05. Monster's Ball

Dear Future Salvatores, 

I hope when you three are reading this, it's because I handed it to you, so you three could know how much your mom loves you despite you even not being born yet, however, god forbid, if you are reading this without me by your side, you should still know that I love you three more then anything in this world.

I hope to one day hand you all my diaries, so you can know the epic love story of your parents, through my words, no one else's, and maybe one day you will hand me your diary, that will talk about the epic loves you three had, god I am so excited for you three to be born and grow into the best versions of yourself, I can't wait to see what you guys choose in life, what path you take, just know, whatever you choose, wherever you go, you will always have my support, as long as it's not anything evil.

Right now, your mom is writing to you three from her collage campus, after realising I'm already three months pregnant, I decided to come back to collage, go to some classes, do some studying before I become busy with you three, I'm trying to keep you guys a secret, the less people know the better, but it's hard when I'm just so happy, I want everyone to be part of my happiness.

Can I tell you guys something? I think your dad is hiding something from me, last night I heard him on the phone with Caroline, as soon as I entered the room, he hanged up on her, and no matter how much I annoy him, he refused to tell me what they were talking about, I hate not being in the loop, but I also know that eventually I will find out, I just hope it's not anything to do with Silas, they better not being making a plan to defeat Silas without me, because then I would be very mad.

Anyways, now that I'm back in collage, I can focus on the thing I was supposed to find out before I found out about you guys, the truth about Dr. Wes Maxfield, and how he knew my biological dad Lucas Connor, and my adoptive dad Grayson Gilbert, also he was the one who covered up my roommate's death by a vampire, and I want to know the reason why a Professor would cover that up.

"Welcome back" Dr. Maxfield said, walking over to Aria, "See you at the costume ball tonight?".

"Of course" Aria replied.

Dr. Maxfield smiled and walked away, just as Aria's phone started ringing, realising it was Damon, she hanged up on him.

"Busted" Damon said, sitting next to Aria.

"I knew you were behind me" Aria said.

"Really?" Damon asked.

"Really" Aria replied.

"So, are you done avoiding me?" Damon asked.

"Are you going to tell me what you and Caroline were talking about?" Aria retorted.

"Ria" Damon said.

"Damon" Aria said.

"God, I know I wanted our kids to be like you, but I would prefer them to not have your stubbornness" Damon said, grabbing Aria's diary, and reading it, a small smile formed on his face when he realised who she was writing to.

"Would you rather them have your narcissistic personality?" Aria asked.

"Over your stubbornness?" Damon asked, "Yes".

"People will hate being in their company" Aria mumbled.

"Hey!" Damon said, "I'm doing fine, aren't I? I even made you fall in love with me".

"You didn't make me fall in love with you" Aria replied, "I chose to love you".

"Right, my bad" Damon said sarcastically.

"Okay, let's put our mock fight to a hold, and tell me are you going to be my date to the costume ball?" Aria asked.

"Of course I am" Damon replied, "Who else is going to make sure you and our babies are okay".

"They aren't even born yet, and you're so protective over them, I don't want to imagine what you will be like when they are born" Aria said.

"A perfect gentleman" Damon said.

"Mm, debatable" Aria said, "Just so you know the costume ball is at 8, and Caroline has gotten us costumes".

"Where are you going?" Damon asked, seeing Aria pack her bags.

"Class, I'm already so late" Aria said, kissing Damon's lips and walking towards her class.

"Be careful!" Damon called out.

"Always!" Aria yelled back.

While Damon watched Aria walk to her class, his phone buzzed.

From Blondie: Simple or heavy?

To Blondie: Simple

From Blondie: *sent you ten attachments*, these are all the simple ones I think Aria would like, choose one, and I'll order it.

To Blondie: On it!

***

As Aria was walking to her class, she passed Megan's memorial, where she saw some guy sitting infront of it, staring at Megan's photo, Aria walked over to the mystery guy, wanting to know his connection to Megan.

"Hey" Aria greeted.

"Hey".

