Fandom Hoping That You'll Understand---Vampire Diaries {Private}

[Saltwater Bound]

After being invited in, Isabella followed Jeremy inside. As he went upstairs, Damon and Isabella stayed in the living room, turning to each other with wide eyes and raised eyebrows when the yelling started. “Few things you should know,” Damon whispered as the conversation upstairs continued. “One, I stash emergency bloodbags in their fridge.” He gestured towards the kitchen. “Back of the veggie drawer. Two, Elena is… wait, do you know what a doppelganger is? Well, never mind, it’s pretty self-explanatory once you see her. She’s Katherine’s doppelganger. The Katherine,” he concluded, still whispering.

Isabella stared at him in stunned silence. That did explain why Klaus had used her for the ritual, but it was still baffling. “That’s insane. How did you meet?” she whispered back, but before Damon could answer, footsteps came down the stairs and the spitting image of Katherine Pierce walked into the Gilbert's living room, holding a half-open Eastpak stuffed with clothes. The girl stopped in her tracks when she saw the two dark-haired vampires.

"Elena, Isabella. Izzy, Elena," Damon said. He gave his girlfriend a light nudge and she took a hesitant step towards Isabella, hand extended but with a wary look in her eyes.

Isabella brushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear, smiled and shook Elena’s hand. "Hi. I'm actually an old friend of Damon's. I know that's not comforting information to most people," Isabella paused to send Damon a sweet smile when an indignant "hey!" left his lips, "but since you're dating him, I figured I'd lead with that. He can vouch for me. I don't like violence and your brother sincerely doesn't have anything to worry about from me." Isabella took a deep breath, contemplating how to balance being graphic with being very clear. "That said… if Klaus or his lackeys appear to be a direct threat to either of us, I will make them regret it."

"All right, Warrior Princess, let's not scare the nice human lady," Damon said as he quickly moved forward and petted Isabella’s shoulder, half scared that his old friend was going to go into gory details. "Elena - any questions for the nice vampire lady or your brother, or are we good to go?"






Klaus shook his head when Denise asked about the possibility of his siblings suddenly jumping out of their caskets, but then realized he'd probably done a lackluster job of explaining what desiccating actually entailed. "Desiccation is what occurs when regular vampires do not feed, or if they are forcibly drained of blood. It's slow, painful, and only ends when someone feeds you. However..." Klaus walked over to one of the caskets and casually threw open the lid.

"As my older brother Elijah here demonstrates, he has been desiccated by means of a dagger. When this particular dagger is dipped in the ashes of the white oak tree that gave us immortality, and planted in an Original's heart..." He gestured towards Elijah's face, grey and covered in veins. "This happens. And stays as such, until the dagger is pulled back out."

Klaus stared at his favorite brother for another moment before closing the casket again, after which he accompanied Denise back to the living room. "So no, absolutely no need to worry about my brothers or sister escaping their current situation and unleashing their wrath. Rest assured it will only be you, me and perhaps a few of my hybrid minions around," he added with a smirk as he sat down on his old, worn-in leather couch. "I hope you don't mind, I had my dinner while you were away. I was unsure whether or not it would be unsettling to watch - or maybe it's child's play compared to what you see in hell."

Curiously, the hybrid stared at Denise. Demons genuinely looked just like humans – like vampires. He wondered if this had been her human body, or if this was a suit she'd snatched up somewhere. However, he was also unsure regarding the etiquette when it came to asking about a demon’s true identity: from what he understood, they were highly private. Probably smart, considering that a hunter could use personal information against them. Thus, he decided to let her divulge her own secrets on her own terms, when it suited her. "So what would you like to do this fine evening? Dive into the demonology books? Raid my safe for jewellery and scrolls on the ritual to open hell? Live it up in Mystic Falls?" Klaus spread his arms and leaned back into the couch. "I'm up for anything."

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Jeremy Gilbert​

Jeremy could tell that Elena was uneasy about everything that was happening. Maybe it was the fact that he was aiming to stop Klaus or because he would be working with Isabella. Either way, he was determined to stop Klaus at all costs. His sister may not like it, but he wasn't about to change his mind anytime soon. As long as he had the female vampire with him everything would be fine, right? At least he imagined it would be anyway. While his sister still looked as if she was on the fence about everything, at least it seemed like she and the female vampire would get along. After Damon asked if she had any questions, he watched his sister look between the two of them before she started speaking.

