Trigger Warning: mature language, violence
Bad Moon Rising - Part 2
The moment that Victoria walked into the Gilbert household, gone with Elena, Stefan, Tom, Alaric, and Damon so Stefan could help Elena get packed for the day trip, she was scooped up into a tight hug by Jeremy. Victoria's arms automatically wrapped around the younger teen and she returned the squeeze as tightly as she could without physically harming him (which, with her enhanced strength, she had to be very cautious about). "Hey, Jerebear."
"You're up and out of the room," Jeremy sighed, planting his forehead against her shoulder. Victoria made a frown and reached up to gently card her fingers through his long hair. Jeremy hummed happily at the motion. "I thought you were never going to leave there."
"That seems a tad bit dramatic," Victoria told him, but she rested her head on his and gave him an extra squeeze. To be honest, she, too, thought that she wouldn't leave that room for much longer than she did.
Hell, one of the reasons she had left that room was because all of his clothes were left there. She was currently wearing his large leather coat (the one with extra stakes hidden away in the sleeves), one of her blue Henleys, and some skinny jeans with black boots that Ms. Gibbons had supplied for her. The necklace from Noble was still around her neck, and Kelly's anklet burned a hole in her pocket. She had wanted to leave it. Hell, she had wanted to leave it so badly, but reason (reason by the name of Vicki) told her that an extra backup of vervain wouldn't hurt.
She really couldn't argue with that logic.
Victoria pulled herself out of Jeremy's hold and glanced past him and towards the stairs. "Is Jenna...?"
"She's still in her room," Jeremy confessed, looking towards the stairs with sorrowful eyes. "I've tried everything I can think of to get her to come out, but she's just...stuck."
"Is she blaming herself?" Victoria asked quietly, turning to look back at Jeremy.
The teen shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I don't know, Tori. I-I...I just don't know."
Victoria frowned, nodding her head. She bit her lower lip in concentration and then just sighed. "Fine. I'm going to go up and see her. Can you go and see if Elena needs help packing?"
"Where are you guys going exactly?" Jeremy asked, tilting his head curiously. "Elena mentioned something halfheartedly, but she wouldn't give me the full details."
"To put things simply, there might be werewolves in Mystic Falls, and Isobel, Elena's bio mom, might have written things down about it in her journal back at Duke University, where she taught with Alaric," Victoria explained as she made her way to the stairs. "Tom, Damon, Alaric, Elena, and myself are heading out there to check things out. Harper, Ms. Gibbons, and Stefan are staying back to handle things with Caroline, and I'm assuming Lexi and Lee are with Amber."
"I can stop by their place before the pool day today," Jeremy offered out. Victoria pursed her lips. She had totally forgotten that Jeremy, Tyler, and Matt had spent the past three days planning the whole school swimming excursion. Jeremy had told her that while she was stuck in that room. "I doubt they'll want to come, but it couldn't hurt."
"Smart plan, Jere," Victoria told him. She gave him a warm look. "You're a good friend, Jeremy Gilbert. Anybody ever tell you that?"
Jeremy paused and there was a look of warmth in his eyes. "No, actually. I don't think I've ever had anybody really tell me that."
Victoria's heart broke in that second, but Jeremy was heading past her up towards Elena's room before she could try and speak to him again. She let him go, but made a heavily emphasized mental note that she would be having a self-worth conversation with him very soon.
Victoria took the steps two at a time before getting to the second floor. She made a beeline to Jenna's room and when she reached the door, she knocked gently on it. "Jenna? It's me, Victoria. Can I come in?"
There was silence.
Victoria shifted her body so she could press her ear against the door and she strained to try and hear any sort of sign of life...
...a heartbeat.
Well, Jenna wasn't dead.
That was a good sign.
"Jenna, I can hear your heartbeat," Victoria hummed, keeping her voice soft, but lighthearted. "Can I come in, please? I could really use one of your hugs."
There was a grunt, and it sounded happyish enough that Victoria took it as consent.
