CHAPTER 12.5: Katherine Caswell
WARNINGS: mention of abuse, violence, abduction, rat donvan, damon, stefan, death, murder, stalking

"THE GIRL'S ARE GONNA KILL YOU for not coming tonight," Athena said as she leaned against the desk Damon was working on. He was writing something down on a yellow pad but was being secretive about it. Athena made no move to try and figure out what it was.

The redhead was dressed in black jeans, a black belt, and a yellow button-up that was tucked into her pants. She wore black dress shoes. She was wearing rings on each of her fingers, a Mikaelson necklace hanging from her neck along with a thin chain that she, Luna, and Kol wear.

Damon shrugged; clad in the clothes he's been wearing all day. His outfit was a navy-blue button up, black jeans, and a black leather jacket. "Bonnie won't want me there," he said offhandedly, "and I don't want to create any problems between the three."

Athena snorts, "bullshit," she muttered as Stefan walks in, hiding something behind his back. The two glanced at him, Damon frowning at the intrusion. He and Athena were at peace here.

"You got the hair right," Damon said, looking back down at the pad of paper, sounding bored and uninterested. Stefan smiles sarcastically, tossing a journal onto the table. Damon stops, burning holes into the book as Athena's brows furrow.

"Why the hell did you bring Giuseppe's journal?" Athena demanded, reaching out to grab it. Stefan grabbed her wrist and flicked it away.

"It's not for you, asshat," Stefan snapped. Athena glared at him. He looked back at Damon, "'cause I know you were looking for it," he replied.

Damon scoffed through his nose and looked up at their little brother, "and why would I want it?" He knew what was in that journal. It documented every cruel thing, every cruel world that he put Athena through. He's read it before, one of the reasons he found out Athena was being treated so horribly.

"I don't know, Damon, gee..." Stefan tapped his chin in mock thought, "maybe you wanna do a little bit of posthumous bonding." He walked slowly away from the two, nodding his head to the journal, "read it. Enjoy it. Whatever. Go ahead," he said with a shrug, "I have. Nowhere in it does it say anything about Katherine or the tomb or how to open it."

Damon flipped through the pages, his eyes slowly but surely finding the words: damned, abomination, devil, evil, monster... He had memorized all of them, his anger and hatred toward his parents growing more and more with each passing year.

A thought suddenly occurred to the dark-haired man as Athena leaned a bit closer to see what he was reading. He closed the book in a slam, the sound echoing throughout the silent library. Stefan flinched in surprise while Athena jerked back a bit, raising an eyebrow.

"You read the book?" Damon asked, his voice calm and collected. Far too calm and far too collected. Stefan eyed him suspiciously.

"Front to back," he responded slowly as he were speaking to a child.

Damon refrained from crushing the leather-bound book in his grip, his nostrils flaring in anger. "You read the book," he repeated, more to himself than the other two, "you read the book."

"Yes—"

"You never apologized," Damon interrupted. Athena tensed visibly, mouth parting in slight shock and eyes widening. Stefan's brows furrowed in defiance, his lips curling.

"I have nothing to apologize for," he spat quietly, arms placed behind his back as he held himself confidently.

Damon chuckled darkly, "nothing? NOTHING?! You fucking idiot. Mom and Dad may have let you get away with anything because you're the youngest, but I will not. You have so much to apologize for but you think you are some saint," the middle Salvatore spat back, glaring up their brother.

Stefan started forward, towering over a still sitting Damon. The dark-haired Salvatore stood up so he could be at least near his brother's height. Athena was quickly between them, shoving them away from each other.

"Enough!" She shouted making both men freeze and cower slightly. Her voice has always held an authoritative tone to it, able to bring the strongest man in her path to his knees. "Your petty arguments are driving me mad. You want to fight, take it outside. This house is full of valuables that cannot be replaced. I would like to preserve them for as long as I can," she said, eyeing the many old books and ancient artifacts that she and other members of the family have collected over the years.

Stefan rolled his eyes, "I'm really sorry that it won't be of any help with your guys' diabolical plan, the sequel," he mocked, a smug smirk on his face.

Damon smiled sarcastically and Athena clenched her hands into fists. God, Stefan was getting on her nerves. What had she done to get on his bad side? Or give him the impression that she wanted anything to do with Katherine?

"Listen, I'll help you if it means you'll get out of town," Stefan said, eyes dancing between his older siblings.

