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↳ 034, the grand finale

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"𝐒𝐎," 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐍𝐀𝐘𝐀, following behind Colette's rapid steps up the stairs, "are we going to kill them or what?"

Colette gritted her teeth together. "We aren't going to kill anyone."

"Then why do you have your murder face on?"

"I do not–"

"Your eyes are like snakes, Cole," said Naya, "and your mouth is bunched up like it does when you get really, really mad." Naya took the stairs two at a time to squeeze in beside the girl. "It's how you look when you look at me."

"And that doesn't make you think, hey," snarled Colette, "she wants to kill me, too?"

"No," purred Naya with a grin as they finally reached the main floor. Colette swiped an expensive bottle of bourbon from the tray by the couch and threw it as hard as she could above the fireplace, and Naya yelped. "What the fuck, Colette?! We could've drank that!"

Colette picked up the next crystal bottle and launched it across the room. It shattered in rays of white and golden brown. She wanted to tear the furniture apart, she wanted to bite into the pillows and rip them open like her chest felt.

She knew Stefan and Damon were long gone with Klaus's body and she had no way of finding him, of saving him. She'd tried and her friends had killed her, twisted her neck and let her fall into darkness before defending Klaus even further. They thought Klaus was going to kill Elena, and that was a fair assumption, but the wrong one nonetheless.

Colette grabbed the next bottle, took a long drink, and held it out to Naya, jerking her arm with a scowl. The other girl looked at her and then back at the bottle before snatching it up.

"Don't think because I haven't killed you yet I won't at all," snapped Colette, brushing past her and taking the bottle back to smash it on the ground at her feet. She hoped the brothers knew how much they'd hurt her, how much they'll pay for it through expenses. How sad they'll be when they never see her again. "And you aren't getting my blood either."

"That won't stop me," purred Naya, skipping past her to the open door. "Now, shall we go find your lover?"

Colette slowed to a stop, regarding the other girl carefully. Not a hair misplaced on her head, Naya looked beautiful. Her skin was more tanned than normal, and Colette wondered that if she went to get a spray tan, did she sit under the rays in the tanning booth? Did she marvel at the fact that her skin wouldn't ever burn or hurt again from a peel? Even her clothes were pristine. White pants, beautiful white lace shirt and Colette's heart fluttered angrily that her hand had healed so easily.

"Why are you helping me?"

Naya smiled, showing her how her teeth had nearly been fangs before all this madness.

Naya staring up at her blankly, blood soaking Colette's hands and mouth. Naya with her throat torn open. Naya with her unblinking eyes.

The girl rested an arm against the door and looked outside into the darkness. "I've seen this day, over and over again." When she looked back at Colette, she smiled again with that awfulness that could've only been manifested in childhood from nurture and nature. A nasty combination at curating dangerous and deadly things. "It's always been you and me at the end," she shrugged, "and it only makes sense for me to be here, following."

"You? Following?"

"I know," murmured Naya, "karma's a bitch, right?"

"I think you're the only bitch here."

A little smile, softer than the one she'd given before, played on her lips now. "Elena's having a little get together with the rest of the scooby gang, all celebrating the death of your betrothed. Shall we ruin it?"

Colette felt tension rise up in her shoulders and neck but she shook her head.

"God, right when I thought we'd finally have real fun," said Naya with a scowl replacing what was once beautiful, "but you're just as boring as ever."

Colette stalked past her into the cool night. It was November and nearing Colette's favorite cold holidays. She loved Halloween but didn't get to celebrate in between Esther's ruthlessness, Rebekah secretly being possessed by the witch bitch, and Klaus.

Klaus had occupied a lot of her time, it seemed.

As did Damon but that was clearly not something that ended well. Colette wanted to sit back and think of how things could've been different, but no matter what occurred, even if they truly were in love, he'd always save Elena. He'd trip over himself and all the gods in this universe to get to her first. Had he even asked if she was alright? After everything with Esther, crossing the boundary line, being shot at? Staked?

She was still wearing Klaus's clothes, which she'd ruined by the help of Alaric, and still...did they care? Did they wonder why there was a stake sized hole in her shirt? Still stained by her blood?

You will never matter to them.

Even with Naya stepping up beside her, she would never be there for her without an ulterior motive. There would never be a pure heart who only wanted her with no other exceptions. Klaus had been that, hadn't he? Or was she just imagining that? Had he turned into some sort of bloodlust for her? Someone she needed to comfort her, coddle and adore, to wrap their arms around her and pretend that she hadn't been murdered all those months ago...that she hadn't been torn apart by the hands of a friend.

You won't ever be the same. You weren't made for this world, you were meant for something greater. Something far worse.

"Okay," breathed Colette with a firm nod. "We can go."

"Really?"

Colette nodded. "But I go in first, nothing...nothing funny, okay?"

"Even after they've hurt you, you still care so deeply," muttered Naya with a shake of her head. Colette smelled pity. "Why do you care about them so much when they've only shit on you and what you want? They murdered your lover for Elena. They sent you to kill yourself for Elena. God, Cole, they were more worried about Elena than you! They always have been!"

"She's a good person," said Colette, trying to convince herself that this was all for the right thing. Elena was her friend, she didn't deserve anything. She didn't chose to be a doppelgänger, it wasn't her fault–

"Stop being an Elena apologist for fucks sake, Colette!"

"She's like me, sometimes," whispered Colette, staring unseeing into the black. "We didn't ask to be like this, to be–to be targets."

Naya was quiet but Colette could still feel her silent rage. Why did it even matter to her? After all this time, why did it matter who ran over Colette and who didn't? Wasn't she only one of the drivers, anyway? Always cruising over Cole's body, crushing bones and not caring?

"Let's just go get this over with," snapped Naya. "I'll meet you at her house in five."

Colette scoffed and Naya turned from where she'd pushed past her to glare back.

"What?"

"It's just that you think you're faster than me."

"I am, cunt."

"Then let's see, bitch."

Naya didn't give Colette even a second to prepare before sprinting off. Colette let a grin come to her face and watched the girl go, giving her a head start before taking off behind her after a moment alone to sort through the home and her thoughts, but she moved swiftly, because in this game, Colette would always come out on top. She'd always be more powerful.

The run through the woods would have been almost therapeutic if not for the tightening feeling in Cole's stomach at the thought that this was not how she'd hoped to end her night. She thought her and Klaus would be long gone by now, running from Alaric. That she'd be happy in his arms in some hotel overlooking Paris or some beautiful riviera in a country she had never been to before and could only dream about.

But nothing ever ended the way she hoped.

Colette arrived at Elena's house and noticed how quiet it was inside. No one was home.

Naya came running up beside her seconds later with a slight frown etched into her perfect face. "Where the hell are they?"

"Not home," muttered Colette, stepping out onto the sidewalk from where they'd been standing in the yard of some random home, "clearly."

Colette walked down the sidewalk in the direction that would take her towards her own home in a few blocks. It was strange, realizing she'd lived so close to her and Caroline all these years.

"Where are you going?" snapped Naya, jogging to catch up. "Shouldn't we be hunting down Salvatores and little Elena? Maybe even finding out where Alaric is so he doesn't go and, I don't know, kill me?"

"Why should I care if you die?"

"You are seriously no fun." She crossed her arms and it was the first time Colette realized she was wearing sneakers, and Naya never wore shoes like that. "It's like you've given up already. What happened to your fight? What happened to wanting to tear my head off and getting revenge?"

"I'm sorry I'm not like you," said Colette, "and that I just want a moment to catch my fucking breath."

Naya sighed. "You were more fun when you were actively biting my head off."

"And you're more fun when you actually shut the hell up for once," snarled Colette, her nails digging into her palms. "Besides, I don't think you have anything to even say to me since half of your supposed 'visions' from when you were alive and when you were even more of a bitch haven't exactly come true."

Naya narrowed her eyes and Colette could hear the girl gritting and grinding her teeth and jaw. "Tell me how I've been wrong."

"Well, for starters, you said the originals were going to steal my blood," Colette snapped. "Clearly, they didn't because I gave it to them. I gave it to Ric, I gave it to Klaus, there was no stealing, no great awful theft you kept droning on and on about. Your visions aren't always true so why the fuck should I even give you the opportunity to go spitting them again?" Her anger was building up and she knew it was mostly directed towards the Salvatores, but Naya was here and after all this time, Colette was no longer the target for rage. Naya was.

"My visions give me the template," said Naya in a disturbingly calm voice. "It's told me of your problems, the ones we should avoid, and the ones we should go running to, and right now? My visions of Ric were right. He's gone psycho killer on our asses and you'll need me to stop him–"

"There's no way to stop him, not without–"

"Killing Elena and killing you, I fucking know, you stupid fucking martyr."

Colette rolled her eyes, she always forgot how much Naya loved curse words. She loved how dirty they sounded in her mouth, how it made everything so much more aggressive.

"But you need to keep him away from the originals or we're all goners," continued Naya. "You need someone strong enough to keep him away and you can do that, sure, but if there were two of us? All powered up on your demon blood?" She shook her head with a laugh. "We could tear him limb from limb, force him to regenerate long enough for you and all your little friends to run."

Colette thought it was a good idea, if Naya wasn't terrible and a backstabbing liar. If she'd been a good friend, someone trusted, Colette would've handed over some of her gift if it meant they'd all be saved. Just to be able to give Rebekah a head start into the next country would've been something Colette would've loved to do if her childhood friend wasn't a lunatic now.

Running through the front yard. One piece bathing suits covering pudgy bellies filled with hot dogs and hamburgers from the grill, lemonade, and popsicles that left their hands sticky.

There is laughter hanging in the air and the kids down the street are popping off fireworks in their driveway, little boys with sparklers and sprinklers. Her friend runs ahead of her, long dark hair down her back and clinging to her sweaty skin. She is giggling and trying to do a cartwheel with her popsicle between her teeth like corn on the cob.