"I'm Aria" Aria introduced, "I was one of Megan's roommate, how did you know her?".

"We knew each other growing up".

"Oh" Aria whispered, "I'm really sorry for your loss".

The mystery guy shrugged and stood up, "Pretty sad memorial, huh? Guess it's not exactly cool to mourn during fall rush".

"You can mourn, however you want to mourn, no one has any right to judge you" Aria said, "Someone people leave flowers, others complete their loved ones dying wishes".

"Yeah but what Megan would have wanted is to still be here, alive".

"But I thought she committed suicide" Aria said confused.

"Yeah, I know, that's what they said".

"But that's not what you think happened" Aria realised.

The mystery guy didn't say anything, just grabbed his bag from the floor, "You know, if you, care about her, get her sunflowers, she liked those".

"At least tell me your name" Aria called out, as the guy started walking away.

"I don't think I will".

***

"Oh lovely, you're here" Damon said, entering his living room and seeing Damien talking to Kol and Jeremy.

"We have a problem" Damien said.

"When do we not?" Damon asked, "What went wrong this time?".

"Did Qetsiyah use you and Stefan to get rid of Silas's psychic powers?" Damien asked.

"Yeah, why?" Damon asked confused.

"Because that removed my powers as well" Damien replied.

"Excuse me?" Damon asked shocked.

"After Qetsiyah's death, when the travelers realised there was only one cure, they linked me and my brother, they made it so if one thing happened to one brother, the same thing happened to the other, if one of us died, the other died to, if one of us got their powers taken away, so did the other" Damien explained.

"How about if one of you turns human?" Jeremy asked.

"The other turns human as well" Damien replied.

"That's why you gave the cure to Silas" Kol realised, "You knew if he turned human so would you".

"Actually, I didn't know that" Damien replied.

"What?" Damon asked.

"I didn't know about what the travelers did, until a few days ago, while I was looking for Katherine, I came across a girl named Nadia, who told me this, I didn't believe her until I felt a searing pain in my head and realised my powers were gone" Damien replied.

"Wonderful" Kol said sarcastically.

"That's not all" Damien said.

"Of course it's not" Damon mumbled.

"Silas has teamed up with Elena, they have made a deal, Elena will help Silas find the anchor that holds the other side together, she will help him destroy it, in exchange for him to bring the Bennett witch back before he dies and reunites with Adriana" Damien explained.

"No, absolutely not" Kol snapped, "That witch can not come back".

"If you don't want Bonnie Bennett to come back, then we need to find the anchor before Silas does, we need to destroy it before he does" Damien said.

"You finally want to reunite with Adriana?" Damon asked.

"I want to stop Silas from causing Adriana any more pain" Damien replied

"And how do we find the anchor to the other side?" Jeremy asked.

"By talking to Qetsiyah" Damien replied, "The witch who created the anchor".

***

Damon entered the Whitmore Costume Ball, and started looking for his brother, he spotted him dancing with Elena, Damon took out his phone and texted Kol, who he knew was with Damien.

To The Annoying Mikaelson 👊: Stefan's here

Damon turned around to see Aria walking towards him.

"What happened to your costume?" Damon asked confused.

"Turns out, when Caroline bought my costume, she didn't know I was pregnant" Aria replied, "So my three months pregnant belly, didn't fit in that very tight costume".

"You don't seem upset by that" Damon observed.

"Cause I like this outfit" Aria said, spinning around, "It's very cute".

"Yes it is" Damon said, spinning Aria around, making her laugh.

"Thank you" Aria said.

"Dance?" Damon asked.

"Of course" Aria replied, walking to the dance floor with Damon.

***

After dancing with Damon for a while, Aria spotted Megan's childhood friend, so she walked over to him to try and get more information out of him.

"Hey, boy who refused to tell me his name" Aria greeted, "Nice t-shirt".

"Hey, whatever you're supposed to be".

"Me" Aria said, "I'm supposed to be me".

"Nice".

"So, are you going to tell me your name now?" Aria asked.

"Why do you wanna know who I am?".

