Wanderers - Part 2

November 22nd, 1992

So, I am not a writer. At all. The mere thought of writing anything, in any form, brings me severe anxiety and makes me want to vomit.

But good golly, this is not something that I can admit to anyone out loud besides my wonderful mother, and so here I am, spilling my guts out to you, my dear sweet diary.

I was driving home today from a rather long day of touring colleges. I was tired, I was irritable, and quite ready to send lightning to strike down Kelly Donovan, who just happened to be on every. single. one. of. my. tours. Thank heavens I had Jenna with me, otherwise I would have been on the run with murder charges breathing down the back of my neck. Could you imagine if you-know-who had been there with me? Kelly would've been on him like a cougar (which is aptly fitted considering her occupation later in life). Anyways, I digress. I was driving home and quite ready to fall into bed when something just told me to slam on my brakes. Normally, I try to ignore the little voices in my head; they were the ones who told me I should just smite Kelly Donovan (but then that would prevent the births of Matt and Vicki Donovan, and I kind of like the two of them). But this time...I could just tell that I needed to stop. So I did. There weren't any cars behind me so I knew I would be safe.

The voices inside of me told me to exit the car and when I walked around the front, I saw her. And I knew everything was about to change.

The sweetest little baby angel laid on the street, swaddled in the softest baby blue blanket. She was so small, only a few months old. She wasn't crying...at least, she wasn't crying anymore. When I went over and touched her, she was so cold. She was shivering so hard that I first thought she was seizing. When she opened her eyes to look at me, I thought I was seeing a goddess. They were the most stunning blue-gray combination I had ever seen in my entire life. She was the embodiment of goodness and truth; that much I could tell.

She was also only a few months old and in desperate need of medical assistance.

I was only a few minutes away from the hospital, so I took her there immediately. Got a couple of strange looks. I mean, a black young adult woman coming in with a baby whose skin was white as snow? Kidnapping 101, and even I knew it. Thankfully, my mother was working her shift that night so she was able to help me keep the little angel safe. That's when we learned her name. It was written in big, sloppy black letters on the side of her blanket, like it had been scribbled on last minute with sharpie. In big black letters it wrote this full name:

VICTORIA KHALIDA VANACORE.

I knew a thing or two about names; Mom had been very specific in her naming me "Kelly" (that was the lie she told because I wasn't obviously named Kelly by her; though my name does mean "Warrior", so that's neat). But this beautiful angel's name was tragic.

The Victory In a Meaningless Death.

Whoever had gifted her her name had done so with the intent that she not live through the night. The mere thought made my bones burn hot. I actually had to leave the hospital for a hot minute so I could calm down (I may have toasted a few trash cans, but don't tell my mom that).

My mother thinks that she's the next LeBlanc witch. I told her she was ridiculous. Baby Victoria was a just that; a baby. There was no way that she could possibly be the next in our line.

Maybe I'm just hoping that's the case. If she is another LeBlanc witch, that means it would fall to me to take care of her. I'm eighteen, with a boyfriend. To be fair, I guess, theoretically I am twenty-four with a boyfriend, but that's besides the point! What do I tell him? "Surprise! You're a dad because I'm a witch a part of a family who likes to adopt other witches, which you already knew about." I can't do that to him! I can barely handle my own powers and now everyone wants me to become the next mother/mentor to this child? What?

But the more time I spend in her presence, the mere thought of someone else taking care of her fills me with rage. I was the one who found her. I was her protector. But at the same time I am terrified at those implications.

So baby steps is what Mom suggested. I'm bringing you-know-who to the hospital so he can meet my potentially new baby girl. I think he likes kids. He gets along pretty well with the children in his family, so maybe...?

Oh. There goes Little Victoria's screams again. Do you think she could be a singer? She certainly has the lungs for it.

Until next time,

Kelly Augustine LeBlanc (nee Addams)

December 24th, 1992

Alright, so in the almost month since I've met little Victoria, there are a couple things I've learned about her.

Number 1: Mom was absolutely correct; Victoria is the next LeBlanc witch. I saw the way that she connected with my mother and me, how she calms down easily in our hands. She also seemed to really enjoy you-know-who (again, why he insists that I can't write his name, I'll never know, but it is tedious. YOU HEAR ME? IT'S TEDIOUS! Yeah right, like he'll read this).

Number 2: Hidden deep inside of her blankets and swaddling cloths that she had been left with held some important information about herself. Things that were included were, but not limited to: blood-type, birthdate, medical history, and her birth certificate. There were no parents' names written on the birth certificate. Let's just say my rage was so high when I learned about that that I may or may not have broken our dining room table. I plead the fifth.

Number 3: Victoria is the sweetest little baby angel to ever walk this Earth and if anyone ever disagrees, I will not hesitate to punch them in the face. I'd like to see them come at me, bro. They won't be able to catch these hands!

