CHAPTER THIRTEEN: It Talks!
WARNINGS: profanity, tyler lockwood, slut-shaming, violence, emotional cheating, cheating, blood, mention of stalking

THE LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE has always been blurred. Two sides of the same coin, some say. You may believe you hate this person, but really... you don't.

Athena wonders if the same could be said for the woman in front of her. 

Last night—at least she believes—, Athena and Ace reunited even if she didn't understand, but their reunion was cut short. They were taken by a small group of people Athena hadn't heard anything about for about fifty years. Around 1959 or so.

The Vultures. 

The group was known around the supernatural world but had been led to be thought of as a myth, but they are very much real. They are a coven of rogue witches that hunt down the bad supernatural. Rippers who refuse to try and control themselves, horrid wolf packs who believe they rule the world, even covens of witches that defy the laws of nature. The only ones they haven't been able to get rid of were the Original vampires. 

The leader, Violet Browne, was a powerful witch. She was a descendant from the Browne Coven but was thrown out when she was caught going against the rules and refused to sacrifice a man in order to gain more power. The coven was all about life and Earth magic. She was shorter than Athena, around 5 foot 6. She had dark brown hair that almost looked black and jade green eyes. 

Second in command was Akemi Li. He was tall, 5 foot 11, and held himself with confidence. He had a head of black hair and entrancing black eyes. He was from the Zhang Coven that focused a lot on the elements of darkness and shadows. He was thrown out of his coven for being pansexual and having that whole "forbidden lovers" trope with a man in another coven that was the complete opposite of his. 

The rest were powerful, but those two were the on top for a reason. They were smart and calculative. They knew when and when not to strike. 

The woman from last night, the woman with white hair and pale-green eyes—that's a woman she had only heard stories of from Klaus. 

Claire Valkwood.

She's a very old vampire. Possibly around 700 years old now. Klaus didn't mention her until they had been together for about 10 years. The woman had a grudge against the Mikaelson family and has tried to get rid of them for centuries, recruiting covens to try and reverse the immortality spell Esther put on her children. It never worked. The Mikaelson's either wiped the coven out or persuaded them to go against Claire instead for something else in return (that was Elijah's doing). 

Violet and Athena have met before. She knows they have because the woman is very familiar. Athena just can't remember when or why. 

One of the other folks in the room, a werewolf with shaggy brown hair and bright green eyes moves forward to inject Ace with more of the altered phoenix tears—it acts like wolfsbane or vervain but for basilisks. Athena watches him carefully from her position on the floor. She's sat a bit awkwardly, but she's been in the position so many times she's grown comfortable with it. Despite what others may think, she's quite flexible. One leg was under her, letting herself balance on it, while her other makes an inverted 'V' shape, her knee close to her chest. Her wrists are bound with magical cuffs that strip her down to normal that of a normal vampire—she created them, so she knows how they work. 

The poor wolf gets within an inch of her grandson before the syringe is taken from his grasp and his body is on the floor twenty feet away, slowly healing from three broken ribs and a bruised spine. Athena rests comfortably in front of Ace, her body shielding him from the people in front of them. Athena eyes Violet who looks unphased and tosses the syringe effortlessly into the wall, the glass shattering easily. 

Akemi tilts his head toward the wolf, clicking his tongue. "I told you," he said with a ghost of a smirk on his face. Athena can't really see him since the young man has taken with sticking to the shadows. At least, he looks young. In reality, he's probably sixty years old by now. The rings that sit snugly on Akemi and Violet's ring fingers are also Athena's creation—another sign Athena has met them before.

The wolf growls and limps out of the room.

"Leave us," Violet commands to the rest in the room. A vampire sneers at Athena before disappearing and a witch mutters something under their breath before walking out. "You've lost your memories again," the woman says as she lets loose, shoulders dropping. She's comfortable around Athena causing the redhead to tilt her head in a confused manner. 

"You know about my memories?" Athena asks as Akemi brushes past her and kneels down beside Ace. The Heretic watches him carefully as the shadow witch brushes her grandson's hair out of his face and strokes his cheek almost lovingly. "You know me." It's a statement. Not a question.

"Yes," Violet answers anyway and sits across from Athena crisscrossed. "You're Athena Mikaelson—well, in this case Salvatore. We met a couple of times, but you helped create The Vultures," the woman continues, smiling as memories flood through her mind. 

