02. The Hybrid

"You spent your birthday, getting drunk and crying?" Kol asked Aria, looking at her in amusement.

Aria lightly slapped Kol's shoulder, making him laugh, "You promised not to judge me".

"I'm not judging, I'm amused" Kol said.

"You realise that's not any better, right?" Aria asked.

"I don't know Ri, it sounds better in my books" Kol said, making Aria laugh and shake her head at him.

Over the summer, Aria and Kol's conversations become more frequent, they started talking every night, Kol is the one who told Aria the spell to stop her from feeling pain after staying away from Damon for so long. 

When Aria appeared to him tonight, Kol immediately knew she was upset, so he made it his mission to make her laugh, which he eventually succeeded in.

"On a serious not, Ri" Kol said, when Kol realised everybody except him had a nickname for Aria, he decided he also needed a nickname for her, therefore the name Ri was born, "If you tell Nik how miserable you are without him, you realise he will let you return to Mystic Falls, right?".

Aria frowned hearing Kol, the more they talked, the more Aria realised that Kol never said Damon's name, not unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I know, but I promised Nik I will stay with him for three months, and I can do a lot of things, but I can never break any of my promises" Aria said.

"You also promised Caroline that you will return to her" Kol said, giving Aria a pointed look.

Aria sighed, "And I will, I only have three weeks left on the road with Klaus and then I will return to Caroline, maybe when I return you will be with me?".

"You actually believe Nik is going undagger me?" Kol asked, with a apprehensive look on his face.

"He promised me he will, I trust him, you should to" Aria replied.

"I don't have the ability to see good in everyone I meet, I'm not you" Kol joked, with a tinge of seriousness in his voice.

"That is so not true" Aria said, chuckling.

"Whatever you say Ri" Kol said, smiling.

Aria paused and stared at the lake infront of her, "Hey Kol?".

"Yes?".

"Will I ever get all my memories back?" Aria asked.

Kol sighed, "I don't think you want to".

"What do you mean?" Aria asked confused, "Of course I want to".

"Ri, getting your memories back isn't going to be a easy process, it's going to be very painful and when you remember, you will remember everything, things that I would rather you never find out" Kol said.

"Things like how I died?" Aria said, giving Kol a knowing look.

"Correct" Kol whispered, looking at the lake infront of him, with a distant look on his face, he was remembering the dreadful day he lost the love of his life.

"Kol, Elijah already told me how I died, I think I can take it" Aria said.

"Ri, there's a difference between someone telling you something, and you actually living through it" Kol said, "I don't want you to go through that, it's not fair on you".

"Kol, have some trust in me, I can take it, I promise" Aria insisted.

"It's not that I don't trust you, I trust you the most in this whole world" Kol said, "It's just, I'd rather our past not affect your future".

 Aria sighed, "Okay, let's not argue about this right now, we will cross that bridge when we get there, okay?".

Kol nodded, "Okay".

***

"Blondie, where the hell are you?" A frustrated Damon said into his phone, "This is my third time calling you, Aria called Caroline, get to the boarding house, now!".

"Aria called?" Elena asked shocked, entering Damon's room.

"Just can't stay away, can you?" Damon asked, glaring at Elena.

"You've been dodging my calls" Elena replied.

"I've been doing that all summer, you just realised?" Damon asked, staring at his phone and waiting for a certain Blonde frenemy to call.

"Why didn't you tell me that Stefan came back to town and killed people?" Elena asked, ignoring Damon's comment.

"Because we are not on talking terms Elena" Damon replied, walking away from the doppelganger.

"What did Aria say to you?" Elena asked, making Damon stop in his spot.

Damon hated remembering last night's call, though he was glad Aria was okay physically, hearing her voice, he knew emotionally she was as broken as him, maybe even more, and Damon hated the fact he wasn't there with her.

"Confessed her love to me, it was epic" Damon lied, not wanting to tell Elena anything.

"So you're still searching for her?" Elena asked.

"I never stopped" Damon replied.

"You know, I convinced myself that Aria didn't want to return, but now that she's called you, that means there's hope, right?" Elena asked.

"There was always hope, your the only one who gave up on it, but I didn't, now it's just the matter of finding Aria and bringing her back home" Damon said, texting Liz and asking her if she knows where Caroline is.

"You know, if Aria comes back so does Klaus" Elena started.

"Your point?" Damon asked.

"Damon, Klaus thinks I'm dead, if he comes to Mystic Falls, his going to kill me" Elena replied.

"Your problem, not mine" Damon answered, making Elena frown.

"Do you really not care if I die or live?" Elena asked.