"Be careful alright? I know its important that we stop Klaus, but do not make me regret letting you go through with this." Elena said, thinking that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Stefan keep an eye on the both of them. She would have to run the idea by him, but she could do that later. For now, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around her brother in a tight hug, causing him to let out a light sigh as he hugged her back. "I promise we'll be careful." he told her before she let go of him and headed out of the house with Damon. Once the two of them were out of the house, he turned his sights onto Isabella with a light smile.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would honestly." Jeremy said with a light chuckle. "It helps that you already knew Damon too. So, where should we start? I think I have someone who might be able to help us translate what we managed to find, but we'll probably have to wait until tomorrow to get his help." he said, pretty sure that Alaric would be sleeping by now. It was getting late after all, but he was determined to start investigating as soon as they could. The sooner they could stop Klaus the better.

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Denise Royal Rockoff​

Denise wasn't sure what was going to happen when Klaus threw open one of the caskets, but the demon still took a step back all the same. As he explained what desiccation actually meant, she looked at Elijah before looking back towards the Hybrid. "Damn. That looks rough." she said, watching him as he was looking at his brother before shutting the coffin. She thought that maybe he was going to change his mind about having his siblings in the coffins, but she didn't mention it as the two of them headed back towards the living room. She wouldn't be opposed to working with his siblings, but that was entirely up to him what he wanted to do. She didn't think too much about it, however, as her attention was now on the takeout boxes that the Hybrid had gotten her. When he mentioned that he ate without her, she couldn't help raising an eyebrow when he suggested that it might be unsettling to watch, causing a light smile to come to her face as she shook her head.

"Well isn't that sweet. I have seen worse, but thats sweet of you to be so considerate." Denise said before she started to eat some of the food that was in one of the boxes. While she was eating, she couldn't help notice that Klaus was staring at her. She thought that the Hybrid was looking at something behind her, but sure enough, he was staring right at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked. She was used to people staring at her, but she wasn't used to people staring at her so intensely. Did he have something he wanted to ask her? Was he worried that she might make a mess in the living room? She wasn't sure, but before anything else could be said, he started to make a few suggestions of what they could do with the rest of the night. While she would like to get to work, at the mention of living it up in Mystic Falls, she knew she couldn't pass that up.

"I wouldn't mind living it up in Mystic Falls. I haven't been here apart from that one train wreck of a deal you witnessed earlier, so it would be nice to see what other trouble we could get into." Denise said, rolling her eyes at the mention of the man she had been with earlier before she gave Klaus a light smile. "We can get to all the fun demon stuff later." she added with a light smirk. She knew who would be able to help them pull off this ritual, but she would have to see where he ended up. The last time she checked her information had ended up in Los Angeles somewhere, but he was the type that didn't like to stay in one place for too long. She would look for him eventually, but right now she wanted to have some fun.

 

[Saltwater Bound]

After waving Damon and Elena goodbye, Isabella flopped down on the living room couch. While Jeremy and his sister were talking, she and her old friend had swapped digits; Isabella quickly saved his before turning to Jeremy, smiling back at him. “That’s great – we’re going to need someone for the Hebrew, Aramaic and Persian. Maybe you can check if there are any texts in English, or if you can make anything of those creepy drawings while I get started on the Latin ones?” She brought her phone to her face, squinting her eyes a little at the images they took back at Klaus’ mansion. “Full disclosure, I only know it because my dad wanted me to take that class when I was still at court, so my skills are pretty rusty.”

Isabella leaned back into the comfy cushions, quietly whispering bits and pieces of Latin that she didn’t immediately recognize out loud. However, every now and then, she couldn’t help but let her eyes wander. She’d never been inside a house like this, not since she had been human herself. From the family pictures on the wall and the mantel to the aged but still colorful drawings on the fridge, this was a home. A real one. Isabella moved houses often to avoid suspicion, too often to bother personalizing it too much, and for obvious reasons, there were no children’s drawings to hang anywhere. Not anymore. She brushed a few strands of dark hair behind her ears and stared at her phone again, trying to ban all thoughts and feelings unrelated to demons and hell.

