Ch: 83-89
Chapter 83
I wouldn't consider myself a man of math, or science, or economics. However, I would consider myself a genius in maths, the sciences, and economics. So, it came as no surprise to me, as I watched the former Salvatore house get tore down by my latest acquisition, a construction company, that this would truly be an incredibly profitable endeavor.
A club for the supernatural.
Now, I know what you're thinking.
Why?
Well, that's simple really. I, Vlad, have decided to take over the world! Just kidding. No, I have no interest in taking over the world or in the world in general, but I do have an interest, an incredible interest, in partying my ass off whenever I feel like it.
Too long have I been a slave to the grind. Too long have I watched my mind race through images of beautiful women that I could not have because they were either on the run, hiding from enemies, or had no where they could turn. Too long have I not had any interest in going out into the world and finding them. So, instead, I've decided that they should come to me.
In fact, I'm quite certain that if there were a different version of me in another world, that individual would be doing the same exact thing.
(A/N: Currently working on a Supergirl fic where Vlad, the progenitor of Rao decides to open an alien and supernatural safe zone in the form of a club and gets his party on like the boss that he is. Only, because it's the supergirl universe, naturally Vlad will be a woman... capable of shapeshifting like a vampire... so maybe gender doesn't matter to Vlad? Either way, wait for it.)
I stood back in the street and watched as they worked. Having only just moved Damon to one of my private rooms in one of my warehouses, in order to get him out of the way of my construction.
As I watched, I felt a slight tingle to my senses. The type of tingle that comes when another immortal, one that I haven't already identified, makes its way into my territory. Which is now the entire town. Outwardly, nothing changes, but inwardly my vision expands along with my shadow and in an instant the entire town is laid bare before me as I hone in on the source that drew my attention.
There are two, and I recognize them. Although, it's weird. I was certain they didn't come to town until much later, however I also knew that relying on a vague timeframe in order to discern when events were likely to take place based on the show was a great way to get caught with my tail between my legs, since it's entirely possible, and likely that many individuals made their way through town long before they decided to make their presences known to the scooby-crew.
I gave Vicki a quick nod in the direction of the house being demolished and didn't even need to look to know she understood her job, then I was gone. The once world of vibrant colors and a sun-filled sky, had now become one covered in a shade of black and grey. The sky now a dull, dark blue, that verged on black. My domain. The shadow realm. And where I could travel from one place to another in the span of an instant, since with my dominion over darkness and its manipulation, I was essentially, one with the dark. So, in the shadow realm, I was essentially everywhere all at once. All I needed to do was decide where I wanted to be, and it would be so. Which is why, as I appeared, cloaked in the shadows surrounding the woman named Rose and the man named Trevor, I was not surprised in the least when my presence went completely unnoticed by them as they drove down the road heading into town.
A quick scan of their minds told me that they were drawn here due to the presence of the Salvatore's returning to town. Apparently, their arrival stirred up more trouble than I originally knew in some circles. Circles which either worked with Klaus, for Klaus or against Klaus. Based on the thinking of the two in front of me, it appears that it's a known secret that Klaus likes to keep the Salvatore brothers under monitor just in case Katherine decides to darken their doorstep. Which is why, I find myself so confused as to why it took him so long to arrive in the show. Although, it's possible he was already aware of what was going on in the town and just decided to sit back and observe for a while. More than likely the arrival of Elijah is what really set him in motion. Otherwise, his information network is truly trash and his ability to track his enemies is a study in how not to be a shadow monarch. Either way, the boys are under a loose surveillance. No doubt by a with who checks their locations every now and then, since I haven't been alerted as to any new additions to town, and these two in front of me, they're just trying to catch a bone wherever they can in order to get out of the doghouse and stop running from Klaus. If that means catching the Salvatore's in a comprising situation, well that's on the Salvatore's.
I cycle through possible plans and maneuvers to see exactly how I want this to go, and then, like I had been hit with a quickening, I suddenly had a great idea. No, a grand idea. An idea so perfect and obvious that it's silly that it never occurred to me before. Rose and Trevor fell into their seats. Their mouths opened in what more than likely would have been a startled yelp, but by that point, they were already swallowed by the shadows their asses produced, and were promptly thrown into separate sealed rooms in my warehouses. Their car... I threw a fireball at it and watched it disintegrate. I had enough vehicles and there's was kind of basic. Low profile. The perfect vessel for rats trying to stay low-key. So, not me.
The ashes of the car drifted off with the wind, and I was once more sinking into my shadow. Only this time, I appeared at Lockwood Manor. Directly behind Carol Lockwood, who was sitting down on a sofa and reading a book on.. finances. Boring.
I took a seat and ignored her startled yelp, because honestly, she should be de-sensitized to me appearing out of nowhere and just making myself comfortable, but to each their own.
She looked at me for a moment, then closed her book with a light sigh, which only resulted in me sporting a slight smirk.
"You know, the council, and my husband, are going slightly crazy over the recent acquisition of the Salvatore boarding house to an unknown party that promptly took it upon themselves to demolish it without so much as a word to inform the town." She said, as she leveled me with a look like she expected me to provide her with an answer. When she wasn't given one, she just pouted a little, trying to appear displeased before she continued on. "I suppose that mysterious buyer and destroyer of a historical town site would like it if I smoothed out the situation a little?" She asked, and I could literally smell her arousal beginning to increase, which naturally made my own bloodlust begin to make itself known.
Then, she placed her hand on my thigh, and the next moment she was being yanked over my lap, with her stomach over my thighs and her ass in full view just waiting to welcome my ha-
*Smack*
"Count it out, Carol." I said, and thus began just another ordinary meeting between my societal planner and I on how I was gong to take over the town. One unnecessarily convoluted plan at a time.
Why?
Because compulsion is wasted on me.
Chapter 84
I watched as Carol came down from her high. Her clothing completely discarded, and she now wore nothing other than the jewelry that spoke of class on her milf body.
She stretched out on the couch, reveling in her post orgasmic bliss like a cat that just woke from a particularly nice nap. Or in other words, like someone who was completely satiated and needed nothing more in their life other than what brought them to that state.
I waited for her to regather herself and focus, as I doused up both, the coach, and the room, in a cleansing flame that left us feeling clean and refreshed. Then, I materialized a pair of silky briefs on my body, because, you know, dignity.
When I saw that she was finally ready to proceed, I got down to business of a different nature than the one that had her screaming my name.
"The Salvatore house is mine. The warehouse district is mine. And soon, the town's liquid assets will be mine as well, correct." I asked, as I played with a few strands of her hair as she laid her head on my lap.