Number 4: Victoria hates college. How do I know this? Because anytime I even mention something involving colleges (scholarships, housing opportunities, etc.), she starts to scream. Full-bodied, red-faced screams. Mom thinks it's because she doesn't like the idea of me leaving, and I just think she doesn't like college. Me neither, Victoria.

We have Christmas coming up tomorrow. It's nearly midnight right now at the time of this writing. I'm almost done wrapping presents. Almost. Mom went a little overboard in her gifts for Victoria, and that's not even including the gifts that everyone else has supplied. The Lockwoods, the Gilberts, the Forbes, the Fells, the Walters, the Bennetts, and so many more have somehow learned about Victoria and showed up with gifts to help make our lives a little easier. Then, there are the five large presents that appeared out of nowhere. They are all labeled as Victoria's presents, but their senders all have funny names, ones I've never heard of. Noble, Raphael, Alexander, Markus, Jeanine. Do any of these make sense?

I should probably get back to wrapping. I really want to bring back the wrapping trend where you wrap presents to look like something they are not. I got you-know-who a surfboard (just to taunt him that we don't live near the ocean) and I wanna wrap it up like a Harley.

Until next time,

Kelly Augustine LeBlanc (nee Addams)

April 17th, 1997

There is someone watching the house.

I thought at first that I was being delusional. You know, being the paranoid helicopter mom now that my baby girl is four (turning five in June!) and has a mind of her own. It first started off as seeing shadows outside that seem darker than usual. Maybe an unfamiliar face at the supermarket and then at the library. But the magical barrier that I put up around the house with the help of my mom (before the cancer got so bad that she needed to rest up in the hospital) just pinged me. Victoria and I are the only ones home. You-know-who is still off in the mountains on his camping trip.

I'm dictating this through a spoken-word-to-written-word spell that my mom made me practice for help with schoolwork. We're up in my bedroom right now, Victoria playing as if nothing is the matter.

Shit. Someone just knocked on the door. No. NO, Victoria, you do not get to say that word. Yes, Mommy said a bad word. That's an adult word. No, no, no! Victoria Khalida LeBlanc, stop it or no desserts for a week. Thank you, baby girl.

Alright, I'm going to see what they want.

I'm back. He said his name is Alexander Melchizedek Ledger (told me I could call him Lee) and he is probably the weirdest man I have ever met.

Like, seriously. He was so weird. Oh, was that funny, baby girl? You have a beautiful giggle. You're welcome.

Shoot. Anyways, he said that he didn't mean any harm and that he was just here to make sure that our little family stayed safe. He had been one of the present gifters on Victoria's first Christmas. He bought her a little stuffed peacock as a present. It was sweet.

It's funny, because he must not know about my family's...legacy. He obviously doesn't know that I know who he is. Lee. As in Lexi Branson's boyfriend who tries to kill Damon Salvatore in the episode Bloodlines. That Lee.

I'm tired and I have a little baby girl that I need to put to bed. I'll learn more about why the heck Lexi's boyfriend is watching me and my girl later.

Until next time,

Kelly Augustine LeBlanc (nee Addams)

"You seem really invested in that journal."

Victoria looked up, surprisingly not startled by Stefan's sudden appearance. He stood in the doorway of the bedroom, his arms folded across his chest and a curious look in his eyes.

Victoria shrugged with one shoulder, giving Stefan a soft smile. "It's a rather interesting read. I just read about when Kelly found me, or rather, the Victoria from this world, our first Christmas, and the first time my mom met Lee. He really weirded her out."

"Lee does that to a lot of people," snickered Stefan, nodding his head in agreement. He gestured towards the inside of the room. "Do you mind...?"

Victoria gave him a nod and patted the spot on the bed beside her. "It's your house."

It had only been a few hours since the reveal that Kelly was also a Wanderer. Victoria's mind had exploded and everyone had decided that it would be better to rest and then figure out things. Everyone had dispersed to different bedrooms throughout the boarding house. Lee and Lexi took Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena home, and everyone made sure to give Victoria a large hug, telling her how much they were glad that she was alive. Victoria had to personally escort Damon to his room, because he had refused to let her leave his sight. That was why she was staying in the guest room right next door to his (that was the best compromise she could come up with). Kelly was sleeping in the room right across from hers.

Stefan stepped inside of the room and turned, gently shutting the door behind him. He walked quickly, but lightly. He came around the other side of the bed and slipped off his shoes. Victoria scooted over, making room for Stefan to sidle on. Stefan pushed himself onto the bed and adjusted himself until he was sitting with his back against the large mounds of pillows. He frowned and turned around, poking the pillows. He glanced towards Victoria and gave her a smirk. "I see you and your mother have already made your impact here."

"Watch it, Salvatore," Victoria huffed, sticking her tongue out at Stefan. "My taste in pillows is phenomenal."

Stefan laughed and Victoria giggled. The two fell into silence as Victoria folded Kelly's journal up and set it off to the side. Stefan asked, his voice quieter than before, "Kelly give that to you?"

"Summoned it right before I came into here with a jolt of lightning. Really impressive and rather scary too," Victoria admitted, sniffing lightly. "Said it would be a good read until we can have a good discussion about it all."

