28. Lady In Black.

I then went through the portal room to the newest castle in Italy, and this was left for the pack. There had been quite a lot of changes to everything here, and I was left to explore all the new things when I got there. I was curious to see what had been changed, had removed everything I had gotten done over the years and what had taken their places. I had a lot of my stuff in my houses so I knew they had eradicated me and my influence out of their lives. 

Damon said to my mind, in a voice that did not give me much of a choice, "Mimi, be a good girl and come straight to the medbay, and we'll go through you too. This is not a negotiation. This is for everyone who fights. There's always a check first, then you can search the entire castle."

Fine. I walked calmly into the medbay, and Damon said, " That way, all your clothes here first. You can undress there, no robes, now that we have to see everything."

I had no problem. I had such good camouflage and rage to help that no bite was felt. I took off my clothes and went to bed. My little cover-up worked just fine and soon I would be free to explore. I kept my inner beast under control, but it was not down, not at all. I could feel it in my mind. It gave me the feeling of freedom, no need to control who you are. Just let it be.

Damon acted at lightning speed and put Mimi's shackles on. He has sensed her darkness, lurking so damn near the surface and she was almost addicted to the feeling of freedom that it gave. Well, he would use his telepathy, and drugs to push it down and put in her mind blocks so it would not get out unless he would permit it. 

Mimi gave him a hard look, and Damon said, " Now, lady, first of all, let's get all that rage out of you, all that camo power and all that will. See, we've got a nice pile of crystals and minerals I'm going to put next to you like this. Just let it all soak in; now your feet are in chains, too. We've kept everybody in order so they can get on with it while you, my lady, take a minor holiday again. Yes, I've been watching what you're up to at the club, and oh, you're so careless. Well, we'll fix you up. Don't you worry about that. I will put that darkness under control too and push it farther down and put a few measures so it won't take over so fully. It will be up to me if it comes out. "

Damon watched as the crystals changed color. He pulled a blanket over Mimi and said, "As you can see, those shackles have a little magic in them that reset your willpower, so you can't get those crystals anywhere. Now, you rest there for a moment while we finish setting up, and then we'll start taking blood tests. "

Oh fuck, that pissed me off. I felt my shields falling off and being sucked into the rocks. I felt the pain, the strain, and everything. I was getting tired. My darkness was the only thing that gave me some boost to go on. The pain got to me. And a great deal of annoyance. Half an hour later, Damon came and lifted the blanket off me and put a couple more stones in.

I was covered in bites, lacerations, bruises, wounds. There were partially broken bones, old festering bites, and boils too.

He whistled low and said, looking at me questioningly, " How on earth are you able to act or fight?"

I stared at Damon and said, " Why on earth do you think I keep my rage on display? Or my darkness, as you call it."

Damon nodded and said, "I'm going to take some blood tests, and then we'll see how to get you fixed up from there. I will put that darkness away. You can be sure of that. My little killer. "

I couldn't help but lie in bed in chains. Damon went to the cupboard, gathered all the supplies on a small mobile table, and brought it to the side of the bed. He put the pillow under my arm and momentarily searched the vein.

" It's a little hard to find the vein, baby, but I'll find it.." He muttered as he dug it out roughly. I kept my expression neutral, as I had no choice but to tolerate whatever this would take. 

Then he grunted in satisfaction and, slipped the cannula into my vein, started drawing blood. He did not use normal blood collection but put the cannula in my vein. 

"Sorry, baby, but I'll leave this cannula here for now. Try not to get to upset because those poisons have done a bit of damage, so I'd leave the bigger veins alone unless I need to put something else in there." He said an hour and a half later after he had pulled out a ridiculous pile of blood tubes.

He cleaned up his mess and covered my arms. I didn't mind so much because I was hurting pretty much everywhere, and I tried to be very calm and not show my pain. The pain was getting more and more severe, but I used whatever I had to keep myself as calm as possible, not sure how long I could take it though. 

Damon went to the computer to look at the results and sniffed my blood tube. He said nothing but slight grease between his brows and, the brief twitch in his jaw told me that results weren't very good. After sniffing the blood tube, trying to think of something, he handed it to Mariela, who put the collectors in her teeth and drained something. At the same time, Damon went to the machine to make the stuff, programmed the formula there, and put the stuff in. The machine whirred into life and made whatever it had been programmed to.

He moved next to the computer and started to do stuff. Damon fiddled with the computer for a while longer, and then quite a few doors opened in the medicine cabinet. He picked up needles and syringes, obviously started making a cocktail, and looked at me. He somehow sensed my apprehension about being put under. 

Then he said, " This isn't for you. The boys will be back from the club soon. They took a bit of a hit, so I'll have to operate." 

Fine. no problems then. Soon, the two and five carried the quartet in, and Damon and Mariella got to work. Men groaned and cursed out loud as salvatores helped them onto the bed and took their clothes off. Damon had made four cocktails, and the men were fast asleep.

