𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 ༄ 𝗦. 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗘 ²︎

𝘰𝘯𝘦

"As I said before, nothing," Madeline uttered, planning to find another meal. She tried walking away, but Stefan got in her way, desperate.

Stefan scoffed. "You don't mean that."

"Must we go through this?" Madeline sighed, sensing a familiar conversation coming up. "The whole humanity thing. It's just not my cup of tea."

"Madeline, I understand you were hurting, but this isn't the way to fix it," Stefan said, signaling for his friends to proceed with the next step.

"Isn't it?" Madeline chuckled in disbelief. "I feel absolutely fantastic. All I did before was waste my time on stupid relationships and grief."

"Stupid relationships?" Stefan whispered, repeating to himself that he wasn't talking to the real her. Discerning what he was trying to do, Madeline turned around and held her hand out, using her powers to stop Damon from sneaking up on her and injecting harmful herbs into her system.

"Nice try." Madeline faked a smile, gathering an orb of energy and blasting it toward the raven-haired vampire's chest. He grunted as he connected with the ground. Moving onto Plan B, the vampires and a single Guardian charged at Madeline in all directions.

Making them all float in the air, she identified her attackers: Caroline, Pietro, Damon, and Stefan. "God, you four sure are stupid."

"Sestra," Pietro said, struggling. "We need you to come back. Let us go."

"And allow you to attack me again?" Madeline scoffed, her eyes glancing at Caroline. "I held back my powers before, worrying that I would lose control or hurt someone. Let's see what I can do, shall we?"

Putting pressure on all their necks, she smirked as she saw them choking, red wisps keeping them still. "Now, I'm only going to tell you this once, so listen closely. Don't pull something like this again, or else I will snap your necks without having to touch you."

"Leine ─︎," Stefan croaked out, gasping for oxygen.

Madeline interrupted him, not wanting to hear more nonsense. "Do you understand?"

"You're being unreasonable," Damon remarked, hiding his terror with fake confidence.

"I think you're mistaken, Damon. This is me being reasonable." Madeline replied, eyes blazing red. "So I will ask you again. Do you understand?"

"We understand." Caroline gasped, needing to end the searing sensation in her lungs. "We understand, Madeline."

"Good," Madeline said, roughly dropping them onto the ground. "Now, since you rudely interrupted, I'll be going to find my dinner."

Speeding away, she abandoned her ex-friends. They grasped their throats, still feeling a slight ache from the strangulation. "That's not my sister," Pietro whispered, looking at the ground.

"We'll get her back," Caroline said, never planning to give up on her best friend. The older twin glanced at the blonde, requiring encouragement. Everyone knew Caroline was the optimist of the group. "I know it."

Dulling out their conversation, Stefan sighed, remembering the look in Maddie's eyes. They possessed no stars of compassion. Instead, there resembled an empty sky, lost in pure chaos.

✧

If Madeline had her humanity intact, she would have for sure broken down the moment she entered the home she used to share with her father and brother. Appreciating the equilibrium, Madeline raided her father's old liquor hiding spot.

Taking a swig straight from the bottle, Madeline sighed in contentment, welcoming the faint buzz. Ruining the peace, a pellet that pierced her side shattered her window. She stumbled out of the way, watching more bullets hit her wall.