"I see."

There. Something in Stefan's words sparked an interest in Victoria and she sat up straighter. Something was echoing in the room, something that told her there was a hidden agenda. Stefan had come to her room for a reason.

"Is there something that you needed?" Victoria asked, directly asking Stefan.

Stefan let out a sigh and a light chuckle. He shook his head, not looking in Victoria's direction. "I can't get anything past you, can I?" Victoria didn't respond, but waited for Stefan to speak. "Are we really going to do this?"

"You think we're going to have another moment of privacy the moment Damon decrees that it's been 'long enough without my presence'?" Victoria questioned honestly.

Stefan snickered. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He shifted his weight on the bed again and let out his large breath in one, fell swoop. "The hours we were convinced you were dead were some of the worst hours of my entire life."

Victoria stiffened and nodded her head tersely. She had picked up on that, given how many stunned reactions there were to her coming back. "I-I...I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

"Nothing. You don't have to say anything," Stefan interrupted, glancing towards her. There was a level of hurt in his eyes and Victoria felt a pang in her heart. "I...I saw things that I haven't seen in over a hundred years. My brother crying. Lexi broken down in despair. I tried...I tried so hard to keep it together but it felt like the world was caving in."

"And that's why you're here right now? To tell me that?"

"I'm here to ask you a request that seems out of character and totally random," Stefan stated. His hands shook lightly as he reached out. His hand rested lightly on Victoria's, and she couldn't help but stare at the connection. She felt a blush crawling up onto her face. "Can I just...can I just hold you?"

Victoria's heart broke in that moment. The level of hurt, of sincerity, of vulnerability, in Stefan's voice was real. Victoria swallowed heavily and nodded her head.

Victoria scooted back against the bed and lifted up the covers, slipping her legs underneath it. She held it up and silently invited Stefan to join her. He did so, slipping his legs underneath the covers and snuggling deep into the mattress. Victoria laid back onto the bed and shuffled, getting closer towards Stefan. Stefan reached out for her, without any shame, and grabbed tightly onto her shoulders. He yanked her forward. Her face smashed up against his chest and she let out a little squeak of surprise. He was like an octopus. His arms wrapped around Victoria's body and she could feel the tip of his nose brushing up against the top of her hair. One hand rested on the small of her back and the other threaded its way into her hair. He threw his leg over hers carelessly and Victoria knew that there was a full-on blush on her face. She felt like she was burning up.

But Victoria's flustered appearance disappeared in an instant when she felt Stefan's body begin to jerk and shake under her hold. He tried well to hide it, but Victoria could hear the little cries that escaped his lips. Her own eyes became blurry with tears and she snuggled her face deeper into Stefan's chest, trying to keep herself together.

"I-I'm a sympathy crier. I hope you realize this," Victoria sniffled, her voice weaker than it had been previously. Stefan's grip on her body just tightened in response. "Oh, Stefan."

"Please don't leave me."

The tears slipped down Victoria's cheeks and she bit her lower lip, nodding her head urgently. She had never seen Stefan break down to this extreme in her time knowing him personally. Had...Had the absence of her presence really hurt him that badly?

Victoria quickly made her mind up, damning the consequences of her actions to another day. She reached her arms around Stefan's torso and delicately, slowly, slipped her hands underneath his shirt. He flinched when her warm palms rested against his cool skin, but he didn't say anything to her. Victoria moved her hands so they were resting on his back, her fingers drawing little doodles absentmindedly.

"Do you feel that?" Victoria whispered, her throat tight with unspoken words and emotions. "I'm here. When you feel warmth, you'll know that I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"I-I just abandoned you," Stefan cried, and Victoria shook her head.

"You did not abandon me," Victoria growled firmly. "You were there. You stayed and you heard my words. What more could I have asked for? I'm not going to ask you to risk becoming a Ripper again," Stefan flinched at her words, and Victoria winced. Perhaps she should have stated that more delicately, "just so you could have seen me like that. It...It was bad, Stefan."

"You were my friend, and I couldn't even say goodbye."

"In this life, we may never get a chance to say goodbye," Victoria answered him. She brushed her thumb against the small of his back and Stefan let out a breathy sigh. His body relaxed marginally underneath her touch and Victoria counted that as a success. "All we can do is hope that we do get the opportunity."

"I heard your voice," Stefan whispered breathlessly. "Everywhere we went, the world just had your essence but you weren't there."

Victoria bit her lower lip as her eyes watered even more. She just hugged Stefan and snuggled her face into his chest. Stefan returned the hug eagerly and she could feel his lips firmly resting on the top of her head. She was alive. She was okay. She was cemented in reality. Things were alright. Things were okay. She was alive. She was alive.

Victoria was alive.

"Bitch, I have never been so freaking confused in my entire life."

