16. I Was Feeling Epic

"What happened?" a panicked Kol asked, rushing over to a even more panicked Damon who was trying to get Aria to wake up.

"I don't know, we heard the bell ring and she just collapsed" Damon replied, he bit into his wrist and tried to get Aria to drink his blood, "Come on Ria, wake up!".

"Why isn't she drinking your blood?!" a worried Kol asked.

"I don't know, Kol!" Damon yelled, starting to give Aria chest compressions, "Come on Ria, you can't die on me, not today, not ever!

Aria gasped and opened her eyes, immediately she was confused with her surroundings when she realised she was no longer at the wedding venue, she was suddenly in the middle of the woods.

A confused Aria started taking small steps forward, wondering where she was and why was she here and how can she get back to Damon, when suddenly her eyes landed on a familiar figure.

"Oh my god" Aria whispered, taking quicker steps towards the blonde women infront of her, "Mom?!".

Elizabeth Forbes smiled seeing her adoptive daughter infront of her, "Aria".

"Mom!" an excited Aria yelled, now running over to her mother and pulling her into a tight hug, "I miss you so much, I didn't think I'd ever see you again".

After giving Aria a tight hug, Liz reluctantly broke the hug, "As much I love seeing you Aria, you can't be here, it's not your time, you just got married baby, you still have so much you have to live for, so many memories you still have to make with Damon, your children".

"I don't want to die either, mom" Aria admitted, tears welling in her eyes, "But if it is my time, then I don't mind, I know my children will be fine, they're surrounded by amazing people who will always take care of them, no matter what".

"And what about Damon?" Liz asked, "How will he live without you?".

"I don't know" Aria cried, "I know my death will break him and I want nothing more then return to him but I don't know how to".

"Maybe I can help with that".

Aria turned around to face the new voice, "Grams" she whispered.

"Hello my child" Shelia Bennett greeted, giving Aria a smile.

"I missed you Grams" Aria whispered, hugging Grams.

"I missed you too" Shelia whispered, hugging Aria back, after a moment, they finally broke the hug and Shelia grabbed Aria's hand in hers "Now come on, time for you to return to Damon".

In the real world, Aria let out a gasp and finally opened her eyes, making both Kol and Damon breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're okay" Damon whispered, slowly helping Aria sit, "You're okay".

Aria nodded, "I'm okay" she whispered.

Damon pulled Aria into a hug, who gladly hugged him back.

"I was so scared" Damon admitted, kissing the top of Aria's head.

"I'm not going to leave you on our wedding day, Damon" Aria teased.

"You're not leaving me, ever" Damon stated.

"I'm fine with that" Aria laughed.

"As much as this conversation is amusing me, we should really get up and go stop Vicki before she ends up burning Mystic Falls to the ground" Kol said.

Both Aria and Damon groaned in annoyance, "Come on then" Aria said, as Damon stood up and grabbed Aria's hand and helped her stand, "Let's save Mystic Falls".

"For the billionth time" an annoyed Kol mumbled, following Damon and Aria out.

***

While Kol went to Alaric to figure out how to lure Katherine out, Damon and Aria rushed to the clocktower where Vicki was ringing the bell, just as Vicki rang the bell for the second time, Damon rushed over and shoved her to the wall.

"Sorry, can't let you do that" Damon said.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do to stop me" Vicki stated, a taunting smirk on her face.

"Are you sure about that?" Aria asked, grabbing Vicki's arm and pushing her out the window of the clocktower.

Aria and Damon looked down the window, after seeing Vicki's dead body, they looked at each other, "Nice" an impressed Damon commented.

"Thank you" Aria said.

"Where is she?!" a panicked Matt asked, rushing into the tower, having been called by Aria.

"She went splat" Damon informed, pointing out the window.

"You threw her out the window?" a furious Matt asked Damon, rushing over to the window and looking down at his sister's dead body in concern.

"He didn't, I did" Aria clarified.

"And you are aware that she's already dead" Damon reminded.

"Damon! Aria!" Matt yelled.

"Don't Damon and Aria us!" Damon snapped, "In fact, don't say anything at all, Katherine Pierce just declared war, and I need a clear head".

"Was that really necessary?", Aria, Damon and Matt's eyes landed on the stairs of the clocktower where Vicki stood, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Vicki" an emotional Matt whispered.

"You're a bitch" Vicki told Aria.

"Thank you" Aria said, glaring at the oldest Donovan.

Vicki walked over to the bell and tried to ring it but Damon quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"You can't stop me, this is my ticket out of hell, and I'm taking it" Vicki said, "Katherine is gonna save--", before Vicki could complete her sentence, Damon snapped her neck.

"Damon!" a shocked Matt yelled, as Vicki's body dropped to the ground.

"Relax, just testing a theory" Damon told Matt, making Aria look at him in confusion.

"What theory?" Aria asked.

"Wait for it" Damon said, after a moment, Vicki woke up, "Yep, she's deader than a doornail".

