𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒
we're all a little insane

AFTER SAYING goodbye to Alaric, Echo met up with Damon, Elena, and Stefan outside.

"You ready to go, little warrior?" Damon asked and she leaned into him as he had his back against the car. She wrapped her arms around him, just breathing in his scent. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, worry pretty much seeping from her. "I just... my real father isn't here and I don't think I'll ever be able to see him again. And Alaric... I consider him my second father and I really care for him. I don't want to lose him."

Damon sighed and kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be alright, sweetheart. I'm here and I'm not going to let anything happen to Alaric or anyone else you care about."

She smiled up at him, and stared into his sparkling blue eyes for what seemed like forever. She really felt the urge to say that she loves him, but at the thought of Jo, the only other person she said that she loved, it made her stop. Instead, she said, "I'm so happy to have you in my life."

"Me too." He smiled and leaned down, connecting their lips together.

Sighing, Echo turned around to stare at Stefan as Elena jumped into the car. "You better take care of him, asshole," she sneered at him and then took a threatening step towards him. "If I hear that you hurt him in any way; easy as a child breathes a wish at a dandelion... is exactly how easy it would be for me to tear your limbs from their sockets." She then clicked her tongue and grinned. "Be careful were you step, Salvawhore, because there might or might not be booby traps." She patted his shoulder as his eyes widened and got into the passenger side of the car. "Have fun!" She shouted as she fully got into the car and closed the door.

"Do you really have to do that?" Elena asked before adding, "Without me?" She leaned forward and placed her hand on Echo's shoulders. "If you have a plan to get back at him, please put me in those plans. He hurt you, he killed you, and he almost killed me. We need to work together as twins to get back at him."

Echo smirked as she looked back at Elena. "I've rubbed off on you. I love it."

"So do I," Damon piped in. "We all three need to come up with a plan to get back at him. And it needs to be out of this world."

ECHO WALKED in front of her sister and Damon, wanting more than anything to see her little brother. After everything they'd been through, Echo had missed him. "There he is." She smiled as her sister and Damon who caught up to her. 

They watched as Jeremy swung at the ball and missed. "Next time we compel him, remind me to make him better at baseball," Damon retorted which made Echo lean over and slap him upside the head.

As the twins walked over to the cage, they both shouted, Hey Jer!" 

Hearing his name Jeremy turned around smiling when he saw his twin sisters standing at the gate. "Maya? Elena?" Looking past them seeing Damon he asked, "What's wrong?"

DAMON, Echo, Elena, and Jeremy were walking out of the batting cages after the vampire explained what had happened over the past few months.

"Katherine sired us, Rose sired Katherine, all we need to do is find out who sired Rose," Damon explained further to the human. 

As he started to put his things away, Jeremy asked, "So, you traveled across the country to get me to talk to a dead vampire?" 

Sarcastically Damon responded, "Dead vampire is redundant, but yes." 

Jeremy sighed. "Well, I can't. I could talk to Anna and Vicki because I knew them. I've never even met Rose." 

"What good is you dying and coming back to life if you can't talk to a ghost when I need you to?" Damon asked, huffing, making Echo slap his arm. He turned to her and narrowed his blue eyes. "Will you quite hitting me?! I thought girlfriends were suppose to treat their boyfriends with love and respect."

"You're annoying," she told him with an eye roll and a soft smile.

Elena laughed at them. "Rose spent a long time running from Klaus as well. She and Damon were close, so maybe we can use him as a connection." 

Jeremy looked to Echo who gave a hopeful stare, and he sighed. "Fine, fine, but can we do this later? My friend just got here and yes, Damon, I actually have some. I'll call you when I'm done." The youngest Gilbert kissed both his sisters cheeks before walking away.

The girls turned around seeing one the originals, Kol coming their way with a bat in his hand.

"Damon, it's Kol!" Elena shouted as Echo pulled her away from them. 

Kol hit Damon with a wooden baseball bat making it break in half and Damon fall to the ground.

"What are you doing?!" Jeremy shouted at him. 

"Fucking asshole!" Echo shouted and pulled out a dagger and flung it at Kol, and it embedded itself into his shoulder. "Keep your hands off my boyfriend!"

