09. I Alone

"So good news" Aria said, as her and Damon walked towards the cemetery, "Caroline and the twins are back in their little home, all safe and sound".

"I can't believe Caroline had twins" Damon said.

Thanksgiving day, Caroline Forbes ended up giving birth to the two Mikaelson twins, Jayden Benjamin Mikaelson and Hope Andrea Mikaelson, thankfully other then Caroline constantly cursing Klaus for getting her pregnant, the mother and kids were perfectly healthy.

Aria chuckled, "I had triplets" she pointed out, "They are more rare then twins".

"Speaking of the triplets, whose babysitting them this time?" Damon asked.

"Jeremy, April and Kol" Aria replied.

"Lovely" Damon said sarcastically.

"Hey, Jeremy and April are amazing babysitters" Aria said, "And Kol's amazing with our kids".

"I'll believe it when I see it" Damon said, as him and Aria walked over Liv in the cemetery.

"Hey, Liv" Aria greeted, "Thank you so much for doing this".

"Don't worry about it" Liv assured, "I needed an excuse to get out of that frat house, way too much boy, gross, you two got everything?".

"Yeap, blood from a Bennett" Damon said, handing Liv a small vile of blood, "Lucy, to be exact", he then handed the ascendant over to her as well, "And an ascendant from whatever the hell your last name is".

"Parker" Liv informed, looking at the ascendant, "So this is the famous ascendant".

"Yeap" Damon said.

"I'm surprised that Jo gave it up" Liv said, "And that to release Kai from the one place he couldn't hurt her".

"Kai won't hurt anyone" Aria assured, but even she was confused with how Damon had gotten hold of the ascendant.

"How are you so sure?" Liv asked, slightly worried.

"Cause I'm much more powerful then him" Aria replied.

"That she is" Damon agreed, "So, can we do this, please?".

"Whatever" Liv replied, "So I'm gonna need the moon to activate the ascendant, it will be viable for the about eight hours, and once I send you over, the clock's ticking".

"How do we get back?" Aria asked curiously.

"Drink these" Liv replied, handing viles of her blood to Damon and Aria.

"What is that?" Damon asked.

"It's my blood" Liv replied, "It'll link you to me so I can find you and bring you back", she then handed another vile to Aria, "Give this one to Kai too".

Damon smelled the blood, not trusting Liv fully.

"Are you waiting for a toast? Drink" Liv said.

Damon cheered with Aria, and both the vampires downed Liv's blood.

"Mm, bitter, I wonder why" Damon taunted.

"Be nice" Aria told Damon.

Damon rolled his eyes, he then forwarded his hand towards Aria, "Shall we?".

Aria nodded and placed her hand in Damon's, Liv then placed the descendant in Damon's other hand and Aria placed  her other hand under his, Liv then poured the Bennett blood over the ascendant and started chanting, and suddenly both of them were teleported into the 1994 prison world.

"Hey" Damon said, "You okay?".

"Peachy" Aria replied, "Come on, time to find Kai".

"Just keep your eyes peeled, there's a evil little Bennett witch somewhere here" Damon said.

"Of course" Aria mumbled, "Let's just go, the quicker we find Kai, the quicker we are out of here".

Damon nodded, and with that both him and Aria walked out the cemetery to find Kai, both hoping this wasn't going to be a huge mistake.

***

"Anything?" Aria asked Damon, as both of them looked around the boarding house for any sign of Kai, but he was no where to be seen.

"Nothing, you?" Damon asked.

"Nope" Aria replied, sitting on the couch, "Maybe Bonnie did something to him?".

"Or maybe he did something to Bonnie" Damon said.

"Either way, how are we supposed to find Kai now, we already checked everywhere else in Mystic Falls" Aria said.

"There is one way" Damon said, grabbing the landline.

"By calling him?" Aria asked confused.

"I'm gonna page him, actually" Damon replied.

"Huh?" Aria asked.

"Sorry, I forgot, you were two in 1994" Damon realised, "Pagers are an ancient form of telecommunication".

"I'm not an idiot Damon, I know what a pager is" Aria said, "I just don't get how you are going to use that to contact Kai".

