Hey guys.
Okay, so this is the last Present Day chapter though I may do an epilogue.
This chapter will make a few things make sense lol, like the lack of Delena lemons in the Present Day.
I think you will have very mixed feelingshe about this ending lol.
I hopersonally you like it, and please don't strangle me too badly ;)
Enjoy!
Present Day
It was cold.
Elena's first conscious thought as she woke up was of how she felt like shivering.
But there was warmth near by.
A fire, casting it's light on the trees above.
But she felt to heavy to look.
As if everything in her body had turned to stone.
It took her a good minute to realize that she was tied down.
And while she may not have turned to rock, it appeared that she was lying on one.
Some kind of circular stone base that her body was pinned to by rope.
Her hands and feet were bound as well.
She pulled at them to no avail, only managing to give herself a raw burn.
She focused on using the last of the magic in her, like Damon showed her.
Nothing.
What in the hell?
She tried to focus, to keep her panic at bay.
Vaguely, she remembered Stefan lunging at her, a blow to the head, then everything going dark.
Had he brought her here afterwards?
Why? Where was she?
These thoughts cleared when something touched her her head.
She jolted, and Stefan came into her view.
"Shh, Elena calm down," he was whispering, "You need to drink more."
Drink more?
That's when she realized her lips were slick with something thicker than saliva, and Stefan was holding a jar of blood in his hand. "Stefan-" she began, but he only used the opportunity to force more blood down her throat.
She swallowed to avoid choking, but something wasn't right.
This blood...it was strong, very strong.
Magical.
He pulled the jar away, holding her face.
"There," he seemed pleased, "Now it's all gone. I hit you too hard, before. I wasn't sure you would wake up."
Elena was confused.
"Stefan, who's blood was that?"
He didn't answer as he moved about, now holding...a book?
"Stefan? Where did you get that blood?" She demanded, her voice shaking.
It had tastes too familiar.
Something wasn't right.
"I...I found it. At Damon's cabin. It had Bonnie's scent."
Elena wanted to gag, "No."
Stefan didn't comment further.
"What are you doing? Where is Damon? Where is Bonnie and her Grams?" She asked now, straining against the rope again.
That sad look crossed his expression again.
"I didn't want to do it," he whispered.
Elena swallowed, "What? What did you do?"
His eyes flickered to her.
"I have to stop him Elena. A few lives are worth the sacrifice, if it stops the slaughter Damon would bring..."
"What did you do?!" She was yelling now.
He looked down, "I brought you here. Then I followed Sheila to Damon's cabin. He wasn't there...but I know where he will be. Aurelia's ruins were circled on his map. He wants to bring it back, starting with the castle. But he can't...not if he has no Bennett magic."
Elena heard the pain, the guilt in his voice.
She knew then, what had happened.
"You killed her, didn't you?" She choked, "Sheila."
"She didn't expect it," he whispered, "Her neck just snapped. I drank her blood...all of it. So Damon can't use it...then I brought Bonnie's blood here. Damon will use it to find us, I know it. He'll bring Bonnie here...she's the last of the Bennett line. Damon won't be able to use her if I get rid of her first."
Elena gasped, "You can't! Stefan, you can't kill Bonnie!"
"I have to!" He screamed, "It's her or the world! Damon will never stop, he will never be satisfied with the power he has! He will always want more, and he'll kill for it! But...but I can stop him."
He picked up the book again, scanning the page.
"I found this in Damon's cabin. I don't know how he still has it...but it's the spell book he used to use. The spell for the comet is here. It says he will need the same blood used to bind the spell to unbind it.
Bennett blood. See, Elena? I'm going to stop him!"
Elena felt tears rush down her face, "Stefan, don't do this. Please-"
A giant crackle in the sky pierced her ear.
Lighting shone, illuminating everything the fire Stefan must have built, couldn't.
But there were no storms meant for tonight.
What was this?
What was happening?!
Just as she had the thought, a searing pain shot through her head.
She screamed, her binds the only thing holding her to the rock she laid upon.
Fire, in her head, in all her mind.
White hot pain.
Along with flashes.
Damon, calming a black mare, sweat running from his shirtless back.
Stefan, kissing her hand, before pulling out a chair for her.
A servant securing her mask for the ball.
Damon's eyes, watching her from the shadows.
A blade within her grasp, being plowed into a man twice her size.
Damon throwing her onto his bed, kissing her, mounting her.
Blood. So much blood.
"What did you do?" Bonnie trembled, as lights flashed across the sky, thunder cracking.
Her bleeding wrist dripped into the bowl of objects he had accumulated.
Some kind of spell.
Her captor smiled at her, "I've reminded Elena of who she truly is."
Bonnie shook her head.
Elena?