"You're telling me," Victoria snorted, rolling her eyes. She was sitting in one of the less frequented bathrooms inside the Salvatore boarding house, her body angled to look into the mirror. In the reflection Victoria could see Vicki resting in her same position, her hands clasped in front of her in a thoughtful manner. "You aren't the one who died and came back."

Vicki raised an eyebrow and leaned backwards. "Really? Because last time I checked, I am in your mind and I did die and come back because you died and came back. We're one in the same, chica."

Victoria groaned and ran her hands down her face, shaking her head. She stood up and stepped forward towards the bathroom counter, bringing herself closer to the mirror. Victoria quickly observed Vicki, her eyes scanning over the mirror image's form. She seemed alright. Healthy. Why Victoria was concerned about a ghost who lived inside of her mind, she wasn't sure, but the Vicki in her mind had helped her in many situations. So, because of that, Victoria couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay?"

Vicki took a deep breath and released it in one fell swoop. The girl shook her head and folded her fingers together, resting them on the back of her head while her elbows rested on her knees. "I have never been more scared in my entire life. It was scarier than when Noah came and tried to drink our blood."

"I do suspect Noah stabbing us would be worse," Victoria murmured, wrapping her arms around her body tightly. "But you're not in any pain? Physically, I mean?"

"I don't have a physical form to be in pain, Tori," Vicki snorted, shaking her head. She let her arms drop to her sides and she rose up onto her feet. "I should be asking that question to you."

"If you're really in my mind, then you should know that I have never felt better in my entire life," Victoria admitted, shifting awkwardly on her feet.

"And that terrifies you."

"Yeah. Yeah, it does."

"How'd you even slip past Stefan anyways?" Vicki asked, peering curiously towards the door. "Last time I checked, he was holding onto you like you were his teddy bear."

"I just got up," Victoria explained, shrugging her shoulders. "I told him that I was going to the bathroom so he wouldn't freak out when he woke up and I wasn't there."

"I bet that's going to be an awkward conversation with the girlfriend," Vicki snorted, rolling her eyes.

Victoria groaned. "We are not having this conversation again. The two of us are friends, he needed comforting because I had just been dead for hours, only to be brought back to life in order to have his older brother rip my heart out again to ensure that I didn't kill him and the rest of the group, only for me to re-alive myself again. I just comforted him. That was all."

Vicki gave her a look that told Victoria she didn't truly believe what Victoria was saying. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe you."

"Well then, it's a good thing that I'm not going to try and convince you," Victoria snorted, rolling her eyes. "That sounds like more effort than its worth. Now, I actually came to you for a reason."

"You don't just enjoy my company?"

"Shut up. Were you conscious when I went to the...shit, what'd he call it...?"

"If you're asking if I was awake when you went to that place of peace with that cutie Henri, then yes, I was," Vicki confirmed, nodding her head.

Victoria scrunched up her face. "I mean, I guess he was cute, but I was a little busy freaking out that I was alive, then dead, then alive, then dead again to really worry about that."

"Then it's a good thing you have me to help you multitask," Vicki snickered, sticking her tongue out playfully. "And being the amazing mind-roommate I am, I'm assuming you want to know if I can get back in contact with Henri without us doing the whole dying thing. That's just an assumption, though."

"You're pretty spot on," Victoria sighed. She brought a hand up and massaged her temple. "We need to know more about what we've become. An Immortalis? That information has never come up in the TV show. Ever. Which means that because I am here, and Kelly is here, we have changed the world in such a drastic way that a new supernatural creature has come to exist."

"Surely there was another creature like this 'Immortalis', wasn't there?"

"Yeah, a phoenix in Legacies," Victoria hummed, biting her lower lip worriedly. "But they literally die in an eruption of flames. We didn't do that. Either time. And they definitely did not have weird magical powers that caused immense moments of pain."

"Yeah..." Vicki commented, her face scrunching up slightly. "I still don't understand that part just yet."

"Who knows if we will unless we get some answers," Victoria grunted. "I think it's time we have a little chat with Kelly."

"You know, I don't know if anyone has used this dining room in my entire life," Zach commented offhandedly as he entered the large dining room. Everyone else was already gathered (Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena there too at Victoria's request; the conversation over what had happened that night had still not yet come up between Victoria and Caroline but it was due at any moment). Zach took a seat at the far end of the table, taking up the head as Victoria sat in the other one. He nodded his head towards Victoria and spread his arms out, motioning towards the mounds of pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, and strategically placed bags of animal blood scattered throughout the table. "It all looks delicious."

"Caroline has to take some credit," Victoria admitted, nodding her head towards the blonde. She still looked shaken, but she nodded her head in gratitude. "She's the one who stress-bakes."

"As any normal person would when they see their best friend's dead body, their best friend come back to life, their dead body again, and then alive once more," Caroline murmured, reaching forward to grab her water. She chugged it quickly and resumed stuffing her face with pancakes.

