Because you're you-and I'm me
A/N: I love you guys, can I just say that? *-* The poll results were quite in favor of Vampire/Demon Caroline. Let's see where we can take that. c:
Disclaimer: I don't own TVD
~VD~
Something changed, in mystic Falls. That night. Two nights after the great fire that killed all the vampires in the tomb, proving that the founder's council actually could be mildly effective once in a while, but giving Damon a terrible dèja-vu, there was a city wide blackout.
Damon wasn't entirely sure how that came to be, but it unsettled him.
He knew it wasn't within his right to visit Caroline at the hospital. She'd just blow him off as the guy who slept with her and then wouldn't leave her alone.
But he decided to risk it anyway.
He'd won her over once, he'd be damned if he couldn't again.
He could very well admit that he took extra long going to the hospital, dreading the confrontation, and building up his courage.
This was a big step.
He wasn't usually in need of building up his courage. Damn, what happened to him, that used to be a natural stance. The mighty would fall for Caroline Forbes, he supposed.
What was it about her, anyway? She was gorgeous, yes. But Bonnie looked good, and there were other pretty people in the world, and Damon wasn't that superficial anymore.
She wasn't nice. Not particularily anyway. But there was something about her that drew Damon to him. It had the first night he'd seen her in the Grill.
And over the course of three weeks, she'd turned into his everything. The reason he wanted to live.
He turned his humanity back on for her. Something was special about this girl, he just couldn't put his finger on it.
That bothered him more than it should have, but it effectively distracted him from backing out of the plan to visit her.
At first, when he entered her hospital room, he didn't notice her absence. When he did, he didin't think anything about it. That's when he saw the pathetically curled up creature in the corner, dark hair falling over her face.
"Elena?" He asked in disbelief. The person's head lifted slowly. There was an aching smile on her face. It was Elena. Right? She looked pale, and slightly parched.
"Nope." She hacked out. "Try again." Her voice was but a slur, but that unmistakable sultriness Elena just didn't posess still shone through. Damon's eyes widened.
"Katherine?"
~VD~
For the first time in a long time, Caroline Forbes was scared once more. Even though she knew exactly what was going on, to the most extent, she had no idea what to do.
So she ran.
It was a rather uncommon strategy for her, but she was forced into a corner. She had no real options. She wasn't even sure if her demon powers could prevent her from becoming a vampire if she didn't want to transform.
Was there a third choice for her?
God, she was so confused. The only thing on her mind was blood, and even though she tried desperately to fight it, it kept invading her head.
She took frighteningly long to find her cellar, but before she could enter it, more memories began to hit her.
They had been previously pushed to the background, because she couldn't deal with the revelation that she supposedly had a past with Damon she'd been compelled to forget added to the list of things that sucked about today.
She actually had to heave herself into the room, because there was a supply of fresh blood bags stored in the room nearby, and every single nerve ending in her body started screaming with delight at the prospect of drowning in said blood bags.
She'd woken up 12 hours ago, going straight to Alaric's door to hear him have intercourse, therefore chosing to instead try and locate someone useful.
She ended up wandering around in confusion for quite some time, not being able to make sense of her hazy thoughts and the memories that kept on invading her head like the tiniest little needles pricking into her skull. To say it was painful was putting it light.
Bonnie wasn't reachable, however, and Jeremy couldn't very well help her with this. There was one she could try and contact, but she wasn't sure if she should or could risk it.
He'd worked with Caia once.
If she was alerted that she was on the verge of turning, she'd be on her way here faster than Caroline could snap her fingers.
Then it dawned on Caroline, in a small moment of brilliance amongst the confusing buzz she was feeling.
It all became clear.
Katherine hadn't betrayed her.
Casper had compelled her before he'd died. Caia had activated it. She was already on her way here.
The pressure made her want to scream. She needed to reach Lucifer. He was old. He was a demon. Could he help her?
"Hello?" A voice that definetely wasn't Lucifer's answered the phone.
"Where is he? I need him. Something has happned, and I'm not sure I can hold out for much longer. The temptation is too great." She panted, her mind drifting back to the blood bags, an almost compelling urge rushing over her, willing her to leave the room. She growled, frustrated, and sealed the door once more with a barrier. She couldn't leave the room for now. It was questionable at best, whether it would hold though.