"And I'll just keep coming back, again and again" Vicki stated, slowly sitting up.

Aria turned to Matt, "You need to convince your sister to not ring this hell bell, me and Damon need to go deal with Katherine, Matt can we trust you here with Vicki?".

Matt nodded his head, "You can trust me Aria".

"This is a mistake" Damon told Aria, really not believing that Matt can stop Vicki.

Aria sighed, "We have no other choice, unless you want to stay here and deal with Vicki on your own".

"No thank you" Damon said.

"Thought so" Aria said, "Let's just trust that Matt can deal with his sister, we need to find Katherine before she plots something else against us".

***

Aria and Damon met up with Klaus and Caroline outside the clocktower.

"There has to be a way to stop the oldest Donovan" Klaus stated.

"I'm hoping Matt is the way, Nik" Aria said.

"The only chance we've got is if Donovan can somehow convince his train wreck of a sister hell ain't so bad" Damon said.

"There he is" Caroline said, seeing the youngest Donovan come out of the clocktower, "Matt!".

Matt ignored Caroline's call, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed someone, "Yeah, it's Sheriff Donovan, activate the evacuation protocol, gas leak, yeah, again".

After hearing Matt's words, the group of four exchanged worried looks, Matt's words making them realise that he failed to convince Vicki, she was going to keep ringing the bell and they were running out of time to save their town.

***

Asher, Alec and Mia ran into the boarding house together.

"We're going to get into so much trouble" a worried Asher said.

"Relax Ash, we're not going to get into trouble" Alec assured.

"Yes we are" a panicked Mia said, "Mom told us to stay with Beks and Enzo but we ditched them and came here".

"We're just grabbing mom and dad's wedding gift" an annoyed Alec reminded his siblings, "Mom won't be mad at us, she'll be happy".

"Just grab the gift and let's go, I feel like something really bad is about to happen" Asher said, looking around the boarding house in vary.

Alec rolled his eyes while walking over to the table he had placed the photo frame the triplets had decided to gift their parents as a wedding gift.

"Nothing bad is going to happen Ash, you just don't like getting into trouble" Alec said.

"And you just can't help but always get into trouble" Asher retorted.

"And you always drag us into it as well" Mia complained.

"We're triplets" Alec defended, "It's your job to get into trouble with me".

"That's not how it works, idiot" Asher said.

"I'm telling mom you called me a idiot" Alec said.

"Alec, grab the frame and let's go!" an annoyed Mia said, "Beks and Enzo will get worried, Nova won't be able to distract them for too long".

"I'll be surprised if she manages to distract them at all" Alec mumbled, grabbing the frame.

"Give her some credit" Asher defended, "She's not that bad of a liar".

"She kind of is" Mia mumbled, a sheepish look on her face.

Asher shook his head at his siblings, "If she's that bad of a liar, why did you two tell her to distract her parents?".

"Because we couldn't ask Hope and Jayden" Alec replied.

This time Asher rolled his eyes, "Did you get the frame?".

Alec held up the family portrait towards his siblings, "Got it".

"Is the note I wrote on it?" Mia asked.

"Yeap" Alec confirmed.

"Great, let's go before anyone realises we're gone" Asher said.

Alec nodded his head, the three gifts then proceeded to walk towards the front door, but all three of them stopped in their place when they saw the front door closed and a unknown woman standing infront of them.

"Uh, who are you?" a confused Asher asked.

"You're in the wrong house" Alec said.

"Do you need help?" a concerned Mia asked.

The woman looked at the triplets and smirked, a smirk that did not sit well with either of the triplets.

"Hello Salvatore triplets, I'm Katherine, an old friend of your parents".

***

"We're missing something" Kol said, as he, Aria and Damon entered the boarding house together.

"Nope, Katherine won" a furious Damon said, "She played the long game and finally beat us".

Aria shook her head, "No" she said, "There's no way we're going to lose to Katherine, after everything we've been through, Katherine does not get to be the one to defeat us".

As Aria walked further into the boarding house, she ended up stepping on small pieces of glass, immediately causing her to look down and see a broken frame on the floor.

"What's this?" a confused Aria wondered, bending down and grabbed the broken frame, she removed the pieces of glass from the frame and realised it was a family photo of her, Damon and the triplets.

Kol looked at the photo over Aria's shoulder, "That's the photo the triplets wanted to give you two as a wedding gift" he informed, having helped the triplets.

Damon bent down and grabbed the note that had fallen off the frame and onto the floor.

"Dear mom and dad, happy wedding day, love your children" Damon read out.

A concerned Aria looked between Kol and Damon, "Why is this frame broken?".

"Maybe I can answer that".

Aria and Damon stood up and both of them along with Kol looked behind Damon to see a person they never wanted to see again standing there.

"Bloody hell" an annoyed Kol whispered.

"Katherine" Aria said, glaring at the Pierce doppelganger infront of her.

"Hello, Aria" Katherine greeted, a taunting smirk on her face.