She gently pushed the door open, cautious of the way that the door squeaked at its hinges. The room was dark except for the light that shone through the thin curtains. There was a lump underneath the queen sized bed coverings, and a splash of familiar red hair at the head of the bed. Victoria carefully toed off her shoes and once her sock-clad feet touched the ground, she tiptoed forward and crawled up onto the bed. She army-crawled her way up the sheets and paused only when she felt like she was level with Jenna. "I know you're here, Jenna. Red hair is hard to hide against gray sheets."
Jenna grunted at her, and if the situation didn't feel so dire, then Victoria might have laughed.
"I know you don't want to see me," Victoria began, but she was quickly cut off by the covers flipping up aggressively and Jenna bolting upright so she was sitting up.
Jenna looked down at Victoria with a glare, and Victoria could see just how swollen and red her eyes were from crying. It must have been like looking in a mirror, because Victoria felt the same way that Jenna looked. "It's not about me not wanting to see you, Victoria! It's about you not wanting to see me!"
"Why wouldn't I want to see you?" Victoria asked, genuinely confused. Had something happened that Victoria didn't know about?
Jenna scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Maybe because it was my best friend who killed your boyfriend?"
Victoria blushed and looked down at the sheets, picking at the covers with her fingernails. "W-We weren't exactly dating -"
"- Or how about my best friend threatening one of your friends to try and save your best friend -"
"- Yeah, but -"
"- Or how about, in my best friend doing that, she inadvertently killed your father? Huh? Care to explain now, Victoria, why I think you wouldn't want to see me!" Jenna demanded, her shoulders heaving with despair.
"Kelly did that," Victoria stated firmly, sitting up so she was eye-level with Jenna. "Kelly LeBlanc did all those things. You didn't. Jenna Sommers had no clue that these things would happen -"
"- She was my best friend, Victoria!" Jenna cried, shaking her head. "I-I knew she didn't like vampires, but s-she was so ready to come and save you and Stefan w-when Frederick had you, or when y-you guys needed to open the tomb! I should have known that she was just faking it, biding her time. S-She's a murderer and I'm one by association -!"
SLAP.
The sound was loud and echoed throughout the mini room. Jenna didn't make any noise besides a gasp, and her hand drifted up to her face, where a noticeably red handprint was starting to form on her cheek. Victoria knelt in front of her, hand still in the air, her shoulders heaving as she tried to keep her composure.
"Never, ever, ever fucking say that again," Victoria swore, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "You did not pull the trigger, Jenna Sommers. You did not convince her to turn the device back on, you did not convince her to threaten Amber. Everything that you did, you did because you thought it was the best for the kids you look out for. You are not a murderer. If I ever hear you say that again, I will not hesitate to prove you wrong, even if it means slapping you in a public place and potentially getting thrown in jail for battery or assault."
Jenna snorted, tears leaking out the corners of her eyes as her fingers gently prodded the red spot on her cheek. "As if the Salvatores wouldn't post your bail the minute Sheriff Forbes arrested you."
"And that's not even starting with them compelling the good sheriff to not arrest me in the first place," Victoria added. She took a deep breath in through her nose before gently releasing it. "I get it, Jenna. Feeling guilty by association. Trust me; no one is going to understand what you are going through as much as I am. But please, for the sake of Jeremy and Elena, know that you are not a murderer. You are a good woman and a good aunt. You need to help those kids, and the first step in doing so is helping yourself." Victoria offered out her hand, coincidentally the same hand that she had used to slap Jenna. "Now, we have a little bit more space in Alaric's car, I think. Do you want to come on a road trip with me, your not-really niece, some form of lover, a guy who won't leave me alone, and a dude who looks exactly like your not-really niece's boyfriend?"
It was a...little cramped...inside of Alaric's car. Traditionally, there was only supposed to be five people fitted inside his style of car. However, Tom, Damon, Elena, and Victoria all managed to squeeze themselves into the back of the car, since Alaric had offered out the passenger seat to Jenna the minute he had learned that she was going with them. Seating arrangements were a little weird. Damon and Elena refused to sit by each, but Damon didn't want to sit without Victoria by his side. In the end, they ended up going with the order of Damon, Victoria, Tom, and then Elena.
Was Elena slap-happy at being stuck next to a guy who looked like an older version of her boyfriend?
No.
