Ashley walks back to the Salvatore house to get her car and start her journey. When she gets there she sees Damon leaning on her car.
She rolls her eyes, "What do you want?"
"Oh you know just thought I'd tag along," He smirks, "Road trips are always fun with company don't you think?"
She sighs shaking her head, "At least you are better company than your brooding brother,"
He smiles doing his eye thing, "See I knew you liked me,"
She laughs slightly, "One more thing before we go." He stops before he opens the car door and turns to her, "You see my species of vampire, we have some sort of toxin in our fangs. When we bite a human to feed on them the toxin makes the experience euphoric for them. It's addictive so much so that we don't have to compel some of them, "
"OK neat but why are you telling me this?"
She vamp speeds toward him and lifts him by the neck. He tries to free himself but finds that she's much stronger than him.
"Here's the twist though," She continues, "It has the opposite effect on when we bite one of you. The toxin makes it feel like you have acid flowing through your veins. it's not fatal it only lasts for a week, a week of agonizing pain that increases the more blood you drink that week, add to the fact that as a side effect your thirst increases." She sees the worried look in his eye, "That's why I told you to be glad Lexi didn't bite you." She tightens her grip and glares at him, "So here's my warning. Stay away from Caroline, do I make myself clear?"
"CrYsTal," He chokes out.
She drops him, "Good, now we can begin our trip," She walks over to the driver's side and gets in, putting the keys in the ignition. After composing himself, Damon takes the passenger seat. Ashley starts the car and drives off.
~~=>~~
Elena is driving her car and sees a man in the middle of the road. She slams on her brakes but hits the man. Her car rolls over and over. She is stuck in her seat. The man somehow recovers and starts walking towards her car. Elena screams. The man pauses before running away. A second later, Damon appears startling her.
Elena screams, "AH!"
"How ya doing in there?" Damon asks.
"Damon?"
"I smell blood. Is she ok?" Ashley asks.
"Don't know yet," Damon answered. He looks up at Elena's seat, "You look stuck,"
"It's my seat belt." She starts pulling on it in panic, "I can't get it,"
"Shh Shh Shh. Let me get you out of there. I want you to put your hands on the roof." She does as told, "Just like that. You ready?" She nods, "1, 2, 3." Damon ejects her seat belt. "I got you." He picks up Elena. "Are you okay? Can you stand? Is anything broken?"
She shakes her head no. He puts her down gently but she can barely stand. Damon catches her before she falls to the ground.
"Whoa, you're fading fast, Elena. Elena, look at me." He grabs her face. "Focus. Look at me. Okay,"
"I look like her," She manages to say before passing out.
"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag," Ashley says.
Damon picks Elena back up and heads for Ashley's car.
"Um, what are you doing?"
"We're taking her with us,"
"And why praytell should we do that?"
"Because I'm not leaving her now that there's another vampire in town," He opens the back seat and gently lays her down.
Ashley grabs the side of Elena's car and flips it back on its wheels. She pushes the car to the roadside and goes back to hers.
~~=>~~
Alaric's Apartment
Alaric is at his desk typing on his computer: I found one. After years of research and study, there it was right in front of me. I was terrified. As I stared it in the eyes, I drove a stake through its heart. I was right about Mystic Falls. There is evil here. I can sense it. Feel it. It's everywhere.
He gets up and puts on his jacket. He walks back to his desk and looks at a photo of a young woman.
Flashback
Alaric kisses Isobel on the forehead waking her up.
"Nooo. It's not even seven yet," She says sleepily.
"Which means you shouldn't be awake for at least six hours,"
She smiles, "I hate morning people,"
"I'm going to be home late," He tells her.
"I love you,"
"I love you too,"
~~=>~~
In Ashley's car. Elena wakes up.
"Morning," Damon greets.
"Where are we?" She asks looking out the window and seeing tall buildings.
"Queens," Ashley tells her.
"Queens? No, no. No, we're not." She leans forward between the two seats and turns to Damon, "Seriously, Damon. Where are we?"
"Seriously, we're...we're in Queens." He tells her and she leans back, "How ya feeling?"
She looks herself over, "I...I..."
"There's no broken bones. I checked,"
"But my car...there was a man...I hit a man. But then he got up, and...who was that?"
"That's what I would like to know."
She checks her pockets, "Where is my phone? OK. We really need to go back. Nobody knows where I am. Pull over." Ashley ignores her, "I mean it, Ashley. Pull over! Stop the car!"
"Oh for fucks sake!" Ashley exclaimed parking the car on a parking spot. She turns and glares at Damon who quickly exits after Elena.
She limps weakly and Damon rushes over to her to help her.
He crouches down by her for support, "Hey,"
She looks at him strangely, "I'm fine. We have to go back."
"Oh come on. Look. We've already come this far..."
"Plus I'm not turning around. If you want to go back you're gonna have to walk back," Ashley says getting out and leaning on her car.
"Why are you two doing this? I can't be in Queens. I wrecked my car. I have to go home. This is kidnapping,"
"That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?" Damon says.
Ashley rolls her eyes, "A little is an understatement,"
"You're not funny. You can't do this. I'm not going to Queens,"
"Didn't you hear anything we said? We already ARE in Queens," Ashley affirms.
"That and without your magical necklace, might I add," Damon adds. Elena touches her neck, "I can very easily make you...agreeable,"
"What are you trying to prove?" She asks looking between them. The ringing of a phone interrupts them, "That's my phone,"
Damon takes it out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID, "It's your boyfriend," He holds it out to her but she doesn't take it. He answers, "Elena's phone...!"
"Where is she? Why do you have her phone? Is she okay?" Stefan asks frantic.
"Elena? She's right here. And, yes," He pauses to look at her up and down, "She's fine,"
Ashley shakes her head, "Creep," She comments. He turns to her with a hand on his chest fake hurt making her laugh. Elena rolls her eyes at their antics.
"Where are you? Let me speak to her," Stefan requests.
Damon holds the phone to Elena again, "He wants to talk to you,"
She shakes her head, "Uh-uh,"
He puts it back to his ear, "Yeah. I don't...I don't really think she wants to talk to you right now,"
"Damon, I swear to god if you touch her--,"
Damon cuts him off smirking, "You have a good day. Mm-hmm. Bye-now," And hangs up.
Ashley feels her phone buzz in her pocket. She takes it out and sees a message from Jules. 'Of course, they know I'm here already'
Jule: why did you bring the doppelganger with you?
Ashley: Because the Salvatore
Brothers think she'll break apart
If she leaves one of their sights.
She looks up at the building from across the street to see one of the enforcers under Jules looking down on them.
As she looks away she locks eyes with a guy crossing the street. He smiles at her flirtatiously and she smiles back. Taking that as a sign he approaches her which catches Damon and Elena's attention.
She compels the guy before he can even say a word, "Don't talk and follow me,"
"What are you doing?" Damon asks looking around at the people going about their day.
Ashley shrugs, "Getting myself a warm drink," She walks towards an alley followed by the guy, Damon, and Elena.
"You're doing this out here in the daylight?" Damon asks.
"All people are going to assume is 2 lovers making out in an alley and they'll move on. It's suspicious only if you make it suspicious." Ashley tells him.
She turns to the guy and he's staring at her in fear. "Aww, don't be scared. This'll be over before you know it," She pushes him against the wall and goes for the neck. The guy groans grabbing her waist and pulling her into him. When she was done she compelled him to forget and sent him away.
"God I missed the taste of warm fresh blood," Ashley says as they walk out of the alley.
"Then why drink from blood bags?" Damon inquires.
"Because Mystic Falls has a vampire hunting council while New York is the vampire capital," She tells them. 'Well not just vampires but I'll just leave them with that'
"Wait what!" Elena exclaims just as shocked as Damon.
Ashley chuckles, "There's a lot you don't know about this place. For instance, our presence was noticed the moment we passed the George Washington Bridge," She looks up at the building from before, Damon and Elena follow her gaze, and waves. The guy waves back.
"He's one of the enforcers," She informs them.
"What do they enforce?" Damon asks now looking around slightly paranoid.
"They make sure no one breaks the rules. So make sure you behave while we're here, Damon," She gets back in the car.
~~=>~~
Stefan sees Bonnie and goes over to her.
"Bonnie," He calls out.
"Stefan..." She responds and keeps walking.
"Hey,"
"Hi,"
"I haven't seen you lately. How are you doing with everything?" He asks.
"I'm fine. It's all fine,"
"Good. Yeah,"
"Are you back in school?" Bonnie asks.
"No. Actually, I came here to find you." He tells her, "I was hoping you could help me with something. A spell,"
That stops her in her tracks. She turns to him, "Stefan, look, I know Elena's okay with all of this, and I appreciate what you did to help me. But I'm not really ready to dive into it with you just yet,"
"I understand that. But I need your help. It's Elena. She's with Damon." With a sigh, she agrees to help. They sit down at a table outside, "I have Elena's necklace. I was just hoping you could use this to make some sort of a connection. I just need to know that she's okay,"
"How do you know I can do this?" She asks.
"Because I've known a few witches over the years. I've seen what they can do,"
"I'm still new at it,"
"It's okay. Give it a shot,"
"Okay. All right," Bonnie takes the necklace and closes her eyes trying to make something happen. But nothing happens.
"There's nothing. Nothing's happening. Usually, there's an image or..." She pauses, "Tell me if anyone's looking,"
"Okay,"
Bonnie picks up a leaf and tries to make it float. It doesn't work.
"What is it?" Stefan asks.
"Something's wrong,"
"With Elena?"
"With me. There's something wrong with me." She grabs her things, "I have to go. I'm sorry, Stefan. I can't help you," Bonnie walks away quickly, while Stefan watches her.
~~=>~~
"So, where's my car?" Elena suddenly asks after quietly processing the info Ashley told them.
"I pulled it off to the side of the road," Ashley answered.
"What about that man in the road? Was he a...?"
"From what we could tell, yeah...," Damon answers.
"You didn't know him?"
"If I've never met him, I wouldn't know him. I mean, it's not like we all hang out together at the Vamp Bar & Grill," Damon says.
Ashley chuckles at the irony as she stops at a literal Vamp Bar & Grill called Olive's Tavern.
"Where are we? You brought me to a bar? I'm not old enough. They're not going to let me in,"
"Sure they will," Damon says.
"Plus no one's forcing you to go in with us. You can stay in the car like a good little girl while the adults handle business," Ashley tells her. Damon laughs walking after her. Elena grumbles before following them.
A woman with snow-white hair and blue eyes looks up when the 3 enter. A smile forms on her face as she puts down the glass she is cleaning and walks around the counter.
"if it isn't Ashley Hale," She pulls her into a hug. Ashley returns it.
"Marianne, it's so good to see you," Ashely tells her as she steps back.
"Did you get homesick? Because I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon,"
The 4 of them walk over to a table and sit.
"Well, certain complications brought me back with company as you can see," She points to Damon, "That Damon Salvatore,"
"I've heard of him," Marianne says, "He's the impulsive, reckless brother,"
"I'm the handsome brother," Damon corrects with a smirk.
Marianne nods, "Adding narcissistic to the list," Ashley and Elena chuckle at Damon's offended face.
Ashley then points to Elena, "And she's Elena Gilbert,"
"Nice to meet you," Elena says offering her hand.
Marianne shakes it, "Likewise," She turns to Ashley, "Is she the one?"
Damon and Elena look at Ashley confused.
Ashley shakes her head, "Nope. She's dating his brother,"
"Let's see it then?" Marianne asks.
"Seriously?"
"I wanna see if I was right,"
Ashley sighed and rolled up the sleeve of her left hand showing her a mark on her wrist. Marianne saw the Mark that looked like a faded birthmark when Ashley left for Mystic Falls now looked like it was freshly inked.
"Happy?" Ashley asked pilling down her sleeve.
Marianne smiled at her brightly, "Very much,"
"You two seem very close," Elena asks looking between the two.
"That's because I've known this one since she was a little girl," Ashley tells them.
"My family has been with her kind for 600 years now," Marianne adds.
"So you're a witch," Damon asks.
Ashley chuckles, "No, She's a Druid,"
"What's the difference?" Elena asks.
"Witch's have their spells while we have our Runes and herbs,"
A group of 5 enters the tavern. Them being Bella, Jack, Jules, and her two guys under her. (imagine the twins from Teen Wolf)
~~=>~~
Jeremy is at the library, looking for a book. Suddenly, some books fall down in front of him. A girl appears from the other side of the bookshelf.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry. There was this one book wedged between the other, and so I pulled and then kaplunk, kaboom." She says gesturing with her hands, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine,"
They both kneel down to pick up the books at the same time and knock into each other's heads.
She grabs her head, "I'm Anna,"
Jeremy rubs his head and laughs, "I'm Jeremy,"
~~=>~~
Ashley, Damon, and Bella are at the bar. The twins, Jack, and Jules are sat at a table not far away. While Elena is outside on the phone with Jenna. Marianne places a bottle of bourbon and two glasses on the counter. She goes to attend to the customers that arrive.
"Come on, there's gotta be another way," Ashley says pouring herself and Damon a drink.
"There's only one way with three steps: Comet. Crystal. Spell," Bella informs them.
"There's a little problem with number two," Damon says.
"Yeah, the crustal was destroyed,"
"That's it then. There's no other way,"
"What about a new spell with a new crystal that overrides Emily's spell?" Damon asks.
Bella shakes her head, "It doesn't work like that. Only the witch who cast the spell can make a new one,"
Damon gets up frustrated and decides to listen in on Elena. Her phone rings. She answers it.
"Elena, is that you?" Stefan asks.
"I'm here,"
"Where are you?"
"You lied to me,"
"Not until I explain, please,"
"So, you didn't lie?" Elena asks.
"Just tell me where you are, so that I can come get you,"
"How am I connected to Katherine, Stefan?"
"I honestly don't know,"
"And I'm supposed to believe that?"
"It's the truth. I-- Listen..."
She hangs up on him. She turns around and Damon is standing behind her.
"You okay?" He asks.
"Don't pretend to care. I know you're gloating inside,"
Inside, Marianne puts down a silencing rune stone.
"So she's the doppelganger?" Jules asks.
"Yep,"
"She's got the looks but she is no Kathrine," Bella comments.
"Any word on Klaus or Elijah?" Ashley asks.
"Nothing on Klaus yet but Elijah has been spotted in LA." One of the twins answers.
"Why can't we use a locator spell again?" Jack asks.
"Because Klaus cloaked all of them when he ran," Bella reminds him, "So it's pointless to even try,"
"Well, his 500 years of running are coming to an end," Jules says.
Damon and Elena come back in, joining Ashley at the bar. Damon orders for him and Elema burgers and fries. After a few minutes, the order arrives and they dig in.
"Let's just say that I'm descended from Katherine..." Elena starts, "Does that make me part vampire?"
"Vampires can't procreate," Ashley answers her.
Damon smirks at Elena, "But we love to try," He eats a fry, "No if you were related, it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned,"
"Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?"
"That's creepy to think about," Bella comments.
Damon sees Elena taking out the pickles, "Come on, what? You don't like pickles?" He takes them and puts them on his plate, "What's wrong with you?"
"How can you even eat? If technically you're supposed to be..."
"Dead?" Damon whispers. The others laugh. "It's not such a bad word. As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally,"
"That also applies to us," Ashley adds.
"Right, I forgot that you guys are different species," Elena says.
Marianne brings Damon, Ashley, Jules, and Jack a beer, "Here you go,"
"I'll have one too," Elena says surprising Damon. "Time out, remember? For five minutes? Yeah, well that five minutes is going to need a beer,"
Marianne shrugs and brings her one too.
~~=>~~
Bonnie is walking around the hole that she fell down in trying to find a signal but to no avail. She looks at the stone door with a pentagram and walks closer to it.
Stefan jumps down the hole and she screams. "Bonnie!"
"Get away from me!" She exclaims not knowing who it is.
"It's me, Stefan,"
"Stefan?" She relaxes a little and starts explaining, "The ground gave way, and I fell..."
"It's okay. It's okay. Calm down. Come on, let's get you out of here,"
"How?" She asks.
"Just close your eyes. Trust me," Stefan tells her.
She closes her eyes. Stefan wraps his arms around her firmly and jumps. When they land, he releases her.
"You can open your eyes now,"
She opens her tightly shut eyes and looks around, "Whoa,"
"I didn't want to scare you,"
"How did you know where I was?" she asks.
"Well, your grandmother told me what you were doing. I guessed the where,"
"I heard them...down there...behind the door." She pauses, "Are they in pain?"
"In the beginning...yes. But not anymore. They've starved to the point of desiccation," Stefan informs her.
"But if they have blood..."
Stefan interrupts her, "That's not going to happen, Bonnie. They can't get out. Emily saw to that when she had you destroy the crystal. You're safe,"
~~=>~~
Ashley, Elena, Damon, Marianne, Jules, and Jack are taking shots of liquor.
"Ready... Go!"
They all shoot. Elena downs hers quickly, claps her hands, and does a little dance.
"That's three!" She looks at Damon and pretends to pout. "Aw, do you need a bib?"
"Sorry, I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol."
"Whatever. All right. Who's next? Another round,"
"That's enough drinks for tonight," Ashley says standing up, "We got to head back. I've got a day with Caroline that I don't want to miss,"
She says her goodbyes to everyone and heads for the car. Damon and Elena follow.
"Well, this trip was a bust," Damon says once they're on the road and Elena is passed out in the back.
"Not necessarily. We got what we came for," Ashley tells him.
"what do you mean?"
"It's the thing that Bella said about the witch who created the spell can make a new one. It got me thinking, every spell has a counterspell, right?" Damon nods, "Witches right down all their spells and counterspells in their grimoires. So a we have to do is..."
"Find Emilies Spell book,"
~~~~~====>~~~~~
END OF CHAPTER
Which Vampire do you guys think Caroline should be:
A: TVD Vampire
B: Dracula Untold Vampire