Was gonna do 'Hellfire' by Barns, but this song is way too fire to ignore.

Salvatore Boarding House:

The night after..... after all of that mess, Stefan is sitting alone in his room, trying to find some enjoyment in Damon not being in the house. However, that proves to be difficult with Vicki's death. Not only did it cause more personal problems, threw everything Stefan did to cover up the first incident into the gutter, but it also dropped a bombshell curtsey of Jeremy Gilbert.

Y/N is still alive, and he's really pissed.

Maybe it's not technically a bombshell, maybe it's just proves how foolishly distracted he and Elena were to not show up to school and see it for himself. Part of me wants to believe that it's not a big deal, but he knows about Raymond, and what the obvious mindset that would soon follow.

Revenge.

His thoughts are interrupted though, when he hears a sudden thud that shoots him out of his half-napping state. Blinking, he sees a book on the floor that must've fallen off the stool next to his chair and picks it up, putting it back where it originally was.

He then stretches a bit as he stands up, idly looking at some of the decor while he wakes himself up. But then.... he hears something..... laughing? Sounding like it's coming from far away and..... nearby? He turns around where the source of the noise came from, but doesn't see anybody or catches a scent of anything in sight.

Trying to make sense of what he heard, Stefan patrols around until another noise abruptly enters his eardrum. Some kind of door opening and closing at super-sonic speed. He snaps his head around where he sees window blowing into an open window, as shown by the curtain whooshing away by it.

Feeling weirded out, he walks over to close and lock it before hearing some rattling two seconds after, causing him to turn to that noise as well. What the heck is going on? Is Damon messing with him? It can't be someone he doesn't know, because a Vampiristic stranger could never be able to get in until they're invited.

He takes more slower steps towards the noise, readying himself up for a trap when his attention's suddenly grabbed by a light upstairs turning itself on. "Damon?" He calls out, trying to figure out what the heck he's trying to do. Is he already planning something to torment him with?

Another loud rattle causes him to turn another direction, before his eye finally catches some shadows moving around from place to place. Definitely a Vampire, they're using super-speed, but who?

His thoughts are interrupted when a hard jab on his right shoulder blade causes him to fall to the floor with a grunt. He tries standing up, but a female Vampire gets on top of him right as he turns himself on his back, letting him see her tanned face and hazel eyes.

Wait a second....

"Lexi?" Stefan recognizes with a surprised voice, prompting the Vampire then breaks their scary face with a now more friendly expression.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Stefan questions in shock before being quickly pulled up by Lexi thanks to her speed. "I missed you." He then says once it wears off, gleefully hugging his old friend.

"Happy birthday." Lexi then wishes him with that smile still on her face. It makes Stefan's day suddenly get ten times better. She was the one who helped him break out of his own 'ripper' phase, the term being used for Vampires much worse than Damon...... Much, much worse. Once the hug breaks, Lexi then idly ambles around the room. "Your friend was a good player, promised not to give me away when he caught me sneaking in."

Stefan blinks. "Who?" He then queries Lexi, who simply gestures towards the next room over. Confused, he wonders over to the study where he sees a person observing the alcohol in the room while munching on some kind of sandwich.

When he notices his presence and turns around, Stefan freezes the second he sees the guy's face, his breathing unsteady, and his eyes going a little wide, all while suddenly feeling like he got turned into stone.

Y/N smiles at him and raises his wrapper

"Nice house, Stefan."

_____________________________________________________

__________________________________________

Stefan almost doesn't want to believe it, because he knows the consequences that will follow, but there's no denying it anymore. Now that he's seeing the proof himself, with his own eyes, standing right in front of him. "You want a sandwich?" Y/N then surprisingly offers with what seems like a friendly gesture, showing that he has another one wrapped up on the drawer. "I brought three, so...."

"I'm good." Stefan replies with a blank look, while still trying to act like him appearing in his some isn't a big deal. Lexi glances between them, possibly starting to notice the tense breeding in the air. "H-How did you get in here?"

"You left one of your windows open." Y/N answers with a small shrug, tasting all of his fingers once he finishes his first sandwich. "And also, I'm not a Vampire, so it's not like I needed permission." He adds with a knowing look, showcasing that he now knows every single piece of the basics as well. At least, Stefan hopes it's just the basics.

"Should I...... leave you two be?" Lexi asks them, causing both of the glance and see her squinting her eyes at them, now more clearly detecting the aura of the room.

"No, no, it's fine." Y/N assures her with a look, that he knows she secretly sees as, 'I have no intention of starting a fight, yet'. "I just came to give Stefan my own personal gift, though I personally didn't know what kind of day it was." He explains while reaching into his jacket and jabbing a photo into his chest. "Happy Birthday."

He then walks out, leaving the two alone for a brief moment. "So.... not actually your friend?" Lexi correctly guesses with an awkward face, not sure if she's supposed to feel bad that she fell for that. "Should I kick his ass?" She also queries for good messure. Stefan doesn't respond to her however, as he's currently looking at the phot that shows Damon.... carrying Vicki's dead body in the woods.

This causes Stefan to suddenly get a spike of worriment, and he quickly turns around and jogs past Lexi, towards the front door where Y/N's leaving out of. "Y/N, wait!" He calls out to him, causing him to stop right as he's about to go down the steps. "Listen, you have to tell the cops that Vicki moved out of town."

"Relax, Stefan. I'm not stupid." Y/N assures him, knowing that even if he wanted to tell the whole story, it would cause him some problems with the council. "However, I think it relies on you whether I leave an anonymous tip." He then subtly threatens, planning to continue leaving until Stefan speaks again.

"Listen, before you do anything-"

"Rash?" Y/N completes his sentence for him, turning around to then walk up and be a few steps from getting in his face. "Stefan, Vicki is dead, you hear me? By my own hands." He reminds him, confessing the crime to the Vampire himself. "I think we're well beyond past the line of 'rash'."

"I know your pain, Y/N, believe me. I've been in your same exact situation hundreds of times. I've seen so many of my blood dying by natural causes when I continue to live eternally." Stefan tells him, now doing his best to make Y/N see reason. "But no matter how much anger you feel, you cannot kill someone like Damon. He's been stronger ever since he came here."

"If I can't, what about you?" Y/N shoots back with a look, noticing the hesitant look on Stefan's face the second those words leave his mouth. "Tell me, Stefan, why is he still alive?" He questions him with a harsh glare. "Why are you letting him get away with this?"

"I tried to stop him, many times. I had him locked in a cage the day after the founder's party." Stefan promises him, to which Y/N once again flashbacks to what Bonnie said about Damon 'leaving town' or something along those lines. "But time and time again, he finds a way out."

"Sounds like you keep trying to incapacitate him, instead of doing what needs to be done." Y/N comments with a look that shows how he really feels, as if he's disappointed by what Stefan's saying. "If Vicki couldn't stop herself from hurting Jeremy..... then I don't think someone like Damon's worth saving." He says before walking away.

"Y/N, you're gonna get yourself killed!" Stefan warns him as he continues to leave. "Think this through, Damon won't let himself die so easily." He adds, causing Y/N to scoff as he silently breaths a few words to himself.

"I don't need his permission."

Once Y/N's pretty much long gone, and Stefan knows he can no longer hear him, he sighs before looking back down at the photo. He then remembers the first one he got and decides to turn it around. As he expected, another message. Only this time, he knows who wrote it.

Don't get in my way!

__________________________________

Gracewind Park: 1998

Once back at home, It's been weeks after three separate disappearances at the park, all having been written as bear attacks. However, one of the rangers at said park isn't so convinced by this story. He's lost two of his friends from this animal, and the fact that they're also waving it off so easily isn't going to sit with him. That's why he's tower has also turned into his second home, with a balcony on one side, a desk and radio on one, a murder board on another, and papers littering the entire floor.