Kol narrowed his eyes and yanked the dagger out of his shoulder before flinging it at her. It embedded itself into her thigh and she let out a shout, but still stood her ground. He sighed and walked over to where the other bats were. "You know, I'll never get use to aluminum. But hey, at least it won't break." 

Kol swung to hit Damon with the bat, but Damon grabbed it and with his other hand picked up half of the broken wooden bat and stabbed Kol through the chest with it.

"Did you kill him?" Jeremy asked, his eyes wide.

Damon groaned, and even though he was clearly in pain, he made his way to Echo, yanked the dagger out of her thigh, and fed her some of his blood. He then looked up at Jeremy, and said, "No, but it'll give us a head start. Okay, come on."

Once Echo was healed, they quickly hooked it out of there.

THE TWINS, Jeremy, and Damon were getting their luggage out of the car, and started walking to their motel room. It was the next day and they were tired.

As they were heading towards the stairs, Damon said, "For the record, she's the one who wanted to stay in a motel, not me." 

Echo laughed at his comment as Jeremy asked, "So, where are we?" 

"Corner of somewhere and nowhere where Kol can't find us," answered Damon as they headed up the stairs. 

Still in shock, Jeremy said, "I can't believe Kol was a vampire." 

Picking on him as always, Damon said, "Well, didn't you find it weird that you made a friend so fast? Have you met you?" 

"Don't be a dick Dracula," Elena warned making Damon chuckle at her comment. "You're not helping." She turned to her sister and said, "Control your boyfriend."

Echo rose a brow. "Have you met him? No one can control his dumb ass." She then admired Damon's eyes seeing as he was walking ahead of her. "Even though it's a nice ass."

They entered one of their motel rooms, and Elena asked, "Well, this should work, right Jer?" 

"Yeah, doesn't really matter," Jeremy answered his sister as he moved towards the table in the room. 

Sarcastically Damon spoke up as the door shut behind him, "Alright Whoopi, what do you need?" Damon drew the curtains closed adding on, "Candles? Incense? Pottery wheel?" 

"That's not how it works," Jeremy told him. 

Damon sighed. "I know, I know. They push from the other side and you pull from this one." 

Trying to think of a way to see her, Jeremy asked, "Alright, you uh — you got a picture of her?" 

Confused, he replied, "Picture? What, a trip to Disneyland? Come on Rose, you're not gonna actually make us wait, are you? I know you're obsessed with me." 

Elena scoffed. "If anyone is obsessed with you, it's yourself."

Damon rose an eyebrow. "And your sister. I mean, you should see what she does in the bed—"

"Damon!" Echo shouted mad flung a pillow at him which he had caught.

"All right, uh — tell me something about her," Jeremy told him. 

Damon sat down on the end of one of the beds. "She spent her last day in paradise. Soaking in the sun and reminiscing about what it means to be human. And when death came, she didn't fear it." 

"But, she tried to rip our throats open," Elena said and grabbed Echo's hand in hers.

"It was in the dream he gave her. She's here," Jeremy said and Damon looked around, not being able to see her, but Rose was sitting on the bed next to him.

"Is she lonely on the other side?" Elena asked her brother, frowning. Even though Rose did try to kill her and Echo, she still liked Rose, and they would've been friends if she didn't die.

"She says not to worry, she's happy," Jeremy told them after a moment of silence. "And that she misses you and Echo."

"I miss her, too," Echo said with a small smile.

It was another moment before Jeremy said, "She was sired by someone named Mary Porter." 

Damon groaned at that. "Uh, Scary Mary. Well, where is she, Rose?" 

ECHO SMILED as Damon walked towards the bed they will be sharing in the Motel room. While Elena and Jeremy were sharing a room, Damon and her were sharing one.

"I'm finally able to get you all to myself," Damon murmured as he crawled on top of her, and leaned down to place kisses from her neck to her mouth. "I love when we can have moments like to to ourselves." He trailed his finger from her shoulder and down her arm. "You're so beautiful," he murmured and leaned down, peppering kisses all over her shoulder.

"Damon," Echo whispered and then arched forward as his hand moved up her thigh quickly, and squeezed. She let out a moan and grabbed his hair and tugged it gently. Her other hand held onto his shoulder tightly.

"I love you," Damon murmured as he started kissing her stomach.