Athena barked out a laugh, "I'm sorry, get out of town?" She cocked an eyebrow, amusement shining in her eyes, "I think we're forgetting who was here first. Who has been here more than you two had been the first 17—21 years of your lives! This is my home. I helped our nephews and nieces build this place, I kept most of our family alive during even the harshest of times."

"You killed all of them," Stefan argued, anger in his eyes, "one way or another, they all died because of you. Hell, you killed Zach!"

Athena's eye twitched at the mention of her nephew. "You don't know the full story—"

"And you do?" Stefan demanded, glaring at Damon. He looked back at Athena, "because Athena here didn't speak a word to me about how he died. I sure as hell know it wasn't a mountain lion."

"You want to know how he died? Why I killed him?" Athena asked, lips curled into a snarl. Stefan gestured for her to go on, exasperated. "I came home from killing a group that wanted Zach, me, and most of this town slaughtered. He was drunk and told me everything was my fault. Then he proceeded to try and kill me, stake me through the heart. I pleaded with him, I begged him to stop, but his rage got the better of him. We ended up outside and the next thing I knew, his heart was in my hand, and he was on the ground not breathing."

She inhaled shakily, eyes becoming blurry with tears. She refused to let them fall, she let them fall before in a moment of weakness. She won't be doing that again. No. She wasn't weak.

"You, my little warrior, are the strongest of your siblings... You aren't weak. You're strong and you will stay strong. Crying is a sign of weakness and you?"

"I am not weak."

Athena recognized the voice, but it made no sense. She recognized her own, the mantra I am not weak running through her head. Though, she had never spoken to Mikael when she was young. She hadn't even known he existed much less have been called his little warrior.

Yet, the voice was enough to swallow her tears and bury them deep.

"I loved him, and he tried to kill me," Athena finished, voice void of emotion.

Damon stared at his sister with pain before turning a sharp this is your fault gaze on Stefan.

"We have to go pick up Elena. Care's getting a ride from Bonnie," Athena said, turning towards Damon and placing a kiss on his cheek. She turned away and walked out of the room. Stefan watched her go for a moment, rethinking his position, before following her.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA SMELLS HIM before she sees him. Her instincts kick in, her body moving on its own as she appears in the room, yanking the vampire away from Elena's neck as the young woman screams in fear. She throws him across the room making him knock into the wall and collapse on the ground.

Elena stumbles away in fear, grabbing hold of the pillar as she sunk to the floor. Stefan appears beside her, checking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Athena stares down at the vampire who was struggling to stand up. He snarled at her, getting on his feet in less than a second once he regained his strength. He lunges for her, but she easily side-steps, grabbing the back of his shirt and throwing him through the window with complete ease.

The loud shatter of glass echoes through the house as the vampire speeds away. Closing her hand into a fist, the window fixes itself like it hadn't broken in the first place by a wordless spell Athena cast. She turns towards her brother and friend.

"You okay, Bambi?" She asked, concerned.

Elena gulped and nodded, shakily standing up with Stefan's help. He looked over at his sister who pulled out her phone, dialing Damon's number. She put it to her ear.

"Miss me already, sweety?" He mocked jokingly.

"Get here as fast as you can," she said, ignoring him.

The call ended. As soon as her phone was back in her pocket, Damon was inside with Caroline hopping back onto the ground. He had a bag over his shoulder that Athena could smell the new clothes in.

"You okay?" Caroline asked Elena who immediately went into her arms. The brunette nodded against her shoulder, sighing as she relaxed in her friends embrace.

"How'd he get in?" Damon asked, setting the bag near the stairs, eyeing the wall that had a bit of a crack in it. It was the same wall Athena had pinned him to a couple months ago.

Caroline sat Elena down. "He was invited in," she replied. Stefan sat down next to her, resting his hand on her thigh to comfort her.

"Jeremy said something about ordering pizza last night," Athena said, remembering a brief conversation she had over the phone with the boy to let him know Elena was staying over and she was safe. "Probably posed as the delivery guy."

Damon hummed, slightly impressed. "Kudos for that," he muttered, leaning over to squeeze Elena's shoulder, "relax, you're safe now. We got Miss Super Solider over here." He jabbed a thumb in Athena's direction. She stared at him dryly.

Elena snorted while Caroline snickered.

"Did he say anything? Like what he was doing, what he wanted?" He asked, looking between Elena and Athena. The redhead had better hearing than both Stefan and him combined.

"No," Elena said, giving the man a slight glare, "he was busy trying to kill me." He smiled sarcastically at her.

"And neither of you have any idea who this is?" Stefan asked, looking suspiciously between his older siblings.

