"NO! DAMON!!!"

Ariel suddenly finds herself outside in the woods, not understanding how she got there.

"Ariel."

She turns around sees someone she never expected to see again... Damon. Her eyes begin to glisten with tears causing him to be concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"You're... You're alive. How...?"

"Of course I am, silly. Why would I be dead? I mean technically I am but-" He is immediately cut off by her when she lunges at him for a hug. He reciprocates and the act causes him to laugh. "Whoa! What's gotten into you?"

"I thought I lost you..."

"Little mermaid, you could never lose me. Besides, you're the only one who gets my jokes." She giggles and eventually lets him go. He then wipes her tears away. "Okay, now show me what you got."

"Huh?"

"Did you forget already? We're out here for your training."

"Oh... Okay."

He throws her a stake and begins their combat training. It's all going well and when she stops herself from staking him in the heart. "You're dead." Proud of her victory, she starts to notice blood starting to form where his heart is. "Wh-?"

"My little mermaid..."

He collapses into her arms and begins to desiccate. She screams for help and begs him not to leave her.

Ariel awakens, finding herself in her bedroom being comforted by her mother. "You're home sweetheart. It's okay."

Outside Ariel's room, Caroline is quietly speaking to Bonnie and Kol. "I don't get it, how did Alaric die?"

"Does it bloody matter? Katerina's saved us all. Now Bonnie. Can you bring Damon back?"

"I could try but it might take some time. I've already performed a cloaking spell on Ariel while she was asleep."

"I'm so worried, I've never seen her like his."

"One of her best friends just died, Caroline. How do you expect her to react? ...This is all my fault."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? Damon's dead because he pushed me out of the way. He took a bullet that was meant for me!"

Bonnie puts her hand on Kol's shoulder. "Damon did what he did for Ariel. He knew she would fall apart if she lost you. I may have not liked Damon but I know he cared about her a lot."

Caroline's phone begins to ring and she answers it. "What is it, Matt? I'm kinda busy at the moment... How important is it?" She sighs. "Fine, we'll come over." She hangs up. "You, me and Ariel need to go over to Elena's house."

"Why?"

"Matt wouldn't say except something's going on with Elena. It's not something we can talk about over the phone."

"My darling isn't in the condition to help Elena with her needs!"

"You think I don't know that? I don't want to go over there either but Matt is the one that I'm concerned about. And if Elena has made another stupid decision then it could effect all of us!" Caroline opens the door to Ariel's room. "Mom. I need to take Ariel with me and Bonnie. We're going to see Matt and Elena about something."

"Now? This isn't the best time-"

"I know it isn't. But Matt stated that I need to bring Bonnie and Ariel with me. If it wasn't important, I would let her stay here." She walks over to Ariel's bed and takes the girl from her mother's arms. "Angelfish, I know you're not doing well but I need you to come with me and Bonnie for a little bit, okay? You don't have to talk or do anything. Can you do that for me?"

Ariel nods and Caroline hugs her sister tightly.

In the Gilbert House, Ariel, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt and Elena are in her room. As the sisters sit on the windowsill, Ariel's head is leaning on Caroline's shoulder. Caroline is rubbing Ariel's shoulder, trying to comfort her sister. Matt and Elena have noticed Ariel's eyes are puffy, knowing the girl had been crying but do not the reason why. Ever since the three's arrival, Ariel has not spoken a word.

Bonnie having enough of the silence, speaks up. "So what is this about?"

Matt and Elena look at each other and both are hesitant to answer.

"Matt, you called Caroline and said it was important. If neither of you is going to say anything, we're leaving.

"We don't have all day. So tell us what's going on or we're leaving. Something really bad has happened and my sister is going through an extremely difficult time right now."

"...Elena's a vampire."

Bonnie looks shocked but Caroline doesn't look a bit surprised. "Bon, can you take Ariel downstairs? Please?"

"S-Sure."

"Matt, you leave too."

"What? No-"

"I need to talk to Elena alone."

Matt sighs and leaves first. Bonnie helps Ariel up and takes her out of the room. Caroline folds her arms and faces Elena. "How?"

"...Katherine... I was injured before and Damon healed me with his blood."

"...I see... Elena. You have two options. Either feed or don't. If you feed I will help you with your vampirism."

"Care, I can't be a vampire! This wasn't suppose to happen!"

"What did you think was going to happen? You chose to get involved with vampires knowing the dangers it would bring. Are you forgetting I became a vampire because of this? I didn't get a choice! But you as always get a choice. You chose this life, so choose. Feed or die." She turns to leave but stops at the door and turns to Elena once more. "One more thing. Don't ask my sister or Bonnie for anything else."

Once she goes out the door, she stops once more as she overhears the others talking.

"No."

"What?"

"Did you not hear me? I. Said. No."

"Ariel-"

"She's right. I agree with Ariel, I'm not helping her either."

"Why not?"

"...Why?"

"Let Elena deal with her own mess for once, Matt. I'm tired of being used and always losing someone or something because of her. And Ariel is always the one always having to clean up her mess. Enough is enough."

"She can't handle being a vampire, Bonnie!"

"MATT, JUST STOP IT!"