"Yes. Soon you'll have the entire town in your pocket in a way that my husband could only ever wish that he could. Though, does it really have to result in him being arrested for embezzlement? It will not only ruin the Lockwood name, but Tyler will be heartbroken." She replied, sounding a bit sad overall, but I knew that it was only because of her affection for her son that led to her melancholy. Her relationship with big Lockwood was already over and done with. She had a new daddy and she was loving every minute of it.
"I can't control everything, Carol. . . okay, maybe I can, but it's for the boy's own good. He walks around like he owns the world and lets his arrogance guide him. He needs to be taught a lesson on humility before he finds himself challenging someone or something that he can't handle with his chest all puffed out. Trust me. It's for his own good." Is it though?
"Hmmm, I do agree that he could use some... grounding. It's never been easy being the son of his father. No matter what he did it was never good enough, and I admit that I didn't help the situation much, but at the very least I'm sure I let him know he's loved. I just don't want to him fall further into the ranks of asshole due to our actions. Are you certain you can keep that from happening?" She asks me. So, in response I almost send a psychic inclination to her mind that has her thinking herself to be mostly indifferent to Tyler, since at this point, I'm a bit annoyed with having to talk about the dog, but I stop myself. It's far too easy to become corrupted with the abilities that I possess and I must, I simply must, exercise caution, because it is a known fact that with great power comes great responsibility. So, I send instead send the psychic inclination that has her leaning more towards agreeing that whatever I decide is what's absolutely best for the dog and leave it at that, since I am basically his daddy now. While at the same time feeling quite pleased with myself and my ability to maintain my moral integrity in the face of my overwhelming might.
"Although, on second thought, I'm sure you know what you're doing. Tyler could use a positive male influence in his life and who better than you, my dear." It was with those words that she found herself snuggling up on me and pressing her head further into my lap.
Bad move.
I can feel my dick responding to the call coming from outside my briefs as her cheek is rubbed up against my shaft. So, I banish the briefs and now her warm cheek is resting directly against my hot dick as she inhales deeply while nuzzling on it.
It's easy to see the second the scent and feel sensations register in her brain due to her eyes snapping open and swiveling to the side to take in my member extending beyond her vision. So, like a good girl she scoots herself up further and brings the side of her mouth level with my dick. Then, she proceeds to stick out her tongue and lick back and forth along the length without really moving from her comfortable spot. Just enough to get a taste of the lollipop, but not enough to get to the tootsie roll center. Nonetheless, I give a pleased nod in appreciation for her tastes in mid-day snack.
I begin to casually stroke her hair as our talk resumes.
"Naturally I'll make sure the boy is capable of walking the path of a fully functional member of society by the time I'm done with him. He's a good kid. He's just lacking guidance." The 16 year old tells the milf about her 17 year old kid. "On other topics, once your husbands illegal practices are brought to light and he's properly framed up, it will be on you to step up. This town will need a leader to see it brought onto the right path and that leader can only be you, Carol, and together, we will make this town a haven for the supernatural where we stand at the top! Are you with me!" I half speak half yell the end of my impassioned call to action that I felt was incredibly inspiring. However, the only response I got was the sound of some glug glug, as Carol decided she wasn't satisfied with just licking the shaft and wanted to swallow the entire treat down her greedy mouth. I can only sigh and lament at her lack of focus as I once more embrace the great responsibility that has been bestowed upon me and allow her to bring me to completion down her throat. The Uncle Ben's of the multiverse would be proud.
After leaving Carol's and realizing that I've missed the first half of classes for the day, I appear in my seat in school and send out a telepathic pulse that has the entire school believing I was there all day, minus my girl's, and has the staff filling in the information like I was there.
The rest of the school day is a casual affair. I attend classes. Absolutely crush it, since between my ability to read minds, mixed with my genius level intellect, the entire curriculum is nothing more than the alphabet before my sight. It's pre-school level difficulty.
At football practice I continue my game of going both ways, as I crush it on offense and defense. However, it's partly through practice that I pick up a foreign presence watching the practice from a ways away.
It takes nothing more than a quick peek for me to see Alaric standing a distance away and watching the field through binoculars.
I take a moment to reason out why he would be doing something that can easily land him in jail if it were reported and the conclusion that I come to is that it's most likely that he still hasn't found his "in" in regards to gaining access to the school and solidifying his spot in town. I float the thought about helping him out, however it's dismissed real quick since I would much rather just wait and see what he will do to accomplish his goal, since it's more funny that way. Who knows, maybe Tanner will meet his end in a different way than in the original. Especially since a now emotional Damon is sitting tidy in a room in one of my warehouses, Tanner has no one to kill him off and while it's unlikely Alaric will take that route, it would still be hilarious if he did.
I ignore the creepy peepers presence and focus on spearing the fuck out of Matt's dumbass as he tries to do a quarterback sneak. I didn't even have to read his mind to see the minute twitches in his muscles before the ball was even snapped, indicating the intention behind the play. Once more my talents stand supreme. Am I truly destined to be unchallenged in this sport? Is there no one who can stand up to my prowess in the game of football? Can a hero- Hey, Stefan's done wallowing in self-pity in the woods.
The squirrel population must be celebrating his his departure.
Welp, too bad. I pop off the field, appear at the entrance of the woods where Stefan is about to exit, and send him another illusionary fatty to trip over. Pfft. Okay, this is now definitely a thing. Though, in my opinion, the mongrel should thank me. If we keep this up, it will only be another couple cycles before he realizes that he hasn't gone fully rippah even once.
I stop for a second and think to myself about whether or not I could make it real, since despite what he believes consciously, on some level, he is aware, instinctually, that he hasn't once more fallen into the depths of despair that he once knew. I close my eyes and imagine the illusion being reinforced so it can pull him in down to the very basest of his subconscious and I can feel that while I can, it wouldn't hold for very long without me also manipulating his mind through telepathy at least.
So, I forget about it and leave. Too much work, not enough pay off.
Chapter 85
It was two days later that news of coach Turner's death reached my ears and to be honest, I really did not expect it.
A quick scan of Alaric's mind told me that it was he who killed the beast. However, once I learned the depths of the now dead coaches depravity, I couldn't fault Alaric for his actions. After all, accepting bribes from the parents of one's students is, in my humble opinion, completely immoral. Therefore, I could only, and with the noblest of intentions, give the new staff member of my school a pat on his back for poising the corrupt individual and embracing fair treatment for all.
