warning; the originals s4 spoilers ahead.
"I don't..." I mustered confused, trying to figure out where I was from my surroundings "how did I get here?"
"Maddie, it's okay, you're okay" Bonnie spoke up from the front seat of the car, staring at me through the rearview mirror.
"no... Alex..." I mumbled hesitantly, feeling fuzzy from the meds "the armory"
"It's okay, you're safe now" Bonnie reassured me once again but I shook my head, as the same thought that ran through my head everyday for the past few months comes back to me.
"The key! Did she find it?" I asked, without noticing the tone of desperation in my voice "Did she find the key?!"
"What key?" asked Damon from the driver's seat and my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach. I had to go back, without the key... it would've all been for nothing.
"We have to go back,"
"Go back? Are you insane? They were going to kill you" Damon said, giving me a disapproving look.
"No, Damon, you don't understand–"
"Look, I know having people poking your brain can be kinda fun but trust me on this, you do not wanna go back there" he interjected me, and I knew I needed to find another way to reason with him.
"If we don't go back, I'm as good as dead" I said hoping he would at least consider hearing me out and it's enough to make them exchange looks.
Damon stopped the car, giving Bonnie a nod and I was bout to thank him until he began to get out of the car "I think little Mads can take it from here"
"Maybe we should wait until she's better" Bonnie suggested him, but Damon shook his head in disagreement, both seeming equally uninterested on letting me know what was happening.
"Why are you two talking as if I'm not here?!" I asked, beginning to feel annoyed by their behaviour but they still continued to ignore me.
"nothing a good ol' compulsion can't fix" Damon said jokingly, gaining a disapproving look from Bonnie.
"What? No! Damon, You're not going to–"
"Relax, no one's doing anything" Damon interrupted me, glancing back at me and Bonnie got out of the car "now, why don't we all go outside and have a nice heart to heart, sound good?"
I sighed defeatedly and followed Damon outside of the car, we were in the middle of a road leading god knows where and both of them seem have any intention of going back to the armory, which meant I had no other choice but to make my own luck but what I didn't expect was them surrounding me against the car and my heart began racing as I began to worry.
I knew there was no way I could convince someone as stubborn as Damon, all I could was hope Bonnie would at least hear me out, it's not like I had a choice anyway, everything depended on this "Bonnie, please, we have to go back, I have to take the clavis from Alex or–"
"Didn't know we were adding stuff to the list of things we're not gonna do, but that's a very good point" Damon cut me off and I tried to talk again but he continued "what we will do, is get you the hell outta dodge"
"Damon, stop talking, Bonnie" I continued, focusing directly on her "please, you don't understand, if you ever trusted me or considered me your friend... please, just please, let me go back to the armory... i'll be fine, I know how to escape but I didn't because there's something I need to get from Alex... something that will fix everything and I can't tell you because I'm not sure if it'll trigger something so it's best if don't know"
And she hesitates for a second, her look softening up as I figured she considered my proposition but Damon cleared his throat, somehow making her snap back to whatever her intentions where "Maddie, do you remember this?" she asked, as she raised her hand and several warnings went off in my head once I saw the necklace laying on her palm.
A chill going down my spine as I stared at the necklace in fear and the strong feeling of desperation, now multiplied by a thousand, took over me "No, wait, Bonnie–!"
"Maddy, hey, it's okay" Damon hushed me, placing his hand over my shoulder and I gave him a nod, pretending to calm down. He lowered his hand and stared at Bonnie hesitantly, giving me the opening I was waiting for and I tried to make a run for it but he stopped me before I even got the chance to move "stay calm, we're just trying to help... let us help you"
There was something about the way he said it, that it just made the most desperate side of me remain completely calm, even if all I wanted to do was fight him so I could leave "I... Damon... don't... I have to get it first" I mumbled quietly and it's until I stop staring into his eyes that I understand what was happening.
"We'll get it for you, right, Bon?" Damon said with a reassuring smile and she gave him a nod but I knew he didn't mean it "but right now our top priority is to get you as far away from here as we can" he added, and I shook my head weakly, as I begged myself to resist the compulsion so I could stop him "it's okay, hey, it's okay... it's temporary" he said, giving me a reassuring smile but then he looked at Bonnie, and I knew he was lying "three months top,"
"No, I can't just leave, please... Damon, don't do this" I begged in a soft voice and he lowered his gaze, hesitating for a moment but then he looked back up at me with a firm look on his face.
"I promised Elena I was going to keep you safe until she got back, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do... I know I haven't honoured that promise the way I should've from the start but that ends right now" he said in a more serious tone and a flicker of sadness flashed in his eyes.
"Maddie," Bonnie called out my name and I looked at her, almost begging her to intervene but I knew there was no way of convincing her if she thought she was protecting me "It'll be okay, it's for the best" and before I could say anything, Damon handed me the keys of the car and I stared at him confused, doing exactly what he was expecting me to do.
"Here's the thing, Maddie... you're gonna go out of town for a while. A long while. You're going to stay with some nice family friends in London. You're gonna be at a new college and meet new boys. Good boys, not some sociopaths with a burning desire to kill. You're gonna have fun and let loose a bit, take a writing class, make friends, and do whatever you want"
"You're... you're going to leave Mystic Falls and all the supernatural things surrounding it behind, never think twice about it. In fact... you will not think about any of us... you're going to leave us behind. You're gonna get a better life, Madison. Fall in love... have a happy and normal human life... grow old. But most importantly... you're going to forget about Malachai Parker. You've never met or heard of him. You won't remember a single thing about him... not even that you loved him or felt in the slightest way for him and if someone ever mentions that name to you again, you will turn around, forget about it and walk away."
"Maddie?" Stefan piped up from his seat and I cleared my throat, trying to focus all my attention on him but the strange dream or memory kept coming back to me, I couldn't shake it, no matter how hard I tried. It felt like I was punishing myself, doomed to relive it in my head over and over again as if the outcome was going to turn out any differently.