He's broken from one of his many thoughts by a sudden buzz from his radio. "Tower Four, this is Tower Two. Hourly radio check over." A male voice then comes through, causing him to walk away from the no-longer-once-a-beautiful view and back inside where he presses on the red button on the speaker.

"Tower Two. This is Tower Four. I copy, over." The ranger responds with a somewhat robotic voice in comparison to his co-worker, who at least sounds a little bit like he has life in him.

"Good to hear, Tower Four. Taking off for the night, park's all yours, over." The man then informs him before another buzz emits from the radio, ending the conversation. The ranger then steps back onto the balcony so he can see Tower Four's lights go out, hinting that he's headed out.

Now comes the worst part.....

Meanwhile, on the other side of the park, the Tower Two park ranger is heading down the stairs like he said, walking back over to where he parked his car which he made sure was closest to him as possible. "Poor guy...." He mutters to himself with a small chuckle, knowing that he doesn't one to be the guy that has to watch over the entire place for a longer duration of the night.

Once the loud beep echoes across the forest by him unlocking the car, the ranger then sits himself in his driver seat, letting out a small yawn as he then checks everything to make sure he isn't driving blind. Lights on, coke in the cup holder, now he just needs the map. He doesn't trust the new GPS system, especially for all the dirt roads.

Once he pulls it up, he then starts unfolding it, only to find something written across the entire thing, covering most of it. All of it in red, large, and bold letters.

YOU BELONG TO THE WENDIGO NOW

The ranger blinks, not understanding what the heck that means. "What the....." He mutters, before then realizing in anger that there's no way he can scrub this stuff off. "Whatever, I know where I'm going...." He tells himself, reminding himself he's done this dozen of times.

However, when he inserts the keys and twists it, the engine doesn't start. "Are you serious?!" He angrily exclaims to himself, slamming on the wheel before crawling out of the car. "Hey! Whatever you kids think you're doing, stop messing with my fucking car!" He yells out into the darkness, hoping that the pranksters who are doing more than pranking can hear him. "Geez...."

He then walks around and opens up the hood, seeing if there's a problem there. And boy, is it worse than he thought. Everything is scratched up/torn apart. In fact, this looks more like simple sabotage. They messed with the whole thing!

"That..." He angrily slams the hood down. "Son of a-"

Before he can finish, two hands grab his head with super-sonic speed, and aggressively pulls it downward, only a tiny bit of skin holding the head together as it dangles around, waiting to fall onto the grass.

In only a few seconds, he falls to the floor, dead.

____________________________________________

Mystic Falls Police Station: Present Time

The morning comes, and everyone related, friends, or at least know Vicki from someone else is called for questioning by none other than Sheriff Forbes, who some know to be from the council due to her leading the entire force. For the aware ones, it wouldn't make sense for her not to be a member.

Sheriff Forbes looks at each person with that same professional look when she asks the question, and still manages to have it on despite the answer. First off..... "Where did Vicki say she was going?"

Jeremy rubs his cheek before realizing the answer. "No, she didn't."

"Did she tell her brother where she was going?"

________________________________________________

"No, she didn't say anything to me." Matt responds with a shrug, not getting it herself. "She told Jeremy to tell me she was leaving town."

_________________________________________________

"From the way Matt talked about her at the Halloween party, looking as worried as ever.... I don't think so." Y/N answers honestly, not needing to fake anything since that is pretty much the truth.

Second question....

"Well, is there anyone I can talk to that may know what happened to her prior to her leaving town?" Forbes asks next, giving Y/N the window he was looking for.

"Stefan Salvatore may know." Y/N suggests, tapping his finger on his leg repeatedly. "Um..... I heard them talking more and more several times before the party, which was weird to me, because those two don't really know each other. Their only connection is the Gilbert siblings." He mentions, acting casual when he brings it up. "In fact, Matt called me, before the party, said that-"

___________________________________

"-He came by the house to see her, but she wouldn't talk to him." Matt shares with Forbes, his fingers curled together as they rest on the desk in front of him.

This definitely catches the sheriff's attention, bringing her to her third question.....

"What was he doing there?"

________________________________

"I was trying to help her." Stefan answers, slowing nodding himself to hide the despair of how well that turned out. "I knew that Elena was worried about her brother. He was dating Vicki and she had a drug problem so I tried to help."

Forbes squints as she asks her fourth question.....

"So you got involved because Elena asked you to?"

____________________________________________

"I asked Stefan to help." Elena admits to her, helping Stefan's testimony. "I thought that by helping Vicki, he was helping my brother."

With the drug problem looking like a major symptom, it brings Forbes to her next question.

"And what was her behavior like those last few days before she left?"

________________________________

"Up and Down......." Matt tells her as he looks into open air, thinking about those weird events. "Very sketchy, like.... she was coming down from some major partying."

This prompts the next question, which is obviously.....

"Any signs of aggression or violence?"

_____________________________________

Jeremy squints before shaking his head. "Not that I remember."

__________________________________

"No." Stefan shakes his head.

______________________________

"No." Elena shakes her head.

_____________________________

"Yeah." Y/N nods his head, and with being the last person questioned, that comes as a major contradiction to what everyone else was saying.

Forbes definitely notes this town, before wrapping it up with her final question.

"So... do you think Vicki really left town?"

_________________________________________

Matt takes a minute before nodding his head. "Yes."

____________________________________

"Yes." Stefan nods.

_____________________

"Yes." Elena nods.

________________________

"I'll miss her, but... I think it's for the best." Jeremy says with a certain look on his face.

_________________________

"Sure." Y/N answers with a nod, sounding a little more reluctant than the others.

However, it's enough for Sheriff Forbes to be satisfied.

_________________________

Once questioning's finished, Y/N walks out, satisfied with what he subtly shared with the police as he heads towards his motorcycle. It wasn't anything that could be evidence, but part of him felt like he had to tell the truth. For his father's sake.

"See ya, man...." Matt says to Y/N as he passes him, right after ignoring Stefan who he shoulders past.

"See ya." Y/N replies with a nod. "Make sure to call me if you need anything, all right?"

"Sure thing." Matt dryly responds before entering his car.

While looking for his keys, he eventually notices a couple fellow teens approaching him. "Y/N...." A hesitant voice says his name, and Y/N turns around to see Elena with a nervous look and Stefan right behind her wearing his usual blank expression. "We need to talk."

Y/N blinks at her, glancing between both of them before shaking his head. "Not in the mood."

"Y/N..."

"Please, Elena. I mean it." Y/N pleads with her as he shows her his face that's struggling to use the right emotion. "I don't wanna snap at you right now, my day just started."

"We're just worried about you, Y/N." Elena claims with what seems like an genuine face, but Y/N can't help but look at her, skeptically.

"We barely know each other, especially since you've being seeing each other...." Y/N points out, feeling somewhat disappointed that now she's trying to get herself involved in his life again after summer break. "And even then, I don't want to know you if you're gonna let Ted Bundy play his games with girls like Vick."

"Y/N, I already told you." Stefan steps in, giving him a very serious look. "Damon is-"

"Gonna die." Y/N cuts him off as he puts on his helmet and corrects his sentence before he even finishes it. "And if you so much as try to pull a 'Batman stopping the Punisher from killing the Joker', I will send those photos straight to my dad's friends." He promises with a look that shows that he means it, before driving out of the parking lot.

Stefan and Elena share a look as they watch him leave. They can't help but feel for how much he's changed.

All because he learned the truth.

"Mr. Salvatore?" A cop then comes out of the front door of the station and calls for him, causing them both to then turn to him.

"Sheriff Forbes is calling you back in her office."

