Children of the Damned - Part 2
Victoria wasn't sure what was happening between her and Stefan when the duo drove into the parking lot for the high school. Stefan had been quiet, sullen almost, as he picked Victoria up from the boarding house. Their first pitstop, the Mystic Grill, had Victoria loading up on as much food as she could possibly stomach, but Stefan didn't bat an eyelash. Not that Stefan was stingy with money (after all, he had been alive a long time and had made some very wise investments), but Victoria would have thought that he would have said something. Anything. But no; Stefan kept his mouth quiet and it made Victoria's skin crawl.
Stefan pulled his little Coupe into one of the parking spots and threw it into park. He turned off the engine and grabbed onto his side door, ready to exit the car. Victoria's hand darted out and she grabbed Stefan's wrist, preventing him from moving. The vampire paused and looked at Victoria's hand, before his gaze travelled up her arm and to her face. Victoria couldn't read the emotion behind Stefan's eyes, and it made her squirm in her seat.
"Are you mad at me?" Victoria blurted out, flushing furiously when she realized her words. Stefan's eyes narrowed, as if he was trying to comprehend Victoria's words. It was a similar statement that Victoria had spoken to Caroline, all those months ago when she thought Caroline was pissed at her because Stefan was talking to her. "I get that I was kind of bitchy earlier, but I swear I hadn't had any food and Damon and my mom both tried to kill me, not intentionally, but -"
"- I'm not upset with you, Victoria," Stefan interrupted, shaking his head.
"Really? Because it seems like it? You haven't spoken to me once since I got into this car with you."
Stefan...blushed?...and looked away. He coughed roughly, clearing his throat, and murmured awkwardly, "I'm not upset with you, Tori; I'm embarrassed."
Victoria blinked once, then twice. Then blurted out, "What for?"
Stefan tensed up and moved his hands to the steering wheel, his fingers tightening on the steel. "This morning?"
Victoria let out an awkward 'oh' and turned away, feeling her own face flush with embarrassment. Seemed like she wasn't the only one wanting to die of awkwardness. Having lightning bolts thrown at her for most of the day had really hindered her ability to think much about the...late night activities that had been going on that night/morning. Thank goodness for that. It gave Victoria a rotten feeling in her stomach whenever she thought of that.
"A-At least it helped me realize there's more to being the Immortalis than just Scarlet Witch powers," Victoria tried to joke off, throwing in some humor to try and make the event seem nonchalant. Stefan didn't even crack a smile at that. Victoria breathed out an awkward sigh. "Right...you don't know who that is."
"I appreciate you trying to make it all nonchalant, but it's awkward and embarrassing, and I just want to apologize," Stefan sighed, shaking his head. "I think it's best if we just forgot this morning happened and move on."
"Can't agree more," Victoria agreed. She unbuckled herself and quickly exited the Coupe, grateful for the lowering light. She shook herself out and pricked up her ears. The neighborhood around the school were noisier than usual, but Victoria could faintly hear the sounds of a printer working from inside of the school. She snapped her fingers, drawing Stefan's attention to her. "Printer's running in the school. Alaric's making a copy of the journal."
Stefan nodded, letting her know that he heard and comprehend what she had said. Stefan disappeared in the blink of an eye and Victoria let out an exasperated breath. "Really, man?" She quickly took off after him.
She skidded to a stop in the hallway, right where Stefan was about to enter the classroom. Stefan glanced back at her with surprise and he widened his eyes in disbelief. Victoria rolled her eyes, but mouthed "I'll tell you later". Stefan nodded his head and sent her a look that said they would be having a talk later. The two entered Alaric's classroom, and Victoria felt a pang in her heart. It had been a while since she had returned to school. Between dying, resurrecting, dying again, resurrecting once more and discovering she had bombing witchy powers on steroids, school hadn't been the biggest priority.
Victoria headed straight towards Alaric's desk, her fingers tracing the wood edges as she stopped to observe only one manual on the top. It obviously wasn't Johnathan Gilbert's journal; the paper was too new. The copy, the one that Stefan would ultimately steal and use to betray Damon.
Yeah, she had to figure out what she was going to do with that.
There was a loud whipping noise that filled the air, and Victoria's instincts took over. Her hands shot up, her right hand in front of her left, and the world split from color to black and white. Suspended in the air, just a few inches from Stefan's heart, was a wooden stake. It was a decent size too. Similar to the size of the one that Noah had thrown into her own heart. It was wrapped in milky white ooze, a staple apparently of her magic. Stefan's hand was up and ready to catch it, had Victoria's magic not intercepted it.
"What the hell...?" she heard Alaric whisper in disbelief, and Victoria stiffened. Great...now that was going to be a rough conversation.
"You shouldn't have done that," Stefan grunted.
