it ends where it started

THE ENTIRE TOWN HEARD ABOUT THE GILBERT HOUSE BURNING DOWN WITHIN HOURS. News of Jeremy's untimely fate in said fire broke shortly after, and Athena was entirely unsurprised to see a memorial held for him the same night. She was, admittedly, surprised that news of Carol's death had yet to come but she figured that Tyler was working with the Sheriff to come up with a decent story as to how the mayor died that wasn't murder.

With Jeremy secured in the basement for the time being, Athena figured there was no harm in going to the memorial just to see how many familiar faces were in the crowd.

She only sort of regretted that decision as she lost sight of Stefan and was swallowed by the throng of people she was sure didn't even know Jeremy. Rolling her eyes, she grumbled annoyedly and pushed past people with less than kind words to say.

Breaking free from the large group gathered, Athena scanned the people lingering on the outskirts, hoping she'd see Damon, Caroline, or Stefan. Preferably anybody she actually wanted to speak to.

She walked silently past the stage, her footfalls soundless in the grass before she stopped and turned around, a smirk twisting at her lips as the girl following her reared back, unexpectedly caught.

"Are you really gonna do this here, Elena?"

"Where is he?"

Athena turned to face her fully, eyeing her distraught state and her bloodshot eyes. "Who?"

"Don't act stupid," Elena bit out, gritting her teeth. "Where is Jeremy? I know he's not dead."

"Denial is the first stage of grief, Elena, it's alright to feel like this right–"

"Knock it off Athena," Elena scoffed, taking a step towards the goddess. "Where is Jeremy? He's not dead– he had the ring on. He's not dead."

Athena shifted, tucking her hand into the pocket of her coat. Pulling the Gilbert ring out, she held it up for Elena to see clearly. "You mean this ring? The ring I took off him right before your house went up in flames?"

Athena sees Elena's chest heave with a horrified gasp and she drops the ring back into her palm, slipping it back into her pocket safely. "It's a shame Jenna and Ric weren't home– three birds with one stone, right? Well, four, if you count Carol, I guess."

Elena lunged forward and pushed Athena, making the girl stutter out a laugh as she easily regained her footing.

"You're not going to get away with this, Athena," Elena muttered, her eyes wide and maniacal.

"What, you're gonna get revenge? How do you suppose you'll do that? You have nothing against us,"

Elena spits out a bitter, empty laugh that unnerved Athena in the way it feels to walk past a snarling dog or a hissing cat. Elena's behavior was just as unhinged. "You still haven't figured it out, have you? I'm shocked– I actually knew something before the great Athena did."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter now, it's too late for you to stop anything," Elena shrugged, stepping back from Athena. "You wanna kill me? Well, I'm not going down without a fight. Good luck, Athena. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon. Back to where it all started, right?"

Athena clenches her jaw and lets Elena walk away from her as she clenches and unclenches her fists at her sides, frustration building in her. Her brows furrowed as Elena's words echoed in her head, and her head snapped up in sudden realization.

"The bridge,"

Running across the grassy field, Athena looked around in a frenzy for Stefan. Stumbling into the mostly empty bar, her eyes landed on two familiar faces. A bark of bitter laughter escaped her and the sound echoed in the bar, immediately garnering the couple's attention.

Before they could even attempt to get up from their booth, Athena had a dagger in her hand, the tip pressed into Jenna's throat dangerously. She held the woman in the booth seat, just out of eyeshot of the waiters behind the bar, and shot Alaric a tense look that had him lifting his hands in surrender.

"What is it about the bridge?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Athena," Alaric's eyes drifted to Jenna, fear shining in them as Jenna trembled in Athena's grip. "Just let her go."

"I'm not going to let her go until you tell me what Elena knows about Wickery Bridge," She shakes her head, her jaw clenched tight enough that she felt her teeth ache. "I have no issue slitting her throat right here, Alaric, don't test me."

Alaric looked to Athena and then back to Jenna, and the goddess felt Jenna shake her head minutely under her hold. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jenna, I could have a slippery grip. I'd hate to ruin your nice outfit."

"Don't, Ric," Jenna gasped through the lump in her throat near the pinprick of pain where Athena's knife had dug into her skin, drawing blood. "Don't tell her, please."

Alaric clenched his jaw, his eyes swimming with fright and frustration. "I'm not gonna let her kill you, Jenna,"

"I'm not going to sit here and listen to you two martyrs cry about your self-sacrificial bullshit, either tell me what the hell is going on with the bridge or both of you are dead, and Elena's next no matter what." She scoffed, delight brightening her dark eyes. "The whole family in one day, it'd be such a tragedy."

Alaric slams his fist into the surface of the table, rattling the dishes. "It's white oak,"

"What?"

"Wickery Bridge was rebuilt, and it was made using the wood from a white oak tree– the one wood that can kill an Original."