Was Tom happy about being stuck next to a girl who looked like the woman he had met, Katherine, and had totally checked out?
No.
Was there anything they could do about seating arrangements that wouldn't end with Damon having a hissy-fit?
Also, no.
So, they all had to make do with their accommodations.
Victoria was sharing a seatbelt with Damon, since, to quote Damon, "they were the only two people in the car, barring Ric, who couldn't really stay dead and they had the best chance of coming back if they got into a car accident". Tom and Elena each got their own seatbelt, which Victoria was semi-jealous over after her seatbelt started to give her side a burn.
About half an hour into their three hour long-ish drive, Damon snarkily called out to Elena from the other side of the cab, "How are we doing back there? You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly."
"I don't think she's pretending, Damon," Alaric commented as he turned their car onto the main highway that would take them most of the way to Durham, North Carolina, where the university was located. "You did threatened to kill her brother the other day."
"Damon!" Victoria chastised, giving Damon a hard stare. "No threatening Jeremy!"
"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement!" Damon defended himself. "He can come back to life too."
"Yeah, thanks to a ring that you had no idea he was wearing!" Elena argued back.
"Okay, back up," Tom said, looking terribly confused. "I thought only vampires and Red here," he gestured towards Victoria with a bob of his head, "could come back to life after death. Are you telling me that there are more than just them?"
Alaric took a hand off the steering wheel and wiggled his ring-clad hand around, his dancing fingers causing the light from outside to hit the ring so it glittered. "Gilbert family rings. Two of them, passed down through generations from the founder of Mystic Falls. I got one from Isobel, and originally, Elena's biological father got the other. He passed it down to Jeremy, it appears."
"And how did we find out that Jeremy was wearing said ring?" Victoria demanded to know, crossing her arms angrily in front of her. "Did someone murder my Jerebear?"
"No Jeremys were harmed in the learning of this knowledge," grumbled Damon. "It looked exactly like Alaric's, so we may have done some testing on Alaric with that ring."
"Ric!" Jenna gasped in disbelief, throwing her lover (former lover?) a look of shock. "Don't tell me -"
"- that I put on Jeremy's ring and asked Damon to kill me just to make sure?" Alaric finished for her, sending her a side glance. When Jenna nodded, Alaric stated, "Okay, I won't tell you."
"And why are you so sure that I didn't know Jeremy was wearing the ring?" Damon interrupted, twisting around in his seat to glare at Elena over the tops of Tom and Victoria's heads.
"Did you?"
"Yes."
"You're lying!" Elena claimed, pointing angrily towards Damon.
"Elena, I saw the ring! It's a big, tacky thing with absolutely no taste. Hard to miss."
"This is going to be the roadtrip from hell," Victoria murmured harshly under her breath as she sunk lower into her seat.
Tom struggled with something in his pocket real quick as Victoria did her best to silence the squabbling between Damon and Elena. A moment later, there was a little earbud being proffered to her, and she took it with a gentle smile. She placed it into her ear, while Tom did the same with his other one, and he hit play on his I-Pod. Moments later, the sound of Lady Gaga started to silence out the noise of Damon and Elena.
They (they being Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert) eventually passed out from sheer exhaustion via arguing, about an hour into the road trip. Damon was collapsed onto Victoria, his head resting on her shoulder. With every exhale, his breath tickled her collarbone and she had to resist the urge to giggle. Elena had copied the same position Damon was taking on, except she was doing it on Tom's shoulder. Tom was much more uncomfortable, tensing up and making sure he wasn't touching Elena more than was absolutely necessary ("she's not my girlfriend and she's, like, way younger than me! I don't need that on my conscience!").
"I can't believe they finally passed out," Alaric commented quietly from the front seat, catching Victoria's eye through the rearview mirror. "I honestly thought they were going to be arguing for the entire drive."
"It's been a long couple of days for all of us," Victoria whispered in reply, making gentle shushing noises towards Damon when he grunted at her. "I think the exhaustion is just finally catching up to them."
"Hallelujah for that, then," Jenna moaned, shaking her head. "I don't think I could have dealt with that for even a minute more."
"Are they always like this?" Tom asked, awkwardly patting Elena's knee when she made quiet cooing noises.
