Damon had been basking in a rare spell of calm. The week had unfolded without any real peril—unless you counted Maya's ambitious attempt to recreate scenes from "Lord of the Rings," including a makeshift Mount Doom. Her next venture, scaling up an eagle for an actual flight, had Damon swiftly intervening before things got out of hand. Thankfully, her boundless energy had been redirected into mastering cheer routines under Caroline's tutelage. She had been teaching Rebekah in preparation for her plans to attend Mystic Falls High in September, and Maya was happy to join in since they 'counted as revision for her gymnastics class'.
Today had unfolded peacefully, with Maya burying herself in exam prep for the upcoming Monday. But her dramatic declaration—"If I revise any more, my head will explode, and I'll consequentially fail everything for lack of information left inside my brain"—had been perfectly timed with the arrival of Tyler, Matt, Caroline, Bonnie, Luka, Jeremy, and Anna. Escaping the confines of study, Maya had darted outside to kick around a soccer ball with them, a welcome break from academic strains.
Damon had been quietly grateful for the choice of soccer—a far less hazardous option than some of Maya's other ideas, which often teetered on the edge of chaos, frequently involving glitter, much to Klaus's continuing dismay. Her attitude towards her father had thawed considerably since that first strained meeting, but she still hadn't relented in her efforts to prank him.
Seizing the moment of relative peace, Damon had engaged the Mikaelsons, along with Pearl and Finn (their relationship status as ambiguous as ever), in a leisurely chat about summer plans. He shared his scheme to surprise Maya with a European tour after her exams, inviting the group to join. The proposal had been well received; even Pearl, who had plans to visit India with Anna, considered aligning their travels with Damon's European escapade.
In that blissful bubble of serenity, Damon had almost forgotten the undercurrents of danger that often pulsed beneath the surface of their lives.
The tranquillity that had cloaked Damon's week was shattered in an instant when Sheriff Forbes appeared on his doorstep, her face etched with urgency. She bypassed pleasantries, her request to speak in private a clear indicator of trouble brewing. Damon's mind whirled with possibilities as he led her into the study, the site of many clandestine conversations. The air was heavy with the scent of old books and secrets.
"Would you like a drink, Sheriff?" Damon offered, an attempt to ease the tension.
"Whisky. Please," Liz responded tersely. Her directness, unusual for someone on duty, spiked Damon's anxiety. Something was amiss—gravely so. He poured her a drink, and she downed it in one gulp, her eyes not leaving his.
The room seemed to close in as Liz's next question cut through the silence like a blade.
"Are you a vampire?"
The bottle of whisky slipped from Damon's grasp, shattering on the rich, wooden floor, shards gleaming like tiny diamonds in the dim light. Liz watched the destruction, her expression unreadable.
"I see," she murmured, her voice a whisper of disbelief.
Damon, heart pounding, managed to compose himself. His gaze fixed on Liz, he steered her towards a chair, his mind racing to frame a response that could bridge the chasm opening between them.
"I can explain," he began, his voice steady despite the turmoil within.
As the shattered glass crunched underfoot, the sudden crash of the study door swinging open intensified the already electric tension in the air. Klaus Mikaelson, his face stormy with barely contained fury, strode into the room. Sheriff Liz Forbes instinctively reached for her sidearm, her body tensing for a confrontation. Damon, sensing the precariousness of the situation, acted swiftly to defuse the looming threat.
"Liz, this is Klaus Mikaelson. Klaus, this is Sheriff Liz Forbes, Caroline's mother," Damon introduced them with a forced calmness. Although Klaus's grimace didn't soften, his stance relaxed marginally, signalling a reluctant truce.
"Perhaps we should take this into the living room," Damon suggested, his voice carrying a note of urgency. "There's a lot to explain, and I'm sure it will be easier with everyone present." His eyes darted between Liz and Klaus, emphasizing the need for a controlled environment.
Klaus nodded slowly, the storm in his eyes briefly flickering as he calculated the implications. The presence of a crowd could temper his impulses—or at least provide witnesses to any outburst, which might complicate his strained relationship with his daughter Caroline.
