CHAPTER 16: BRAVE NEW WORLD

Mystic Falls High School

As Caroline, the person who basically arranged and took care of everything or anything in Mystic Falls, was still in the hospital, Natalie, Bonnie and Elena basically had to take care of the school carnival. Well, mostly Natalie, seeing as when she visited the blonde she basically commanded her to take charge. But that gave the three brunettes time to talk things over.

"Katherine looked just like you, it was freakish." Bonnie told the twins, mostly Elena, though, as she recalled her meeting with Elena's doppelganger.

"She is our ancestor." Natalie said, before talking about the carnival. "Hey, I moved the student booth into the cafeteria."

"Your vampire ancestor and she didn't just resemble Elena like a family member would. She was Elena." Bonnie retorted.

"I don't know, I can't explain it. It's creepy, that's all I got." Elena shrugged, staring weirdly at her sister as she scolded some guy for dropping a bag of candy.

"How do you know she's not still out there pretending to be you?" Bonnie asked as Natalie walked back towards them.

"I don't." Elena shrugged.

"But, instead of being tortured by not-knowing, could you rather get these prizes to the ring toss." Natalie smirked as she handed Elena's a bag of prizes.

"Have you talk to Damon since he killed Natalie or tried to kill Natalie?" the witch asked.

"Techinally, he did kill me. I just came back to life." Natalie corrected.

"No, Bonnie, I haven't and I won't and I don't want to talk about Damon or anything else that's vampire related, okay?" Elena said sternly before handing Bonnie the bag of prizes, making Natalie give her a look. "I'm human. And I have to do human stuff. Otherwise, I'm going to go crazy."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I'll focus." Bonnie apologized.

"Good," Natalie sighed in relief. "Because if this isn't done right, then Caroline will kill us. Slowly and painfully. I just don't get how she does it."

"Well, because she's not human, obviously." Elena joked.

"Obviously." Bonnie jokingly agreed whilst Natalie gave them a not-amused look. Before she laughed, of course, with Bonnie and Elena following.

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The next day as Natalie was done with most of the tasks she'd given herself she decided to rest. Well, not as much decided as Elena telling her that she better calm her ass down and relax.

And that's when Damon decided to walk up to the huntress.

Natalie turned around as soon as she heard someone walking up behind her. When she saw who it was she groaned. "Here to kill me again?"

"Can't do that when you don't have the ring." Damon retorted as he walked up next to her. "Speaking of, where is it?"

Natalie turned around with an annoyed look. "Gave it to Jeremy. You know, just in case you decided to go on an 'exclusive Elena's siblings only killing spree'."

"Don't try to be funny. That's my thing." Damon said annoyedly.

"Sorry, I'm naturally hilarious." Natalie smirked.

"Well, atleast it's better then you going all Buffy on me." Damon retorted.

"As long as you keep your hands away from my neck, I'm good." Natalie sassed.

Damon closed his eyes in annoyance at the reminder before looking at the brunette girl. "Look, Natalie, I'm sorry. And that says something coming from me, seeing as I never apologize."

"Are you sorry that you killed me or sorry that I came back?" were the last words she said before walking away.

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After her break was over, Natalie decided that she needed to see that everything was going fine, only to discover that the carnival started a while ago and people were enjoying it. And Bonnie decided that Natalie was the person she should come to when she needed to talk about the carnival.

"The ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls and Team Jacob T's." Bonnie informed the huntress.

"Okay, I can grab some from the science club. Also we lost a speaker in the karaoke room." Natalie said, ignorant of the laughs and smiles on everyone's faces.

"Hey, all good Natalie, take a beat, look around. This is a huge success." Bonnie smiled at the brunette.

Natalie looked up from all the prizes yet to be won and up at the happy people walking around. "You mean I can do more then kill vampires?"

"Go figure." Bonnie laughed, with Natalie soon joining her.

Then Natalie looked up at a handsome dark-skinned man who walked past them. "Hey, Carter, right? You're with the carnival."

