22. Gods And Monsters

"What do you mean Ari got away?" a confused Klaus asked, driving his car with the twins sleeping in the back and Caroline in the passenger seat, on a three way call with Damon and Kol.

"I went to the boarding house to check on her and turns out she bursted the cellar door and got away meaning she's now huntressing in the wild" Damon stated, carrying a gas cylinder down to the armory's front door.

"Do we have any idea where she is right now?" a worried Klaus asked.

"Most likely on her way to kill one of us" Kol replied from his side, "And tell something, why aren't you two on a plane yet?".

"If your dumbasses checked the weather then you will realise a storm is coming, our flights got cancelled because of it" Klaus informed, "Where the bloody hell are you two?".

"I'm in solution land, baby" Damon replied, "There's a preserved body at the armory called the final everlasting, all we have to do is destroy that, and Ria is a monster no more".

"But if you kill the everlasting, Aria dies" Caroline reminded, "And so do we, for that matter".

"That's not what I've been told" Kol said.

"By who, someone that wants you dead?" Caroline asked.

"No, a descendant of the people who created Rayna Cruz" Kol retorted.

"Yeah, the people who hate us" Caroline retorted back.

"Well, we have no other option Caroline, this is the only option we have to save Ri's life" Kol snapped.

"Look, best case scenario, we destroy it and everything goes back to normal" Damon said, turning the gas cylinder's on, "Worst case scenario", Damon bent down and grabbed the kerosene can and started spreading it down the front walkway of the armory, "We all die and Klaus lives to tell the tale of our demise to our children".

"Are you forgetting about the other problem that's in there?" Caroline asked.

"Oh you must mean the ambiguously terrifying monster that Ri released from the vault" Kol said, "Don't worry about that, I'm already on it".

"You idiots, none of this matters, we can't get into the armory because Ari's has sealed it shut and none of us can fight her magic, meaning we can't get in" Klaus reminded.

"Don't tell me what I can't do" Damon stated, sitting on the stairs and then throwing his lighter into the kerosene trail, once the gas cylinder's exploded, Damon looked at the front door and realised Klaus was right, even a explosion couldn't break Aria's spell, "I can't get in" he informed the others, "Plan B, someone call Valerie or Kai, one of them can siphon the seal".

"We can't call Valerie, we don't have her number or know where to find her" Klaus said.

"And Kai is currently on a cruise ship where there is absolutely no network to contact him" Caroline added.

"Which means we are out of options" a frustrated Kol realised.

"Actually that's not true" Klaus said, "We do know another siphoner".

"Who?" a confused Damon asked.

"Mia" Klaus reminded.

"No" Caroline, Damon and Kol said at the same time.

"She won't be in any danger, all she has to do is go up to the door and put their hands on it" Klaus said.

"No" Damon snapped, "My daughter is not getting involved in this".

"It's for her mother, Damon" Klaus argued.

"No, it's for us" Caroline argued back, "So that we don't have to run anymore, and that is not a good enough excuse to involve my goddaughter in this mess".

"You three do realise these scars you guys have link you guys to her, right?" Klaus asked, "She is probably hearing all of this right now".

"No Nik, involving Mia is not an option" Kol stated, "I'll find Valerie".

Klaus sighed, "Then you better you hurry, cause the three of you are running out of time".

***

Kol walked in the psychiatric hospital Alex's sister Virginia was kept in, wanting to talk to her about the monster in the vault.

"I'm Kol, a friend of Aria's" Kol greeted, sitting in the chair infront of Virginia, a glass panel in between the two of them.

Virginia looked at Kol, "She didn't listen, did she?" she asked, "After everything I said, she still opened the vault".

"She had no choice" Kol defended.

"If that thing is allowed to get out in the world, we're scre--".

"That's exactly why I'm here" Kol interrupted, "Me and my friends want to fight this monster, but we can't fight without knowing what exactly this thing is, I was hoping you could tell me".

"You can't fight it" Virginia stated, "You can't kill it, it's been alive for thousands of years".

"Well guess what, so have I" Kol said, standing up and starting to compel Virginia, "Now, don't be scared of me darling, I just want to know what this thing is".

