Legacies: Forgiveness (Kalaric)
Characters: Ric, Kat, Hope, hellhound
Summary: Set in Legacies late S1. When it's break for the kids, Kat finds a way out of the prison world without Kai. When she goes to the school after ending up not far away, injured, will Ric help her? What will happen between him and a human Kat?
Pairings:
Kalaric (Kat/Ric)
It was a dismal night, as a human Kat headed towards the Salvatore school. No one was around anymore to care about what happened to her, but she knew if Ric was given an ultimatum, he'd save her. He was human like her. She knew being human meant you couldn't help but help those in need. Right now, that was her. She'd gone through a lot with Kai. Despite her injuries though, she made herself keep going. A part of her wanted to lay down and rest after the hell she'd been through, but knew she couldn't yet. If she could reach the school, she could get help.
When she entered the school, it looked empty. There weren't any kids, as she went inside. She assumed by this that they were on break. And as she went upstairs, heading for where she assumed Ric's office was, she saw only where Ric was. The other rooms she assumed to be dorm rooms were all closed.
Once she got to the threshold of his now office, she leaned against it. She could see that he was still the same Alaric, having a drink. She understood, too. He was probably still going through the motions with losing Damon, but it was also break. That meant he could finally take time for himself. She needed his help, though.
"Alaric, I need your help. Please," she greeted and asked of him, making him notice her.
He looked at her.
"Great. Just when things were normal around here. How are you even alive?"
"I escaped the prison world Kai's in that I ended up in. By the way, I'm sorry about trying to destroy this town. I was a demon, so I didn't care about anything. I'm human again now though, so if you'll be kind enough to help me, I'll help you with anything you need," she replied, offering an exchange, rather than a deal. She was done making deals.
"Fine. Just don't make me regret this," he replied, as he got up, briskly walking over to her, which was when he saw the stab wounds and a dagger in her leg. He also realized that she'd lost a lot of blood, considering she was pretty pale and weakening. Then, once he made that conclusion, she began to lose her vision. Then, as everything began to go gray, he caught her from hitting the floor.
Once he got to his feet with her, he briskly walked to an empty room, laying her gently on the bed. He then sat on her bedside after grabbing a towel. And as he used a towel to apply pressure to her stomach where most of the stab wounds were, he rested a hand on the side of her face.
"Stay with me, Katherine," he told her. He then took his hand away and texted Hope. She was the only one here that could heal injuries. And he couldn't move to go in person to ask her for help.
After a few minutes, Hope came in. Since she'd read almost every book in the library, she knew her by looking at her, despite her injuries.
"I thought she died," she commented.
"She did, but she ended up in a prison world. Prison worlds always have a way to escape. Katherine found a way, apparently. Just do me a favor and heal her," he explained and asked of her.
After he told her that and had taken the dagger out of her leg, Hope did as he asked, before leaving.
When Katherine woke up, she was in a bed, healed, and Ric was seated on her bedside.
She sat up and looked at him.
"Thanks. So, is there anything you need me to help you with?"
"You're welcome," he replied, though he was surprised at her thanking him. "For now, nothing. We haven't had any monsters yet, but it's only the beginning of break for the kids, so anything can happen."
"Well, when that happens, I'm all yours. In the prison world, I found a way to make my Traveler magic active. I have real magic now, so I can help you with anything you need."
"I'm counting on that then," he replied, and got up. "Make yourself at home."
She watched him leave the room.
The next day, she woke up and got ready, before going downstairs. Then, after she'd eaten, she took a look around, seeing what had changed. When she did, she saw that there were only a few minor changes from when it had been a home to two of her childes. It hurt that Damon was gone, because she truly did love him, but it also hurt knowing that Elijah was gone as well. She was glad that Ric, Kol, Freya, and Hope were still alive, though. And it was true what she'd told Ric last night. She would help with the defeat of any monster they needed help with.
She was overlooking the kids' hangout area, standing in the hallway upstairs, hands on the railing, when someone came to stand beside her.