"No Elena, I don't" Damon snapped, "If it was up to me, I would have killed you the minute I found out about the prophecy, but Stefan and Aria stopped me, now both of them aren't here, so don't test my patience, I might just end what Klaus started, now excuse me, I have a missing blonde to find".

After threatening Elena, Damon left to go find Caroline, leaving behind a shocked and slightly scared doppelganger behind.

***

Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

"Are you okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" Klaus asked Stefan, who was carrying Ray on his shoulder, while the trio walked up smoky mountains.

"I'm fine" Stefan replied, annoyed.

"You sure about that?" Klaus asked, loving the fact he could push Stefan's buttons so easily, "We've been walking for quite some time now, do you need some water or a little sit down?".

"You know, I get that we're stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great" Stefan replied, making Aria roll her eyes.

"So much brooding" Klaus commented, "Your self loathing is suffocating you, my friend".

"Maybe it's because I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves" Stefan snapped, "We've been at it all summer".

"You know Nik, you asked Stefan if his tired but you never asked me" Aria complained, breaking the tension between the two men.

Klaus laughed at Aria's complaining, "Are you tired?".

"I'm exhausted" Aria complained, "I'm not an active person and the fact that you're making me walk up a mountain, it's so tiring".

Klaus looked at Aria in amusement, "Well, what can I do to make it less tiring?".

"Carry me on your back?" Aria asked, giving Klaus her innocent eyes.

Klaus shook his head at Aria, and chuckled, "Your the only person I would do this for".

"I know" Aria said smiling and getting on Klaus's back, while Stefan looked on with a frown on his face, "So, me and Kol had a interesting conversation last night?".

"About?" Klaus asked.

Once they were on the road, Aria had informed Klaus about her conversations with Kol, at times Kol and Klaus exchanged very interesting words through Aria, it was very amusing seeing two grown old men argue like children.

"About me getting my memories back" Aria informed.

"You want to get your memories back?" Klaus asked shocked.

"Yeah, but Kol said it will be too painful and I will remember things he rather I'd not" Aria explained.

"Like your death?" Klaus asked, knowing Kol wouldn't want Aria to relive the moment her best friend stabbed her.

"Yeah" Aria replied, "What do you think I should do?".

"Honestly Ari, you remembering everything would be pretty awesome, but at the same time, Kol is right, I'm not sure the pain is worth it, what matters is your here with us, with or without your memories, we will all love you the same" Klaus replied, "But at the end of the day, it's your choice what you want to do, if you want your memories back, I will support you, if you don't, I'll support you in that as well".

"Do you know how I can get my memories back?" Aria asked curiously.

"I don't know that, Kol is the only one who knows and he made sure to keep that information to just himself" Klaus replied.

"We're here" Stefan replied, interrupting Klaus and Aria.

Klaus and Aria looked infront of them to see a pack of werewolves camping in the woods.

"Next up, hybrids" Aria whispered, getting off of Klaus's back.

"Stay behind us" Klaus ordered Aria, making her nod.

The trio walked into the camp, catching everyone's attention, and Stefan dumped Ray's body onto the ground.

 "Ray, oh my god" A women said, running over to Ray's dead body, "What's going on?", the women glared at Stefan, "Who are you?".

"The important question is, who am I?" Klaus said, walking over the women, with Aria right behind him, "Please forgive the intrusion, my name is Klaus".

The women looked at Klaus in shock, "You're the hybrid".

Klaus smirked, "You've heard of me, fantastic".

***

"It's fascinating, actually" Klaus said, "A werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun, a true hybrid", suddenly Ray gasped and woke up.

"Talk about timing" Aria whispered.

"Very dramatic" Klaus commented.

"What's happening to me?" Ray asked confused.

"Stefan?".

Stefan nodded and turned to the werewolves, "Are any of you human?" Stefan asked, "Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire, if he doesn't get it, he will die".

"Doesn't take much" Klaus added, "Just a sip, anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend along for the ride".

"What about her?" A random women asked, pointing at Aria, "She's human, use her".

Klaus glared at the women, while Aria rolled her eyes, "Look at her the wrong way and I will rip your eyes out and feed it to you", Klaus turned to a blonde haired guy, "You", before the guy could react, Klaus speeded over to him and bit him, he then threw him over to Stefan.

"No!" A women yelled, but Aria used her magic and threw her into the tress, making Klaus look at her impressed.

"You don't drink it, Ray, I will" Stefan told Ray, "Problem is, I don't know how to stop".

Klaus walked over to the women Aria hit, "It's the new order sweetheart, you join us or you die".