"By dialing his number" Damon said.

"Which is what?" Aria asked.

"555-HIKAI" Damon replied.

"Clever" Aria said, making Damon roll his eyes, he then dialed Kai's pager.

"We leave our number" Damon instructed, using the number pads on the phone to type his number, "And then, we hang up".

"And now what the hell do we do?" Aria asked confused.

"And now we sit by the phone like a 13-year-old girl, and wait" Damon replied.

***

While waiting for Kai to get back to them, Aria decided to look around the 1994 version of the boarding house, while looking around she came across a cupboard, opening she cupboard she was met with 1994 camcorder, wanting to know if Damon and Kol recorded anything funny, she grabbed the camcorder and started messing with the buttons, hoping it would turn on and sure enough it eventually did, and immediately Aria was met with Damon's face.

"Well, I am officially in hell" Damon said, "This place is my own, personal hell".

"Whoa" Damon said, snatching the camcorder from Aria's hands.

"Hey!" Aria complained, "I was watching that".

"No" Damon said, hiding the camcorder behind him.

"Damon" Aria said.

"Ria" Damon mocked.

"Hand it over" Aria demanded.

"Nope" Damon said.

"Why not?" Aria asked, "I want to know why this place was your personal hell".

"I don't know what you're talking about Ria, this is just my audition tape for Real World, London" Damon lied, "Fingers crossed, I think I'm finally gonna make it".

"Liar" Aria said, "You made video journals".

"What?" Damon asked, "No, journals are lame, especially video ones".

"Damon, why was this place your personal hell?" Aria asked curiously.

"Well, I mean, because I was stuck here with Kol" Damon replied, not wanting to tell Aria the real reason, he didn't want her to think differently of him, "What could be worse than that?".

"A lot of things" Aria replied, "You two are best friends, it couldn't have been that bad".

"Try living with him for four months, then talk to me Ria" Damon teased.

Before Aria could say anything, the phone started ringing, Aria quickly grabbed it from Damon's hand and answered it.

"Kai?".

"Aria?".

"Bonnie?" Aria asked shocked, "Where the hell is Kai?".

"Not here" Bonnie replied, "He cooked me Thanksgiving spaghetti and stole my blood, and after taking the ascendant left me alone here in Portland".

"He's out?" Aria asked shocked.

"Most likely" Bonnie replied, "Hey, how are you here?".

"Long story" Aria replied.

Bonnie sighed, "Is there any chance you could take me home with you?".

Aria looked at Damon, who shook his head, "Liv is supposed to get me and Damon out of here by seven, if you can make it, you can come with us, otherwise you're on your own".

"Got it" Bonnie said, a huge smile on her face, "I'll see you soon Aria".

"You're an idiot" Damon told Aria, after she hanged up on Bonnie.

Aria sighed, "Only sometimes" she mumbled.

***

"Mmm" Aria moaned, eating the pancakes Damon just made her, "These are so good, I don't get what Kol was complaining about".

"He just doesn't want to admit that I'm a good cook" Damon said, pouring Aria some champagne.

"And this crossword?" Aria asked, holding the newspaper, "Which one of you idiots ruined this poor crossword?".

"Illiterate Mikaelson" Damon replied, making Aria laugh.

Aria then turned the newspaper over and read about the tragedy in the Parker family, "This is about what Kai did to his family".

"Yeap" Damon said, eating his pancakes, "Kai's greatest hits, staring us in the face everyday".

"All of a sudden I'm regretting coming here" Aria admitted, after reading what Kai did to his own family.

"Ria, we need Kai if we want to keep our kids safe from his father" Damon reminded.

Aria shook her head, "I can protect our kids Damon, but you realise that Kai is gonna go after Jo, you said Kai wants to kill the people who wronged him, in his mind, Jo is probably one of those people".

"Well, if I have my Gemini rules down, actually, he was going to merge with Jo to become leader, but that has suddenly become invalid, since you've become the coven leader, so Jo is safe" Damon assured.