It's summer and the world is bright. There are no monsters because they haven't become them yet.

"You can't manipulate me anymore," said Colette, shaking her head as they slowed their pace to the empty plot of land across the street. "Not like you did with me before, and not like with Tommy."

Naya grimaced. "Don't...don't say his name."

"Why? Does it hurt knowing you practically led him to his death?"

"I'm not the one who killed Finn."

"But you chalked his head full of conspiracies and visions that don't even come true!" Colette glared at her shoes, keeping her arms tucked tightly around herself, trying to calm her raging heart. "You got him to kill our parents and you got him turned into your dog, but I'm not like him, not anymore. If you try to come at me again with your bullshit promise at stopping Alaric, I will not hesitate to tear your jugular out for the second time." Naya was quiet and Colette finally looked up at her to glare. "Do you get it? Or do I need to spell it out for you?"

Naya's fingers curled into her arm and Colette could've sworn she was drawing blood. "I'm trying to protect you, to keep you alive for as long as I can–"

"And we both know that won't fucking work." She glared, tightly. "What have your visions told you about tonight? About all the things I've been seeing, too?"

Water. A car crashing into the depths. Fires erupting from a desiccated corpse. Crying, spitting, sobbing men over deaths they could not stop.

Blood from her own hands. Blood curdling screams and agonies from hells not even from this earth. Death's guideless hand crossing over innocent faces.

"Tell me, Naya," hissed Colette, fire burning in her eyes, "how does this all end?"

You'll die here, you'll never leave this place.

When Naya wouldn't answer, Colette crossed the street and towards the empty plot now clear of rubble and ruins. She stood where her front porch would've been and stepped over the small boundary into the home that would've never turned her out.

A lot of her torment started here within these walls that were now reduced to ash and smoke. She didn't regret what she did because no one could live here after her, after all the legacies and messes that had been made. This home had been made for one family and them alone.

She'd thought, as a child, a memory so far away from her that it took her grasping it in her hands like fine silvery wisps to remember, of what it would be like to raise her own children within these walls.

All that time fantasizing about a wedding to a handsome man or beautiful woman she could never quite name or face, she should've known it had just meant it would never happen. The life she'd envisioned for so long would never come true.

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket and she brought it out, the little screen lighting up in the darkness and she scowled. Still answering the phone, she pressed it to her ear and said in a snappy voice, "Where is he, Damon?"

"Aw, look who's finally up," cooed the Salvatore. "I've been calling you the past hour."

"So?"

"Elena's in the hospital and Alaric went by looking for her."

"So?" she repeated.

"He thinks he can manipulate her and Jeremy into telling him where Klaus's body is–"

"And you want me to do what, exactly?" she snarled. "You broke my neck and helped steal the guy I was planning on running away with, so why would I want to help you with anything?"

"Okay, yes, I'm sorry," he spat back, "but your little boyfriend was going to kill Elena–"

Colette gritted her teeth so roughly she thought she'd break a tooth. "And like I told you before you so rudely killed me," she hissed so deeply it didn't even sound like her voice, "that he wasn't going to do that. Elena's life isn't the only one at stake, in case you forgot, but wait! I keep forgetting, you have your head so far up Elena's ass! How could you possibly notice or care about anyone else?"

There was a soft sigh on his end of the phone and Colette could hear his car running. It wasn't his normal sleek convertible but rather it had a louder engine, like the one of a moving truck. "Colette, I'm sorry, okay? I just...I have to protect her."

"And you couldn't protect me?" she whispered, hating that emotion was rising so quickly to her face. "I needed you, I–I showed you that I wanted you and you used me all for her."

None of it had been real. Nothing he'd given had been true.

"It's not like that," he said back in a soft voice that made her think he wasn't alone. Was Stefan still with him or had he come running back home in search of Elena? "I...Colette...it was real for me, too."

"But I never would've been her."

"Colette, please–"

She was shaking her head, her eyes blurry and unfocused because of the build up of tears. "You made me believe you wanted me, all this time–" She choked and pressed her fist into her mouth. Was it him who was making her cry or the end coming up so quickly? "I hate you."

He started to say something else but she was still shaking her head and spitting, "I hate you, I hate you–"

"Don't let that be the last thing you say to me before you hang up the phone," he begged and there was a strange desperation in his voice. "Colette, please, you've got to understand, we have to talk in person but not now–"

She hung up with an angry crunch of her phone shattering in her hand.

"Now that's a way to handle your problems," muttered Naya as she came to stand beside her. She watched as Colette chucked her phone's remains into the grass after removing her SIM card and didn't say anything else on that matter. But she did, however, open her mouth and that act alone made Colette want to wring her neck. "I didn't think you'd choose Klaus, over all of them. I expected you to fall after Damon, but I guess it makes sense for you to follow your dog even though," she was smirking, "you're the pet."

"You just love the sound of your own voice, don't you?"

Naya's smirk grew. "Wouldn't you? If you sounded as good as me?" She reached out and tucked her hand into Colette's, her skin a horrible warm. It felt like she had dipped her claws into hot wax or fresh blood. This was not a sign of sisterhood, of lovers taking hands. This was evil, possession, obsession–

The air shifted around them and Colette pushed Naya aside to look around. There was something elegant in the air, something she recognized so easily. Inside of her, Colette felt a spark of that familiarity and she smiled, genuinely.

Standing opposite of her across the road, one hand in his perfectly ironed suit and the other gripping his telephone, he smiled back. He looked good, since the last time she'd seen him when they'd been dancing and then later staring down his mother. His hair was recently cut, Colette could just tell. She could even see the slight scruff to his cheeks, gentle enough to tell her he was just as worried as she was from the situation at hand.

She left Naya in the grave of her home. "I thought you were halfway across the country."

"And I thought you were done with death wishes, but alas, here we are."

She threw her arms around his neck and breathed in his sharp cologne as his arms came up around her slowly. "It's so good to see you, Elijah."

"When my brother gets himself into trouble," he murmured against her hair, "I always do seem to come running."

"We both do."

The new voice was sharp and Colette pulled back, a hand still on Elijah's shoulder as she regarded the blonde standing off to the side with her arms crossed. She looked beautiful underneath the moonlight and her hair was in a thick tight wave over her shoulder. Even with the scowl still presented on her face, she was stunning.

"Well, well, well," said Naya from behind Colette, walking slowly across the street with no doubt a scowl on her face, "I didn't peg you as someone who would willingly fight for the brother who's only abandoned and turned his back on you. Didn't he choose to stay here while you ran? He chose this town over you, his hybrids, and yet..." Naya laughed. "You've chosen to stay? To rescue him?"

Rebekah narrowed her eyes. "He's my brother."

"But he doesn't even love you, not like he does his precious Elena."

Colette felt anger unfurl inside her chest but kept her mouth shut as she dropped her hand from Elijah's shoulder to her side where her hand curled into a tight fist.

"Maybe if you'd finally open up that black heart," said Rebekah, "then maybe you'd care about someone other than yourself enough to save them."

"I do care," snarled Naya. "That's why I'm here, that's why I haven't left her side."

Colette wanted to strike her but she kept her hands at her sides. "Don't try and act like you aren't here for one thing and one thing only," her tone was lowered and she hoped she sounded menacing, "and we both know it isn't to capture my heart or protect me."

"Ah," cooed Rebekah. "Is she still obsessed with stealing from you? How...pathetic." Rebekah took a few steps forward, flipping her phone out and looking at the little screen with a scowl. "We don't have time for this useless conversation. Elijah, are we...?"

"Right, yes," said her brother with a firm nod. He looked towards Colette, offering her a warm smile. "I'm going to see Elena, would you like to accompany me?"

"Cole, no–" Naya started but Colette nodded her head and said, "What's your plan?"

"We're going to get that blasted stake away from your teacher," said Elijah. "Once the stake is in my possession, we'll be leaving Mystic Falls."

"And Klaus?"

"He'll also be in my possession." He waved a hand in the air. "All we need is to convince Elena to return Klaus's body to us and we'll allow Alaric to follow us. Rebekah and Klaus–"

"We've been running from our father for nearly a thousand years," said Rebekah, butting in with a pretty scowl. "We can run from your history teacher for another sixty years or however long Elena decides to live."

"And how do you expect them to just...give him over?" asked Colette with a frown. "They snapped my neck for even trying to revive him."

"All my brother wanted was a family, people devoted and loyal to him. He wanted love," said Elijah, his eyes running past Naya and his sister to land firmly on Colette. "For so long, I've watched him steal from others and kill to get what he wants. Elena was only the latest of his obsessions to finally get what he always wanted to achieve but...but things changed when he met you. There is not a drop of worry in me about what my brother will do when he wakes because of you."

Rebekah cleared her throat softly and whispered, "He doesn't care about his hybrids, he only wants you."

Colette wanted to look at her and whisper, and you? What do you want? But she held back. "Then let's go to Elena, try to convince her."

"I really don't think that's a good idea," urged Naya but Colette ignored her as she looped her arm with Elijah. "Like, it's not going to be good for us, Cole, it's not–"

Colette patted Elijah's arm and they were gone before Naya could even finish her next thought. She didn't deserve to finish, anyhow.

Elijah entered Elena's home with a silent push of the front door. Colette edged in behind him and found the house was warm and smelled faintly of chips and salsa and wine. There was even the salty smell of tequila shots, limes in a bowl in the sink.

So much had changed in the way the air felt. It felt like Colette no longer belonged here with these people. She was a stranger in this home, like she had been at the very start of it all. She was not supposed to be here, she was not supposed to be in this plot–

"Stefan..." whispered Elena as she rounded the corner, stopping in the entrance hall in her familiar purple cardigan.