"I'd rather die than be a vampire" The women spat.

"Wrong choice" Klaus said, force feeding the women his blood, then snapping her neck, "She'll thank me for that later, okay, who's next?".

***

After talking to Damon and realising Aria had called him, Elena decided she needed to know from where had Aria called him, as finding Aria would mean finding Stefan, so Elena went to the Sheriff department for more information, where she heard Liz on the phone with Damon, telling him that the call came from Tennessee, and after a talk with Tyler, Elena realised that in Tennessee there was a mountain range where werewolves liked to gather around a full moon, and after much begging to Alaric, Elena and Alaric were now walking up Smokey Mountains.

After much walking, both Alaric and Elena decided to take a small break near the lake. Elena looked forward and admired the beauty when suddenly she was pushed into the water.

Alaric raised his crossbow in defense, but realising it was Damon, quickly lowered it.

"Damon?" Elena asked shocked, "How are you even here?".

Damon turned to Alaric, "Thanks for the tip, brother".

"You sold me out" Elena said offended.

"You'd think I'd take you to a mountain range full of werewolves on a full moon without backup?" Alaric asked, "And if we are going to find Aria, figured the person who wants to see her the most should be here".

Elena didn't say anything, just glared at Damon and Alaric.

***

"There" Klaus said, feeding the blonde haired human blood bag his blood, "Good as new, now you relax, okay, mate? We're gonna need you when the rest of them wake up".

Aria sat on the rock, feeling very anxious, Aria didn't know why but halfway through Stefan and Klaus turning the werewolves, Aria started feeling something, she didn't know what it was, but she felt like something was about to happen.

"They're dead" Ray said, rocking back and forth, "They're all dead".

"Well, he's through his transition, he should be feeling better soon" Klaus said.

"So is this your master plan?" Stefan asked, "Build an army of hybrid slaves?".

"No, not slaves, soldiers" Klaus replied, "Comrades".

"For what war, might I ask?" Stefan asked.

"Well, you don't arm yourself after war has been declared, Stefan" Klaus replied, "You build your army so big that no one ever dares pick the fight".

"What makes you so sure that they'll be loyal?" Stefan asked.

"Well, it's not difficult to be loyal when you're on the winning team" Klaus replied, "That's something you'll learn, once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder".

Stefan chuckled, "That's why you're keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?".

While Stefan and Klaus were talking, Aria's eyes landed on Ray, who had blood coming out of his eyes.

"Umm, Nik" Aria said, gaining Klaus's attention, "Is that supposed to happen?".

Klaus grabbed Ray's face and made him face him, "You'll know why I'm keeping you around, when I've decided that I want you to know" Klaus replied to Stefan, while observing Ray, "Something's wrong".

"Huh" Stefan said, looking at Ray, "That shouldn't be happening, should it?".

"Well, obviously" Klaus snapped.

***

"Get out of the water, Elena" Damon demanded.

"If I get out, you're gonna make me go home" Elena snapped.

"Yes, because I'm not an idiot like you" Damon said.

"Right now, you're both acting like idiots" Alaric retorted.

"You gave up on Stefan, Damon" Elena snapped, "All you cared about was finding Aria, you completely forgot about Stefan".

"That's rich coming from you" Damon snapped, "This whole summer, you've been so bent on finding Stefan, but not once did you care about Aria, hell you convinced yourself that she didn't want to return, so in reality, who gave up on who? Now get out of the water".

"No" Elena said, stubbornly.

"What's your big plan, Elena? Huh?" Damon asked, walking into the lake, "You're gonna walk into a campsite of werewolves, roast a marshmallow and wait for Stefan to stop by?".

"My plan is to find him and help him" Elena replied, "Damon, this is the closest we've been to him since he left, I'm not going home".

"Don't you think I know that Elena?" Damon snapped, "Don't you think I would die for even one glance at Aria, but right now is not the time, Caroline is missing and instead of finding her, I'm here trying to make sure you don't mess up Klaus and Aria's relationship, Klaus thinks you died when he broke the curse, when he finds out your alive and Aria hid that from him, his going to retaliate, and god so help me if he hurts Aria because of you, I will personally rip your heart out".

"I'm not leaving before we find him" Elena snapped.

"It's a full moon tonight, Elena" Damon reminded.

"Then we'll find him before then" Elena said, "Damon please, maybe you would finally get to see Aria, wouldn't you like that?".

Damon thought about Elena's words, after their call, Damon wanted nothing more then to see Aria, but at the same time, he promised her he wouldn't let anything happen to Caroline who was now missing.