Or, at least, that's the way Alaric justified his actions. His mind told me however that he was already pretty far gone down the path of revenge, and short of killing a student or true innocent, there was very little he wouldn't do in order to accomplish his goal.
This gave me options, because until I learned just how fucking out of his mind he was, I actually had no idea what to do with Damon. However, if I were to say, set up a gladiatorial fight between a vervained Damon against the human Alaric and see who walks away, well that would just be fantastic.
So, that's what I set out to do.
However, before I set that in motion, another thought occurred to me. What would Stefan do, if he witnessed his brother getting crossbowed with a crossbow by a crossbow wielding mad man? There was only one way to find out.
I grabbed Stefan from where he was curled up in a ball in the forest surrounded by animal carcasses and dumped him in a sealed room, but only after putting him to sleep.
Then, I simply released Damon with a slight bit of compulsion angled towards getting him to, in his weakened state, try to kill Alaric with the reasoning being that he recognized him as the husband of someone he killed. Then, all I have to do is sit back and watch the events unfold, and right before they do, I'll drop Stefan just out of reach and make it seem like he only just snapped out of his blood haze in time to fall short of saving his brother.
Will he kill Alaric immediately in retaliation? Maybe. Will I capture the entire drama on camera and stream it in my warehouse in an effort to show just how great of a show TVD could have been? You bet your ass I will.
Once I was done setting up those dominos, I found myself with a rare bit of free time. So, I decided to pursue the girl that I've been actively avoiding since my return by staying just out of her eyeline any time I would feel her come around.
First things first, I slid into her IM's on facebook.
Vlad: Hey Anna, long time no speak.
Anna: I know right! Where have you been?
Vlad: Where have I been! Where have you been? I've been looking forward to seeing you around the school ever since the year started. Are you... avoiding me, Anna (he asked in a shy voice)?
Anna: LOL very funny. If you're free, we can meet up now. Where are you?
Vlad: Well, somebodies a little bit excited to get a hold of this. I approve. If you're at the school, come to the bleachers at the football field. You'll see me.
Anna: Be right there.
The wait for Anna was not long. Not in the least. And with the recent passing of the most beloved Tanner, it was currently only me, myself, and I seated on the bleachers overlooking the empty football field due to practice being cancelled.
Once Anna saw this, I could see the happiness shinning in her eyes. No doubt she was straight up giddy to be able to meet me irl. That's in real life.
Upon her walking up, she did her shy girl dance and went for a wave. So, I opened my arms and waited to see if she would get into the hug. It was with a slight flickering of emotions across her eyes, though I'm sure she figured I would miss it, that she stepped into my arms and decided to take a deep inhale of my scent.
She immediately broke the hug upon realizing what she did, but by that point, it was already too late. The damage had been done and the die had been cast. Or at least, that was what the smile on my face said and luckily for me, at that moment, I was able to see the actual expression of shy embarrassment on her face.
I could feel my charm increasing by the day. If at first, when I originally crossed over into this world, I was only considered a handsome young man, now, with my fully awakened bloodline, the allure, pheromones, and charm that I exude passively are enough, even without me actually being gorgeous as all fuck, to attract even the most prudish of people to my side. The idea that vampires are unnaturally beautiful is not an exaggeration. In this world, with these lesser vampires, it is, but based on the memories in my mind, I can see that I go far beyond this world's species. I essentially transcended.
I reached out and placed a comforting hand on the young... old... young woman's shoulder as a way to express my acceptance of her awkwardness, however I could see that she didn't seem to appreciate it if the scowl that briefly crossed her features faster than the human eye could see were any indication. So, I just made my already condescending expression even more condescending and laughed on the inside.
I think I'm going to have fun here.
Chapter 86
"So tell me, Anna," I began as I led her to sit beside me on the bleachers. "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" I gesture to the empty football field, bleachers, and emptying school as I raise an immaculate eyebrow in her direction.
I can see her thinking for a moment. Her expression minute and barely perceptible, if I were a human.
It's obvious that in her ignorance she's let her guard down considerably and because of that, she will not even realize just how far down the rabbit hole she's traveled until it's already too late. Mwahahahaha.
"My.. mom wanted to move here. So, here we are!" I can see the genuine sadness bleed into the words she speaks and it breaks my heart to know that it will still be some time before I can hold her mother in my arms along with her, as I comfort them both. Like a gentleman.
"Do you like it here?" I continue my line of getting to know you rhetoric, since online we only kept it impersonal and mostly joked back and forth with each other.
"I do." She says, and I can feel the honesty and finality in that statement. She considers this town to be her home.
Works for me.
Then, something in her eyes shifts and I can see her resolve settle as a determined light shines under the surface. It looks like she's ready to get down to the turkey of the exchange.
"So, what about you? Do you like it in this town, Jeremy?" I give her a small smile as I respond, "please, call me Mr. Gilbert, and yes. I happen to like this town a whole lot. In fact," I decide to help her along since I pretty much already know where this is going. "My family has been in this town for centuries, so I kind of don't really have a choice. Staying here is like a birthright at this point." I finish with a light chuckle and she smiles her false shy smile in return, though I can practically smell the elation rolling off of her at having me broach the subject of my family.
Immediately she perks up. "Really! That's so cool!" She scoots in a little closer as she continues to speak. "Tell me more. I love history. Especially small town history. It's my favorite subject." I call a quick mental bullshit on that one, and just keep on rolling.
"Well...." I go on to tell her about how my family, the Gilberts, were one of the founding families and how I can trace our history back past the days of the civil war and all about the trinkets that have been passed down through the generations. However, I tell her that the real crown jewels of my family's collection, and the ones that I know for certain that she seeks to obtain, the journals, are safely tucked away in a place that only I and my Uncle John knows about outside of Mystic Falls, and according to my Uncle, I can have retrieve them when I turn eighteen.
The disappointment that appears on her face and then was quickly replaced by glee was funny. I don't even have to read her mind to know exactly what her thought process was upon hearing my admission. No doubt she went straight from "wait until he's 18!" to "he knows where they are, now all I have to do is give him a reason to tell me where they are or go get them himself", and I have to say, I am certainly looking forward to whatever fun and creative ways she can come up with in order to get me my iron will to break and reveal their location. . . which happens to actually be my the top of my bedroom closet at the house. I should move those.
"Wow, Jeremy, that's really amazing." She says, still refusing to call me Mr. Gilbert, and I can see that she actually does not in fact find any of it "amazing". In fact, I'm pretty sure I can feel nothing but an intense amount of anger radiating from her soft body. However, I can also feel that her anger is mostly directed away from me and is focused on those already dead and gone. Forever out of the reach of her revenge. Too bad.