This man was crazy. And surely, he would kill her.
"Please," she whispered, "You've taken what you need, now let me go."
"Shh," he comforted, "You will be released in time. But first, we need to find your Grams."
"No," Bonnie swallowed.
But her captors hands were in her, dragging her forward.
His hand enclosed around her wrist, bringing her wound to his mouth.
She cried as he sucked her, drank from her.
"Delicious," he gave a bloody grin, "Now behave, or I will drain you."
She whimpered, but said nothing.
And when she pulled her wrist back, the wound was gone.
The man gave her no time to ponder though, as seconds later he was once again dragging her through woods.
He seemed to be following some sort of instinct, as if he could simply find her Grams by concentrating hard enough.
Maybe he could.
A second later though, he cursed.
"Come. We must go back to the car."
She knew better than to ask why.
Damon found his camaro easily enough and shoved the tearful girl inside before getting behind the wheel.
For whatever reason, Sheila Bennett was at his cabin.
Bonnie's blood running through him pulled him there.
But why?
He hurried to find out.
Getting to the cabin was much faster than getting to the ruins.
But his stomach dropped as he pulled into the drive.
For a body lay on the ground, in the sheen of his headlights.
Sheila Bennett.
He parked the car as the witch beside him gasped, them both throwing open doors to inspect the body.
Sure enough, the old witch lay lifeless.
Bonnie screamed, tears thick in her throat as she hit her knees, pulling her grandmother into her arms.
But Damon only registered the paleness of the old woman.
And the teeth marks on her neck.
"Stefan," he growled.
He rushed past the crying witch and the dead one in her arms, to his cabin.
The door was open, and among further investigation, he found his fridge wiped and his grimoire gone.
"Fuck," he spat, sprinting back to his car.
Forget Sheila, forget the granddaughter.
Right now, he had to find his brother, and when he did, he was going to kill him.
Elena gasped in air as fast as she could.
Stefan loomed over her, "What happened?!"
"I...I..." she couldn't form words.
How did she encompass the magnitude of what she had just experienced.
It was back.
Her memory. It was back.
Oh god.
She knew where she was.
The altar, south of the castle, where she and Damon had burned their victims' remains.
Vaguely, she remembered Damon telling her that runes were engraved into the stone, preventing witch magic, just in case one of their victims were not as dead as they appeared.
At the time, it had seemed brilliant.
But now, it chained her, pinned her.
Limited her abilities.
"Stefan, you need to release me," she told him.
"I can't," he insisted, "I need you. To stop Damon."
Damon.
Just hearing his name again made her tremble.
Her darling love.
He had succeeded in their plan.
If Stefan had not interfered, surely she would be in Damon's arms right now.
They would be raising their home...
Wouldn't they?
She thought in a flash, of Bonnie and Caroline, and even Jenna.
These people she had come to love in this life.
She would speak with Damon, find a way to save them.
He would understand.
But first, she had to regain her freedom.
"Stefan, please," she tried again, "You do not understand! I have to-"
But the sound of an engine cut her off.
She turned her head to see a blue camaro.
Damon had arrived.
Tears filled her eyes as he stepped out of the car.
Five hundred years.
Five hundred years!
So long without him...she could not lose him now.
This could not all be for nothing.
She tried to use her power again.
When nothing happened, she called out to him, "Damon!"
His eyes found her, and froze.
Clearly, he had not expected to find her here.
His lips formed her name as Stefan stepped up next to her.
"Don't come any closer," the younger Salvatore warned.
Elena saw Damon's eyes widen, and only then did she allow her gaze to turn on his brother.
He held a dagger in his hands, angled at her chest.
Stefan's gaze was focused, "I know how strong you are, Damon. But I'm faster. One move, and this knife is in her heart. Try to kill me, this knife is in her heart. Refuse me...she's dead."
Damon's look was murderous.
"What do you want?" He spat.
His voice, even cloaked in harshness, was a purr to Elena's ears.
God, this was all so wrong.
"To end this," Stefan swallowed, "Once and for all."
"And how do you plan to manage that?" Damon mocked, his focus on the dagger.
"With your death," he stated, "That fire there...it's for you, brother. Just like before."
"No," Elena breathed, noting the flames, remembering their burn in the past.
She screamed, "NO!"
Stefan paid her no mind, but Damon did.
His face broke her heart.
Because they both understood Stefan's meaning.
Either Damon died, or she did.
And Stefan was smart, holding the knife over the altar.
Damon's magic would not affect it, and by the frustrated look upon his face, be had just tried.
"So," Stefan taunted, his eyes a little crazy, "What's it gonna be?"
Damon's mocking tone returned, but Elena could sense the real fear behind it.
"Stefan, this is nonsense. We can talk."