"She just said she saw him... and that he was alive but that's it, then she passed out again" I repeated for what feels like the hundredth time this morning and Stefan frowned.
"Did you see anything?" he asked and I shook my head "Do you believe her?"
"Believe her?" Caroline questioned Stefan and he lowered his gaze for a few seconds "Stefan, it's Bonnie, she's never been wrong about anything—"
"And I hate to be the one saying this but how do we know it wasn't just her contacting Enzo's psychic dimension? She's done it before" Stefan coaxed and Caroline shook her head gently "It's more likely than the possibility of Enzo, who's dead and who was also our friend, to come back to life and work with Kai"
I felt my heart sink at the mention of his name "... she–... didn't say anything about Kai... for all we know, maybe she was thinking about Enzo and found him instead... alive"
"Maddie's right, this is good news," Caroline confessed in a hopeful tone and I nodded in agreement.
"But what are the possibilities of Enzo being alive? He died... I killed him" he pressed on, and he paused for a few seconds "I just–... don't want to give Bonnie false hope, she doesn't deserve to go through this all over again"
"Then we make sure there's something to hope for" I added and Stefan looked up at me, still looking a bit doubtful "if Enzo's alive, we can try to find him and see if it leads us anywhere, if he really is with... Kai... he won't expect us to do a locator spell to find Enzo because we 'don't know' he's alive"
"That's actually a very good idea but maybe we should keep it to ourselves until we know for sure" Stefan agreed, looking over to Caroline, who nodded in response "I'll let Jade know then"
"Actually we might have to wait, Jade's still a bit shaken up"
"She is?" Caroline asked and she frowned worriedly afterwards "the girls were acting strange after we went home... we thought they were just scared but–... Ric thinks maybe the spell did something else" Caroline added, her voice laced with distress.
"Jade said she felt something... and she was outside the circle... maybe the twins did too"
"They know how Ric feels about Kai, maybe that's why they haven't said anything" Stefan noted and Caroline sighed.
"Maybe you could try talking to them, they've barely said anything about it to Ric and I," Care suggested me and I gave her a slight nod "Thanks, Maddie" she added squeezing my hand gently and then she got up from her seat.
"Care" I called out her name and she looked up at me, after getting her purse "did Alaric... say anything else about... the spell...?"
"He went back to the armory after the girls finally fell asleep, he's been there all morning" she answered, exchanging looks with Stefan and I gave her a nod.
"Tell him I'll drop by later, if he calls" I piped up and she nodded.
"See you two at the school or tonight at the rehearsal, I guess" she said, giving Stefan a kiss before heading out.
"How's the job at the school going?" Stefan asked a few seconds later and I shrugged.
"It's good, makes me feel less like an outsider" I answered, taking a sip from my coffee and he nodded "How's humanity?"
"Still getting used to it but it sure beats feeling hungry and scared of ripping people's heads off all the time" he said in a lighter tone and I gave him a smile.
"You doing okay?" He asked and I hesitated for a second, nodding weakly afterwards "I know we haven't been able to talk like we used to but... I'll always be here if you want to"
"Thanks" I clipped quietly, taking another sip and Stefan gave me a warm smile.
"Maddie, I've known you for a long time now, and I can tell when–"
"I'm fine" I rushed to answer hoping it didn't seem too evasive and he just gave me a slight nod.
"Okay," he added, getting up from his seat "want a ride?"
"Sure" I followed Stefan out to his car and decided to remain silent, I didn't exactly want to put myself in a situation where I would have to open up about Kai or what I was feeling when I wasn't even sure myself, for some reason I'd convinced myself that if I didn't talk about him or what happened... I would eventually move on... or forget. Though I hated being rude to Stefan when I knew he was probably just trying to help but since I refused giving into his request, I didn't have much choice.
"So, how's your ankle?" Stefan blurted out, successfully breaking the building awkward tension between us, or at least he seemed to think I didn't know what he was up to, so I decided to play along instead.
"Good, just a few cramps from here and there"
"I didn't understand how hard it was to stay human or even alive in this town until I turned back again, but can't say I wouldn't mind taking some vampire blood to skip the nasty bits of a bad flu" Stefan added, letting out a chuckle at the end and I just gave him a half smile. I knew what he really wanted to say, probably what everyone was wondering but didn't dare to ask, except Bonnie, though things were different with her.
"I guess"
"Maddie I'm not doing this to annoy you, you're my friend and I care about you... you're my brother's sister-in-law, we've been friends for technically almost a decade" he paused, looking a bit unsure "and over that time, I've noticed that you tend to bottle things up until they overwhelm you and make you do things you later regret and hate yourself for it, but if I can do anything to avoid that, I will"
"I really appreciate what you're doing, I do, but... I just don't want to talk about it" I said feeling bad about it almost immediately and Stefan gave me a nod.
"Maybe this is about trust, I don't know if you remember but back then, we were sort of besties, I wasn't the bestie but surely one of them" he said lightly and I let myself chuckle this time but I don't say anything else "nothing? okay, you don't remember this but you kind of trusted me with the whole dating Kai thing, then one day I thought he hurt you and I told Elena but then I realized he had actually saved your life and I convinced Elena that I'd misread the entire situation so she wouldn't know"
"So what you're saying is that you'll probably tell Elena" I added with a chuckle and Stefan shook his head laughing.
"Couldn't have picked a worse example, sorry... I'm just not sure if I should say what I'm trying to say"
I frowned confused by his words "you can try"
"I actually sort of ran into... Kai, after he got out of hell" Stefan started and I felt myself stiffen up in my seat "I knew how much he loved you, and I still ask myself why he acted the way he did at the wedding but last time I saw him... it reminded me of Damon... Sybil, one of the sirens, showed him what hell looked like and I could see it in his eyes... the fear but Kai... he feared hell and Cade but there was something else"
"I'm not following"
"Damon's still making up for what he did when he was under Sybil's hold and for someone who was actually in hell you'd think Kai would've done the same thing but... he tried to kill the twins and handed Elena over to Cade–"
"I get it, he's evil... you don't have to keep reminding me, believe me I know" I interrupted him but Stefan shook his head quickly.