***

Katherine poured herself a glass of bourbon, she then turned to the trio who were all glaring at her with immense hatred in their eyes, "Am I drinking alone?" she asked, no one said anything to her, "The silent treatment, really?", Katherine looked at Damon and Aria, "Oh, by the way, you two made some really cute children".

That statement caught the attention of the trio, "What the hell did you do Katherine?" Aria asked.

"Oh nothing much, just when your children came here to grab the precious little gift they organised for their parents, I decided to get to know them a little better" Katherine informed.

"Where are my children?" a furious Damon asked.

"That's for me to know, and for you to dot, dot, dot" Katherine teased, turning back and grabbing herself some ice, "I hope you enjoyed the little show I put on for you Aria, it's been a hoot watching you take on the devil, especially considering I've had him wrapped around my finger since the minute I stepped into hell, why did you think he wanted to destroy you Aria? Because I wanted to destroy you, duh".

Damon glared at Katherine, suddenly he speeded over to her, he grabbed the glass from her hand and smashed it to the ground.

"Damn it, Katherine" Damon said, "Where are they?!".

"It really is the perfect revenge" Katherine said, loving the desperate looks on Damon, Aria and Kol's faces, "At ten pm, Mystic Falls will burn, precious triplets will burn and I'm guessing one of you three are going down with them, should I place my bets now?".

Aria and Kol glanced at each other, without Katherine seeing, Kol handed Aria the dagger that will kill Katherine, the dagger that Damon gave to him for safe keeping before the wedding.

Without wasting another second, Aria speeded over to Katherine and stabbed her in the chest.

"Well, that shut her up" Damon commented, as Katherine's body fell to the ground.

A worried Kol glanced at the clock, "The clock's ticking, we have to find the triplets and get them out of here as soon as possible".

Aria nodded her head, "Let's go" she said, and with that the trio rushed to find the triplets before Mystic Falls burned to the ground.

***

While Damon checked the grounds and the cemetery, and Aria checked the buildings, Kol decided to check the high school for any sign of the triplets.

After checking the many empty classrooms in the school, Kol suddenly heard something from the boiler room, without wasting a second, he quickly rushed down and breathed sigh of relief seeing the triplets there, but his relief quickly went away when he saw Alec and Asher trying to get a unconscious Mia to wake up.

"Dad!" a panicked Alec yelled, seeing Kol rush towards them, "Mia isn't waking up dad, do something!".

"What happened to her?" a concerned Kol asked, kneeling down and grabbing the youngest Salvatore in his arms, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realised she was still breathing.

"We don't know, the woman injected us with something and ever since then Mia won't wake up" an equally panicked Asher said.

"Injected you?" Kol asked, "What did she inject you with?".

"We don't know" Alec replied, "But whatever it was, it took our magic away from us".

"We tried to use our magic to fight the lady but our magic wouldn't work" Asher cried.

"Okay, you two, relax" Kol told the two extremely panicked boys, "It's going to be alright, we're going to get you three out of here and Mia is going to wake up really soon, come on, get up, let's go".

Alec and Asher nodded their heads, they stood up and quickly rushed out the room, Kol, who was carrying Mia, tried to do the same but quickly realised he couldn't as an invisible barrier blocked his way.

"You've gotta be kidding me" Kol mumbled, looking down at the unconscious Mia in his arms in concern, just as the bell rang once again.

***

"The boiler room?" a shocked Damon asked, walking through the woods while on a three way call with Kol and Aria, "There is a horror movie reference in there somewhere, but it escapes me".

"Me, Alec and Asher are fine, but Mia's trapped" Kol informed the two parents, "You guys, the bus boy's sister keeps ringing that bell, time is running out here, one of you really needs to get Katherine to break this spell because Alec and Asher can't do it, the doppelbitch gave them herbs that will stop their magic".

"Damon, you deal with Katherine, Kol, I'm coming to the school, now" Aria said, in her car, driving towards the high school.

"Hurry" Kol said.

"I'm all over it" Damon assured Aria, as soon as he hanged up the phone and turned around, he once again came face to face with Katherine.

"Need something?" Katherine asked, leaning against the tree with a teasing smile on her face.

"You're like a bad penny" Damon taunted.

"Funny thing about that bone dagger, it sends me to hell, but it can't keep me there" Katherine informed, "I'm sorry, oh, and if you want to know how to get your daughter free, you can't, Sebastian Connor was kind enough to set that trap for me, and, if I'm not mistaken, he's forever indisposed".

"After a hundred and fifty three odd years, this banter that we have is just old" Damon stated, making Katherine let out a small chuckle, "So, why don't we just skip to the part where you tell me what you want and we'll negotiate".

"I have everything I want Damon, or I'm about it" Katherine said, "Once that last bell rings, this stupid town will go up in flames and everybody will go poof, well, they'll burn alive first, but then their ashes will go poof".

"You know petty doesn't look good on a woman your age, Katherine" Damon said.

"Oh, I'm not being petty, I'm gloating" Katherine retorted.