"Are you okay?" she questioned the doppelganger.
"I'll eventually be fine, but at least I'm in control as always. I don't know if your dad or Uncle Elijah ever said anything about me, but you're not alone anymore. Your dad and I didn't get along, but we were great partners in crime once in a great while. And I forgave him on my deathbed, but he wasn't there. And your Uncle Elijah and I were together off and on throughout the centuries, but we were always careful. He always protected me. I can't say right now that we both are grieving the same way, because they meant different things to us. What I can say though, is that we both lost people. It took time to heal, but I also know the loss of a mother. I know Alaric is trying, but he's human. If you want, I can teach you to control if even through emotional times. Control has always been my strength, apart from when I first turned. And since I'm human myself, there's nothing I want in return. I have nothing to lose anyway. Like you, my family is all dead. My human and vampire family. The Salvatores were like family, despite their eventual hate for me. Now they're gone."
"What do I have to do?" Hope asked, once she'd decided to take a chance.
"Well, we first need a place away from everyone else. Then we can get started," she answered her.
"I know an area a distance from the school. Lizzie took me there before the Miss Mystic Falls pageant started, because I was on the verge of losing control," she replied.
"Let's go there, then," Kat said, and let Hope lead the way.
A week later, Hope had learned from Kat how to control herself, as well as some extra needed spells Kat knew from her centuries of being a vampire on the run. Kat knew that Ric was trying to teach those with magic only the good magic, but she also knew that there would be certain times that other magic would be needed. She knew Ric wouldn't like it, but he also wasn't the one teaching Hope control, so Ric couldn't say much about it. Also, during that week of successfully teaching Hope magical control, Kat and Ric had become close enough that he'd begun to forgive her for past things she'd done.
A few weeks later, right before break for the kids was to be finished, a new impending doom came in the form of a hellhound. Because it was a hellhound though, making it somewhat like a paranormal creature, only those that had died before could see what it looked like. That included Kat and Ric.
It was a dismal night, as the three of them stood in the library, trying to figure out a way to get rid of the hellhound. The only things they knew was that one, only those that had already died could see it, and two, it was probably there to take Kat back. After all, she'd been to hell once. She'd also been to a prison world. Now, she was alive again, but the hellhound wanted to take her back where she'd been before, which was something she didn't want. Besides, she was trying to be a better person. She was still going through the motions with the loss of Nadia, but she was determined to be a good person for Nadia and Elijah.
"I think we can hold it off by trapping it. At least until we figure out how to send it back," Kat told them.
"How?" Hope questioned.
"With some salt," Kat said, once she'd read the page of the book she was on.
A moment later, there was a commotion outside of the library doors, symbolizing that the hellhound was trying to get in.
Kat approached the middle of the room, as she told them, "I'll distract it. You make the salt circle."
Hope went to grab as much salt as she could, not arguing, but Ric didn't like the idea. He didn't like giving the hellhound what it wanted.
"You're using yourself as bait. We should find another way," he said from the table he stood at.
She turned to look at him.
"We don't have time to find another way," she reminded him.
He looked at her, knowing she was right, but still hating the idea of her being put in danger.
Suddenly, the doors flew open, making her and Ric turn and look at it. The hellhound was a hound dog, but red from the time spent in hell, looking like it literally wore blood for fur.
As soon as it got inside, it raced towards her, barking and growling, teeth showing as it did so. And as that happened, Ric grabbed his weapon from the table.
In a moment, the hound was standing above her, her on her back, before she could do anything. Then the pain came, as it bit into her shoulder, which was when she heard the sound of the former vampire hunter's gun. Then she heard gunshots, as she felt the hound's claws dig in. Then she heard it in pain, before feeling it leave her. She then felt someone move her and then lay her back down, before she saw Ric in her field of vision. Though she'd only been bitten in the shoulder and somewhat clawed, she felt weak.