Victoria snorted and rested her head down on Damon's head, enjoying the feel of his fluffy hair against her cheek. "It's like trying to herd cats when you try to get these two to agree with anything. Hell, Damon and Bonnie are better friends, and they see each other very rarely and there's always a death threat thrown about." She paused, then giggled lightly. "Then again, that's how Damon and I started out our friendship, so maybe death threats are the way to go."
"For real?" Tom gasped, his eyes widening in shock. "You two gave each other death threats?"
"It was basically punctuation for us when we first started talking," Victoria told Tom, beginning the story of her long history (long being relative, since it had only been sixish months since she had first met Damon). "The first time I met Damon, he threw me up against a wall and tried to choke me out, fully intending to suck my blood out."
Tom stared at Victoria for a straight thirty seconds before looking down at the sleeping vampire on her shoulder, who had a loose arm wrapped around her waist like she was a teddy bear. "Him? Are we still talking about the same Damon?"
"Same man."
"And you're sure that some goody-to-shoes didn't come and take his place?"
"Hundred percent," Victoria laughed. "He's really changed for the better, this old vamp of mine." She dropped a playful kiss onto the top of Damon's head and snickered when a gentle smile came to his face. "Well, would you look at that?"
"What are your feelings towards Damon?"
Victoria turned her head towards Tom in confusion and she narrowed her eyes slightly. "And since when are you privy to girl talk? Please remember, Mr. Avery, that we just met you a handful of days ago."
"Day one, Damon called me 'Brother', so I think I'm pretty open to any kind of talk by now," Tom chuckled. He sobered up and leaned closer to Victoria. "But honestly, tell me. You two act like you guys are dating, and he is pretty obsessed with you and keeping you safe. Like, it's his life mission."
Victoria gave an awkward chuckle. "Well, the life mission thing I can explain, actually. He made a promise to my...my mom...the night of one of our dances, where he was my date, that he would keep me safe. I was later brutally murdered that night." Tom flinched at that, horror filling his eyes. "Yeah, and then I was reborn as the Immortalis later that night and he had to murder me again to stop me from killing him and our friends. After that, he became pretty intent on having to never go through that again. And then, in an attempt to help him find an age-old love hidden away inside of a tomb, I was almost killed completely while he had to watch."
"Holy shit," Tom swore.
"Yeah," Victoria awkwardly shrugged. "As for the acting like we're dating, he's just a very physical touch person. I mean, I am too. I love me my hugs. It's just his love language. He's a flirtatious ass who likes to flirt with anything with breasts. I just got used to it, is all. It's how he shows his affection for people."
"I've seen men flirt, Red, and he doesn't act that way with you at all," Tom sniffed, shaking his head. "It's a different kind of flirt. More serious and sincere."
Victoria scoffed and shook her head. "That's because I was the only one who told him that he could be better and held him up to that standard. Everyone just told him that all he could be was a villain. I told him to make up his own part in the narrative. And he did."
Tom glanced between herself and Damon a couple of times, before he settled his gaze back on Victoria. "If you say so."
"I do say so," Victoria issued, leaning back in her seat. "Damon just flirts with me because I'm there. If I wasn't here, he'd be flirting with Elena, trust me."
"Could we not be having this conversation in my car right now?" Alaric pleaded from the front seat. Both Tom and Victoria jumped at the sound of his voice. Victoria had honestly forgotten that he was the one driving them. "Gah. This is almost as bad as having to listen to Damon and Elena bicker. Jenna, back me up."
"Please go to sleep."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The only reason why Victoria was able to trudge along was because Damon had bought her a Coke and a handful of cheeseburgers from McDonald's. Her metabolism had come a-knocking and it had come a-knocking hard. She was still munching on her cheesy treats when they pulled into the parking lot of Duke.
"I need coffee," moaned Elena, stepping out of Alaric's car with a huff. Her hair was disheveled and her left cheek was redder from where she had been sleeping on Tom's shoulder.
"We offered to get you coffee at the clown's palace," Damon grumped, taking Victoria's trash and placing it in the empty McDonald's bag. "It's not our fault you were asleep."
"You could have woken me up!"