"Except she's not" Aria said, "Ever since I found out about this merge and what it means for Asher and Alec, I've been doing a lot of research, and according to what I've read, Kai is a siphoner witch, a witch who doesn't have magic, he has to steal it from other magical objects or people, however, if he merged with Jo, he could have her magic, permanently, so Kai might not want to merge with Jo for the leadership, but he might want to merge with her for her magic, which I'm guessing Jo knows, so I'm confused as to why the hell would she willingly give you the ascendant?".

"Um, because I asked her very nicely?" Damon offered.

"What happened to not telling Jo anything?" Aria asked, narrowing her eyes at the vampire infront of her, who she knew was lying to her.

"You want some music, maybe?" Damon asked, hoping to change the subject, "I'm gonna turn on some music".

"You're hiding something" Aria realised, "Fess up, Salvatore".

"We have Nirvana" Damon said, standing up and walking over to his CD collection, ignoring Aria's question, "Nine Inch Nails, Boyz II Men, Kol's favorite".

"Stop trying to distract me" Aria snapped, walking over to Damon, "You did something Damon like didn't you?".

Damon sighed, "Fine" he said, knowing Aria wasn't going to let this go, "She didn't give it to me, Alaric stole it from her".

"Why would Ric steal from his own girlfriend?" Aria asked confused.

"Because I compelled him" Damon admitted.

Aria looked at Damon in shock, "You compelled, Ric?!".

"I'm doing what I can to protect my kids from Jo's psychotic father" Damon snapped.

"Compelling Ric was wrong of you" Aria snapped back

"Ria--".

"I need some air" Aria interrupted, walking out the kitchen.

***

"May 10th, 1994, I had a day" Damon informed, coming outside and sitting next to Aria on the stairs, "I was mad at Stefan for something, I don't even remember what it was, and in typical Damon fashion, I acted out, people died, a lot of them, and believe it or not, ever since that day, I've felt horribly guilty, so I thought that this was my hell, Aria".

Aria sighed, "I believe you" she whispered, "I don't know why, but I believe you when you say that you feel guilty about what happened here, and whatever happened in your past, whatever type of person you were back in 1994, I don't care, what I care about is right now, I care about what type of person you are now, what type of father you're going to be to our kids".

"I'm trying Ria" Damon admitted, "Not only for our kids, but also for you, to become a man who deserves an incredible women like you".

Aria looked at Damon, "You're not too bad yourself" she whispered, making Damon smirk, "But you do need to apologise to Ric, we can't compel people we care about, otherwise they are ever going to feel safe around us".

"Understood" Damon assured, "First thing when we get back, I'll apologise to Ric".

"Good" Aria said, she then looked at Damon and suddenly laced her fingers with his, "I have a question for you".

"What?" Damon asked, looking down at their intertwined hands.

"I might never get our old memories back" Aria admitted, "But I can already feel myself falling in with love with you again", Damon looked at Aria in shock, not excepting her to say that, "So, will you make new memories with me and our kids?".

Damon smiled, "Of course I will, Ria" he replied.

Aria looked at Damon, a huge smile on her face, but before she could do or say anything, there was a bright flash of light, and Aria and Damon were back in the real world.

"What the hell?" Aria whispered, "Why are we back early?".

"Aria" A panicked Liv said, running over to the tribrid.

"Liv, what's wrong?" Aria asked.

"Kai is here" Liv replied, "I had to bring you back, he's taken most of my magic, I can't fight him".

"Liv, go to Mystic Falls, you'll be safe there, and take Luke with you, I've got Kai" Aria ordered.

Liv nodded and walked over to the border of Mystic Falls, trusting Aria to handle Kai.

"Remember Ria, try not to kill him, we need his help" Damon reminded.

"I'll try to negotiate with him, but if he tries anything smart, I'm killing him" Aria stated.

"Good enough for me" Damon said, picking the ascendant from the floor.

***

Damon and Aria stood in the cemetery, looking around for Kai, when suddenly the ascendant was thrown from Damon's hand into a tree, causing it to shatter into pieces.

"Let me guess, Kai?" Aria asked.

"At your service" Kai replied, "And you must be Aria, heard a lot about you".

