chapter twenty-three
time was running out. souls from the other side were popping up left and right throughout Mystic Falls. Stefan's friends were in danger, he was possibly in danger, but all he could think about was where Alex was in all this mess.
as he was beginning to leave the school, by miracle, he heard he voice faintly thanks to his enhanced hearing. though she didn't sound fine, she sounded scared and he words were rushed.
he knew she had plenty of enemies, especially because of what she was, the power she held. all he could think of was that a not so friendly soul from her past made contact.
he quickly ran to the source of her voice. he found people in another hallway. a group of woman wearing clothing from up to a thousand years prior. they were talking and chanting. Alex sat on her knees in the center of the circle. he saw her through a gap.
he noticed that she wasn't moving, but her face showed her struggle and terror. he paused, thinking of a way to free her without a fight. his eyes widened as he saw one of the witches hold a long, gold dagger. he saw the fear in Alex's eyes. this wasn't an ordinary dagger.
he ran forward as the witch plunged the dagger into Alex's heart. she gasped and blood fell from her mouth, her body swayed.
"ALEX!" Stefan screamed in agony, shoving the witches away to reach Alex.
their eyes met and Stefan knew what this was. the mysterious weapon that was the only thing that could kill her for good. these witches came here to kill her. she was dying.
he picked her up just as she fell and her eyes closed. using his vampire speed, he left the school as fast as he could. he slowed down in the parking lot and laid her on the grass. she wasn't desiccating, but her couldn't hear her heartbeat.
he pulled the dagger out of her and threw it away. his hands cupped her face and he saw a tear land on her face. and then more.
"please, wake up"
he caressed her cheeks before pulling his wrist to his mouth, biting into it and pressing his wrist to her mouth. nothing happened.
"damnit, drink!" letting a vampire feed from another was risky, and very intimate, but Stefan didn't care. he couldn't let her die, not not, not after he just got her back. he was ready to finish where they left off years ago, to hold her, kiss her, and love her for the rest of his life.
she wasn't supposed to die first, not before their second chance even began.
"come on, Alex, you gotta wake up," he held her face again and rested her head on his lap, "you can't leave me again, not yet, not for another thousand years"
he sat like that for a few minutes, waiting for her to wake up. he figured it was like the white oak stake, if it wasn't in her for long and was taken out, she could still be alive.
his phone rang, and he dug it out of his pocket and answered, not bothering to look at the caller.
"Damon, we have another problem," he said after he cleared his throat.
"not Damon, but we got an issue too," the voice said, one that Stefan didn't think he would hear again.
"Alaric?"
"nice to hear your voice too, man. listen, Kol is back and looking for Elena. you need to find her"
Stefan looked down at the still lifeless Alex, "I'll find her, but you need to tell Damon this..." he let out a deep breath, "a group of witches came for Alex. they stabbed her with a gold dagger and now she won't wake up. I don't know if she's actually dead or not but-"
"-shit," Alaric cursed, "I'll come get her body and keep it safe, but do not let Kol know about this"
Stefan sniffled and Alaric could now hear that he was crying, "what if she doesn't wake up?"
"we'll save her, Stefan, but first we need to make sure no one else gets hurt"
++++++++++++++++
Alex woke up in an unfamiliar space. she was surrounded by stone, torches, and candles.
"so it's true..."
Alex stood up and saw Bonnie Bennett staring at her with wide eyes.
"Bennett witches? where am I?"
Alex followed the witch's eyes and gasped. below her on the ground was her body. her very dead body. the gold dagger laid bloodied beside her. her body had desiccated by now.
she looked back at the witches. the elder witch looked at her with a cold glare, but Bonnie actually showed sympathy. Alex looked down beside Bonnie and saw her own body on the floor.
"we're both dead," Alex sighed out. less like a question and more of a realization, "is the veil still up? can we still..."
Bonnie nodded, "we don't have much time"
Alex continued to switch between looking at their dead bodies and the Bonnie standing, "does anyone know about this?"
"no. Alaric brought you here but no one else knows that you died"
"do they know about you?"
Bonnie shakes her head, "only you and Grams. Alaric brought you before it happened," she remembers the last time Alex died and a bit of hope bubbles up for her, "but yours is only temporary. you're under the immortality spell"
Alex looks down at her body, tears pooling in her eyes, "not this time. that dagger over there was spelled to kill me permanently. it was supposed to be hidden...but they found it"
Bonnie's eyes widened. she had no idea there was a weapon that could kill someone under the immortality spell. but if it killed Alex, maybe it could kill Silas too.
"you and Silas are both immortal. if this was able to kill you, then could it kill him too?"
Alex shrugs, "I don't know. I don't know when or where this dagger was spelled, or if it can kill anyone else. all I know is that it's the only weapon in this entire world that can end my eternal life"
Bonnie starts to talk to her grandma again and Alex drowns it out. she thinks about the years she spent in a coffin with this dagger laying beside her, the struggles her family went through to keep it hidden for so many years after she awoke.
she thinks about her last moment alive. Stefan calling out to her, kneeling in front of her as she died. she man she's loved for 150 years was the last thing she saw.