“So far, it’s all horrible stories about what happens to people who dare to open the gates,” Isabella finally said, after looking at a good chunk of the texts. “I’ll spare you the details – the gist is, don’t do it unless you want literal hell on earth. But the one I’m reading now…” She looked up at Jeremy for a moment, her brown eyes big and concerned. “It’s more of a how-to. It talks about six sacrifices,” she said, looking back at her phone to translate as she was reading. “And there’s a list: a medium to symbolize the thin veil between our worlds; an immortal one to symbolize the darkness to come,” admittedly a little offended, Isabella made a face, “and four humans, one for every Prince of Hell, the first generation of demons.”

Klaus smirked when Denise went for his personal favorite option: living it up in Mystic Falls. “I do have to give you a fair warning – we’re in a very small town in rural Virginia. Of course I’m unfamiliar with where you usually find yourself here on earth, but living it up means something quite a little different here than it does in most places.” The front door suddenly swung open, but Klaus merely gave a calm nod to acknowledge the presence of one of his lackeys – last year he was just a bulky football player on the Mystic Falls High School team, now he was a hybrid – as the immortal kid headed straight for the kitchen to clean up Klaus’ take-out. Many of the people he turned were disappointingly ungrateful, but this was a good one. Efficient and no complaints.

“Most parties take place when hosted in occasion of one of the many ridiculous festivals they organize around here. There are a few options, though…” Klaus thought them over for a short moment. In all honesty, most of the events he had found truly memorable were the ones he had organized over the years. He was already genuinely looking forward to organize another, if only to get a lot of meat suits for the demons in one place. “I suggest we head over to the Mystic Grill. We might run into some locals – and maybe you can let me know if there are any undercover demons lurking around in my town,” he added with a smirk.

Klaus got up from the couch, threw his suede leather jacket back on and gestured towards the front door. “The Mystic Grill is on the town square; all we have to do is follow the same road from the restaurant, then walk a little further. If it turns out to be a snoozefest – after all, what with it being a weekday for regular old humans and all – we can always get a headstart on the fun demon stuff. Unfortunately, I don’t think we can get too crazy in public right now. There are far too many wannabe hunters lurking around.”

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Jeremy Gilbert​

Jeremy's head was still reeling from all of the information they had managed to find. He knew that they would be able to get everything translated, but time wasn't exactly something they had on their side. Klaus could be putting his plan into action as they spoke, but before he could get too distracted by his own thoughts, he listened to Isabella and gave a light nod. "I'll see what I can make out." he said before looking to the pictures that he took on his own phone, a light chuckle escaping his lips at her comment. "I'm sure whatever you can figure out from the text will be helpful." he told her. If she wasn't able to fully translate it then he knew that Mr. Saltzman would be able to figure it out. Granted he was a little anxious to stop Klaus as soon as possible, he knew that they had to be careful about this at the same time.

Jeremy had thought he saw Isabella looking around his house every now and again, but would quickly bring his gaze back to what he was reading. He wasn't able to find anything in English, let alone make heads or tails of the pictures he was looking at. When Isabella started to tell him what she had translated, however, he quickly turned his focus back towards her. It seemed that Klaus was trying to open the gates of hell, but when she mentioned that she was worried about what she was currently reading, he looked to her phone as she described what was there. Why did these things always boil down to making sacrifices? He let out a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. Obviously, the original vampire wouldn't be opening the gates tonight, but after hearing that, he was feeling more than a little unsettled.

"Well, at least we know one thing. Klaus will want to be looking for sacrifices that fit the description as soon as he can. I can't see how he would be able to get those all together in one night, but we'll want to definitely get to work on translation the rest of the text as soon as we can tomorrow." Jeremy said, taking a moment to stand up from the couch as he stretched his arms over his head. "I don't know about you, but I could go for something to eat. Are you hungry at all?" he asked as he looked at her. He wasn't sure what all they had left at the house, but if all else failed, he would have some pizza delivered. While he wanted to make sure that Klaus was stopped, he knew he couldn't do that if he neglected to take care of himself along the way.