"I'm trying to figure out that mystery behind Megan's death" Aria replied, she then started compelling the guy, "Did you kill Megan?".

"Of course not".

"Then why act so weird and shady?" Aria asked, "No offense".

"Because everyone around me dies, it's like a curse, my friends, my family, one by one, I've lost every single person in my life, so if you had any idea what survivor's guilt felt like, you'd leave me alone".

Aria froze, she did know what survivor's guilt felt like, a lot of people around her had died, a lot of her family was dead, she knew exactly what this guy was feeling.

"I'm sorry, please forget about my stupid questions" Aria compelled.

"It's Aaron" the guy introduced, after a moment, "My name", Aria nodded, "I'll see you around, maybe".

"See you around Aaron" Aria said.

***

"You, my brother, make a terrible wingman" Stefan said, as Damon led him into a room, away from Qetsiyah.

"I'm not here to be your wingman" Damon snapped.

"So, what exactly are we doing here?" Stefan asked confused.

"Well--" Damon started, but before he could finish his sentence, Kol speeded behind Stefan and snapped his neck.

"Remind me again, why we only snapped Stefan's neck and not Damon's?" Jeremy asked.

"Because, Qetsiyah's spell mentally linked Stefan to us not Damon, she just channeled Damon" Damien replied, in the same costume as Damon.

"I think my eyes are having a seizure" Kol mumbled, "You guys look like identical twins".

"Hey Damon--what in the world?".

"Hey Ri" Kol said.

"What's going on here?" Aria asked confused.

"Your boyfriend will explain" Damien said.

"Damien?" Aria asked, Damien nodded.

"Are you sure the link is severed?" Damon asked.

"Yes, Damon, I can read your mind again" Damien replied, starting to read Damon's mind, "No, I'm not lying, and maybe you enjoyed seeing Kol snap your brother's neck just a little bit too much".

"Sold" Damon said simply.

"I'll go talk to Qetsiyah, and look through her memories to find out where she's hiding the anchor, all you four have to do is keep Stefan dead" Damien said.

"Why not just ask Qetsiyah?" Aria asked confused.

"She wouldn't tell me" Damien replied.

"And you think she will believe it when Damon Salvatore comes up to her and suddenly tries to get friendly?" Aria asked.

"Qetsiyah wasn't just Adriana's best friend, she was a very close friend of mine as well, I know her, and I know what to do to make her believe me" Damien replied.

"You realise, she feels guilty for what she did to you, right?" Aria asked, "If you talk to her as you, she will tell you the truth".

"I'd rather not try my luck" Damien replied, walking out the room.

"Unbelievable" Aria mumbled, she then turned to Damon, Kol and Jeremy, "Anything you guys want to tell me by any chance?".

***

"You like tequila" Damien said, walking over to Qetsiyah, who was drinking shots of tequila.

"Not as much as bacon" Qetsiyah replied, "In my day, it was all about lamb, no one thought to cure pig fat, anyways Damon, what are you doing here, shouldn't you being taking care of your pregnant girlfriend?".

"Aria's fine, she's with Kol" Damien replied, "How about one dance?".

"With me?" Qetsiyah asked shocked.

"Only till Aria returns" Damien clarified.

"Fine by me" Qetsiyah said, placing her hand into Damien's, who then led them towards the dance floor.

***

"So, what brings you to a collage costume ball?" Damien asked, dancing with Qetsiyah.

Qetsiyah chuckled, "Look at me, last time I looked this good, I couldn't enjoy it".

"Right, with your best friend dying and all that" Damien said.

Qetsiyah nodded, "That's what I get for trusting two psychopaths with my best friend".

Damien frowned, "I thought you were good with Damien now".

"I am" Qetsiyah said, "But a part of him will never forgive him for leaving Adriana with Silas and Amara".

"Damien didn't leave Adriana with Silas, he left Amara with her" Damien snapped, making Qetsiyah look at him in confusion, "That's what he told us".

"Do you actually think a weak human would be able to take down such a powerful being?" Qetsiyah asked.

"What are you saying?" Damien asked confused.