Victoria released her hold on the stake, and the offending object dropped into Stefan's hand. The moment she let go of her magic, the world returned to a realm of color. Victoria blinked and shook her head. That was...an odd side effect. She stepped away from the desk as Stefan raced forward, grabbing Alaric before he get out of the classroom. Stefan pulled Alaric away from the door and he threw Alaric forward. Alaric stumbled, falling to the floor, but he was quick to his feet again. Victoria get a clear distance from the two men as they continued their little "Who was more macho?" match and made her way to the door. She reached forward, grabbing the classroom door. Victoria risked a glance down the hallway and spotted a figure standing just on the far side of the hallway. Knowing exactly who it was, she lifted a finger to her lips, indicating silence, and she slipped the door shut. When she turned around, Alaric was seated at the desk and Stefan was fiddling with the gun that Alaric had used to shoot the stake.
"What is this, compressed air?" Stefan asked with no response from Alaric. "Did you make it yourself? Who are you?" Stefan took a step towards Alaric and their history teacher flinched hard, tensing up as if he was expecting Stefan to rip his heart out. "I'm not going to hurt you...unless you try that again."
"And even then," Victoria interrupted, sending Stefan a stern look that said he would not hurt Alaric, "I wouldn't let him hurt you."
Alaric didn't seem entirely thrilled by that statement; in fact, whenever he glanced towards Victoria, he looked a little sick. It made Victoria's skin crawl.
"Now..." Stefan murmured, looking hard at their teacher. He seated himself on one of the desks opposite of Alaric's desk. Victoria just stayed standing, ready to intervene if either tried something funny. "Who are you?"
"I'm a teacher."
"Are we gonna have to do this the hard way?"
"Am I seriously going to have to listen to you try and muscle your way through some very simple questions?" Victoria asked in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "Seriously...a little trust never hurt no one." Victoria turned towards Alaric and crouched down, so he was looking down on her. He seemed to relax a little at that and she stated gently, "We just need answers. I promise, nothing is going to happen to you. I'll try and explain everything I can later. I just need you to trust us right now, okay?"
Alaric nodded his head hesitantly after a few seconds of silence and continued, still shaky but stronger than before, "I-I'm also a historian. And while researching Virginia, I...made a few discoveries about your town."
"So you show up like Van Helsing," Stefan grunted. "Come on. Tell us the truth."
"Patience, Stefan," Victoria hissed under her breath.
Alaric apparently heard her, and he raised a hand, cutting her off. "I-It's alright, Victoria. My wife was a parapsychologist. She spent her life researching paranormal activity in this area. It was her work that led me here."
"Where's your wife?"
"Dead. A vampire killed her."
"Where's the Gilbert journal?"
"You seriously didn't see it?" Victoria couldn't help but snort and Stefan shot her a glare.
"What do you want with it?"
"Where is it?"
"It's on my desk," Alaric insisted.
"No, it's not."
The duo finally looked down and Alaric's brow furrowed in disbelief. His hands patted the top of desk as he frantically tried looking for the book. He looked back up towards Stefan and managed to stammer out, "I-It was on my desk."
"Victoria?" Stefan demanded, looking towards her for answers.
She just shrugged her shoulders and smoothly lied, "I can't be expected to know all the answers, Stefan. This little fact eludes me."
In reality, she knew exactly where it was. Anna, the precious little bean, was reading it right then at the motel that she and Ben were using as their base of operations. She wanted to protect Anna, who only wanted to save her mother (and Pearl was too beautiful to stay dead; was it a requirement that every mom in Mystic Falls had to be stunning? Seriously...). Plus, she didn't like Stefan's tone of voice. So in all, no answers for him. At least, no true answers.
Stefan grumbled angrily and turned to look back at Alaric. "How long have you been aware of me?"
"I learned just recently," Alaric admitted. "When you tried to compel me the night of the Decade's Dance. What about your brother?"
Victoria shot a confused look towards Stefan. Wasn't Damon the one who was supposed to try and compel Alaric? What had gotten...
Oh. Damon had been with her when she had died. Stefan must have handled the EMTs in the ambulance and ran into Alaric along the way. That made sense...
"You met Damon," Stefan sighed.
"Also at the dance," Victoria whispered helpfully, and Alaric turned to look at Victoria in disbelief. She shrugged. She'd explain later.
"Who do you think killed my wife?" Alaric demanded, sitting up straighter.
"Are you certain it was Damon?"
"I witnessed it."
"You witnessed Damon drinking her blood," Victoria corrected, and Alaric's eyes shot towards her in alarm. She shrugged. "You didn't find her."
"Find her? What do you mean?" Stefan asked curiously. He glanced back towards Alaric, confusion etched on his face. "I thought you just said that Damon -"
"- Yeah," Alaric interrupted, looking equally as confused. His gaze didn't move away from Victoria as he studied her. "I saw him draining the life out of her. He must have heard me coming. He just...disappeared. So did her body. They never found her."
"Theoretically, still could be alive," Victoria pointed out. "MIA, not KIA."
"Damon can never know why you're here," Stefan murmured. "He'll kill you without blinking."
"I'd like to see him try," Victoria growled darkly. Alaric wasn't by any means one of her favorite characters (too many Mikaelsons to compete with), but he was a good man and eventually, a good father. Damon wouldn't be able to touch him as long as Victoria was concerned.