"No, he loved you and like Damon, he would've tried to make up for the things he did to be worthy of you" Stefan admitted and I feel my heart shatter a little more.
"Maybe he didn't love me that much" I concluded, after all Kai did say he had done all of that out of revenge, there wasn't really much to read into it.
"Would you believe me if I told you he did all of that because he had his humanity off?"
I stared at him confused by his question "No... he told me he did it to get back at Damon"
"Get back at Damon?"
"He saw the gravestone in the Salvatore crypt and thought I was dead..." I answered trailing off as the possibility of Kai actually having his humanity off back then became more believable "what made you think he had his humanity off?"
"Well if you consider he was a sociopath... he could actually be pretty good at having no emotions and he wouldn't have tried to burn all bridges with us by trying to kill the twins and Elena if he loved you"
"Again, there's also the possibility that he didn't love me"
"Trust me on this Maddie, from what I saw... he did love you... he was trying to become a better person for you but we didn't give him a chance and you two got the worst end, when you didn't deserve it" Stefan began, looking over to me "maybe I'm being naive but I do think there's a chance that maybe he flipped his humanity switch off when he found out you were dead... anyone would've after losing someone they loved deeply"
And something finally clicks "... he's done it twice before... he mentioned it a long time ago... but I think he did it when he was in hell"
"Damon said in hell you literally relive your worst nightmare over and over again... maybe he shut it off when he was in hell the first time but losing you... that sounds an awful lot what hell on earth would be like for him" and I knew Stefan was probably just trying to help but this was the last thing I wanted to hear right now.
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Because if you want me to believe Kai deserves another chance, I will or if you want me not to, I won't" he answered giving me a warm smile and even if I don't want his words to get to me, they do, because it's too close to what I've been trying to avoid to think about.
"Tell me I made the right choice... that it wasn't some stupid voice in my head... that I didn't just..." but I cut myself off because I know that if I actually say it... that if I admit that I made the worst decision in my entire life by letting Kai go... it becomes real and I couldn't bear it.
We slowed down and I realized we had already arrived at our destination but Stefan let out a sigh and stared at me with a furrowed brow "Like I said before... if I can stop you from doing something you'll later regret, I will... but I'm afraid I can't tell you what you want, not unless that's how you really feel"
"I don't even know what to feel... or if I should feel anything at all... but at the same time I can't stop myself from wanting to" I confessed, a pang of pain spreading through my chest at the possibilities behind that statement.
"And is that a bad thing?"
"It should be... after everything he's done... shouldn't I hate him?" I asked naively, truth was, I didn't know... part of me told me it was right to hate him like everyone else... it was the rational thing to do and it hurt a lot less that way, but there was a resistance in me whenever I tried to and reminded me how right it felt when I was with him. I was completely torn.
"Do you hate him or even want to?" Stefan asked firmly and I frowned.
"I don't know... but I should"
"Maddie I've been down that road before, trying to live by what I should and shouldn't do but over the course of the years I've realized that in the end, what matters is what your heart tells you to do, in war of hearts and minds, it doesn't always have to come down to the rational way of doing things"
"Maybe I did the right choice and I just don't know it yet" I suggested and I was surprised by the dubious tone in my voice.
"It's been a month and you seem okay with how things are now" Stefan added, looking back at me before continuing "because chances are, that after we're done with Katherine and all this supernatural drama, this is what it'll always be like Maddie, no Kai involved and if you're absolutely sure you can live without him, if it's what you really want, then forget everything I said, you'll be fine"
"I'm not sure that matters anymore... he's gone and this is what it'll always be like... whether I want it or not" I concluded gloomily, lowering my gaze as it finally began to dawn upon me.
"We'll find him Maddie, question is, what are you going to do when that happens?" and his question unintentionally makes my heart squeeze out an extra beat because even if I refuse to, there's a part of me that rejoices at the possibility of seeing Kai again "and if that question didn't make you shake in fear or grunt in disgust or anger, then that's not truly how what you feel" and his words feel oddly like the enlightening cue i've been waiting to be given but also like the dreadful confirmation of what I feared the most.
If we didn't find him or if he never came back, meaning I would never see him again, and if my memories kept coming back to me one by one in my dreams until one day I wake up loving him the way I used to... then I was in for an eternity full of misery. I heard a knock on Stefan's window and I looked up as I felt the dark thoughts draining out every ounce of happiness in my body, unlike my brother's cheerful grin.
I got out of the car slowly, letting out a sigh to remind myself there were far more important things to worry about now, than what seemed my already-sealed fate "Maddie!" Jer said cheerfully, pulling me in for a hug, unintentionally making me feel better. At least I was going to be around loved ones... unless Bonnie didn't find a way to make me age again... then I would lose almost everyone I knew and cared about.
"Jer... hi" I mustered in a not so cheerful mood, letting go and he frowned.
"Woke up from the wrong side of the bed?" he asked, as we walked to the main entrance.
"Something like that" I replied a bit unsure and he rushed to open the door for me, weird enough, since usually whoever was first would get it for the other and he was extremely happy for a regular Thursday.
"I see you woke up from the good side of the bed" I said and he grinned, though he seemed kind of nervous which was odd, "are you up to something or just in a good mood?"
"More like someone had something to do with it," he answered and he motioned me to follow him to the waiting area "there's someone I'd like you to meet" he added and a dark-haired girl approached us, giving Jeremy a kiss "This is Stella, my girlfriend, well now fiancée"
I raised my eyebrows in surprised and gave her a smile "Stella, nice to finally put a face to the girl my little brother won't stop talking about" I greeted nicely and she pulled me in for a friendly hug, which caught me off guard for a second.