***

"She's six, Klaus" Caroline reminded, still in the car with Klaus, "She shouldn't be involved in this world, none of the kids should, not yet anyways".

"They're the Salvatore triplets and the Mikaelson twins, love" Klaus reminded, "They've been involved in this world the moment they were born".

Caroline sighed, "You know the other day, Aria called me, she told me that Mia siphoned from Alec, he was teasing her like always by taking her toys from her, so she ended up grabbing his hand and siphoning from him, obviously she didn't mean to, she was so scared afterward, she refused to let go of Kol, I just want them and Hope, Jayden and Nova to have as normal a childhood as possible".

"When it comes to Hope and Jayden, it always going to be your decision" Klaus said, "But you can't make the decision for Nova or the triplets, that's up to their parents".

"I know" Caroline whispered, "I just feel as protective over them as I feel over Hope and Jayden".

"Well of course you do, they're family" Klaus said.

Caroline gave Klaus a smile, "Always and forever?".

Klaus smiled back at Caroline, "Always and forever".

Suddenly, Caroline's phone started ringing, grabbing it, she realised Aria was calling her, "Aria?".

"Tell Klaus to driver faster" Aria said, getting straight to the point.

"Why? What happened?" a confused Caroline asked.

"I'm getting closer to you Caroline" Aria snapped, "Tell Klaus to drive fast and no matter what you do, don't stop driving".

"How did you catch up to us?" Caroline wondered.

"I stole a cop car" Aria informed, "The police siren is very helpful in getting people to move out of my way".

"Okay, we don't stop, I promise" Caroline assured.

"All units, we have six-car pileup on eastbound 60 at Franklin Drive" the police radio in the car Aria was in said, "Injuries reported, please respond".

"Nik, tell me you guys are not on 60" Aria said.

Klaus let out a frustrated sigh, "We're on 60" he informed, stopping his car as they arrived at the pileup.

"No, no, no!" Aria yelled, "Nik do something, please don't let me catch up to you!".

"Don't worry Ari, I know what to do" Klaus assured, reversing the car backwards, he then span around and started driving in the opposite direction, towards Aria.

"Klaus?" a worried Caroline called out.

"Dad, what's going?" a confused Jayden asked, as he and Hope finally woke up from their sleep.

"Hold on tight little ones, things are about to get messy" Klaus told his kids.

"Why the hell do I feel you getting closer to me Caroline?" Aria asked.

"All you have to do Ari, is quietly let us drive by you" Klaus replied, dodging all the cars in his way.

"I don't know how to do that" Aria snapped.

"Yes you do" Klaus assured, "If anyone can fight this, it's you Ari, me and Caroline believe it, now it's time you believe in yourself as well".

Klaus and Aria both finally came to face to, both of them started speeding their cars towards each other, when suddenly voices started to echo in Aria's ears.

"Caroline and Aria are forever".

"I still have you right?", "You'll always have me".

"Don't let go of you each other, separated you two are strong but together you are a force to be reckon with".

Just as Klaus and Aria's cars were about to crash into each other, at the last minute, Aria swerved her car to the right and crashed her car into the trees.

***

"Let me guess, it's an ancient, tentacled evil that will destroy our lives and the world as we know it" Damon said, walking outside the armory while on the phone with Kol.

"Don't be stupid, this thing doesn't have tentacles" Kol said, walking out the psychiatric hospital.

"Do I even wanna know?" Damon asked.

"Depends, will it stop you from going in?" Kol asked.

"Nope" Damon replied.

"Then you don't need to know anything" Kol simply said, "Please tell me someone's been able to get in contact with Valerie or Kai".

Damon sighed, "We don't have time to wait for Valerie or Kai, Kol".

"Then what the hell do we do?" Kol asked.

"Don't yell at me, trust me I hate this idea as much as you will, but Ria is getting closer to Caroline, it's not long before she catches up to her" Damon replied.

"Damon, what's the plan?" Kol asked.

"Mia" Damon replied.

"No" Kol said straight away.

"Kol, do you really think I would put my daughter in danger?" Damon asked, "Trust me I tried to think of everything, but Klaus is right, we need Mia".

"What if something happens to her, Damon?" a frustrated Kol asked.