"I can take care of myself," Alaric said sternly, turning to look at Stefan with a frown.
Stefan scoffed. "No, you can't. I can help you. If you let me."
Victoria rolled her eyes. These two were some of the most stubborn men she had ever met. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, drawing her attention away from them. She slipped it out, and spotted a couple of texts from Damon.
DAMON:
Need a hint.
Victoria snickered quietly to herself, ignoring the looks she received from Alaric and Stefan. Her fingers flew across the keys as she typed out a response to Damon.
VICTORIA:
What am I, a gumball machine of hints?
Damon's reply was immediate.
DAMON:
Yes.
Victoria bit her lower lip to stop from falling apart laughing. She had not expected that fast of a response, but she could sense the humor from Damon's words. He didn't take it too seriously. She typed out another response.
VICTORIA:
Alrighty-then. Whatcha need?
DAMON:
Knowing that you're all-knowing, is Elena telling the truth?
Victoria didn't need context to know what Damon was asking there. She gripped her phone tighter in her hands and slipped out of the classroom, moving down the hallway until she was sure that Stefan wasn't within hearing distance. She still glanced around, making sure there was no one there in the creepily-lit hallway. She dialed up his number and lifted her phone to her ear.
He answered immediately, "Obviously then, that's a no, given that you're calling me immediately after I sent that text."
"Don't touch her," Victoria warned, her voice low. "What I'm about to tell you requires you keeping a cool head. If not, no hint."
She could briefly hear him growling angrily under his breath, just nonsense words that didn't mean anything, before he finally agreed, "Fine. Give me the info, Mama Bear."
"If my presence here hasn't changed anything, then no, Elena's not telling the truth," Victoria began. She spoke quickly, trying to cut off Damon's angered growls, "But I'm going to try and make it the truth, alright? I'll talk to Stefan about it; what I need you to do is to not react. The moment you react, then they'll know. Got it?"
"I want to kill something."
"Join Jeremy on his video game then," Victoria advised, waving her hand around. "There's got to be some sort of violent, bloody video game in this day and age. Just...stay calm, okay? For me?"
Damon let out a groan. "The things I do to stay on your good side. I will be punching Stefan by the end of tonight. Only stipend of this agreement."
"I can agree to that," Victoria laughed. "I got to get back to Stefan. Who knows what kind of trouble he can get into by himself."
"Remind me to tell you a story later about him involving this one girl named Valerie.."
Victoria couldn't help the snort that came from her mouth. She rolled her eyes. "I unfortunately know all about 'V-card-wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am' Valerie. She is not necessarily a lady I enjoyed learning more about. I'll talk with you later. Enjoy family night. We'll be there soon, I think."
"See in a while, Mama Bear."
Victoria clicked the phone off and let out a sigh. Yeah...that was going to be an awkward conversation.
Victoria's eyes flashed open and she loudly shouted, "Shit!" Her fingers flew across her phone and she dialed up Bonnie's number. She pressed the phone tightly to her ear, waiting for the click.
Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up...
"Hey, Tori. What's up?"
"Oh thank heavens," Victoria breathed in relief, closing her eyes to silently send up a prayer of gratitude. "I really needed to talk to you."
"Could it wait? I'm in the middle of a date."
"With Ben, right?" Victoria said, to which Bonnie verbally murmured a 'yes'. "Where is he, in relation to you?"
"I'm across the Grill. There's a lot of people, so it's kind of noisey."
"Perfect," Victoria said. "Bonnie, I need you to trust me."
There was a moment of silence, and then Bonnie whispered hesitantly, "Is this you using your Wanderer knowledge?"
"Yes, it is, and I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable in any way," Victoria said in a hurry. "You need to leave the date, right now. Ben's not what he seems, and if you stay, it's going to get bad."
"But Tori! I can't just flake on him," Bonnie resisted.
"Yes. Yes, you can," Victoria continued, biting her lower lip worriedly. "Listen: go to Elena's house. Just somewhere where he hasn't been personally invited in."
There was a moment of silence, and then Bonnie asked, her voice cracking, "He's a vampire?"
Victoria squeezed her eyes shut tight. She swallowed the ball of emotions in her throat and stammered, "Y-Yes, Bonnie, he is. Please. Just get to safety. I can have Lee, Lexi, or Zach come pick you up if that would make you feel more comfortable. Give you an 'excuse' to use that sounds believable."
"Yes, please."
"Stay there, you'll be fine as long as you act normal," Victoria reassured her. "I'll send Lexi over right away. Stefan and I are at the high school, and we'll be over as soon as we can. You'll be fine."
Victoria quickly hung up and typed out a fast message to Lexi.
VICTORIA:
Pick up Bonnie Grill ASAP. Make it believable. Take her to her house or Elena's. Stay w/ her.
The response came a moment later.
LEXI:
On it.
Victoria breathed out, taking a moment to center herself. That seemed to be everything chaotic happening that evening in order. All that she needed to do was talk with Stefan, convince him that withholding the information from Damon would be bad (if he even was still doing that given the information that Victoria had supplied the group many times over). She rubbed her face with her hands and began to steadily make her way back towards the room with Stefan and Alaric.