"Ladies, please!" Alaric pleaded, stepping out of the car. He tossed a water bottle to Tom, who caught it with a nod. "I have so little patience for you all right now."
Tom bounced his way to Victoria's other side, then leaned in close once he was there. "Do you want water with that caffeine?"
"Any more water in my life and you can classify me as a fish," sniffed Victoria. "I'm good. Don't have to really worry about nutritional health when my body just resets after every death and given my current track..."
Tom shook his head. "Yeah, as a practicing medical professional, I don't support that mindset at all."
"Alaric!" cooed Damon, snatching up Victoria's hand as soon as it became available. "Which was to your dead, not-so-dead wife's office?"
"This way," Alaric grunted, but not before giving Damon a terrifying glare. Well, it was terrifying to Victoria. Damon just snickered at the look.
They all fell into line behind Alaric; Elena walked with Jenna directly behind him, and then Victoria, surrounded by Tom and Damon, bringing up the rear. It made Victoria feel like she was in a faux Salvatore sandwich.
Salvatore.
Salvatore.
Zach Salvatore.
Zach.
Her dad.
Dead.
Gone.
Gone.
Fingers snapped in front of her face, making her flinch at the sudden movement and noise. Frightened blue eyes met concerned icy-blues, and she felt an embarrassed blush streak her cheeks.
"Sorry," she automatically chirped, dropping her head down to stare at her toes.
"No need to be sorry, Baby," Damon stated, and his tone of voice made it sound like he wanted to ask her more. He, thankfully, didn't, and kept all further comments to himself.
They walked into the main building, and it suddenly struck Victoria that there were a lot of people.
Like, a lot.
A lot, a lot.
Victoria's hand immediately shot out and she grabbed onto Damon's. He didn't flinch away, but, instead, interlocked their fingers together. He kept her close to his side as they all walked through the hallways, glaring at anybody who got too close or looked at her for just a little too long.
Alaric began to speak as they reached hallway that Victoria recognized from the TV show. "So, Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore."
They reached a doorway and Alaric knocked on the door gently before entering once he heard, "Come in!"
All six of them entered the small office, shuffling in so that they all fit. There was a young adult woman sitting behind the desk, brown wavy hair and dark eyes that sparkled when she spotted how many people there were there.
"Excuse me, hi," Alaric said, giving the woman a friendly wave. "I'm Alaric Saltzmann. I called earlier."
"Yes, of course!" chirped the woman, who set things down onto her desk before she stood up. She reached a hand out and shook Alaric's hand once he grabbed hers. "I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, comparative folklore."
Vanessa's eyes roamed over the group and she noticeably faltered when she spotted Elena. That was to be expected, Victoria reasoned. If she remembered correctly, Vanessa was going to try something drastic because 'there was no way that Katherine should be alive' and all that bullshit.
However, Victoria wasn't anticipating the way that Vanessa's face was turn a certain shade of white when she locked eyes with Victoria.
Vanessa was quick to turn her gaze off of Victoria, ruffling through draws as she stammered, "U-Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys."
Damon's hand tightened ever-so-slightly on hers, which indicated that he, too, noticed the odd stare that Vanessa gave Victoria. Alaric, though, was completely clueless to the frightened look from Vanessa's face and just continued, "These are my friends, Jenna, Tom, Damon, Elena, and Victoria." Vanessa dropped whatever she had grabbed from the drawer, because it made a little banging noise as it hit the bottom of the drawer. She reached down and grabbed it again, and Victoria could see just how much her hands were shaking. "I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."
"Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there," Vanessa waved Alaric off, pointing to the door that was just off to the side in the little room. It was like Vanessa's office was more of a receptionist area for students to wait until Isobel was ready to see them. Vanessa kept talking as she walked away from the desk and towards the door to Isobel's office. "Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a grad student. She was brilliant, and one of the reasons I went into folklore." She paused awkwardly and then asked, "Uh, I have to ask...has there been any news?"
Alaric cleared his throat and shook his head, looking equally as awkward at having to talk about his dead, not-so-dead wife. "No, I'm afraid not."