Panic set into Athena at his words and she stood quickly, shoving Jenna away from her as the woman gasped. She stabbed her dagger into the table and shot the couple a stern glare. "If either of you try to stop this, I will kill you for real,"

She moves to leave, but stops suddenly, turning back to the table. Digging into her pocket, she pulls out the Gilbert ring and tosses it to Alaric who catches it in shock. "You can have Jeremy back once Elena is dead."

──────

"Athena, what's going on?"

Turning to look at Bonnie, her eyes drifted away from the Originals guiltily. "I spoke with Elena at the memorial,"

Words of shock came from multiple sources and Athena nodded indulgently, biting the inside of her cheek as she reeled from the eventful day. "She thinks Jeremy is dead, which is– it's good. She's off the deep end, like we expected. But, she said something that pissed me off."

She scoffed briefly. "Well, it scared me, which is why it pissed me off. She mentioned Wickery Bridge again, and she said it was too late for us to do anything."

"What does whatever she has planned have to do with the bridge?"

"Yeah, I wondered the same thing until I talked to Alaric about it," She tucked her hair behind her ears, finally looking at the Originals gathered silently. "They've been rebuilding the bridge and making repairs ever since the accident last year. Alaric told me tonight that the material they used to rebuild parts of the bridge was made out of wood. Specifically the wood from a white oak tree."

Shock dawned on their faces and Klaus sat forward, his blue eyes darkening. "We burned every bit of white oak within a hundred-mile radius of this town hundreds of years ago. It can't be possible."

"It is," She shook her head. "It has to be. You must have missed something, somewhere, Klaus. A twig, a leaf, part of its roots– something. There's no other reason for Elena to be so obsessive over the bridge like this, not unless she knows she can make stakes to kill you guys with."

"What are we going to do?"

Athena's eyes drift to Rebekah and she gives the blonde an apologetic look. "You guys shouldn't leave until we know it's safe. I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourselves, but I don't want to risk anything."

"We can't just become prisoners because of one girl–"

"I'm not asking you to become prisoners, I'm asking you to have some common sense," Athena cuts Kol off, her desperation cutting through her anger. "Your siblings are all you've ever had, there's no reason you need to risk that because of Elena. Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Finn, you're all at risk, it's not just–"

Athena stopped suddenly, her brows furrowing. "Where is Finn?"

Rebekah shrugged, shaking her head. "He was looking into some things earlier, it's all he's been doing since he was undaggered. Researching and reading. He could just be taking a break,"

"No," Athena muttered, her eyes slipping shut as she searched for any sign of life in the house beyond where they were all gathered in the living room. "No, he's not here."

It's too late for you to stop anything.

Elena's words echo in her head and she takes a stumbling step out of the room, her pace quickly picking up into a run as she grabs her keys and swings the front door open.

"Athena, wait! Where are you going?" The hoard of people followed her out the door and she stopped, looking at them before she ducked down into her car. Her eyes drifted to Alex, Josh, and Iris, and she felt her pulse stutter at the apologetic look on Alex's face.

Forcing her gaze back to Stefan at the forefront of the group, she shook her head. "All of you need to stay here,"

"What do you think happened to Finn?" Klaus clenched his jaw, and Athena knew he'd assumed the same thing she had as soon as she started to panic.

"Elena," She muttered, keeping her eyes firmly on Klaus so she didn't have to see the look on anyone else's face. "I think Elena is going to kill him."

──────

The drive to Wickery Bridge is fast– too fast, Athena knows, but she doesn't bother sparing a second thought to the speed limit as she screeches to a stop before the bridge. Her pulse is racing for multiple reasons, but driving upon the bridge for the first time since the accident has her white-knuckling her steering wheel before she shuts her car off and swings the door open.

"Get away from him!"

The doppelgänger snaps her head around, veins crawling under her eyes from where she's pinned Finn down beneath her weight, a white oak stake pressed into his chest.

A sadistic grin grows on the girl's face and Athena's heart drops to her stomach as the stake is shoved into Finn's heart. "No!"

Athena reaches out and wraps her hands into Elena's jacket, throwing her off the Original. "Finn," She kneels at his side, but as she reaches for his hand, it dissolves into ashes that crumble beneath her touch.

Little by little the Original disappears and Athena feels guilt settle heavily in her stomach as she looks to where she'd thrown Elena.

Gritting her teeth, she stands up and steps away from the remnants of the Original.

"Wow," Elena drawls out. "You almost saved him. How does that feel? Knowing you failed,"

"Enough of the games, Elena. This has nothing to do with the Originals, it's between us and it needs to end."

The vampire's eyes narrow, smirk twisting wickedly at her lips. "I think you and I have different ideas of how this is going to end."

"There's only one way this is going to end, Elena." She takes a step towards the girl, clenching her fists. "You're not some untouchable deity, Elena. You're not immortal, not really. All it'll take is a stake to your heart to get rid of you for good, and I could do that to any werewolf, or any witch, or any human. Do you think you're special because you're a vampire now? I'm a fucking god."