She was about a few steps before the door when her phone buzzed again. Victoria glanced down at it and her worry spiked when she read Bonnie's name. Her blood froze when she saw the message.
BONNIE:
Ben just left. Said there was something that he needed 2 get. He left pretty fast. Headed down Main Street.
Victoria's eyes flew open in panic and she raced the last few steps to the door. Victoria whipped open the door to Alaric's classroom. Stefan and Alaric, who had been discussing something quietly, jumped back in reaction to her dramatic door opening.
"We need to leave, right now," Victoria ordered. She raced towards Alaric's side and yanked him up, pulling him to his feet and then pushing him towards Stefan. "Ben's heading this way."
"He's what?" Stefan stated, his eyes widening in surprise. "But isn't he supposed to be on a date with Bonnie?"
"Yeah, a date that none of us warned her about," Victoria growled in frustration, partially at herself. So much had happened in the past few days that she hadn't been thinking straight. This was why she wrote in her diary and checked it every day so she knew what was supposed to happen next and what she should do! "Stefan, take Alaric to your car and I'll -"
She paused when she heard the faintest whistling noise. She froze, her mind flashing back to the time she was stuck inside of her bathroom, Noah whistling too. This song was different. More lighthearted. Not as deep.
Victoria looked up towards Alaric, her eyes searching for his. "Is there a janitor or something here tonight?"
Alaric nodded his head. "Yeah, Walt. He cleans every night. Said he was working late today because he was trying to take tomorrow off. I said I would stay out of his way."
"Fantastic," Victoria sniffed. "Stefan, take Alaric and get out of here. Take him back to his apartment. I'll grab the janitor."
"We didn't bring two cars."
"We'll just take Walt's or I can hotwire Alaric's car," Victoria said hurriedly. She darted back out in the hallway. "Just go, now!"
She took off running before Stefan could try and argue with her.
It was like that morning's session of training all over again; only this time, Victoria was using her ears to try and pick out Walt's whistling. It was some old classic Disney song or another (Victoria found the irony in Walt singing a Disney song). The more time Victoria spent running, the more Walt's singing got louder and louder. Victoria sped around a corner and nearly came crashing into someone there. She slid to a stop, barely catching herself from running head-first into the man.
He was on the older side, with a head of bushy white hair that was similar to that of Albert Einstein. He had soft eyes and a seemingly kind demeanor. He was also short, barely coming up to Victoria's shoulders (and she was like what, 5'6", 5'7"?) How had Victoria never noticed him before?
"Excuse me, miss," the man said gently, his voice softer than Victoria expected. "I do not believe that you should be here at this time of night."
"Are you Walt?" Victoria asked hurriedly. The man nodded slowly, the dopey smile on his face never fading. "Great. Alaric Saltzman sent me. He said that he was having car troubles and he thought that you might be able to help."
This was the only time that Walt's smile dropped into a concerned frown. "He is? That is not good. Has he called a mechanic?"
"Yeah, but they aren't twenty-four hours and he just missed the deadline for when they're open," Victoria lied. She wasn't an actress by any means, but she could sell a fib or two (especially when the person she was lying to couldn't read her heartrate). "He said that you might be able to take a look at things and figure stuff out."
Walt gave a little nod and set down the mop he had been carrying in his hands. He brushed his now-free hands on his gray overalls and started to lumber past Victoria with heavy steps. "I used to work as the auto shop teacher here at the school before they shut that particular field of study down."
Victoria's eyebrows shot up in shock. "They used to teach auto mechanics here?" That was definitely something that hadn't been touched upon in the show.
Walt gave a nod. "Yep, but unfortunately, there was an electrical issue that no matter what we tried, we could never fix, so we had to cancel all the classes and tear the building down." He glanced over his shoulder, and finding Victoria following him closely, gave a nod of confirmation and looked back. They turned the corner into a new hallway and started to make their way down to the front lobby. "Yep. One student kept getting shocked over and over again. Strangely, it was whenever she tried to speak with this other student. The two of them didn't seem to be friends, but man, was the other student's girlfriend pissed. Who was the first student's name...ah yes! Donovan. Kelly Donovan. Every time she'd pass a flirt to the other student, she'd always ended up getting shocked. Some would call it an accident. I'd call it karma. Pretty amusing, either way."
Victoria snorted quietly to herself. Kelly, you've got some explaining to do.
All of a sudden, there was a loud rushing of footsteps. Before Victoria could react, she felt two hands on either side of her head, coming from behind her, and then the world turned black as she watched Walt walk away, unknowing of everything that had just happened.
Victoria shot upright with a gasp, her hands moving to grasp her neck. She patted the appendage, wincing at the terrible crick that seemed stuck in it. The lights were too bright for the school, the ground too soft, and the air smelled too fresh. She let out a groan and hung her head awkwardly. She was back in the meadow; the place of peace.
"Would you like me to try and get that crick out?"
Victoria didn't jump, per say, but she did let out a terrified squeak at Henri's sudden appearance. He was dressed only slightly different now; he still wore the basic outfit from earlier, but now he also had on a large black trench coat that fell dramatically to his ankles.