"It's this way," Vanessa stated, then pushed open the door to the office. Alaric led the way into the room, and the rest of the group followed, Victoria walking at the very back with Vanessa right behind her.
The office was pretty roomy, though it was dark from the thick curtains blocking out nearly all the sunlight. The walls were littered with bookcases, filled to the brim (and even overflowing) with books and other knick-knacks. There were little plants, seated into tiny pots, decorating the shelves as well, and it gave Victoria a rather homey vibe. It was a beautiful office, with a desk placed right in the middle, facing towards the door that they had just entered.
"I'll grab the light," Vanessa offered, her heels clicking as she walked back towards the door. "Feel free to look around. It's fascinating, isn't it?"
Tom just let out a low whistle as he made his way to one of the far bookcases, reaching up to trace one of the spines with his fingers. "Your wife didn't do things halfway, did she?"
Alaric just grunted in response, moving to stand by the desk. Victoria and Elena followed Tom to one of the back bookcases. Victoria's eyes flickered back and forth, quickly reading all of the titles. On the surface, everything seemed normal. There were no books that were ticking little red boxes...
...except one.
"Tom," Victoria rasped, her eyes trained hard on that one book, just out of her reach. "You're a pretty smart guy, right?"
"I like to think so, Red, so I'm glad to hear that you feel the same way."
"If Isobel deals with the supernatural, and she, realistically, hasn't been here since she vanished, gone to deal with a woman who doesn't like to share secrets," Victoria whispered, her mind whirling, "then why does she have a book dedicated to a whole person that said secret holder wouldn't have mentioned until after Isobel had already left?"
And with that, she pointed up to the book in question.
Lady Victory.
"Tori, look out!"
The colors of the world faded away and a familiar world of black-and-white filled her vision. Reaction took over her body and she whipped around, her left arm darting out. The moment she felt something brush against her palm, she tightened her hand into a fist. A bolt from a crossbow was secured in her palm, the angle of it clear as the tip brushed the back of Elena's head. The noise of the bolt was echoed again as a second one lashed out. Victoria raised her other hand, making a closing motion with her fist. The second bolt was wrapped with an inky blackness, this arrow directed towards the throat of Tom. Elena and Tom both whipped around at the sounds, looking spooked, but were unharmed. Victoria turned her head towards the door to Isobel's office, ready to confront the woman who was holding the crossbow...
...when another bolt came flying straight into her chest.
It took everything in her power to not break her concentration on the bolt that was aimed directly at Tom's throat. The bolt hit her so hard that she staggered back a step and a gasp of pain tore itself out of her throat. It was deep. She could feel it. Every breath felt like ten thousand and it felt like her blood was on fire. But more than that, she felt something deep inside of her sparking.
A dangerous spark.
Let's play. Let us play.
Let us surround her, choke her, ruin her.
LET US PLAY. LET US PLAY!
"That's it," Victoria growled deeply under her breath, her voice sounding dark and twisted. "I have had fucking enough!" She didn't even bother to glance towards Alaric as she hissed, "Alaric, duck."
Victoria took one step and, like she had done with John Gilbert in that fateful hallway in Mystic Falls High, spartan-kicked out with her foot, aiming towards the door to Isobel's office.
A wave of black energy erupted from her body, shooting out like a literal shockwave. It caught the edge of the desk just as Alaric hit the floor and it blasted the desk through the air. Vanessa let out a panicked scream as the desk slammed into the door, shattering it and the doorframe. Books and miscellaneous items that were scattered on and within the desk flew out in broken shards, embedding themselves into the nearby walls. As the desk fell, Victoria twisted her wrist, moving the arrow aimed for Tom around. She whipped her hand forward and sent the arrow flying through the open space. There was a solid thunk and then a pained cry from Vanessa which made Victoria smirk with pleasure.
She took one step when it suddenly all came back to her.
She had a bolt from a crossbow.
In her chest.
Which was actively bleeding.
And she couldn't breathe.
Holy shit, she couldn't breathe.
Victoria coughed and felt something wet fill her mouth, dripping over the edge of her lip and cascading down her chin. She fell to her knees, dropping the crossbow bolt that had been threatening Elena's life. One hand went to her chest, grabbing onto the area around the bolt, and the other went to her throat, her fingertips clawing desperately at it.