The Mystic Falls gang were all seated around in the table in a particular order. Victoria sat as the head on one side, and to her right sat Kelly, then Bonnie, then Lexi, and then Lee. Zach took up the other head position, and to his right was Stefan, Elena, Damon, and then Caroline, who was seated to Victoria's left. Out of the corner of her eye, Victoria could spot the reflection of Vicki in the mirror behind Zach. In the reflection, the girl was leaning up against the back of Zach's chair. She was eyeing the food hungrily.

Victoria took a sip of her water before she started to speak, "These last few days have been...well, to be blatantly honest, horrible, shitty days. And as much as I would love to just ignore everything's that happened, there are answers that we need." She looked towards Kelly. "I asked everyone to come so we didn't have to repeat anything. Nothing will get lost in translation."

"I suppose that it is for the best," Kelly sighed, before nodding her head. "Fire away."

"You said that I was a witch," Victoria began, to which Kelly nodded again. "I can be compelled though."

"Damon brought that up last night," Kelly hummed, motioning towards Damon with her fork. Damon gave Kelly a little smirk and a baby hand-wave before he used his fork to steal a piece of bacon off of Caroline's plate when the girl wasn't looking. "I didn't know how that was possible, since you were definitely a witch. However, now that I know you are a Wanderer, like myself, I have a few more hypothesises."

"Such as...?"

"I believe the first thing that you all should know is that the LeBlancs are all Wanderers," Kelly stated, and the dining room erupted into noise. Elena choked on her water, Victoria let out a strangled gasping noise, and Bonnie nearly threw up her pancakes. Lee and Lexi just caught each other's eyes in confusion before looking back towards Kelly.

"Excuse me?" Victoria finally managed to say. "All of us...are Wanderers?"

"It's not a surprise to you that our family doesn't exist in the normal canon of the show," Kelly said, shrugging her shoulders. "The only reason we are here is because we have been transported from another dimension. Or, more specifically, our mind has been."

"Back up, try again," Damon ordered, swirling his fork around. "What do you mean your mind gets transported?"

"Let me explain my journey. It'll be easier that way. As I stated before, I was originally a twenty-three year old from the year 2022," Kelly explained, using her hands for added motions as she spoke. "Before I came here...I was dying. It was a bad sickness." Kelly sent Victoria a look, one that felt private and secret between the two of them. Victoria's brow furrowed in confusion before the puzzle pieces clicked.

"Oh," she whispered, and nodded her head. That. She had forgotten that had existed back in her time. Victoria had hoped that from whatever "world" Kelly was from, whether it was her own or not, that that hadn't been included.

"I died," Kelly said bluntly. "But, when I woke up, I was seventeen years old at the hospital battling pneumonia. An unfortunate side effect from the sickness I had just died from. But the weird thing was I could remember all these memories that I hadn't lived, but at the same time, I felt as if I had lived them. It was only when my mother, Grammie Blanc, showed up at the hospital for a visit that she had realized what had happened. Told me it was a legacy of our family. We were blessed with the opportunity to be placed into this world, just at different time periods."

"So you left 2022 and ended up in 1991, as a seventeen year old," Victoria repeated, looking towards Kelly for confirmation. She nodded her head. "That's nearly twenty years before the main storyline."

"I know," Kelly breathed, frowning. "But at least I recognized characters, so I wasn't entirely lost. My mother told me that Wanderers had versions of themselves in very different worlds; our family line all just happened to have lives in the Vampire Diaries universe. When a Wanderer dies in their home world, she said, our consciousness is transferred into the other world. They are so in-tuned with each other that our minds meld and we become one person. Also, when we go through our death day, as she liked to call it, our other-selves go through a similar event. I died of...that sickness, and my other-self was stuck in the hospital with pneumonia for weeks."

"So then how come you remember all of your memories with your other-self?" Bonnie asked curiously, leaning over the table to look at Kelly. She gestured up towards Victoria. "Tori doesn't remember hers."

"That's because Victoria died."

Victoria blinked a couple of times before drawling, "Yeah, I know. I've done that way more than any normal person should have."

"No, no, no," Kelly sighed, shaking her head. "Before this past week. You got hit by the Gilberts' car on Wickery Bridge, fell into the water, and drowned. Is that how you died in the other world?"

The cold set into her bones immediately, dampening her coat. Victoria clawed desperately at her darkened surroundings, trying to pull herself up towards the surface. Her legs refused to cooperate, though. They were like deadweights, dragging her down deeper into the abyss. She couldn't tell which way was up. Her heartbeat was so loud that even she could hear it. It was frantic and crazed. She was scared.

She felt her body begin to shut down, her fingers stopping their desperate climb, her torso relaxing from its jerking around. Her eyelids slowly began to drift off to a close. The splendor of the millions of stars...

"Stay in the present, Tori," Victoria heard Vicki whisper in the back of her mind.

Victoria licked her lips awkwardly and swallowed heavily, giving a jerky nod in response to Kelly's question. It had been quite a while since Victoria had thought about the accident. So much more had happened that seemed to take precedence.

Kelly caught on to Victoria's reaction, because she leaned over and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers. Kelly leaned over and spoke softly, "No one's died, Victoria. Not in transition."