He gave her a boyish grin at the squeak and Victoria frowned, resisting the urge to cross her hands over her chest. "Don't sneak up on me!"
"Then don't die within days of last coming here," Henri retorted gently. He swept his coat to the side and moved towards Victoria's back. She heard the grass shuffle underneath him as he sat down and his legs appeared on either side of her body. She folded her legs dutifully underneath herself, Indian-style, so his legs weren't stretching too far.
She felt warm hands prod the back of her neck gently, before thumbs began to dig into her skin and retract in an almost dizzying motion. She resisted the urge to moan at how satisfying it felt, but Victoria did flash Henri a thumbs-up to let him know she did appreciate the gesture.
"I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you for a long while," Henri sniffed, his voice soothing. "What happened?"
"Shouldn't you know already?" Victoria managed to say with a tone that didn't sound too oozy. Damn, Henri gave killer neck massages. "Given that you're my Keeper, or whatever."
"Given the years of experience I have had, both being the Immortalis and a Keeper of the Immortalis, I've discovered that most prefer to speak of how they've died," Henri confessed, huffing when he hit a particular tough spot on her neck. He focused his fingers against the spot and Victoria purred happily. He was really good at them. "So, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Victoria gave a little sigh of defeat. It probably was warranted. Her shoulders slumped as she started to speak, "I was at the high school in my hometown. There was this vampire who was coming to the school, and none of us expected it. I sent Stefan, the brother to the vampire who killed me last to prevent my Immortalis-fueled attack, and my history teacher out of the building, but there was a janitor there that was still left. I couldn't just let him die, so I went to grab him and get out. Something came up from behind me and snapped my neck. My best guess? The vampire who was heading towards the school. He must have gotten there faster than I anticipated and he snuck up on me, which is weird because my reaction time is usually great."
"Unfortunately, I can tell you why you did not see him coming," Henri sighed, still kneading the back of her neck and shoulders as if he was a cat. "It is one of the exceptions to our immortality that I mentioned earlier. As vampires have vervain, the Immortalis, too, has a botanical weakness. An herb, found in healthy doses, or unhealthy doses for us, within the woods surrounding many towns. It seems that your town is one of them. Have you ever heard of something called wyrmwood?"
"Wormwood? Isn't that some herb that's supposed to help with stomach issues?"
"That is wormwood, yes. I am speaking of wyrmwood, with a 'y' instead of an 'o'. Wyrmwood, with a 'y', is like poison to the Immortalis. It neutralizes our senses and prevents our powers from working at full capacity. In appropriate qualities, it can be used as a sort of training wheels for the newest Immortalis. Your mother, the LeBlanc witch, correct?" Victoria nodded her head in confirmation. "To create your anklet, she had to use an equal helping of her magic and a potion. She used wyrmwood in the potion; a small amount, but enough that it does not poison you, but negates your powers to a certain degree."
"So basically, wyrmwood is to us as vervain is to vampires?" Victoria restated.
"Not quite. While vervain burns vampires if they come into contact with one another, such as how your necklace chain burnt that one vampire when you used it to choke him, wyrmwood is more...venomous, one could say. It leaks into our bloodstream and it causes rashes, shortness of breath. Anything that would be associate with being poisoned. If consumed in large amounts, wyrmwood has been known to give the Immortalis terrifying hallucinations, which results in large amounts of chaos, as you can imagine."
"But you just said the wyrmwood prevents our powers from working? How can there be that much chaos?"
Henri finished massaging her shoulders and shifted around so he was sitting next to Victoria instead of behind her. He explained, "The Immortalis is the most powerful supernatural creature known to any kind. What we think in our brains happens at our fingers. It doesn't hurt that our blood is rich in magic and can act as a booster of sorts to magical acts. Given enough persistence, the Immortalis can overcome any obstacle, except the magical blood draining. That is the only thing we cannot resist against."
"So, 'Eye of the Tiger' level of strength is needed to persevere wyrmwood?" Victoria couldn't help but ask.
Henri snorted, but nodded his head. "In a crude way of saying it, yes. That is correct."
"Okay, so just to wrap it up all in a neat little bow: if the vampire who killed me was Ben, then he must have come through the forest, running over wyrmwood, making my sense abilities go a little haywire. He came up from behind me, and snapped my neck. But what did he want..." Her eyes widened in distress and her head snapped to the side. "Henri! Is Walt okay?"
"Walt? Who is Walt?"
"The janitor. He was walking right in front of me when I got my neck snapped. Did you see him?"
"I'm afraid I did not," Henri admitted, shaking his head in a 'no'. His eyes sparkled. "But perhaps, there is someone who did."
Henri rose to his feet and offered out his hands to Victoria. She grabbed them and he helped her stand, waiting until her legs felt strong enough before he let go. Henri took a few steps away from Victoria and waved his hand in front of his body. Nothing seemed to happen. Not for a few moments.
Then, chaos exploded at the bank of the lakeside. Water was splashing and there was a definite figure there, though Victoria couldn't see them as clearly.