"I have very few vampire friends, Stefan," Athena drawled tiredly, sick of being accused by him, "if I knew him, he wouldn't be doing this. Or he'd be dead."

Damon nodded his head in agreement, "nope." Stefan nodded unbelievingly, giving them both a dry stare. "Don't look at us like that, I was the one who told you we had some company."

Caroline looked over, panicked, "you think there's more than one?" She asked.

"No idea," Athena said, rubbing her chin. She was staring down at her phone.

Him

Call me.

What have you done now?

Call. Me.
seen 6:45

His contact appeared on the screen a minute later and she quickly answered it. She put up a spell so Damon nor Stefan could hear what he was saying.

"I didn't do it. Promise."

Caroline gave her a look and mouthed, who is that?

"Do you have Luna?" Athena asked. That was his usual response when he answered her on the floor.

There was a long silence on the other end. Then there was a sigh. "Yes."

"Keep her there," Athena said then ended the call. She stuffed her phone in her pocket and then made a move toward the door. Damon appeared in front of her.

"Hell no," he said, shaking his finger in front of her face, "if I have to go to this thing, so do you." She stared at him for a moment before sighing. He smirked and disappeared upstairs with the bag.

Athena turned to Stefan, "he was invited in," she said, knowing he would understand what she was saying. He gave a curt nod. "Tonight, there will be one less vampire in this town. As long as he's out there, nobody in this house is safe. So, what were gonna do is... go to a 1950's dance and hope that bastard shows up." She glances between her girlfriend and friend, "you two up for that?"

They glanced at each other than nodded. Stefan pursed his lips, "this isn't a good idea," he shook his head.

"It's the only one we got," she said.

Damon comes down the stairs before Stefan could argue again. He was dressed in his costume, hair a bit messier than before. Caroline's jaw dropped and Elena's eyes lit up.

"I am good!" Elena said, high fiving Caroline. Damon did a spin, shooting them a finger gun and a wink.

"Let's go gang. We got a mystery to solve," he said.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

THE FIVE WALK into the dance which had already began. It was packed with people and the music was blasting throughout the room. Teenagers mingled, chaperones poured drinks, and some watched from the corners.

Damon walks between the two couples who are hooked arm and arm. He doesn't seem upset about it though since Elena and Caroline have their arms interlocked with his as well.

"Oh, there's Bonnie," Caroline said, finding Bonnie talking with Braxton and Ace who both looked dashing in their outfits. Caroline placed a kiss on Athena's cheek before rushing over to her friend.

Athena smiled adoringly at her excited girlfriend. Damon slid his arm from Elena's and stuck out his hand, "care to dance, dear sister of mine?" He asked.

She grinned and took his hand, "it'd be my pleasure, dear brother." He rolled his eyes with a smile and pulled her over to the dance floor.

Elena smiles as well and pulled Stefan along.

"Finally, you two are here," Bonnie said with a sigh, "you said you'd be here a while ago."

Caroline instantly felt bad, "I know. We're so sorry. I forgot that Athena and Stefan were picking up Elena first and then me, so I was already at the Salvatore house after they left so Damon had to bring me to Elena's—it was just a big mess!" She rambled, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Braxton raised an amused eyebrow, taking a sip of his punch. "I didn't realize how close you and the Salvatore's had gotten. I mean, I know you're dating Athena, but you seem pretty close with the other two," he said.

Bonnie discreetly rolled her eyes. Elena saddled up beside Caroline with an impish grin, "you mean our foursome? Oh, yeah, definitely," she giggled. Caroline shook her head, her embarrassment increasing.

"Wait—really? That sounds hot," Ace said, "with which brother though?"

"Stefan, of course!" Braxton said, nudging his lover with his shoulder and rolling his eyes.

"Damon, actually," Athena said, appearing behind the two boys.

"Seriously?"

"How was it?"

"Ace!" Braxton and Bonnie chided, and he raised his hands in surrender.

"It didn't actually happen," Elena said with a laugh, "we just like to joke about it since our little road trip."

Athena smirked, leaning against the table, "it was a nice fantasy though."

"Athena," the two girls warned but the redhead ignored them.

"It was very scandalous. It was in the school actually, locker room—after cheerleading practice when everyone else was gone to be precise," Athena said and Ace leaned forward, intrigued. To be fair, he was always intrigued when it came to his favorite author and his idol—not that she knows that... yet. "Damon and I were supposed to pick them up for dinner and found them in the shower—"

Elena kicked her shin, hard. Athena actually winced. "She's lying!" Caroline squeaked, "that wasn't it at all."