_____________________________________

L/N Residence: Evening

For the rest of the day, Y/N spent most of the weekend in his room, reading, eating, working out, and sleeping..... and maybe a few other things. He's read that hunter's journal front to back, and has now finally gotten the whole deal with Vampires. At least, the stuff only humans know. Compulsion, the hunger, all that jazz. According to the last entry, the guy thought that they were dealing with a 'ripper', and Y/N thinks they're right.

He's broken out of his reading on the living room couch when a knock comes from the front door, bringing him back from the real world. So, he stands up, a yawn abruptly coming out as he grabs his shoes, puts on a shirt before walking towards the door. During which, the knocking continues. "I'm coming!" Y/N loudly lets the person no as he finally unlocks it, finding a surprising visit on the other side. "Bonnie?"

"You really did choose the middle of nowhere to live in..." Bonnie mutters as she walks inside the second Y/N opens the door.

"Hey to you, too..." Y/N sarcastically remarks with a look as he closes the door.

"Sorry, it's just...." Bonnie apologizes for knowing that she's not exactly in a polite mood right now. She lets out a long sigh. "I made the stupid choice of walking my way here after moving back to my mom and dad's place."

"Uh.... Could've used a taxi." Y/N mentions with a shrug, before chuckling at the tired look Bonnies gives him. "Anyway, um.... can you give a second? You kind of caught me at an awkward time." He requests as he starts speed-walking down the hallway, towards the bedroom, causing Bonnie to give him a weird look as she follows.

"Why-"

Right as she asks that question, a teenage girl walks out of one of the doors, clearly looking like she just put those clothes on three seconds again. "Hey, I gotta go, but-" The girl says upon noticing Y/N's there only to stop once she fully puts her shirt on and sees Bonnie there. "Oh..... hey, Bon."

There's a moment of awkward silence as Bonnie puts two and two together, and Y/N pretends to clear his throat so he can snap them both out of it. "You should.... go, I already put your stuff on the front door for you." He tells the girl, who quickly nods as she breezes past the both of them, blankly smiling at Bonnie as she heads out. The second they hear a door close, Bonnie slowly turns towards Y/N. "Times change and I had way too many thoughts I had to shut up."

"I.... Whatever." Bonnie quickly waves off, now finding the ability to actually chuckle at the situation. Guess some of old Y/N has come back from the dead. "Good thing I got distracted by that squirrel on the way here."

"Would've seen anything still anyway." Y/N comments with a shrug, since the only reason the girl was still here was because she was obviously milking the expensive shower for all that it was worth. "Anyway, why are you here?"

Upon hearing that question, Bonnies closes her eyes and exhales. "Back at the Halloween event, when I touched you...." Her expression quickly turns serious, and Y/N notices it.

"I saw what happened with Vicki."

Hearing this makes Y/N blink, until he keeps staring at her and realizes she's serious. Part of him is about to deny it, but her face doesn't look like it's accusing him, no, more like it already knows what exactly took place, like it was watching the entire time.

And so, Y/N brings her to the massive back yard that hosts what looks like an entire park. It catches Bonnie by surprise a little bit, but her few seconds of staring in awe is interrupted by topic they are currently still in the middle of. Y/N and Bonnie then share their similar stories of weird things happening to them. From Y/N's weird outbursts and explanation of what happen to Vicki, to Bonnie learning about her witch origins from her grandpa, or 'grams' as it sounds better to call her.

However, Y/N didn't mention Jack Warren, he refused to.

"So the crystal burned his hand?" Y/N queries with a brow as he just heard about the encounter with Damon Bonnie had after he took off to find Vicki that night. The two idly amble around the numerous paths. "Does that mean I should refrain from hugging so my shirts stay whole?" He humorously questions.

"It only happens when you try to take it." Bonnie explains with a amused eye roll. "I thought it was just some thing from the costume shop Caroline gave me, but turned out it belonged to my ancestors or something like that."

"Huh, sounds pretty cool." Y/N comments, before an funny thought pops in his mind that causes him to chuckle. "Does that mean you're Ahsoka Tano now?" He sees as he briefly stands in her way, making lighting hands while walking backwards. "This girl is strong in the force." He says with his best, not good, Palpatine impression.

"Yeah, except I might actually be able to force choke you." She adds as she does the gesture, to which Y/N plays along before they smile and keep walking. Seeing the lightning hands does cause Bonnie to recall a more regretful moment. "I'm sorry by the way.... about the car." She then brings up, to which Y/N squints until he remembers his time at the hospital.

"Oh, that..." Y/N waves it off. "It's fine, really, I'm not sure what happened there either." He tells her with a forgiving smile, before looking down at the grass and still feeling perplexed by it. "It was so weird, but.... it feels like it was less about the car exploding, and more about....... the fire." He explains, looking at her with a uncertain expression. "Like, just seeing such a large flame somehow made me so afraid."

"Have you ever been afraid of fire before?" Bonnie asks him curiously, to which Y/N shakes his head.

"No, never. And now I keep getting these dreams about....." Y/N brings up, causing Bonnie to blink as she observes how he mentions said dreams. "Well..... all of them take place in this park called Gracewind Park, and...... sometimes when I'm asleep, I'll watch as people get butchered by.... some kind of monster, like I'm watching a movie scene." He starts, tucking his hands in his pockets due to feeling uncomfortable just saying it. "First it was two teens, then it was four kids, and then it was a Park Ranger." He grips his pockets. "And right after they die... I'm suddenly shot awake. But when I open my eyes, they don't feel like dreams..... they feel like something darker."

"The Goatman?" Bonnie recognizes as they briefly stop, leaning against a small steel fence where they consider those things for a second. "So it's like, a vision from the past? Since you know that they've already taken place?" She guesses the obvious part, to which Y/N nods.

"Yeah, but that's why I don't think they're your normal dreams. Despite my habbits of getting into history, I had never heard of another Goatman story besides Alton Bridge by then." Y/N mentions, putting the emphasis on the time hole that should be there, but isn't. "I started reading, after I got them."

"Well, maybe you're looking in the wrong place." Bonnie suggests, prompting Y/N to give her a inquisitive look for elaboration. "I mean, knowing what happened will add some context, but I don't think the 'why's' in there." She points out, to which he tilts his head a little bit, a solid point. "I think.... I might be able to look for something like that. In one of those sections for the 'crazy people'." She offers with a humorous smile.

"That'd be great." Y/N says with a grateful nod. "I guess I'll finish the 'history' part of it, one of the survivors appearently wrote it, so I know they won't pull punches for the sake of their rep or whatever."

"Alright then..." Bonnie smiles and nods, leaving with a satisfied smile at the clouds they've cleared for each other. "By the way....." She then stops and turns around. "Elena told me about Damon."

There's a small few seconds when says that, with Y/N scanning her in some odd kind of way. "I guess that means you know what he is?" He quizzes her. However, Bonnie shrugs an honest 'no' in response instead.

"I only know the most about Witches." Bonnies admits, which he guesses is supposed to mean that she's suspecting, but not confirmed about Vampires yet. "All I know is.... that you and him aren't the best of friends."

"He's hurt me, Bonnie. Just like he did to Carlone, only much worse." Y/N tells her with a look that slowly shows a few hints of red. "But just like I told her, I'm sorry, but-"

"I can't change your mind, I know." Bonnie replies with a understanding expression, assuring him that she didn't come here to be one of those as well. "Just.... be careful, alright? It's not just Vicki and your father who's died." She mentions in dark tone. Y/N thinks this over for a few minutes before nodding.

"Does anyone else know?" Y/N quietly asks, just in case. "I told the others that he just went back to his business because of an emergency."