Mariela then came to hang me the bag she had made, and I was still in chains. I didn't feel like fighting now with my rage, so I let it put up with it. Luckily, my hands were covered, and Mariella hid the rack and bag so they weren't immediately accessible. I was just. I lay in the restraints and let the stuff flow, enduring the pain and every cramp and hiding my discomfort as best I could. My hands were shaking from the pain and distress. I felt quite damn vulnerable and powerless as well. Somehow so drained, not really muster any kind of power to fight this.

I had to need to hide my weakness. Not to show my vulnerability. I focused on that, keeping my breathing steady and calm, keeping my pulse steady, keeping my panic in a bundle. Pushing the pain a little further away, I tried to detach from it and let it go. Not to think about it. I did not know what that stuff was that Mariella had put in my IV. It was not a sedative, not getting in my mind at all and not helping with the pain.

They went to operate on the men, and it took time. Some Salvatore always came to change the bag, but none of them did anything for the pain or the agony. But I knew there were so many poisons and their parts in me that to render them harmless would not be quick or easy. They said nothing to me, kept their expression neutral, and tried to be as discreet as possible. I felt my strength waning. 

Damon said to Mariella. " Darling, what do you think? Will your stuff help the lady at all?"

His voice was almost desperate, and Mariella could not blame him. He was her protector, unable to give any relief in this moment and all he could do was wait and see.

Mariella sighed and said, " They strengthen her tissues so we can cut and scan. Without those substances, I wouldn't move her much. I know you can sense her pain, I really can, and we'll soon be able to help her, but we need to be sure her tissues don't liquefy from the movement. We'll see in a little while after the Lepard is operated on, so we'll see how she's doing. I suggested you put your radar off, but then again, you are her protector and want to know where we are going."

Damon sighed and cursed in his mind. He had to keep everything about Mimi on the down low, be completely calm, and hope that the stabilizers that Mariella had come up with would work. Otherwise, Mimi wouldn't have survived the transfer, and there was a real danger that most of the lady's tissues would have disintegrated.

She was so full of toxins and their ingredients. Mariella had made a substance that would most likely bind the substance that threatened the tissues. Then they could look at it further. They could not give her any drugs as she was walking a stockpile of poisons and there could be interactions, too. Damon could feel her getting weaker. He cursed softly out loud, hoping that she would hang in there.

They got Lepard out of surgery, and they're going to take this one to recover as well. I could see that Charles and Adam had woken up and had left already. Demon was moving, but he was still in IV. 

Damon then came to me and said, "I know, baby, you're hurting a lot. That substance has stabilized your condition and your tissues so you can be moved, but now we need to consider removing those toxins. Just hang in there for a little while longer. We can't give you any drugs as your blood is full of bits and pieces so there could be some nasty interactions. "

I nodded and waited. He took another tube of blood and withdrew to sniff. Other Salvatores were coming in, and apparently, there was some magic in the air, so I couldn't hear what was being said.

"Damon, what about the painkiller?" Mariella asked.

Two grunted and said, " Not knowing, those substances should get digested quickly and effectively now. Interactions are not nice. The lady will lose the straps if we exchange blood. The antidotes will trigger the symptoms, and it won't be a pleasant ride."

Number one nodded. He had come to the same conclusion. He was prepared to hold Mimi in his arms and try to ease her pain and all that, but with fights every day, he was needed, and the antidotes had to be given slowly; it would take so long, and he couldn't put her to sleep with all those substances.

They overwhelmed Mimi's body and system. She was too weak and, given her peculiarities, she would chop them any way she liked, not the best and most efficient way possible as he would. He could chop them up quickly. The idea was taking was taking shape in his head. He knew that the memory had been removed from her, but that was what had given him the idea.

"Darling, I'll do it. I'll hook myself up to Mimi's bloodstream and digest those substances I get all the time. That should help. I am fit, and I know how to chop them correctly."

Three said, " It would be faster if there were more of us doing the digestion. How about we all hook ourselves up to Mimi's bloodstream and get to work? "

Mariella thought for a moment and said, " It might work, by the way. At least you'll get the major toxins digested, and then maybe we can get the lady to sleep, into surgery, and recover. Now, we just need to find places for everyone to be connected. And I hope the lady tolerates it. There will be a lot of work for all of you, so let's hope we can get this done as fast as possible. "

The committee came to me, and Damon sat down next to me.

He said, " My baby, now you have to be brave because you're going to have many tubes and cannulas in you. All of us salvatores are going to connect with you, and we're going to chop those poisons off, but you're going to have ten tubes in you, and they will not be hidden. Now, try to be brave. We can't sedate you or put you to sleep because we have to chop and find all the shit out."

I was too tired to come up with any kind of answer. I just knew that this would drain probably the last of my strength. But this was the best and fastest way to do this. 

He got up and went to collect the supplies. Fine, we can handle this. It's no big deal. It's really no big deal. Damon got a bunch of cannulas and tubes, and each Salvatore went to Mariella to get a cannula for his neck. In their biggest vein.

Then number one came up to me and said," Well, now I'm going to put these all over the place, and as you can see, there are already volunteers waiting. Let, baby, your pulse pound, please. Don't slow it down. We'll get better blood flow. I know it's not nice but try it. "

I got the cannulas everywhere. Two of my heart, my femoral arteries, both sides, my neck came four, two on each side, and my arms come to both sides. I let my heart pound and kept my eyes closed while one Salvatore or another touched me. I let panic keep my pulse high and my limp body with so many cannulas unable to move at all. I had been positioned so optimal blood flow was established. 