Henri offered out his arm. "Shall we?"
Victoria hesitantly slipped her arm through his and Henri led her gently across the meadow, keeping at a not-too-fast pace. The closer they got to the lakeshore, the more Victoria was able to see of the other person. They were a female, and she was soaked from head to toe. She was wearing skintight jeans and a black, thick-strapped tanktop. She was on her hands and knees, coughing towards the ground as her body shook with shivers. Once they were a few steps from the girl, Henri waved his hand again.
The woman's body was dried immediately, clothes and all, and she let out one more painful shiver. She spoke in a growly voice that was way too familiar to Victoria to slip by. "I don't care how freaking cute you are; you pull something like that again, I will pick your vertebrae out of your back, one at a time."
"Vicki?" Victoria breathed in disbelief.
The woman's head snapped up and she looked towards Victoria in disbelief. It was Vicki, but not...there was something about her mannerisms that seemed too...brutish for Vicki. She was stronger, and her mind was clearer. It was almost like looking into a mirror...
Mirror...
"You're the Vicki in my mind," Victoria gasped, recognition kicking in. "Mind Vicki!"
"Tori?" Vicki, or Mind Vicki, said in shock. The woman scrambled to her feet and glanced around, understanding flooding to her eyes. "Oh. We're in that wacky place of peace thingy, right? The Twilight Zone."
"That's a TV show, you idiot," Victoria whispered, her mind unable to process anything. Was she there? Really there? Victoria hadn't been able to see this version of Vicki in her 'world' before without using a mirror. So, if she wasn't just a reflection, did that mean...
Victoria reached out, her fingers brushing against Vicki's arm. The two women flinched as Victoria's fingertips made contact with the soft, warm skin. She was real. She was there.
"I-I can feel you," Vicki hissed, her shock coming through in waves. She looked up and caught Victoria's eyes, and Victoria could see a trace amount of fear there. "H-How can I feel you?"
Victoria didn't bother to ask Henri how he had done it. She just stepped forward and wrapped Vicki up in the tightest hug she could manage. Vicki hugged her back immediately and the two clung to each other. Neither moved and neither said anything. Even Henri had just taken a moment of silence.
It just felt right.
The loud snap didn't shock him by any means. The janitor released a sigh of disappointment and turned around, folding his arms across his chest. There she laid, sprawled out on the tiles like a piece of meat. Her neck was bent at an odd angle and her eyes were glassy, unseeing. He smacked his lips in distaste and looked up at the figure who had stood behind her.
He was relatively average in all ways. Not too attractive, not too strong, not too much of anything, really. Though he was pungent. The smell of wyrmwood was strong in the air; she must have been newly appointed if she didn't even notice the scent.
"Was that really necessary?" the janitor sniffed, tilting his head to one side. "I quite enjoyed her company and she cannot speak to me if she is dead."
"An overestimation of my strength," growled the person across from him. Male. He gave a little sniff. A freshly-turned vampire. Was pretty recent, perhaps only a few days old. "It wasn't her I was coming after."
"I see," the janitor continued. "You thought that perhaps I could be of some assistance to you?"
"You?" the vampire grunted, giving a short, harsh laugh. "Forget it, gramps. You're about the most unlikely person in the world who I would need. But, you know what? I am a little hungry, so I guess you will have your uses." The vampire stepped forward, walking over the woman's dead body, and he didn't like that. Not one bit. The vampire stood in front of him and dared to reach up, grabbing the janitor's jaw and forcing him to look into the vampire's eyes. There was a pathetic use of compulsion that tried to happen from the vampire. "You will not scream."
"No, I believe you will not scream," the janitor responded, and in the blink of an eye, the vampire in front of him was on the ground, gray lines of desiccation already starting to slink their way across the vampire's body. In the his hand, he held the heart of the vampire. He gave a little sniff. Pathetic. He dropped the heart onto the ground and brushed the bloodied appendage against his overalls as best he could as he used his other hand to grab the cell phone hidden in one of his many pockets.
He knelt down beside the dead woman and watched her with an unabashed curiosity as he scrolled down the few numbers he had saved in his phone. When he reached the one that he needed, he clicked the call button and held the phone to his ear.
The moment he heard a click, letting him know that the person on the other end of the line had accepted the call, he said, "I need a clean-up crew at the high school, math hallway."
There was a sigh of frustration on the other end of the phone and a woman's voice rang out, "Damn it. You were supposed to be undercover. How exactly are you going to explain this?"
"To whom?" the janitor questioned, shifting the woman's body around on the ground. He scooted her away from the ever-growing pond of blood that radiated from the hole in the vampire's chest. It would do her no good to interact with the vile stuff. She was only dead temporarily. No need to make it permanently. "The authorities should be no wiser on the situation if you come and do your job, and our commander has been MIA for days. What happens between us stays between us, no?"
"We are supposed to operate under a level of trust," the woman ranted. "No trust can be formed if we are all keeping secrets from each other."