"Maddie, nice to finally see your face again" she sighed with relief, breaking the hug and I frowned confused by her words "Oh god... was I supposed not to say anything, oh my god, I'm sorry... I just thought–"
"Wait, you two know each other?" Jeremy asked looking at both of us and Stella gave me a guilty look
"I'm sorry, I have to tell him, I've been trying to keep it a secret for so long but it seems like everything's okay now" she said in an apologetic tone and I stared at her a little perplexed, I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about "we met back in Brazil, I was with Hayley tracking down a werewolf pack who seemed to have some knowledge about the Hollow and Maddie was there, with her friend, I forgot his name but he was the witch that told us how to find the pack"
I let out a chuckle and they both stared at me confused "This is the prank, ha ha, good one Jer"
Jeremy frowned and exchanged looks with Stella "Uh... I actually had no idea about this, are you two pranking me?"
"It's not a prank" said Stella firmly and I shook my head.
"I've never been to Brazil or seen your face before, I've heard a lot about you, from both Jer and Iris but that's it" I said a little freaked out, it was like the whole Italy thing all over again. The thing that scared me the most about forgetting people entirely and places I've been... was that maybe along the way I'd forgotten completely who I was, even Kai and Damon had said something along those lines.
"Jeremy told me about the compulsion... it seems you forgot about me too" she said, looking a little upset by the last part.
"You were in Brazil?" Jeremy asked and I shrugged.
"Apparently," I muttered, letting out a frustrated sigh "I... I'm sorry, I'm guessing we were friends of some sort?... but that doesn't mean we can't be friends again, right?"
"I think I'll take sisters-in-law" she said giving me a smile and I returned the gesture.
"You're right, sorry, still getting used to all the titles" I chuckled and they both smiled reassuringly "and sorry for making you lie to Jer about knowing me, sorry Jer"
"It's okay"
"I'm sorry we all didn't get the chance to talk about it before, I've been away for the last couple of months" she began and I shook my head.
"Oh, no worries, hope everything's okay though"
"Yeah, I just accompanied Hayley, Vincent and Hope to the Andes but I came back earlier to finish planning the wedding" she added and I lifted my eyebrows in surprise once again.
"Hope, as in...?"
"Yeah, Klaus' daughter... I feel like I have to ask, have you met her?" Jer questioned squeezing his eyes at me and I shook my head.
"Not that I remember, I do recall Caroline saying they were on a trip" I answered and Jer's phone buzzed.
"I'll take this, don't believe any embarrassing childhood stories she tells you" he said giving me a warning look.
"Like that time you thought a fish was drowning or when you ate my mud pies because you thought they were made out of chocolate" I reminded him and Stella laughed in awe.
"That didn't happen, her memory is faulty" he teased me and left before I could add anything else.
"Well, I can't wait to meet them and let me know if you need any extra help for the wedding" I said giving her a smile and she grinned excitedly.
"You kidding? You're stuck in bridesmaids duty, didn't Jer tell you?" she asked and I shook my head once again.
"He must've forgotten, the past couple of weeks have been a little hectic"
"Yeah Jer told me all about it, heard you broke your ankle, are you okay?" she asked worriedly and I nodded quickly.
"It was barely a fracture, I'm okay and thank you for making me one of the bridesmaids–"
"I'm more than happy to, we're like sisters now, I'm sorry if I use the word a lot, I always wanted a sister and now I've got two" she said with a melancholic voice and I gave her a warm smile.
"Don't apologize, use it as much as you want, it's what sisters do" I reassured her and her eyes lit up at the word.
"Thank you, Maddie and I'm glad you don't mind the whole werewolf thing, some people can be a little judgy" she said and I gave her a nod, I knew both Iris and Stella were from Hayley's pack, Jayden too and a couple of other werewolves who were keeping them safe and helping at the Armory.
"Oh, don't even mention it, I really don't mind it at all. I've never seen Jer so happy, you two are perfect for each other and I actually think werewolves are pretty badass"
"Well, I think–"
"Stella, sorry to interrupt" Alaric piped up from behind me and I turned around to see him "Maddie, a word" he added in a more serious tone, which for some reason made me feel uneasy.
"It's okay, I have to run some errands, see you later Maddie" Stella said and I gave her a nod.
"Is everything okay? I thought you were at the Armory "
"I had to come in to get something but " Alaric paused, looking around us and he then tilted his head to side, signaling me to follow him.
"What's going on?" I asked worriedly but he kept walking until we were far away from everyone's sight "Ric?"
"I lied" he clipped quickly, the guilt in his eyes becoming more visible.
"About what?"
"The twins... their magic... it's worse than Caroline thinks" he confessed and I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Their magic has been acting out for a long time now but at this rate... it might get worse a lot faster than I thought... maybe last night had something to do with it... this is all my fault, I shouldn't've..." but he stopped himself from finishing, his voice laced with distress and guilt.
"Ric, hey, it's not your fault, no one could've known that was going to happen" I reassured him and he shook his head.
"But I should've... I keep failing and letting them down when I'm supposed to protect them... and I can't even figure out why this is happening... I failed Jo"
"I don't think she would feel that way, Ric" I assured him, giving him a reassuring smile "You're doing everything you can, I think it's fair to say you're doing a great job, considering, does Bonnie know? About their real condition?"
"Yeah... I just couldn't tell Caroline... I thought I'd figure it out by now"
"We will but we need extra help and options, Caroline told me about your theory and I think I have a lead but I also figured I can contact someone who I actually do remember" I said warily and Ric tilted his head with curiosity "It's a witch, I don't have her number but I know where she lives... kind of"
"We've talked to a lot of witches and warlocks, but no one has been able to help" he added a bit tiredly, which I figured it was only understandable. I knew by now he'd probably contacted every single witch or supernatural creature in hopes of finding a cure or at least an explanation of what was happening with the twins' magic.
"She's Kai's friend and she knows about the Gemini... I think"
"Why didn't you mention this before?" he asked, looking a little disappointed that I'd kept Sage's existence hidden this long.
"Because she's Kai's friend and you don't trust him... and after how things ended... I don't think she'd want to help me or the Gemini..." I confessed and he frowned confused at the last part "it's complicated but I also know she's not the kind of person who would let two little girls suffer by whatever dark magic this is... I was also sort of protecting her"
"Protecting her?"
