you can stand next to them without worrying about a stone falling on your head . in the distance , behind the stone houses , stand massive buildings , from the roman era . they were made with marble on the roman syle , with cylaindrical columns and triangular roofs . the biggest building of them all or maybe in the whole city was the coloseum , it was in the heart of the city on the very top of the hill , surrended by the other buildings . it was shining so bright with red glow , like a huge rubie looking so beautiful , and so out of place . the place was so contradicted with its poor cabines and breathtakingly massive constructions that it made stefan sad . there was no justice even in the after life . he decided to snap out of it and start looking for his friends , or lucius , or katherine and he hoped he could all find them in this city , last thing he needed to do was fighting for social justice .he and caroline moved forward , none of them said it but they had no Idea where to start . stefan looked at each face that passed by him hoping he could see his brother's face or bonnie's but he didn't recognize any of them . the sellers were mostly witches , selling dried herbes and spell books .he wondered why would people need money in the after life , and why witches , the most powerful species are always the ones who end up in the worst conditions . as they moved forward the shops started to get better , and more various . there were blood shops , destined for vampires and hybrids to go and fill their stomach with any typle of blood they wanted . stefan wondered about the source of the blood since there were no humans in this demension . there was also jewlery shops, selling mostly charms for witches and vervain , wolfspain necklesses for protection . this place provided anything a supernatural creature may need , any type of food from blood to rotten mean to a cheeseburger , any type of weapon for beasts and hunters , fortune tellers , music shops ...
stefan wanted to ask someone whether he knew lucius , he figured that if he asked about lucius the chances of finding him would be better since he seems to be the type of guy that should be famous and all , but everytime he approached someone , a couple of extra eyes or another head freaks him out ...finally after a gazillion failed attempted almost causing caroline to rip her hair out , she decided to step forward and do it herself . in no time they were able to find the guy and even the bar he frequented and even the directions to the bar .
the bar was in the middle class section of the city , when they entered , the strong sent of alcohol and sweat hit them . like the rest of the houses in the area the bar was made by blocks of grey stones and mud . no paint , no wood , just grey walls with decorations of hunting trophies like heads of animals and some supernatural creature filling the space , stefan could swear that if an animal rights activist visited this place he could die from a heart attack . the place was gloomy and creepy , it had no windows and it was lit with torches making it more menacing . worn wooden tables were placed in rows with creatures sitting , in groups or alone , to drink themselves to death from iron pots . in conclusion , this place time travelled from the middleages and got serious damages in the process . the bar tender was a huge man , a little fat with a long braided bear and long brown hair wearing an XXXL shirt that suited him perfectly and torn jeans .
"I bet that man is a viking " stefan whispred to caroline
"I bet he didn't take a shower in a millinium "she said in disgust
they stepped towards the bar anyway , caroline sat on the only empty chair and stefan stood next to her although he felt tired himself and he wanted to sit too .
"new here ?" the bar tender started , cleaning the wooden counter with a rug , so dirty that it's making the wood dirtier instead .
"um yes " caroline said trying to supress her disgust , stefan knew that if he left it to her she would bath the whole bar in acid , to destroy 99.9 percent of the germs "we just died"
"um , sorry I guess " he said trying to smile in sympathy , his teeth were so yellow that stefan wished he would stop , he was making him dizzy already
"it's ok , it wasn't that back " caroline replied , she stopped for a minute and then asked " do you know a man called lucius "
"why , what do you want from me " a voice said somewhere on the left
"I guess I'll leave you then" the bar tender said picking his rag and leaving "be careful" he whispered at the two vampires
caroline and stefan went to the old man who was sitting on the wooden chair waiting for them . he looked at least sixty-years old , his hair was snow-white and so was his beard . he was wearing an old greek tunic , grey with a touch of blue on the neckline . stefan should admit that the man looked fashionable and handsome for his age . his eyes reminded him of silas's and quetsiah's although they didn't share the same color as they were deep pure blue . they were wicked , mocking , powerful , ageless . his mouth was shaped in a smirk that painfully reminded him of his brother . now meeting the guy that holds their fate in his hands , stefan new that their mission wasn't as easy as he had assumes , convincing this man will need more that saying " please "
the man obviously didn't see them well minutes ago , because when they approached him he gasped , and his expression changed from mocking to angry , surprised , shocked even
"silas " he hissed , hatred dropping from every sillable of the word
"no I'm not silas , lucius ...sir " stefan said defensivly , his stomach churning at the mention of his nemesis , he could almost feel the dark cold of the water surrounding him , the same feeling he had when he was trapped in the safe in the bottom of the quarry " I'm his doppelganger , stefan"
"be gone , and never show yourself to me again, I won't trust someone with that face again " the man snapped at him and stefan knew that he and caroline should prepare themselves for a long vacation under the crimson sun
"Lucius ..um sir " caroline spoke " we need your help "
"of course you need my help , do you think you're the only one , vampires like you always want something , a daylight ring , a location spell . they never leave me alone . at least other creature have the decency to pay me " lucius complained and stefan wondered why all legadary heroes has to be old whiny drunkars since the dawn of humanity
"but sir , we littrally killed ourselves to meet you , now we'll be dead in vain " caroline replied , stefan sensed panic raising in her voice
"I'm not responsible for every stupid thing you do my dear " said lucius looking annoyed
"even if it meant an opportunity to be back on earth again " stefan said hoping for the best , and something flickered into lucius's ice cold eyes
"I'm listening "
stefan told him about his plan , about him and katherine , he showed him the neckless and the ingredients they brought with them , they told him that they came for their friends and why they need their help
"so let me get this staight , you want me to find your brother and friend's location plus the location of a wicked young lady that you don't know if she'll be convinced , and then open a door to the earth and we could all come back to life "
"yes " stefan and caroline both said with a nod
"well one more question, the wine on earth , is it better than 2000 years before "
"oh yeah " again both caroline and stefan replied " even new alcoholic drinks were invented , and you should see the bars , much better , clean , with music and nice girls " caroline tried her best to be a good saleswoman and convince the old man to come with them
"if you're lying to me I swean I will blow your brains and send you to rott here , understood "
"yes sir " caroline and stefan said looking like two solders talking to their commander
"alright , better be going to my house , we have to locate your friends "
caroline and stefan left the bar with lucius , not knowing if they could trust the guy , but they knew that their adventure starts now .