"Amara wasn't the one who killed Adriana, she held her, while Silas stabbed her" Qetsiyah replied.

Damien looked at Qetsiyah in shock, "How do you know this?".

"I saw it" Qetsiyah replied, "Before I buried Adriana, I tried going into her head to see how she died, and I saw everything".

"You knew all this time Damien didn't kill her" Damien realised.

"At the time I was angry, I admit Damien wasn't the one who stabbed Adriana, but he was the one who ended her life" Qetsiyah said.

"It was to end her pain" Damien snapped.

"I know" Qetsiyah snapped back, "But at that time I was angry, I had just lost my best friend, my soul sister, all I could see was red, I wanted everyone involved in her death punished, even Damien".

"You told us you're here now to reunite Damien and Adriana, is that true?" Damien replied, going into Qetsiyah's head.

"Yes" Qetsiyah replied in a daze.

"Then why haven't you done anything yet?" Damien asked.

"I can't, not yet, before I reunite them, I need to break Adriana's link with her" Qetsiyah replied.

"Adriana's link?" Damien asked confused, "Whose Adriana linked to?".

"I can't say, the travelers won't let me" Qetiyah replied, still in Damien's control.

Damien sighed, "Fine, just tell me where's the anchor to the Other Side?".

"Don't know, I'm looking for it too" Qetsiyah replied.

"What do you mean you're looking for it?" Damien asked confused, "You created the damn thing".

"Yes, I created it, but the Travelers hid it after they killed me" Qetsiyah replied, "They move it constantly".

"So what's your purpose here?" Damien asked confused.

"My pendant is in one of these displays" Qetsiyah replied, "It's a magical talisman that enhances my power, I need it to do a locator spell so I can find the anchor".

"Well, then I won't keep you from your business any longer" Damien said, "But before that you need to forget everything you just revealed to me".

"Thank you for the dance" Qetsiyah said, stepping away from Damien.

"No problem" Damien said, walking away from Qetsiyah.

***

After Damon, Jeremy and Kol revealed everything to Aria, she decided to go eat something, she was starving, reaching the buffet table, Aria saw Dr. Maxfield standing there.

"Aria" Wes greeted.

"Dr. Maxfield" Aria said, "Abe Lincoln?".

"Dr. Jekyll" Wes corrected.

"Doesn't Dr. Jekyll have a partner, Mr. Hyde?" Aria asked.

"He does" Wes replied.

"So where's your partner?" Aria asked, grabbing some spring rolls.

"I don't know, I'm not responsible for my darker half" Wes replied.

"Was he the one who lied on my roommate's death certificate?" Aria asked nonchalantly, eating another spring roll.

"Look, I didn't wanna lie" Wes replied, "I couldn't exactly tell her parents  a mountain lion attacked her at a frat party, I'd be fired".

"A mountain lion, huh?" Aria asked.

"That's the cover up" Wes replied, "You want to know my theory?".

"Sure" Aria replied.

"I think a vampire hunted her down, ripped her throat out and threw her off that roof" Wes said.

"You know about vampires" Aria realised, not even surprised.

"It doesn't matter what I know, Aria" Wes said, "Because we're never gonna see each other again".

"Excuse me?" Aria asked confused.

Wes leaned in and whispered into Aria's ear, "Because there are people at this school watching you and your friends, and asking questions you don't want them to ask, don't make the same mistake as your father did Aria, just pack your things, drop out, and move back to Mystic Falls".

"How do you know my father?" Aria asked, confused with Wes's words.

"Let's just you're exactly like your father, sticking your nose into places where it doesn't belong" Wes replied, walking away from a very confused Aria.

***

"Damon" Qetsiyah greeted, as Damien entered the room, her pendant in her hand, "Come to see the show?".

"What are you doing?" Damien asked.

"I've been using this pendant to find something I'm looking for" Qetsiyah replied, "And I found it".

"Forgive me Qetsiyah, but I need to find the anchor before Silas" Damien said, looking into Qetsiyah's mind.