Braxton smirked teasingly, "sure it wasn't, Care, sure it wasn't."

Caroline shot him a glare and flipped him off.

"Why was Damon in the girl's locker room to begin with though? Come on, you got to go into detail," Ace said.

"You're such a creep," Bonnie muttered, shaking her head.

Ace shrugged, "nah, I'm just a writer. I've got to dig deeper to find the whole truth," he recited.

Athena stared at him blankly for a moment. That was a quote that she put in the back of her most popular supernatural non-fiction book. It listed every supernatural creature that was known to exist and told you exactly where they were created and who created them. Barely any human knows about it since it was meant only for the supernatural world.

Ace raised an eyebrow at her, and she smirked, "Katherine Caswell. I see you know your stuff."

"She's only one of the most unbiased, honest, and deeply detail oriented author to exist," he said, "but I assume she's probably around 60 now. She was in her 40's when I went to one of her signings in 1999."

The five looked between the two, confused about what was happening.

Ryker and Diego walked over to them, Ryker rolling his eyes. "Ace, dude, lay off her. You said it yourself, Katherine Caswell is well into her 60's. Athena is 23! Leave the poor woman alone!"

"Shove off," Ace muttered, rolling his eyes. Athena watched him curiously before saying something about going to get some water.

Bonnie rounded on her two friends, "seriously? What is going on with you two? Is this some weird, like, four-some adultery you're having with Damon and Athena?" She demanded, placing her hands on her hips and giving her two friends a stern look.

"What? Of course not!" Elena said, eyes wide in shock, "Damon's our friend. He's trying to make up for what he did, he really is."

"Yeah!" Caroline agreed, "he's actually pretty cool when you get past his broody, need-to-be-cooler-than-Stefan, cocky persona."

"He abused you, Caroline," Bonnie said, scandalized, "how can you just be okay with that?"

"Wait—he what?" Braxton intervened.

Caroline swallowed. "Bonnie," she said quietly, "please calm down and lower your voice," she glances around at the people around them. Not everyone needed to know about what went down between her and the middle Salvatore. "I know what he did, okay? It's not easy to forget, but he hasn't tried that and has actually protected me. Just like Stefan and Athena! He actually cares even if he denies it."

"I still deny it." The blonde jumped, putting a hand to her heart and closing her eyes. "Sorry, blondie," Damon apologized, handing her and Elena a cup of punch.

Braxton, Ace, Ryker, and Diego glared at the vampire who glanced between them, slightly intimidated but not showing it.

He turned his gaze away and looked at the Bennett witch, "hi, Bonnie," he taunted slightly and grunted when Elena elbowed him hard. "Ouch, alright. All you had to say was that you wanted me all to yourselves. No need to get violent," he grumbled.

Elena rolled her eyes, "man-whore."

"Slut."

"Dick-wad."

"Bitch."

"Mud boy!"

"Bambi!"

The two glared at each other before Caroline snorted, trying to contain her laughter which made the other to break out into a fit of laughter.

Bonnie scowled, "I'm out of here," she muttered, beginning to walk away.

Damon quickly stepped in front of her, "please give me another chance," he said.

Ryker stepped forward, glaring at him, "back off, Salvatore," he spat, guiding Bonnie past him and knocking their shoulders together.

Caroline sighed, "alright. New plan. Elena, you stay here with the Salvatore's since he's after you and I'll go console the force that is Bonnie Bennett."

"But—"

"She's right," Damon said, interrupting Elena, "if he thinks you're both here, he'll be here. When he finds Elena, he'll try to lure her away and blonde will already be gone. And, if she was in danger, she has little miss witch over there." He nodded to Bonnie who was striding toward the exit.

"See! I'll be fine! Tell Thena I'll call her after the dance," Caroline said, kissing Elena and Damon's cheeks quickly before following after her friend.

"Did you just call Bonnie a witch?" Elena and Damon turned around, realizing they still had company.

"Figure... of speech," Elena smiled innocently at Ace, Braxton, and Diego before quickly pulling Damon away to another table.

They met Stefan and Athena who were silent, looking around for any threats. Well, Athena was anyway, Stefan was more concerned about the arm his girlfriend had around Damon's.

"Where'd they go?" Stefan asked, nodding towards where Caroline and Bonnie just were.

"Don't know," Damon replied with a shrug, "they're leaving though."

Athena looked over, "huh?"

"Bonnie stomped off and Caroline went after her. They are probably going to the Grill. She said she'd call you," Damon explained with a shrug.