"So, what are we doing?" Aria asked, "Talking or fighting?".

"I'll be honest with you Aria, I don't care about being the Gemini coven leader, you can have that spot all to yourself, but I still need to merge with Jo" Kai replied.

"For her magic?" Aria asked.

"Yeap" Kai replied, "Let's just say I'm tired of being called an abomination".

"Yeah, I can't let you do that" Aria said.

"Why not?" Kai asked, "Look, help me win the merge with Jo, and I promise I will help you and Damon protect your kids from my father, which by the way, he will come for them and you, and he won't stop until all four of you are dead".

"Jo is dating my adoptive father, I can't let her die" Aria argued.

"Hmm, so you're saying if she wasn't dating your adoptive father then you would help me?" Kai asked.

"I never said that" Aria snapped, "Look Kai, there has to be another way in which we can all get what we want".

"Sorry, Aria" Kai said, "There is no another way, and if you aren't going to help me, it means you're against me, and I don't like that".

Before Kai could attack Aria, she used her magic to shove Kai into a tree.

As Kai fell to the floor, he started laughing, "I like you, there's some definitely some darkness in you Aria, darkness you haven't even touched, I would love to bring that darkness out".

"You and a whole load of other people" Aria said, "Get in line".

Kai smirked and stood, "You're strong, but you're not every smart".

"Excuse me?" Aria asked.

"You didn't even realise you shoved me into Mystic Falls, a place you and your little boyfriend can't enter because of the anti-magic border" Kai replied.

Realisation suddenly drew over Aria's face, "Today is not my day" she mumbled.

"So now there's a psycho loose in Mystic Falls" Kai said, "And no vampires around to stop him, whoops".

Aria turned to Damon, who had stayed back and let Aria deal with Kai, knowing she had it in her, "So much for him helping us" she snapped.

***

"So Jo drove me across the border" Alaric informed, walking over to Damon, "I told her she was crazy, that you'd never compel me".

"Look, Ric--" before Damon could finish his sentence, Alaric had punched him in the face, Damon sighed then looked at Alaric, "We need Kai, Ric, to protect my kids from your girlfriends psychotic father".

"Protecting those kids was never off the table" Alaric snapped, "I've spent much more time with them then you Damon, I care about those three as much as you do, but what was off the table was compelling me to steal from my girlfriend when I had promised I'd keep her brother locked away".

"Yeah, I know" Damon whispered.

"Where is he?" Alaric asked, "Kai".

"He's out, but it's not our fault--", Alaric once again punched Damon, "Ow".

"I know none of this is Aria's fault, but it is yours" Alaric snapped, walking away from Damon.

"I don't want to be rude, but you kind of deserved those punches for compelling him" Aria said, walking over to Damon.

"I know" Damon said.

Aria sighed, "You'd do anything for our kids, won't you?" she asked, "Even help a psychotic siphoner merge with his sister?".

Damon looked at Aria, and then nodded, "Nothing is more important to me then the safety of you and my kids".

Aria sighed, "I want to keep our kids safe Damon, but I can't risk Ric hating me".

"Luckily for us, he already hates me" Damon reminded.

"There's always another way" Aria stated, "We have to find another way Damon, because forcing Jo to merge with Kai is not an option".

Damon sighed, "Fine" he said, "If you find another way, we'll go with it, but if you don't, and Kai's father attacks my family, I don't care if Ric will hate me for the rest of his life, Jo is merging with Kai, and with the help of Kai we're going to murder his father".

***

Presenting 6x09 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Caroline and Klaus having twins? Welcome to this chaotic world, Jayden Benjamin Mikaelson & Hope Andrea Mikaelson, also for the purpose of this world, Hope's middle name isn't after Hayley, it's just a name Caroline and Klaus liked for their daughter, also can I just admit, I'm so ready to write the story of the Mikaelson twins and the Salvatore tribrids, already so excited for the squeal 😂

Thoughts on Damon and Aria going into the prison world together?

Thoughts on Aria admitting to Damon she's falling in love with him again?

Thoughts on Aria and Kai's first encounter?