"There are only three of us left, Jeanine," the janitor argued. "Alexander abandoned the cause to deal with it in his own way, as is his right, and Raphael...he learned the consequences of his rambunctious actions. No one has seen or heard from Noble. When he comes back, then perhaps that will be the time I share this information with him. Until then, you and I must have each other's backs, vero?"
There was a little sigh of defeat before she finally said, "Vero, Markus. Do I get to know what happened?"
"A baby vampire dared to hurt Noble's precious one."
A sudden growl of hatred from the other side of the phone echoed throughout the nearly empty hallway. "A vampire? A stupid changeling tried to hurt her?"
"I resent that statement. He and I were the same, sí? And did hurt her, Jeanine. Do not worry; she will rise soon enough."
"Better deliver her back to her home as best you can," Jeanine suggested. "I bet she would be mighty surprised to see you still live while the vampire who slayed her for now is dead."
"Would make for one heck of a story, amore mio," Markus laughed. "There is another one of my kind here. He will be worried for her when she does not exit the building and return. No need for breaking and entering tonight. I shall see you on the morrow. Make that delicious apple pie of yours."
"En el nombre del Cruxifijo, may you return safely."
"En el nombre del Cruxifijo."
A/N: So I am a bloody hypocrite and I have no words. Fun fact: when you're sick, and you really can't leave your room, you eventually man up and write things anyways because you're bored. Plus, I was reading Klaroline fanfictions this weekend and it always puts me in the mood to continue this story.
So, health update: I did test positive for COVID yesterday. I took a test last Wednesday, and a few hours after I posted the Thursday chapter, it came back as negative, so we thought I just got sick. Saturday to Sunday, though, my mom had a terrible fever and so she took a test and said if she got positive, she'd make me take a test. She got positive and I took the test, and apparently I'm "super positive" (the line is extremely defined). Honestly, though, the food poisoning I got in November was worse than this, so it's not that bad. I'm just trying to not get my siblings sick, though my sister's already coming down with something. Eek!
Chapter 40, y'all, and we haven't even gotten to the tomb yet! And here we have Markus and Jeanine! Did anyone see that one coming? Ben's out early. I didn't really like him as a character. And something I will confirm: we will be saving Pearl. I walked in on my sister watching this episode, and it was just when Pearl was getting taken away, and all I could think was "Dang, she's hot. I know exactly how to fit her into my story". I'm still undecided on Anna, so hold that one loosely. She might be one of those characters who dies but we bring back later, savvy?
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} (17): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Lime, herewegoagain, K, emma, just another guest, BookwormStrawberry, heyyeah, Guest (3), guest4ithinklol, Guest (6), Guest (9), guest (1), theappleseed, Anaidiana, Hayden, Takinginspiration1, Serena Salvatore, Prometo
Team Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (36): 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, Yukihino-Sama
Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (36.5): 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, Serena Salvatore, xrysatsan
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) (1.9): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, silentmayhem, Prometo
Varcel {Victoria/Marcel) (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, jocillyria
Zinn {Zach/Finn} (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, karenc0r, Prometo
Jol {Jenna/Kol} (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Lime, Orange keys 25, karenc0r
Kelas {Silas/Kelly L.} (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25
Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (1.2): Orange keys 25, Serena Salvatore
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!: meryrecavarren, dvlisxbby, Softiso, Dorisangel
New Favoriters!: meryrecavarren, dvlisxbby, Uchiha-no-Hime, Dorisangel
Onto reviews!:
Yukihino-Sama: You're the second reviewer whose switched from Team Stetoria to Datoria. Just a fun fact. Ah yes, I love writing the sexual tension. It's so much fun. I find it hard to stick with stories once a relationship is established if there isn't sexual tension. Get ready for a long slow-burn. So many people have been pleading with all their worth to have Damon be with somebody else if he isn't with Victoria. Like, they really do not want him with Elena (it seems they want her to be eternally single). I have to keep my eyes open, and if I see anyone else who is more of a viable option, should Damon not end up with Victoria (still keeping things ambiguous so everyone will get a fun vote!), I'll let you know.
edwardsgirl21: Aww thank you! Even if she has undecided feelings towards Stefan, Victoria cares a lot for her friends and is willing to go out of her way to help them.
xrysatsan: I'm taking that as a vote for Team Vilijah (tell me if I'm otherwise wrong). Elijah is a very stable person compared to many of the people who live in Mystic Falls, so I feel like no matter if they are romantic or just platonic, he'll be a good fit for her. Yeah.
Anaidiana: Awww thank you! I think I'm better at writing sexual tension better than actual romantic scenes, so that's why XD. I don't know. I hated Damon when I started this fanfiction; couldn't stand him...and now he's a major character and a good friend to Victoria XD. There's definitely something happening between Victoria and Stefan...but what? Hehe. Kind of like a Heretic, but she's neither witch or vampire now, just a weird mixing of both, you know? Her magic I picture to be like Wanda Maximoff's from the MCU. I can confirm that Tori will become a badass supernatural creature.
