CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"Having fun?" Nyx smiles as she looks between Dean and Damon.

"Not really." Damon says as he glances over at her.

"We could have some fun."

"You like making jokes like that."

"Who's joking?"

"Alright, I'm done playing." He says as he stands up. "Sheriff Forbes called, she needs me at the hospital for something. Carter — make sure your buddy here doesn't let his emotions get the best of him. You'll know if she flips that switch all the way back."

"I've got it." Carter tells him.

"Why don't we call Rebekah back?" Nyx asks. "I'm sure there's plenty more she can show me. I mean, we didn't even make it the first funeral I won't have to mourn."

"Shut up." Dean snaps, and Damon laughs as he walks out of the cellar.

A few hours later, the lights go out in the whole house, and Nyx lifts her head from where it was resting against the brick wall behind her. Dean and Carter both stand up as they look around as well.

"What the hell?" Dean mutters.

"Ooh, ominous and spooky." Nyx says sarcastically, then she smiles. "Or mood-setting."

"And you say that my mind's always in the gutter." He mumbles as he walks over to the open door. "Stay with her. I'm gonna go call Stefan and see if I can find out what's going on." He tells Carter and then disappears.

"And then there were two." She smiles.

"Don't flirt with me." Carter shakes his head at her. "Not interested."

"We dated once." She reminds him.

"No. We went out on a few dates right before you started high school because you were pissed off at Tyler." He corrects her.

The door opens again later, but the person who walks in definitely isn't who they were expecting. She looks exactly like Nyx remembers her. And the ghost smiles as Carter shines his flashlight on her.

"Vicki?" Nyx asks, eyebrows furrowed as she looks up at her.

Carter stands up, pulling out a stake, and she looks at him. "I'm not here to hurt her, I already made that mistake once." Vicki tells him.

"So, why are you here?" He questions. "How are you here?"

"The lights?" She motions around. "Bonnie dropped the veil to the other side, but only inside the expression​ triangle."

"And what do you want?" Nycole asks.

"I apologized once." Vicki says as she looks back at her. "The morning you showed Dean the picture of us that Halloween before I died. You couldn't​ hear me then, but you can hear me now."

"And I'm not interested now."

"Oh, I know." She kneels down in front of her. "You flipped the switch. No humanity."

"I guess that means you're​ forgiven, you can go now." Nycole tells her.

She shakes her head. "I have to say this."

"Well, by all means, but don't take it too personally​ when you don't get the reaction you're looking for."

"I'm sorry. For everything." Vicki tells her. "I was a terrible friend, and you made so many excuses for me. I dated Tyler. And Jeremy. I tried to kill Elena, twice. I tried to kill you. I almost killed you and your beautiful babies because I was scared. I was selfish, and I wish that I could take it all back." She sees Nyx's resolve start to falter. "You have no idea how relieved I was when I saw that car blow up and you weren't in it. I am so sorry, Nycki."

Tears start to run down Nycole's face, and her best friend breaks the chain that's keeping her from leaving the cellar. Vicki then helps her to her feet, and Nyx wraps her arms tightly around her. The ghost holds her best friend as she starts sobbing.

"Well, isn't this a beautiful moment?"

The girls turn to look at the newcomer in the room. "Kol." Vicki keeps Nyx behind her as they look at him. He has his hand around Carter's throat.

"Your brother killed me." Kol says as he looks at Nyx. "He's already dead, so I can't kill him. But I can kill his big sisters."

"I don't think so."

"You can't stop me, darling. You're too busy saving the human." He says.

"Leave him alone!" Nyx yells, and Vicki glances at her.

Kol throws Carter as hard as he can across the room, and Vicki runs to catch him. She spins and her back hits the brick wall with a loud thud, some of the bricks crack behind her. Kol runs at Nyx, and she gasps when his hand goes inside her chest.

"Say hello to Jeremy for me." He says and then pulls her heart from her chest.

"No!" Carter yells.

"Nycole!" Vicki runs at Kol, but he disappears. So, instead, she catches Nyx's​ body so it can't hit the floor. "No, no, no."

"Nyx..."

"No. Please." She moves Nyx's hair out of her face as her body turns completely gray, and her veins rise. "No, Nycki."

Carter's sitting against the wall with his head in his hands, and Vicki's crying as she holds Nyx's​ body in her arms. The brunette's ghost shows up in the room, and neither of them notice her. It's been a few minutes now, and they haven't spoken a word.

"I'm dead." Nyx says, and they both turn to her. "He killed me. Kol killed me."

"Nyx." Vicki stands up and walks over to her.

She shakes her head. "We have to find Kol before he gets to Elena." She says, not allowing herself to cry. "Carter, stay here. Don't let anyone find my body."

He just nods, unable to speak, and the two ghosts leave the house in search of Nycole's murderer. Neither one of the two girls says a word as they search the town. And eventually, they hear Elena crying over Jeremy's death at his grave. There's nothing but a headstone there.

Nycole looks down, and Vicki rests her hand on her best friend's shoulder. All she can think is, now the only family Elena has is the twins. Her parents, Jenna, Ric, Jeremy, Nyx — they are all dead. Elena's alone.

"Hello, old friend." Kol's voice brings Nyx out of her thoughts. "Pity about your brother...and about your sister. Guess it's just me against you now."

Nyx quickly runs up behind him and snaps his neck. "I got your pity right here, asshole." She says as he falls to the ground.

"Nyx." Elena looks at her sister. "You turned it back on? You're..."

"I'm here, Elena. It's me." She nods.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. The things that I said, that I did..." She shakes her head. "I didn't mean any of it. I'm so, so sorry, Nyx."

"I know." She wipes the tears from her sister's cheeks. "I know, Elena. And I forgive you for all of it. I said some pretty nasty things myself, and I'm sorry. I wish we could both take it all back." She says as she hugs her.

"Now that's what I like to see." Jeremy says as he walks over to them. He holds up the crossbow in his hand. "I guess I won't be needing this like I thought." He says as he looks at Kol's body.

"Jeremy." The twins both run over and hug him. He chuckles as he hugs his sisters, both of them crying.

"Nycole?" Stefan questions, confused as he walks over to them. "How did you..."

"Let's just say I had a little help from the last person that we would've​ expected." Nyx smiles as she looks at Vicki. The others take notice of her for the first time.

"I figured it was the least that I could do." Vicki says with a smile. "That I owed you this much."

—

"I need your help." Nyx says as she walks over to Damon and Ric at the cemetery.

"Why aren't you with Elena and Jeremy? You should be saying goodbye." Ric says, and she nods.

"You have no idea." She says as tears fill her eyes.

"Nyx, what's going on?" Damon asks.

"I got here before Kol could kill Elena. But he, uh... Vicki got me to turn my emotions back on, but she couldn't stop him."

"Stop him from what?"

"Nycole?" Ric walks over to her and wipes tears from her cheeks.

"I'm dead, Ric." She tells him. "I'm only here because the veil's down. Kol killed me."

"What?" Damon walks over to them.

"Carter's keeping the others from finding my body, but..." She shakes her head. "Dean found me dead once. He can't go through that again. He can't be the one to bury me."

"No." He shakes his head. "No, you're not dead! You can't be dead!"

Nyx quickly moves past Ric and grabs Damon's hands. "I'm sorry, but it has to be you. He has the twins, and Elena... Please, Damon."

He nods as he looks down at her. "I'll take care of it." He tells her. "Any requests?"

"Will you bury me next to Ric?" She asks, and he nods as he pulls her to him and hugs her.