"I'm pretty sure she's kind of a rogue witch" I answered hoping we didn't get into too much detail because I wasn't sure I could trust him with this information.
"Can we trust her?" he asked quickly and I gave him a weak nod "Do you trust her?"
"I do, she saved me life"
"Well, it's not like we have time to be picky, it's worth a shot" he said looking a little defeated, "where does she live? what's her name?"
"She lives in New Orleans"
"Oh... well that complicates things a little" he mumbled frustrated and he took out his phone "Do you know who Vincent Griffith is?"
"I know he's a witch that kinda works here and that he's currently with Hayley and Hope" I answered hesitantly, not sure how he was relevant in all of this.
"He's from New Orleans, witches there consider him kind of their leader, he might know about your friend" he said looking at his phone and I felt mine vibrate in my pocket "I just sent you his number, you should call him and ask him what he knows"
"I don't think she's part of their community but I'll try" I said taking out my phone and he gave me a nod.
"Is there someone else you think might be able to help?"
"She's the only witch I know that's not from our inner circle and I'm guessing every witch in New Orleans has tried to help you already by Vincent's request"
"Yeah, also Klaus' sister, Freya, is working on something too" he added and I raised my eyebrows a little surprised.
"There's another Mikaelson? Wow, I had no idea"
"She's a witch, a very good one too, she tried to help us contact Klaus but he's been out of reach lately" Ric said quickly and I frowned "with Hope gone for now, I was sort of hoping he might show up but I think his voicemail must pretty swamped by now"
"Has anyone else tried to contact him?" I asked a little unsure.
"No, he's plan C, I didn't want to scare everyone by summoning the big guns, thought I'd buy us some time"
"I think we should give all your plans a shot," I suggested him and he nodded in agreement.
"Then we should try all the Mikaelsons, one at a time, we can't risk Hope's safety either"
"We can try to get a hold of Elijah if Klaus doesn't respond to any of our calls by the end of the day" I said and he seemed more relieved by what sounded like a more viable plan.
"Not Elijah... he won't be able to help in his state but we can try to contact Rebekah, I'll let everyone know... have you talked to Bonnie?" he asked, staring at me warily and I shook my head.
"Not yet, I'm stopping by on my lunch break"
"Can you skip the day and make contacting your rogue witch and Klaus your top priority? Also try to figure out what Bonnie knows"
"Figure out?"
"I feel like she's holding back some information, I talked to her this morning and she barely said a word" he answered and he stared at me cautiously, as if he was examining my reaction to see if I already knew whatever Bonnie was keeping from him.
But I knew I couldn't promise him that "Maybe she's just tired" because I know that if Bonnie is holding out information from him, it had to be for a very good reason "I'll go talk to Caroline about skipping work"
"It's okay, I'll let her know" he said and I gave him a slight nod "you can take one of the cars and go to the armory to check up on Bonnie"
"Can't drive yet"
"I'm sure the sheriff will understand" he joked and I chuckled lightly.
"Thanks, I'll call you if I make any progress" I said as I began to head out but I heard his footsteps quickly catching up behind me.
"Hey Maddie" he called out and I turned back quickly "do you think Kai might be doing this to them?"
His question surely taking me by surprise and for some reason it makes me feel uncomfortable, probably because it's the first time he's gathered enough courage to ask this directly, something he hadn't allowed himself to do before "Didn't you say it started way before he came back?"
"Yeah and he helped... and his advice actually worked but–"
"I know you want to find the reason behind all of this but I don't think you should go down that road just yet, I know you don't trust him," I interrupted him, knowing I had to choose my words wisely "but... we should just focus on trying to find him first and then we can start pointing fingers–"
"I know... but I wouldn't rule it out" he interjected me, staring at me carefully and I nodded.
"I didn't say you should, did your guys find anything in Portland?" I asked hoping he would drop the subject but I knew he was probably going to spiral down on that thought for the rest of the day.
"Nothing but ashes," he answered disappointed "there's nothing there, Maddie, maybe he tricked you"
"Or only a handful of people have access to it but by now... I'm pretty sure I've been removed from that list"
"Maddie, I don't want you to feel forced to–" he began but I knew what he was going to ask, it was one of the many things i'd been dreading since Caroline first told me about the twins condition.
"We're family, I don't feel forced to help the twins and besides, we have to exhaust all options, right?... I can give it a shot" I offered and he sighed relieved by my answer.
"Maddie, thank you... and I'm sorry for–"
"It's okay, you don't have to apologize" I said giving him a half smile and I turned around to finally head my way "It's the least I can do" I whispered quietly on my way out.
I walked to the school's parking lot and I took out my phone once I reached one of the cars that were available for the staff usage. I decided to call Klaus first, it just felt like it was going to be a lot easier than calling someone I didn't know, though to be fair I wasn't sure if I knew Klaus anymore. I couldn't even remember the last time we talked and I'm sure we were a lot different now from who we were five years ago. So all I could was hope for my call to go straight to his voicemail, to avoid any awkward interactions and luckily, it does.
"Klaus... um... hey, this is Maddi– Madison Gilbert... I'm really sorry to bother you but we need your help... it's about Caroline's and Alaric's children, they might be in trouble and we think you might be able to help us figure out what's happening to them or at least tell us if you know someone who might know... we would really appreciate if you could give us a call or text, I guess we–" and the beeping sound thankfully stops me from making things more painfully awkward. I hung up, shaking my head at how badly that had turned out.
I opened the door and got inside the car, taking the key from the glove compartment but I sat there for a few seconds, thinking about how on earth I was going to ask someone I didn't trust to help me find Sage without telling him too much about it, for her own safety. I took a deep breath, and dialed the number Ric had given me, my heart rate increasing with every ring and I froze once the ringing stopped "Hello?... Is this Vincent?"
"Who's this?" the unknown yet familiar deep voice behind the other line throws me off guard for a second but I cleared my throat, snapping quickly out of it.