"Nothing will happen to her, you and I will be with her, all she has to do is siphon the spell away and then you will take her away and I'll go in and burn the everlasting" Damon replied.

"Is this really our last option?" A skeptic Kol asked.

"If there was any other option, you know I would have never suggested this" Damon replied.

"Fine, I'll bring Mia to the armory" Kol finally said after a little bit of thinking.

***

"You brought all three of them?" Damon asked, walking over to Kol who had brought the triplets to the armory.

"Don't blame me, blame your sons" Kol replied, "They definitely have yours and Ri's stubbornness, they refused to let me bring just Mia here".

"You know we're your sons as well, right?" Alec asked Kol.

"Yeah, mom said we are the luckiest kids in the world because we have two dads" Mia said.

Damon looked at Kol, "Yes you do" he confirmed, making Kol look at him with a grateful smile on his face, he didn't know what will happen to his and Aria's relationship but he knew he didn't want to separate himself from the triplets, he was too attached to them.

Damon bent down to Mia's level, "Do you know why Kol brought you here?".

"Not really" Mia replied, "He just said you need my siphoning skills".

"Mia, there is something really important in that building, something that will help us bring your mom back to you guys" Damon explained, "The problem is your mom shut this place down with her magic, so me and Kol need your help to open this door, will you help us?".

"Whenever I siphon, I end up hurting people" Mia confessed, feeling a bit scared.

"You don't hurt people" Asher assured.

"I hurt you and Alec" Mia reminded.

"We weren't hurt, we are strong boys, right Ash?" Alec asked.

"Right" Asher confirmed, "You have to do this Mia, it's for mom".

Both Kol and Damon smiled seeing Alec and Asher encourage Mia.

Kol also bent down and looked at Mia, "Bunny, you are so special, all three of you are, only you three have the ability to fight your mother's magic".

"So why don't Ash and Alec do a spell to open the door?" Mia asked.

"Because we are six and we don't know the spell to open sealed doors" Asher replied.

"I only know fire spells" Alec added.

"Please don't light this place on fire" Asher said.

"I can't even if I tried to" Alec retorted, "This place is sealed with mom's magic, remember?".

Mia looked at her brothers then back at Damon and Kol, "What do I do?" she asked, "I don't know how to siphon properly, all the times I have siphoned it's been accidentally".

"Come on, I'll tell you" Damon said, standing up and grabbing Mia's hand, while Kol held Asher and Alec's hand, the group of five walked over to the armory's front door, "Now Mia, put your hand on the door".

"Mia, do you remember what you did when Alec took your barbie away?" Kol asked, as Mia touched the front door of the armory.

Mia nodded, "I hurt him".

"Accidentally" Alec added, not wanting anyone to judge his sister.

"You accidentally hurt Alec because he took something from you" Damon said, "Tell me something, how would you three feel if someone tried to take your mother from you, or even me and Kol?".

"Angry" Alec said.

"Mad" Asher said.

"I will feel sad" Mia admitted, "Mom and Dad are my parents, I can't lose them and you are my dad too, I need to get to know you and spend time with you".

Damon gave Mia a small smile, "I'll feel the same thing as you three" he said, "If we don't manage to get inside this building then you guys might lose us, all three of us might never be able to see, hug you, I will never be able to make it up to you three for the five years I missed of your life".

Listening to Damon's words, caused Mia's emotions to haywire and suddenly her hand started glowing red and she started siphoning the spell.

"It's working" Kol realised.

"Come on Mia, keep going, you've got this" Damon encouraged.

After she finished siphoning, Mia gasped and nearly fell backwards but Damon quickly grabbed her and picked her up in his arms, "I've got you" he whispered into her ear.

"Mia, that was so cool" Alec said, amazed at what he just saw.

"I wish I could do that" Asher said.

Mia slightly lifted her head from Damon's shoulder and looked at her brothers, "You two are buttering me".

"No, we are proud of you" Asher stated.

"And so are we" Kol said, smiling at Mia, who gave him a tired smile and put her head back on Damon's shoulder.

***

"So the triplets have gone home with Caroline and Nik should be here after dropping the twins at Rebekah's" Kol said, walking over to Damon.