"Something went wrong," Zach breathed quietly.

"Something went wrong," Kelly confirmed. "I think that Victoria's other-self dying caused a disruption. Your memories didn't line up when you woke up in this world. As a result, your witch powers didn't connect properly. To this world, you were just Victoria LeBlanc, human. Our powers are connected to our other-selves."

"W-Will my memories ever return?"

"I don't know, baby girl," whispered Kelly. "I-I just don't know."

Victoria swallowed heavily and nodded, slowly retracting her hand back. She shakily grabbed her fork and quickly shoveled more food into her mouth. She didn't want to dwell too long. It wouldn't bring about anything good.

"You said you spelled Victoria's anklet to resist compulsion, along with connecting only to her, among other things," Damon commented. His voice lacked the usual tease that was always hidden in there. Victoria also noticed the way his eyes strayed over towards her. "What are 'other things'?"

Kelly leaned back against her seat and folded her hands together. "I spelled it so that Victoria's blood would have a rather bitter taste against vampires. I didn't want anyone taking a nibble out of her."

Stefan, Zach, Victoria, and Damon all shot up in their seats and simultaneously shouted, "That was you?" with various levels of disbelief.

Elena just blinked in surprise and looked around the table. "Guess there was something that we missed."

Stefan was quick to explain. "Victoria's blood always smells good, but according to Damon and Zach, it has a bad, bitter taste. Like catfishing, but with blood."

"That explains so much," Zach hummed, mostly to himself, his gaze thoughtful. "But it doesn't necessarily explain why her blood still had the taste after it had left her body, where the anklet was."

"But it does explain why Vicki seemed to like it so much," Victoria put in. At Caroline's quizzical eyebrow, Victoria sighed and whispered, "Also a vampire. Long story with that one." She returned her gaze back onto Zach. "Logan Fell ripped my anklet off before Vicki kidnapped me. She never once complained about how my blood tasted."

"And it sounds like we will need to have a conversation about that later," Kelly murmured, sending Victoria a look that said Victoria could be confessing to everything that had happened to her since "she" had arrived.

"Any other special side effects because of this anklet that we should know about?" Lexi mused, gobbling up the bacon and eggs on her plate. She reached forward and grabbed one of the blood bags, using a straw to stab it. "Is she going to be able to fly, or something?"

"Back when I originally thought that Victoria had amnesia," Kelly began. "I spelled the anklet to suppress her magical qualities. I didn't want her to panic if her powers acted out due to her emotions or something. Right now, that flimsy piece of metal is the only thing keeping her from lashing out with her powers as the..." Kelly swallowed heavily, but stammered out, "A-As the Immortalis."

"Which can lead to our next question," Stefan mused, swallowing down some water. "What is an Immortalis? Because while is seems like this 'Henri' guy gave Tori some answers, it wasn't all that much."

Kelly dusted off her hands and sat up straighter in her chair. She squared her shoulders. Victoria felt like she was about to get the most important lecture of her entire life.

"Not much is known about the Immortalis. Many believe the supernatural creature to be a myth. A thing of legends," Kelly explained. "It is believed that there is only ever one Immortalis in existence at a time. They are one of the most feared creature in all supernatural history. Anything they wish to have happen, it happens. Their magic makes it so."

"Sounds a little overpowered to me," Lee mentioned.

"The Immortalis does have a weakness," Kelly stated. "Though it gets a little fudgy with the details around this point. So many rumors have started up over these creatures that it's hard to tell fact from fiction. First off, I suppose, we should say that there is two stages of an Immortalis, or so I am told. The Transitioning and the Reality. Odd names, yeah. A Transitioning Immortalis is when an Immortalis is first awoken; their powers are brand new. They are very susceptible to emotions. Their emotional stability somehow correlates with the Reality, in which a Transitioning Immortalis decides to become a Positive Immortalis or a Negative Immortalis. While an Immortalis is in the Transitioning, they have one very specific, rather difficult weakness."

"Please don't let it be something stupid like tacos," Victoria sighed, shaking her head. "I don't think I can give up Mexican food."

"You have to be magically drained of all your blood," Kelly said and silence fell across the room. "Yeah, it's not a pretty picture."

"Lovely," Caroline squeaked, and Victoria whispered an apology to her friend. They had soooo much to talk about once this breakfast discussion was finished.

"I wish I knew more, but witches and the Immortalis have never been what people would consider 'friends'," Kelly admitted, using quotation marks around the word 'friends'. "All that has been written in witches' grimoires is how to defeat a Transitioning Immortalis, not how their powers or the Reality portion works. You'd have to find a diary of a former Immortalis for that one."