"No, I don't think so...." Bonnie informs him with a shake of her head. "See you when I see you... and like I said, be careful." She tells him one more time before walking away, presumably to leave the mansion.

"Hey." Y/N calls out to her before she leaves, grabbing her attention again so she can see him pulling out his keys for his bike.

"Want me to drive you back this time?"

_____________________________________

Mystic Falls Police Station:

Sheriff Forbes's spending the last few hours of her night still investigating the disseverance of Vicki Donovan. A high school girl suddenly skipping town still doesn't sound right, and even though all of the people she questioned agreed to saying that she was, they could've easily been compelled to do so. At least, the important ones. But then, of course, there was Y/N, who told a very different story than the others. The main reason she's still trying to find a confirmation that Vicki's left.

Her investigation of the desk is slightly interrupted by the desk's phone ringing. "Yeah?" She answers it and hears something surprising, one of the Salvatores is here to see her. "Bring him in." She grants permission.

And a few seconds later, Damon Salvatore walks in holding a box. "Mr. Salvatore, come on in- oh, uh, could you get the door for me?" She quickly requests, wanting to keep the status of privacy as part of her job.

"Sure." Damon replies as he briefly turns his neck back around and shuts the door the behind him.

"I understand from Mr. L/N that your uncle was...... attacked by a Vampire." Liz mentions softly, crossing her fingers as she lays them on her desk.

"Yeah, caught him outside his home when he wasn't looking..... Can still see the ambulances taking him away...." Damon agrees somewhat hesitantly, with a small exhale. "But, he clued me in on everything before he died, and said that when it was ready, I was to bring you this." He then explains to her, setting the box in front of her.

Forbes slowly takes and opens it, finding a bunch of a very needed purple herb inside. "Vervain?"

"It's all we have at the moment. I hope it's enough." Damon tells her with a face that seems cool on the outside. Forbes seems to be scanning his eyes for a moment, before mentally sighing, the guy really does know everything.

"It's a small circle." Forbes calmly tells him, feeling a little more comfortable to share it with him. "Founding families, a few city officials...."

"And your deputies, of course, right?" Damon correctly guesses, knowing that she can't perform police work that involves the supernatural with them all not in the loop. "Are we any closer?" He queries as he sits down on the chair across from her.

"Nah, I think our facts are wrong." Liz admits, getting the man's attention as he slightly tils his head inquisitively. "We've always believed that Vampires can only come out in the dark. What if that's changed?" She theorizes, causing Damon to glance down. They're getting smarter..... damn it.

"So, i-is that even possible?"

"We've exhausted every other option. We have to consider the Vampire may be walking around during the day, right in front of us." Liz explains, knowing that she checked every isolated home a Vampire would normally hide in.

Damon doesn't say anything at first, only lets out a small hum as he realizes that he might be losing his earlier advantage of being removed off the suspect list during the founder's party. Too many bodies are being left behind, and it looks like the failure of the hunters has left them shook. "So, what's the next step?"

"Well, we're now looking at anyone new to town since the deaths began."Forbes answers with a mental shrug, keeping her own personal investigation to herself. "Should turn up a suspect or two."

"And I-I, of course, will do anything I can to help." Damon adds, sharing a nod with the Sheriff. The smile he shows may seem innocent, but in truth, it's more out of pride.

Bingo, now he's in.

______________________________________

Mystic Grill: The Next Morning

An hour after giving a Bonnie a ride back home using her motor bike, Y/N is suddenly received a surprise call by Jeremy. Well, it was a surprise at first, until it comes back to him that Jeremy..... doesn't remember what happened to Vicki. It's obvious because of how nonchalant he is, the lack of drugs, and less defensive posture in his walk. All of his pain literally went away, or so it looks. Y/N's worried that it might not actually be that way, that his brain's only been forced to have it hidden, and if it comes back......

"No, no, that's not how it works." Y/N immediately cuts in the second he sees Jeremy doing something wrong. The two decided to grab a table outside the Grill while studying. Yes, Jeremy is studying, though that mostly includes doing all of the homework that he missed out on that are minor grades. That, and there's a quiz tomorrow, so...

"What do you mean?"

"You're supposed to divide the percentages by a hundred to get the decimal. If you just put it in the calculator like it's written, you're gonna be way over." Y/N points out, almost about to judge him for not knowing this until he remembers that he wasn't in class at that time, and he's apparently the only one who kind of enjoys math in the entire school body. "Gosh, now I'm sounding like the teacher...."

"Yeah, except you aren't getting on my back just because the corner of my paper isn't colored white or something..." Jeremy remarks, causing Y/N to blink.

"What does that even mean?"

"I don't know, ask the teach."

While they continue, another teen walks by before abruptly stopping in his tracks as he turns to look at Jeremy. "Hold on a second..." Tyler Lockwood chimes in as he looks at them both with a shocked expression. "Is Jeremy Gilbert studying? Or have I accidently stumbled into an alien simulation."

"The second one." Y/N confidently answers while Jeremy gives Ty a look. "Only, I'm pretty sure you're the alien that got abducted during Halloween."

"Hey, Ty, what's up?" Jeremy then replies, causing Tyler to turn to him. "You doing okay with Vicki out of town?" He then casually asks, and looking like he's actually earnest when he says that.

"I'm uh...... great, actually. Thank you?" Tyler weirdly responds, giving Y/N a bewildered look, prompting the other guy to shrug and pretend that he's out of the loop as well. Yeah, he knew that this change of character was too sudden.

"What are you doing here?" Y/N then asks him, though not with any kind of pointed look, just curious. "I've seen you walking by yourself on weekends, but then you're barely around."

"Oh, that's just because I'm forced to pretty much do chores for my parents most of the day." Tyler explains with the face of a guy that's gotten used to it, shitty situation aside. "You know, go here, get this so we can prepare for that, practice how to be a 'proper' Lockwood when I'm older, etc."

"Sounds tough." Jeremy comments while his eyes are still on his paper.

"Yeah, it is." Tyler nods, while still giving him a suspicious glance. He then leans closer to Y/N. "Is there something I missed?" He questions him with a very quiet whisper.

"Best not to question it." Y/N advises with a look, not knowing how he can explain it himself without sounding crazy. Tyler slowly nods, before stepping inside the Grill to continue what he actually came here to do.

After a few minutes of silence that includes Jeremy doing his homework with Y/N watching, the latter spots a similar truck chilling at the side of the building with multiple children in line and their parents standing behind, engaging in idle chat. "Ooh, you want me to get you an ice cream?" Y/N offers with a little bit of excitement sneaking out, his stomach keeps reacting a certain way when food appears, especially the good kind.

"I'm good, thanks."

"Aw, come on, you've haven't grabbed yourself any after summer break." Y/N mentions with a look that strongly encourages him to at least get a small cone. "It's on me, so..." He then mentions with an enticing smirk, and Jeremy just looks at him for a few seconds before chucking, still shaking his head.

"Orange Sherbet."

"There he is!" Y/N quips with a laugh, tapping Jeremy on the shoulder as he stands up to go grab him a needed frozen treat. It is hotter outside than usual today, so one is kind of feels like it's needed.

He then practically hops over to the join the line, double-checking multiple times to confirm he has his wallet in his back pocket. Once it's his turn, he then grabs the Orange Sherbet for Jeremy and a (Favorite Flavor) for himself, pays, all with a small smile on his face. It's almost like his body is happy at him for choosing to continue delving into frozen treats. Sugar and Meat, they are now..... so inviting.

"Hey, Y/N!" A female voices calls out to him right as he steps back onto the side walk, and he turns around to see Caroline with one of those excited grins that can only mean one thing. "Party at the Grill. I'm inviting as many people as I can, so make sure you're there. I want a big crowd."