Elijah made no move forward, only looking at her deeply as Colette leaned against the door frame. She held up her hand with a small smirk, waving her fingers at the girl and at Stefan as he quickly came at the sound of Elena's voice.

"Colette," said Stefan before his eyes met the man's. "Elijah."

"Hello again." Elijah, so elegant and professional, slipped one hand into his pocket and offered the room a gentle smile as Matt came around the corner to freeze at the sight of them.

"What are you–" Elena swallowed thickly and Colette could hear the sound travel down her throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to discuss the matters concerning my brother and Alaric," said Elijah, glancing back at Colette and beckoning her forward with his two fingers. She entered the home fully and closed the door behind her as he spoke. "I think it's important that we all discuss this."

Colette had expected Rebekah to come with them but the girl had vanished when they'd arrived at the Gilbert home. She wished she had come, it would've made things easier considering she was forced to be in the same room as Elena after the girl had ruined Colette's chances at a happily ever after.

Elijah pulled a seat out for Colette at Elena's dining room table and then promptly sat down at the head, resting both his hands on the armrests as he watched the owner of the home, who felt more like a guest, sit down in between her guard dog and her football player.

"All we need is to take that stake away from him," said Elijah once everyone was settled and an aggravated Damon was placed on speaker phone in the center of the table. "Once he's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the earth." His eyes met Colette's when he said the last part and she gave him a subtle nod. "And Alaric will follow us."

Stefan's brows rose and then narrowed. "And you'll just...run."

"We've done it before," said Elijah, spitting the same spiel he and Rebekah had given her earlier. "Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading our father. What's another half century while Elena's able to live out the rest of her natural life?"

Stefan glanced back towards Elena.

"We finally stopped him, Elijah," said Elena, her brows knitted together and Colette watched as she avoided her at the table, her gaze settled on the floor or on Elijah's handsome face. "After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back."

"I give you my word, Elena." Elijah sat forward in his chair, urging the girl to look into his eyes as he spoke. "I will not revive Klaus," his first lie of the night utter with true deception and force, "within yours, nor even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps it'll even teach him some manners." He reached forward and fixed the placemat on the table until it was straight, along with the napkin.

"But how can we trust she won't revive him?" asked Stefan, his eyes meeting hers for the first time truly tonight. "How do we know the second we hand him over she won't bring him back?"

"And if I do?" countered Colette with a glare and an awful suffocating emotion swelling in her throat. "What will you do then? Kill me?" Stefan's jaw clenched and she leaned forward, clasping her hands on the table. "The real person you should be directing these comments to is him. Why should you trust him?"

Matt nodded, glancing towards Elijah. "How can she trust you? All you've done is screw her over."

"And for that, I'm deeply ashamed," said Elijah and Colette could smell the truth wavering over him. "But know this...she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight. So, Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not."

"Not! Hello?!" snapped Damon from the phone. "Did that concussion give you brain damage? His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get."

"Rebekah has already given us her word," said Colette, hoping Damon could read the glare in her tone. "She won't hurt you or anyone you love as long as she gets her brother back."

Elijah nodded. "Rebekah and Kol will honor the terms if you return Klaus's body to us...Elena will come to no harm." Everyone at the table slowly looked at each other before Elijah muttered, "Do we have a deal?"

Damon snarled from the phone instantly, "No! No, no, no! Did I mention, no!"

Stefan bowed his head. "Elena...it's up to you."

"Oh, come on!"

"Aw, poor Damon," cooed Colette with a snarl, "finally not getting his way."

"Colette, I swear to god–"

"You'll what?" she snapped back. "You're not even here, you don't get a say in shit–"

Stefan reached a hand across the table to mute the phone before Damon could speak and Colette clamped her mouth shut as Elena looked away from Stefan to rest an elbow on the table. "Why do you want Klaus's body?"

Elijah looked at her for a moment and Colette could smell a desperation only for family spill from his pores before he spoke. "He's my brother. We remain together."

Elena finally met Colette's gaze and swallowed softly. "And you?"

"I love him," she told the girl. "I trust him."

Elena sighed deeply, a hand going to the side of her face to brush her hair out of the way before nodding slowly. There was a deafening silence that followed her quiet nod, like she was fighting with herself over the right decision. When she spoke, there was a genuine spark of hope igniting in Colette's chest for the first time that evening. "We...we have a deal."

Elena found Colette's narrowed eyes and motioned with her head to the side, her eyes pleading with her to follow as she stood and headed off into the other room. Colette pushed herself back from the table and stood slowly before following Elena with Stefan's eyes following her all the way back into the narrowed hall near one of the guest rooms.

The room was painted a deep green, which matched the bedroom upstairs that had once belonged to Jenna and then Ric. There was a sweet bed in the middle of the wall with a pretty white comforter and white pillows, all very simple. Elena stood in front of the vanity mirror in front of the bed, looking uncomfortable.

Colette crossed her arms near the wall by the closet door and watched as Elena stalked forward to shut the bedroom door. Colette, with narrowed eyes, regarded her friend as she locked the door and then crossed the room to turn the little radio clock by the bed up all the way to whatever obnoxious station it was still on.

Old country played throughout the room and Elena grimaced but reached forward for Colette to come closer. The girl did so, slowly.

"What's with all the precautions?" she asked with a frown, wondering why she needed to vampire proof the room.

"Damon's taking Klaus's body to the Atlantic," said Elena in a hushed voice. "And he's going to dump him there but I want you to get a head start before we tell Alaric."

Hope rushed through Colette's veins like white hot lava, scorching her insides.

"Only me and Stefan know where he's taking Klaus now," said Elena, "and before we tell Elijah where to find him, I think..." She sighed deeply and took one of Colette's hands in hers. She was cold. "I think you should get there before Rebekah and before Alaric because once Bonnie gets there to make Klaus undetectable, you won't be able to get to him."

"Why–" Colette swallowed thickly. "Why are you telling me this?"

Elena squeezed her hand. "Because it wasn't fair what we did to you and to him. He...he wasn't going to hurt me, I can see that now but I couldn't allow him to keep hurting us here and..." She sighed again, her shoulders slumping. "And I realized all we were doing was hurting you and if you were telling the truth about how he wasn't going to kill me, and that you two were going to leave, then...why would I try to stop that?"

Colette didn't know whether or not to trust her because things had become so rocky recently. But this was Elena. Colette would protect her, not only because they were linked, but because they were one in the same in an awful sense. Their parents were dead. They had brothers who couldn't help getting involved. They were loved by monsters and cruel things, things they couldn't stop.

"Damon's taking him to a storage unit, outside of town," explained Elena. "He'll be in unit 1020." She reached behind her and pulled something from her pocket and Colette wondered when she had time to do this, but she pushed the address into Cole's hand and she took it, gratefully.

"You love him," whispered Elena, "and I hope that your love is as strong as it seems to keep him away."

Colette nodded slowly and looked up to meet her friend's eyes. "We won't ever come back here, I promise you that."

Elena gave her a small smile but there were tears building up in her eyes as she pulled Colette into a hug. She gripped her back, clasping onto her shirt. "I wish this wasn't the last time we got to see each other," said the girl in a watery voice, "but once you get him out of here, you can wake him. Don't wait for me to grow old and die, even if Alaric is still hunting you." She pulled back and Colette saw tears streaking down her cheeks. "Wake him and be happy, okay?"

Colette dropped her hands from Elena's shoulders and dug deeply into her pocket. She pulled out a small vial, something she'd hidden once she got a free moment away from Naya and her greyhound nose. She'd been careful with this. Cautious. Protective. And she had a few tricks up her sleeves still for her petulant friend.

She cut her hand, squeezing her hand tightly as blood seeped out and into the little vial she'd stolen from the Salvatore house. Her blood was a rich shade of red and it filled the vial quickly. She corked it once it was done, stuffing it away in her pocket.

This'll be for later, she thought to herself, this will help them when I can't.

Colette would never have harmed Elena or any of her friends. Even with Naya's rage sitting on her shoulders, she wouldn't have done anything drastic. Argue, perhaps, but not kill or maim.

"You'll need this," explained Colette, placing the warm thing inside Elena's palm and closing her fingers around it. "It'll heal you, keep you safe."

"But–"

Colette smiled softly and shook her head. "My parents, when I was born, thought my blood would have the potential to save lives, but not if vampire blood had been administered first, but they were wrong about it all. They were wrong about all of it." There had been too many myths, too many ideas that had been forced upon this witch magic running through Colette's veins that they didn't understand because they would never see it the way she had. She'd seen the truth blazed behind her eyes through visions of blood and monsters. "My blood can save lives, yeah, but only I can control what it can do. With Alaric still going crazy, there's a good chance he could get himself killed and I don't want to see you die." I don't want to see myself die. "If by some chance you become a vampire or you die way before your time, you can use this. Or you can use it on someone else, I don't care."

"You can't give this to me," whispered Elena. "What if it gets into the wrong hands?"

"Are you talking about Naya?"

She nodded.

"I'm giving it to you," said Colette. "My blood can't be stolen but it can be given."

"She could still take it–"

"And if she does, she'll die."

"Die?"

"Well, duh."

"Duh?"

"God, you're just like Damon sometimes," said Colette, rolling her eyes with a smile. "My blood is my power but it's a gift, it can't be taken or stolen but it can be gained. I'm giving it to you because, honestly," she laughed, "you need it the most if you're going to continue hanging out with that band of freaks."

Elena nodded slowly and a smile came to her face. "This isn't going to make me sprout fangs or shoot fire out of my eyes, right?"

Colette rolled her eyes. "I better not get a call from you a year from now or even later tonight saying you screwed the pooch with this and need more."