Athena hummed, nodding. She wasn't upset, she was really only here because the girls' forced her and so they could find that bastard that had been stalking them.

"Anyway, Elena... would you like to dance?" Damon asked.

Elena smiled, "I would love too." Damon smiled back. Elena turned to Stefan, "may I have this dance?" Damon's smile dropped as he rolled his eyes. Athena scrunched her nose, watching Stefan escort Elena onto the dance floor.

Athena pat her brother on the back, "I'm going to go get some air." She gave him a look and he nodded.

"I'll keep watch on the love-birds," he nodded back.

She brushed past him and walked through the many teenagers before she got to the doorway. She found the door pretty quick and sighed as the cool air touched her body.

She took a moment to breathe before she was on the move again, calmly looking around the area for any suspicious activity that didn't include teenagers making out underneath the bleachers.

"How did you become what you are?"

Athena stopped in her tracks, Ace's voice resounding in her ears. She remembers him clearly now.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

NEW ORLEANS, 1999
IT WAS A bright, hot summer day in the Big Easy. Athena stood next to an old friend of Klaus's, Marcel Gerard. She has been in contact with him since she lived outside of New Orleans in the Mikaelson Plantation that Klaus gave to her to raise Lorelei and Davina in. They had agreed not to tell Klaus of their buddying-friendship since the Mikaelson's believed him to be dead.

"You know, I'm up to date on your books except for your newest one..."

"Happy birthday," Athena deadpanned, holding out the first printed version of her newest book, A Guide to Supernatural Phenomenon. Marcel's eyes lit up, having expected her to say no, and took the book. It was a paper back since Athena knew he liked those better than hard covers. The cover was a bit chaotic, filled to the brim with crazy looking creatures that Marcel didn't know. It was beautiful.

"I thought you would say no," he admitted, brushing his fingers over it. He'd never admit it out loud, but Athena's stories had always intrigued him. Especially her last one, The Tales of Lucifer's Daughter. Athena chuckled, she had thought about it but since the book was being sold at her signing, she didn't see the need to keep it from him.

Her red hair was down, cascading over her shoulders. She was dressed in a red blouse, black jeans, and black wedged boots. She had a ring on her finger that would change her appearance to a middle aged woman with dirty blonde hair.

"Well, you're my friend, Marcellus," she said, knocking his shoulder with hers lightly, "besides, in a couple of minutes all of New Orleans will be able to get them." She grinned teasingly at the man as she walked over to her table where a couple of pens and paper were sitting.

Marcel scoffed out a laugh, "my vamps and I will keep this place surrounded. Make sure your signing goes as planned," he said as he walked toward the door.

"Off he goes to be king," Athena calls out, an admiring tone in her voice, "where is your queen?"

"Having her books signed!" He grinned before disappearing out the door. Athena chuckled and sat down in her chair, the ring changing her appearance.

Many people are lined up outside, both from the supernatural and human communities. A lot of the townspeople that weren't tourists knew of the supernatural hence why there is a human faction along the lines of the witches and vampires. Those pesky witches have always been a bit of a problem though.

"You ready, Ms. Caswell?" Xavier, one of Marcel's highest ranking vampires, asked. He was tasked with keeping her safe in case of an ambush. Since her time with Klaus and her own shenanigans, she has gained quite a few enemies. She's only glad Marcellus chose to be a friend rather than a foe.

"I am, X. Thank you, hun," she said. He gave a nod, walking over to the doors and pushing them open. People rush in, winding around the stores and chattering loudly. The book store she is at is owned by her mother-in-law, Crystal Wood. Marcel helped her open it many years ago, The Crystal Geyser. It's fairly big and has an assortment of books by old and new authors. You want to find a book, this is the place to go.

Xavier appears back by her side a moment later, placing his hands behind his back and fixing his face to a stoney expression. Her heart warms at the sight of people looking excited for her books and her. Sadly, she can't truly be who she is. The world that doesn't know about supernatural would be far to suspicious.

People begin to line up in front of her, clutching multiple books to their chests and babbling to one another. Xavier calls the first person up and she's makes small conversation, listening to the woman's excitedly ramblings as she signs the inside of the books the woman had brought. It goes like this for quite some time and Athena only gets happier.

Then, a little boy walks up to her, clutching a book to his chest. The Hidden Species of the World. A woman stood behind him, a certain power radiating off of her that Athena hasn't felt in many years. Centuries. Athena eyes her as the boy sets the book on the table. A small tattoo— no. Birthmark, resides on the little boys wrist. A pointed fang.