"We've been on our way since yesterday. Just passed the mystic falls sign. Where are you, Caroline?" The vioce questioned.
"Cellars. Do a locator spell. Lucifer he made my cloaking tattoo, he can track me, I would think." She blurted out, suprised by her sense in this state. Another feral growl escaped her lips. In an effort to distract herself, she slammed her arm against the wall, breaking it. She screamed out in pain, but the minute relief from the bloodlust was bliss.
Then it came back, crashing down on her with a force so strong it singed her nerve endings. Tears were forming in her eyes, sweat was breaking out all over her, yet her throat felt parched. She retched, the jell-o from the hospital appearing on the floor. Her eyelids felt heavy, but the urges never left.
It had only been a dull throbbing just a few hours ago. How had it escalated to something like this?
Was this what her death would finally be like?
~VD~
"Katherine what the hell are you doing back here?" He growled, having put her on the bed, and given her a fresh bag of blood.
"I came to see Caroline." She shrugged.
"And where is Caroline?" Damon asked, impatiently burning with the need to clear everything with her.
"That's where it gets tricky, you see. I don't know what Caroline told you about her past." Katherine shrugged, eyeing Damon carefully. Damon snapped his head to glare at her.
"A lot. Tortured, that whole thing, I thought she killed that guy?"
"She did. He is dead. She has his heart, I'm not sure how far she got to destroying it, but the thing is, while it's not completely cracked, he can be brought back."
"And how would that be possible?" He asked, nervousness creeping up his shoulder. Would there be another fight? Was it possible that Caroline wouldn't actually survive that?
"Don't ask me, I'm not a witch." Katherine shrugged. Damon didn't buy it.
"Don't hold out on me Katherine. What else is there?" He grabbed her throat, throttling her.
"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with Caroline's impending transition."
"Her what?" Damon's voice was so low and cold, frozen over with hatred and disbelief, that she felt herself shiver a little bit. Well, he certainly was passionate.
"She's becoming a vampire. That, or she dies because she staunchily refuses to drink human blood. But I think that would end badly for her." Katherine bit her lip. Damon's eyes were alight with madness. Katherine found it rather scary, actually.
"And how did this come to be?" He asked. The deadliness of his voice never wavered.
"Before Casper died, he compelled me to...uh...well, do the job." She said, her voice feeling dead, disbelief colouring her own words. Had she really not been strong enough to resist killing Caroline? She saw something snap behind Damon's eyes.
It felt to her as though he was losing his sanity.
Damon's mind was running.
Would she remember?
Only if he could get her to complete the transition, right? That's how it worked. How could he convince her to become something she so adamantly fought against?
Why was fate always a mistress so impossible to please?
Running a hand through his hair, he pointed an accusing finger at Katherine.
"Where is she now?" He seethed.
"I have no idea. She woke up, looked at me with crazy eyes for a beat or two, then snapped my neck and dissappeared." Katherine shrugged.
"You're going to help me find her. And then I just might decide to kill you." He threatened. Her eyes widened.
"I was compelled!" She yelled in desperation. "I would never intentionally hurt Caroline!"
"I'm talking about the 145 years you cheated me out of, that could've been worth living." He said, staring her down. Katherine gulped.
What had happened to the sweet Damon she knew?
~VD~
"Caroline? You in there?" She heard Lucifer's voice, soothing with a hint of fear, calling out to her, dragging her out of the hallucinations she'd been subjected to for what felt like the last century.
She'd been actively reliving her life. The torture came in between sweet or bitter moments with Damon. Why was Damon such a huge part of her life?
It unnerved her, but she found herself relishing in the memories with him, comparing them to the memories of her torture.
With some mustered up strength, she lifted the restrictments, and was about to dart out of the room to run straight to her aphrodesiac that was waiting for her next door, stored in a freezer, a deep red, when she was tackled and held to the floor by a strong pair of arms. The thought of it running down her throat did strange things to her mind.
She bared her Demon teeth at the guy, having not gotten her vampire one's yet. Every single thought led back to blood. Blood was everything.