DBZFAN45: Oh my gosh, Damon would have totally corrupted Victoria like that with the money XD. Oh trust me, the appetite thing will make more sense when Victoria wakes up in the next chapter. I am actually feeling better compared to how I felt like Thursday and Friday, which is why I was shocked to test positive on Sunday. It's almost like a cold, that's how low-key it was. I thought it was a sinus infection XD. I thought it was kind of comical how I got the disease that I made in this fanfiction send Kelly from her world to this world, you know? 2nd Amendment: Oh my gosh, you're right with the you-know-who. It does sound like sexy Voldemort XD. He's much sexier than Voldemort, trust me on this. Yes, Kelly and Victoria's dad did meet before the canon TVD storyline. And thank you! I decided to throw my hand at trying to create a cover (it was me, not fanart. I've actually never got fanart for any of my stories, but I'd love to have some for this one!). The words might be hard to read, so from top to bottom, it says "What do you do when death isn't an option?", and then below that is "Honey, I rose up from the dead/I do it all the time" which is lyrics from Taylor Swift's song, "Look What You Made Me Do". I thought it was fitting. Below that is the phrase "I would kill anyone I had to if it meant you kept that smile" and below that is the title "Victory". On the box to the far left it says "Immortalis/Now on: Season 1". I think I'll update the cover image for every season, you know?
silentmayhem: She never gets a break that we see. Canonically in this story, there are days in between some chapters that we don't see, so nothing tremendously bad has happened to her in a few days, so to speak. Until this chapter XD. She's going to go through a lot.
Karins: Привет! Добро пожаловать, и спасибо за ваши добрые пожелания. Я полностью вижу, как Клаус раздражает Викторию из-за своего старшего брата и дразнит ее из-за ее отношений с Элайджей (если это произойдет), а затем она просто мстит и дразнит его из-за Кэролайн. Не беспокойтесь о том, что вам не нравится Стефан. Каждый имеет право на собственное мнение. Мне не нравился Деймон, когда я начинала этот фанфик, а теперь он вырос на мне, как грибок. О да, я не могу дождаться Перл! Большое спасибо, и я надеюсь, что вам понравится эта глава!
Prometo (Ch. 22): I love long commentary, so go for it! That's alright. I'm honored that you're practicing your English with this story. It has a couple of typos, so hopefully that's not tripping you up! I think Tori doesn't like vampire blood because one, it must not taste very good (it is blood after all), and also yeah, the idea of immortality can be scary to some people. It is to me, honestly. As for her blood, you'll get this answered by the time you get to this review, but Kelly enchanted the anklet to disguise the taste of her blood so that vampires wouldn't want an extra bite, you know? Oh yeah, Victoria's gone through the wringer and she'll continue to be a bit of a whipping post for a while. I feel like human-Damon was similar to Victoria; he saw good in people he cared for, and so he was willing to help them. It is really hard not to fall in love with Stefan. He is very sweet and kind. Haha, Kelly agrees with you for sure. Oh my gosh, you're totally right with the dancing with Damon being like Miss Mystic Falls. A lot of people have mentioned that their relationship does seem similar to Lexi and Stefan. Hmmm...I'll have to think on that Elena gets an injury thing. It seems like a good idea, I just got to figure out where would be a good place to put that in. Okay! You're on Team Stetoria. There is so little fanfiction with Stefan and OCs. Klaus and Hayley do have a great relationship, I agree. I personally find them to be more platonic soulmates rather than romantic, cuz I preferred the Haylijah romance (though honestly, I think I would prefer Katherine with Elijah over any other possible Elijah romance). It would be adopted father, since Kelly is her adopted mother. Victoria doesn't know who her biological parents are in this world (in her own world, they were Rocco and MacKenzie Vanacore). Awww, that's cute! A Zally romance would be cute. I have other romances lined up for the two of them, however, so they'll probably just end up as good friends. I'm glad you liked Noble! Perhaps he has bad timing? I can't reveal if he's an OC or a character in the series, because that might spoil his identity. The name is made up, I can say. As far as I know, there isn't a character under the name of Noble in the series. I can't stand Tyler either. I love how you just know that Lexi will survive XD. Well, you were right anyways. I lowkey ship Bamon too, but Bonenzo is soooo cute. There is a butterfly effect, isn't there? I didn't even think about that. Mhmm, you're right. Did I have a vampire compelling a werewolf or witch earlier in the story? I didn't think I did, but if I did, please let me know and I'll edit that out.
Lime: I know you didn't review this chapter just yet, but still, I wanted to say hi! How are you doing?
LoyalElijahFangirl: I know you also didn't review this chapter, but just wanted to give you some encouragement! You got this! Kick university in the butt and go get you some education! You're doing great! I'm proud of you!
That's all for now. Chapter 40, 398 reviews (we'll hit 400 this chapter! Eek! I'm so excited!), 304 Followers, 236 Favoriters, 46.7k+ views, and roughly 335k+ words long! I'm proud of us. By the way, how'd y'all like the new cover art? I made it myself, cuz I got bored. If you guys want to make fanart for this story, I would absolutely adore it!
Until next time,
Stay healthy and stay safe!
BecomingFearless1F