"We already did," Stefan spat, "But I won't let you kill all these people. I can't...so you have until the count of three. One..."
"Stefan come on," Damon protested quickly, "You have this all wrong. It's not about the killing!"
"Two."
"Fuck," Damon growled, walking forward, "Listen to me, you bastard!"
Stefan's eyes turned cold, "I warned you."
And he brought down the knife.
"NO!"
Power, beyond anything Damon had ever felt, erupted from his body.
A force so strong, it threw Stefan across the clearing,his body colliding with branches.
But it didn't matter.
Damon rushed to Elena's body, the dagger protruding from her chest.
"No, no, no," he repeated, untying her hands, then reaching to pull the knife out.
"I can fix it," he promised, "I'll fix it."
Elena's eyes were on him, tears welling in them, "Damon."
His blue eyes were exactly as she remembered.
She felt the pain, she knew what it's magnitude meant.
And she didn't want his failed attempts to save her to be her last memory.
She just wanted this.
His arms around her, his blue eyes upon her.
He paused.
"He grazed my heart, and your magic will not work," she choked, "It is too late, my love."
His own eyes stung.
"You remember?"
She smiled through her tears, her hand coming to rest on his cheek, finally feeling him again.
"Everything," she admitted, then forced a smile, "I love you...my prince."
Blue.
His eyes, the sky.
It's the last thing she felt before fading into the darkness.
Her eyes fluttered, and Damon flew into a panic.
"No! Not like this! No!"
Ripping through the rope that bound her torso, he drug her from the altar, collapsing to the ground.
He pulled the knife from her chest, blood running, as he placed his hand over it, and drew on his power.
But nothing happened.
She did not heal.
He felt the power of Bennett magic inside of her and tried to draw on it as well.
Still nothing.
Tears blurred his vision as the sound of a dying animal bellowed from his throat.
He did not just lose her.
Dear God, NO!
He tried again, and again, but nothing changed.
He peeled himself away, to look for his grimoire.
It was on the ground, a few feet from where Stefan had been standing.
He grabbed it, coming back to Elena's side, and found the healing spell.
He chanted.
But it didn't work either.
And he knew the truth.
There was nothing left to save.
He wept in earnest now, cradling her body, rocking them back and forth, her name, a chant on his lips.
He barely heard Stefan approach him.
He didn't care.
He couldn't move anyway.
"I had to," Stefan said into the night.
Damon did not look at him.
He didn't even care if he died now.
"She would have helped you do the spell. But...I saved everyone. Without Elena or the Bennett blood, you cannot raise Aurelia. The world is safe from you."
Damon raised his eyes, now red from crying, but filled with cold anger.
"You killed Elena. You killed her, Stefan. Even after claiming her innocent."
Stefan's own eyes were wet.
"I did. But I never wanted this...her death, I loved her," he looked at Damon, "I am a monster now. That is what you wanted. So congratulations, brother, I am just like you."
Thunder crackled in the sky again.
Damon's eyes shot up to the heavens, and a glow of lightning flashed.
The moon shone bright.
Full.
The comet at its center.
Damon looked down at his love, then at his brother.
Stefan's brows furrowed, sensing the magic in the air, "What is this?"
Damon's mind raced, as another crash lit the sky, closer.
The pieces fell together.
And a grin broke across his lips.
"You should not mess with things you do not understand, Stefan."
Stefan's expression hardened, "What is your meaning?"
Damon laughed in realization, "Elena and I never consummated our love in this lifetime, with her new body...nor did she lie with you."
"Your point?" Stefan hissed.
Damon smirked, "My, point, brother, is that you sacrificed a virgin on a ritualistic altar, consumed with Bennett blood, under the comet of Aurora Borealis...you've freed us."
Stefan's face froze, "What? No...no, you lie!"
Damon laughed, grabbing the dagger from the ground.
"We will be together again," he whispered to Elena, kissing her head.
He flipped his grimoire to the correct page, then he began to chant again, thankful that he had taken Bonnie's blood, and that Elena apparently had as well.
More crackling.
More light.
It surrounded them.
His brother began backing away, horrified.
Damon finished the spell, then shot a look at Stefan.
Stefan, who would be alone, waiting until the next comet passing.
He smirked, "See you in five hundred years, brother."
He drove the dagger into his own heart.
Another crash.
Another flash of light, this one so bright, Stefan had to shield his eyes.
Then all was still.
Stefan peaked into the clearing.
It was empty.
Damon and Elena's bodies were gone.
He hit his knees.
What had he done?
What had he done?
Wahahaha. My evil witch laugh lol
Sooo other than wanting to kill me, what did ya'll think?
Can't wait to read the reviews! I'm sure they will be...interesting.
:)