"No, you're jealous of Aria" Damon retorted back, "Because you know that everyone will choose her over you every time".

"And she would choose Kol" Katherine taunted.

"Are you stupid?" Damon asked, "We literally got married Katherine, she chose me, because it's always going to be me".

"No, it's you, for now" Katherine corrected, "You and Aria being married doesn't mean anything, soon her eyes will open and she will leave you Damon".

Damon glared at Katherine, having enough of her talk, he stabbed her in the chest with the dagger.

***

Aria met up with Kol at the school, and now they were on the phone with Caroline and Klaus.

"Sebastian spelled Mia in, she can't get out and Alec and Asher's magic isn't going to come back in time to help" a panicked Aria informed her sister.

Caroline glanced at her kids who were sleeping in the back of the car, "Aria, we're too far away, we'll never make it in time".

"Care, I don't know what to do, my magic isn't working either, what do I do?" Aria asked.

"Think rationally, Ari" Klaus said, "Look, you'll find a way to save Mia, but don't forget about Alec and Asher, you need to grab them and at least get them out of town".

"What and leave Damon and Mia here?!" a angry Aria asked.

"Damon will save Mia, you save your sons" Klaus replied.

Aria shook her head, tears in her eyes, "I can't leave without them".

"Then what about Asher and Alec?" Caroline asked, tears welling in her eyes as well knowing this was extremely hard for her sister.

Aria looked at the original infront of her, "Kol--".

"No" Kol interrupted Aria, knowing what she was going to say, "Absolutely no way".

"We have no other choice, Kol" Aria argued.

"I'm not leaving you, Damon and Mia here, no, no way, it's not an option Ri" Kol stated.

"Not even for Alec and Asher?" Aria asked.

"That's not fair, Ri" Kol snapped.

"Kol, please" Aria pleaded, "I can't let my sons die here, my daughter is already in danger, I can't risk the lives of my sons as well".

"Kol, Ari is right, you have to get at least Asher and Alec out of there" Klaus said, feeling extremely emotionally as well.

Kol looked at Aria, "What if Damon fails to convince Katherine?".

"Then you'll take care of my sons" Aria stated.

Kol shook his head, "No, I--please don't, I can't leave you behind like this".

"You're gonna have to" Aria said, "Take Alec and Asher, use the tunnels and meet up with Care and Nik at the armory, stay safe and keep my sons safe as well, as their godfather it's your duty Kol".

"Fine" a reluctant Kol said, finally giving in, "Just promise me, that all three of you will be safe".

"I promise I'll try my best" Aria promised.

"That's not good enough, Ri" Kol snapped.

"Kol, please" Aria cried, "I have to go help Damon convince Katherine to free our daughter, which means I have to move fast and I can't do that unless I know that you and my sons are safe, so please, go".

"Ri--".

"Go, Kol!" Aria yelled, shoving Kol away from her, "You promised to always protect the triplets, so go protect Alec and Asher, please".

Kol looked at Aria, with tears in his eyes, he then stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug, "I'll keep them safe, I promise".

"I know you will" Aria cried, hugging Kol back tightly, "If me and Damon don't make it, let them know that their parents loved them, okay?".

"Don't" Kol cried, hiding his face in Aria's neck, "Don't say that, please".

After staying in the hug for another moment, Aria finally pushed Kol away from her, "Go" she said, "Get to safety".

Kol looked at Aria, taking in her presence, he then turned around to grab Asher and Alec and leave Mystic Falls.

***

Rebekah, Enzo and Alaric, along with Lizzie, Josie and Nova, had made their way to the armory safely, they were now waiting for the others to get here, while waiting Enzo's eyes landed on the many books and papers scattered around the table.

"What's all this?" a confused Enzo asked Alaric, grabbing one of the papers and reading it.

"Dorian and I were trying to find a way to destroy Cade's hell" Alaric replied.

"And did you figure out a way?" a curious Rebekah asked.

"We figured we needed a few million volts of mystical energy, just give or take" Alaric informed, letting out a defeated sigh, "It kind of took the wind out of our sails".

Enzo thought about Alaric's words for a second, the next minute a light bulb went off in his head, "Rebekah, call Aria, now!".

"Why?" a confused Rebekah asked, wondering why her boyfriend seemed so excited all of a sudden.

"I think I have an idea how we can destroy hell" Enzo informed.

"How?" Alaric asked.

"Through hellfire" Enzo replied.

Rebekah looked Enzo wide eyed, realising his plan actually had potential, so without wasting another second, she pulled her phone out and dialed Aria's number.

***

Aria was standing outside the high school when she received Rebekah's call.

"Beks" Aria greeted, answering her phone, "Everything good?".

"Aria, I think Enzo just found a way for you to destroy hell" Rebekah informed, getting straight to the point.

"Tell me" an eager Aria said, ready to do anything that will get rid of both hell and Katherine.

"Alaric and Dorian deduced that in order for us to destroy hell, we need a few million volts of mystical energy" Enzo said, "Maybe the amount of mystical energy that comes from hellfire".