As Ric knelt on the floor, Katherine against him, he could see the shoulder bite, which didn't look good. There were black veins around it. He could also tell that she felt weak, despite only having been bitten on the shoulder. He knew she needed help. He also knew that he had to stay there while Hope trapped it in a salt circle.
Hope soon succeeded in trapping it in a salt circle. She then put a barrier around it to give them more time to find a way to get it back to where it belonged. Then, after she'd done that, she went over to where Ric and Katherine were. And seeing the shoulder bite, she knew they needed to find out what was wrong, as well as how to save her. After all, it wasn't like a hellhound could talk.
"If you've got vit from here, I'm going to get her in bed. If you find a way to get the hellhound back where it belongs, I'll take care of Katherine," Ric told her.
"Go. Take care of her. I've got it from here," Hope assured him.
With that, Ric helped Kat to her feet. He then put a hand on her arm, helping her, as they left the library.
Kat lay in bed, weak and in pain from the bite, but was certain that there was a way. She knew Hope would figure it out, because she was related to Elijah and Klaus who were stubborn at certain times. They always found another way, even when there seemed to be no other way. She had faith that everything would work out the way it was meant to, despite being on her deathbed, yet again. She wondered if this was what a wolf bite felt like to a vampire. She'd seen what it had done to Damon, but she hadn't experienced the symptoms firsthand herself. Even if she did die though, she knew Ric and Hope had each other. They'd be okay until she could come back. After all, she never was one to stay dead. She always came back, even if it took a while to do so.
As the doppelganger lay there, she could feel Ric on her bedside. Despite not wanting to watch her die, she knew he wasn't going to leave her side. Not after they'd become so close.
After a while, Hope found a way to get the hellhound back where it had come from, so she did that, coming out unscathed before going to check on Katherine. Sure, she'd been a terrible person as a vampire, but she was a much better person now. She'd even risked her own life to keep them and the world safe from the hellhound. She doubted that that was something she would've done in the past. Now, it was time for someone to save her for a change. Something that Katherine hadn't known for a long time. After all, she'd always looked out for herself.
When Hope entered the room, she saw that they didn't have a lot of time to save her. She could tell from her state though, that the bite was poisonous. That meant that even though she knew how to bring someone back, she couldn't with her until the poison was out of her.
After what felt like a long time, the pain was gone, which she assumed meant she was dead or almost dead, since she found herself in some woods at night.
A moment later, she saw her former enemy, but he didn't look unhappy at seeing her. And he said something she never thought she'd ever get from him.
"Thank you, Katerina," he told her, once he stood in front of her. "You've taken care of Hope in some ways I wouldn't have been able to even when I was alive. You can't stay here, though. You have to go back."
"You're welcome. And I will. Once Hope finds a way to cure me."
"Yes. I know. And I'm sorry. I know what you had to go through coming back. Before you go, I need you to tell Hope to keep doing her best. And tell her I'm at peace. So are the rest of us."
"Don't worry. I will," she assured him.
What felt like a while, she woke, feeling fine, and knew she was cured. She then saw Ric still on her bedside. She also saw Hope by the door, looking like both of them had been waiting for her to wake up.
She sat up in bed.
"Thanks," she told them both. Then she told Hope, "I saw your dad. He wanted me to tell you to keep doing what you've been doing. He also told me to tell you that he and the rest of them are at peace. You don't have to worry anymore."
Hope looked at her, glad at the information. All this time, she'd wanted to know if he was at peace. Now that she knew he was, it was a relief to her, despite the grief she still was dealing with.
"Thanks. That means a lot," Hope told her. She then left to go to her room, having done her good deed for Katherine.
Kat looked at Ric.
"Thanks for being here for me, despite everything. I don't know what I'd do if I had to be alone again."
He looked at her, truthfully telling her, "Well, you'll never have to be alone ever again. I'll always be here for you."
She gave a smile at that, which he returned. Then, without knowing why, they began to makeout. All they really knew was that all was forgiven.