She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't breathe.
SHE COULDN'T BREATHE.
Hands suddenly came into her field of vision and she freaked out, trying to paw them away until she realized, through the haze and hysteria, that it was simply Tom. Though he looked pale and there was a visible sweat droplet on his brow, his face was set with determination. He pulled Victoria's hands away from her throat and from her chest, and so she clung to Tom's shirt instead, her hands red with the blood from her own body. Tom immediately planted his hands onto her chest, one framing the bolt and the other holding it tight in his hands.
"This is going to suck, Red," Tom warned her quickly, before yanking the bolt out of her.
Victoria let out a pained cry as the bolt tore at her already damaged skin. The bolt came out, red with her life juice and with chunks on it. Tom tossed it haphazardly behind him, planting a hand firmly against her chest as her blood started to come out in move and move waves.
Victoria wheezed, trying desperately to suck in air as the edges of her vision started to go dark. She clawed at Tom, tears streaming down her face in pure panic. Tom's free hand wrapped itself around the back of Victoria's neck and he pulled her closer, an act of comfort. Victoria latched herself onto Tom, her chest heaving as she tried to breath. She tried so damn hard, but nothing was coming in.
"It's okay, Red," Tom cooed, still having his hand pressed tightly against her chest. "It's okay. It's okay. Just sit back, okay? Just sit back and go with the ride."
Victoria shook her head frantically. More and more of her vision started to go black and she sobbed some more (or as much as she could without actually breathing). She didn't want to go with the ride. She wanted to stay. She didn't want to die.
She didn't want to die.
Why wasn't Tom trying to save her?
"Go with the flow, Red. It's okay. It's okay," he cooed, repeating those words and a few sweet nothings for good measure.
It was the noise that Victoria heard when the darkness finally overtook her vision.
Victoria woke up sobbing.
She didn't bolt upright in her meadow. She didn't flinch or even cry out from the phantom pain that was no longer in her body.
She just wrapped her arms around her torso, stayed down on the ground, and just cried. She let the tears fall down in constant waves.
Her tears were for more than just her death.
Her tears were for her father, and the side of him that she never truly got to know.
Her tears were for her mother, who willingly abandoned all the people she held dear because she thought it was best for Victoria's protection.
Her tears were for her father's murderer, who killed him and then took off in cold blood. Her tears for the woman who had a connection to her father (she swore she saw it) and yet, still killed him anyways.
Her tears were for her lover, the man who, even in death, was looking after her with the ledgers and ledgers of text regarding things she now owned.
Her tears were for her stress, her exhaustion, and her plain pain.
There was an ever-so-gentle hand on her head and Victoria's eyes squeezed themselves shut. She kept her eyes closed as the hand gently carded through her hair, adding light scratches to her scalp as it did so.
"My dearest," Henri sighed, but he never stopped his hand movements. "My poor, Sweet Victory."
"Why is this happening to me, Henri?" Victoria murmured, her breathing labored. It was like she could still feel the bolt in her chest.
"I apologize for all the hardships you are forced to endure," Henri hushed, twining one strand of hair around his fingers. He sighed deeply. "But I do not apologize for any of this power being gifted upon you. You will do great things as the Immortalis. I know, my dearest, and I need you to know it as well."
"I-I don't want to d-die anymore," Victoria sobbed, shaking her head. She brought her hands up and hid her face in them. "I-I can't do it anymore. I-I don't want this."
"But you have it, and now you must deal with it," Henri stated sternly, his hand tightening ever-so-slightly in her hair. "Sweet Victory, you are on the verge of Transitioning into a Realized Immortalis...and your path is not a bright one."
"What?" Victoria gasped, her hands flying from her face. She whipped around and stared up at Henri in disbelief and shock. "I-I'm...what?"
"The dark sparks that have been coming from your hands for days?" Henri began, and Victoria nodded her head hurriedly. "They are an indication that you are mere moments away from Transitioning...into the Negative Immortalis."
"How do I stop it?" Victoria gasped, feeling her panic start to build up once more. "H-How...What do I do, Henri?"