Athena hums, "makes sense since you're wearing one of very few of my immortality rings. You two must've been very important to me, more important than my brothers." She had never given an immortality ring to Damon or Stefan. They didn't know about the things she did, and nobody really knew her as Athena Salvatore. When she was with the Mikaelson's, her and Luna would always use that namesake. It kept the people they loved safe. Athena also never felt the need for reasons she was slowly beginning to understand.

"Akemi and I are still your grandson's soulmates. You still believe in those do you not?" The woman smirks. 

Athena chokes on her saliva, spluttering hilariously—amusing Akemi and Violet—as she tries to process the information. Of course, she believed in soulmates. She's met some descendants of the seven original packs all of which have mates. She has even met the witch who created the soulmate spell to find their soulmate. Athena had tried it once, it didn't work which either meant they had died, weren't born (which was possible since it was around 1903 and she was a vampire), or she didn't have one. Not everyone had a soulmate, and it was quite a common occurrence (especially in humans). 

"I'm sorry—" Athena coughs one more time, hitting her clenched fist to her chest "—both of you?" She said, looking between the elemental witches. Violet smiles, amused, and nodded. "B-But... how old are you?"

"Don't play that card miss dating-a-seventeen-year-old," Violet said, pointing at the woman. Athena purses her lips and then makes a face as if saying 'you're right'. "But I get it, we met him when he was young... fourteen I think?" 

"Mhm," Akemi hums, not taking his eyes off of Ace who was slowly stirring. 

"We told him about us, but to keep him safe, he had to stay with Marcel, and we couldn't be around him. If you have to, think of it as Marcel and Rebekah's relationship," Violet says, smirking at the redhead who eyed the brunette in front of her with a deadly look. The witch cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably. "Anyway—"

"What the fuck!" Ace yelped, jolting up and crashing into Athena's back. The poor Heretic flinched—as did Akemi and Violet—and yelped as she was thrown forward. 

The redhead just laid on the floor for a moment, sighing heavily as Akemi cackled, his laugh addicting and infectious. It made the other three want to smile and laugh with him. 

"Why—who the fuck—WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Ace said as Athena slowly sat up, only to almost hurt her nose when she realized her grandson had gotten much closer and pressed his body against hers. 

"Bloody hell, my little prince," Athena muttered, grasping the back of his neck gently and moving him away, "relax. They aren't going to hurt us... or at least you." She lets him go and flips onto her feet using one hand. Her bones pop and crack nicely and she sighs. 

"Me? Wha—I don't even know who they are!" Ace yelped, scrambling up. "All I remember is getting hit with something and then—BLACK! It was black! Nothing, nada—" Athena put a hand over the shrieking boy's mouth, a headache already beginning to form behind her eyes. 

"I know, mi amor," she says, "I was there." Ace frowned and slumped a bit. Athena took her hand away and ruffled his hair. "Now, can we talk more about my memories and this soulmate business?" 

"The WHAT business?!"

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"CLAIRE LEFT AFTER dropping you off. She told us to watch over you while she went to finish some business," Akemi told Athena as the two watched Violet and Ace. The eighteen-year-old was sitting on the ground while the witch stood behind him. Ace had his eyes closed, posture relaxed as Violet ran her fingers through his hair and muttered a series of Latin words. 

"I don't understand what she could want with me," Athena said, tilting her head as a faint green glow appeared around Violet's hands and seeped into Ace's skull, green flooding through his veins. 

"You will," Akemi murmured. Athena nodded. Violet stopped after another moment of muttering and opened her eyes. Ace's eyes snapped open, a new glint in his eyes. Violet smiled and stepped back as the boy jumped up with a newfound excitement. 

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed, "I—I remember!" He spun around and faced Violet, "and you are just as fucking beautiful as I remember!" Violet giggled, a soft blush covering her face. He turned towards Akemi, "and—and you... you're really handsome." 

Athena face-palmed, internally cringing at her grandson's gay panic. Akemi just chuckled and kissed his cheek causing Ace to blush and quickly change the topic of the conversation while attempting to climb a tree. 

"It's Nona's turn now, right?" Ace asked as he pulled himself up onto a branch and glanced down at the three who were standing on the dirt and watching him closely—Violet and Akemi with slight worry and Athena with amusement. 