"Great," Victoria huffed, frowning. "So, as a recap of everything we've just talked about: I'm a Wanderer, as is everyone in my supposed family in this life, and I have a body double in another universe, this universe. I died, she died, but was then revived, and that's why my supposed 'witchy powers' don't work here and why I have to play the amnesia card. Meanwhile, a fellow Wanderer who knows all about this process uses her lightning magic to spell a magical anklet that's supposed to help make my life slightly better, but that kind of fails. On top of that, I'm a freaking supernatural creature that no one's heard of, who has struggles keeping her powers together, can only be killed by witches, but has to keep a tight grip on her emotions even though she's an emotional mess, because who the hell knows what might happen next?" Her rant complete, her shoulders were heaving. It took Victoria a moment to realize that she had been shouting towards the end of it all and she sighed, shaking her head in apology. "I'm sorry. I kind of lost it."

"So she's going to be a walking, talking version of PMS for who knows how long?" Damon interjected and Victoria shot Damon a glare. He held his hands up in defense. "I'm just asking for safety purposes."

"Extreme grief or happiness could tilt the scale in either direction," Kelly supplied. "As for the magic, I can help train her to better her control. She hopefully shouldn't lash out. She'll be good."

"Meanwhile, I can start looking into the Immortalis," Zach suggested. "I've got a couple of connections, and between this group, I know we know someone who must know something."

"Someone should get in contact with Noble and tell him what's happened," Victoria mused. "He's like the vault of information. If anyone's going to know, he would."

Lee coughed awkwardly, but nodded. Victoria's eyes narrowed. Now there was also an untold story that needed to be told. She'd pressure him for details later.

"So I guess we break and start there?" Victoria continued, glancing around the table to see if anyone had any other questions.

Damon pushed himself out from the table and stood up. "I'll go talk to the Sheriff and come up with a backstory over what happened tonight. No one outside of this room knows what happened to you so you won't have to deal with anyone wondering how you're still alive. To them, you didn't die."

"Shit!" Kelly shouted, jumping to her feet. She quickly raced out of the room, fumbling for something in her pocket, and Victoria just watched her go, equally curious but wary of what had just happened.

"I've got her," Lexi sniffed, standing up. She leaned over and gave Lee a kiss on the cheek before moving to follow Kelly out of the dining room.

Victoria caught eyes with Elena, Bonnie, and then Caroline and commented, "I think that we four need to have a talk. Hard-core discussion."

"You're damn right, we do," Caroline huffed. "So I'll start with this: vampires and witches are real?!"

A/N: Not my favorite chapter, but that's okay! We start back up with episodes again in the next chapter, so stay tuned! And y'all, you exploded the last chapter with reviews. Thank you! I'm glad you're all relieved that Victoria's alive! Here's some Stetoria fluff I promised you! Vilijah and Datoria stans still 50/50!

THE SHIPPING WARS! (feel free to keep on voting (you can vote for more than one ship!); 1 full point for if you choose one ship, two half points for two separate ships, more than 2, smaller decimals. Anything that is not a full point will be italicized. This will not decide the final pairing; I already know who Victoria will end up with, I just want you all to be able to guess):

ROMANTIC:

Team Stetoria {Victoria/Stefan} (15.5): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Lime, herewegoagain, K, Yukihino-Sama, emma, just another guest, BookwormStrawberry, heyyeah, Guest (3), guest4ithinklol, Guest (6), Guest (9), guest (1), theappleseed, Anaidiana, Hayden

Team Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (35): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76, Assenavira, CarlaPA, Guest (1), Maistryia, emma, just another guest, Freeshavacahdoh, Guest (3), Guest (4), Guest (6), sabrinaannpierson, Guest (7), Guest (8), Guest (9), guest (1), hfgfgfrdr, lillen20, Yolo, theappleseed, Guest (10), Juko, Bulma, Ellay, V, Ghest, charlievini, Guest (13), Guest (14), Guest (15), TrembleB4DietCoke, dhariti, Hayden, Guest (17), Elyse1821, Dannn

Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (35): guest, Guest, SoraLover987142, insert name here XD, sammyleann, Orange keys 25, LoyalElijahFangirl, Hinata Megumi, A. G Herz, Aryabloodlust, ferallahey, AngelColdHeart, BlueDragibus, dreamwalkerlisa, Guest, Stachelbeere, Guest (1), jocillyria, Guest (2), BookwormStrawberry, Ieviheichu, Teghan-Potter1370, karenc0r, Hachiko33200, Guest (11), Anaidiana, Dalia2009, wolfcorgi, Nia, Rory, Teghan-Potter1370, Guest (12), Shiro7, alessandra92, Guest (16), Guest (18), Karina

Team Klatoria {Victoria/Klaus} (5): Tayla141, TikiKiki, Guest (9), Mythology216 the Beard King, thisIsNotATest, Guest (10)

Team Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (2.5): DreamerPop, MelissaMorningstar, Guest (11)

Team Vinn {Victoria/Finn} (1): silentmayhem

PLATONIC:

Vinn {Victoria/Finn) (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, silentmayhem

Varcel {Victoria/Marcel) (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, jocillyria

Zinn {Zach/Finn} (.9): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, karenc0r

Jol {Jenna/Kol} (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Lime, Orange keys 25, karenc0r