"That'll be me." Carter smiled at her before looking at Bonnie, his smile widening.

"Perfect." Natalie sighed happily.

"Wow, what do you need beautiful?" he asked Bonnie flirtingly.

"What do you know about karaoke speakers?" Bonnie blushed.

Carter smiled at her nervousness. "Why don't you show me the problem?"

"Yeah Bonnie, show him the problem." Natalie smirked at her suggestingly.

"Okay, come on." Bonnie agreed before walking off, Carter following.

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Damon had been desperate when he found three people. Natalie, Elena and Stefan. He'd just been walking through the hallway when he saw Caroline. Only for the blonde to reveal herself as a newly turned vampire.

"How did this happen?" Stefan asked.

"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her and A plus B equals..." Damon trailed off.

"But why?" Elena frowned, her concern for the newly turned vampire evident.

"Because Katherine is a manipulative, nasty, little slut." was Damon's only explanation.

"And she said "game on"? I mean, what does that even mean?" Stefan asked.

"It means she's playing dirty. She wants us to know." Damon told him, with the most obvious explanation he could think of.

"But why Caroline of all people?" Natalie questioned, worry being the most obvious emotion she felt.

"I don't know." Damon shrugged.

"Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she doesn't even know what's happening to her." Stefan said, looking over at the two twins in worry for their worry for Caroline.

"Oh, I think she does. All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minute she was in transition." Damon retorted, bringing up his past with Caroline, when he compelled her to do his bidding and then afterwards to forget about vampires.

"We have to find her." Stefan said, ignoring Damon's insensitive words.

"Yep, and kill her." Damon said bluntly.

"You're not killing Caroline!" Natalie snapped angrily.

"She knows who we are. She's officially a liability, and we've got to get rid of her." Damon defended his cold statement.

"Damon, absolutely not." Stefan denied Damon's words.

"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys come on, we all know how this story's gonna end, just flip to the last chapter and..." Damon trailed off.

"It's not an option, Damon." Elena said, trying to convince him to leave Caroline be.

"No? Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Wait, wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where history repeats itself." Damon said, looking between Stefan and Elena, making the couple look at each other awkwardly. "You know I'm right."

"We're not gonna kill her." Stefan said sternly.

He then walked out of the classroom, Elena and Natalie following him, but Damon stopped them. "It's the only way."

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Stefan, Elena and Natalie were walking together, searching for Caroline whilst Damon was searching for her alone.

"You agree with Damon, don't you?" Natalie asked the vampire. He didn't respond. "Stefan?"

He punched a trailer. He let all his anger out with that one punch. One punch that dented the trailer easily.

"Stefan. Hey." Elena comforted him softly, Natalie sighed and looked away at their Public show of affection.

"Damon's right, not about what we should do but about what's gonna happen. Katherine already signed Caroline's death sentence." Stefan sighed.

"Shut up!" Natalie snapped at Stefan.

"Excuse me?" Stefan frowned incredulously.

"Don't you dare talk about her like she's already dead! She's alive as long as we find her before Damon does. I'm not going to stand for you telling me that my best friend is as good as dead! If you want to save her then freaking act like it!" Natalie snapped before walking away from the couple.

"Where are you going?" Elena called after her.

"I'm finding Caroline myself! Without having to hear someone tell me she's as good as dead!"

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"No! Then why did she look like you?! And why, why did she do this to me?" was the first thing Natalie heard Caroline Forbes say as a vampire.

The huntress ran towards the sound, seeing Damon holding a stake and Stefan and Elena trying to comfort Caroline.

"Stefan, get her inside!" Natalie snapped at the bunny hunting vampire.

"It's okay, Caroline, come with me." Stefan comforted the blonde softly.

"She will die, it's only a matter of time." Damon snapped.

"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight." Stefan retorted.

"Oh yeah it is." Damon snapped, but stopped when he felt a pain in his back.

"Revenge, bitch." Natalie snapped before pulling the stake she had put in Damon's back out.