"Well, yes," Violet said, "but I can't use the same spell that I did on you." The Heretic raised an eyebrow. "The spell that was placed on you was from your mother. It's a tricky spell, one that you have wrote a counter spell for. Luckily, I have said spell book with the spell," the brunette smiled. 

"And how did you acquire that?" Athena asked. All of her spell books were incredibly hard to obtain if you weren't her. 

Violet snapped her fingers and the book appeared in her hands, "before you lost your memories the second time, you shipped it off to Akemi and I. We were in Ireland at the time. You sent a message with it—'the Dark One shall rise again'. We made the connection from there." 

Athena hummed and nodded; it sounds like something she'd do. "How does it work?" She asked, not being able to remember the spell. 

Violet smirked, "we're going inside your head... Nona." 

Athena suddenly doesn't want her memories back.

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CAROLINE WALKS INTO the Mystic Grill, annoyed out of her mind. Her girlfriend wasn't picking up and neither was Elena or Bonnie. She was extremely confused; Athena hadn't seen her and Matt last night... right? 

She sees Jeremy and heads over to him, "Hey, Jeremy. Where is Elena? I have been texting her and Bonnie all day about Duke's party," she said, stopping in front of him. 

Jeremy glances around, "uh, she went somewhere with Stefan," he recalls. 

Caroline sighed, annoyed, "I am so not going to be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new partner," she said, leaning against the table. 

Jeremy raises an eyebrow at the "partner" part of her sentence but doesn't comment on it, smiling, "who is Duke?" 

Caroline shrugged a bit, "some guy that graduated a couple years ago. And he throws a party every time he comes home from Duke."

Jeremy now looks confused, "wait, Duke goes to Duke?"  

Caroline scrunched her nose, "his real name is Bob or something—" Jeremy laughed "—He's a total ass. But he buys the beer." She then tilts her head, "maybe you should come?" 

"Uh, yeah. I—I don't think so..."

Caroline gave him a look, "no, seriously. Everyone goes. Even quiet loner little brothers," she mocks teasingly, ruffling his hair a bit. They hadn't really talked in a while. Not since a couple of days before summer ended. Athena was the one who brought them closer together and since school started, everything has been so hectic. "And hey, you can hang out with your sisters cool, super popular, pretty best friend who is like the older sister you never wanted," she smirked. 

"Hm," Jeremy shook his head slightly, "you want to be seen with me?" He raised an eyebrow, "the queen-bee?" 

Caroline sighs, "I don't care for that stuff much anymore. I'm trying to be better, Jer... really." Jeremy knows that; he's seen it the past couple months. Caroline squeezes his hand gently, "think about it? Please? I want you to be... okay again even though I know it's going to take a lot more than one party." 

Jeremy glanced at their hands, playing with Caroline's fingers absent mindedly. This was the Caroline he liked to talk and hang out with. The one who ran her fingers through his hair while he rested his head on her lap, the one who cooked him dinner and made sure he and Elena ate, the one who Athena was slowly coaxing out. The one that was vulnerable. 

"Okay... I'll think about it," Jeremy relented and Caroline beamed and clapped her hands. 

"Good! Now, please let me see what you're drawing," she said, one of her hands slowly inching towards the sketchbook. She loved looking through Athena and Jeremy's sketchbooks over summer even when Jeremy's was mostly dark stuff. 

Jeremy smacked her hand lightly, "ah-ah! It's not finished!" He snatched the book away from her grasp and she pouted. "You'll be the first to see it when it's done," he promised. She held up her pinky, narrowing her eyes at him. Usually, the only people to see his sketchbook was Caroline and Athena (and that rare occasion where he had shown Jenna), but she wanted to make sure. 

The youngest Gilbert glanced around before sighing and wrapping his pinky around hers. They kissed their thumbs, flipped their hands upside down and made a heart before putting down all their fingers beside their middle digits and flicking the bird at each other. 

They broke into a fit of giggles. 

"Wow, Forbes, you really are a slut," said a voice from behind Caroline. The two stopped and turned to look at Tyler who was looking at the pool table, plotting his next move. 

"What?" Caroline asked, staring at him incredulously and with hurt. Her voice wavered slightly, her throat tightening. 

"What?" Tyler echoed, leaning over the table and sinking the solid red ball into the bottom right pocket. "Am I wrong? First, we hang out, we make-out a couple of times, and then you leave me for Matt, leading me on—" Caroline winced a little at that. Freshman year was weird for her "—then you and Matt start dating, then you suddenly have a sexuality and identity crisis?—"

"Tyler, you better shut the fuck up—"

He continues on, ignoring Jeremy's warning as the three gain more and more attention from the scene Tyler is causing, "and then you sleep with Damon Salvatore then jump right into Athena Salvatore's pants. And now you're probably fucking little Gilbert because you're a sl—"

Jeremy shoots out of his seat, the chair skidding across the floor and clattering to the ground. He tackles Tyler to the ground, throwing punch after punch at the football players face. 

Caroline watched, wide-eyed and in shock as the two wrestled. Jeremy was winning, driven by pure rage and the urge to protect Caroline. Tyler was barely able to fight back, the blows coming faster than he could block. 

Some people were recording while others were chanting for either Tyler or Jeremy to win. 

"Jer—" Caroline noticed Tyler slowing down, "Jeremy! You're gonna kill him! Stop!" She shouted, snapping out of her shock. 

Leonardo came out of nowhere, grabbing Jeremy and pulling him off with Ryker's help. Jeremy struggled against them, trying to get at Tyler again but the two seniors held him back. Matt was helping Tyler along with one of the Lockwood's football buddies. 

Tyler's face was incredibly bloody. His nose was gushing, his lip was busted, and one of his eyes were swollen. He wasn't very recognizable at the moment. 

"What the fuck Gilbert?" Matt demanded, glaring at the boy. 

"Shut up, Donovan!" Jeremy snarled. He shoved the two boys off and stalked closer to the blonde, using the inch height difference to intimidate him, "he fucking deserved it. That will be you next time if you think about getting anywhere close to Caroline or speak a word to her, you understand?" He said, his voice low and nothing less than a threat. 

He spun on his heel, fixing his beanie and grabbing his things. He tugged Caroline out of the Grill, despite the ache in his hand, and walked her over to her car. 

"Let's go somewhere. I know a place," he said. 

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"DO EITHER OF you have a phone?" Athena asked Akemi and Violet as she sets her folded clothes off to the side. She and Violet were dressed in black jeans and a black sports bra while Akemi and Ace were dressed in black sweats and a black tank top.

"No, we left them back at the cells so we couldn't be tracked. Its disguising are smells," Akemi replied and tilted his head, "why?" 

"I need to get in touch with either my brothers or Caroline. Tell them I'm okay so they don't bloody worry all night," she sighed. It was almost pitch-black outside, the wind blowing gently through the trees. 

"We're half-way around the world, it's probably sometime during the day over there," Violet said as she took Athena's hand and sliced her palm, letting the blood drip down onto the book. 

It seeps in as Athena's wound heals. They all connect hands. "Wonderful. I'm gonna be one dead vampire when I get back," she said before the four fell into a sleep. 

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DREAMREALM—ATHENA'S MIND
ATHENA JERKS AWAKE first, a little disoriented. She glances down at herself, gaping at the clothes she was wearing. Instead of her jeans and bra, she was now dressed in black leather trousers, black boots with a black boot top, a black tunic and a leather tunic vest—all of which fit her quite snugly. The lining and seams were all a dark red color. The buckles were a gold. She also felt a weight on her head and plucked it off her head, revealing a golden crown with red rubies. She was rocking the outfit.

Ace woke up next, groaning. He was dressed in navy blue leather pants, black boots with a black boot top, and a dark blue leather tunic with silver buckles. He had a gold prince crown upon his head, matting his messy black hair. It was much messier than before and seemed to have grown. 

Akemi woke the next. He was dressed differently than Athena and Ace. He looked like an archer instead of royalty. He was dressed in black leather pants and jacket, her had a thick black belt with gold buckles, black leather gloves, a baldric was strapped to him (which Athena realized both her and Ace had that as well), and tall leather boots. His hair was slicked back with what looked like gel to keep it out of his face. 

And finally, Violet awoke. She was dressed differently than all three of them. She had on a black long-sleeve tunic, tall black leather boots, a fitted leather black vest with a thick brown belt, two black cuffs that went to her elbows, and leather pants. She also had two knives strapped to the belt.

Athena set her crown back on top of her head as the four stood up. 

"What the hell is this place?" Ace asked, glancing around as he dusted himself off.

Violet takes his hand after a moment, looking over at the castle that's miles away from where they were at the moment on top of a hill, "she doesn't call you her little prince for nothing, babe." 

"But—what the hell, why are we dressed like this and not the clothes we were wearing?"

"Because it's my head. It's a place of imagination," Athena said, "and my imagination brings us to the medieval world, darling. Hence the outfits." She looked down at herself again, smirking, "damn, I look good in leather." 

Akemi rolled his eyes, Ace made a disgusted face, and Violet ignored her. 

There was a noise behind Akemi and the four were quickly on alert, a sword appearing in Athena's hand as she vamped in front of the witch. A fox comes walking out on his hind legs, dressed in a black tunic. He freezes, his blue eyes widening as his jaw falls open. 

It's silent for a moment as the four stares at the fox in complete shock before— "AHHHHH!" 

The Heretic and shadow witch flinch while the Hybrid and life witch startle. The fox stops screaming after a moment and clears his throat, holding a paw in front of his snout.

"Pardon that—"

"OH, MY FUCKING GOD IT TALKS!" Violet yelled. 

The fox gives her a weird look, "well, of course I talk, Ms. Browne. I'm Sir William, the queen's right hand." He then glances at the sword that is still pointed at him and near his neck, "mind putting down the sword, my lord?" 

"Oh, uh, right," Athena awkwardly lowers the sword and it disappears, unfortunately not letting her get a good look at it. 

"Okay, Swiper, tell us what is going on here," Akemi said, crossing his arms as he stood beside Athena, both of them blocking anyway the fox could get to Ace or Violet. 

Sir William's brows furrow, "Swiper?"

"It's from a TV show," Ace replied. 

The fox looks even more confused, "what's a TV show?" 

"Oh, bloody hell," Violet muttered before slapping a hand over her mouth, "what the—"

Ignoring her, Athena regards the fox, "Sir William, can you tell us where we can go to get to the memory chamber?" She asked. 

Sir William frowns, "I would, my liege, but your castle has been overthrown. That's why you and the prince—" He nods towards Ace "—have recruited Lord Akemi, or better known as the Death Archer, and Milady Violet, or her alias, Man Slayer." 

Violet smirks, "I like the sound of that." 

Ace glances at her, before looking toward William, "who overthrew the castle?" 

"Lady Valkwood... The Lady of Death as some call her. She's the henchwoman to the Three Big T's," Sir William explained. 

"Three Big T's?" Violet asked, her brows furrowed. 

Music and laughter came from the right of them, further in the woods. Sir William grinned and began to walk towards the sound, "well, come on!" He said, beckoning the four to follow him. 

They shared a look before following the fox.

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CAROLINE WAS TALKING with some friends, giggling at a joke Braxton made. "Hey, Forbes, where is your girlfriend?" Celeste, a friend of Ryker's asked. 

"Um, she's busy tonight," Caroline replied and automatically checked her phone, frowning when she saw she only had notifications from Facebook and Twitter. She had no messages from her girlfriend which both worried and hurt her. Athena had promised not to do something like this again. 

"Hey, is that Gilbert with his girlfriend?" Leonardo asked, nudging his head in the direction behind Caroline. She turned around, seeing Jeremy wrap his arm around a familiar girl and walking further into the woods. She remembered vampires, but Stefan and Damon were at the tomb with Elena, Bonnie, and Sheila... "He went nuts on Lockwood earlier. Who knew he could deliver a beating like that?" 

"Athena trained him in self-defense when Tyler started picking fights," Caroline said offhandedly, "uhm, I'll see you guys in a little bit." She followed after Jeremy and the girl, a pit in her stomach. 

She stayed away, hidden in the shadows. She was about to walk away when she saw them beginning to kiss but Jeremy said something that set her off. 

"Anna, your face!"

"It's nothing," Anna said. 

"Jeremy!" Caroline said, rushing over, grabbing a broken branch and grabbing the Gilbert after seeing a figure move in one of the trees. Anna spun around to face her. 

"Caroline, what—"

"Jeremy, I'm gonna need you to just trust me, okay?" Caroline interrupted, holding the stick in a tight grip as she held his hand even tighter. 

"Okay..." He whispered. 

"I—I wasn't going to hurt him," Anna said, glancing back at Jeremy before looking back at Caroline, "Athena would've killed me if I touched him." 

"I... You're Anna, Pearl's daughter, right?" Caroline asked and Anna nodded, looking confused, "I read about you in Athena's journals. You guys would pick flowers together in the field she showed you when you needed to get away. She trusted you and if she trusts you enough to let you near him now... Then I trust you, but I swear, Athena will not be the one killing you if you hurt him." 

Anna bowed her head a bit, "I'm leaving, right after I get my mother." 

Jeremy looked away. Caroline nodded slowly, "okay—"

"Ben, no!" Anna said as the vampire sped towards the two and hit them both over the head quite hard. Anna caught Caroline before she hit the ground too hard. "You shouldn't have fucking done that! And you didn't have to hit them so hard," she scolded. 

"Yes, I did," Ben said and she glanced away.

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"DARK DOWN THERE?" Ben asked Stefan who was grabbing the gasoline. 

Stefan stood up straight, noticing Caroline and Jeremy at the young vampire's feet. "I thought I told you to leave," the youngest Salvatore said. Where was Athena when you needed her?

"I considered it. Then I thought, screw you."

"Hey, Hero Hair. I'm going down there to get my mother," Anna said, appearing near the entrance of the tomb. 

"I can't let you do that," Stefan said, taking a few steps toward her. 

"Well, Ben's about to make a main course out of Elena's little brother," Stefan turned around quickly, seeing Ben holding Jeremy and hunched over, ready to sink his fangs into his neck, "so you can stop me or him. Your choice." She disappeared. 

Ben let Jeremy drop to the ground. "Do you really think she cares about you?" Stefan asked and Ben cocked an eyebrow, looking unphased. "Hmm? You're disposable," he taunted. 

"I don't care. She already gave me what I want," Ben said. 

"You're going to say 'eternal life'? You're really that stupid?" 

"Y'know, I've heard about you. You don't feed. You're not strong enough to defeat me," he said, getting ready to vamp at Stefan. 

"And you're not smart enough to check how hard you actually hit, bozo," Caroline said from behind him, shoving a stick she found through his chest. Ben cried out, crumbling to the ground. Caroline smirked, flicking her hair over her shoulder as Hayley ripped the stick out of his back. 

"And you're 'eternal life' seems is about to be cut short, vampy," the werewolf sneered, thrusting the piece of wood down into the vampires heart. 

Ben grayed out and Stefan stared at them, impressed as he grabbed the flame thrower. 

The brunette glanced at Stefan, "Hayley," she introduced. 

"Stefan," he smiled, clicking it on and lighting Ben's body on fire. Hayley stepped back as Caroline rushed over to Jeremy, adrenaline still coursing through her body. "How—"

"I followed Anna and Jeremy into the woods," Caroline explained, "saw Hayley in the trees watching, figured out Anna was Pearl's daughter, got in between them, and then Ben hitting like a weak little baby." She felt the back of Jeremy's head, making sure he wasn't bleeding. 

"Watching?" 

"She has a voyeurism kink," Caroline said, standing up and dusting her knees off. Hayley flushed and snapped her head towards Caroline. 

"I do not!" She argued, "if anything you have an exhibitionist kink." 

Caroline flicked her off before they heard Elena scream. Hayley grabbed Jeremy as Caroline and Stefan sprinted into the tomb. Hayley followed after a moment, setting Jeremy down gently against the wall. 

"Jeremy? What the hell happened?" Bonnie demanded, looking between Caroline, Hayley, and Stefan, "and who the hell are you?" 

"Hayley," the brunette supplied as Caroline looked around. 

"Where's Elena?" Stefan asked. 

"Damon took her inside," Sheila said. 

"What?" Caroline gasped, "with the other vampires?!" Bonnie nodded. 

Stefan was about to go in but Sheila grabbed his arm, "no."

"Elena is in there—"

"If you go in there, you won't be able to come out," Sheila warned. Caroline stared at her then looked at Bonnie. 

"You never dropped the seal..." 

"Vampires can enter, but they can't leave," Sheila said. 

"Damon..." Caroline breathed. Without thinking, she sprinted into the tomb. 

"CAROLINE!" Hayley, Bonnie, and Stefan yelled, the vampire and werewolf trying to follow her. 

Sheila made them both freeze, "I told you not to. Both of you will not be able to return." 

Hayley glanced at the witch, eyes glowing yellow in anger, "I don't care," she said before running in after Caroline. Stefan quickly followed after her, Stefan followed Hayley who was following Caroline's scent. 