Kelas {Silas/Kelly L.} (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25

Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (.2): Orange keys 25

Kennett {Kol/Bonnie} (.5): Lime

Autoria {Aurora/Victoria} (1.2): LoyalElijahFangirl, hfgfgfrdr

Vonnie {Victoria/Bonnie} (1): bpopa7110

Vibekah {Victoria/Rebekah} (1): BookwormStrawberry

Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (1): Guest (10)

New Followers!: Siresidera, Marcus10, purplepanda1014

New Favoriters!: AshlynV, Siresidera, purplepanda1014, henrydanger328382

Onto reviews (there's a lot; buckle up)!:

grapejuice101: SHE IS ALIVE! SHE'S OKAY! We start episodes again in the next chapter ;).

wolfcorgi: Got your vote! Thanks!

Guest: You are Guest (16) I believe if you ever want to change your vote. Your vote has been added!

silentmayhem: Yeaaaaah, I figured that could be a feeling some of y'all felt. Hopefully this helps to clear up some confusion.

Guest: Awwwww thank you! I was literally at work when I read this so I understand the struggle. Their interactions are super cute, aren't they? Victoria tends to koala-bear hug people a lot. She just did it to Noble in Turning Point Part 3, I think? Awwwww, I return your hug! Your review was so sweet. Bless you!

DBZFAN45: Yeah, I make a lot of stuff up, which is helpful when you write fanfiction. Yep, Kelly being a White Witch, tada! I threw in a lot of teasers towards her being a witch, and even a lot of teasers of her being from a different universe. I believe her Halloween costume I described in Haunted Part 2 was the biggest hint I gave. She said it was an Italian singer's outfit once. I based the costume on Ariana Grande's purple outfit from the "Rain On Me" music video she did with Lady Gaga. Timeline wise, during the year 2021, Victoria was 21 and Kelly would have been 22. So close in ages! 2nd Amendment: Piero is not an Immortalis, but he is definitely a LeBlanc and he has definitely met Katherine. We'll get to learn some of that later on. I believe being an Immortalis nullifies any previous supernatural-ness.

Guest: This group isn't anything if not dramatic.

BrookeWorm3: Most people were like that too XD. Yeah, WHOA is right.

edwardsgirl21: Thank you! That's so sweet! I'm glad.

BookwormStrawberry: YEAH, RIGHT?! I'm so happy that that secret is finally out! Thank you!

Guest: Your vote has been added! You are Guest (17) if you ever want to change your vote!

Teghan-Potter1370: Sveiski! (that's Latvian for hello!). Yay! I hoped no one saw it coming. Awwww, thank you so much!

Anaidiana: Yay! PLOT TWISTS! I never get tired of it, because it really does help boost my confidence as a writer. I definitely have typos scattered throughout this entire story, but thank you nonetheless! I can neither confirm nor deny anything, except I can confirm that I think Henri is cute. He's just very soft-boi energy, if you know what I mean. Aww thanks! Here's some Stetoria fluff for you! Enjoy! How's the entire family line of LeBlancs being Wanderers for you? That's gotta be startling.

CrystalAris: Aww thank you! If you're asking if Noble is Victoria's father, that I can happily answer with a 'heck no'. Noble is not Victoria's father. Never has been, never will be. That's weird. And by the J. Nicholson, if that's a reference to anything, that was not intended.

charlievini: Your vote has been added!

Elyse1821: I think you're our first switcher. I'm glad you know me so well by now that you know I'm not going to reveal anything XD. Just wait. That Mama Bear energy is going to be stronger than ever.

Aurora Mikaelson: That was the goal!

Dannn: Your sugar cube has received his vote! They are cute, aren't they?

Karina: I took that as a vote for Elijah. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Hmmm, you never know. Things could turn out pretty different or pretty similar, but maybe for different reasons. Awww, thank you! You translated perfectly. Feel free to speak in your native language in reviews. I'll have to run things through a translator, so I might sound weird, but I'm willing to do that if it helps your reading experience!

dhariti: Your vote has been added! Oooooh, that's a good thought.

Lime: Heyo! Yeah, the reviewer was a Guest and titled their name as "Unrealistic Fanfiction" because they thought that Mrs. Landstrom yelling at Victoria and claiming the accident was her fault was too unrealistic for fanfiction. Like...this story has vampires, witches, werewolves, and now an Immortalis...and that was the most unrealistic thing? It just rubbed me the wrong way. The two of them will have a bit of a rough relationship as they learn to navigate this new dynamic with their relationship. Zach is a lot like a father figure to Tori, and she's like a daughter figure to him. As I mentioned in a previous review, Henri already radiates soft-boi energy and he's barely been in the story XD. Someone else mentioned that the meadow being Twilight-esque and then I remembered that Damon reads New Moon in canon, so I was like, "Why not?" and threw that in. Here's some Stetoria fluff for you! Until next time, dear Limestone! (I will strive for a new nickname for next time).

Until next time my dear readers!

BecomingFearless1F