"You shouldn't have done that." Damon said before taking his own stake and rushing at Caroline, only to Discover that Elena had placed herself between the stake and Caroline, making Damon stop from shoving it in her chest.

"Damon, she's my friend." Elena pleaded.

Damon hesitated for a moment, looking between Caroline and Elena. Then he dropped his arm. "Whatever happens, it's on you."

Elena nodded and Damon moved away from Elena and Caroline.

But just then, Bonnie appeared. And she looked heartbroken as she looked at Caroline's blood covered face. "Caroline?"

"It's okay, come on." Stefan tried to coax Caroline away from the scene.

"No, you're not; you can't be." Bonnie tried to reassure herself. She walked towards Caroline, trying to touch her, to see if her witchy senses would tell her that Caroline Forbes was a vampire. And it did.

"Bonnie?" Caroline asked sadly.

Bonnie's gaze travelled across the scene, before her eyes landing on Carter's, the guy she liked, dead body. "Oh god!"

Stefan dragged Caroline away from the witch and into the bathroom, ready to calm her down.

But Damon, Elena, Natalie and Bonnie were still left.

"I can't believe this is happening." Bonnie shook her head.

"Come on, don't pout about it. I got a body to bury." Damon said as he grabbed a shovel. Then he looked over at Elena. "I thought you were calling the shots. No?" Damon shook his head in amusement before looking down at Carter's body. "Hm, it sucks to be you, buddy."

But he was interuppted as a searing pain went through his head. A pain caused by a witch. Bonnie. Then a faucet opened and water started running. Before it lit up in flames, of course.

"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt." Bonnie snapped as she had her hand out, causing Damon pain.

"Bonnie, it wasn't his fault!" Natalie (surprisingly) defended Damon.

"Everything that happens is his fault, Natalie." Bonnie said angrily.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Elena asked the fire Bonnie created started going to Damon. "Bonnie stop it! Bonnie!"

The fire already reached Damon and he was burning slightly. So Elena jumped across the fire line and shook Bonnie's shoulders harshly, and Bonnie's concentration was broken and the fire was put out.

"Why did you stop me?!" Bonnie snapped angrily.

"Because this isn't us. Bonnie, this can't be us." Elena explained before embracing Bonnie tightly.

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After the whole thing was done, Natalie was tired. She was annoyed, sad, angry. But most of all tired.

And Stefan was guilty. He felt guilty for the way he handled the search for Caroline, about the way that he didn't think about how Natalie would feel about the recent development of Caroline's life. And about how she would feel about him basically telling her that Caroline was as good as dead. So he decided to find Natalie.

As soon as she saw him though she had the same thoughts, well, more about snapping at him.

"I'm sorry." they said simultaneously.

"Ehm, you can go first." Stefan said sheepishly.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you about the whole Caroline thing. You were obviously worried in Your own way and I'm sorry." Natalie apologized.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked about her in that way in front of you. She's your best friend and I get how it feels when you lose your best friend." Stefan said, sadness evident on his face.

"I'm sorry." Natalie said, putting her hand on his shoulder carefully.

"It's okay. The death that probably made me most scared was definetly yours." Stefan reminded her.

"I came back, though." Natalie retorted.

"I've been scared before, but I don't think I've been this scared for years. Scared that you might be gone for good." Stefan said, taking her hand of his shoulder and rather into his hand.

"But I did come back." Natalie smiled at him glancing down at his hand.

"I don't know what I'd do if you didn't. I'd probably lose my mind." Stefan smiled back.

"Well, thank you for caring enough to almost lose your mind."

"You're welcome."

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A/N: This chapter sucked. Mostly because I had trouble fitting Natalie in to the episode. And the Statalie scene sucked because I had so much trouble writing them (Void_Malia knows why and I blame her). The official theme song for Statalie is I Found by Amber Run. Once again, I'm sorry for how bad it was, but I really want to get to Season 3 quickly. (Once again, Void_Malia knows why since I'm basically ranting about everything I've planned to her).

Votes and comments are greatly apprectiated.