"Right, sorry, this is Madison Gilbert" I answered a bit hesitant "Alaric gave me your number... it's about the twins"
"Oh, nice to finally meet you Madison, sorry I'm not so keen of strange phone calls" he said in a much lighter tone "is everything okay with the girls?"
"Yes and no, I was calling you because I think you might be able to help me find– more like contact someone"
"Okay, it's much easier if they're alive" he joked and I chuckled lightly, thanking him in my head for trying to make things less awkward.
"Yeah, they're alive but it's a little complicated" I added, not really sure of how to explain him "Are you busy?"
"I've actually got nothing but time these days" he answered calmly "what's troubling you about finding this person?"
"I want to help Alaric, I do but... I don't want to put this person in any kind of danger by talking to you"
"You go by Maddie, right?" he asked gently and I unintentionally nodded.
"Yeah"
"Well, Maddie, I know we don't know each other and you have every right not to trust me but one thing you can know about me, is that I put my people first" he began nicely, "all witches in New Orleans are under my protection and I take that very seriously, the originals are my friends and you know they don't trust easily,"
"I'm not sure if the witch I know is part of your community" I added a bit hesitant, the last thing I wanted to do was put Sage at risk.
"Every witch is part of my community, outsiders, newcomers, shunned witches" he said in a reassuring tone and for some reason his words do make me feel a little better about trusting him "we all stick together, that's how we stay alive" I was still trying to make up my mind about him but part of me really felt like I could trust him "Maddie, I give you my word that no harm will come to this person and whatever we discuss, will stay between us"
"How do I know you'll keep your word?"
"You're friends with Bonnie, right? She trusts me and we worked together when we were trying to find you, I'm sure she didn't tell you but once when we got close to get you, she asked me not to tell anyone because she 'saw' something, she didn't say what, she just told me it was best if we let things be and I trusted her and she trusted me"
If Bonnie trusted him, so did I and I was running out of options either way, "She's an outsider, I believe... she's originally from Portland and a very powerful witch"
"Portland?" he asked a little surprised and he hummed in a funny tone "Let me guess, she's also incredibly wise but stubborn as a mule and likes to get into people's business?"
"She's wise, yes and I'm not sure if I should agree with the last two"
"And Sage would probably appreciate if you didn't" he said lightly and I raised my eyebrows a little shocked.
"How did you–?"
"She's my godmother, or formally known as Sage Dunoyer" he answered before I could finish "Now I'm the one who's not sure if I can trust you with her contact information, how do you know her?"
"A friend of a... friend" I said quickly, unsure if bringing up Kai's name in the conversation was a good idea "We met about a month ago when I was in New Orleans... she saved my life, I wouldn't do anything to put hers in danger"
"I appreciate that," he said letting out a sigh "however, Sage doesn't own a cellphone, she thinks they're too corrupt for her to use, she's old school"
"That's actually very wise"
"She does have a big antique phone that still works but never picks it up, you can give it a try and I'll let Tony know if he can arrange a call between you two, maybe–"
"No, that won't be necessary," I cut him off, knowing that was probably the last thing I wanted to do "I'm sure she's busy and we just want to know if she can help us with the twins but since she's your godmother, I'm sure you already asked for her help"
"I'm sure it'll make her very happy to hear from you" he insisted nicely and I lowered my gaze.
"I... actually don't think she'll take my call" I added weakly, the hurt tone in my voice surprising me a little.
"I doubt that but I'll let her know about the twins, maybe she'll have better luck finding something this time"
"I don't know if she knows they're Gemini twins or that they're Jo Parker's kids but please tell her they're two little sweet girls who don't deserve what's happening to them... nor had anything to do with the Gemini, they're siphons, who really need her help" I added quickly and suddenly somethings clicks in my head, about Sage's relation to Gemini and what Joshua wrote about her in his journals "and ask her if she'd be willing to meet the twins, so she can examine them properly... she might've seen this before"
"Are you sure you don't want to talk to her?"
"I think it's better if she hears it from you, and could you also tell her that..." but I pause because I don't know if I should say whatever I want to say but it just slips out my mouth before I can stop myself "they could really use their uncle's help...desperately" and I let out a sigh to stop my voice from breaking "I-... we... need him... and we might have something he wants" I don't even know why I add that last part but it just feels like at this point i'm willing to do and say whatever it takes to see him again or just hear the sound of his voice because the more the days go by, the more he becomes part of those unrecoverable memories that keep fading away.
"Okay, I'll let you know what she says, I'll text you her number in case you change your mind" Vincent added lightly.
"Thank you... but Vincent?"
"Yeah?"
"Please don't tell her I called"
"I won't but Maddie, she's not one to hold a grudge against a nice girl like you," he started, his words striking the right cord "though, I can't guarantee she won't give you an hour long lecture on how what you did was wrong, if that's the case" he said with humor and I chuckled "Take care Maddie,"
"You too and thanks for everything"
"Anytime" I hung up, receiving a text from him with Sage's number not long afterwards.
I actually felt good with my results, now all I had to do was talk to Bonnie about what she saw last night, if she wanted to share, whatever she was keeping secret, with me and things actually seemed to be looking up for the first time in forever.
It was much better than facing the inevitable possibility of not finding Kai but the search for the twins cure made me feel more hopeful than lost. If we didn't have any luck with Sage or Klaus, then I'd have to follow Stella's lead on whoever 'my friend' she saw me with was and if that didn't work out either... I would have to go all the way to Portland and figure out a way to get Joshua's journals and whatever existing Gemini files he had left.
Thankfully it doesn't take me long to get to the Armory but as soon as I'm greeted with curious eyes from the moment I step inside, made me have second thoughts about being there.
"Madison Gilbert" Dorian piped up as he walked down the main set of starts, with an iPad on his hand and I gave him a smile.
"It's Dorian, right?"
"That's me" he answered cheerfully and I looked around, surprised by the numerous amount of people that were there "you're early"
"Alaric" I said as if it was self-explanatory and he chuckled.
"Yeah, he made me come in at like 4am"
"All hands on deck, right?"