"So in order to destroy hell we need to use hellfire" Aria realised.

"Yeap" Enzo confirmed.

"But how will that get rid of Katherine?" a confused Alaric.

"The only way we will get rid of Katherine is if she's in hell when we destroy it" Aria informed.

"Aria, don't do anything stupid" a concerned Alaric warned, not liking Aria's tone, he knew that tone all too well, it was the tone that told Alaric his adoptive daughter was going save everyone but on the risk of her own life.

"I'll try my best" Aria said, hanging up the phone and rushing over to find Damon and Katherine, ready to end Katherine Pierce's chapter once and for all, not only to save her daughter's life but also her town.

Back at the armory, Enzo, Rebekah and Alaric exchanged worried looks.

"She's going to do something stupid, isn't she?" a worried Alaric asked.

"Most likely" an equally worried Rebekah said.

***

"Taking a trip down memory lane?" Katherine asked Damon, entering the tomb underneath the Fells church, "Oh, I've missed this place, said no one ever".

"I figured you'd keep showing up to annoy me" Damon said, "You're nothing if not utterly predictable".

"And miss a minute of the Aria Connor show?" Katherine mocked.

"Salvatore" Damon corrected, "Aria Salvatore".

Katherine rolled her eyes in response, "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be by her side? Figuring out a way on how to save your daughter?".

"Well, I figure now that you're practically the devil, you'd be in the know" Damon said, "I just hung up with Ria, and she figured out a way to save the day".

"Aria isn't strong enough to save a kitten" Katherine stated, not believing that Aria had a figured out a way to defeat her.

"She's done it once or twice, and my money's on her" Damon retorted.

"We're talking about hellfire" Katherine reminded, "So intense, it could obliterate anything within miles, what the hell is Aria gonna do?".

"My extremely incredible and beautiful wife is going to use these incredible tunnels to her advantage" Damon revealed.

"You think Aria Connor--".

"Salvatore" Damon corrected.

"--can magically draw hellfire through the tunnels away from the town?" Katherine asked.

"Even better" Damon said, "I think she can send it straight back to hell".

"Except, there's one problem with your logic Damon, your wife, she doesn't have magic anymore" Katherine reminded.

"So, fun fact", Damon looked behind Katherine and a smile formed on his face seeing Aria standing behind her, "Since I lost my psychic connection to my mother, my magic came back, it took its time, but it's back", Katherine turned around just in time to see Aria form a small ball of fire in her hand, "And something tells me it's much more powerful then before".

"And you decided instead of using that magic to get your daughter out, you're gonna destroy hell?" Katherine asked.

"Like I said, my magic took way too long to come back, there's not enough time for me, Mia and Damon to get out of town, which is why I'm here, to send the hellfire you're about to leash on my town, back to where it came from, the place where you and I will be patiently waiting for it".

Damon looked at Aria in shock, she hadn't told him this part of her plan, "What the hell are you on about Ria?".

Aria looked at Damon, and immediately tears welled in her eyes, "You need to leave Damon" she whispered, "You can't be here, I don't want you to see me die".

"You're not dying, Aria!" Damon yelled, "This wasn't part of the plan".

"This was always part of the plan" Aria revealed.

"I'm gonna let you two figure this out amongst yourselves" Katherine said, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible, finally realising that if she stayed she was screwed.

Katherine turned to leave, however before she could Damon ended up throwing the dagger into her back, once again sending her back to hell.

Damon then looked at Aria, "Fine" he said, "If you want to die on our wedding day, then so be it, but you're not dying alone".

"We can't leave our children without both their parents, Damon" Aria argued.

"They won't be alone, they will always have people looking out for them" Damon argued back, "Ria, I promised till death do us apart, and I happen to stick to my word".

"Someone has to tell our children that their mother loved them" Aria cried, "And everything she did, it was for them and their safety".

"Kol will tell them" Damon said, "He'll take good care of them".

Aria shook her head, she stepped forward and cupped Damon's face in her hands, "No Damon, the triplets can get over losing one parent, but losing both of us will haunt them for the rest of their lives, trust me, I know, we can't do that to them, you have to live, not just for them, but for me also, live your life, for me".

"No" Damon snapped, "I am not leaving you here to die Aria! I can't live without you, don't make me have to live without you".

"If I don't do this, then our daughter will die tonight Damon" Aria reminded.

"Then let me do this" Damon said.

"I can't" Aria whispered, "I won't be able to watch you die".

"And you expect me to watch you die?!" Damon yelled, "For gods sake Ria, we just got married, I'm not ready to lose you, not today, not ever!".

"Please Damon" Aria cried, "Don't make this any harder, go, save Mia, save yourself, let me do this, I have to be the one who does this".

"No you don't!" Damon snapped, "Not everything in this world is on you!".

"Not everything, but this is" Aria whispered, "Let me do this for our daughter Damon, please".

"No" Damon whispered, shaking his head.