Elena tucked the vial in her pocket and nodded. "Only for emergencies." She reached out and turned down the radio and from the kitchen, they heard Jeremy speaking. Elena let out a shuddering breath. "Let's just hope this isn't the emergency yet." They headed for the door and before Elena opened it, she whispered, "Head out the front while I keep them distracted in the dining room," there was a smile on her face, "with all of the original Alaric business."

Colette took Elena's hand in hers and murmured, "Stay alive."

"You, too."

There was something that fluttered around Colette as she zipped towards the door that neither of the girls had anything good coming to them by the end of the night. But she always felt that way, especially with the devil looming over her shoulder.

She was out the door and into the wooded night before anyone was able to stop her. She thought she knew the way, but it wasn't like vampires were given a GPS system in their heads to lead the way. She made educated guesses until she passed the border, running in a blur of muted colors.

She really should've changed.

Still wearing the bloodied shirt and sweatpants Klaus had gifted her seemed like the wrong outfit to die in, but she wasn't going to die. Elena was going to survive and Alaric would be chasing after Klaus once she woke him.

They'd be in a different country by morning, she was nearly certain.

The storage warehouse was big on the outside and she was thankful it was the kind that you had to go indoors for. She was sweating slightly from her run and only somewhat out of breath. It took her seconds to be fine but she still wanted to feel the air conditioning against her skin.

Entering, she let the door close loudly behind her. Her sneakers, which were still very much Rebekah's, hit the floor in soft pats as she walked down the narrowed aisle between rows of units. She was looking for 1020 and she had entered through by the 500s.

She needed to take an elevator. Once out of the old thing and up into the belly of the building, she closed her eyes briefly.

If she listened closely, she could hear the drum of fingers and the click of phone keys being pressed. She followed the sound, growing more impatient with every turn she took. He was so close she could smell him, or at least he had smelled like before the desiccation. There was rot in her nostrils, sour and ruined.

Colette was used to this smell because it had once consumed her, just like now. Oh, how their roles had reversed.

Reaching out, she dragged her hand along the wall of metal roll up doors, letting the screech of her nails echo through the building. It stung at her ears but she kept pressing, leaving a trail of white lines across the blue metal. All the doors were blue here while the floors and walls were gray and white. She could get lost in here for decades, never to find her way out from the maze of dull colors trapping her.

"Damon," she sung softly and she heard the click of his phone keys stop. His fingers drumming had stopped at the first sound she made and a smile came to her face. "You wanted to talk in person, didn't you? Well, I'm here, lover. So, how about that chat?"

She rounded on the one open door and smiled smugly into the room, the number 1020 resting above where she'd placed her hand. There was a coffin in the room and she marveled at how big the unit was for only a moment before Damon stepped out from where he'd been conveniently covered from view.

"Colette."

"Miss me?"

The coffin was open and she felt her flames lick under her skin, itching to be unleashed through her fingers and mouth and tongue.

"Thought you would be able to hide him from me?" she purred, entering. The storage locker seemed to be in the process of moving things in and out because there were large rugs rolled up against the walls and old crates.

"Don't do what I know you're about to do," said Damon, holding up his hands.

"Do what?" She smiled, flicking her wrist and feeling flames dance over her fingers. "Kill you, maybe? Or taking his coffin and running?" She watched him narrow his eyes and she let out a small gasp, reaching up with her burning hand to shield her mouth as she giggled. "Oh, you meant waking him, didn't you? Aw, too bad."

"Elijah swore to us."

"And I didn't."

"If he wakes–"

"He'll kill you," said Colette with a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, I know, but he won't."

Damon glared. "What makes you think he'll listen to a word you say?"

"It's about trust, baby," she drawled, feeling the heat from her hand swirl up her wrist and to her forearm before she let it vanish with not a trace of smoke. "We got about an hour, maybe, before Rebekah gets here."

She saw flashes of Alaric's face behind her eyes.

"And maybe thirty before Ric gets here, too."

"How do you know that?"

She tapped her forehead. "I see all and know all, remember?"

Colette touched the coffin, the shiny wood cold and smooth under her fingers. When she rounded the end to look inside, Klaus was wrapped in thick chains. His eyes were open and he stared at her deeply and she smiled.

They'd be home soon.

"I'm..." Damon swallowed thickly and she glanced at him over her shoulder. He looked nervous, clutching his phone in one hand and still hadn't moved from where he stood. His aura was blue, deep and dark like the ocean. "I'm going to let you take him."

Her eyes widened and she reached out to rest a hand on Klaus's chains as she stared at Damon. "Really? Just like that?"

Damon nodded. "You can take him...after we get Alaric's stake, okay?"

"He's not going to give it up easily."

"He'll have me, you, and Rebekah against him once she gets here. He'll know he's screwed."

"No."

"No?"

"Yeah, no."

"I'm letting you take your pathetic wolf, what part of this aren't you getting?"

She glared, his voice was sharp. Was she detecting pain? "You won't be able to get the stake from Ric, you're playing an impossible game." There was only one way to stop him and Colette could only hope Elena would keep Colette's blood close once the end finally neared. "If Bonnie can somehow reverse the magic inside of him, it still won't work. We know this."

It won't stop until he's dead.

Damon's eyes flashed down to Klaus and then back to her. "If Ric's coming, then we have to leave. There's a thousand of these units he'll have to search before he gets to him."

"I'm not going anywhere until he's awake."

Until I can kiss him and feel his warmth one last time. Until his arms are wrapped around me and there's a goodbye on our tongues.

"We can't do that, yet!"

"I don't see why not."

"Parrot–Colette–" He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh," she breathed, head tilting to the side as her hand left Klaus's chest and she slowly turned to face Damon fully now. "You want to talk first, right? You want to explain to me why you used me and hurt me and played me like a goddamn fool, right?" She reached up and slowly closed the lid of the coffin and nodded. "Okay, you have five minutes because I would love to hear your excuses."

The way he was looking at her, like he was out of breath, left her now somewhat nervous. He never looked at her like this before, so unknown and a loss for words. Had he not expected her to ask about it? To ask him to defend all his deceptions? She was going to turn them all down anyway, mostly because she knew they were bullshit, but the look in his eyes made her second guess.

He was swallowing her whole in his gaze. Ophelia was reaching her hand through his pool of icey eyes, hoping for her to take her hand and drown in them too.

"What I did," he started in a low voice, "was inexcusable and I'm deeply sorry."

Damon? Apologizing? Unheard of. He'd never said sorry before, even in this tone of wilted defeat.

"How I felt–" He shook his head and corrected himself which made emotions croak in her throat. "How I feel, was true. It still is. Colette..." He slipped his phone into the pocket of his leather jacket to run both hands over his face and through his hair. His emotions were jumbled, all red and blue and pink and white, all smelling like some dangerous concoction that made her worried this was a trick to get her drunk off of him. "I kissed Elena that night at the motel because I was testing a theory. I've been testing it this entire time because–because well, I didn't believe it."

Her brows furrowed and now she was the one at a loss for words. She didn't know whether to believe him, even while, against her back, Klaus's consciousness burned.

"I didn't want to believe there was anyone other than Elena for me," he said, pressing a hand to his chest as he took a step forward, slowly. "I didn't think it was possible because I have loved her for so long, longer than Stefan, longer than I should've." His eyes were on hers and she could tell he was scared, nervous because of her own reaction still reverberating through her. Disbelief. He loved Elena, he always has, but he was saying loved.

Past tense.

"And then you came along. I'd noticed you before," she knew this obviously because he was able to describe exactly what she was wearing the first time he'd seen her, "but I didn't think much of it besides the fact that you were pretty and would make a good lay if it ever came to that." She glared and he raised his hands. "I'm trying to be truthful for once, okay?"

She let him continue.

"But then you just kept showing up. I'd see you at the dances. I'd see you at the Grill. I'd see you with Naya, stealing booze and fries from old tables." He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes wild and wide. "I saw you the night of Naya's party this summer, at the liquor store. You–" He shook his head. "You looked beautiful and annoyed and pissed off but you still spoke to me, you still...played along." He had called her feisty, that he liked her better when she was free from Naya's clawed grip. "Then you were on my front porch, fucking–" a laugh escaped him. "–fucking completely naked, like god, Colette, what the hell?"

He was laughing and it brought a strange smile to her face because how many times had he seen her naked this time? Twice? Three times?

"And you were turned and it just felt like fate for you to be there," he said, taking another step forward and she let him. She let him get closer, for him to stand so close that she had to jut her chin up to meet his gaze. "It was like I was seeing everything in different colors but...I know you don't believe me because of Elena and the way I've acted but..." He sighed, looking away and his smell was so thick and over her skin she felt compelled to keep listening. "I just can't let her die and I'm sure you feel the same way with Naya. There's just something about them that we can't help ourselves. Elena, she's got so much life to give and it's my fault–all of our faults–for getting her sucked into this."

"More so Katherine," muttered Colette and Damon smiled softly, a true smile, not a smirk.

"I can't let her die, I can't let anyone hurt her."

"That's where we're different," she said as he met her gaze once more. "I'd happily let Naya take a stake."

"But you haven't even killed her yet."

"Who says I'm not just waiting for the perfect moment?"

"Because you two are attached at the hip."

"Are not."

"So are."

She glared and crossed her arms. "Are you going to continue this long winded apology or am I going to take this as the end?"

He glared back, brows furrowed deeply, but he continued nonetheless. "I meant what I said when I told you there was a different path for me other than Elena," he said. "And I meant it when I told you that you're needed and that you didn't have to go to him to feel that way. We've both hurt you but you can't forget what he's done, how he lied to you, tricked you into thinking he was some different guy–"

"It doesn't matter what he did," it did, "because he would never choose someone else over me."

"Then what does that make his hybrids, Colette?"

"He only wanted a family!" she snapped back. "He wanted love, why is that so hard to believe?"

"He's a monster. He doesn't deserve the love he's been given."