Damon nodded his head, "You ready for your part?".

"Damon, I should stay here" Kol said.

"No" Damon said, "You need to go and distract Aria, we need to buy time, so go and distract her, while I go burn this everlasting".

"Don't go in there till Nik gets here" Kol stated.

"Stop worrying about me Kol, I'll be fine" Damon assured.

"I really hope so, otherwise a lot of people are going to lose their mind if something happens to you" Kol said.

"Trust me Kol, I have a lot to live for, I will make sure I come out of there safe and sound" Damon assured.

"Good" Kol said, "So see you soon, Salvatore?".

"See you soon, Mikaelson" Damon said.

***

After destroying the police car she stole, Aria sat in another car, trying to hotwire it, when her phone started ringing, grabbing it she saw Kol calling her.

"You shouldn't be calling me" Aria said, answering her phone.

"Why not?" Kol asked.

"Because it makes it easier for me to know what you're doing" Aria replied, "Kol, I know about your guys plan, I know Damon and Nik are waiting at the armory, tell them to start moving, otherwise I will catch up to them".

"Not everyone's at the armory Ri" Kol said.

"What the hell are you on about?" a confused Aria asked.

"My part in this stupid plan of Damon's" Kol replied, "Do me a favor Ri and starting thinking about me".

"Yeah, not happening" Aria stated.

"Ouch Ri, you're hurting my feelings" Kol teased, "Look Ria, I know the urge to kill all of us is getting stronger and stronger, I know it's getting harder and harder to control, but remember I can't die".

"I have the white oak stake, Kol" Aria revealed, looking at the passenger seat where the stake laid.

"What?" a shocked Kol asked.

"It's the one your mother made indestructible" Aria reminded, "Nik didn't hide it in a very good spot".

Kol sighed, "Okay, then use that stake and come and chase me" he said, "Give Damon and Nik some time to help you by focusing on no one but me".

"I'm going to catch you Kol" Aria snapped.

"And that's exactly what I want" Kol said, "Meet me where I proposed to you".

"Enzo's cabin" Aria whispered.

***

"You ready?" Klaus asked Damon.

"Ready as I'll ever be" Damon said, pushing the armory door, which very easily opened, "Nice", Damon looked at Klaus, "Shall we?".

Klaus nodded and with that both of them entered the armory, with the door closing behind them.

"This does not looking promising" Klaus said, looking around the armory and seeing blood, broken furniture and dead bodies everywhere.

"Meh" Damon said, equally shocked as Klaus, "I've seen worse".

"Do we have any idea what was in that vault that Ari's mother sealed shut?" Klaus asked curiously, as him and Damon started walking further.

"Yep" Damon replied, "Bad".

"So useful" Klaus taunted.

"Enzo told me and Kol that the final everlasting is in a coffin somewhere" Damon remembered, "So, let's just find this thing and get the hell out of here".

"Sounds like a plan" Klaus said.

***

With a shotgun in her hand, Aria entered Enzo's cabin where Kol was busy cooking dinner.

Kol smiled seeing Aria, "Figured I would cook this time, wouldn't want you to burn this cabin down".

"You shouldn't have stopped" Aria said.

"I couldn't keep running, I was running out of gas, so I decided to camp out here and invite you to join my party" Kol said, Aria looked at Kol, an upset expression on her face, Kol sighed seeing her, "I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but I thought if you came here, you and I could go down memory lane, one last time".

"Kol" Aria whispered.

"Come on Ri, have a meal with me, for old time sake" Kol said.

"I want to so badly, but we both know I can't" Aria said, pointing her shot gun at Kol.

Kol put his hands up, "Oh come on, my cooking is amazing, definitely better then yours" he teased.

"I'm so sorry, please don't hate me" Aria whispered.

Kol gave Aria a small smile, "I can never hate you Ri" he assured.

Aria stared at Kol for a moment, she then shot him, the bullet shattering the cabin behind him.

"You've got to work on your aim Ri" Kol teased, before vamp speeding away.

***

"This is appropriately creepy" Damon said, as he and Klaus kept walking further into the armory, "Enzo and Kol said, don't go into the vault".