As her two friends are shocked by her outburst, Caroline and Elena quickly come downstairs. Caroline hurries over to her sister, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"The world does not revolve around you, Elena. You don't want to be a vampire? Too bad. You either do or you don't. You think you're the only who didn't want this? What about Stefan? Caroline? Abby? Vicki? Rebekah? Klaus? Kol? Elijah? Finn? Katherine? ...Damon? So tell me what makes you so special, Elena? Why should you get a pass?"

Matt put his hand on Ariel's shoulder but she shrugs him off. "Ariel-"

"Matt, I love you but if please stop defending her. Are you forgetting who was the one who was there for you when she broke your heart? Hmm, that's right! Me! I was the one who had to pick up the pieces!" She chuckles. It's funny how every time something bad happens it sometimes leads back to her, I'm the one cleaning up the mess. Trying to kill the originals. Jeremy's compulsions and having to be a better sister to him since she wanted to be a controlling parent. Hell, the first person I killed was to save her! Everything is because of her! It's all her fault!"

"That's not fair. You can't blame her for all that's happened."

"Why not? Tell me. Because this all started with her and the Salvatores in case you forgotten. Should I give out a list of all the things that have happened up to this point?"

"Stop-"

"Vicki became a vampire and died. Shelia died. Caroline became a vampire. Tyler triggered his werewolf curse. Jeremy has his mind messed with and has died multiple times. Jenna died. John died. Stefan and Damon kept fighting over a girl who wouldn't choose. Abby became a vampire. Alaric became a vampire hunter like Mikael because of your blood which wouldn't had even happened had you never started working together with Esther in the first place. Alaric is dead because of it. And..."

"I... I never meant for this to happen!"

"What did you think was going to happen by getting involved with vampires? It would be all rainbows and sunshine?! ...You are always sorry and cry for a little bit but you never take any responsibility for your actions. You just want to blame others for it. When you think about it, everyone found out about the doppelganger because of the Salvatores... But at the end of the day, you're the one who brought the supernatural world into all our lives. That was your choice. This all started with you."

"I'm so-"

"Do not say it... When you found out they were vampires, you wanted them to stay away... Not long after, you went right back to them. Why? You had no intentions of becoming a vampire. You told me you wanted a normal life. Get married, have kids, become a writer... Why couldn't you just let them go? All you were doing was giving them hope that one day you would be with one of them forever and it was all just a lie...We all could have continued having normal lives if from the start you just told the Salvatores to move on. Stefan stayed because of you and at some point...so did Damon."

Ariel finally walks out of the Gilbert house with Caroline and Bonnie right behind her. Before Caroline can talk to her, her phone begins ringing. Seeing it's her mother, she quickly answers it. Bonnie talks to Ariel in her stead. "Hey, you okay?"

"...I'm sorry."

Bonnie hugs. "Don't apologize, it's okay. It's not your fault, Elena had that a long time coming. I'm more surprised that you didn't have that outburst sooner."

Caroline gets off the phone and walks over to them. "Guys, I have to go. Alaric ratted the vampires out to the council."

"We can't get a break. Okay just hurry and go. I'll get Ariel home."

"...You're going to be fine. Okay?"

Ariel nods and hugs her sister. "I love you."

"I love you too." Caroline quickly gets into her car and drives away. A while later, Ariel is back home.

"Do you think Care and the others got out safe?"

"I'm sure they did sweetheart. She'll call as soon as she can... How are you feeling?"

Before Ariel can answer, she receives a call. "Hello?"

"Hey, shortcake."

"Katherine... I missed you."

"What phone calls and texts weren't enough for you?" Katherine asks jokingly. "...I know you're going through things right now but Kol and Rebekah have been captured. Caroline was taken as well but Klaus saved her. Wanna to go a rescue mission with me to save your boyfriend? It might help take your mind off things."

"...Okay. Where do I meet you?"

"I'm already waiting outside your house."

"I'll be right there."

Ariel hangs up and looks to her mother. "I have to go. They got Kol and Rebekah. Caroline is safe, Klaus saved her."

"You can't go. You're-"

"Mom...please. This is something that I have to do."

"Sweetheart, this isn't going to make you feel better."

"It might. One thing I know for sure, it will distract me from the pain."

Before Liz can stop her, Ariel runs out the door and gets into Katherine's car. Katherine drives away before Liz can reach them. "Ariel!"

On the road...

"So where are Elijah and Finn?"

"Apparently, they both went out of town again after they went to see you and Caroline. They had some business to take care of. They should return in a few days."

"...I'm sorry."

"Don't. It's not your fault."

"But it is."

"Shortcake-"

"His death. That's on me, Katherine... It's on me."

"...Do you know why Damon loved you? Do you know why Klaus loves you? Do you know why I love you? It's because you were the first person to show us kindness to people like us in a long time. You knew what we were like but still became our friend anyway. You gave a damn when no one else didn't."

"...Maybe I shouldn't had. He'd probably still be alive and maybe somewhere that wasn't Mystic Falls..."

"Stop. Just stop it. I don't want to hear you talking like that again."

The rest of the car ride is filled with silence. Meanwhile at the pastor's ranch, in the barn...