"Then what does that make me?" she whispered. "I'm the same as him, I'm a monster too, but I still deserve love. It's what I've always wanted so why can't I finally have it?!"

You're beginning to sound like him.

Old images of Damon in her bed, his hands in fists as he snarled about how it was about time he got what he wanted. He should be allowed to be happy, too. But she also saw her own face, glaring and howling about how it wasn't fair that everyone got to love and she didn't. She didn't get a happy ending.

"You just had to wait a little longer!" Damon snapped back. "After all of this settled, you would've gotten what you wanted, but no. You had to come marching in here and you had to go in guns blazing because you don't have patience. You couldn't just sit back and fucking wait!"

"Wait for what, Damon?!" she cried. "Wait for the same thing to always happen? For the man I love to turn his back on me? For the girl I love to kill me? For the woman I love to care more about her fucking witch-bitch mother than me? So I could die for love all over again?"

You will always die for love.

The love you will never get in return.

"Klaus hasn't turned his back on you, we took him," Damon was breathing heavily, "and he'll be returned to you once it's over–"

"But you did," she breathed, shaking her head. Her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he could hear it. There was no point in dodging around the truth. She'd known it, everyone had. She'd fallen a long time ago and never let that go, even when things were getting better and there was someone waiting to finally take her away. "You chose Elena. You turned your back on me."

But this was not her path. Was it?

Her path had her own face. Her path was her mirror. Her twin soul.

You were born from flames and anger and rage and you will die the same.

Her path had always been the same.

"I was falling in love with you," she whispered, afraid to meet his eyes but she did anyway. His blue was heated, red floating all around him in a pulsating warmth. "I thought...I thought you had felt the same but it's the same thing every time, Damon. I'll never be the girl you want because there's always going to be Elena. You will choose her every time."

"Then why didn't I go back to Mystic Falls when she was in the hospital?" he breathed, brows still furrowed. "Why let Stefan go when I could've easily gone in his place? Why take this stupid coffin across the fucking state when I could've gone to protect Elena? To be there for her?"

She didn't know why, she just assumed because Stefan drew the bigger straw.

"Because I knew you'd find me here," he said. "I knew you'd come after him and I knew it'd hurt but you'd still be here."

I would cross worlds for you.

But so would the wolf. So would the girl with the snake eyes. So would the angry blonde.

"I knew you'd come for him and it'd give me a chance to explain," he told her. "I could've been in Mystic Falls with Elena in my arms but I chose the coffin because it would lead me to you." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It has always been you, but I'm just shit at showing it and you're just a little too good at pointing it out."

Her eyes wanted to flutter close at his proximity but she stared up at him instead, whispering, "It's because you're a dick."

"You don't make it easy."

"It takes two to tango."

He dipped his head, pressing his forehead gently against hers. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to say. And I'm sorry that I'm too late."

"I'm sorry, too."

He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up slowly. "I'm sorry I didn't let you know sooner, I'm sorry I didn't show you how much you mean to me." His lips got closer and she could feel breath against her cheeks. This was wrong but this was the end, anyhow. None of it mattered, not really. "I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry for all of it."

"You should be."

He chuckled and she felt his laughter under her hands pressed against his chest. Then, like a ghost, like a memory that she wished had been so different, fueled differently than it had, his lips pressed against hers.

Maybe he was just using this to distract her but she would never say no to a kiss, especially one that made her toes curl and her insides turn to mush. Or maybe she was just using him, finally getting her last fill before running off. But she let her lips part and she allowed his tongue to glide inside and taste her. There were things she wished they could've done, things that involved a bed and flesh and bone, but there was no such thing as getting what you wanted here.

Because Klaus was there. Klaus, who could still sense things, hear them. She loved him and she loved Damon and she loved Rebekah, and she didn't know if she would ever get the chance to settle and choose, maybe she was truly much more like Elena than she had thought before.

She let Damon kiss her for a good few more seconds before pushing him away. She let out a slow breath before whispering, "This doesn't change anything."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know."

"I'm still going–"

"I know. You probably should."

"I'm sorry."

"I am, too."

She turned back to the coffin but didn't get the chance to open it when somewhere below them in the building a door opened. With wide eyes, she glanced back at Damon and hissed softly, "Go, I won't wake him yet. Just get Alaric out of here. I'll meet you in the unloading zone."

He nodded and began making his way to the door before he turned, meeting her worried eyes that were still urging him to go and distract the best he could.

"Colette, you know that I–"

She didn't want to hear him say it. Not yet. "I know," she said in a soft voice, giving him a gentle nod to urge him to keep going. He looked back at her once more, brows furrowed with a softness she hadn't seen on him before and would never see again because he was gone, heading down the hall and towards the vampire hunter with the major case of prejudice for his own kind.

She opened the coffin and looked down at her betrothed and gave him a smile. "Soon," she murmured and he gave her a slow blink in return.

She patted his head like a puppy and closed the lid of the coffin before swiftly moving it out of the door and down the hall towards the service elevator that would take her to the garage for packing and unloading the bigger belongings.

Inside the large elevator, she felt it go down, the gears and shifting running about all around her. She hoped it was silent but the humming was loud enough to drum out her thoughts so there was an awful chance Alaric could hear.

Even as the elevator slowed, she could feel this was coming closer to the end. There were so many things she needed to do, so many things she still had to finish. Would she ever get to see her life complete? Or would it be her full circle moment that drags her to the pit?

She knew her mirror image, her own Ophelia death, was lurking but as the elevator settled and the doors opened, it would have to wait. Klaus's coffin was heavy but it was easy for her to push it along. The van Damon had driven was still in the garage and was happily unlocked. She opened the trunk, preparing to cart Klaus's body inside when footsteps hit the pavement.

Think, little girl, think of what you must do.

She opened the coffin and smiled down at Klaus as she climbed inside, shimmying her legs under the half closed lid. Klaus's body was hard, rigid, but she could still sense his emotions as she closed the lid and was thankful it was roomy enough for her to fit inside.

"Yeah," she muttered under her breath, "don't get any ideas from this, mister."

She held her breath and felt the coffin slide forward across the floor and then stop with an awful jerk. She braced herself, hoping her didn't rock too much because someone dessicated and chained shouldn't bump and shimmy.

There was heat at her backside and she knew she'd get a stern talking to once those chains were off but she held off on biting into her own flesh to free him. There was a damn good chance she could alert Alaric of their presence just by the scent of her blood.

She knew he was here, in the room with them somewhere. She could smell the wrongness of him, as well as the strawberry sweet musk of Rebekah. The woman was not alone, because through the haze of scents, Colette could make out Damon and she knew there was a show waiting for her outside of his coffin.

There was the sound of a body hitting the van and then the crunch of what Colette thought was Alaric's boot going against Damon's chest before the lid on the coffin was opened and she was grinning.

"Surprise."

She had her hands on Alaric's face and her legs wrapped around his neck before he could even breathe. She was twisting and squeezing, clawing at his face, but Ric was stronger now and she could feel that power drifting through him and she cursed at him.

"Your power comes from me," she hissed as he tried to throw her off. He was stumbling to the sides and she was giving both Damon and Rebekah time to recover. "I can take it away, vampire hunter, I can drain it from you completely."

"Then you'll die!" he cried back and finally got her legs loose enough to toss her towards her friends who were just now standing.

She collided against Damon's chest and they both fell, ungracefully and awkwardly. All limbs and bony elbows, she pushed off Damon's chest and watched Alaric raise the stake into the air. She thrusted her arm out towards him and he looked at her, his eyes blazing from the heat that poured out from her hand.

"You're a fucking moron, you know that?" whispered Colette as Rebekah and Damon both stood slowly, easing themselves to their feet with caution leaking from their bones. "You kill him and you kill all of us, even me." I think.

Alaric seemed to hesitate and Colette could feel Rebekah gaining the momentum to launch herself towards him for the stake.

"You want to die so early?" she hissed at the man. "You want to die before you can have them all?!"

He stared at her and an awful smile came creeping up to his lips, his scent like something stained. "Yes," he breathed. "To have one will be a feast, a win, no matter the risks."

She twisted her hand and pain shot over his face, his knees threatening to buckle. "Kill him and I will kill you before you get the chance to run."

"Good," he grunted.

He slammed the stake down before the flames now consuming his legs could reach his hands. But Colette's pretty fires died once the stake hit Klaus's chest like something colliding with a hollow trunk.

The stake caught its own small fire and Rebekah let out a howl, like she had been the one struck. Like she had been the one suddenly being consumed, and Colette could understand that awfulness, that sinking feeling trying to drag her down into bloody depths.

Colette felt a powerful tug in her gut and even as the tears began to fall down her face, and she was screaming louder than she thought possible, she was flicking her wrist and watching as Alaric caught fire, completely, all over.

Damon grabbed her from behind, trying to shake her out of her harrowing trance but she wanted to watch him burn. She wanted him to have a taste of his own medicine.

"You gotta stop!" snapped Damon, shaking her side to side with his own body. "If he dies, Elena dies! You die!"

Her cries were loud and wet, coming out scorching from her throat as Alaric thrashed, yet still stood. "He deserves it!" she howled with her rampaging heart. "He deserves it!"

"But you don't!"

She let out a screeching no, her voice wavering and croaking. She'd only felt like this a few times before but it was all the same. Her body was wracking with every sob, wanting to curl in on itself to stop the pain. Tears like hot lava running down her cheeks, plastering her hair to her face and neck. This agony wasn't new.

"You have to stop, sweetheart," murmured Damon in a softer tone, smoothing her hair down her head, "please, you have to stop." Colette sagged back against Damon and she noticed for the first time that Rebekah was gone. "You need to run, okay? Get out of here."

She started to shake her head, her mouth pulling back with sobs as her head fell back against him, her body curling into him. She wanted to escape, to melt away, to never feel again.