"The vault is the only place left we haven't search" Klaus said, walking over to the vault, but Damon stopped in this step, a confused Klaus turned and looked at the Salvatore vampire, "You coming or not?".

"Yeah" Damon whispered, walking past Klaus, "Yes, I am", Damon turned and faced Klaus, "But I'm gonna do it alone".

"No you're bloody not" Klaus protested.

"Whatever's down there is no bueno" Damon reminded.

"Which is why we both are going in there" Klaus snapped.

"Let me do this, Klaus" Damon said, "Your wife and kids are waiting for you to return back to them".

"So is your family" Klaus retorted.

"This is for my family" Damon retorted back, "The family I left five years ago, I need to do this for them".

"You were protecting them" Klaus said.

"And this is me once again protecting them, protecting Aria, everything I did, everything I done, it was for them, this is for them" Damon said, "If you go in there with me and get all screwed up, you're gonna have problems with Caroline, and that girl has done a lot for me and Aria, I can't take her happiness away from her".

"You're not taking her happiness away from her" Klaus assured, "When Caroline finds out I left you alone here, she's going to murder me, so let me help you, Damon".

"Not happening" a stubborn Damon said, "You've already helped me a lot Klaus, by being there for my family when I couldn't, once again I need your help, I need you to let me go, let me succeed, or let me fail, but let me do it by myself, Aria's my soulmate, she's my responsibility, I need to do this for her".

"Damon, Ari is finally starting to forgive, your kids are starting to accept you" Klaus said, "For them, you have to come back, as you".

"Believe me Klaus, I will do everything to return to them" Damon promised, "Now, go".

Klaus sighed, "I will be waiting for you outside".

Damon shock his head, "No, go home Klaus, to your family, and don't be afraid of what'll happen, trust I'll be okay, one way or another, I'll be okay, yeah".

Klaus took a deep breath, "Okay" he finally said, knowing no one could win over the Salvatore's stubbornness, "But if you need me--".

"I'll give you a call" Damon finished.

"Good" Klaus said, after giving Damon one last glance, Klaus finally walked away and Damon walked into the vault, closing the door behind him.

***

Aria shot at Kol once again, but he once again dodged the bullet, he speeded over to her and snatched the shot gun from her, Aria grabbed Enzo's guitar that was laying near and smashed it on Kol's head, she then took the white oak stake out of her back pocket and went to stab Kol when he grabbed her and flipped her over the glass table, causing it to shatter into pieces, Aria grabbed a piece of wood that was laying on the ground and hit Kol in the leg causing him to fall to the ground, Aria then grabbed her shotgun and walked over to Kol, as she pointed her gun to his heart, Kol moved her gun and Aria ended up shooting him in the side of his body.

"I can't move" Kol whispered, pain taking over his whole body.

"I know" Aria whispered, tears in her eyes, she didn't want to kill Kol but everything in her body was telling her she had to, so she grabbed the white oak stake.

"Ri, stop" Kol said, "You don't want to kill me".

Aria ignored Kol's words and stabbed him but Kol grabbed the stake before it could touch his heart.

"Please fight me" Aria cried, really not wanting Kol to die, "You have to fight me Kol or I'll kill you, please push me off of you".

"I'm trying Ri, but it's hard when you have a white oak stake in your chest and wooden bullets on the side of your body" Kol breathed out, "Not to mention, you have definitely gained more strength".

"You're a freaking original" Aria snapped, "You are much stronger then me, the only reason you're not pushing me off is because you don't want to hurt me".

Kol gave Aria a small smile, "I love you" he whispered, making Aria cry even harder, knowing Kol wasn't going to fight her and because of that he was going to die.

On the other side, with a torch in his hand, Damon slowly walked further into the vault.

"Please Kol, fight me or just kill me, don't let me kill you" Aria pleaded.

Kol looked at Aria, "If I kill you I might as well be killing myself".

"You can't love me over your own life, Kol" Aria snapped.

"But that's exactly what I'm doing" Kol said.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please forgive me" Aria said, feeling her restraint slipping away.