"Yes" Aria said, wiping the tears that had fallen from Damon's eyes, "I love you Damon, thank you for coming into my life, thank you for bringing the triplets in my life, thank you for letting me die as your wife".

"Stop" Damon cried, "Please don't do this, I can't--I can't watch you die".

"I know" Aria whispered, "I know", Aria stepped closer to Damon, her hands still on Damon's face, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss on to Damon's lips, "Always remember that I love you Damon, forever and ever".

"Ria--", before Damon could complete his sentence, Aria had snapped his neck.

***

Aria took a deep breath and faced the tunnels, "Come on Aria, you've got this, just remember this for your daughter", an emotional Aria glanced at an unconscious Damon, "And for your husband", after wiping her tears, Aria faced the tunnels again, "Phesmatos incendia movet, phesmatos incendia moventur, ego ex vox, vos ex unos, phesmatos incendia entrare, phesmatos incendia movet".

The wind around Aria slowly started picking up, and the ground started shaking, Aria clenched her hands into a fist, her chanting getting louder, "Phesmatos incendia moventur, ego ex vos, vos ex unos, phesmatos incendia moventur, ego ex vos, vos ex unos", Aria opened her hands and called the hellfire towards her, "Phesmatos incendia movet, phesmatos incendia moventur ego ex vos, vos ex unos, phesmatos incendia entrare, phesmatos incendia movet, phesmatos incendia moventur, ego ex vos, vos ex unos, phesmatos incendia entrare".

Aria saw the hellfire come towards her, so with one full push she yelled, "Phesmatos incendia entrare!", Aria managed to hold the fire in one place for a moment, for a moment she thought she wasn't going to beat this, but then she started remembering the people who she was doing this for, her family, her friends, her children, her husband, so once again Aria yelled, "Phesmatos incendia moventur!" and the hell fire went back into the tunnels, just as both Katherine and Damon woke up, Aria looked at Katherine who was looking at the hellfire that was travelling through the tunnels in shock, "Your turn".

"No!" Damon yelled, seeing Aria grab Katherine, stab her in the chest with the dagger and then jump into hell fire with her body, "No Aria!", Damon went to jump in after his soulmate, when suddenly Kol speeded over to him and held him back.

"Damon, wait!" Kol yelled.

"No!" Damon yelled, trashing in Kol's grip, "No, let me go! Aria!".

"Damon, just wait!" Kol yelled to the hysterical Salvatore, "She's not dead!".

"What?" a confused Damon asked.

"Just wait" Kol said, gesturing towards the fire.

Both Damon and Kol turned back to the fire, they watched as after a moment the fire disappeared and as soon as it disappeared, Damon's eyes landed on a unconscious Aria laying on the floor, she was unconscious but she was alive, her body was unharmed, they were was no proof that she had jumped into hellfire, while Katherine's body was no where to be found.

Without wasting another second, both Kol and Damon ran over to the unconscious tribrid.

"Ria" Damon said, gathering Aria into his arms, "Open your eyes, please Ria, open your damn eyes!".

For a moment, nothing happened, making the new found hope in Damon's heart diminish but the next moment, Aria let out a gasp and her eyes flew open.

"Is this peace?" Aria coughed out.

Kol chuckled, "Quiet opposite actually".

"Kol?" a confused Aria said looking at the original, she then looked at Damon, "Damon? Wait, what's going on? Am I--".

"Alive?" Kol asked, "Yeah, you're alive".

"How?" Aria asked, "How am I alive?".

"You keep forgetting Ri, you're not the only tribrid around" Kol said.

"What are you on about?" a confused Damon asked, though he was extremely glad Aria was okay, he was also confused how she was okay.

"I knew Ri was planning something stupid, I knew she was going to do something that will most likely cost her life, and when Enzo told me what he told you Ri, I figured out what you were planning, and I just couldn't let you die" Kol said, "By that time, both Alec and Asher's magic had come back and Caroline remembered the time you did a fire protection spell on Jeremy when Connor captured him, Alec and Ash had to modify that spell a little since they had to protect you from hellfire, but they managed to do it, they used their blood to make a connection to you, and they saved their mother's life".

"My sons saved me?" Aria asked, tears spilling down her face.

Kol nodded his head, "First your daughter, then your sons, you should be extremely proud of all three of them".

"I am" Aria cried, "I'm so proud", Aria turned to Damon, "I'm alive, Damon I'm alive".

Damon smiled, "Yeah, you're alive" he laughed, bringing Aria to his chest, "I swear to god if I wasn't so happy right now I would have screamed at you for trying to die on our wedding day".

"We both should have known, I have way too many people protecting me" Aria said, looking at Kol, "I'm not going to die this easily".

"No you're not" Kol whispered.

Aria smiled at Kol, she held his hand in hers, while Damon placed a kiss on top of her head, finally everything was okay, it took all of them a long time to get to this place, but they did, they were all alive, they were all good, and they were all ready to live eternity by each others side, an eternity full of nothing but love and happiness.