"That's the spirit" he sang in a funny tone and he began walking "Follow me"
"Is anyone with her right now?" I asked with curiosity as we walked down the hall, he kept checking his iPad almost every second, like if he was waiting for something to pop up in it.
"Just Damon"
"Oh,–"
"But Bonnie would kill me if I don't take you to her right away" he added and I gave him a nod "or turn me into a frog"
"That's the spirit" I mumbled quietly and he chuckled, turning around for a few seconds.
"You're fun, I don't know why the new interns think you're intense" he said with a grin and I tilted my head to the side. I didn't actually interact that much with Alaric's interns aka the 'newbies' like Damon always seemed to call them, they were mostly searchers and one or two hunters that had some certain inside knowledge about the supernatural stuff that goes around in Mystic Fall and everywhere.
"They do?"
"Oh, but it's a good intense, like badass-kind-of-intense"
"Not the word I would use to describe myself these days"
"Well they know you survived Alex's insane trials, plus you're one of the original Mystic Falls protectors and a human, which is impressive if I might say" he said as we reached a different section of the Armory "I don't know how Matt, Nate and you managed to stay alive as humans that long. Also, you know, with the whole rolling with witches and dating a villain kind of thing"
"Thank you? But I'm sure they're giving me more credit than I would agree with and I didn't know who I dated was public knowledge" I said, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable about where the conversation was heading.
"They're nosy, someone heard it from Elena, I think" Dorian continued and I raised my eyebrows "Malachai's a legend to some of them, anyway"
And for some reason, hearing someone call Kai 'Malachai' always tended to throw me off completely "He is?" I asked cautiously, not sure if I wanted to know that information.
"He is," someone pipes up from behind me, a girl, to be specific "Powerful Gemini coven leader and the most psychotic and interesting villain Mystic Falls has ever seen," she added, fixing her glasses as we continued walking "also the most attractive, some would argue,"
"This is Samantha, who's supposed to be supervising the research team" Dorian informed me and the short girl gave me a wide grin.
"Sam, and pleasure to meet you" she greeted with a tone of excitement and she extended her hand out to me "You're taller than I imagined, even though I knew your height" she noted, as she kept shaking my hand and I frowned a little confused by her comment "because that's not creepy at all, sorry, I'm not a stalker or a groupie, you're all like real life teen wolf characters and I love teen wolf"
"What's teen wolf?" I asked hesitantly and she gasped, as if me knowing whatever 'teen wolf' was, was the craziest thing she'd ever heard.
"Sam"
"Right, not important" she said shaking her head and she looked down to her tablet, as a document popped up on the screen "I have today's reports on Freya's spell and nothing on Enzo so far" she informed Dorian, handing him the device.
Dorian then hummed as I figured he read the information and for a second I thought we'd stop walking but he continued leading us to the medical wing, "Send these to Mr. Saltzman"
"Already did" Sam added quickly and continued to observe me "I like your boots"
"Thanks... I like your glasses" I replied nicely, giving her a half smile and she grinned back instantly.
"You do? Thank you, they're not vintage like some preppy college girl, not that it's wrong to have vintage glasses, I think it's cool-" but Dorian motioned us to stop as we stumbled upon a locked door, gladly interrupting her rambling about vintage glasses.
"I'll be right back, Sam, keep it cool" he warned her in a playful tone and she gave him a nod.
"Will do boss"
"So... are you new? It's just that I've never see-"
"Not really," she answered quickly and I gave her a nod "I really loved your dress" she said nicely and I gave her a puzzled look, unsure of what she meant "The one you wore at the festival, you looked so pretty"
And I almost have to ask her to repeat whatever she said last again "I'm... how did you...?"
"The street cameras, I was in charge of the team that was trying to find you, well Dorian and I" she began to explain and I felt my cheeks reddened as I processed her words, "But Malachai was always one step ahead"
"I don't..."I mumbled, unsure of what to say or how to react.
"No worries, and I'm not one of his groupies, I'm on your side" she said in a reassuring tone and I raised my eyebrows, feeling even more lost.
"Side? groupies? I'm..."
"Do you know who Anakin Skywalker is?" she asked randomly and I shrugged.
"Yeah, star wars" I mumbled and she nodded.
"Okay, so I guess you could say Kai's like the real version of him, people know he's a villain but they kinda dig it because he's attractive and a badass"
"People?" I asked a little perplexed.
"It's just inner circle people only, like the ones that know the real stuff that's happening in Mystic Falls and out there... it's just what they do to take the scary part out of this whole supernatural world situation" and I don't blame them for resorting to a silly way of looking at things because I know how bad it can get and like them, we would always try to take our minds off it, with high school dances or normal teen drama stuff, it just made things a lot easier "But they would never disrespect any of you or break the fourth wall like i'm doing, they just observe and do their job"
"Does Alaric know?" I asked and she gave me a nod.
"He ignores it, probably because he has groupies too"
"He does?" I questioned, failing to suppress a chuckle.
"You'd be surprised" she answered, letting out a quiet laugh "Oh and we don't have any footage of Saintglant or private places without surveillance cameras"
"What about diners?" I ask quickly and she shakes her head with hesitation.
"Not all of them, the one from that Oregon store was funny though"
I stared at her in horror, the fact that anyone had seen what Kai and I were doing during that time was mortifying, it just felt too private to share "wait... all this footage... did everyone see it? Like my sister and... Alaric?"
"That depends, regular footage was passed on to family and friends but other kind of footage was only available to Alaric and Bonnie"
Great. "other kind of footage?"
"When you guys were all giggly and touchy around each other" and her answer makes my cheeks blush even more, which at this point seemed impossible.
"We were not– god... no wonder Alaric hated my guts when I came back" I said quietly and she narrowed her eyes at me "forget I said that"
"I got you, in fact" Sam began, looking around to make sure no one was listening before continuing again "I never told anyone about the motel, said there was no footage"
"Thanks but nothing happened there, it was a double and he– he always respected my boundaries, we were only friends" I quickly added, making emphasis on the word 'friends' "and I would never- never - be with him that way, or at least now... I should stop talking"
"See? I told Dorian we could be friends and he didn't believe me" Sam beamed giving me a smile and I shook my head, still feeling pretty mortified.