"You don't have to apologise Ri" Kol assured, "I've been alive for a thousand years, I'm just happy I got to have another chance with you, promise Ri, when all of this over, once the huntress in you is gone, don't remember my death, remember our happy moments, remember all the Christmas's we spent together, the new years, our moments with the triplets, and the proposal, and remember that for a thousand years, I've been lost without you, but I'm so grateful that I got to spend the last ten years with you, some of it as your friend, some of it as your lover, Ri, remember that I love you".

"I love you" Aria cried.

In the vault, Damon's eyes finally landed on the coffin in which the everlasting was in, "There you are".

"I can't hold the huntress back anymore, Kol" Aria informed.

"Then don't" Kol said.

Damon opened the coffin and pulled the everlasting out and shoved him to the ground, he then grabbed lantern that had kerosene in it and sprinkled it over the body.

Aria started sobbing more when Kol slowly let go of the white oak stake.

Damon pulled out a lighter from his pocket and tried to get it to ignite but it didn't, "Come on" Damon snapped, but just as Aria was about to push the stake, Damon managed to get the lighter to work, he threw it on the body, lighting it on fire.

Aria, who felt the effects of that, suddenly looked at Kol and immediately she pulled the stake out and threw it to the ground.

Aria looked at Kol and let out a watery chuckle, "Damon did it, he saved both of us!".

Aria lunged forward and hugged Kol, who gladly hugged her back and that to tightly, knowing this was their last hug as lovers, because as much as he wanted to be with Aria, he knew who her heart really belonged to.

***

Kol stood outside the cabin, staring at the stars, when Aria walked over to him and hugged his back.

"Hey" Aria whispered, kissing Kol's shoulder, both of tired after everything that happened.

"Hey" Kol greeted, grabbing Aria's hand and bringing her infront of him, with his thumb he caressed her jaw and placed his lips on to hers, pulling her into a deep kiss.

Once they parted, Aria looked at Kol in confusion, something about that kiss felt weird to her, "Kol, are you okay?" she asked.

"Never been better" Kol assured, grabbing Aria's right hand in his, he stared at the ring he gave her and slowly took the ring off.

"Kol" Aria whispered, fearing rising in her heart, this was exactly what Damon had done five years ago.

"I'm not going anywhere" Kol assured, seeing the fear in Aria's eyes.

"Then why did you take the ring off of my hands?" Aria asked confused.

"Because it's not my ring that belongs in that finger Ri" Kol replied, "That's someone else's right".

"Kol, I love you" Aria whispered, feeling very emotional.

"I know" Kol said, cupping Aria's face in his hands, "And I am so grateful, but we both know, you don't love me like you love him", Kol traced Aria's neck and pulled the chain under her shirt, revealing the ring Damon gave her, "Even when you claimed to hate him, your heart yearned for him".

"I didn't wear this ring to hurt" Aria whispered.

"I know, you wore it because your heart wouldn't let you part from it" Kol said, "Ri, I will always love you and I know you will always love me too, but you don't belong with me, you belong with him, he won't say it, but seeing you and I together, kills him from the inside, but he keeps the pain inside, not wanting you to feel bad".

"Won't seeing me and Damon together kill you?" Aria asked.

"No, not really" Kol admitted, "It kills Damon because he knows you and him belong together, but I always knew that as soon as Damon came back, I had to return you to him, because I can't be selfish with you".

"What about the triplets?" Aria asked, "They see you as their father".

"And I will always be their father" Kol replied, "Those kids are not biologically mine, but I am so attached to them that the thought of them not being in my life, that will kill me, like you told them, they are extremely luck because they are going to have two very protective father's in their life, no matter what happens between us Ri, that won't change the fact that we are a family, all of us, and we will always be a family".

Aria stepped forward and hugged Kol, "You are probably one of the best things to happen to me Kol, you deserve the world".

"No Ri, you are the best thing to happen to me, and with the triplets and you, I do have the world" Kol whispered, placing a kiss on Aria's head and hugging her tightly.

***

After Kol had gone inside the cabin, Aria pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Damon.

"Hey" Damon greeted, walking out the vault.

"Hey" Aria greeted, staring up at the stars.

"Are you okay?" a worried Damon asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Aria assured, "Just slightly heartbroken".

"What, why?" Damon asked confused.