Elena wakes up in a cage, finding Rebekah, who is also in a cage, across from her. Vervain is being ventilated through the cages. "Why am I here?"

"They thought you were a vampire, so they stuck you in here with us."

"Elena?"

"...Tyler?"

Tyler and Kol are also being held in cages. Tyler next to Elena while Kol is next to Rebekah. "Why are you here?"

"...I'm in transition, Ty."

Kol and Rebekah begin laughing, seeming to know how Elena ended up in predicament. This causes Tyler to narrow his eyes. "What's so funny?"

"Elena, tell me. Did you know or ever suspect that your death would cause Alaric's death?"

"Wait, what?!"

"Think about it. It was your blood that turned him into what he was. He became like my father but even more stronger and indestructible. Even the white oak stake couldn't kill him.

"All... All I know is that before Damon went to help you save Ariel and Caroline, Alaric called... He told me to not get involved in any kind of danger otherwise he would kill Ariel and Caroline... When I was able to figure it out, Ariel had already beat him."

"So that's why you didn't say anything. You thought you were safe. I mean I understand but had you mentioned it earlier, your friends may have been so kind to find a way without you having to sacrifice your life."

"That's why Katerina killed you. She figured out that by you dying, Alaric would die." Kol chuckles. "Seems like this is your karma. For everything."

"How much longer do you have? Three hours or less to feed until we get to watch you die. Katerina had the honors of watching die the first time. We get the second."

Ariel and Katherine arrived to the ranch and before going their separate ways, Ariel tells Katherine to have fun. Ariel heads to the pastor's home with an bleeding wrist, explaining she was attacked by some kind of animal. The pastor allows her to come inside and helps her. Seeing that the rest of the members are inside, Ariel sets her plan into motion. Screaming is heard from outside and when the pastor looks out the window, he sees the deputies being brutally murdered by Katherine. He looks back to Ariel, who has a smug look on her face.

"You're working with them?!"

He tries to walk towards her but is stopped by a barrier. He and the rest of the council members are trapped inside the kitchen.

"Pastor, you've caused issues with my mom and Carol's jobs. You've also threatened the lives of my sister, boyfriend and friends... And I refuse to lose anyone else. I'm giving you the option to walk away. But if you don't, you know how this ends, right?

"I rather die than negotiate with a vampire sympathizer such as you!"

"...Okay."

She lifts her hand, a ball of fire forming. "Die." She tosses it into the room where the pastor and other members of the council are in. As everyone is being set aflame, she walks out of the house, the screams echoing behind her. Katherine kills the last man before seeing Ariel approaching her.

"Feel better?"

She shrugs. "A little."

"Let's go get your man."

As they enter the barn, they witness Tyler killing the guard and Elena finally being able to feed, completing her transition.

"Darling?"

Ariel grabs the keys off the guard and unlocks Kol's cage. She tosses the keys to Katherine so she can unlock the other cages before hugging Kol.

"I missed you."

"I missed you more, darling."

"Stop hogging my best friend, Kol!" Rebekah removes Ariel from his arms so that she can hug her. "Was all that ruckus out there you two?"

"I owed Ariel and Kol."

"Ariel."

"...Tyler?" She lets go of Rebekah and quickly hugs him. Kol begins to feel a bit jealous noticing how Tyler was staring at Ariel when she arrived. "When did you get back?"

"A while ago. I was going to surprise you."

"Some surprise."

"You guys should go, I need to talk to Elena."

"Darling-"

"Please."

Kol hesitantly nods and Ariel takes the key from Katherine. As him and the others leave, she crouches in front of Elena's cage. "Damon's dead, Elena."

Elena blinks several times, processing what Ariel just said. "...What?"

"And you wanna know something? There are three people that I blame for it. Those are Esther... You...and me. Alaric became a vampire hunter like Mikael because of your blood which wouldn't had even happened had you never started working together with Esther in the first place. Alaric is dead because of it. And now... Damon is dead. I blame myself because had I better control of my powers, he'd still be alive... I heard Damon say he made his decision about you before he died but...I don't even know what it was." She stands up. "From this moment on, we're done. The Elena Gilbert that I know. The one who was caring, loyal and supportive, that Elena was my best friend. My family. She died a long time ago. Probably when she went off that bridge."

She unlocks the cage, gets up and leaves behind a crying Elena. Outside the barn, she is reunited with someone that she didn't want to see anytime soon. She tries to walk past him but steps in front of her.

"Talk to me."

"What do you want me to say, Stefan?"

"Anything, please... Just say something."

"Okay... What gives Damon the right to come into my life and make me care then just dies on me? Wanna know something? ...I'm beginning to regret meeting you and your brother... Is that what you want to hear? Huh?! ...That's how much it hurts."

Stefan is stunned by her response to even respond back and she walks away.

Stefan's back! How do you all feel about Ariel's change? Was she wrong for the way she spoke to Elena and Stefan? Or was she right? Damon's death is taking a huge effect on her as it will continue for the next few chapters. Also you guys finally get to see her friendship with Katherine! Maybe you can also figure out why Ariel was able to control her powers this time?