Elena grits her teeth and lunges for Athena, who catches her before she can be taken down. Athena rears her fist back and slams it into Elena's jaw, sending the girl stumbling back.

Flesh pounds against flesh angrily in the night, and resentment floats amongst the atmosphere, dimming the stars in the night sky. A crack of lightning sparks across the sky, sending a chill down Athena's back. All she can think of is her father, and she wonders if he'd orchestrated all of us despite her warnings to leave her life alone.

In her moment of distraction, Elena lands a kick to her chest that sends her flying backward, into the newly raised railings of the bridge.

Athena's breath hitches in her throat and she grits her teeth to keep the fear at bay. She silently curses the thought that pops into her head, knowing it'll work even if she hates it.

Slamming her fist back into the railing, it cracks loudly beneath her strength. Two, three more hits send it crumbling into the water and Athena looks up from her quick work just as Elena reaches for her again.

Waiting just a second longer, Athena moves quickly, wraps her hands into the fabric of Elena's jacket and vaults them both off of the bridge.

Yells of surprise and fear come from both girls and Athena feels her eyes blur with tears as she braces for impact.

The water is cold, and all too familiar. It feels as if she's right back in the car, watching Elena swim to the surface. She could swear her cheek twinges in pain, and she tasted the metallic flavor of her blood in her mouth as she held her breath.

She's frozen, for a moment, in the past that feels all too much like the present. Briefly, she wonders if she should just sink to the bottom with Elena and leave them both in the watery graveyard they probably should've stayed in, to begin with, but as soon as the thought crosses her mind, she shoves it away and kicks her feet until she's breaking through the surface of the water.

She takes in a gasping breath as Elena does the same, still wrestling to get out of her hold. Athena doesn't loosen up, keeping her numb hand twisted into the fabric of her shirt.

Pulling a fist back, she lands three quick punches to Elena's jaw, the smack of her skin stinging satisfactorily on her knuckles.

She drags the weakened girl through the water until she feels gravel firmly beneath her feet, the water still well over her hips as she glares down at Elena.

Athena's face is numb from the icy water that has her feeling sluggish, but she can't mistake the hot tears spilling down her cheeks for anything else. Her chest heaves with shaky breaths and she shakes her head, looking down at Elena with a slurry of emotions that makes her stomach twist nauseatingly.

Elena coughs out the water she'd inhaled when they landed in the river and looks at Athena through her foggy gaze. "Even if you kill me, he's still dead. You can't fix that, Athena. They'll hate you for getting their brother killed because you were too proud to admit you didn't know something."

"Shut up," Athena clenched her fist, bringing it down on her cheek again. "You don't know them, Elena."

"What are you going to do, Athena? What could you possibly do to make up for getting Finn killed?"

"I'm going to kill you," Athena sniffed, clenching her jaw. "I'm going to kill you, and leave you in this water like you did to me that night."

Athena let out a shuddering breath and lowered her hand, hovering it above Elena's heart. "Hey, Elena,"

The vampire gritted her teeth, hardly willing to accept her defeat. "What?"

Athena's eyes dart up to hers, and a smirk pulls at her lips despite the tears on her face. "I win."

A gasp breaks out of Elena's lips as Athena's hand punches into her chest, and her fingers wrap around her pounding heart.

Yanking her arm back, Elena's heart comes with it, and Athena watches as the brief realization sets into the girl's eyes before they flicker lifelessly, devoid of life and blank within seconds.

Slowly, hesitantly, Athena drops Elena's unbeating heart into the water and watches it disappear into the icy depths. Mindlessly, she tightens her grip on her jacket and drags her limp body to the gravel bar with her.

She drops to her knees as soon as she's sure she's on steady ground, and drops her head into her hands, hunching over on herself.

A sob cracks through her chest and Athena lets the dam break.

She feels as if she's suddenly grieving something. Herself. The girl who died at the bottom of the river. She mourns for the girl who loved her father, who didn't think he was anything but perfect. For every moment that she spent living in ignorance of what was to come, Athena cried.

She cries for the version of herself that will never return.

Lightning cracks through the sky, and drowns out the sounds of her sobs. For a moment, she allows herself to be comforted by the thought of her father holding her while she cries like he used to, but she staves the feeling away and sits back on her heels, looking up at the dark sky. "I know that I have no right," Her hoarse voice trembled as she stared pleadingly into the stars. "But please, please just get rid of it. Finish it."

A brief pause follows her pleas, and she thinks for a moment that nothing will come of it, but her disappointment is short-lived.

A deafening crack of lightning brightens the sky and strikes the crumbling wood on the bridge. A spark ignites, and flames follow instantly, rapidly spreading across the bridge. A shaky sigh of relief spills from her lips and she falls forward again, squeezing her eyes shut as more tears leak out of them.

"Thank you," Her words are whispered, but she knows they aren't unheard. "Thank you. Thank you."

──────

author's note; this is... sadder than i meant for it to be...

originally published; 5.23.22.

edited: 12.11.23.

- liz