I puff out my chest a bit at the false praise while still looking casual as I sit back on the bleachers with my feet propped on the ones in front of me. "Yeah, it is pretty awesome." I look at her now, fully in her eyes as I say, "it's nice to feel a part of something, connected to something, you know?" I ask her, playing up the part of pre-me Jeremy and his ability to be affable, naïve, and gullible. Which is super easy because I'm naturally all of those things, and every other adjective in the dictionary. A true renaissance immortal, if you will.
I can see the slight amusement cross her features as her muted anger bleeds away and fully falls away from being directed towards me and it tells me that the girl truly is way too kind to play the role of a Katherine. She lacks the ruthless, jadedness that's required to play an idiot for a fool and walk away smiling that that baddie does.
She nods her head as a small smile plays on her lips. "Yeah. Knowing your family and feeling connected to them is important," she says, her tone taking on a more mature inclination which goes unnoticed by her.
I sit up and reach out and grab her hand in both of mine. "Are you okay? You sounded a little sad just then." I focus the full extent of my black, specks of red, and a rim of purple, eyes on her and I can see her getting lost in them. Drowning in them, and not even bothering to try to come up for air. It almost makes me want to flip my hair over my shoulder like the bad bitch that I am, but I don't.
We look into each other's eyes for a while and I begin to feel a little uncomfortable. I can see in her eyes just how starved she is for affection and I begin to wonder to myself why I keep running into emotionally vulnerable women in this world.
Not that I really mind.
When it begins to become a bit too much, I blink once and break the "spell" that she was under, which simply involved me willing her to look away. Which she does, blinking furiously, and trying to regain her bearings. However, it's already too late. Her bearings are no more. She's already drowned.
I pat the back of her hand and give her a kind smile as I sit back once more and watch her try and understand and explain in her mind exactly what just happened and if she's like most people, she'll more than likely land on the explanation of "we just had a moment".
'Yep. She landed on it', I think as I watch her give a small very cute nod to herself, and I begin to wonder if the show Unfabulous was a thing in my new world and if it was who played the part of her look-a-like. Such a good show.
"Anna," I gently call out to her, like I'm afraid I'll spook her, and revel in the genuine embarrassment she feels. As she should, because as far as seductresses go, she is certainly subpar.
"Yeah, Jeremy. I'm all good."
We talk for a while longer, before she convinces herself that she's learned enough and makes up an excuse to leave and I watch her go. Once I'm alone, I shadow-port straight into my room and grab those journals. Then, I shadow-port them straight to the Gilbert cabin where most of the vampire hunting stuff is located. Then, I sit back and think about and imagine all the ways Anna is going to try to convince me to acquire the journals.
"I'll have to prepare the cabin for our eventual arrival." I say to no one as I place my masculine hands behind my handsome head as I lay back on my bed. "A quick nap shouldn't hurt," I say to no one once again and begin to wonder why the fuck I'm talking to myself and then immediately dismiss the thought as unnecessary. The nap is more important.
Chapter 87
"We got everything set up?" I ask Vicki as I appear in what was once my main warehouse/headquarters and has now been expanded into a luxury penthouse in the interior, since staying in small ass room at the house is becoming cumbersome.
Using spatial magic that I do not yet fully understand, but can manipulate due to my ability to manipulate all energies, I have expanded the inside of my headquarters and made it so that the monitors which survey the town have their own separate section on one side of the warehouse near the back, and in the middle is now a very large screen that encompasses an area of around 50 feet, which in terms of movie theatre screens would be somewhere in the middle.
On that screen at this current motion is an image of one Alaric Saltzman as he sits in his car and menacingly sharpens a stake and I'll be the first to say that the man truly does look awesomely intoxicated. I mean seriously, has this bastard been drinking before engaging in a vampire hunt? Seriously.
"Yep, everything's ready~," Vicki responded in a sing-song voice, clearly enjoying herself and the anticipation for the show that we were about to watch.
"Good."
It was a tale as old as time and a song as old as rhyme. A man fell in love with a woman, and that woman decided that she wanted to be a vampire and here we are.
I do a quick mental check to make sure that I have everything prepared.
'Chips, check. Popcorn, check. Candy, check. Blood in a wine bottle for my personal use, check. Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, Jenna, and Vicki present and accounted for, check. Nadia looking very unamused, placed under a silencing charm and confined to a corner of the couch, check. Damon ready to be released....' I wave my hand and a dazed looking Damon rises out of a swirl of darkness on the ground like he was standing on an elevator. When he's standing on solid ground in front of me, I tap his head and input the goal into his mind that I want him to execute, which is to simply walk across the road past Alaric's car and then keep walking until he goes into the woods, and then keep walking until he gets to somewhere secluded enough to fight the person that he's felt watching him. Simple enough. Then, he give him a sidekick sending him flying through the air and straight into a mass of darkness that sprung up from the ground, and then Damon was no longer in front of us.
"I really don't get why you're even doing this," Elena said as she ate some lays. The most vanilla of all chips. *Sigh* Such a basic.
"I do!" Vicki hurriedly spoke up oozing with excitement. "It's awesome. We get to watch a real live vampire hunter go up against a real live vampire. Just like in the movies! It's awesome." And just like that I once more re-affirmed why Vicki was my right hand man. She, unlike some people who will not be named, truly understands the finer things in life.
I nod my head like it's the most obvious thing in the world and ignore the feeling I receive of Nadia rolling her eyes behind my back since she can't speak, and then I'm being swallowed by a portal of my own.
I pop out in Alaric's car, in the backseat behind the driver's seat. I look past him and out the windshield and hone in on the micro-camera placed in a tree a little ways away and give a wink to my girl's that I can feel are watching. However, funnily enough, I can feel another pair of eyes now on me, and they aren't coming from the camera. I tap Alaric's head and input the info I want him to know. He's been tracking the person he saw feeding on his wife and now, it's time for some action and Vlad knows he's all hyped up and back into the shadows I go.
The world around me becomes a shade of black, grey, and dark blue. I see the person who's eyes I felt on me standing in an alley on the other side of the road and down from where Alaric's parked and I recognize him.
'I see Anna took it upon herself to turn extra#1 after all. Such a waste of life. However, this does tell me that either her observation skills are better than I gave her credit for, which is unlikely, or Alaric's habit of carrying around vampire hunting equipment in public got him noticed by either her or one of her "minions". It's probably the latter.