Christopher's arms pinned her to the floor, and even though she could beat him if she wanted to, she was holding on the string of sanity that was keeping her from attacking him to get to the blood.
"Oh my god. Lucifer what's going on with her?" He screamed. She was beginning to dig her nails into his arms, drawing blood, the clear red liquid beginning to spill, causing her eyes to glaze over with hunger.
"She's craving blood. I've never seen a vampire/demon hybrid." He pondered aloud. "But I do have an idea. Caroline. Can you hear me?"
Caroline's eyes connected with him, any trace of humanity gone. She was a monster. If that was what her future under Casper's control would have looked like, Lucifer praised the heaven's that he'd defected and ultimately saved her from her fate. It looked as if it was only momentarily though.
"She's not really responding. Christopher, give her your blood. It might sate her for a while, even if it doesn't cause her to transform. Christopher nodded, his fear obvious, but his trust in Lucifer strong.
He bit his wrist and held it to Caroline's mouth. 1 drop fell into her mouth, and her eyes closed. When they opened again, they were a bright green, and she lunged for his throat, straddling him and digging deep into his neck. She took several mouthfuls, before starting to shake violently.
Her eyes lost that feral look.
"What the hell is going on?" She wailed in despair, staring at Lucifer in shock, blood dripping down her hospital gown. She looked well and truly broken.
"You died. You're transforming."
"How can I stop it?" She asked, desperation seen in her eyes ever so clearly. It was heartbreaking.
"I'm not sure you can. I'm afraid Demons are no exception to the rule of that." He sighed.
"You said we could be reborn if we wanted to." She recalled.
"Not this time. You died on vampire blood. That took your alternative." He sat down, offering her to sit down as well, but she declined, chosing instead to pace.
"Well that's unfortunate." She seethed.
"Caroline, please, calm down."
"Calm? This is calm, Lucifer. I am about to turn into the thing I hate most, no offense Chris, because if I choose not to, Caia will have my ass, force Casper's blood down my throat, and effectively ressurrect him." Caroline yelled into Lucifer's face. The realization dawned on him.
"Oh."
"How eloquent. How much time do you suppose I have?"
"Now that your bloodlust has been momentarily sated, I'd wager about 24 hours." He shrugged.
24 hours. The number rolled through her head again, turning into a chant.
24 hours to say goodbye to her human life.
If she locked herself into solitude for 24 hours, was it possible for her to die? Should she want to die? If she died once and for all, another one would be able to take her place. She couldn't be that selfish.
She really had no choice.
She'd have to accept the vampire life.
It made her want to cry out in frustration.
She never fucking wanted this. Why couldn't she have turned out normal? Normal like...well who exactly was normal?
Elena was a doppelganger, unbeknownst to herself, Bonnie was a witch, Jeremy...well he wasn't exactly normal either, was he? Tyler was a potential werewolf, Damon and Stefan was a vampire. This whole town was a hellhole.
She should have moved to memphis with her dad.
But her dad sought to eradicate vampires.
Wherever she went, the problem seemed to follow her.
It was a never ending corridor with doors that only led her back onto the corridor. She couldn't escape it.
Falling to the floor, falling apart right in front of Christopher and Lucifer, she sobbed heavily, realizing that she had never been supposed to be normal.
This was her destiny.
It was her fucking duty to sacrifice her humanity in order to stop the world from being dominated by a powercrazed vampire turned warlock.
It was as if the whole weight of the world had been resting solely on her shoulders, and now she finally collapsed under it, her shoulders numb, her head spinning.
Wasn't she supposed to be unbreakable?
"I need to get out of here." She choked out, flying out of the cave with immense speed.
She'd watch her last sunrise as a human, she decided, heading for the falls.
~VD~
He picked up her scent at the falls, darting to it. The thing he saw sitting at the top of the figurative world of mystic falls wasn't his Caroline though. That was a broken little thing.
"Caroline." He called out, careful not to irritate her. She turned around, her eyes shining a bright green, blood all over the front of her shirt, dripping down her neck slowly.
"Come and see the show." She croaked out.
~VD~