"But it's a Sunday-" Y/N tries to point out, but Caroline immediately takes off to presumably fetch Jeremy and Tyler since they are also nearby. As well as probably put some posters or whatever invitation method around town. He just sighs instead as he glances down at the two ice cream cones and reminding himself to head back before start melting before it even gets in Jeremy's palm.

Halfway through crossing the street, it hits him. The unusual timing of the party, and the fact that she's been an early victim of compulsion before. That can only mean one thing. He stops when he crosses the road and growls one thing.

"Damon...."

______________________

L/N Residence:

The second Y/N finds himself back home, he marches up to the closet full of weapons, before realizing that he might not be able to hide them this time around. The costume during Halloween helped a whole not, but while wearing a jacket, shirt, pants, and yada yada, the best he'll be able to keep is a steak. And with that, he'll have to make sure he times the only shot he has right.

See, that's the frustrating part, a side of him tells him that this is an opportunity, while the other side reminds him that Damon's a Vampire, meaning he can snap anyone's neck in two microseconds. But, there is going to be a big crowd, so it's possible he can sneak the gun inside as well, but there's also the fact that The Grill is very strong with its 'no weapons' policy, and they're definitely more so after the Jeff Warren incident.

Everyone else seems to be going, so it'll probably be weird if he doesn't show, and tomorrow might be the day that Damon will somehow figure out he's alive. With Stefan and Elena aware, it's only a matter of time before they too let the cat out of the bag.

And lastly, the timing. It's a big crowd, where and when would he even pull it off? Part of him doesn't want to rely on the ability to ignore fatal wounds to the neck to save his life, or that he seems to ignore compulsion. He doesn't know himself yet, so he really needs to treat this like he's just an average joe who barely has any skill and trying to kill a ruthless murderer.

Glancing down at the stake on his desk, his mind continues to wonder.

What is he going to do?

_______________________________________

Gracewind Park: 1998

At long last, some peace and quiet. A male hiker, average sized, shaved hair, and tall enough that he runs into some of the tree's branches, marches down the numerous trailers in a hike that belongs to nobody else but himself. He had a massive falling out with his girlfriend and the guy she cheated on him with one of his friends. After finally finding a new house, he had to go outside in a desperate attempt to find himself.

However, there's a small issue, he may have been doing that out here for a little too long. The moon has risen and that means that he has to depend on his flashlight to know where the crap he's going.

"I should've known this was a bad idea.... " He mutters to himself, since his map is also hard to figure out thanks to it not including the area he fears he got himself lost in. "I should've went with dad's idea about going to-"

*THUD!*

*SPLASH!*

The hiker is caught off-guard by the sudden splashy sounds he hears, pointing his flashlight towards where the sound combination came from. He doesn't see anything thought, except for the small stain of blood on a tree. "Holy shit....."

He slowly steps towards it, double-checking to see if it really is what he thinks it is. It looks dry, so if it is that, he's sure that the cause has left the scene a long time ago. Kneeling down, he takes a closer look, and then the grass, and feels like there's no doubt for his eyes anymore. This is blood.

Then, he hears some kind of shaking, coming from right behind the tree. As he stands up, and quickly turns off his flashlight, he starts hearing mumbling, though he can't understand any of the words. He circles around the tree, finding himself making the stupid decision of investigating this noise.

Leaning his head around a second tree, he then finally sees it. Four kids, all being hanged alongside a branch, gutted as if they were game that was just catched for food. The hiker has to cover his mouth to quiet the gasp that follows, especially once he sees a figure that doesn't even look human messing with one the kids' bodies. Then, the thud and splashing emits again, only for him to realize that, that's not what those sounds are, that's munching.

That thing is...... eating the children.

Now, the hiker is no longer able to hold it, and he gags during an attempt to hold his vomit in. This causes the animal to abruptly stop, and snap their head towards him. He then yelps in terror as he quickly goes through a thing in his pocket, and hearing grass being breezed past by the wind.

Thankfully, he's able to quickly throw a wrap of crackers he had into the animal's face, causing it to freeze and ram into a tree mid-leap, before letting out the most deafening scream he's ever heard. While it's on the ground, the hiker quickly gets himself straight and bolts it out of there, no longer caring about a sense of direction as he runs for his life.

Meanwhile, the monster still lets out that scream that echoes across the entire forest.

*RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*

_________________________________________

The Mystic Grill: Evening

Welp, here he is, the place is definitely as packed as Caroline said it would be. Don't know how she got the owner to agree with his massive party, but then Y/N would realize that he'd be asking about magic he has no business trying to dissect. Due to an inability to sleep and focus about himself for once in his life, he also didn't really change, so he's wearing the same stuff he had on all weakened. Not that he cares, really.

While eyeing the crowd, he finally spots him, for the first time since about three days ago. Damon fucking Salvatore, also still rocking his black leather jacket and hair as he sits at the bar, looking extremely bored as he drinks. Probably using the compulsion to drink for free or something.

Y/N puts his hood on as he decides to actually do it, he's going to approach him. During which, he sees Caroline approaching him causing him to hide in plain sight. Why the heck is she smiling at him again? "Amazing party, right?" She excitedly asks him with a small twirl, which only disturbs Y/N he sees it. The bastard really did compel her into being his bitch again.

"Glad you thought of it..."

"Are you having a good time?"

"Do you have my crystal?" Damon asks with a fixed smile, causing Caroline to awkwardly drop hers.

"No.."

"Then I'm not having a good time." Damon tells her with a now dry expression tone, looking over towards the front doors. While he does so, Caroline's eyes once again light up when she sees someone else at the bar.

"Oh my gosh, you're here too!" She exclaims, right as the person also taps Damon on the shoulder. And when the Vampire turns around, he face can only be identified as something a photo will sell a thousand bucks for.

Pure shock.

"Hey, Damon! What's up?" Y/N queries with a smile as he pats him on the shoulder again. Damon doesn't respond, only blinks as he processes what the fuck he's seeing. "Great party, by the way, Caroline, digging the, uh..... vibes." He also says to the blonde, doing jazz hands as he uses the word sarcastically.

"Thank you..." Caroline replies with her genuine smile back, she then spots Bonnie and goes over to her, while Y/N turns back to Damon.

"Anyway, I'm starving so I'm gonna go get some food." Y/N mentions as he points back to the tables, before patting Damon on the back again, abruptly gripping his leather jacker so he can lean in. "You're so fucking dead..." He whispers with that friendly grin still on his face, before walking away as with a laugh.

Damon watches him leave, still not understanding what's going on, until he sees Lexi also enter the building. He anxiously glances at Y/N before deciding to approach her first.

Meanwhile, Y/N gets himself a bear and food like he said, leaning against a random spot where he chills, waiting for a certain person to also arrive. He can't help but also keep watching the crowd of people, all unaware that the party they are currently in is secretly being hosted by someone forced to host it by a demon who's just using them to play some kind of game that achieves his ends in plain sight. Probably turn another one them so they can suffer a lifetime of eternal torment until they die twice. That there, is the only gift a Vampire can have.

And it's why Y/N's going to have to do what he's going to do tonight, regardless of relationships.

"I hate it here...." A man comments next to him, causing Y/N to turn to his right and see Matt also watching the crowd, though more likely just the precise area around him. "Reminds me too much about Vicki."

"You miss her?" Y/N queries for the sake of idle chat, thankful for having something to do while he waits. As he sips his beer, Matt scoffs at the question.

"No." Matt says, before seemingly taking in back when Y/N looks at him, semi-surprised. "I mean, yes, but...." He stutters a bit before sighing. "Having Vick take off in a way so bizarre, and after everything I tried doing for her, it makes me feel like I just got stabbed in the gut and left to bleed out."