"Before we go anywhere, I need to know one thing. Who killed the Mayor," Liz demanded abruptly, her voice sharp and commanding.
"A woman named Jules," Damon replied, his tone measured but forthcoming. "She's been dealt with."
"She's dead?" Lix asked, her tone empty and flat.
Klaus smiled, a look of malicious joy creeping across his face . He remembered vividly how he and his siblings had exacted their brutal form of justice on Jules, bonding over the vengeance they served cold.
"Yes," Klaus confirmed, his satisfaction evident. He turned to Liz, adding, "Human justice wouldn't have worked. Your prisons wouldn't have been able to contain her."
The statement hung in the air, a chilling reminder of the brutal realities lurking beneath the surface of Mystic Falls.
The atmosphere in the living room crackled with tension as Liz took her seat, her gaze lingering on Elijah with a blend of calculation and reassessment. Her silence spoke volumes, heightening the sense of unease that pervaded the room. Everyone present sensed the shift, a palpable tightening as alliances and suspicions were silently weighed.
Damon broke the heavy silence, his voice tinged with both curiosity and dread.
"How long have you known?" he asked, fixing his gaze on Liz.
"I wasn't sure until today," Liz admitted, her voice steady, betraying no hint of the turmoil that must have been churning inside her.
"And when did you start to suspect?" Damon probed further, his expression tightening.
Liz recounted her encounter at the hospital with Kelly Donovan, detailing the puzzling gaps in Kelly's memory and her own realization that something supernatural was at play.
"I figured she'd been compelled to forget everything," she concluded, her eyes locking with Damon's, a mix of accusation and inquiry.
"Why Damon?" Klaus interjected sharply, his voice laced with frustration and a hint of temper. "Why were you suspicious of him?"
Liz turned to face Klaus her demeanour unflinching.
"I reviewed all the CCTV logs. Damon appeared on one of them," she explained. "It was only a brief glimpse, and he wasn't on any of the others. That was the most suspicious thing because he should have been on more than just one. Plus, I couldn't think of any plausible reason for him to be at the hospital."
She paused, allowing the implication to sink in before continuing.
"It was Carol mentioning what had happened with Mr. Smith," she nodded toward Elijah, "at the Dinner Party that really clinched it. I'd seen you together, after you'd supposedly been killed—or whatever John Gilbert did."
A small flicker of amusement went through the room at the way she almost spat John Gilbert's name, her dislike of the man was palpable.
"Forgive me for asking, but if you were so suspicious. Why confront Damon alone?" Elijah asked, "Why not come with back-up and weapons more formidable than a gun which is practically useless against us."
"Because of Caroline." Liz replied simply, "And because of Maya and Tyler as well."
"Explain." Klaus demanded; his tone laced with an underlying vicious threat.
"I was taught to hate vampires. We all were, the council I mean, we were all taught that vampires were nothing but conscienceless monsters, that you had no humanity, that all you did was kill others for food and pleasure, and that you wouldn't stop unless you were made to stop."
"I'm not going to lie to you Liz, there are some vampires who are exactly like that." Damon replied, after a moment of heavy silence, "I'm not one of them."
"I know." There was frustration in Liz's voice as she responded to him, "that's the problem!"
"I fail to see how it's a problem." Finn interjected with confusion, "Shouldn't you be happy that he isn't going around killing the locals without mercy?"
"I just." Liz ran a hand through her short hair, "None of it matched up, you didn't match up to what I was taught. I've seen how you are with Maya; you couldn't love her the way you do if you had no humanity. You wouldn't have opened up your home to Tyler and given him a refuge from his father if you were what I'd been taught. And Caroline, do you know how much she's changed since she became friends with you all, she's flourished, she'd becoming exactly the woman I always hoped she would, confident and self-assured. None of that would be possible if you were the monster, everything I was taught makes you out to be."
"Mom?"
All head whirled to see Caroline standing in the doorway, her face a mixture of too many emotions to read. Stefan, Bonnie, Luka, and Matt were all arrayed behind her, varying degrees of worry on their faces.
"What are you doing here?"