***

Dear Journal,

Today is different. Today I'm smiling without any fear. Today me and Damon finally get to start living our happily ever after, by each other's side, for eternity, nothing to ever come between us again.

"You have incoming!".

Aria, who was sitting on the stairs infront of the boarding house, looked up from her diary and immediately she was pulled into a group hug by her children, Aria laughed at her children's excitement for the next chapter in their lives but nonetheless hugged them back tightly, she looked behind them and smiled seeing her husband standing there, admiring the view infront of him.

"Forever" Aria mouthed.

"And ever" a smiling Damon mouthed back.

Yes sometimes life can be hard on us. But if we don't go through all that heartbreak then how are we supposed to reach to the happily ever after. I truly believe, if me and Damon didn't go through everything we went through in the past decade, we wouldn't be here in this moment right now. 

Once the sun had set, Aria and Damon walked together hand in hand, on the very road they had first met at.

Aria let out a small chuckle, making Damon look at her in confusion, "What?" he asked, wondering why she was chuckling.

Aria shook her head, "Nothing, just thinking back to when we first met, that human Aria had no idea what life had in store for her, she had no idea how important this mystery stranger was going to become to her".

"Neither did that Damon" Damon said, "He had no idea that this road led him right to his future wife".

Aria laughed as Damon twirled her around and pulled her back to him, Aria put her arms around Damon's neck and rested her cheek on Damon's shoulder.

"Thank you" Damon whispered, as the two soulmates slowly started swaying.

"What for?" Aria asked, not lifting her head.

"For loving a cold hearted vampire like me" Damon said.

Aria lifted her head up and looked into Damon's eyes, "There's no one else in this world that I could love".

Damon smiled, he leaned down and placed his lips on to a smiling Aria's.

After everything that we went through, everything the triplets went through, me and Damon decided to open up a place that will welcome children like the triplets, they can have a place where they will never have to hide, a place where they will always belong.

Aria stood outside the Salvatore's front door, watching with a smile as Kol opened the sign they were all eagerly waiting for, Salvatore Boarding School, For The Young And Gifted.

"Dad!" Alec yelled, running into Kol's arms, who quickly picked him up in his arms and span him around, "I'm so happy, dad!".

"I'm glad" Kol said, kissing Alec's cheek, he then looked over to Aria, "Happy?" he mouthed.

"Beyond" Aria mouthed back.

Now don't get me wrong, opening a school for supernatural kids is no way a easy job, but luckily we are surrounded by people who love to help out.

Aria gave Dorian a smile as she passed him on the corridor on her way to the library, as soon as Aria entered the library, a huge smile formed on her face seeing a familiar face.

"Jer" Aria whispered.

Jeremy turned around and a huge smile came on his face seeing Aria, "You owe me a new crossbow".

"And why's that?" a confused Aria.

"Because Alec and Jayden broke mine" Jeremey informed.

"Why did they have your crossbow in the first place?" Aria asked.

"That's the wrong question, the question you should be asking what were mini Damon and mini Klaus planning to do with the crossbow" Jeremy said.

Aria laughed, "It's really good to see you back home, Jer".

Jeremy smiled, "It's good to be back home, Aria" he said, pulling his best friend into a hug.

Along with Jeremy and April, Caroline, Klaus, Rebekah and Enzo were also very determined to make this school a huge success. I don't know about the others, but the main reason me and Care wanted this school to do well was because we wanted our mothers to be proud of us.

Caroline walked behind Aria, she wrapped her arms around her sisters shoulders and the two sisters stood there watching both their daughters play together in their new dorm room.

"Mia, promise me something" Hope suddenly said.

"What?" a confused Mia asked.

"No matter what happens when we grow up, you and I will be forever" Hope said.

Mia smiled at her best friend, she ran over to her and hugged her, in the process causing both of them to fall to the ground.

"Mia!" a startled Hope yelled.

"Mia and Hope are forever" Mia said, hugging her best friend tightly.

A smile formed on Hope's face hearing Mia's words, she wrapped her arms around Mia and hugged her back equally as tightly.

Caroline and Aria looked at each other, both of them remembering the exact scene in their childhood.

"Caroline and Aria--".

"Are forever" Aria finished Caroline's sentence, hugging her sister.

"A hug without me?" Rebekah asked, walking over to the two sister, "That's a bit rude".

Both Caroline and Aria chuckled hearing Rebekah's words, "Then come join the hug, drama queen" Caroline said, breaking the hug with Aria and gesturing for Rebekah to join them, who didn't waste a second in rushing over to the two girls and pulling them into a group hug, on the other hand little Nova had also joined Hope and Mia's hug.

Unknown to both Aria and Caroline, both their mothers were currently present there as well.

Liz smiled at the scene infront, tears welling in her eyes seeing Caroline and Aria, and then Mia and Hope, happy that her and Amelia's legacy was being continued by their daughter and then by their granddaughters.

An Amelia turned to her best friend, "We did good" she whispered, side hugging the emotional Liz.

"And now they're going to do good by their daughters" Liz whispered, a smiling Amelia nodded her head in agreement.