"Yeah, I know that feeling...." Y/N comments quietly while eating the meat of a rib. Even though Matt probably thinks he's thinking about his father leaving, though he is, he's more talking about getting literally shot and forced to watch as someone who actually wanted to die for you get shot in the face. Not exactly memories that you want to make. "As a human myself, it pisses me off how sudden we can just..... snap your fingers and do A without thinking."

"Yeah, well, guess Vicki's kind of like my mom." Matt remarks with a small shrug, glancing down as he slightly grips his fists. "I can't count on either of them."

"Hey guys." Another person then chimes in, and both see that Bonnie has finally made it to the 'party', aka the secret murder house. "Mind if I borrow the former-pro for a sec?" She asks Matt with a hoping look.

"Sure." Matt nods as he ambles off to go find something else to do, something hopefully fun like this party's pretending to be. Once he's presumably out of ear-shot, Y/N notices a small frown on Bonnie's face.

"You okay?" He asks, to which Bonnie sighs.

"Caroline's trying to get back in Damon's.... good graces or something." Bonnie shares with Y/N, who angrily nods as he's kind of figured that out himself as well. "She tried taking my neckless."

"Like in...... it burned her hand?"

"Thankfully, not this time." Bonnie says with a half-hearted smile she tries to wear. "No, it only shocked her, guess that was because she wasn't trying to be as rough about it."

"Maybe it's because she wasn't trying hard enough." Y/N remarks in a extremely poor expression of Caroline, causing Bonnie to give him a look. "Right, bad time for a joke about that. Anyway..."

The two then find a random table where Bonnie's the first one that places a book down. "Alright, so, I decided to stick to my respective practice and see about what the witches have to say." She begins before clearing her throat as she flips to a random page for reference. "Apparently, just like how witches share their gift through their blood, some supernatural races share somethings through family, though usually in different ways."

"Does it say which one involves dreams?" Y/N asks her inquisitively, knowing that if he finds that, he'll eventually find the explanation for his eyes heating up all the time, his regeneration, and every other weird shit that's happened to him in the past month.

"Honestly, that's the hard part." Bonnie regretfully answers. "Apparently, some species are so hidden, that people are barely able to record what they find. Anyone, that is a witch, that does figure out usually dies the second after. And Vampires, well.... seems like they don't bother sharing this knowledge with the others, assuming that they don't get the same treatment of course."

"Really? They're that clueless?" Y/N questions with a somewhat stunned look. "The pages don't have, like, hidden clues in there or something?"

"Why would they have hidden clues?" Bonnie raises a brow, to which Y/N shrugs.

"They're witches?"

"Oh my gosh...." Bonnie face palms before getting back on track. "Okay, no. Witches already have skepticism on their side, so I doubt they need to keep this information hidden from the humans." She says, although Y/N does have a mind to comment about how horribly wrong she is about that. "And whatever you are.... all I can gather is it's in what they call the 'beast' category. You know, ones that have a trait that can harm others they can't control."

"Does actually describe me, honestly, at least according to summer hook-up number seven." Y/N remarks with a small shrug, causing Bonnie to raise a brow. "Right, right..." He gets back to it, and pulls book out of his small bag he brought, setting it on the table.

"So, everything said that it was a Goatman, but from what I can tell, that can't be possible." He begins his own little theory, which gets Bonnie's attention as Y/N opens up the book relating to every ghost story known to man. "So, Alton Bridge, which also hosts our Goatman. Although his.... appearance is usually different depending on who you ask, one specific problem is that the creature's antics from each place don't match up." He points out, before finding the part he wants to compare to. "Supposedly, cars show up to the bridge and then stay there, the occupants never to be seen again. But in Gracewind park, the creature seems to have a more paitent approach. He doesn't just 'attack' the people the second they drive up to the bridge, it waits for them to be deep in the woods, alone, before tearing them apart."

"Meaning that...."

"Whatever it was, simply used that alias to cover what it really was." Y/N finishes Bonnie's sentence with a knowing look. "I doubt a 'Goatman' even exists, pretty sure that's just the first thing that popped into their minds. Could've been anything for all we know."

"It's some kind of predator who takes a sports hunter approach, judging by how it.... how the children turned out." Bonnie guesses, wincing hard when he thinks about that part. "Anyway.... I think your dreams are your blood's way of explain what you are to you. So...."

"Keep letting them happen until I find my answer?" Y/N assumes, to which Bonnie shrugs as she glances down, not entirely sure of that answer. "We don't know if Gracewind Park is going to be the final part. I could be thirty by the time they end."

"I was thinking something along the lines of..... use ancient folklore." Bonnie replies, getting Y/N's interest. "Even if some of some are probably just spouting inaccurate dung, I would try to find similarities in the creatures and the one in your dreams, the core part of it should at least be similar to what you read."

"Ah...." Y/N slowly nods, finding that plan to be much more appealing. "Okay, yeah.... that'd make the most sense." He comments, before giving Bonnie an expression of gratitude. "Thanks, Bon. Knew the witch would provide the answers."

"Does that mean you're stereotyping already?" Bonnie teases with a brow, causing Y/N to pause and look at her.

"What?"

"Nothing, that was probably better in my head." Bonnie says while shaking her head with a laugh. "See you around, mysterious being." She quips, smiling at her as she heads off to possibly find her other friends. Y/N chuckles as he then looks back at his ribs and gets his stomach rumbling.

Geez, those things look bigger than they actually are.

The meat, anyway.

_____________________________________

Outside the bar, Damon walks out, trying to figure out how to get his damn crystal when it keeps burning and shocking the people who try to take it. The only way it seems is to have her openly give it, assuming that the stuff holding it together isn't an secret electrical fence as well.

He's brough out of his thoughts when he then hears a giggling couple nearby. He heightens his super \-hearing and can tell that it's coming from people very close to the bar. "Hey....."

"Where're we going?"

"Come on, no one's gonna see us around here. Come on." A male and female go back and fourth until the sound turn into smacking noises from their lips. Ugh, okay, time to turn the hearing off. He then easily it tracks it down to a door leading to the basement at the side of the building, which kind of turns the area the couple's currently in into an alleyway.

Perfect.

As the couple continues making out a small gust of wind dashes through the air, causing the girl to pause. "Did you hear something?" She asks her lover with a slightly creeped-out voice.

"Nah, it's cool." The boy assures her, turning her face back to him. "There's no one coming down here."

Yes, there is, and he's right behind him.

Damon appears out of thin air and immediately proceeds to tear into the boy's neck with his fangs, causing the girl to scream in terror. Not really wanting a snack, Damon quickly feasts on what he can before letting him fall to the ground.

He then grabs the girl by the neck, forcing him to look at her....

________________________________________

A few minutes later, back inside, Y/N is already finishes with his ribs, burping as he tosses the basket into the first trashcan he sees.

He looks around the bar, idly sipping on the bottle of bear he managed to get while spotting and watching Lexi and Stefan dance with each other in a very hilarious way. The girl is clearly trying to get the less willing male into moving those little hips, which causes to laugh at the sight of them. It makes him a feel a little worse.

"Aww, look at them." A voice chimes in, and it's no rocket science to know who that tone and humor belongs to. Y/N doesn't even bother to turn as he continues watching, taking another sip of his bottle. "The wholesomeness is so on display, it could make me cry."

"Damon, I have a stake in my jacket, so do yourself a favor and take your tears of jealousy elsewhere." Y/N sarcastically advises with a look, causing Damon to give him a mixed smile before turning to face him with a much more darker expression.

"Okay, how?"

"How what?" Y/N raises a brow.

"Don't play stupid, Johnny Death. You and I both know what happened in those woods, and I recall putting more than the amount needed of bullets into your weak flesh." Damon growls as he takes a menacingly step closer, to which Y/N doesn't react, just takes another sip. "You're not human, so what are you?"

