"Valarie said that she just lost cell reception with Stefan." I pointed out as I got out of the Camaro as did Damon.
"If ruining his life wasn't enough for me to worry about now, I get to wonder when you and Valerie exchanged numbers." Damon stated sarcastically walking past me and I rolled my eyes at him.
"You told Stefan that you would find a way to get him off the hook with Reyna—and I told Bonnie and Care that I would make sure you didn't screw it up." I countered shrugging as we walked down a few steps towards an old fashioned building as Enzo opened the door for us before walking out and welcoming us.
"Good. You made it." Enzo stated gesturing inside and I nodded as Damon and I followed him.
"And where the hell are we?" I asked raising my eyebrow around the place.
"This is the armory. Home to a family of supernatural artifact collectors." Enzo stated and I rose my eyebrow at him. "We keep them all under lock and key so they don't fall into the wrong hands." Enzo pointed out and I slowly nodded.
"The Armory?" Damon asked, picking up a plastic mask that sat on a shelve before dropping it carelessly. "Never heard of it, you?" Damon asked looking towards me and I shook my head.
"Nope." I replied, putting my hands in my pocket as I looked around.
"Yeah, that's kind of the point. They've taken great care to try and keep themselves out of history as we know it." Enzo stated turning towards Damon and I in annoyance.
"And for three easy payments of $19.99, we too can be members." Damon replied sarcastically and I smirked. "How about we just cut to the part where they can save my brother." Damon added non-negotiating.
"Where's the Calvary?" I asked raising my eyebrow towards Enzo and crossing my arms over my chest.
"They're out on their own supernatural treasure hunt. But, lucky you, they've recruited me to grab Reyna Cruiz. Ever since that annoying Phoenix stone turned up in Mystic Falls, she's been the top priority. They're actually considering her to be one of the supernatural wonders of the world." Enzo said in annoyance and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"And why do you care what they want?" I asked tilting my head at him and he smirked at me.
"They have something I want." Enzo replied and I rose my eyebrow. "When the Armory kidnapped me four months ago, it wasn't to torture me—A woman named Alex, made me an offer. Help her, she would help me search for my family.. Needless to say that I've been working for the Armory ever since." Enzo added and I rose my eyebrow at Damon. "Look, all we need to do is get Stefan here and Reyna will have no choice but to follow. A rat to the cheese. We set the trap and the Armory keeps her under lock and key. Forever after. Everyone gets on with their lives. What do you say?" Enzo asked eyeing Damon and I and I looked up at Damon who eyed me.
"Well, I'll have to discuss this with my counsel." Damon countered and Enzo rolled his eyes and turned away as I nodded at Damon and he nodded back.
"Okay." I said looking back at Enzo who rose his eyebrow looking back at us. "We're in." I stated shrugging and Enzo smirked in agreement.
~~~
"Where's Stefan?" I asked walking outside as I talked to Valerie.
"Safe. Though I grasp that could mean anywhere outside of your vicinity." Val replied and I slowly sighed.
"You know he has a girlfriend, right? Blonde, sweet, cute as a button? You're not actually her." Damon stated in annoyance as he put the phone on speaker.
"I'm hanging up now." Val replied in annoyance and Damon shook his head.
"You don't want to do that." He warned and I sighed at his tactics.
"We have a way to take down Reyna but it requires Stefan to come to us." I pointed out, nodding at Damon.
"Well, that might take awhile. He's in New Orleans." Valerie replied and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Doubtful. We only go to New Orleans for crappy Booze and Klaus blood." Damon stated confused and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"There's a bar there. The St. James Infirmary." I replied and Damon looked at me confused. "It's considered a safe house for supernatural creatures. That's where I spent most of my time when you and Bonnie were back in 1994." I added shrugging and Damon slowly nodded.
"Fine.. Just tell Stefan to huff it up and pack it back to Virginia to a pile of bricks called the Armory." Damon stated slowly sighing in defeat.
"Did you just say the Armory?" Valerie asked worriedly and I rose my eyebrow.
"Yes, I did. In fact, I've said that word more times today than I have in my entire life." Damon stated rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Get out of there, Mariana. Now." Val stated worriedly and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Why?" I asked confused and looked up at Dam.
"The Armory is a black hole of lies. They once tricked us into using Beau as bait in exactly the same fashion that they'll use Stefan. They will be more than happy to let Reyna bury her sword in his heart as long as they can put her in one of their cages." Val stated and I widened my eyes slowly shaking my head. "I promise you, they will do the same for Stefan." Valerie added and I scoffed.
"Yeah, well we don't really have another option, Val." Damon stated shaking my head in concern.
"Yeah, well, whose fault is that? Look, the best way you can help Stefan is to keep your mouth shut and stop making things worse." Val finished before Damon hung up and slowly sighed looking at me confused. I sighed walking back inside before I saw Enzo at a bar.