But she didn't have time to turn it off. Not now.

Alaric reached back into the coffin and pulled the stake free, slamming it shut. He didn't give them a second look before racing after Rebekah. There was no denying that Klaus Mikaelson was dead. He had burned, swallowed up by the flames of his maker.

"He'll be back," murmured Damon, "and he won't stop until he hurts you. You need to run before he gets here, Colette, you need to run."

"No," she moaned, shaking her head.

Klaus was dead. Klaus was dead. Her way out was dead.

"You have to," he urged, trying to push her forward and off of him but she was like a lifeless sack in his arms. "Baby, please, you have to go."

Finally stumbling forward, hiccuping on a sob, she nodded. He would die here, alone, but would she even make it back to Mystic Falls in time to see her friends die too? Should she stay here? Wait out her time with him?

Or fall into the broken arms of Rebekah and Elijah, sob in the arms of Elena and Matt and Caroline and Bonnie and–

Tyler would be the first to die, she could see it in dark flashes behind her eyes. He would collapse in the Lockwood Cellar and he would die in front of Caroline.

She glanced behind her where Damon looked defeated, hands by his sides. "Come with me," she whispered through a sob. "We–we can make it back."

He shook his head. "I'm not fast enough and we...we probably only have an hour left at the max."

"But–"

"We're going to die," he whispered, "and you should die with your friends, not here. Not with me."

Her head tilted to the side and her shoulders slumped. "Damon."

"Parrot."

There was a ghost of a smile on his face and it felt like her chest was restricting. It was difficult to breathe but she knew it was only because she felt everything so much more deeply than she had as a human. She felt more as a vampire, felt everything times ten and ten was agony.

Her leg bounced and her hands by her sides were fisting themselves softly, opening and closing with her nails pressing against her palms as she forced herself to speak. "I love you."

"I know," he murmured but there was such depth in his eyes, so much knowledge that he would not be enough for her.

No one would.

But she would not allow him to feel like a second option. She would not make him feel second best, that she was going to him because she didn't have her first choice. But had Klaus even been that first choice?

She'd seen Damon with Elena, seen him at football games, at dances long before Klaus. He'd ravaged her mind for the past year and yet...and yet...

"Let me stay," she whispered to him, nearing a plea. But she could read him so easily and he would never allow it. "Please," she urged on, "let me–let me stay with you."

He frowned with a smile. "You know you can't."

"I can–"

He shook his head. "Say your goodbyes in person."

"But what about Elena?" she countered, still feeling the strong glide of tears down her cheeks. She didn't think she'd ever stop crying but at least she knew, once the night was over and the sun rose up behind the trees, she'd be home and gone from this world with everyone she loved.

"She's with Stefan."

"You can still say goodbye if we leave together–"

"I'm saying my goodbyes now," he said, "to you. I'm saying goodbye to you." He walked forward and took her hands in his. "We can have our epic goodbye in person and then I'll call Stefan and weep and sob about how close we were to living."

She looked up slightly into his eyes and leaned forward, resting her face against his and she let out a shuddering breath.

You'll never be the same after this.

"I love you," she whispered to him, "and I'll see you wherever we go after this."

He chuckled deeply. "We both know I'm not going where you are."

She let out a slow breath and nodded on a broken laugh. They'd get their happy ending in another life, she was sure of it. When she pulled back from him, his eyes met hers and followed her, even when they flickered to her lips. There was so much left unsaid between them, so much that still needed to happen but they both knew it wouldn't last the night.

Leaning closer, she pressed her lips to his on a half sob. He pulled her softly against him by the face, kissing her back as his brows furrowed against her skin. Her lips parted, slowly, and his tongue swept gently against her own as their heads tilted and her hands balled up the fabric of his shirt underneath the leather. He deepened the kiss to where they were near breathless before pulling back to bow his forehead against hers to sigh.

"I love you," he said to her and she said it back on a whisper, "I love you."

She pulled away from him entirely and looked towards the closed coffin. She couldn't get herself to step forward, to open the lid, to reveal its ashen contents. She didn't want to see Klaus like that, it would break her beyond repair. It was not an image she wanted in her head when she lights flickered out for the last time.

Not allowing herself one last look at Damon, she sped from the storage unit and back into the cold night where she belonged all this time. To the wild. To the night and the darkness and the creatures much like her.

Colette made it back to Mystic Falls in a stunning twenty minutes. She could taste despair in the air as she skidded to a stop in the woods she had grown so familiar with the past five and a half months. She liked it best when it was cold, when the heat wasn't trapped against her skin, all clammy and humid.

If she listened carefully, she could hear sobbing and she had a good feeling it was Rebekah not far from where she was now. Colette turned on her heel and ran in the direction of the girl and was surprised to see Elijah in the clearing just as she was nearing.

"Tyler Lockwood is dead," he said as she arrived, Rebekah by his side with tears streaking down her porcelain skin, "but the rest survived."

"How?" whispered Colette and their heads turned to face her.

Elijah regarded Rebekah. "You said that Niklaus turned their bloodline."

Rebekah held out her hand and Colette took it as the girl said, "I thought he did."

"It wasn't me. It wasn't Kol," urged Elijah as Rebekah said, "It wasn't me, Elijah. It was Niklaus, I'm sure of it."

Elijah's lips parted as he stared dumbfounded into the dark. "Then how have they survived?"

Colette wiped the cold tears from her face. "Magic."

Elijah cursed softly. "We can't stay here and figure out what witch has tricked us. The hunter will find us and we can't allow him to kill us or our bloodlines."

"We can't just leave," countered Rebekah. "We can still kill him, we can stop him–"

I don't want to keep running, was left unsaid on her tongue.

"And we can't stay here like sitting ducks, sister. Gather what you must but we leave in the next hour. We can't risk another second near this town with the hunter so close."

Colette reached out and touched his shoulder. "I'll stay, I–I can figure out what I can."

He nodded firmly. "We'll be in contact soon, Colette."

Rebekah made a small noise of disbelief before Elijah was gone. She dropped Colette's hand to swipe both her palms over her face, wiping her tears. There was an eerie silence that followed Elijah's disappearance and Collete wasn't sure she wanted to hug her or call Damon and Stefan, to say that something must've gone wrong, that Klaus wasn't their sire.

A cold wind shifted through the trees, rustling branches and old leaves that still hadn't fallen for the season. Even the ground beneath her feet was hard with cold and as Colette geared up to reach over and touch the girl, a twig snapped behind them and a smell curled into her nose like rotten flesh.

"Sorry about your brother," cooed Naya in a slow voice as she stepped out of the darkness and under the moonlight soaking through the trees. "Must be hard...watching the ones you love die right in front of you."

Rebekah's lips pulled back in a scowl. "You have some nerve showing up."

"Only come to pay my condolences," the girl purred. "I'm sorry your awful brother finally kicked the bucket and I'm sorry your last ditch effort to be in love died, Colette." There was a strange twinkle in her eyes. "I'm sorry you didn't get to die with him, Cole, but I'm really happy you'll get to die with me."

"If you were sired by Nik," spat Rebekah, "you would be dead already."

"Doesn't mean we won't die anyway." Naya's head cocked to the side and a strange smile crawled over her face. "Do what you must, Bekah," she said her name mockingly, "but we both know it won't do you any good. It won't make you feel better in the end."

"It's a pity I can't kill you," said Rebekah.

"And why not? Afraid you won't follow through, hmm?"

Rebekah smiled. "This kill isn't mine. It's hers."

Something isn't right here.

The look in Naya's eyes were shifting back and forth, like she was waiting and begging the original to leave. She'd done something, Colette was nearly certain. The way she was standing, it was too confident, too at ease. Where was the slight fear, the normal fear when Rebekah was close by? Her fierceness was stronger, angrier, biding its time.

"Better run along," cooed Naya. "Don't want the big bad hunter to catch you before you finally get to run away."

Anger coated Rebekah's strawberry scent, strong and sour. "I'm not running."

"That's not what your brother said."

"I'm done running but I'd advise you to start."

Colette expected her to rush Naya, to wrap her arms around her waist and knock her to the ground but instead, Rebekah took a step back and placed a hand against Colette's neck. She pulled her close and kissed her deeply, hungrily, like an apology, before pulling away and zipping through the trees.

Rage coated the air and Colette's skin, all vibrating off of Naya's hateful glower. There was a strong heat about her, that if she took one step forward her foot would crash through the earth and shatter everything.

"Aw," whispered Colette in a croak, "did that make you jealous?"

Naya's hands curled into fists.

"Did that make you...sad?"

"I miss when you were human," snarled Naya and Colette smiled softly.

"You miss when I was your bitch."

"Is that so wrong?" spat the girl. "We were friends then," no, we weren't, "and we actually hung out and talked. We loved each other!"

"The only thing you loved was yourself, Naya. You never loved me."

"Yes, I did!" she screamed. "I still do! You just don't get it, Cole. I've loved you from the moment I met you when we–when we were kids!" She was stepping forward, stalking almost, and her feet landed heavily in the broken leaves and branches. "You are my everything and...and I knew if I could have you forever, I would. I would've done anything to keep you with me–"

"Stop trying to make the fact that you manipulated me, drugged me, and murdered me sound poetic."

"It was always going to be me, you, and Tommy," whispered Naya, a strange sheen in her eyes. Was she going to cry? Get on her knees and beg? "When I started having the visions of you and the power you have, it was perfect. It was fucking fate, Colette. We would be able to survive everything together with what you have!" She ran both her hands over her head, desperation curdling in his veins. "We were meant to survive all of this, I saw it. But I saw what Klaus would do to you, what Elena and Damon and all those fuckers would do and you–" Naya's breathed stuttered. "–and you left me for them. I saw you fucking dead, Colette, the second you went with them in my visions you were dead! I've been trying to save you, protect you."