"Oh, I'm a special kind of creature, baby." Y/N teasingly says to Demon, who gives him an amused look. "My special ability? Is to make people go fuck themselves." He seethes, doing the lightning hands thing again before pointing elsewhere. "How about you go do that? Probably frame another animal of more murders while we speak."

Damon glares, before taking in what he said and letting out a small chuckle. "Oh, buddy, you have no idea..." He quips, before eyeing Lexi and Elena with Stefan. He smiles as he turns around to go approach her. "Thank you for this, by the way." He reveals the stake he stole from Y/N while they were talking, causing him to go wide-eyed before quickly grabbing him by the hand.

"Damon, don't-"

"Or what, Y/N?" Damon questions, silently daring him to do something about it. Despite his arrogant, challenging look, Y/N just lets go and looks away. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Let this Vampire do his thing, okay?"

He then walks away, leaving Y/N to drink his beer.

Asshole.

__________________________________________

One deputy patrols around the Grill, and eventually, the sounds of a girl weeping for help eventually made it over to him. Hearing it, he went over to investigate the same place that couple was making out, and finding the body of the male teenager next to the girl. That's when he called the Sheriff for her professional opinion.

"Keep this contained." Sheriff Forbes orders, knowing that this isn't going to look like the normal human crime. The town isn't going to buy a animal attack so close to town for a second time, without warning, no less.

"That's not all." The deputy points it, using his flashlight to show the girl sobbing in the corner.

Forbes slowly approaches the girl, surprised to find someone alive during one of these. A lucky break, for both her and them. "Hey, hey..." She softly gets her attention, causing her to look up at her. "Did you see what did this?" She calmly asks, and the girl shakingly nods. At long last....

"Tell me everything you saw."

_____________________________________

Back inside, Y/N gives everyone else another long look. Matt, Caroline, Elena, Stefan, and that girl, Lexi with a bittersweet smirk. Tyler didn't seemed to be able to make it, safe for Jeremy. But, that's okay. He probably either missed them, or Tyler still had to stay at home for 'Lockwood' business, or however he put it.

Drinking the bottle, Y/N then accidently bumps into Stefan who then notices that he was heading out the doors. "You leaving already?" Stefan asks him with a somewhat worried look, to which Y/N knows where it stems from.

"Yeah, I, uh.... I gotta go." Y/N confirms with a nod and blank expression, causing Stefan to raise a brow.

"Where?"

"Home." Y/N easily answers, glancing around. "Guess I just can't really get in the right mood, tonight." He says as an excuse, to which Stefan seems to accept with a nod. The two then stand there in awkward silence, which gives Y/N the hint that the Vampire wants to say something else. "What?"

Stefan rubs his lips together before finally finding the words he's looking for. "I'm sorry..... for Raymond, your father." He expresses his sympathies, slowly nodding. "I watched mine die as well, by my hand." He reveals, looking down with a dark expression. "He was my..... transformation."

"I see.

"I see." Y/N simply says, seemingly not feeling like he deserves to hear that. He then considers for a minutes before silently pulling out the wooden stake he has and handing it to Stefan, even though he clearly doesn't want it.

"What are you-?"

"I'm sorry too, Stefan." Y/N apologizes, to which Stefan blinks at him until a bunch of cops followed by Sheriff Forbes march into the building. "You know..... for what it's worth." He tells him as if knowing that they would show up, causing the Vampire to get even more confused as he watches him leave, throwing the beer bottle into a random recycling bin.

Y/N lets out a loud exhale through his nose as he leaves The Grill.

Stefan, now completely lost as he then turns to the police, watches as a teenage girl points towards the bar for the sheriff, who then continues marching with her men as they approach Lexi and Damon.....

And shoot Lexi with a syringe of vervain.

The woman groans as Damon blinks and watches, obviously feigning surprise. "W-What are you doing?" He asks the Sheriff, pretending to be shocked.

"Thank you for the vervain." Liz responds as her deputies drag the Vampire by her arms out of the bar. "Now, if you'll excuse me...." She nods as they collectively take their target out where they will no-doubt be staked in a private place.

"Oh my gosh...." Stefan utters, as Elena glances between him and the scene in slight confusion.

"What is it?" She asks, unable to tell what's going on from where she's standing. Stefan urgently begins scooting past the crowd, now realizing what Damon's plan for the party was all along. A fall-girl, for the main Vampire of Mystic Falls.

Elena follows him, but when they get to the main door, three deputies block their path. "Can't go out this way." The one in front tells them with a shake of his head, showing that they're clearing trying to prevent anyone from possibly helping, in case of other Vampires.

The cops then succeed in bringing her outside, however, before they can go any further, Lexi seems to start growing some strength back after they make it a few steps and reveals her Vampireistic face.

Forbes turns around to see her shoving the two deputies away with incredible force that makes them slam into separate police cars, prompting her to pull out her gun and shoot her in the chest. However, either she forgot to pack the wooden bullets, or this Vampire's gotten used to them because she just shrugs them off and marches closer to the Sheriff....

Until she gets stabbed in the heart by Damon who appears out of a nowhere with a stake.

Lexi feels it getting the correct spot, her undead life fading away. "Why...?" She weakly asks, unable to breath.

"It's part of the plan." Damon whispers to her, quiet enough that Liz doesn't hear before he drives the stake further into her heart for good measure. Lexi groans as the color of her skin fades away the same way Vicki's did, before she falls onto the ground.

The worst part? Stefan and Elena are watching the entire thing, the former having tears in his eyes while the other watches sadly.

Damon then lets out a small exhale before turning to Liz, his persona back on. "You okay?" He checks on her, noticing how shaken up she looks from actually confronting a Vampire for the first time in her life. No kind of police training could have mentally prepared her for that.

"Thank you..." Liz responds with a nod, the both of them now glancing down at Lexi's decaying body. "Get it in the car, quickly." She then orders, and Damon nods as he helps her load into her police vehicle.

Stefan and Elena then continue to watch, before they retreat to a much more hidden side of the building. The two are clearly still trying to process through the emotions about what they were forced to see. Lexi's dead.....

After three-hundred years, she's gone.

"He killed her...." Stefan mutters under his breath, before stomping around back to the front of the building where he watches the police allow everyone else to leave so they can assumingly clean up anything else. And seemingly question other 'suspects', as one bartender is currently getting stuffed into a police vehicle in handcuffs. (It's actually just because he was serving drinks to minors). All of it makes his blood boil. "He killed her." He repeats, now turning around with a face Elena has never seen on him before.

Rage.

"Stefan?" She tries getting his attention, but he doesn't respond to his name and instead continues stomping off, no doubt towards his home where he plans to teach a certain Vampire a very harsh and permanent lesson. "Stefan. Stefan!" She calls out at him, grabbing his hand to stop him.

"He killed her." Stefan emotionally growls, his face brimmed with thirsty vengeance. "He killed Zach, he killed Tanner, he turned Vicki." He grips his fist, his claws cutting into his own flesh. "I have to kill him."

"No, you can't do that-"

"Why are you trying to save him?!" Stefan questions, looking at her as if she's protecting the devil himself. "Why, Elena? He's never going to change. Don't you see that? He's never going to change!" He yells with a volume he's never spoken to her in, showing his darker emotions to her.

"I'm not trying to save him. I'm trying to save you." Elena responds, after seeing what the effects of Lexi's murder is doing to him. "You have no idea what this will do to you. Please, Stefan."

"I have no idea? Are you seriously trying to tell me, a Vampire, about my emotions?"

"Yes, because according to what you told me, this is exactly what Y/N wants." Elena tries warning him, causing Stefan to blink at her.

