Inside the Mystic Grill…
All of Elena's friends were gathered around.
"Has anyone seen Vicki? I can't find her anywhere," Jeremy asked, looking worried.
"You're her stalker. You tell us," Tyler quipped.
"I can't find her," Jeremy repeated, ignoring him.
"Probably found someone else to party with. Sorry, pill-pusher—you've been replaced," Tyler added with a smirk.
Elena wasn't surprised by Jeremy's connection to drugs; we had already talked about it. We agreed we'd deal with him soon, but right now there was a bigger problem.
"You know she's never going to go for you," Tyler kept pushing.
"She already did. Over and over again," Jeremy snapped back.
As those two idiots argued, I decided to actually find Vicki instead of wasting time. I sent my crows searching over the town—and found her. With Damon.
Of course.
'Guess he didn't learn his damn lesson,' I muttered. 'This is why I want to kill him—he's too reckless. But he's still useful to us… for now.'
"Okay, how about everyone just shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt finally snapped.
Everyone agreed and split up.
'I know where she is,' I told Elena. 'Across from the Grill—on top of a building. Move. Fast. Before Damon kills her.'
Elena rushed toward the building I guided her to. It didn't take long before she spotted them.
"What are you doing?" Elena called out, staring up at Damon, who was standing with Vicki dangerously close to the edge.
"Nothing. Just tying up some loose ends," Damon said casually.
"Sukuna said no more killing," Elena snapped.
"Yeah, yeah. He said no more public killings. I'm doing him a favor. Besides… sucks for you—this is your old boyfriend's sister, right?" Damon said, smirking.
'Elena. Let me take over," I said calmly. 'It's time he learns the meaning of obedience.'
Without hesitation, she let me in.
Her body shifted—the cursed marks spread over her skin and her eyes turned deep scarlet red. Damon froze, fear flashing across his face.
"You know…" I started, stepping onto the rooftop, "I've met a lot of stupid people in my time. But congratulations—you might have just taken the whole damn cake."
"Oh my God, Elena! What's happening to you?!" Vicki cried out in horror.
"Sorry, sweetheart. Elena's not in the driver's seat right now," I said casually, keeping my eyes on Damon.
"What the hell…" Vicki muttered.
I returned my focus to Damon.
"Give her to me. Now."
He hesitated but, wisely, shoved Vicki toward me. She scrambled behind me, trembling.
"We good?" Damon asked, voice shaking.
"No, we're not."
I stalked toward him, forcing him back step by step until he teetered dangerously close to the edge.
"You've been lucky, Damon. You've lived over a century and somehow managed to avoid anyone who could really hurt you. That ends tonight. This town? It's mine. These people? Mine. You don't touch them unless I tell you to. Understand?"
Before he could respond, I grabbed him by the throat.
He struggled, face turning red as my grip tightened.
"Since you didn't learn from the first beating, let me make myself perfectly clear."
I clenched my free hand into a fist until blood welled from my knuckles. I smeared it across his face—and activated Scarlet Rot.
He wanted to scream, but my grip across his throat cut it off.
"This little curse?" I said calmly. "It's going to burn under your skin until sunrise. I suggest you crawl your sorry ass home before something worse finds you."
I tossed him aside like trash. Damon scrambled to his feet and bolted into the night without looking back.
Finally, I turned my attention to Vicki. She was pressed against the rooftop wall, wide-eyed with terror.
"I know you're scared. I know you want answers." I crouched slightly to meet her gaze. "If you want the truth... come to Elena's house tonight."
I turned and walked away, leaving her alone on the rooftop.
When I was a safe distance away, I handed control back to Elena.
At Elena's House...
Elena was sitting on the couch with Jenna, both of them watching TV in the living room, when they heard a knock at the door.
"I got it," Elena said, standing up.
She walked to the door and opened it—and there stood Vicki, looking nervous, almost scared.
Their eyes met.
"I know why you're here," Elena said seriously. "Come on. Let's talk upstairs."
Without another word, Elena led Vicki up to her room. They sat down on the bed, a heavy silence settling between them.
And then Elena told her everything.
The truth about vampires. About witches. Werewolves. About me—Sukuna.
Vicki didn't interrupt once. She just sat there, silent, processing.
When Elena finally finished, Vicki whispered:
"What the fuck..."
"Yeah... I know," Elena said, offering a small, tired smile. "It's a lot to take in."
Vicki ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head.
"Does anyone else know?" she asked.
"Bonnie knows. Some of the founding families know, too," Elena admitted.
Vicki blinked a few times, trying to stay grounded. Then she grimaced in disgust:
"And you... ate a finger?"
Elena groaned, flopping back onto the bed dramatically.
"I was five, okay? I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"
Vicki just stared at her like she was trying to decide if this was the craziest dream she'd ever had—or if her life had officially become a horror movie.
Vicki shifted nervously on the bed.
"What happens now?" she asked, voice small. "I mean... if that vampire comes back to kill me because I know what he is?"
Elena sat up straighter."He won't. I'm pretty sure he got the message loud and clear."
Vicki bit her lip, clearly still scared.
"But there are more vampires out there, right? What do I do to protect myself from them?"
"You can wear jewelry laced with vervain," Elena said calmly. "It'll protect you from being compelled by them. And... maybe carry a wooden stake, just in case."
Suddenly, an eye and mouth appeared on Elena's cheek.
Vicki gasped and nearly jumped off the bed.
"And," I said, voice smooth, "you should stop doing drugs if you want to survive. You need to stay sharp. Substances dull your senses—and out there, being dull means being dead."
"Calm down," Elena said quickly, motioning for Vicki to sit back down. "This is Sukuna. The one I told you about. He's the reason you're still alive."
Vicki slowly sat back down, eyeing me warily.
"Thank you... for saving my life," she said hesitantly.
"No problem," I replied. "But remember—next time, I might not be there to pull you out of the fire. So take my advice: stay clean, train, get stronger. You won't ever be stronger than a vampire, not really... but you can be faster, smarter. You can make them underestimate you."
Vicki nodded slowly, the weight of my words sinking in.
Good. She's scared.Good. She's listening.Fear could be molded into strength—and if Vicki wanted to live, she'd have to learn fast.