Colette shook her head, taking a cautionary step away from Naya as she inched closer. "You never wanted to save me, you just wanted me as your fucking puppet. You wanted me submissive, like I was before, but you didn't consider what death would do to me."

You woke up a god.

"You saw the originals hunting us but you didn't see them after I died," snarled Colette. "You didn't see Klaus loving me more than his family, more than himself and his stupid vendetta. You didn't see Damon choosing me over Elena. You didn't see Tommy fucking dying from all this mess. And you know what else you didn't see, Naya?" The girl looked pale. Colette had seen it all, she'd seen the visions the other girl couldn't or wouldn't even admit to and she smiled. "You didn't see yourself dying, but there's a first for everything, right?"

"You can't kill me," murmured Naya. "If you kill me, you'll never be able to forgive yourself. You know you need me, you've always needed me."

"I needed a friend!" cried Colette. "I needed someone to love me and you could never love someone other than yourself!" Colette took a daunting step forward and Naya stilled, a strange wave of arrogance washing over her. "You killed my parents, Ny. You killed the people I loved most, tried to keep me from the people who loved me, tried to sabotage my relationship with Klaus in the beginning–"

"Because I knew what he really was! He was lying to you! Manipulating you!"

"Like what you're doing now! Like what you've always done!?"

"It's because I love you!"

"You don't fucking love me, okay?!" The wind escalated, blowing Colette's hair away from her face and off her shoulders. The chill was nearly hot, like something sharp gliding over her skin. "You're just a shrewd, pathetic, little girl who was never told no as a child, and I honestly pity you, I really do, because you'll never understand how fucking awful you are!"

It was rude, Colette knew that, but she couldn't help it as it exploded from her. Naya had killed her, after all. But wasn't this life a gift? To breathe and live and feel power drumming under her skin?

But your death had been nasty, little godling girl. It had been cruel. It had been devastating.

Naya's bottom lip trembled and at one point in Colette's life, she would've found it cute. But that thought dropped from her mind when the girl dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small vial of black liquid that shined a deep red under the moonlight.

Her heart stalled. She knew what that was, and the girl shouldn't have had it.

"Where did you get that." It wasn't a question. It wasn't anything but shock.

"I switched them," she whispered. "I knew what you had done and I switched them." Colette's lip parted and her brows rose and Naya smiled fully. "Elena has random O-neg and I have yours." She rocked the vial side by side, swaying it like a hypnotizer's watch. "I was going to surprise you and drink it together, let you have a taste of how sweet you are but you haven't earned that right." She uncorked it and the smell of blood swirled through the air like honey, like something sweet and delectable. "You recognize the smell, don't you? I just want you to believe me when I say it's yours." She held it up and cackled, loud and evil and shrieking like something had broken deep within her but Cole knew it had been broken long before now. "It's your fucking blood, honey!"

"Do not drink that." Colette was stalking forward and Naya raised it to her lips. "Naya, I swear to fucking god, do not drink–"

She tipped it back and blood ran onto her tongue, thick and gooey and probably still warm. It coated her tongue and she made a show of running it over her teeth as she swallowed and lapped it up. She grinned and tossed the vial aside, opening her palms and awaiting its effects as Colette stalled in her place.

They waited together in the silence as Naya let her head roll back, eyes closed, expecting power and magic and the longer she waited, her brows began to furrow and a scowl worked its way up to her lips.

Colette simply couldn't hold back anymore. A laugh slipped past her, escaping into the air and she had to press a hand to her mouth to suppress it. Maybe she wasn't that great of an actress after all.

Naya's eyes opened and the glare was sincere. "What?" she spat. "What've you done?!"

"You really think I would've been that stupid?" breathed Colette on another laugh. "You think I'd just seal up a vial of the one thing you want most and expect you not to take it?"

Naya's face went slack, her mind whirling.

"What you just drank was squirrel blood, you fucking moron."

Colette had thought of it all. The blood she'd given Elena had been hers and she'd made sure. She'd hid two vials in her pocket, one for Naya to swipe and replace with the blood of her choosing and the other the truth. The one filled with her blood had been tucked safely against her breast, hidden inside her bra while the other floated aimlessly in her pocket, ready to be taken.

She wasn't an idiot. She knew better than to create a vial of her own blood with Naya around, so she had to be careful. She had tricks up her sleeves, little secrets and games ready to be played.

Naya's eye twitched and her hands curled in on themselves and before Colette could think, Naya was launching herself towards her. In a swift movement, Colette had a hand against Naya's face and another on her outstretched arms, knocking her aside and into the dirt. The girl howled and hissed, spitting the blood from her tongue, her teeth still coated candy colored red.

"Fighting me won't change anything," said Colette with a shrug as Naya scuttled across the ground on all fours.

"You don't get it," hissed Naya, shaking her wild head. "I need your blood, with it I can protect you, I can save you!"

"You can't save me," said Colette, coming to stand over the crouching girl. She looked down at her, her hands in her pockets and for the first time that night, the tension drained from her shoulders. She felt like a god staring down a mortal, staring down prey. "We both know we won't survive tonight."

"Give me your blood and I can bring you back! I don't have to die, you don't have to die!"

"But Alaric does and with him goes me and with me, well..." Colette would not leave this earth without killing Naya.

Colette's phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it free, accepting the call with a barking, "What?"

"Rebekah's going to kill Elena," rushed out Stefan. Colette had foreseen this, like a lot of things, but it still stung. "She's going to kill her!"

"Elena's protected."

She could picture Stefan shaking his head, speeding in his little red car, desperate to save the woman he loved. "She's going to die, Colette! You have to stop Rebekah, talk some sense into her!"

Rebekah standing on the bridge. Matt's car veering off into the water. Stefan saving Matt. Elena drowning.

Elena waking in the morgue.

"She'll live, just not the way you want her to."

"Colette, I'm not in the mood for your fucking riddles and bullshit. Call Rebekah, get her to stop."

"I'm going to miss you, Stefan," whispered Colette, knowing full well nothing would stop Rebekah from her fight. "You might've been a dick but at least I knew you were a genuine dick."

"Colette, what–"

"Love ya, roomie." She hung up the phone and looked down at Naya. "Did you see this, too?" she asked. "Did you see me begging and pleading with the girl who loves me? Did you see me sobbing, telling her to keep Elena alive, for my sake?"

Naya nodded, her mouth pressed shut.

"Then," Colette searched through her contacts and hit dial, "allow me to put on a final show for you." She let the phone ring for a moment before tilting her head to the side and clicking the phone shut. "On second thought..."

She roundhouse kicked Naya in the face, sending her toppling into the ground. Her body bounced almost like a doll and a smile nearly came to Colette's lips and she followed the girl's trajectory.

"Once Rebekah's set on something," said Colette, "she won't stop. No amount of begging from me would make her change her mind. She chose her mom over me, you really think I'd allow myself the embarrassment of crying and whimpering just to get rejected?" Colette laughed. "I'm not going to let my final moments be heartbreak."

Naya rose slowly on her arms, spitting dirt from her mouth. A weak laugh escaped from her as she sat up and Colette watched with interest. It was good, the girl still had some fight left.

"Too bad she'd never change for you, not like your precious boys." Naya pushed to her feet and Colette wondered what it would feel like to pull her limb from limb. "Damon turns Elena down for you. Klaus decides you were worth more than killing and his hybrids but little Rebekah still loves her mommy."

"Feeling jealous?" asked Colette. "That Rebekah loves her mommy and you have no one to love?"

"My parents have nothing to do with this."

"Yeah, because they're dead. Funny how you had to kill them then come after mine. A part of me thinks you were just sick and tired that I had more than you," she said. "You just wanted to even the playing field."

"I just wanted you!"

"And you'll never have me."

Colette flicked her wrist and flames bloomed over Naya's shoes, catching on leaves and on the ends of her pants. Naya kicked at the flames as they licked up her legs, inching up and up and Colette couldn't wait to see Naya's favorite parts burn but the girl was running at her, leaving fire in her wake.

She caught Colette by the shoulders, wrenching her to the side and they fell into the grass as flames circled them through Cole's magic. Fire burned on her knuckles and she dug her hands into Naya's hair, scalding her scalp and thin flesh of her forehead.

Naya was screaming, howling like a wounded beast, but she still dug her nails into Colette's shoulders. The flames died on Cole's hands as she pulled a clump of hair out of Naya's head, the girl's head throwing back with a scream. She was seething through an open mouth, her saliva red and gummy, her fangs protruding and sharp.

"Just give me a taste!" she screamed. "Just give it to me! Give it to me before it's too late!"

"Why do you want it this fucking badly?!" snarled Colette as Naya's nails swiped across her face. It was getting more difficult to keep her up and away from her, the girl had bony knees and they were digging up into the bottom of her ribcage.

"So I can live?! So I can keep you?!"

"It won't keep you alive if I fucking kill you first!"

Naya's face was beet red. "Give it to me!"

"Tell me why! Tell me the truth for fucking once!"

Naya's fight was still there, her finger catching against Colette's cheek. It was a scratch, not enough to draw blood and was healed in seconds. Colette let go of one of Naya's wrists to dive her sharp fingers into the girl's side. The girl froze, seizing up with the pain as Colette twisted and dug further into the tender flesh, tearing through muscle and slicing tendons with little twitches of her nails.

"Tell me the truth," she snarled, raising up to a sitting position, pushing Naya up further on her knees, her body trembling.

"I–" Naya screamed as Colette went further, nearing vital organs that could be punctured and drained. "I–I–"

"Come on, sweetheart," purred Colette, "you can get it out. Say it for me."

She said it was a scream that echoed all around them. "So I can see Tommy!"

"He's dead." She dug further.