I take a step and appear behind the fodder who's name I can't even bother to think up, and take a quick look at his memories. 'Nothing worth noting, except the intense infatuation he seems to have with Anna. Too bad. Also, not very intelligent, and the only reason he's watching Alaric right now is because the ass-hat is literally sitting in his car, on the street, sharpening a stake and the fodder saw him when he was walking by. What kind of shit is that.'
I step out of the fodder memories, smack him upside the head for wasting my time, and almost seeing me appear if I hadn't shrouded my body... you know.. since doing suspicious shit in public like sharpening stakes or popping up in backseats is real conspicuous, and I see the fodder's head explode like watermelon.
Instantly, I activate my darkness manipulation to encompass the entirety of the fodder before the specks of blood and brain can even travel further than the fodder's shoulders and I swallow the entirety of the person into the shadows.
"What the fuck was that?" I ask, despite already understanding what just happened and actively coming to terms with the fact that my physical body might be waaay stronger than I thought.
'It wasn't like that when I was smashing Caroline, though. Or Qetsiyah. Or Vicki. Or Carol. Or flicking Bonnie's forehead, so what the... ah, I see.' I put the matter out of my mind, since the answer was incredibly simple and then proceeded to give myself a quick flame wash due to sitting in Alaric's car and instantly I was back in my lair and sitting in the middle of my beauties. My beauties that, even subconsciously, my mind/my intent is automatically adjusted to not harm. However, I do come to the realization also that it would be in my best interest to test the current limits of my physical strength when I interact with anyone with the intent to cause a little harm, otherwise shit might get real silly, real fast.
'And it will only get worse with the more blood I consume.'
I give a light sigh as my smile widens and I ease back into the comfy cushion and wrap my arms around Bonnie and Jenna, while ignoring the glances of Caroline, the staring of Vicki, and the eye-rolling of the trapped Nadia.
'This is the life.'
'Oh! I forgot to send Stefan's dumbass towards the woods so he'll appear at the right time.' I spread my shadow outward in a circle starting from me and am instantly aware of Stefan's position, which is... still curled up in the woods. . . . . . . .
"The fuck is wrong with that guy?"
Chapter 88
"Who?" Elena asked me after my partially involuntary outburst at witnessing the ridiculousness that some people will go to in order to achieve true melancholy in the face of adversity.
I could see that he had his phone cradled in his hand like a life-line and a part of me wondered if he contacted anyone, but a larger part of me really just didn't give a shit about that and decided to forgo the nonsense and throw him in the direction I wanted him to go.
Upon my return from tapping him on the forehead to get him moving, I realized that I never answered Elena's question from a few moments ago.
"Stefan," I said, which caused her to look up at me with surprise written all over her face.
"I forgot all about him! Is he okay?" She asked, blushing a little at the looks she received from the girls in the room, minus Nadia who was doing her best to not look at Elena, which I found funny.
"Stefan is fine," I told her. "Now, whether or not that will continue to be the case is entirely up to him and what happens next. Now, shush. The show is starting."
(P.O.V. Change)
Alaric Saltzman sat in his car sharpening his stake and preparing himself mentally for what he knew he was about to do next. Every moment of the last few years has been leading up to this and nothing and no one was going to get in his way.
He had a vampire to kill.
The last few days of stalking the creature have given Alaric a lot of useful information. The most useful being the creatures habit of taking walks into the woods at the same time every day.
Now, Alaric doesn't know why the creature does this, nor how it is even possible that the creature hasn't been made aware of his presence as he follows him, but unless Alaric was wrong, the creature seemed to be weakened for some reason. Which is exactly the reason that Alaric now sits in his car, sharpening his stake, and getting ready to make his move.
He eyes the creature in the skin of a man as it walks by his car. Alaric's eyes never leaving his target. Like a true professional.
He waits until the blood-drinker moves a good distance away before he picks up his duffle bag filled with things that he would never actually have the chance to pull out in a real encounter and prowls low through the town after him, following the leather jacket wearing blood-drinker straight into the woods, never allowing the blood-drinker to escape his sight.
If he had not been so focused on his target, he would have seen that he wasn't the only one to notice that particular leather jacket wearing blood-drinker aimlessly walking off into the woods.
A distance away, a blonde woman with a very nice appearance was walking through town with her phone to her ear and cursing at it because her friend, the one who called her in the depths of desperation, was not answering her calls. And now, she sees that friend's brother. The brother that her friend didn't mention, but if history is any indication, is likely the reason behind the state of her friend and also is likely to know where he is. All she needs to do is make him talk.
So, like the apex predator that she is, she begins to stalk off after him. Not even noticing for a second the human that was stalking that same individual perpendicular and a little ahead of her approach. However, Vlad and the people watching the constantly changing camera angles certainly did, though his only thought was, 'cool'.
Damon was not having a good day, days, or weeks. First, he runs into town feeling like a straight up badass. Then, the next thing he knows, he's being thrown into his family's cellar and meeting his nephew..... 's head. The shock woke something up inside of him that he had no interest in embracing, however now that he was, he couldn't seem to switch it off. And from that point on, he found himself constantly plagued by memories and hallucinations until, finally, he broke free during the demolition of the house he grew up in.
Now, now, he finds himself being hunted by one individual. No doubt the fool that threw him in the basement in the first place. However, he's not afraid. No, on the contrary, he's ready. For days, he's been walking the same route and feeling the eyes on him. He knows he's being followed, but for some reason that even he can't explain he has yet to make a move. However, that changes today. He can feel it. It's decapitating time.
Damon walks through the woods and he can hear the footsteps behind him and feel his blood beginning to speed up as it pumps through his veins.
'Hmmm, how should I go about getting this done? Shove my hand straight through his chest? A quick neck snap? No, this is personal. This needs to hurt. Got it, I'll break every limb on his body and then tear one off and beat him with it. Then, I'll turn him and shove vervain down his throat and throw him into a deep, dark hole where he can suffer for eternity. Yeah, that seems fair.'
While Damon was indulging in a string of useless thoughts, Alaric was beginning to accelerate on his leather jacket wearing target.
He slotted the stake onto his hip and reached into his duffle bag, while walking, and pulled out a crossbow. The smart choice for any hunter, and took aim as his steps got closer.
*Thwick*
The piece of wood flew from the crossbow, however right before it could go straight through the leather jacket wearing blood-drinker, the blood-drinker moved and the piece of wood got stuck in the back of the creature's shoulder instead. However, that was good enough for Alaric.
Damon went down with a yell, wondering how the hell he didn't dodge that like he usually would. Then, in that moment, he realized that he was a fool. How could he not have noticed just how tired he felt? He fell forward and turned before hitting the ground so he was sitting on his ass, as he glared at the soon to be dead man that had been causing him so many problems. The veins underneath his eyes began to flare as he took in the ridiculous sight. He could practically smell the alcohol on the man from where he was pulling the wooden ammunition from his back.
With one rip the wood was out of his back and being thrown back in the direction that it came from, however, Alaric rolled out of the way, discarding his crossbow and duffle bag in the process. However, he was already up and moving to reload another piece of wood into the crossbow by the time Damon rose to his feet.
However, Alaric was still too slow. In a show of speed that definitely didn't match the state of his body, Damon pushed himself forward and in a speed a little faster than a human could display was bearing down on Alaric who only had the unloaded crossbow and a piece of wood in his hands, which he used to block Damon's advance, however it still knocked him to the ground.
Alaric fell backwards, his stake being pulled from his hip as he did a somewhat proficient backwards roll, and before he could even stand up, Damon was grabbing him around his neck and shoving him backwards into a tree that was right behind him. However, before Damon could gloat, he felt a pain radiating from his stomach. A quick look down told him what he already suspected. He had a stake in his stomach.
A little distance away, Alexia Branson/Lexi watched the fight commence and really didn't know what to think. It was a battle like no other... no, seriously. She had never seen anything like it. A clear drunkard posing as a hunter vs what was supposed to be a pretty deadly vampire in a leather jacket were going at each other like hyenas trying to tear each other a part.
'Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but what the hell is Damon doing?' Lexi thought to herself, as she wrestled with the question of whether to step in or not, because it looked like Damon was the one who would be taking a lose. However, she stayed put.
She watched as Damon took a few steps back, seemingly unable to handle the stake in his stomach. Then, she saw him go down when the alcoholic hunter gave him a hook to the chin.
Now, the question was... what to do?
'If I let Damon die, there's a chance I won't be able to find Stefan. However, it's also possible that this hunter knows what happened to Stefan or had something to do with it and is now after Damon. Though, the question is, can I get Damon to work with me on this, or will Damon just get in the way?' Her thoughts were brought to a halt as the hunter took a swan dive and landed on top of Damon with his legs on both sides of Damon's legs, as he pressed the stake further into Damon's stomach in a clear rage. She could see the man saying something, however she was too far to be able to hear what he was saying over Damon's bitch-ass-ness.
Then, like it was in slow motion, she watched as the hunter brought the stake up high, and she caught sight of Stefan past them in the distance coming from the opposite direction of where she was sitting, with his hand stretched out in front of him, clearly in distress.
'*Sigh*, I guess that answers that.' Lexi, with a bit of reluctance, picked up a rock that was near her hand and hurled it through the air and straight into the ribs of the hunter, since his raised arms were blocking his head and neck.
Damon could see his life flashing before his eyes as the ant in front of him raised the stake above his head. He willed his body to move, but he could tell that he wouldn't make it in time. For a brief second, he thought he heard his little brother's voice calling out to him in the distance. 'Is this a sign that I should have tried to get along with Stefan? Will I never get the chance to see him again? To see.. Katherine, again...'
Damon saw the stake start to descend, however before it could even move a few inches, he saw the hunter above him curl up onto himself and with a renewed fire burning in his eyes, he saw his chance to turn things around. He grabbed the stake before it could hit him in the face and with all the strength he had left in his body, he brought it forward and straight into the neck of the hunter above him and reveled at the blood that splashed out onto his face. 'I win'.
With a hunger that he hadn't felt in a very long time, Damon grabbed the hunter that went limp above him and sunk his teeth into his neck on the opposite side from the stake, and drunk with a relish and intensity that defied reason. Strength began to course through his veins as the life-blood did it's healing work and he wondered why he hadn't fed before he decided to go toe to toe with the formerly-alive drunken hunter.
"Ahhhhh," Damon disengaged his bloody mouth from the dead man's neck and let loose a yell of exaltation at his narrow escape from death and the feeling of strength returning to his body. Then, with a dismissive throw, he threw the insect off of him and stood tall to his full glory.
He looked around and saw that he was still not alone. Only now, it was that annoying bitch Lexi, and his little brother. 'A little late to the show, kids,' he thought to himself as his usual arrogant smirk made it's way to his face. "A little late to the show, kids," he said, because why not? He felt it was a pretty good line.
"Actually, I've been here the whole time," The bitch said, and he had to stop himself from lashing out, since the past had already shown that she was stronger, faster, and older than him.
So, he chose to ignore her. "Welcome to the party, Stefan. Care for a drink?" He said, as he casually kicked the dead man at his feet.
Damon watched his brother and he could see he really did not look good.
"No, thanks," Stefan said, his form curled up on itself with his shoulders bunched like a junkie in withdrawal. 'Looks like somebody's been breaking their diet,' Damon thought to himself with a hint of schadenfreude.
"No? Too bad. For a waste of time, he had some pretty good blood, mixed with just the right amount of whisky to add some zip to the flavor," Damon said, taking an unnecessary amount of pleasure in seeing Stefan begin to shake a little.
"I'm pretty sure that "waste of time" had your balls in a vice and was about to put a stake in your heart before I decided to save your ass."
'Ah, well that explains that,' he thought to himself, since he was sure his last attack could only happen due to outside interference... but would he truly admit that though? "I had it handled." No, no he would not.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"Well, that was a pretty okay show," I said to the room as we watched the reunion show between the two brothers and a blonde beauty.
"Yeah, that was pretty intense," Bonnie said rubbing her hands slowly together like they were a little sweaty.
"Was it?" Vicki found herself asking. "He was slower than the one's we fight in the cage and that hunter went about the whole thing like it was a head to head fight between equals. That was stupid."
"True," I supplied.
"Should we go help them or report this or something?" Elena asked, like the female lead for a show about a girl who could never figure out how to just leave town that she was.
'I'll need to get her out of that crazy line of thinking before it gets her killed.' Vlad thought as he gave Elena that side-eye that asked "are you crazy", that had her ducking her head in embarrassment.
"No, Elena, we should not go help them, report them, or something. Someone tell the room why..."
"Hm, because we don't know them?"
"Caroline, you got it in one. Those mongrels are not only strangers, but just look at that leather-jacket wearing bastard's disingenuous smirk. He clearly hasn't even thanked that very pleasant looking lady that came to his rescue like a true hero. He's clearly not a good guy."