"I could call Jeremy and ask him to start looking for Caroline" Alaric said, sensing Damon's inner turmoil.

"What? No!" Elena yelled, not wanting Jeremy to get involved.

"Call him" Damon said finally.

"Damon--".

"We're out of here before the moon's full and I'm werewolf bait" Damon interrupted.

"I promise" Elena said finally, realising Damon wasn't going to listen to her.

***

"You said it was gonna feel better" Ray said, shivering, "Why doesn't it feel better?".

"Some master race" Stefan taunted.

"Okay, stop with the petty taunts" Aria snapped, "You're not helping".

Suddenly, another werewolf gasped and woke up.

"Derek" Klaus called, "Come feed your girlfriend".

While Klaus was distracted, Ray growled and sped away.

"Go get him" Klaus ordered Stefan.

"I'll go with him" Aria said, standing up, for some reason she had this urge to go after Ray.

"Ari--".

"I'll be okay" Aria assured Klaus, who was looking at her with a worried expression on his face, "I promise".

***

Stefan and Aria ran after Ray, Aria used her magic to flung Ray on to a tree and Stefan tried to restrain him but Ray ended up biting him.

"Stefan!" Aria yelled, running over to the younger Salvatore, "God dammit Stefan! You need to go back to Klaus and get his blood".

"No" Stefan said, "I need to find Ray".

"I'll find him" Aria assured, "You need to get Klaus's blood before that bite gets nasty".

"But--".

"Stefan, go!" Aria demanded.

Stefan sighed, he knew Aria wouldn't give up until he went, so he went to leave when he heard voices.

"How you doing?" Damon asked.

"I'm fine" Elena snapped.

"Good, because I'm not helping you" Damon said.

"Never asked for your help anyways" Elena retorted.

"Why did you stop?" Aria asked, confused seeing Stefan stand there in shock.

"They are here" Stefan whispered.

"Who?" Aria asked confused.

"Damon and Elena" Stefan replied, shocking Aria.

***

Stefan and Aria stood at a hill and watched Damon, Elena and Alaric, walk up the trail. Seeing Alaric and Damon tears welled in Aria's eyes, she really missed them.

"Where did he go?" Klaus asked, walking over to Stefan and Aria, causing Aria to quickly wipe her tears.

"He got away, forget him, let's go" Stefan said quickly, not wanting Klaus to see Elena.

"A fatal werewolf bite" Klaus said, his eyes falling on the werewolf bite on Stefan's arm, "Ouch".

"Yeah, I'm gonna need your blood to heal me" Stefan said.

"Well, I tell you what, you find Ray then I'll heal you" Klaus said.

"Nik, come on" Aria said.

"You can't be serious?" Stefan asked shocked.

"And you better hurry, because that bite looks nasty" Klaus taunted.

Aria scoffed, "You know what, while you two continue with your bromance, I'm going to go find Ray myself".

"Ari wait" Klaus said.

"Nope, can't hear you!" Aria yelled, running away from Klaus and Stefan.

Truth was, Ray was just an excuse, in reality, Aria was hoping to see Damon one more time.

***

It was now night time and the moon was finally fully, Aria had been wondering around the woods for what felt like ages, but she had yet to come across Ray or Damon, it's like both of them knew Aria was looking for them and suddenly decided they didn't want to be found.

Finally giving up, Aria turned to go back to Klaus when she heard people fighting, running over to the noise Aria froze seeing Damon and Ray in a heated battle.

Ray lunged at Damon and tried biting him, but Damon kept him at bay, but as time went on it was proving harder to keep Ray from biting him.

Suddenly Ray's heart flung out of his chest, causing him to fall to the floor, dead.

Damon looked up to see who helped him, only to see Aria standing there with her arm extended, Aria had used her magic to save Damon's life, again.

"Ria" Damon whispered, not believing his eyes.

"You shouldn't be here" Aria said, looking at Damon with teary eyes.

Before Aria could register anything, Damon had speeded up to her and pulled her into a kiss.

"God, you have no idea how much I missed you" Damon said, bringing Aria into his embrace.

"Not much then me" Aria said, tightening her hold on Damon.

For a while, Aria and Damon just stood there, both soaking in each others presence to the fullest.

"Aria".

Aria and Damon broke their hug to see a slightly shocked Stefan walking over to him.

"What happened?" Stefan asked, gesturing towards Ray's dead body.

"He was going to hurt Damon" Aria replied.

"Fancy meeting you here" Damon told Stefan, annoyed he interrupted his and Aria's moment.

"What part of, don't follow us anymore got lost in translation, Damon?" Stefan snapped.