Just as Damien found the location, he fell to the floor, as pain shot through his head, meaning Stefan was awake.

"Damon?" Qetsiyah asked confused, "Damon, are you okay?".

"Aah!" Damien yelled.

"That's Damien" Stefan said, entering the room, having escaped Damon, "He's working with my brother, everything he said to you was a lie".

"Qetsiyah--".

"You know where the anchor is" Qetsiyah replied shocked, as Stefan walked away, "I'm sorry Damien, but I can't let you destroy it yet, if you find her then you will wake her up, as your blood is the only thing that will bring her back, but if you do that, then Amara will come back as well, and I can't have that, I can't let you bring her back till I destroy the link".

"What are you on about?" Damien asked confused.

"I'm sorry" Qetsiyah whispered, tears in her eyes, she then started chanting, she stopped chanting when Damien fell to the floor, his skin grey, and black veins all around his body, "I will wake you" she whispered, "I will reunite you two, but you need to give me some time".

***

"What the hell happened?" Aria asked, entering the room and seeing a desiccated Damien, with Damon, Kol and Jeremy standing over him.

"Your doppelganger's bestie did this" Kol replied.

"We need to wake him up" Aria said.

"We know Ria" Damon said, "And we have a plan".

"Which is what exactly?" Aria asked.

"The cure" Jeremy replied.

***

"So Professor Blondie knows about vampires?" Damon asked.

"Yeap" Aria replied, drinking a blood bag, "He said I need to drop out of collage, otherwise the wrong people are going to start asking the right questions, and he said that I shouldn't repeat my dad's mistake, he said my dad had a habit of sticking his nose into places where it didn't belong, I'm so confused".

"What are you gonna do?" Damon asked.

"I don't know yet" Aria replied, "But I'll figure it out, right now, we need to bring Damien back to life before Elena and Silas find the anchor".

"Jeremy and Kol are on that" Damon assured.

"But Damon, if we turn Damien human, wouldn't that turn Silas into a human as well?" Aria asked.

"According to Damien it will" Damon replied, "But you're the one who wanted to reunite Adriana and Damien, and to do that, we're going to have to turn Silas into a human as well".

Aria sighed, "You're right".

"Kol, let go of me!" Katherine yelled, as Jeremy and Kol dragged Katherine into the house.

"We bought the bitch" Kol said.

"Great, feed her to Damien so we can get the show on the road again" Damon said.

"Gladly" Kol said.

"Kol, no" Katherine pleaded, but Kol ignored her and bit into her neck, making sure not to drink any of her blood, "No, no, Kol, please stop him Damon!".

Aria walked over to Jeremy and offered him a chocolate chip cookie, which he gladly took, he put an arm around Aria, and the two best friends, happily watched Katherine's doom.

"He needs all my blood, it'll kill me, Kol" Katherine cried, "Damon, please stop him, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, Damon".

"Funny, neither did Ri's parents, or Avery, or Natalie, or Aria and Jeremy, none of them wanted to die Katherine, yet you killed them" Kol said, confusing Aria, who didn't know who Avery was, "So, goodbye Katerina".

Katherine screamed as Kol shoved her towards Damien, she tried to get free, but Kol's grip was too tight, Aria and Jeremy watched as the grey on Damien's skin started to disappear, eventually, Kol let go of Katherine when Damien grabbed her head.

"Three down, one to go" Kol said, as Katherine fell to the floor.

"Uh Kol" Aria said, focusing her hearing on Katherine's heartbeat, "Listen".

"You've gotta be kidding me" Damon snapped, "Takes a licking, keeps on ticking".

Suddenly Katherine gasped, and opened her eyes, "Am I in hell?".

"I need a pickles and cheese sandwich" Aria mumbled, glaring at Katherine.

***

Presenting 5x05 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Damien teaming up with Kol, Damon and Jeremy to find the anchor before Silas and Elena?

Thoughts on Damien fooling Qetsiyah?

Thoughts on why Qetsiyah stopped Damien from finding the anchor to the other side?

Thoughts on what Wes said about Aria's father?