"LET HER GO!" Caroline yelled just as the two got to where Anna was holding Elena. 

Hayley yanked the vampire off of Elena, throwing her against the wall while Stefan grabbed his girlfriend. Hayley pulled Elena and Caroline away from the three vampires, "go, go! We're right behind you!" She pushed them in the direction of the door. The two sprinted.

"Anna," Pearl breathed. 

Elena and Caroline got out of the tomb, panting. "Hayley and Stefan..." Bonnie breathed. 

"He's right behind me," Elena gulped.

There was a sound behind them. Caroline and Elena turned finding Stefan and Hayley standing at the entrance, not stepping over the threshold. 

"Stefan, what are you doing?" Elena asked. 

Caroline felt tears well up in her eyes, "Hayley," she whimpered, stepping closer and trying to reach out to her. 

"No," Hayley said softly, grasping her hand when it crossed the threshold, "stay out there. Don't come back in."

"It's gonna be okay. We'll fix it," Bonnie reassured. 

"What is it?!" Elena demanded.

"We... We can't," Stefan whispered, "we can't..." 

"Can't?" 

"The spell is still up. They can't get out. Yet," Bonnie explained. 

"Why the fuck did you follow me?!" Caroline asked, shoving Hayley harshly and hitting Stefan. He winced, rubbing his arm as Hayley uses the wall to regain her footing. "You two knew you couldn't get out!" 

Elena spun around, "you knew you couldn't get out?" Stefan stared at her with pain in his eyes, "oh, my God."

"I heard you scream," Stefan whispers. 

"I'm protecting you, Caroline. I'm doing it for Athena," the werewolf said. 

Caroline opened her mouth to make a snarky comment, but Hayley beat her too it. 

"We both care about you—I care about you and I couldn't let you get hurt, okay?" Hayley asked. 

Caroline nodded, "but I care about you and now you're stuck because of me—"

"Just shut up," Hayley interrupted with a small smirk. 

Sheila interrupted the two conversations, "we won't be able to hold the seal for long... you'll have to hurry," she said. 

Hayley and Stefan nodded. "I can find him," Hayley said, grabbing Stefan's arm and pulling him further into the tomb. 

Elena ran a hand through her hair while Caroline began to pace. "Who even is that? Damon mentioned something about it yesterday," Elena said. 

"Athena and my... friend," Caroline said distractedly. 

"Mm, Care—" 

"Jer!" Caroline rushed over as the boy began to wake up a bit, "good, you're okay." 

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Elena demanded and Jeremy winced a bit. 

Caroline ignored her, "shh, just close your eyes. You're safe now, okay?" Jeremy nodded and closed his eyes, falling back asleep a second later. "Anna," is the only explanation she gave Elena as the two witches began chanting. 

Anna came out with her mother on her arm. "I just wanted my mother back," she said before leaving the tomb. 

The Bennett witches struggle to hold up the spell so Elena runs back into the tomb. Caroline's anxiety increases as the flames slowly go out. 

Then, the four come out. 

"Hayley," Caroline gasped, running into the werewolf's arms and hugging her tight. Hayley hugged her back, relaxing into her arms. Caroline pulled back and gripped Hayley's jacket, "I will kill you myself and then have Athena resurrect just so I can kill you again if you ever do that again."

Hayley breathed out a laugh, "noted, Princess." 

Caroline stared at her for a moment before yanking her jacket and crashing their lips together. It was impulsive and extremely stupid. Hayley kissed her back for only a moment before the two pulled away and just stared at each other. 

Then Caroline registered what she did, and she pulled away. She looked away and saw Damon looking defeated, "Day," she said, exiting the tomb with Elena close behind. Stefan stares at Hayley who doesn't meet his eyes and picks up Jeremy, heading out of the tomb. 

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

CAROLINE WAS SITTING in Jeremy's room. The boy was searching up vampires and she decided to let him look. She'll go talk to Luna and Athena (if she shows up) tomorrow and figure out what to do. 

A piece of paper floated down, appearing out of nowhere and she grabbed it. 

I'm okay
- A <3

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly. 

Then she remembered what she did. She shakes her head, Athena was okay. One thing at a time.

One thing at a time.

AN: It's been a long time... but I'm here, giving you guys this! Sorry, for the wait. I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think. I love reading your guys' comments! 

Edited:
Word Count: 5836
Finished: 4/10/22