CHAPTER NINE

"Any luck on the ghost hunt?" Nyx asks as she looks between Ric and Vicki.

"Not exactly." Vicki shakes her head, and she sighs.

"Do we think they've been swept away like the others?"

"At this point." Ric nods. "I'd say anything's​ possible."

"On the plus side, Damon's in super hero mode to keep anyone else from dying." Vicki says, and Nyx smirks.

"Yeah, and it's kind of amusing too." She says, and Ric shakes his head at the laughing teenage girls. "Alright, back to work." Nyx sighs.

"Don't overdo​ it." Ric tells them. "And be careful." He looks between the two of them.

"You got it, Pops." Vicki smiles at him, and he smirks. "We'll be back." She disappears.

Nycole winks and then disappears in hopes of finding Mason.

She doesn't have any luck on the Mason front, but it doesn't take very long before she comes across a very angry Enzo. He grabs her by her throat, and she groans as she looks at him, her hands clutching at his wrist.

"You knew, didn't you?" Enzo questions. "Bonnie doesn't have a plan. We're all done for."

"You did this to yourself." She says as she breaks his arm. "I was just stopping you from taking someone that I care about with us." She tells him, and he looks at her as fixes the broken bone.

He smirks as his eyes travel over her, going from her pissed off expression to her protective and defensive stance. "You have feelings for him, don't you?" He asks. "That's why you wouldn't let me kill him."

"I'm the oldest of three siblings, it's my job to take care of my family. When I couldn't do that, he stepped in. He made sure that my sister went off to college, and then refused to let my brother get expelled from high school." She tells him. "My brother accidentally​ lost their bargaining​ chip to find Stefan and instead of kicking his ass, he saved his life. And when my sister was kidnapped by a mad scientist, he fought his best friend to get her back. I owe him a lot. I sure as hell wasn't going to let you, of all people, be the one to kill him."

"Why? Because you look down on me?" He questions. "Because I'm the pathetic ghost of a vampire who killed himself for revenge?"

"Because you're his best friend. Because during the worst part of his life, when he had nothing — no hope, no rescuer — he had you."

"And that means something to you?"

"Yeah, it does." She nods. "My best friend tried to kill me once, while she was a ghost over here and I was alive. And when it was over, all I could think was... What could I have done different? If I had been around, could I have saved her before she died?" She shrugs. "I didn't want that for him too. And I know he would've blamed himself. He does blame himself, Enzo."

His expression softens as he looks down at her. "Damon was​ right. There aren't many girls out there like you." He says, and then he just disappears.

—

"What the hell is this?" Vicki's eyebrows are furrowed as she and the others look at the crowd of people chanting in the town square. "What language is that?"

"Czech." Ric tells her.

"It's the Travelers." Nyx says. "They've started the spell."

"The one to undo all magic drawn through nature?" She questions. "The magic keeping us here?"

"What little of it's left." Ric nods.

"Our friends need to get the hell out of town." Nyx says as she looks around. "Now."

"Alright, Nyx, you go for Elena and Stefan. Vicki, you find Caroline. I'll get Damon."

"And do what?" Vicki asks.

"Whatever needs to be done. Pack a bag, drag her ass out of town." Nyx says. "But we need to hurry."

"What about Bonnie?" Ric asks.

"I'll tell her it's started." She says, and he nods before disappearing.

After talking to Bonnie, Nyx finds Stefan and her sister running through the tunnels under the town with Matt. She keeps pushing them forward — literally — which is starting to get on Stefan's nerves.

It's after nightfall now, and Matt's giving Stefan and Elena what little blood bags he managed to snag from the hospital. Then a car pulls up behind them, and Damon and Jeremy get out.

"Nyx!"

"Oh, it is so good for you to finally see me, baby brother." She says as she runs over to him.

He hugs her — a strange sight for the others — and she sighs. "Are you alright? How are you doing?" He asks, and she nods.

"We're hanging in, doing our best."

"We?" He pulls back and looks at her.

"I've been with Vicki and Ric. We've been working overtime​ trying to keep these dumbasses alive." She tells him, and he laughs as he looks at the others.

"What's she saying?" Elena asks.

"We're looking for Lexi and Mason, but so far no luck."

"Hey, little Gilbert! Speak." Damon says.

"Nyx, Vicki, and Ric have been together and trying to keep all of you alive. They're also looking for Lexi and Mason, but it's not going too well as of yet." Jeremy tells them.

"Alright." Stefan nods. "Jeremy, you head back with Matt. We need eyes and ears in Mystic Falls." He says and then looks at his brother and Elena. "You guys take Jeremy's car. I'm gonna wait here for Caroline​ and Bonnie."

"We'll call you in a few hours, Jer." Elena tells him.

"Be careful." He tells his sister.

"Hey, Jer, ask Stefan if he has any idea where Lexi might be." Nyx says. "I really want to find her."

"Uh..." Stefan thinks about it for a second after Jeremy asks. "No. I wouldn't know what she's been doing over there. I thought she would've found Lexi by now."

Nyx looks down, afraid of what that might mean for Lexi.

"They'll keep looking." Jeremy says, knowing his sister wouldn't want him to know what she's thinking.

"Alright, get out of here, Jer-Bear." She smiles as she looks at him, and he chuckles.

"I haven't heard that in forever."

"I love you, little brother."

"I love you too." He tells his sister and then heads to the car to leave with Matt.

—

Nyx sighs as she goes back to Stefan. She's been looking for Lexi and Mason again, but still hasn't had any luck. She gets back just in time to see the Traveler that's​ possessing Tyler rip Stefan's heart from his chest.

"No!" She screams as she runs over to him.

"There." The Traveler says as Nyx catches Stefan's body and carefully​ lays him down on the ground. "Dead doppelganger. Stops the spell." He drops Stefan's heart and walks away.

"No." Nyx cries as Caroline runs over.

"Oh my God." The blonde pushes her hair back as she kneels down next to them.

"Damn it!"

"Somebody help me! Please. Oh my God. Oh my God." She sobs. "No. Somebody help!"

"Oh." Vicki puts her hand over her mouth as she appears behind her best friend.

"This wasn't​ supposed to happen." Nyx's shaking her head. "He's always been the one to help us. He's always the one to save us all the time. I should've been here." She says as Vicki walks over to her.

"Nycki." She kneels down beside the distraught brunette and puts her hand on her shoulder. Vicki pulls Nyx to her, and the younger girl leans into her best friend as she sobs.