"I needed to know the truth." Liz replied, there was a sense of firm resolve in her statement, but a thread of worry ran through her tone.
"Mom?" Caroline's face was a picture of fear and anguish as she stared at Liz.
"She's still your daughter Liz." Damon said quietly, understanding that Liz's suspicions extended to more than just him.
"I know."
Liz stood up and crossed the room, pulling Caroline into her arms and hugging her fiercely,
"I know."
"I don't –?" Caroline's bewilderment was clear.
Liz pulled back and cupped Caroline's face with her hands, pure love in her eyes.
"I know." She repeated for a third time, "I know what you are. And I'm not gonna lie and say it doesn't scare me a little, or that I don't have any questions. But I love you Caroline, you are my daughter no matter what."
Damon felt a sense of relief wash over him. There were so many ways this could have gone, so many terrible, awful ways this could have played out.
He was about to invite Liz to sit down again so they could explain everything properly when the loud retort of a gunshot echoed through air from outside.
Damon's heart lurched. As everyone else froze, Damon's instincts kicked in. With a mix of dread and adrenaline, he sped outside as fast as he could. Maya was out there, and his one aim was to get to her before anything could happen.
"Ásylo," she activated the emergency portkey she always carried. In a whirl of magic and motion, she was whisked away from the unfolding danger, landing with a soft thud on the familiar bed in the Academy's Medical Centre.
As soon as Maya appeared, alarms blared loudly, slicing through the usual quiet of the centre. The door to Healer Francine's office flew open almost immediately, and the Healer herself rushed out, her face etched with concern. With professional swiftness, she was at Maya's side, her wand moving in precise patterns over Maya, casting a series of rapid assessment charms. Maya tried to sit up, driven by a mix of adrenaline and worry, but Healer Francine gently, yet firmly, pushed her back down to continue her examination.
The tension in the room spiked with a sharp crack as Agent Blye appeared suddenly, accompanied by a tall, dark-skinned man Maya didn't recognize. Agent LaSalle materialized moments later, confirming that despite the downgraded security measures, the portkey still effectively alerted her protectors.
"No injuries of any kind that I can find," Healer Francine announced just as Professor Aradia burst into the room, closely followed by Professor Bloodworth, both wearing expressions of acute worry.
"What happened? Maya, are you okay?" Professor Aradia gasped, scanning Maya for any signs of injury.
"She is unharmed," Healer Francine repeated firmly, giving Maya no chance to answer for herself.
A cacophony of questions followed that statement, preventing Maya from answering or telling them anything.
"Why don't we all take a beat." The man who'd arrived with Agent Blye suggested, firmly and effectively silencing everyone in the room.
Ignoring the advice, Maya blurted out,
"They're in trouble! They came to the house, planning on killing Damon, Stefan, and everyone else."
Agent Blye, her face a mask of determination, crouched to meet Maya's gaze.
"Who was?"
"The Sheriff's deputies. We were playing soccer in the field out the front of the house. They had guns, and one tried to shoot at me, but Tyler knocked them away. One of the other deputies got hit instead, and then Tyler activated his curse. Anna told me to portkey away, and I did. You have to go now; you have to help them!" Maya's voice was urgent, desperate.
Agent Blye nodded a look of understanding on her face. She glanced at Agent LaSalle who nodded, before returning her gaze to Maya.
"Okay, we're gonna go and check in with everyone and make sure they're all okay. This is Agent Sam Hanna," she gestured to the man who'd arrived with her, "He's going to stay here and get a more complete statement from you. Professor Aradia, you'll remain as a guardian until we can send Damon?"
"Yes, of course," Professor Aradia responded, her tone steady but worried.
Turning to Professor Bloodworth, Agent Blye issued another command.
"Professor, please alert MACUSA to the situation and ask them to send a team to the Salvatore house in Mystic Falls, to meet with Agent LaSalle and I."
Acknowledging with a nod, Professor Bloodworth hurried to Healer Francine's office to use the Floo Network.
"We'll send a Patronus with an update as soon as possible," Agent Blye stated, her voice thick with resolve, before she and Agent LaSalle apparated out, disappearing in a swirl of magic, leaving a heavy silence in their wake.