The sight of Dorian coming out the now unlocked door filling me with joy "She's ready" he said, holding the door open for me and I gave him a nod.
"Thanks Sam... it was nice meeting you" I said giving her a half smile, still deciding whether to feel glad or upset about the whole 'spying on kai and I' situation.
"At your service " she said jokingly saluting at me like a soldier, which made Dorian roll his eyes before we went in.
And though I'd supposedly been here before, I didn't recognize any of it and I wasn't sure if I wanted to remember being trapped and 'tested'. The 'medical' wing was basically the holding cells section divided in two, only the ones on this side had beds and medical equipment in them. They were already here by the previous owners request apparently, though, I wasn't sure if having both next to each other seemed like a smart choice.
"She's in here" Dorian announced before opening the door and a wave of relief hits me as soon as my eyes land on a smiling Bonnie.
"Bon, hey" I greeted her, quickly walking to her side and I grabbed her hand, giving her a gentle squeeze, "how are you feeling?"
"Good, now that I have more civilized company" she said in a playful tone, looking at the couch, where sleepy-Damon was stretching out.
"What happened to 'Damon, you're my bestie and I love you for keeping me company, even though you're a very busy and civilized man'?" he teased her back, making us both chuckle.
"That ship sailed after you ate my pudding"
"You ate her pudding? Damon" I said, giving him a disapproving look.
"I'm helping BonBon keep her figure, sue me" he said innocently and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Did you just call me fat?" Bonnie asked him dramatically, trying to suppress a laugh.
"No, I said you already have a figure, i'm just helping you keep it" he answered as he got up from his seat "why don't we just appreciate the fact that the '94 gang is back together"
"I think we're missing someone" Bonnie said staring at me and I lowered my gaze.
"We're the OG, and besides, doesn't count if you forcefully add yourself to the group" Damon pointed out and I tilted my head.
"Actually he's the 'OG', it was his prison world, after all" I corrected him and he let out an annoyed sigh.
"Yep, we're back in business" he said, putting his arm over my shoulders and I gave him a confused look "Me, roasting him and you, defending him"
"I'm not– that wasn't even a good roast"
"I just took a nap on a very uncomfortable couch, i'll get back to you once I get my proper beauty sleep" he said giving me a fake smile and he removed his arm, "BonBon" he continued, waving goodbye at Bonnie "little Gilbert" he added, patting my head and I rolled my eyes, and with that he was gone.
"You okay?" Bonnie piped up and I chuckled.
"I think I should be asking you that," I said lightly and she chuckled "are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, the headache's gone" she answered, clearing her throat afterwards "Maddie, do you mind rearranging my pillows?"
"Sure," I said stepping closer to her, trying to fix her pillows as best as I could and I almost didn't feel Bonnie's hand on my arm, followed by the buzzing sound, I was unfortunately so familiar with and for a second I consider the possibility of the sound being part of some weird hallucination until the pain at the back of my head told me otherwise and just as I was about to tell Bonnie, she placed her index finger over her lips, signaling me not to say anything.
"Sorry" she whispered quietly and the last thing I hear her whisper are the same words Kai used to say before we went inside his head, "ab ibnus"
Suddenly the room light's began shinning a little too bright, forcing me to close my eyes and I opened them once again a few moments later, only this time my eyes met some flashing neon lights instead. The loud game-like music throwing me completely off, until I see the gaming machines around me, the colourful screens temptingly inviting me to play.
I looked around, trying to make sense of where I was, more like which city or town, because I was pretty sure the last gaming arcade in Mystic Falls had closed down years ago, if this is what 'here' was. I wasn't sure of what I exactly I was supposed to do, so I decided to just keep walking around until I stumbled upon something interesting or that looked remotely to whatever I was trying to find.
"Weird" I whispered as I began to notice some weird splashes on some of the machines, I couldn't make out the exact color due to the poor lighting but it looked like black or some very dark painting, which didn't match with the design of the machines at all. I stepped near the closest one and I my heart stopped once I realized what the 'black' paint was.
There was blood splattered all over the machines, even the ceiling and I was pretty sure the space-themed carpet was covered with blood too, and I'm not sure if I want to keep looking around until I remind myself, I wasn't really here and just as the traces of blood keep getting bigger, my eyes finally see all the unconscious and probably dead, bodies lying on the floor and I have to look away for a few seconds to process the gruesome image.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to really look at them, quickly finding multiple neck and arm wounds in almost all of them and I also can't help but notice how young they all looked, they were probably my age or the age I looked at least, most of them were probably college students.
"I thought arcades were supposed to be fun" a familiar voice pipes up over the music and I immediately looked up to find the source, my mouth almost dropping to the floor once I saw Enzo standing a few feet away from me.
He looked differently, or his hair was styled differently, I think. He raised his hand up to the corner of his mouth, to take some of the blood off, and he began making his way through the dead bodies, but he suddenly stopped, crouching down next to a girl's body, as if he was checking if she was still alive.
"Can we just leave this bloody place? Pun intended" and unlike his first comment, this one actually sounded as if it was meant for someone else and I felt my heart skip a beat, as my eyes begin to frantically look for whoever Enzo was talking too but I stop disappointed when I don't find anyone else, though everything began to seem a little too blurry "You're the mastermind behind all of this, you tell me"
I frowned at how frustrated Enzo suddenly looked, I knew he was talking to someone, his eyes were fixed at the nothingness behind me and by the way he was talking but I freeze, once his eyes stare right at me and a chill runs down my spine.
"Is that your blood?" he asks and even if I know there's absolutely no way he can see me nor was that question was aimed at me, I don't move out of fear and I have to remind myself this is a memory again, but suddenly I don't feel so sure until Enzo speaks up again "It's Bonnie Bennett, what did you expect?" and before I even have the chance to process what he just said, the lights go off but the weird sensation in my chest, makes me realize something's wrong, because it feels as if I'm running out of air.