 

[Insanity Awakened 18]

Denise Royal Rockoff​

Denise ended up giving a light shrug at Klaus' warning. The demon had been to several places, and while some were duller than others, she knew how to have a good time wherever she was at. Before she could get caught up in asking what they would do, however, she found herself distracted by one of his hybrids as he made his way into the kitchen. She watched him until he disappeared into the kitchen before looking back towards the Original, listening to his suggestion of going to a place called the Mystic Grill. It sounded good to her, and as soon as he mentioned her pointing out any demons that might be lurking around, she let a light smirk come to her own face as she nodded.

"Will do. I'll even be nice enough to tell you which ones to avoid if there happen to be any wandering around here." Denise said, listening to his instructions on how to get to the grill, along with warning her that they couldn't get too crazy in public due to hunters. She knew how that could get, and while hunters didn't phase her, she would keep that in mind. "I'll make sure to behave myself. Although if anyone else mouths off like the overgrown manchild at the restaurant, I can't be held responsible for what I'll do." she said with a cheeky smile before they headed out. She would try and 'behave'f for as long as possible. Telling a demon to behave, however, was much like trying to stop a freight train with your pinky. In the end, it wasn't going t to happen.

As Denise walked along the road with Klaus, she was making sure to keep a sharp eye out for any other demons that might be lurking around. She doubted they would be, but she had told Klaus that she would be nice enough to look out for them. That is when she was able to sense one in the area. The only problem, however, was she couldn't tell exactly where they were at. Not only that, but she wasn't sure if this demon would try to derail what she and the original had planned. With that in mind, she made sure that she would be close enough so that she wasn't weirding out the original, but so she could also intercept any unwanted attacks.

 

[Saltwater Bound]

From what Jeremy said, Isabella gathered that he was fine with calling it a night and getting some food. She hadn't had anything solid since lunch and her last blood bag had been this morning, so that sounded amazing right about now. "God, yes. On my way into town I passed by a Domino's and I've been craving it ever since." Isabella got up and checked her jacket. "I've got cash on me," she happily said. "Would you mind ordering while I go into the kitchen and, um, break into Damon's stash? He told me where he keeps his bloodbags," she added, whispering that dreaded last word. It was still very unreal to be hanging out with someone who didn't just eat pizza for fun. Someone who wasn't an immortal being with fangs that needed blood to survive.

Isabella smiled almost apologetically and headed into the kitchen. She noticed a radio and turned it on, humming along with the song that filled the room as she opened the fridge. Since she had no clue regarding Jeremy's tolerance for witnessing actual human blood being consumed, the music helped her feel less self-conscious. Isabella grabbed an A+ and quickly drained the bag. She didn't know if it was the fact that she hadn't spent this much time with a human in forever or just the stress of dealing with Klaus, but she was hella hungry. With a content sigh, she finished the bag. After cleaning up, Isabella headed back to the living room, where she stopped in her tracks when she heard a sound, right outside. "Are you expecting anyone, or is that the pizza guy already? Or maybe a cat?" Isabella tried to look out the window, but it was pitch black outside. "Klaus makes me so freaking paranoid."

"If anyone has the audacity to act like the overgrown manchild we encountered earlier, they've got it coming and need to be sufficiently put in their place," Klaus agreed, a smirk on his face. Despite his warning, he did trust her judgment. "Truthfully, as long as we keep a low profile and don't literally slaughter an entire pub, I'm good." After all, if you asked him, most hunters around here weren't exceptionally attentive; they even held regular day jobs. Additionally, he figured that demons weren't that far off from vampires when it came to telling them what to do. It never ended particularly well for those who tried.

As they walked down the quiet road that led to the town square, woods enclosing them left and right, Klaus thought about the sacrifices he needed to make. From earlier encounters with the local population - Damon Salvatore and the likes - he knew where he could find a medium: Elena Gilbert's brother. He just wasn't sure which vampire he needed, and what kind of humans he should select for the Princes of Hell, the first generation of demons he was apparently sacrificing them to. And he needed a witch. Klaus was aware of the local witch, but he wanted an older, more experienced one; from having a witch for a mother, he knew how insanely difficult this particular spell would—

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a dark, tall shape coming out of the woods, a hundred feet or so in front of them. Klaus narrowed his eyes, but unfortunately, neither vampires nor hybrids could recognize other supernatural beings by sight alone. "A random human on a nightly walk in the woods, or a friend of yours?" he whispered.