"Me and Kol broke up" Aria informed.

"Oh" Damon said, not knowing whether to be happy that now he might have a chance with Aria, or sad for Kol.

"Yeah" Aria whispered.

"Why?" Damon asked curiously, "I thought you loved him".

"I do love him" Aria confessed, "But not in the way I love you, Kol realised that so he let me go, so I can make my way back to you".

"What are you saying?" an hopeful Damon asked.

"Remember when I was dying, I told you I'm not angry with you anymore, but you stopped me and told me to tell you that when I'm not dying" Aria said, "So I'm saying this now, Damon Salvatore, I forgive you, please come back to me, come home Damon".

Damon let out a relief laugh, realising the moment he was waiting for five years has finally come, "Ria I--".

"Dad!".

"Dad, help us!".

"Dad, don't let her hurt us, please!".

"Hello Damon?" a confused Aria called out, wondering why he stopped mid sentence.

A confused and worried Damon turned around and looked into the vault, "They're in trouble" he whispered.

"Whose in trouble?" a confused Aria asked.

"The triplets" Damon informed, "I can hear them in the vault".

"Damon, the triplets are with Rebekah" a confused Aria informed, wondering what was happening.

"No Aria, they're here and they're hurt" a slight dazed Damon said, walking further into the vault, "What if something happens to them? What if the monster took them?".

Aria's eyes suddenly went wide in realisation, she figured out what was happening, "Damon, please listen to me, you need to get out of there now" a panicked Aria said, "Whatever your hearing is not our children, they are safe, this is the monster, please get out, now!".

"I just need to make sure" Damon whispered.

"No Damon!" Aria yelled, "Please, you can't do this, you have to come back to me!".

Suddenly, Aria heard the beeping sound, realising Damon had hang up on her.

"No, no, no!" Aria yelled, trying to call Damon again, but this time his phone was switched off.

"Ri" a confused Kol called out, coming outside after hearing Aria's yell, "What's wrong?".

"Damon's in trouble" a panicked Aria revealed.

***

Aria and Kol rushed into the armory where Caroline, Klaus and Rebekah were already present.

"Where is he?" Aria asked, running over to the trio.

"He's in the vault, but we can't get in because he closed the security door" Klaus informed.

"So open it" Aria snapped, extremely on edge.

"No, we can't, only someone from the armory can" Caroline reminded.

Kol looked at her sister, "Why didn't you bring your boyfriend?".

A confused Rebekah looked behind her, and to her shock her boyfriend wasn't where she last saw him, "Enzo came with me, but now he's gone" she revealed, suddenly very worried.

***

Enzo stood infront of the armory, with his hand he opened the security lock and the vault door opened, slowly he entered the vault, not realising that the door had closed behind him.

"Damon?" Enzo called out, walking further into the vault.

"Just you?" Damon asked, suddenly appearing behind Enzo.

"I snuck off" Enzo replied, "Didn't feel like playing scissors, paper, stone over who was gonna save your life".

"That's very heroic of you" Damon said, a slight taunt in his voice.

"I don't leave people behind, not my style" Enzo informed, "Plus, your girl is very impatiently waiting outside for you".

"I don't have a girl" Damon said, confusing Enzo, "Not anymore".

Suddenly, Enzo felt someone behind, looking around he saw no one, confusing him.

"Don't worry" Damon said, gaining Enzo's attention again, "It's not as bad as you think, it only hurts at first, and after that it's kind of fun".

Two skeleton hands grabbed Enzo's face and dragged him away, and all that could be heard was his screams.

***

Dear Salvatore Triplets,

Your parents can never catch a break, we were so close to getting back to each but once again we were separated, but this time it wasn't either of our fault.

Klaus and Caroline paced back and forth in front of the vault door, while Rebekah sat on a chair, devastated after losing Enzo, while Aria sat on top of the table, with tears in her eyes, Kol stood next to Aria, giving her his silent support.

I thought me and Damon had finally worked through everything, I thought I was finally going to get my happy ending, we waited in that damn room for days, praying that somehow both Damon and Enzo will come back, I couldn't sleep, or eat, or anything else for that matter.