Mariella watched for a while and then went to eat. The men were still asleep, and she had no idea how long it would take to clean that up, but what was clear was that every single Salvatore cared about Mimi, and Mariella saw nothing wrong with that. Damon had "slightly" just pushed Mimi's mind and sent interesting facts about the house at any time so that during the meal, Mariella started sending witches from the magic house to the house at any time to do whatever. Some things were annoying, and Damon wanted to change them, as did Mariella. Damon same time worked on Mimi's mind and pushed that darkness deeper. Few other salvatores were helping him, as it was a difficult thing to do. 

They were stuck in a Mimi for three days, and Damon felt that Mimi's panic didn't ease at all, but the pain eased a little. Then, it was time to let go, as everyone wanted to repair Mimi's deficiencies. All the bad stuff had been chopped off and now everyone noticed her poor nutrition and weakness. Mariella took the cannulas quite fast off. 

Damon sat next to Mimi for a moment after all the tubes were disconnected and said, " Come on baby, now I'm going to go see about a cocktail, and let's get you to sleep. Then we'll see what measures you require, but I think you're pretty exhausted from that self-control thing. So rest up."

He felt through Mimi again, gently feeling the many sore spots where the poisons had destroyed and the healing powers were not working. But time and rest would help. She was thin, so freaking exhausted from being in a full-blown panic for three days, in pain. Helpless, vulnerable. Now it was time to get some rest. 

Once it was over. I was relieved. The panic hadn't subsided a bit in the three days, and even if someone had to go somewhere for a visit now and then, the tubes and cannulas were all over me. I felt like I couldn't take a cocktail. I couldn't. I just felt that I had it. My darkness had been pushed far, not too deep yet, but I guess they might do that once I would be out cold. 

But I was stuck, chained, and helpless. Well, at least I'd get some sleep, and then maybe I'd get on with it. I tried to wrench myself free from these restraints, groaning and moaning, not able to control myself anymore. Number two came and held me still. Damon came in after a while and said," Sleepytime. "

The drug was in my veins before I could react.

Damon breathed a sigh of relief, as he always did when Mimi was unconscious. Number two looked at him. He had felt it too, and seeing her writhing and wiggling desperately to escape, he had to keep her still so a cocktail could be given. The terrible anxious panic that had pushed through their bond had receded, and Damon had been genuinely sorry that he couldn't relieve Mimi's fear of the drugs and the drips. That, like so much else, would take time and patience.

Mariella took Damon to eat and drink while the others put Mimi in the scanner, and then on top of the food, they could watch the results. But it might be wise to let Mimi rest and see what her healing powers can do. Damon and Mariella ate an enormous meal and then went to the medbay to check on the situation.

They all concluded that since nothing was so dead, let's wait and see. Repairing an existing organ is always easier than growing a new one. There was damage more or less in every organ, but it had been a rough ride. Mimi weighed just 32 kilos, meaning she would weigh even less if she had to grow new organs. 

Mariela took Damon to unravel everything about Mimi, his guilty conscience, how Mimi was in that state again, and how he could not help her but just torture her. They fucked for two weeks. The rest of the pack did the clubs and each other. Mimi was awake after a week and had now been fed and watched. She was thin but eating and getting her fitness back. 

There were still a lot of gigs left, and all the time, there was always someone in the medbay to fix because this was a demanding gig, and the fighters in the pack were inexperienced at first with these fights.

I'd been up for a week, pretty fucking fit, and I understood what the damons were doing, how hard they were helping, and I didn't blame anyone. I had a couple of rooms in the Chicago house ready, and maybe I could show number one a special room. I was ready to share my memories of those seven years with him. I was barely 40 kilos but ready to move on. 

I was ready to let him help, dispel, maybe remove or move because I had seen how it helps. I did a lot of deep self-examination this week. I noticed how much my scars had healed and how love was powerful. And how my letter helped. When I dared to admit the truth, even to myself. Completely. And maybe it helped even more when I realized Damon was responding to my feelings, at least to some extent, and hadn't run away from them.

I was ready to take an additional step in my life, and luckily, I had a wide circle of friends who could work miracles in a week. I didn't mind that they were fucking, Damon and Mariella, then sometimes I would show him. Maybe at this gig already.

Mariella told Damon all about what they'd found at the Chicago house and Damon was curious. He wanted to explore it. It was on an old lot where the original house had been and was mostly designed by Mimi herself. Damon was calmer now. He understood that sometimes you have to hurt the ones you love, and you just have to do it for the greater good.

They went to breakfast, and Mimi said she had already eaten. She was up to something in Chicago, and Damon was even more curious. What on earth was he doing there? Damon was ready to sanctify all the nests; he had gotten his sex drive back on, and Mariella was more than happy about it.

They ate in peace and were getting ready to go to Chicago. They could always get to the fight clubs from there, and now they had a brief break as they had worked so hard on it. He wanted to see this. What was Mimi doing there all by herself?