Vlad ignored the looks he received from everyone in the room, even Nadia, since he knew better than anyone that not only was his logic faulty, but his bias was clearly taking the lead in his argument, so he simply brushed off their weak attacks and kept his sight focused on the heart of the matter which was, only he actually knew anything about the people on the screen, and one thing he knew, was that Lexi was a very loyal friend, and that was good enough for him.
"Riigght," Bonnie drawled out once she saw that her scrutinizing eye was completely ignored. "So, what do we do now?"
Vlad thought for a moment that lasted no time at all outside his mind and came up with an answer. "Now.. now, we wait. I have a feeling things are about to get... even more interesting." He didn't even bother to hide the small smile on his face that whispered mischievousness into the air, as he moved his eyes to look at Elena and then Jenna. "You two will never guess who's been skulking around town since this morning." He looked through the shadows and saw a middle-age man sitting in a restaurant and having a slightly heated conversation with a black haired woman that if the hunter had a chance to see her would have been stunned. "No, you'll never guess this."
Chapter 89
John Gilbert and Isobel Flemming sat in a diner and were engaged in a rather heated discussion about the reasoning behind why they were in town and about whether or not they should try and move under the radar so as not to draw attention to themselves until absolutely necessary, due to the confirmed presence of the Salvatore brothers in town.
However, before they could really get into the charming back and forth of the conversation, they found themselves being swallowed by darkness and then falling onto a somewhat solid floor with an oomf.
Isobel, like the vampire that she is, was the first to re-orientate herself with her new surroundings, and what she saw, left her baffled. Though, not because of the grandness of her environment, nor due to some special something, but because as she looked around, she realized that she was inside a cage. A large black cage with a somewhat solid grey floor with pads on different parts of the cage, and beyond the cage was nothing but pure darkness through which she could not see.
"What the hell happened?" John asked as he rubbed his head after it's not so gentle meeting with the floor. He looked around. "And why the hell are we in a UFC cage?" His face was questioning as he looked at Isobel, though it was easy to see that she had no idea what was going on either.
Just then, three more people fell from above them and landed in the cage that, without them noticing, got significantly wider.
Both John and Isobel recognized two of them, since they were the very same people that they had no interest in meeting so soon, however the third, very attractive blonde woman, was a mystery.
"Is this real?" Stefan asked as he looked around him and underneath him in a vain effort to watch out for fat guys at his feet.
Damon hopped to his feet a moment after Lexi was already standing as they took a critical look around and immediately honed in on the other two people in the cage. With a very predictable zoom, Damon had his hand around John's throat and was holding him up against the cage. "Talk." He demanded. While John struggled to get his neck free.
"Damon," Isobel said, trying not to look too unsettled by their forced teleportation and subsequent meeting. "It's good to see you again. We appeared here only moments before you did. We know nothing."
Lexi, in her wisdom, remained quiet and just kept her eyes focused on the other people in the cage while she stood protectively beside the still slumped Stefan who was slowly getting his bearings once he realized their were no obese men offering up their blood.
Outside the cage, on the same couch only now in a different warehouse, sat Vlad and his group, with only two of them wondering what the hell was going on.
"Jeremy, why did you put Uncle John in a cage with the vampires? I mean, I know he's pretty creepy, but still, that's pretty dangerous." Elena said as she sat on the edge of her seat with a worried expression on her face.
Jenna on the other hand was sat back, also wondering the same thing, just without nearly as much worry on her features. In fact, she didn't seem that bothered by the whole thing at all. The only thing she wanted to know was, "And how do you keep teleporting everything?"
Vlad laughed, since he truly was wondering just how long everyone was just going to accept him doing that before someone called him on it, and because of that, he was prepared with a rapid-fire response.
He winked.
"To answer your question, Elena, I would first need to tell you something very... shocking? John and that black-haired lady that's trying her best to give the leather-jacket wearing bastard seductive eyes, are your birth parents."
"_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_"
"Even you Nadia?" Vlad asked, once he saw the shocked deadpan that adorned everyone's faces, even Nadia's.
"Yes, even me. That is not how you tell someone who their parent's are. The hell is wrong with you?" Nadia responded, looking at Vlad like he was just a little bit, not a lot, stupid.
Vlad on his part just shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps not, but it is when both of your birth parents are straight up dicks who bring nothing to the table but lies, manipulations, and agendas. Which is exactly what those two offer." Vlad finished by looking at Elena who was slowly shaking her head. "I'm sorry Elena, but just watch for now, and we'll talk about our family later."
In the cage, Damon was still holding John by the throat, while Isobel was trying to talk him down. Meanwhile, Stefan and Lexi stood to the back just watching and trying to figure things out.
"All of us are vampires. He's the only human. I don't know what brought me here, but I do know the "which one doesn't belong here" game." Damon said, as he squeezed just a little tighter.
"And I told you that we were just sitting in a diner, catching up on old times since it's been a while since we last saw each other, when we just ended up here. That's all either of us knows." Isobel reasoned. Though, she didn't exactly appear too torn up over her old pals John's life being placed in the hands of a murderous vampire, which everyone in the cage definitely noticed. Even the steadily being suffocated John.
"And the vervain in his system? This would be a whole lot more pleasant if he could be compelled." Damon said squeezing just a little bit harder.
Isobel rolled her eyes in exasperation as she said, "he's a Gilbert, Damon. He probably bathes with vervain. Now, how about you just let him go, so we can start trying to figure out how we got here, and how to get out."
Damon, true to form, decided to do not that and with a cocky smirk on his face said, "hmmm, how about instead I just..." *Snap* Then, he proceeded to break John's neck.
Vlad, on his part, had to do some serious reassuring since he pretty much got the full blame for that shit. However, he noted the ring on John's finger from the moment he saw the man through the shadows, so he wasn't really worried. And, if the ring somehow didn't work... well then he would worry.
Damon dropped John's body and turned around with a smug expression on his face. "Well, now let's see what happens next. Since, I'm pretty sure whoever brought us here won't want us to just kill each other off." Damon said while dusting his hands off on each other.
Isobel just shook her head like she was so over this shit. While Stefan looked annoyed, and Lexi looked curious still about their surroundings and was wondering if, since they were in a fighting arena, if them killing each other off isn't exactly what whoever put them there wants.
"You didn't have to kill him Damon." Stefan said, his brows furrowed and his default "try to fix Damon" personality setting sliding right back into place.