Her mind makes the connection pretty quick. "Charisma," her mouth speaks the foreign words, a hiss to the tone. Snake language. The woman, Charisma, seems taken aback. "Have how you've been, darling?" She asked her creation. It's been far too long, having made the baby basilisk hybrid go into hiding to keep her safe.

"I'm good," Charisma speaks, nodding to Athena. The redhead smiles as she opens the book and signs her name. "This is my son, Alexander, but he goes by Ace."

Athena smiles softly and glances up through her lashes at the small boy. He has dark brown hair and his eyes were like wide pools of chocolate. He looked innocent and intrigued by everything around him. "Hi there," she murmurs as she passes the signed book back to him.

His wide eyes go to the book, his hands hidden underneath his sleeves of his oversized sweatshirt. His jeans clung to his skin as an old pair of boots sat on his feet. He had the cutest pair of goggles resting on his forehead.

"Hi," he muttered, gingerly grabbing the book. The eyes that met hers again weren't the same chocolate ones, no... these were a pale yellow. She reached over the table and tugged his goggles down over his eyes and bopped his nose.

"Keep those on, okay, sweetheart?" She asked. He nodded quickly and grabbed onto his mom's hand. She looked up at Charisma, "don't be a stranger, love."

The woman nodded and walked, hand-in-hand, out of the bookstore. Athena followed them with her gaze, seeing it was nighttime. The signing should be finished in another hour then she could go back home to her little girls.

Checking her watch, she stood up from the table and stretched a bit. A scream came from outside and she looked up, eyes widening at the sight of the scene in front of her. Blood and dead tourists and citizens laid on the ground, people running and screaming as they tried to get away from the group of rogue vampires.

She was outside in a second, barely dodging a body that was flung into the brick wall and slumped to the ground with blood pouring from their skull. Marcel's nightwalkers and some of the day walkers were fighting against the group but it seems some witches had joined to help the other side.

Athena snapped one of the vampire's necks that appeared in front of her, hissing. She walked over his neck; the vampire being decapitated as she searched for Marcel. She ripped a vampire off a young woman and ripped out his heart before healing the girl and telling her to run.

"Tía!" She spun around, Marcel almost running into her. She steadied him. "We have to get you out of here, they're after you," he said. One thing he learned and retained from Klaus; family first.

Athena opened her mouth to argue but her eyes caught onto a familiar body. Her heart sinks as she notices the frightened, terrified, little boy standing over her, crying. "Alexander," she called, vamping over to him and grabbing one of the vampires that were about to attack. She viciously bit into his neck, ripping out his throat and dropped him to the ground, spitting the skin out. She wiped her mouth and knelt down beside the little boy.

"Don't hurt me," the little boy trembles, clutching the book like a lifeline as tears pour down his face.

Athena raised her hands in surrender, "I promise, I'm not here to hurt you, buddy. Come here, we have to get you out of here," she said gently. Marcel appears behind her and the boy grips his mother's hand tighter, wanting her to squeeze back.

"N-No... I—I can't leave her!" He shook his head.

Another scream cut through the street and Alexander flinched. Athena felt herself go into mother mode, "Ace, sweetheart, listen to me. This is my nephew, Marcellus. He goes by Marcel. He's the king of New Orleans. He's going to take you to his castle and he's going to protect you with his life while I slay the evil sorcerers and knights," she says, "your mother was my little girl and I've lost her... I won't lose you too, my little Prince."

Ace gulps and looks up at Marcel who softens upon seeing the boy. The little boy goes into Athena's arms, and she scoops him up, a sigh of relief falling from her lips. She stands and turns to Marcel.

"Athena—"

"Go," she interrupts, handing Alexander off to him. She presses a kiss to both of their foreheads and then manifests a sword from thin air. She smiled at Marcel, "who taught you to fight, love?" A smile forms on Marcel's face before he's gone.

Athena looks at the mess and spins the sword expertly. She speeds forward, the metal slicing through flesh with complete ease.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"I'M SURPRISED MARCEL didn't tell you," Athena said, putting her hands in her pockets as she turned to face her grandson.

Ace shrugged and looked down at his feet, "he did, but I want to hear it from you. You always told the best stories," he said quietly, kicking a rock.

Athena can barely remember anything. It's so weird, how she can remember him but not Cassidy or those two little girls who she's pretty sure are her daughters. Except, she can't remember what makes him her grandson. She never created a basilisk, and she doesn't know how to speak whatever she was speaking in her memory: snake language?

