(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Sixty-Five

Damon is still searching the tomb for Katherine. Frustrated, he kicks the dirt on the floor and lets out a growl. All for nothing. Nothing. All those years with revenge on his mind, making plans, all of it. For nothing. Stefan walks into the chamber and towards his brother.

"She's not here," Damon whispers. Stefan walks up to Damon.

"Damon"

"She's not here" Damon repeats to his brother.

"What?" Stefan asks with a small frown. Damon pulls out the blood bag.

"She's not here!" Damon throws the blood bag at the wall. The blood splatters across it. Damon looks at Stefan with anguish.

...........

Sheila and Bonnie are reciting the spell to lift the seal as Elena circles around them, Cassandra lingers at the tomb door. The torches flare up and Elena looks towards the tomb.

"I think it's working" She comments. Anna exits the tomb with Pearl, who is still weak. Anna looks straight at Cassandra who holds out her hand, ready to attack.

"I just wanted my mother back" Anna stops her. "Jeremy's fine. He's outside. I won't touch him" Anna and Pearl leave. The torches begin to falter.

"Bonnie, keep going!" Sheila warns her granddaughter before looking at Cassandra. "They better hurry"

"Stefan, they can't hold it much longer!" Cassandra shouts into the tomb. The torches extinguish themselves. Bonnie looks faint and Sheila doesn't look much better. Elena and Cassandra share a look. Cassandra sighs and then runs straight back into the tomb.

............

Stefan and Damon are still in the chamber together. Damon runs his fingers through his hair and paces slightly.

"Damon, we need to get out of here" Stefan warns him.

"It doesn't make sense. They locked her inside" Damon mumbles away to himself.

"If we don't leave now, we're not getting out"

"How could she not be in here?"

"It's not worth spending all of eternity down here. She's not worth it" Stefan begs of Damon.

"No!" Damon angrily pushes Stefan away. Cassandra rushes into the room.

"Damon!" Cassandra states with alarm, he looks at her. "We have to go...now...Please" He lets out a breath and moves to her.

"Okay" He whispers and she looks at Stefan who nods in agreement.

............

Bonnie and Sheila are still chanting the spell to keep the seal down. Bonnie stops for a moment, gasping for air and kneeling over.

"Oh my God. I can't!" Bonnie complains, feeling her energy waning.

"Yes, you can" Sheila assures her. They continue chanting. Damon exits the tomb first, followed by Cassandra and then Stefan. Elena rushes to Cassandra who nods for her to go to Stefan. Elena gives her a small smile, then turns around and embraces Stefan. The door to the tomb closes and the torches die out.

.........

Damon exits the tomb, looking completely miserable. His plan failed. All these years he's been trying to fix things. To fix what Katherine broke. To get back at her. Gone. All of it is gone. Cassandra stands from where she sits on a lonely stone brick. She walks towards him and wraps her arms around him and places her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," She tells him. He nods and wraps an arm around her, pressing his head to the top of hers. He then pulls back, touching her arm.

"You're bleeding" He takes her arm to look at her wrist.

"It's nothing" She argues. He touches the edge of the bite. It's his fault. He took her in there. She got bitten because of him. Because of his vendetta. All of it. He raises his own wrist to his mouth and holds the wound over her bite wound, letting his blood drip into it. She pulls a face and goes to pull her arm away because gross. He keeps a tight hold of her wrist and she watches as her wound stitches itself back together. Healing her. She lets out a breath and touches her arm. He raises his other hand to her face, touching her cheek. She lifts her eyes to his. She can read the apology in his eyes but he doesn't voice it. but she knows. She nods a little and pulls her hand back.

............

At the Gilbert house, Cassandra carries a glass of water and an Aspirin into Jeremy's room and hands it to him before sitting on the edge of his bed, worrying her ring around her finger.

"How's your head?" Cassandra asks him, Jeremy nods.

"Uh- it's alright. I just...I wish I knew how I passed out. I didn't drink that much, I swear."

"And you don't remember anything?"

"The whole things pretty cloudy. I just...I know how this looks. I'm -- I'm sorry" He whispers, she shakes her head.

"No, Jer, don't be sorry" She stops him. "You didn't do anything wrong, okay?" She assures him, he nods.

"Yeah, okay" He agrees, she gives him a small smile.

"Is there anything else that you need?" She asks him. "Ice cream? Soda? Jolly ranchers?" He lets out a small laugh, food is always Cassandra's go-to for comfort, but he's not after any of that right now.

"No, I'm just...I'm gonna crash" He answers and touches her arm, she ruffles his hair and then stands, leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Jeremy gets up from his bed and goes to his computer. He googles the word 'Vampire.'

A/N - SO I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I ASKED THIS, AND I CAN'T FIND IF I DID, BUT WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK SHOULD BE THE ENDGAME PLAN FOR ELENA, SEEN AS DAMON IS SPOKEN FOR??

- ALSO KNOW THAT THERE IS A WHOLE SEASON WORTH OF PLOT THAT MIGHT BE AN ISSUE. THE WHOLE SYBIL SIREN THING. HAVE SOME TIME TO WORK THAT OUT BUT I KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE TOUGH.