"Flag on the play. Like an idiot, Stefan didn't renew the minutes in his cellphone." Damon stated and I nodded slowly sighing. "We'll call you when we reconnect." Damon said grabbing my hand. "Come on, Ari. We don't wanna hit traffic." Damon said and I nodded in agreement as we started walking before Enzo vamped in front of us.
"You know where he is." Enzo stated eyeing Damon.
"Yeah, I do, Enzo. I also know that you allowed me to believe that my girlfriend's sister was dead so I'd help you kill Reyna, whose already escaped your custody once." Damon stated narrowing his eyes at Enzo. "Then, you tricked me into saving your ass which resulted in Reyna getting this stupid sword, and now I have Stefan's 1863 siphon crush telling me that you all are shady people.. So Ari, here, and I are gonna go cook up a Plan B." Damon stated with venom in his voice and I rose my eyebrow at Enzo. "But thanks anyway-" Damon started before he groaned in pain and he and I looked down at his Stomach to see vervain darts and I widened my eyes at Enzo.
"What are you doing?" I asked before he hit me so hard on the head with the gun he had in his hand and I passed out.
~~~~~~
I groaned slowly as I opened my eyes and rolled them in annoyance at the blood from my head but no wound seeing as it healed. "Damon put Tyler in a coma. A bit of a hallucination mix-up that resulted in Damon introducing Tyler's skull to the pavement several times. If the Armory hadn't found him, he'd be a vegetable. Or dead." Enzo stated and I slowly sighed up at him. "Ice?" He asked holding a napkin full of ice and I scoffed.
"You knock me out then offer me ice?" I asked raising my eyebrow before I hit the ice out of Enzo's hand and it fell to the floor. "What's wrong with you?" I asked in aggravation and quickly sat up. "Where's Damon?" I asked raising by eyebrow as Enzo walked away from me.
"I locked him in a room with Tyler on a full moon." Enzo stated and I widened my eyes. "Yes, you heard that right. Your lover. Your boyfriend. Your humanity rock. The man who spins your moral compass in a tizzy.." Enzo said smirking and I clenched my jaw at him. "If he doesn't give up Stefan's location by the wolfing hour, he's a dead man." Enzo stated and I clenched my jaw standing up.
"Phesmatos Ossox." I chanted holding my hands towards him but nothing happened and Enzo smirked.
"Oh, what did you do to me?" Enzo asked tilting his head at me.
"What did you do to me? Why won't my magic work?" I asked in anger at him.
"I injected you with one of Armory's toys. You're in magical time out." Enzo stated and I soaked at him in annoyance. "Feel free to dispense of the menacing posture." Enzo added walking away and I scoffed at him and tried to vamp towards the door but I couldn't. He injected me with vervain also. I groaned walking to the door but it didn't budge and Enzo chuckled behind me.
"Open it!" I yelled in annoyance and he slowly sighed.
"Sorry. Members only, love." Enzo replied and I scoffed at him.
"What happened to you? When did you become this person?" I asked moving away from the door.
"'This person'? What, as opposed to the other person that you were so fond of?" Enzo asked and I crossed my arms over my chest.
"At least that person knew what he wanted. Fought for it without steamrolling everybody else." I said angrily and Enzo scoffed at me.
"Where did that get me, huh? Lily's dead, I have no where to live. No town to call my home. The Enzo you knew didn't get what he wanted; and this one will." Enzo stated and I scoffed.
"And you want your family. A family who dropped you at a work house. Never came looking for you. Who wiped all trace of their existence from your life." I said angrily as Enzo just stared at me. "You're willing to make an enemy out of EVERYONE.. For them?" I asked shaking my head at him.
"When I told you Damon was in trouble, you leapt to your feet.. Tried to stop me. Didn't matter what he's done, how he hurt Tyler. Your first instinct was to help him." Enzo stated shaking his head and I clenched my jaw as he walked around me. "That's what I want." Enzo stated and I slowly nodded as he turned away from me.
"I hope you find it." I said before I quickly grabbed a vase near me and flung it at Enzo's head before he fell to the floor groaning. I slowly sighed walking towards him and grabbing the gun from his pocket before shooting him in the chest with it and saw a tranquilizer go in and he passed out. I bent down grabbing his arm before I held it up to a scanner next to the door before it beeped, opening and I freely walked in sighing. I furrowed my eyebrows and walked down some stairs and down a dark hallway before I heard a thud and I turned to see Tyler inside of some type of cell on the floor transitioning while Damon banged on the glass. "Damon!" I yelled widening my eyes and he turned to me sighing in relief.
"Ari, open the door!" He yelled back and I walked to the door to see a scanner.