She wouldn't have heard that if she wasn't paying attention, but she did, and that's why she stopped her movements. She stilled, her mind taking over. She knew she loved him, that much was clear, and no point in denying. But, there was a different about knowing it and then saying it out loud. Saying it to him would make it real, would maybe them real, and she absolutely terrified of losing him. She can't die, no matter from what kind of injury, but he can die. All it takes is a little hit of wood to touch his heart and he's gone. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if he died.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked and sat up a little to look her in the eyes to find her crying. "Echo?" He fully sat up and so did she. He leaned forward and wiped her tears away. "Did I do something wrong? I—" He paused as he thought over what could've made her act like this. "Oh," he whispered and deflated quickly. "You don't feel the same way."

Echo was quick to grab his hands and make him face her, while shaking her head abruptly. "No. No, it's not that. I promise. It's just that..." She took in a deep breath and gulped. "The last person I said 'I love you' to, died. And I'm just... any person I've ever created a bond with has died." She grabbed his face and licked her lips as they stared into each other's eyes. "I can't die, Damon. I don't know why, but I can't. But, you can. Just one wrong move, and you're—" She choked on the words that she didn't want to say. "I don't know what I would do if—"

"Hey," he whispered and grabbed her face in his hands, and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere. As long as we stick together, everything will be fine." He began to kiss her tears away. "It's okay if you're not ready to say it, but I just want you to know that I do love you and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon." He pulled her into his arms. "I love you, Echo Elaine Gilbert."

"WELL, THIS ISN'T creepy at all," Echo commented as she turned her flashlight on to look around the house. It was a mess. Dust, cobwebs, it looks like no one has been there for a long long time. "I've been in worst places, though."

"It looks like the vampires were hoarders." He nodded in agreement, keeping close to her. He knew she could protect herself, but he still worries for her, especially after her little breakdown earlier.

"Who is this Mary person?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Scary Mary. Really old, super creepy." 

"And how do you know her?" Echo asked before pausing as she saw his hesitant face. "You guys slept together?" She chuckled as she saw his face. "You don't have to feel bad, Damon. I have been with other people, too."

There was a creaking like noise from from behind them, and they quickly turned around to see a door opening. Once they walked inside the room, Echo pointed the beam on the wall and they saw a woman staked with blood everywhere.

"Mary..." Damon breathed out.

"That's just... gross," Echo stated with a sigh.

"Quite the contrary," they heard a voice behind them. The light was turned on, and Kol was shown with a baseball bat in his hands. He smirked as Damon pushed Echo slightly behind him. "Shame about Mary. She used to be a blast. I quite know what happened. I fear all the time she spent with my family might have ruined her. She was a bit of an original groupie."

Echo narrowed her eyes. "And you were her favourite?"

"You mean, did I turn her? I think I did. But no, wait." Kol smirked as he placed his finger on his lips like he was thinking. "Maybe it was Rebekah. But there was also a Klaus period. And let's not forget about the Elijah affair. I spoke to my brother. I know you're trying to find out about who you are descended from. Now you never will. So... where did we leave off?" He roughly hit Damon with the baseball bat who fell to the floor.

Echo gasped as Kol kept hitting Damon over and over again. She then glared harshly and grabbed a vase from the floor and hit Kol so hard across the head with it that he fell to the floor. The case shattered and went all over the place.

Kol was up on his feet so quick and hit her hard in the side with the baseball bat that she cried out and fell to the floor, groaning. She had felt something crack under the pressure. Her eyes widened as she saw him look over her with an angry expression. And when he went to hit her again with the bat, Damon suddenly ran into him, knocking them both back away from her.

Echo cried out as she tried to move, a blast of pain running through her side. She whimpered but pushed herself up even though she's pretty sure at least two of her ribs were broken.

"Don't touch her!" Damon roared and hit Kol with his own baseball bat before he was flung across the room. Kol then zoomed towards him and hit Damon on the head so hard that Damon's head cracked open, and his neck broke. He fell to the floor, limp.

Echo's eyes widened before she was face to face with Kol. "You have really pissed me off," he told her before he slammed the baseball bat down onto her head, and everything went black.

Her body fell to the floor, landing right besides Damon's, and they were both temporarily dead.

"Now we're even," Kol said before leaving them alone.

Soon, Echo's head started bleeding and started surrounding both of them. And that was what Damon had woken up to, being surrounded by his true loves blood, and seeing her limp body.