"I'm afraid, I don't think I have that answer then..." Athena frowns, brows furrowing. Ace looks up at her, a small, sad smile on his face.

"I really hope you get your memories back soon," he says.

Athena walks towards him, "me too, kid. Me too." He wraps his arms around her, and she does the same, holding him close. They stay like that for a couple of minutes, holding onto each other and wishing she could remember.

Then, a sharp sting erupts in Ace's neck, and he slumps against Athena who stumbles in surprise.

"Ace? Ace!" She pulls the tranq dart out of the boy's neck, anger flooding through her as she gently lays him down on the ground.

She stands up, black veins appearing beneath her eyes as they turn bloodshot. She glances up at the man dressed in black who is trembling while holding the gun in his hand. She starts forward but something hits her neck. She grunts and reaches up, ripping it out. Her breathing slows as she drops the tranq to the ground.

She snarls and continues forward. Three more hit her: one in the neck, one in the back, and one in the leg. She spins around, stumbling a bit and finds a woman that is far too familiar for her liking.

She has white-hair and pale green eyes. Her face is covered with a black mask, and she's dressed in the same clothing as the man behind Athena.

"Oh, bloody hell."

Then everything goes black.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

BONNIE AND CAROLINE sat a table in the Mystic Grill. The blonde was tired and really just wanted to go back to the Salvatore's or back to her house, but she knew, the safest bet, was to just stay here until one of them called. 

"I was talking with Matt," Bonnie said suddenly and Caroline looked away from the bartender Bonnie has been "eye-stalking" since they got there. 

"You, what?" 

"Look, I know you broke up with him and I know he's been kind of pushy lately—"

Caroline let out an incredulous laugh, "kind of? He won't leave me alone! The only time he does is when I'm with Athena, Damon, or Stefan!"

Bonnie nodded, "right, but he's a really good guy. You saw that when you were dating him! You told me that was one of the things you really liked about him." 

Caroline looked down at the table, "Bonnie, I told him I needed a break. I was struggling. Athena, Elena, and my mom were the only ones who saw that. That's why I was pulling away from him a couple of weeks before we broke up. I was trying to figure out who I was, and he couldn't respect that," she said. 

Bonnie ignored the small jab, glancing down at her hands. When Elena and Caroline started hanging out with Athena, she kind of pulled away because she didn't have a good feeling about the redhead. Athena was never mean to her, she was always quite helpful and apparently her grandma knew Athena as well, but Bonnie hadn't really liked her ever since she showed up. 

"Okay, I get that, but now you have! And he sees what he did wrong and wants to make it right. Maybe you should give him another chance," Bonnie said, biting her lip and looking up at her friend. 

Caroline stared at her friend in shock. Matt was standing off to the side, listening to the conversation with a small smile. "How—... Athena really cares for me," Caroline said, "I'm dating her. Have I figured myself out a little bit more? Yes. Am I going to jump back into a relationship where I wasn't really happy? No. Athena makes me really happy, Bonnie. She sees what no one else does and she isn't forcing me to be somebody I'm not. Matt always wanted me to be more like Elena; know what to say, do the right thing, say the right thing. That's not who I am! So, I'm sorry, but no. I'm not gonna give him another chance. He lost my trust the second he tried to have sex me when I told him I needed time for myself." 

Caroline scoffed through her nose and looked away from her friend. Bonnie nods slowly, looking scolded, and gets up. The Bennett witch needed at least one win tonight, so she walked over to the bartender. 

Caroline stood up after a moment and walked over to where Matt was cleaning some tables. 

"You do realize how pathetic that was, right?" 

Matt turned around, brows furrowed, "what?" 

"What you and Bonnie tried to do," Caroline said, crossing her arms, "it was pathetic and shitty. Can you not see how happy I am with Athena? How much better my life has been since she came into it?" 

Matt frowns, "yeah. I did," he spat. She gapes at the change in attitude. "Ever since she got to town, it's always been Athena this or Athena that, even when we were dating. She was everywhere and you claimed that you hated her, but you didn't." He glared harshly at Caroline, "you were in love with her even then." 

Caroline's heart stops. "That's... that's not true..." 

"But it is Caroline. You believe I'm the bad guy, but I'm not! You were the one who broke my heart. You're the horrible person, not me." 

Caroline feels tears well up in her eyes. "I—... I'm sorry, Matt..." She turns on her heel and walks out of the restaurant. She wraps her arms around herself, forgetting that it wasn't safe outside, forgetting just about everything except for what Matt said. 