Maya, left in the safe confines of the medical centre, felt a mix of relief and anxiety, praying that none of her family had been harmed in the time it had taken to get here and send help to them.
Agent Sam Hanna's presence was reassuring as he pulled a chair closer to Maya's bed, offering her a warm, encouraging smile. His demeanour was composed, yet there was a palpable undercurrent of urgency in his posture that hinted at his extensive background in high-stakes situations.
"As Kensi said, I'm Special Agent Sam Hanna, we work together for NCIS, that's the Naval –" he began, his voice deep and steady.
"– Criminal Investigative Services," Maya interjected, a slight tremor in her voice betraying her nerves. She managed a weak smile, grateful for the distraction from her anxiety. "Agent Kensi told me. She said all of your team have magic 'cause you're part of a special investigative department."
Sam's grin widened, lighting up his face with a mix of pride and camaraderie.
"That's right. Kensi and I are both Wixen and so is one of our analysts. My partner and our boss are both Romani, so technically they're Wixen as well, but they don't use the same spells we do, and they're taught wandless magic. Not to say they don't use wands, but they consider them to be a bit of a crutch most of the time. And finally, Kensi's partner and our other analyst are both channelers."
Maya's eyes sparkled with a mix of curiosity and admiration.
"Agent Kensi's nice. She taught me how to defend myself against someone with a knife, how to steal it off them and use it. She was going to teach me how to shoot a gun as well, but Damon said not till I'm sixteen."
Sam's smile softened as he leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering to a more confidential tone.
"Perhaps if we've got some time and Professor Aradia says it's okay, I can teach you a couple of moves I learned when I was a Navy SEAL. How does that sound?"
The corners of Maya's mouth twitched upwards, her first genuine smile in what felt like hours. She nodded eagerly, momentarily buoyed by the prospect of learning something new.
"Okay. Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me what happened today?" Sam suggested, his expression turning serious again. He rested his elbows on his knees, giving Maya his full attention, signalling that he was not only ready to listen but also to act on whatever she disclosed.
With confidence in themselves and each other, Agent LaSalle, and Agent Blye, apparated to the spot they'd chosen months before and began to move forward, quietly and with purpose, wands drawn alert for any dangers. They'd spent month's mapping every inch of the property during the time they'd been guarding Maya. They knew exactly where to go from her short statement, and they headed in that direction, prepared for whatever they might encounter.
As they emerged from the trees that bordered the property, the grim tableau unfolded before them. Bodies were scattered haphazardly across the grass, a chilling testament to the conflict that had erupted. Above the fallen, a group of people stood, tense and alert. The agents recognized Damon among them, his back turned as he interrogated three teenagers. With recognition, the agents lowered their wands slightly and moved out of the shadows of the trees, approaching the group openly.
"Damon," Agent Blye called out, her voice cutting through the quiet aftermath of the confrontation. The entire group turned at the sound, their faces a mix of relief and wariness as they spotted the agents.
In an instant, Damon was at their side, having crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, his expression one of urgent concern.
"Maya. Is she okay?" he asked, his voice tight with worry.
"Safe at the Academy," Kensi responded promptly, her tone reassuring. "Completely unharmed. One of my colleagues is getting her statement, and Professor Aradia is with her. MACUSA has been alerted, and a team will be arriving soon."
Relief washed visibly over Damon's face, smoothing the hard lines of anxiety that had etched themselves there. His shoulders relaxed, and a grateful nod acknowledged the news.
"Thank you," he breathed, the tension dissipating from his stance.
"I'll send a Patronus message to the school and let them know you're okay. Does anyone need medical attention?" Agent Blye asked, already stepping back to prepare the spell, her wand tracing intricate patterns in the air.
Damon shook his head, indicating that there were no injuries among those who remained.
Stepping forward, Agent LaSalle took charge of the situation.
"So, what happened, exactly?" His voice was firm, demanding a clear recount of the events that led to the crisis, ready to piece together the chaos into a coherent story that could help them prevent such occurrences in the future.