"Actually... he did." A deep, rumbling, yet charming and magnetic voice resounded throughout the cage reminiscent of thunder through the clouds.
Instantly everyone was on alert.
"Who's there!?" Damon questioned shouted out into the darkness outside the cage.
"I am everyone and I am no one. I am the beginning and the end. However, you may call me, Dracula."
"_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_"
"Even you, me!?" Vlad shouted once he realized that he too adopted a deadpan as a result of his bullshit. Though, he was quick to defend himself, only this once. "Don't look at me like that. If you had the chance to be dope as fuck like a archetypal movie endgame villain, you would too." He looked around for support from the people sitting beside him... but he found none. So, he just tsk'd his tongue and turned his attention back on the inside of the cage.
Instantly clouds formed over the heads of the people in the cage and lightning began it's dance, destroying portions of the floor where it connected from the clouds, only for the floor to instantly repair itself.
"Fucking clap when you hear my name, mongrels." Vlad said in a very casual manner, like it didn't even matter whether or not they showed him some love.
Instantly the mongrels in the octagon began to clap in both approval and awe of the sheer might behind Vlad's show of prowess, which resulted in him leveling a smug look at all those who doubted him in the past. Which was essentially just those seated beside him, and with a firm nod of his head, the lightning ceased and the clouds dispersed.
"Seriously, what even are your powers!?" Jenna asked once again. And Vlad just swallowed the laugh that was at the back of his throat, because he had a show to put on.
"Also, why are we doing this?" Bonnie asked. Which, if Vlad was being fair, was a very good question. He may enjoy acting like a b-movie villain sometimes, but the girls.. not so much. However, he knew without a doubt that, with time, they would grow and learn the ways of phenomenal cosmic power. Especially, when he gave them his blood in the future. Then, he would love to see how they maintain their humility in the face of fucking with others for the lols.
Vlad ignored their nonsense and focused on the occupants of the octagon.
"Well, thank you. I appreciate it, even if it is not necessary. Now, as I was saying, you have all been placed in the arena, because you have all annoyed me in one way or another. Therefore, only one of you will be leaving through the door on the cage. The rest.. well... Begin."
They all stood there for a moment. The tension steadily building as the seconds ticked by. However, it was actually the human that was supposed to be dead, who made the first move.
In a feat of pure old man agility, John kipped up off the ground and broke the neck of Damon, who had his back to him.
How Damon did not hear, feel, or even smell, the human move, Vlad would never know.
And once Damon went down, shit got real.
In and instant, Isobel was zipping in Lexi and Stefan's direction and going straight for the clear weak link, since she had seen earlier how protective Lexi seemed of the Salvatore brother. However, her hopes were dashed, because Lexi was faster, stronger, and was constantly on high alert.
Before Isobel could close in on Stefan, Lexi was already close-lining the milf and taking her down. Then, she hoisted Isobel up and threw her in the steadily approaching John's direction.
John rolled out of the way, and when he came up, a little to his side, were a rack of weapons. All seemingly wood based, and perfect for taking out vampires.
The creepy smirk that made it's way onto his face was appreciated by no one in the audience.
John instantly set off in the direction of the weapons, however before he could reach out and grab one, Stefan was already bouldering into him, throwing him back and standing in front of the weapon rack. "None of us are killing each other." Stefan said both to the people in the cage and the voice outside of it.
Only to be met by a small cloud that zapped him with lightning and frying him up. Which, accomplished two things. Number 1, it earned Vlad a swat on the arm from Elena and a laugh from everyone else. And, number 2, it allowed John to pick himself back up and run at the weapons again, while Lexi and Isobel engaged in some uneven hand-to-hand, since it was clear neither of them was practiced in hand-to-hand.
Lexi knocked Isobel down and zipped over to the rack, just as John picked up the only gun on the rack. He could see Lexi closing in from the side, however from the very beginning, just like Isobel, he saw her weak point clearly. So, instead of turning fully to maybe make it in time to aim at Lexi, he instead aimed at Stefan who was just a little bit away from his feet.
"No!" Lexi yelled out, as she dived for Stefan as he struggled to move, only to be met with the sound of the weapon firing and the feeling of wood in her abdomen. "Fuck."
"Lexi!" Stefan roared out, feeling guilty and helpless, since John was already creepy smirking while pointing the weapon at him.
However, before John could fire again. "John, behind you!" He heard Isobel yell, and before he could register what was going on, he felt a hand go through his chest, which should have stopped him, however he was still able to get a shot off in Stefan's direction.
Damon pulled his hand out the back of John Gilbert and looked to his little brother. His little brother that was bleeding... from his chest.
Damon could feel his emotions bearing down on him and the urge to flip the switch was right there at the forefront of his brain. However, he decided against it. His brother deserved a better in his final moments than what he was able to give the only real friend he ever had, so long ago when he left him behind with the Augustine's.
So, instead, Damon began to make his way forward and crouched down to be there for the last of his family.
"Da..mon," Stefan chocked out. The life-blood seeping out of his body from what seemed to be close to his heart. "Look out."
Damon got shot in the back like the dumbass he was for not watching his back in the middle of a battle and thinking he could have a dramatic moment all for himself.
Isobel stood victorious with the gun in her hand. All she had to do was get rid of... John stirred once again and slowly made his way to his feet. Looking at Isobel out the corner of his eye, and realizing that he should have handled her first, since she was the only one who knew his weakness.
"Isobel. Let's talk about this." John said, as he slowly walked backwards, away from Isobel and towards the weapons rack.
"What's there to talk about, John, only one of us can walk away." Isobel said, her gun held firm and pointed right at him.
"Isobel, think about it. We're all Elena has left. If you kill me or I kill you, what will the other tell her?"
Isobel just looked at John like he was the biggest idiot in the world.
"Is that seriously what you're going with? Think about Elena. Her mother died when I became a vampire, and her father... well, you have never been more than a stranger to the girl. Goodbye, John." Isobel emptied the clip into his body and before he could even fall, she zipped up to him and removed the ring from his finger. His mouth moving to form words, but none coming out, as the stake fell from the hand he had placed behind his back.
"See. Assholes."
Vlad waved his hand and the entire cage was engulfed in darkness, meanwhile the faux wood in the vampire's bodies merged with the darkness that now consumed their bodies, and the holes that were there, faded away, with the same happening for John.
"Alive. Assholes."
(In the void between life, death, and the next great adventure)
"See, as I said. Watching from here, is way better than everyone knowing you were watching them. It is the height of voyeurism."
"_"
"I'm serious, Tessa. This is art."