"Might wanna take it up with your girlfriend" Damon replied, keeping Aria close to him, "She's the one who brought me here, you know she's not going to give up on you, and I'm not going to give up on Ria".

"Well you both have to" Stefan said, "Because we are never coming back".

Damon frowned at Stefan's words and turned to Aria, who was already looking at him, "You promised".

"And I will keep it" Aria said quickly, "I will come back to you Damon, but right now, you need to get Elena out of here, if Klaus sees her, we will be in trouble".

"I'm surprised you haven't told Klaus yourself" Damon said.

Aria sighed, "I've been tempted, but couldn't muster the courage".

Damon nodded, and for a second just took in Aria's presence, "I don't want to walk away from you again".

"Neither do I" Aria said, tears spilling from her eyes,  "But you have to, just remember I love you, okay?".

"I'd be an idiot to forget" Damon replied, giving Aria one last kiss, "God, this is so hard".

"Go Damon" Aria said, wiping her tears, "You need to leave before the other werewolves come and attack you".

After glancing at Aria and Stefan one last time, with a heavy heart, Damon speeded away.

***

After making sure Damon and Elena had left, Aria and Stefan walked back to the campsite where Klaus was, with a dead Ray on Stefan's shoulders.

Stefan placed Ray on the floor, while Aria looked around confused, all the werewolves were dead, and Klaus was sitting on the rock, looking extremely upset.

"What happened here?" Aria asked confused.

"They went rabid" Klaus replied, "Some of them I killed the others just bled out", Klaus stood up from his spot, "In the end, they're all dead", Klaus screamed and shattered a bottle of beer on to the floor, "I did everything I was told!" Klaus yelled, "I should be able to turn them, I broke the curse, I killed a werewolf, I killed a vampire, I channeled the Connor witch, I killed the doppelganger".

Suddenly, everything clicked to Aria, the reason as to why Klaus couldn't make hybrids was because of the doppelganger, the doppelganger didn't die, she was very much alive, causing Klaus's hybrids to go rabid.

Aria looked at Stefan and from his facial expression, Aria knew he had figured it as well, guilt raised in Aria's heart, she knew if Klaus found out that Aria hid the fact of Elena being alive, he was going to hate her, and Aria didn't want him to hate her.

Stefan knew Aria was complementing on telling Klaus the truth, so when Klaus was turned around, Stefan quickly whispered to Aria, "Please don't tell".

Aria looked between Klaus and Stefan in confusion, she didn't know what to do.

"You look like hell" Klaus told Stefan, missing his and Aria's interaction.

"Last I checked, I'm dying" Stefan snapped, showing Klaus his werewolf bite, "And you don't wanna heal me", Klaus's eyes fell on a dead Ray.

"I killed him" Aria whispered, looking down at her feet, at the time, she didn't care that she killed Ray, all she cared about was making sure Damon was safe, but now reality sank in, and Aria realised she killed someone in cold blood.

"Did he hurt you?" Klaus asked, walking over to Aria and checking her for any injuries.

"No" Aria whispered, "But he was going to, and before I realised what I did, I used my magic to rip his heart out, I'm so sorry Nik".

"It's fine" Klaus said, giving Aria a small smile, "Your life before any hybrids Ari".

"Really?" Aria asked shocked.

"Really" Klaus said, without any hesitation.

Hearing Klaus, Aria knew she couldn't hide the fact of Elena being alive from him, she needed to tell him, it was the right thing to do.

After making sure Aria was okay, Klaus grabbed a beer bottle, he bit into his hand and let his blood spill into the bottle, he then handed the bottle to Stefan, "Bottoms up".

After a little bit of hesitation, Stefan grabbed the bottle from Klaus.

"We're leaving, it appears you're the only comrade I have left" Klaus told Stefan.

"I'm still here" Aria said.

"You're not a comrade Ari, you're family" Klaus said, making Aria smile.

After Klaus walked away, Aria turned to Stefan, "I'm going to tell Klaus".

Stefan looked at Aria in shock, he knew exactly what she was talking about, "Aria, no".

"I can't lie to him anymore, Stefan" Aria whispered, "But I will give you three days, if in three days you can figure out a way to save Elena's life, then good for you, because after three days, Klaus will know that Elena's alive, and she's the reason his hybrids are failing".

After giving her ultimatum, Aria walked away from a shocked Stefan.

***

So quick warning, this season and probably the following seasons Elena isn't going to be the best character, I thought to warn you guys, in case people didn't like that, if you don't like Elena being a bad person, then please don't read ahead, otherwise, hope you guys enjoyed Damon and Aria's small reunion.

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