"With–with my magic," Naya was pushed to her back as Colette climbed on top of her, positioning herself tightly against her stomach. Her knees pressed into her sides and her feet curled back to keep her legs down. "If I have m–magic–" She let out a little shriek, Colette was nearly fisting her squishing organs in her hand. "–I can–I can–see him again, in m–my visions."

"Aw," cooed Colette. "How sweet." She reached up with her free hand, brushing a strand of Naya's sweaty hair from her face. "How badly do you want it?"

"P–please!"

"Beg."

"Colette, please, I need it!"

"Louder."

Naya was squirming, trying to kick her legs but Colette pushed harder into her, blood coating Naya's shirt. It was seeping into a dark circle and Cole marveled in how rich the smell was. It truly was like honey, thick and gooey and sticky and everything she ever needed.

"Come on," whispered Colette, "you can do it. Beg a little louder for me." She was up to her wrist into Naya's stomach cavity.

"Give it to me!" she howled on a deep breath. Her skin was clammy, coated in sweat and blood. "Give it! Give it to me, Colette!" She met her eyes, delirious and wide eyed. "I fucking need it! I fucking need you, Cole, I need you to give it to me!" It was funny, how coherent she was when she really needed something.

Colette pulled her hand free with a squelching pop and she smiled as her fangs fell into perfect place, sliding free from her gums like a treat. "You want it that badly, hmm?"

Naya nodded, whimpering, tears falling down the side of her face. "P–please let me see him–"

It was the truth but not a full one. Colette brought her bloodied hand to her mouth and bit down into the palm. Her blood mixed with Naya's in her mouth and it was disgustingly sweet and she tore through her flesh harder.

"You want it?" she said between her flesh.

Naya nodded, already smelling it in the air.

"Want it that badly?"

She was nodding furiously, reaching weakly out for it. Her insides would need a long time to heal but too bad she'd never have any.

Colette leaned closer, pulling her hand from her mouth as blood pooled in her palm. "You want it, huh?" Her voice was growing louder, her throat aching. "You want it that fucking bad?! Over everything?!" Naya was nodding, her hand circling around Colette's wrist. "Fine! Take it. Take it, you bitch. You motherfucking bitch!"

She slammed her hand down against Naya's mouth and she felt teeth break but she forced her hand harder against her mouth. When she felt Naya's tongue lick a heavy, wet path over her broken skin, Colette shuddered. Her lips were warm against Cole's skin and it made her feel sick, even when she felt Naya's hand wrap around Colette's to bring her hand even closer.

Her fangs pierced her skin, but Colette let her because she didn't understand what she did. She didn't understand what would happen once her magic was pooled inside her stomach, in her veins and lungs and breath.

Naya pulled back, blood running down the sides of her face, her head raised slightly from the ground for her to drink deeply. But she was finished, licking up the excess blood over Colette's palm. Her lips were coated in the red, her teeth gooey with clots.

"I told you it'd be us," moaned Naya as she licked her lips.

Colette leaned closer. "It's not."

She wasn't listening. "I told you it'd be us together in the end," breathed Naya on a sour breath.

She was getting comfortable and Colette dug her knees into the girl's side, pressing against the healing wound. She dropped her hands, letting one ghost lightly over Naya's neck as she breathed deeply and let out little mewls and sighs of content, her belly full of poison.

"You're even more stupid than I thought," whispered Colette, tucking hair behind Naya's head. The magic was strong in the air and somewhere in the distance, she heard tires squealing across asphalt and metal grinding. The end was near.

"Do you see him?" asked Colette and Naya's eyes fluttered, her skin burning under Cole's finger tips. Naya nodded and Colette smiled. "Tell him he'll see you soon."

"Mhm..."

She was high on the power and Colette leaned closer, close enough for their noses to brush against one another and Naya's eyes opened, her pupils dilated and lust coated her skin.

"I can feel you inside of me," murmured Naya. "I'm full of your power."

"That's where you're wrong," purred Colette, dragging her lips down the girl's cheek and jaw, touching down on her rapid pulse. "I control what I give, Naya. The blood I give is mine to do what I please with, do you understand?"

Naya shuddered, but nodded.

"I control it and want to know what I'm going to do with it?" Naya was shivering and she could smell fear, true terror and it was euphoric. Colette pressed a scalding kiss to Naya's neck, letting her lips part so the girl could feel her fangs drag against her pulse. She moved slowly, easing up on her knees to brush her mouth against the shell of Naya's ear as she whispered, "I'm turning your insides to liquid, you bitch."

She could feel it, her blood moving through Naya like lava and this time it might as well have been. It was turning her skin to blisters, the girl hyperventilating as she squirmed and tried to free herself. The blood was coating everything inside of her, sinking its fangs into her tendons, her muscle, her liver, the inside of her lungs, even her eyeballs which were turning a hazy shade of white.

"You thought you'd get it that easily from me?" asked Colette, seeing blood leak from Naya's ear and she had the urge to lap it up like a kitten with milk. "You think I'd just let you win?"

Naya's back arched off the ground as Colette dug her knee out of the blistering wound against the girl's side to rest by her side. She clasped their fingers together as something burned in Colette's lungs but even her own death would not let her leave this world before seeing Naya's true end.

Her true death would be more violent, more bloody, than her first.

"You and me," cooed Colette, "together until the very end." She ran her fingers over the girl's melting skin as she gurgled and bubbled with frothy blood. "Do you remember what you said to me at the beginning of the summer? How you predicted all of this?"

Colette snapped her fingers and flames danced through the air, illuminating this beautiful end.

"You told me it would end in fire and blood and gore," said Colette, her lungs on fire but she could still breathe, everything smelled like sweetness, like salt maybe, like murky water? "And you were right. It was exactly how it was going to end for you."

She brushed the hair from Naya's sweating face as her eyeballs burst open, white and bloody goo running into her hair and Colette wiped the mess from her fingers into the grass. Naya was screaming but there was no sound but Colette could see the veins creeping over the girl's hardening flesh.

It was nearly finished, it was all the way up to her neck.

"Say hi to Tommy for me," murmured Colette, dropping Naya's hand and standing. Naya's head was rocking back and forth and her mouth was moving and Colette thought, for a moment, the girl was speaking in prayers but her voice box had ruptured minutes before.

Say hi to them all for me.

As she walked away, she let the flames dive down and coat Naya's once beautiful skin. She let them eat at her flesh, flesh Colette had once wanted to lick and suck and kiss because she'd been so envious and so in love with a monster but now she was one of them. Just another monster, something made cruel by circumstance.

She walked alone through the woods as her lungs restricted and lake water bubbled up her throat. Elena was drowning and so was she.

Stumbling through the forest, she made it to the lake and she could see the bridge from where she stood on the banks. The ripples from the car, from Stefan diving back into the water for the girl he loved so desperately but would never truly have.

Colette had seen the future and she knew who Elena would choose. It was magical, desperate, filled with blood and death but not as deadly as Colette. Nothing would ever be so. She could see who Stefan ended with, see who Rebekah chose to cozy up next to at the end of a long day, who they all ended with, even Klaus.

The devilish dick had tricked them all, swapping bodies with Tyler thanks to Bonnie. It was clever but she wished she could see him for himself, one last time as she stepped into the water. It was cold and soaked into her shoes and then up her pant leg.

It was beginning to feel like death here, creeping and curling up her toes with the cold. It made her wish she had just stayed at the warehouse. As if on cue, her phone began to buzz in her pocket. She knew who it was but didn't answer. The water was too cold, the air too crisp, the night still far too young for all of this.

She could go across the water, bring Elena out herself but she let her magic swirl through the water instead. She let it dip and dive, twisting and dancing, searching for the girl inside the truck. It would reach her before her heart stilled completely, before Stefan would ever reach her. Colette knew vampire blood lived inside of her, she'd seen it, but she let her magic cover a kind hand over Elena's and whispered, you are not alone.

She could've sworn she felt the girl stir, recognizing that there was someone or something still with her. Colette kept her alive for as long as she could before she was chest deep and it was getting too hard to breathe.

She dipped her head under the water where she didn't know if it was just the murkiness around her or the water still choking its way up her raw throat. She opened her eyes and she could see the darkness but there were faces.

You are not alone.

She surfaced and felt hands touching both her hands as she floated. The night sky was beautiful around her, twinkling stars of thousands hiding behind clouds. It was like she was weightless here, like she was not even of this earth. She was an Ophelia trapped within a creature's body. The hands on her squeezed and it grounded her again, it brought her back from her fantasies and landed her back in the cold, silky water.

She looked to her right, smiling at Stella and Adam. They were looking at her gently, ready to guide her when she needed it and she knew that she did. They had promised to always be with her and here they were. When she looked to her left, she saw Esther and a darkness twinkling happily in her awful eyes. It told her that she was not done here but that was just wishful thinking...wasn't it? There was a hand on the witch's shoulder, her ominous shadows, her lurking henchmen she didn't know she had, and when Colette stared at them past Esther's terrible figure, Tommy smirked and Naya gave her a feral serpentine grin.

This was not a happy ending, but if she looked to the right, she could argue that it was.

AUTHOR'S NOTE━━the end is here :(

my sweet colette...i have loved u from the start (personally more than any oc i've made). she was my baby and my little godling girl <333

pls let me know what you think. there WILL b an epilogue soon to tie up any loose ends (r there any???) and give colette a proper ending (maybe)

pls tell me what u thought about the naya SPOILER scene.....and the damon confession. also im sorry to all my cole/bekah shippers but rebekah's character arc in s3 wouldn't have made sense w cole's. she loved her mom too much <33 she wanted revenge too badly <33 but like cole has been saying, there are happier in another life together 

but also POLL do you think colette is dead or nah?

pls COMMENT!!! I BEG!!! and vote bc if you do....the epilogue will b out sooner than u think.....