"How do you know what-"

He freezes, playing the entire weekend again in his head.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

"No, no, it's fine." Y/N assures her with a look, that he knows she secretly sees as, 'I have no intention of starting a fight, yet'. "I just came to give Stefan my own personal gift. though I personally didn't know what kind of day it was." He explains while reaching into his jacket and jabbing a photo into his chest. "Happy Birthday."

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

"Sounds like you keep trying to incapacitate him, instead of doing what needs to be done." Y/N comments with a look that shows how he really feels, as if he's disappointed by what Stefan's saying. "If Vicki couldn't stop herself from hurting Jeremy..... then I don't think someone like Damon's worth saving." He says before walking away.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

"I'm sorry too, Stefan." Y/N apologizes, to which Stefan blinks at him until a bunch of cops followed by Sheriff Forbes march into the building. "You know..... for what it's worth." He tells him as if knowing that they would show up, causing the Vampire to get even more confused as he watches him leave, throwing the beer bottle into a random recycling bin.

Y/N lets out a loud exhale through his nose as he leaves The Grill.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

"Back during summer break, Y/N didn't just hook up with every girl that connected with him, he compulsively played mind games with them by encouraging their darker thoughts." Elena explains to Stefan, who's looking down at the grass, mentally conflicted. "He realized what he was doing and tried to stop it when school started again, but after with Vicki...... I think part of that is coming back." She then says, stepping closing to him with a pleading look. "So, please, Stefan, don't do this."

"Everywhere I go, pain and death follow." Stefan weeps, shaking his head. "Damon follows me..... no more." He tells her, his darker side too strong for him to fight as he continues back to his home, ignoring Elena's begging attempts to get him to stop. She was right to stay away from him.

Because she doesn't want see what he's going to do next.

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L/N Residence:

That same night, Y/N has brought some take-out, still remarkably hungry for some reason, and is currently eating it while staring at random Youtube on his computer screen. Part of him, in truth, is really just looking at the screen itself, its reflection, where he sees the old part of himself he promised to bury raised from the dead.

But in the end, he did what had to be done.

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And lastly, the timing. It's a big crowd, where and when would he even pull it off? Part of him doesn't want to rely on the ability to ignore fatal wounds to the neck to save his life, or that he seems to ignore compulsion. He doesn't know himself yet, so he really needs to treat this like he's just an average joe who barely has any skill and trying to kill a ruthless murderer.

Glancing down at the stake on his desk, his mind continues to wonder.

Then he decides to try something. He grabs the stake and then marches downstairs to grab another one. He then finds a random mirror in the manor and gives an attire a look over so he can commence a little trick. He puts the two stakes into separate holsters, one in a much more hidden spot, and one not as hidden.

Perfect for someone that knows he has it to take it from him.

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"Thank you for this, by the way." He reveals the stake he stole from Y/N while they were talking, causing him to go wide-eyed before quickly grabbing him by the hand.

"Damon, don't-"

"Or what, Y/N?" Damon questions, silently daring him to do something about it. Despite his arrogant, challenging look, Y/N just lets go and looks away. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Let this Vampire do his thing, okay?"

Y/N sighs as he walks away, before taking another sip of his beer.

Wow, that was surprisingly easy.

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Y/N then heads into the bathroom and calls the cops.

"Hello? Yeah, I think I heard someone screaming at The Mystic Grill...."

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The town was clearly still looking for Vampires, so when a party gets suddenly declared out of nowhere, Damon was the main suspect. Y/N was able to guess that he was trying to find a new animal to frame, and when Lexi arrived, he put two and two together. And then, he simply told Damon about the thing in his hand, gave him the subtle cue to commence said plan. And lastly, not his proudest moment, he did that cliche way of betraying someone so Stefan would know what was going to happen, so he can deliver that emotionally push.

Not exactly all his doing, but...... like he said, he did what he had do.

Has he sips on his soda through his straw, he finds himself exploring the mansion at night time again, a hobby he has during this specific time when he's home alone. During which, he hears a tap close by, and turns to see that it's a certain Male Vampire knocking on the door of his balcony.

However, it's Damon Salvatore, still alive.

Y/N chuckles through his nose as he turns to face him. "I guess that means Stefan didn't actually kill you?" He correctly guessing, the balcony door open so they can talk to each other as they will. "Huh...... that man still surprises me."

"I'm guessing you were the reason he had a wooden stake, perfectly in hand." Damon figures out with a bitter smirk, gesturing towards his stomach which had a hole in it earlier. "I raided all of those things from his home so he wouldn't kill me with him."

"Looks like you didn't need to." Y/N shrugs as he smirks at him, taking another sip from the straw. "You'd think, that with the right emotions, a Vampire would do the first violent thought that appears in his head..."

"That what's you thought?" Damon amusingly queries, before blinking as he realizes what that also means. "You wanted me to kill Lexi, you mentioned the stake to me on purpose so I would take it." He puts it all together, and the look on Y/N's face doesn't deny a single thing. "Wow, and Elena called me a psychopath...." The Vampire quips with a cackle.

Y/N takes another sip, shrugging again. "I did what any normal human would do, I used my brain." He remarks, not denying the claims of his plan in the slightest. "I thought, maybe, that you were just giving Vampires a bad name, the bad apple that spoiled the bunch. But then..... when I saw Vicki of all people willing to drain Jeremy of his blood, despite everything they went through, I saw the truth." He looks at him with a grave expression. "That the only 'good' Vampire, is a dead Vampire."

Damon shakes his head, not sure whether he should be impressed or disappointed that he didn't have the guts to do it himself. "All of this for a stupid man that couldn't hold his gun, right?"

"Yeah, thought you would understand the term of 'human relationships'." Y/N replies, revealing that he knows more about Damon than he thinks. "I mean, that's why you're doing all this right? What was her name, again?" He mockingly puts a finger on his chin, pointing it at him with a twisted grin. "Katherine."

Damon abruptly grabs his pointing hand and hurls him outside in a act of sudden rage. Y/N can only have a moment to realize it's happening before he finds himself hitting the ground with a rough thud, causing him to groan in pain.

He looks up to see Damon jumping down to meet up, prompting him to roll over right before his feet land on his chest. As Y/N tries standing up, the Vampire uppercuts with while roaring, causing him to fly through the air until he lands on the road nearby. "You son of a bitch." Damon growls as he marches over.

However, right as he super-speeds over, Y/N thankfully has stood up in time, and somehow blocks his first punch before counting it with a fist to the stomach. It shouldn't do anything, but upon seeing Y/N's eyes glow, Damon feels the pain coming as it's then followed by a kneed to the skull.

With him stepping back, slightly disoriented, Y/N rapidly pulls out his gun and unloads half of the clip of wooden bullets into his chest, causing him to yell in pain as he collapses onto the concrete.

"You're lucky I'm now out of stakes." Y/N comments as he angrily kicks while he's down, emitting another groan from Damon. "Guess I'll have to find myself another time to put you, and eventually Stefan down."

He then shoots the rest of the wooden bullets into him, temporarily stunning him as he calmly walks back into his house, knowing that he's safe since Damon hasn't been invited in.

Next time, Damon.....

Next time.

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A/N Alright, you commented, so here it is. The next episode. While I've mentioned before that I'm actually having a lot of fun with these, the gothic aesthetic, the supernatural fighting, a body dropping every episode, etc, I'm going to be working on a fanfic based on a movie, so you know that will take about 7 weeks or more to complete. And it's based on a film from a universe I kind of cherish, so I'd say don't expect an update too soon.

However, make no mistake that I'm going to throw this book in the garbage too early, just want to work on a more personal project.

Plz vote and comment, any counts as feedback, and I'll see you in the next one.