Now, just because this is the end of the mine and Damon's story, it doesn't mean it's the end of the Salvatore's, because Asher, Alec and Mia's story is just starting.

Damon, Aria and Kol walked outside to the Salvatore's backyard where all the children were playing football.

As Mia was dribbling the ball, Alec ran over to his sister and stole the ball from her, in the process accidentally kicking Mia's ankles.

"Ow!" Mia cried, falling to the ground in pain, immediately Kol and Damon took a step forward, but Aria quickly held their wrists, stopping them, the two vampires looked at her in confusion, in response she simply gestured her head towards Mia.

Damon and Kol looked back at a crying Mia and they saw Jayden rush over to her, he kneeled infront of her and immediately started distracting Mia from her pain, he didn't stop till laugher replaced the youngest Salvatore's cries.

"I don't like this" Damon stated.

"Me neither" Kol said, glaring at Jayden, he knew Jayden was his nephew, but that doesn't mean he will approve of him and Mia.

"You two are just gonna have to suck it up, because from where I'm standing, this seems the start of a childhood friends to lovers story" Aria teased.

"Absolutely not!" Both Damon and Kol said, in response Aria simply let out a laugh.

On the other side, Klaus and Caroline stood together, they watched as after a fight with his brother, an annoyed Asher went and sat on the bench, they then saw Hope looked between the two brothers, and after a little bit of hesitation, she turned and rushed over and sat next to Asher, she nudged him with her shoulder and sat next to him till his anger cooled down and he started smiling again, Asher and Hope's laughter died down when Nova came and hugged Asher tightly, a suddenly upset Hope stood up and walked away, while Asher looked on.

"He's going to break her heart" Klaus said, glaring at Asher.

"They're kids, Klaus" Caroline reminded.

"Something tells me this is a hint to the future" Klaus retorted.

Caroline shrugged, "If that is the case, then let him break her heart, I had to get my heart broken multiple times before I found you, maybe the same thing needs to happen to our daughter".

"I don't like it" Klaus stated.

Caroline chuckled, "No father does".

Rebekah and Enzo stood underneath a tree, watching Nova hug Asher and after babbling to him for a while, she turned to leave, in the process crashing into Alec causing both of them to fall to the ground, immediately Alec glared at Nova and started shouting at her, but Nova was having none of it, she shouted right back at him, once they both stood up, Nova shoved Alec and walked away from him, completely missing the small smile on Alec's face as he watched her walk away.

"He purposely gets her angry, doesn't it?" Enzo said, not knowing how to feel about Nova's interactions with the two Salvatore brothers.

"Yeap" an amused Rebekah replied.

"Why?" a confused Enzo.

Rebekah shrugged, "He's Alec, he doesn't need a reason to do anything, or maybe it's the start of their enemies to lovers story".

"No" Enzo immediately said, "My daughter is not falling in love with a Salvatore, Damon will never let me live that down".

"Something tells me you're not going to get a say in this" Rebekah teased.

"Lovely" a clearly unhappy Enzo mumbled.

***

Three years. A hundred and eighty one chapters. 1.6M reads. 42K votes. And 74.5K comments later Cold Hearted, the first book I'd ever written on this account, my first baby, a book that will always be close to my heart, has come to an end!

I'm going to be completely honest with you guys, I am in tears while writing this author's note, Aria Connor-Forbes, now known as Aria Salvatore, is a character that is extremely close to my heart, I know for a fact no other character will ever compare to my baby Ria, her and Damon's love story is a love story that I had so much fun writing, I know I can never top their story, they will always be my number one, today this book might be coming to a end but know this that Daria will live on forever and ever in my heart.

Also fun fact, my original plan was to kill Aria off, when I first started writing the pilot, the whole plan was that this powerful creature will die in the end, but by the time I wrote this episode, I was too attached to Aria and killing her hurt me so much so I left the decision in your guys hand and you guys decided that Damon and Aria needed a happy ending, and honestly I'm so glad you guys chose that, not giving Damon and Aria a happy ending was such a painful thought, but luckily I didn't have to do that, I just hope I managed to give them a good and satisfactory happy ending.

p.s. about the legacies sequel, I will start writing that book once I finish act one of my book anti hero, which I only have one chapter left, so the legacies sequel will be coming to you guys either late December or early January, so don't remove this book from your library just yet as I will announce the new book here, keep your eye out for that, I am honestly so excited to write the triplets story and you guys might also see Damon and Aria again 👀

Anyways, for the last time on this book, how was the chapter?

Thoughts on Aria seeing Liz and Shelia in limbo?

Thoughts on Aria forcing Kol to get Asher and Alec out of Mystic Falls?

Thoughts on Aria ready to sacrifice herself for her family?

Thoughts on Aria managing to survive hellfire because of Asher and Alec?

Thank you so much for the immense love you guys gave Daria, I'll see you guys soon because the Salvatore family's story isn't over just yet! 🤭

Signing off Shanaya!