"Get out of here, Mari!" Tyler groaned in pain.
"It won't open!" I yelled and he furrowed his eyebrows at me.
"You're a witch. Blink really hard." Damon stated and I slowly shook my head.
"I can't. Enzo gave me something that disabled my magic.. And my vampirism. I used to channel through being a vampire now I can't." I said loudly full of concern and worry.
"Enzo opened it up with the palm of his hand! You got to get him down here right now!" Damon yelled and I groaned.
"That's not gonna happen." I stated shaking my head.
"Why the hell not?" Damon asked before Tyler groaned as his bones cracked and snapped into place and I widened my eyes. "Tyler is one vertebrae away from making me his dinner. So figure this out.. Please." Damon stated looking at me and I slowly sighed putting my hand on the glass. "No pressure." He added before I slowly shook my head and ran back upstairs. I slowly sighed looking down at Enzo as he started coming into consciousness. I slowly sighed looking sideways from me to see an olden day axe and I smirked grabbing it and standing in front of Enzo.
"Mariana.." Enzo whispered eyeing me and I scoffed tilting my head at him.
"This is what happens when you make enemies, Enzo." I replied shaking my head slowly before forcing the axe upon Enzo's hand with all of my night before Enzo yelled out in pain that surrounded the whole room and I smirked grabbing his bloody hand from the floor. "Thanks, mate." I stated before running quickly back down the stairs and into the hall before I put Enzo's hand on the window separating Damon and I. "Someone need a hand?" I asked before Damon turned to me.
"No, Mariana, don't!" Damon yelled and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I need to get you out of there, Damon." I said shaking my head confused.
"No, Mari, listen to me! You open that door and Tyler will kill you, too." Damon replied and I furrowed my eyebrows looking at Tyler who was still transitioning but I know it was coming close.
"I'm not gonna let you die in there!" I yelled at Damon and he shook his head at me.
"This is my mess.. Go." Damon said shaking his head. "Go!?" He yelled and I jumped at his voice before Tyler roared and I widened my eyes before I ran towards the scanner and held Enzo's hand towards it before the door opened. Tyler ran towards the door before Damon got in front of him but Tyler was too strong and pushed Damon back into the hallway before they hit a wall and fell to the floor as Damon held his hands up at Tyler trying to push him off as Ty tried biting Damon.
"Tyler!! Ty, Stop!?" I yelled at the werewolf but not being able to do anything.
"Mariana, get the hell out of here!" Damon yelled angrily out at me and I groaned before rushing myself at Tyler but he quickly growled and turned around pushing me back and I groaned hitting the glass as my head went fuzzy and I closed my eyes falling to the ground.
-Damon-
Once Mariana fell to the floor, I looked at the window to see her blood smeared on it from the back of her head and Tyler immediately got off of me as his eyes turned from Amber to his chocolate eyes. "Get out of here before I kill you." I stated angrily looked at him and standing up.
"Dam-" He started but I clenched my jaw at him before he quickly ran passed me and upstairs. I turned to Mariana and knelt beside her biting my wrist and bringing it to her lips.
"Mari, drink." I whispered but the blood lingered in her lips.. "Why aren't you drinking?" I asked shaking my head before I saw a pool of blood slowly form from Mariana's head and I groaned picking her up in my arms and vamping up the stairs and out of the mansion.
-Time Skip-
I slowly sighed as I held Mariana's hand and she laid in the hospital bed and the monitor beeped over her. "Ari." I whispered quietly as she laid there unconscious. "Fine. Be that way.. Ignore me. By the way, once whatever crap that Enzo gave you is out of your system, I'm using my blood to heal you.. Although I probably won't have to because you'll be back to siphoning from you being a vampire." I slowly sighed as I smoothed my thumb over her cheek. "But in the meantime, there's something I want you to know.." I whispered removing my hand from her face. "You're a terrible girlfriend. You know that? Do you have any idea what I'd have to go through if you would've died today?" I asked angrily as she slept. "Years of guilt. Crippling, self-loathing guilt.." I said slowly sighing and resting my hand on my forehead. "Not to mention the resentment I'd feel if I was forced to having to bring in a new drinking buddy." I said before looking back up at her. "You're not supposed to die for me, Ari.. Neither is my brother.. But no matter what I say or how hard I try to drill it into both of your skulls, you're not going to stop trying." I said slowly shaking my head and looking down at her hand that I held in mine. "Which is why I have to take myself out of the equation." I whispered emotionless before I slowly looked back at her beautiful face. "It all ends tomorrow.. You'll never have to worry about me again." I whispered slowly kissing her hand. "I love you.." I added slowly putting my head on her stomach and just watching her sleep.. She was going to be so pissed at me when she woke up.. But I had to do it.