"Don't let yourself drown in your negative emotions," Henri ordered. "Once you do, you are too far gone." He moved his hand so he was holding onto her jaw, forcing her to look into his eyes. He was serious. Dead serious. "Any wrong move, Sweet Victory, and you will transition. If you cannot get your emotions under control...it will be all over."
A/N: Hey y'all, I'm baaaaaack!
Just a quick heads up for everyone: there has been a troller going around and threatening people to review a certain story (a story that isn't even theirs, cuz they're a guest) or they would send a request to have people's accounts and stories deleted, and their followers' accounts and stories deleted. If you get this comment on any of your stories, please do not worry! They shouldn't be able to do anything, they just want a rise out of you (they did it to me and Elyse1821 can attest that I did get mad, real bad). All you need to do is delete their comment from your story, if they are in Guest, and I would suggest switching your reviews to Moderate Guest Reviews just for a little bit to make sure their reviews never see the light of day with your story. Do not take their words to heart. They are just mean-spirited people who hide behind the safety of the internet.
Take a screenshot of the review if you are given it and send an email to Fanfiction about it to see if they can get the situation handled. If you're worried about your stories being taken down, then you can always back them up on a separate space (I use Google Docs) to make sure they always remain intact. Don't let anyone drive you off of this site just because they don't have anything better to do with their lives.
AAAAAANYWAYS, we got a lot of fun stuff happening here: road trips (sort-of), revealation of feelings (sort-of), learning more about Lady Victory and Katherine (sort-of), Victoria kicking butt (sort-of). Lots of sort-ofs this chapter.
New Followers!: iWasDamned, sbristol28, Valen Goncalvez
New Favoriters!: looneytunes378248, sbristol28, FanfictionRules92, Valen Goncalvez
Onto reviews!:
DBZFAN45: Tom is such a precious bean. I absolutely adore him. We'll definitely have more Tom/Katherine interactions in the future, for sure. I think with Katherine being so OOC in this story, it's kind of making her normal, you know? Like, she is still keeping people guessing on what she's going to do by being so not-normal. Damon and Caroline are definitely talking to each other. Their relationship is more like Season 5 or 6 version Damon-Caroline friendship than it is for Season 2. Oh yeah, those two will tag-team and take down anyone who hurts Victoria. The Original family, I think, given the current trajectory of Caroline's arc, will definitely end up liking her. I can see her bonding with each of them in different ways. See you later!
Child of Dreams: You're welcomesies!
Elyse1821: You know you can always do the long review again, or you can even DM me on Insta and I'll see it there too. I'm really curious about Amber and her new friend Allister as well. We'll see Kelly again in, like, two chapters. Everyone's kind of in a mourning stage right now, for multiple different kinds of loses, but yeah. She would have been outnumbered, especially since the Immortalis wouldn't have been on her side. Ask all the questions! I'll be glad to answer what I can. I hope this chapter helps you understand a little more into the Victoria psyche of why she's not picking up what Damon's putting down, you know? Tyler probably at some point will join, though I don't know how close he'll be with everyone else (he gives off douchebag energy, and I have a hard time writing that in. Like, Damon's a douchebag, but not that douchey). I've said it once, I'll say it again: Klaus and Caroline are happening. Nothing will change that.
Valen Goncalvez: Thank you so much! Here's this next update, just for you!
So, I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on something else. When I started this story, I had a couple of set couples that I was aiming for. Like, a select few that I knew I wanted to have happen. Recently, some of these pairings have changed in my mind, so I just want to say, if I have ever said a couple was definitely going to happen, like, twenty chapters ago, just know that that might have changed. Only five couples have remained the same: Klaus and Caroline are definitely getting together, 3 separate mystery couples that I won't disclose cuz I wanna see y'alls reaction to them, and Victoria and whoever her beau is. Everyone else is a bit of a toss up, with basic ideas in my brain of who will end up with who and why.
Anywhoo Christmas-pooh (cuz we almost at Christmastime baby!), come back the 28th for Bad Moon Rising Part 3. And to all my Americans, Happy Thanksgiving in advance. I'm thankful for all of you ::insert smiley face here::.
Until next time,
Stay healthy and stay safe!
BecomingFearless1F