She gets about a street away from the Grill before a black truck drives up next to her. "Caroline!" She turns her head, finding Matt staring back at her. She shook her head and looked back in front of her, tears falling from her eyes. "Care, get in the truck," he demanded. She shook her head once more. He stopped the car and got out, running in front of her as she moved to cross the street. 

"What? What the fuck do you want?" Caroline asked, her voice thick with tears as her lips quivered. He pulled her in, kissing her softly. She froze, shock coursing through her. Then anger. She tried to shove him off, but he wouldn't let her. Panic began to build in her chest just like it did the night he tried to have sex with her. 

Suddenly, Matt was on the ground and Caroline was being blocked by a body. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Hayley snarled at the boy. 

Caroline grabbed the werewolf's jacket when she went to advance. She didn't want Matt to get pummeled. She hurt him enough already. 

"Who the hell are you?" Matt asked, getting up, "get away from her." 

Hayley stepped in front of Caroline, shielding the blonde with her body, "I don't think so, bucko. You were taking advantage of her. She's obviously not in the right mental space. And she was trying to get you off of her. And she has a fucking girlfriend, you psycho." 

Caroline stopped breathing. Athena. Oh, God. When she found out Matt had kissed her... Tears fell from Caroline's eyes faster, her throat constricting. Hayley glanced back at her, eyes softening. 

She turned back to Matt with a glare, "get the fuck out of here. You're lucky I don't kill you," she snapped, wrapping an arm around Caroline and guiding her back on the sidewalk. She walked the younger girl back toward the Mystic Grill. They stopped outside of the restaurant and Hayley turned towards Caroline. "Hey, breathe. You're okay now. I won't let anything happen to you, alright?" 

Caroline wiped her eyes, sniffling, "I don't even know you. You don't know me. Why—why are you helping me?" Caroline asked. 

Hayley had been asking herself that same question for weeks, "I'm not sure, but I want to get to know you. I... I need to," she said. 

Caroline stared at her for a moment then nodded. Hayley nodded too and walked her inside. She walked the blonde over to an unoccupied table in the corner. 

"Give me your phone. I'll call Athena," Hayley said gently. Caroline slipped out her phone and handed it to the brunette after unlocking it. Hayley quickly found Athena's contact and called her. It rang three times before she was sent to voice mail. Hayley frowned and tried again. The same thing. "Is there another number?" 

"Damon..." the blonde muttered, leaning against Hayley as her eyes slowly closed. The brunette stared at her, body frozen. She wasn't usually very affectionate with people, having been on the run from foster families and living on the streets for most of her life. 

The brunette wrapped her arm around the blonde and found Damon's contact next, calling the man. She put the phone to her ear. He picked up on the first ring, "Caroline? Are you okay? What's wrong? We got the vampire, you should be safe."

"She's fine," Hayley said and there was silence on the other line before:

"Who the fuck is this and what have you done with Caroline? Give her the phone!"

"Chill," Hayley said, "I said she's fine. We're at the Mystic Grill now. Is Athena there?" 

"You know Athena?"

"Acquaintances," Hayley said.

"She's not here. We were hoping she was with Caroline. I'll be right there. You so much as harm a hair on her head and I'll kill you."

"Noted." Hayley ended the call and set the phone on the table. She glanced down at the blonde who was already fast asleep, snoring softly against the fabric of Hayley's jacket. 

She stayed like that until Damon showed up. He quickly walked over to them, checked over Caroline and then gave Hayley a good once over with narrowed eyes. "What happened?" 

"Some douche tried to take advantage of her. The rest she'll have to tell," Hayley replied in the same tone. She slid the phone over to Damon who took it and put it in the pocket of his jacket. 

"Thanks," he said as he scooped Caroline up. The blonde dug herself further into him, sighing in content. Hayley nodded and watched as the dark-haired man disappeared out the door with one of the two people her wolf wouldn't leave alone.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"YOU DO REALIZE she cannot be killed, milady?" A man, standing beside a white-haired woman, asked hesitantly, looking over the two unconscious parties in front of them. 

"Thanks for the update," the white-haired woman snarked, rolling her eyes. The man bowed his head and stepped back. "I may not be able to kill her... yet... but there is documentation that she had created a couple ruby daggers that have the same effect on her as the silver daggers have on the Originals. For safety precaution I presume." 

"And you believe you can find one?" Another man asked from the shadows, eyeing her in disbelief. 

"With the right leverage... yes."

AN: part two. hope you enjoyed. (maybe the chapter was supposed to be 13000 words long. it's fine)

Word Count: 7350
Finished: January 31st, 2022
Edited: