CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Hey." Nyx walks up beside Stefan as he's watching Damon cover his body on the couch in the Whitmore dorm's common room. "Long time, no see. For one of us anyway."

Stefan wraps his arms around her, and she sighs as she hugs him back. He doesn't say anything, he just hugs her, trying to wrap his head around everything that's happened.

The rumbling starts again, and Nyx pulls back. "Damn it." She mutters, and he looks down at her.

"What is that?" Stefan asks.

"That..." She grabs his hand. "...is the Other Side imploding." She grabs onto a support beam and tries to keep him with her. "Just hold on!"

He's lifted off the floor as the wind tries to push him away from her. "What's happening?!" He asks as their hands slip.

"Don't let go!" She yells, but then she loses her grip on his hand and he flies back. "Stefan!" He manages to get ahold of the wall and keeps himself in place, but he's slipping again.

Before he loses it, someone​ reaches around the corner and grabs ahold of his arm. Lexi. "I got you!" She tells him, helping get him back to his feet. "Looks like I've now saved you from both metaphorical​ darkness and actual darkness. I think you owe me a beer."

"You found her." Stefan says as Nyx carefully makes her way over to them.

"It wasn't easy, but yeah." Nyx nods. "Right after you died."

"Aren't​ you supposed to be watching over your baby daddy?" Lexi asks, and Nyx looks over at her. "What?"

"They're looking for a demon that supposedly holds Dean's deal. They think that if they can kill her, he'll be free." She tells them. "Not much I can do from here."

—

"Hey." Stefan and Lexi walk over to Nyx. "We just overheard the sheriff trying to gather all of the Travelers into one place. What's going on?" He asks.

"You explain the plan to them, I'll continue the search for uncle werewolf." Vicki says. "Be careful."

"You too." Nyx nods and then turns to Lexi and Stefan. "We may need a sacrifice...or fifty to get ourselves back to the land of the living. We kill the Travelers, and we have an open shot back through. Bonnie and Enzo are working on the plan right now. I'm on friend patrol."

"Even when you're dead, you're still trying to save everyone." He says, and she smiles.

"I had a good teacher in Hero Studies." She tells him, and he chuckles.

"I always knew there was a reason I liked you." Lexi says, and Nyx smiles.

"I gotta go check on Enzo, I don't completely trust him yet." Nyx tells them. "Will you two find Vicki? Keep an eye on each other?"

"Will do." Stefan nods, and she leaves.

Nyx heads over to the Salvatore crypt in the cemetery and walks up behind Enzo. "What's going on?" She asks him.

"Silas is teaching Bonnie the spell."

"Silas?" She questions. "That's who you found to save us all."

"It beats staying here." He motions around at the blowing trees and ominous feeling surrounding them.

"Silas is a crappy mentor, FYI." Bonnie says as she walks out of the crypt.

The wind picks up as Enzo gets to his feet and they all look around. "It's back." He says, and Nyx grits her teeth.

"She's ready." Silas says as he walks out of the crypt. "Let's get on with it."

"I hate that he looks like Stefan." Nyx says.

"Technically, Stefan looks like me." He says, and she glares at him.

Enzo and Nyx get thrown back and he hits a tree. He reaches out and barely manages to get his arm around her waist before pulling her to him. Silas is hanging onto the tree, trying not to get sucked into the darkness above them.

"Trust me now?" Enzo asks, and Nyx looks up at him.

"You've earned yourself a few points." She says, and he chuckles as she wraps one arm around him, holding​ onto the tree.

"You're a hard one to please." He says, and she smiles as she grabs Bonnie's hand.

"Trust isn't supposed to be easy to earn." She counters.

Bonnie's reaching out for Silas, who's having a rather hard time holding on. "Bygones." She says and then lowers her hand.

Silas flies back and is swallowed whole by the darkness in the sky. Nyx chuckles as she watches him go.

—

"Guys!" Sam calls, and Bobby and Dean walk into the kitchen. "Nyx is here."

"What?" Dean looks around.

"It's about to start." She tells Sam. "Enzo found someone to teach Liv the spell. It looks like we're coming home. I wish I could make it to you guys to help, but I don't think that I'll be fast enough." Nyx says, and he relays the message.

"Really?" Dean asks, hoping to God that she actually comes back.

"Where are the twins?"

"Carter's taking them to Mystic Falls. Dean didn't want them around any of this." Sam tells her.

"Tell Carter to call Caroline and have him meet up with her." She says, and he nods. "Damon's about to blow up the grill. So, I don't want them in town."

"I'll call him right now." He tells her and then walks out of the room.

"I have to go. I still haven't found Mason." She says, and he quickly tells the others.

"Good luck, kid. I hope you make it through." Bobby tells her.

"Wait..." Dean looks around, and she sighs.

"I love you, baby." She whispers as she walks over to him and rests her hand on his arm, immediately causing him to look down. She then slides it up to his cheek, and he closes his eyes as he grits his teeth, leaning his face into the palm of her hand. "Bye, Dean." She then leaves the house.

She makes it back to Mystic Falls, but isn't expecting who she finds. "Ty?" She questions, and he turns around. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Doesn't matter." He rushes over and hugs her. "God, I've missed you so much." He says as she hugs him.

"Get to Bonnie. Stay with her." Nyx says as she pulls away. "Go home." She tells him and then goes to find the others.

"Nyx!" Elena tells, and she turns around.

"What the hell, Elena?"

"I cost you your relationship, the least I could do was help get you your life back." She says and then quickly hugs her. "What are sisters for?"

"Get to Bonnie, I'll be there soon." Nyx tells her. "Go!" She says, and Elena reluctantly leaves her just outside the grill.

Nyx runs inside and finds Damon and Ric on their way out. "What are you dumbasses waiting for? Let's go!" She yells, and Damon runs over to her. He smiles, and she laughs as she looks up at him. "Hi."

He wraps his arms around her, and then Ric grabs them, pulling them with him as he leaves the grill. They make it to Bonnie, and find Lexi fighting off Markos. He gets the upper hand and is about to make it through when someone elbows him in the face and then shoves him back.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but something tells me you're not on the list of people to save." Mason says, and Nyx smiles.

"It's about damn time." She says as Markos gets sucked into the darkness.

"I heard you were looking for me." He says as he looks at her. "How's it going, Nyxi?"

She laughs at the old nickname and then runs forward and hugs him.

"We got trouble." Lexi says and they turn around. "There's more Travelers."

They fight them off, and Nyx looks back over at Lexi. "Go!" She yells as another Traveler gets sucked into the darkness.

"I'm not leaving without you!" She tells her.

"We're right behind you! Go!" The brunette says, and then Damon pulls Lexi away from the fight.

The Travelers are gone, and Mason looks back at Nycole. "Thank you for looking after Tyler for me." He says with a smile. "And for thinking to save me from here."

"Come on." She says, and he shakes his head.

"I'm done there. I hated being a werewolf, and you know it." He tells her. "As long as you and Tyler are okay, I'll be fine." He smiles and then disappears in a bright flash of light.

"Nyx, let's go." Ric pulls her to the others.

"Is that all of us?" Lexi asks, and Bonnie nods before grabbing her. Lexi goes through, and then Bonnie grabs Ric as well.

"Where's Elena?" Nyx asks. "And Vicki?"

"They made it through." Bonnie tells her, and she sighs in relief. "You two are all that's left over here."

"Thank God." She smiles as Damon looks down at her.

"Come on." She grabs Nyx's arms, but nothing happens.

They look​ at each other, confused, and she tries again. Bonnie grabs both of their arms — Nyx's and Damon's — but they don't go through.

"Well, would you look at that?" Damon says.

"No." Nyx mutters.

She goes to find the twins and sees that they're with Carter and Caroline. Carter has Alex with the baby's back to his chest and he's pointing things out to him. Caroline's holding Everly on her hip as Vicki walks over and starts talking to her. Everly's​ face lights up and she starts babbling to her.

"They'll be nineteen-months-old this month, right?" Damon asks as he walks up behind her, and she nods.

"Yeah." Nyx sighs. "I actually let myself believe for a minute that I'd be there for their second birthday. And their third..."

"I know this doesn't help, but you saved all of our friends. You did that, Nycole." He says, and she nods.

"And left my kids orphaned."

"But I thought—"

"They were never gonna find a way to save him. Sam and Carter looked all year and what few leads they found... They all came up short every time." She tells him.

Nyx goes to find Bonnie, and she looks at her. "What do you want me to tell them?" The anchor asks.

"Make sure Tyler knows that they all made it out because Mason saved us. Tell him that he's at peace now." Nyx says, and Bonnie nods. "And tell him that I left a note in my brother's room at the mansion. It's what Dean and I want for the twins since we can't be there."

"You had a backup plan." She sighs.

"Maybe I jinxed myself."

"I'll tell them." Bonnie says, and she nods.

Nyx walks away, to watch the twins for as long as she can. Caroline's talking to them, she doesn't​ know yet.

"Your mommy's the strongest person I've ever known. She's smart and she's funny. I think you two are the luckiest babies on the planet." She says with a smile. "She's selfless and she's the bestest friend that I've ever had."

"Me too." Vicki says, and Nyx smiles. "Where is she? She should've come to find the twins the second she got out."

"Yeah, uh..." Tyler walks over to them then. "I gotta tell you guys something." He says, and they all stand up.

"What's going on, man?" Carter asks.

Tyler tells them that Nyx and Damon aren't​ coming back. And she watches with tears in her eyes as both girls start crying. Carter's jaw tightens as he fights back his own tears.

Damon and Bonnie walk over to where she's standing, a few feet away from everyone​ else. The three of them stay together, and they hear Jeremy yelling for Bonnie and his sister. He reaches the group, and all of them stay together as they look around.

"This place is going down, isn't it?" Damon asks, and Bonnie nods.

"It is." She tells them. "I'm sure there are a billion people we'd all rather be with right now, but..."

"Couple thousand at most." Damon says, and Nyx reaches for his hand.

He intertwines their fingers as Bonnie hooks her arm with Nyx's​. "If I have to die for good... I'm okay with you two being the last of my friends that I'm ever with." She says as she pulls Bonnie closer to her.

Nyx closes her eyes as everything around them starts to get brighter. She moves closer to Damon's side and turns her head toward Bonnie as one last thought crosses her mind.

"Do you think it'll hurt?" Bonnie asks as the bright white light completely​ surrounds the three of them.

Damon shakes his head. "I don't kno—"