Aria used her vampire speed to crash into the vault door, trying again and again to open it, but failing each time, "Damon" she cried, putting her hand on the vault, "Come back, please come back to me Damon", Aria fell to the floor with her back against the door, her knees to her chest, crying out for her soulmate.

I tried throwing everything I could get my hands on that door, even myself, but nothing opened that door, that was until after seven days, Ric finally managed to crack the security code, after hearing the stories from Alex's sister Virginia, all of us were prepared to see a different Damon and Enzo infront of us, what we weren't prepared was to see no one.

Aria entered entered the vault, calling out Damon's name, "Damon!" Aria called out, but she got no response in return, she walked everywhere in the damn vault but neither Damon or Enzo were found.

Your father always loved to play games with me, I like to think this is one of them, he is hiding from me, only difference is, this time I don't know how this game will end. You guys must be wondering why your witch mother doesn't just do a locater spell to locate Damon and Enzo, after becoming a huntress I lost my magic and it never came back, I've never felt this helpless before. 

Klaus and Kol called all their contacts, hoping to find some kind of clue about Enzo and Damon, even Elijah and Finn came back to Mystic Falls, but we still got nothing.

It was after three months when I finally got we got our first clue, which were the string of missing persons on the west coast.

Aria, Rebekah and Caroline sat in the Salvatore's kitchen, each of them on their laptops, looking at news articles about the missing people, Elijah entered the room and walked over to Aria, both of them discussing all the missing people.

This made my heart fill with hope, I knew I was getting closer to Damon and that made me so happy, until I realised that the numbers of their victims kept growing and from the looks of it, they didn't plan to stop anytime soon, it went from twenty, to fifty, to sixty people missing, I know it's them and I know something is wrong with them, I just don't know what, there is no way Enzo and Damon are doing this because they want to.

Aria sat in the triplets room in the boarding house, the room Elijah and Klaus decorated for them, she looked at her sleeping children and a sad smile formed on her face, she knew how much they missed Damon, they might have not spent a lot of time with him, but at the end of the day, a father was a father, and they loved Damon as much as they loved Aria and Kol.

I promise you three, I'm not going to stop till I bring your father back to you, back to me, just remember one thing, your father is not a monster, no matter what the world says, know that your father is a good person, he is just great at hiding it, let the world think of him as he portrays him but you three should never think he's a monster because he is not, he loves you with everything he has, he went into the vault to save you three because he couldn't stand the thought of you guys hurt, always remember that, and always remember that the Salvatore family is forever and ever.

***

Somewhere in a remote warehouse, a humanity less Damon dragged a body across the floor.

"There you are" Enzo said, seeing Damon walk towards him.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Damon teased, attaching the dead body to the hook, Enzo pressed a button and the body was reeled upward, Damon then grabbed a knife and cut the man across his neck.

"It never gets old, does it?" Enzo asked.

"Well, it sure as hell, hasn't yet" Damon replied, as he and Enzo turned and looked at all the bodies hung everywhere in the warehouse.

***

Presenting 7x22 of Cold Hearted!

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN WITH THIS CHAPTER WE ARE OFFICALLY DONE WITH ACT SEVEN OF COLD HEARTED, YOU GUYS THE NEXT ACT IS THE LAST ACT, I'M NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO ARIA, ARE YOU GUYS?

Anyways, how was this season? Did you like it or hate? What were your favorite moments? What were your least favorite moments?

Thoughts on what will happen in the last act? Will Damon and Aria get their happy ending or will I do some sinister? 👀

Also, as you guys know the title of season eight episodes are iconic TVD lines, I want to do that but with iconic Daria lines, so if you have any memorable Daria lines then do let me know!

Now back to this chapter, how was it?

Thoughts on Klaus suggesting to use Mia to open the armory?

Thoughts on Damon agreeing to bring Mia to the armory so she siphon Aria's spell?

Thoughts Alec and Asher encouraging Mia? I'm just saying, when we get to the legacies squeal be ready to see overprotective big brothers, I'm so excited!

Thoughts on Aria and Kol breaking up? Not going to lie, while I was writing their break up my heart really hurt for Kol .😭

Thoughts on the vault taking Damon just as Aria finally forgave him?