"Stefan..." she turns to Bonnie, "Stefan was there, he knows what happened! where is he?"
"Alaric said he doesn't know this is permanent," Bonnie places a hand on her shoulder, "you should tell him before it's too late"
Alex shook her head, the tears falling down her face, "no, I can't...how am I supposed to tell him? Niklaus...I can't even tell my family. how do IâI don't even know what to say"
"I'm going to need your help to put the veil down," Bonnie says, "once we...say our goodbyes...we'll meet here. tomorrow night"
Alex understands why Bonnie needs her help. she's a powerful witch and the spell they need to do killed Bonnie once already. they need each other to protect everyone else from the rest of the dead supernaturals lurking around.
"okay...I'll help you"
++++++++++++++++++++
Alex called Klaus as soon as she left the school, but he didn't answer. she called Rebekah after because she knew she was still here in Mystic Falls, but once again it went to voicemail. she finally decided to call Elijah.
"Aleksandra..." her elder brother answered, "I hope this means you're not angry with me"
"no, i'm not. but I have something to tell you. you'll need to tell it to the rest of our siblings as well"
"I have news for you as well," she hears him sit down, "it seems Niklaus spent a night with Tyler's werewolf friend Hayley...and now she's carrying his child"
Alex feels her heart stop, again, after hearing those words. it's impossible for a vampire to have children, but Klaus is part werewolf as well, and they can procreate.
"Elijah Iâ"
"I know you want to stay in Mystic Falls with Stefan and Niklaus wants you safe there...but we need you Aleksandra. this is our chance to rebuild our family"
Alex couldn't help but let out a sob. her brother was going to have a child, a magical loophole miracle child at that, and she wouldn't be able to witness it. her family is gaining a new member and also losing one.
"Aleksandra, why are you crying?"
Alex let out a small laugh at her brothers worried tone. she couldn't tell him what happened to her, not after this. there's finally a shred of hope for her siblings to be happy again, she doesn't want to ruin that. they don't have to know.
"I'm just happy for Nik," she lied while wiping her tears, "this is a miracle. it's good for him...for all of us"
"you said you have something to tell me. is everything okay?"
Alex bit her lip to hold back her tears again. she couldn't bring herself to tell Elijah that she was dead. it would destroy them. if she could just tell them that she's fine, that she'll visit them once the baby comes, it'll keep them from worrying for a while.
"I just wanted to say that I'm happy. things are good with Stefan, and I want to last. Niklaus said it was dangerous there in New Orleans...so just let me know when the baby comes, okay?"
"I wish it was different; where you could have everything you want"
she nodded even though no one could see her. she wished for the same thing, especially now. she wanted Stefan and her family. she wanted to be with them all. she wanted to see everyone one last time.
"I'll see you soon Elijah...I love you. always and forever"
"I love you always and forever little Aleksandra"
Alex hung up the phone and immediately began to cry again. she got to talk to at least one of her siblings one last time, that was enough. she wished she could talk to Klaus and Rebekah too, but time was running out. she had to find Stefan.
the sun had risen when she arrived at the Salvatore home. she spent more time crying that she thought. perhaps it's what she needed, to let it all out before her final goodbyes.
she stepped out of her car and was met with Damon, who looked at her like he was seeing a ghost. in truth he was, but he wasn't exactly sure if it was true. everyone from the other side was still around, Lexi was inside with Stefan having their reunion.
Stefan and Alaric both told him about what happened to Alex. Stefan said that she would wake up soon, that she didn't desiccate so the dagger didn't actually kill her and she would wake up. Alaric told Damon that he was in denial, that people in the other side talk, and that dagger did kill Alex.
"good to see you alive and well," Damon cleared his throat, "unless you're not, then we're about to have a totally different conversation"
Alex sighed. she saw the glint in Damon's eyes as he spoke, he cared for her still. they were best friends back in 1864. they told each other everything, she protected Damon when Katherine wasn't around. he felt like another brother to her.
"Alaric still can't keep his mouth shut," she tried to lighten up the mood and Damon glared at her, "I messed up Damon, many times, and I know I hurt you a lot too, and i'm sorry"
Damon strode up to her and leaned in close to whisper, he didn't want Stefan to hear this, "please don't tell me you're doing a 'goodbye' trip"
"what else am I supposed to do Damon? I'm dead. i'm not coming back tomorrow. would you rather me run away like last time? leave you alone and worried just to find my body in the caves under the school?"
she watched the struggle going through his mind, "we'll find a way. we always find a way"
"there's no spell in existence that can fix this, Damon. trust me, my family would have found it if there was. Kol has known about the immortality spell for 500 years. the cure and the gold dagger are the ways to get rid of it, but there's no spell to bring someone back"
"then we'll make a spell"
"Damonâ"
"âAlex" the eldest Salvatore gripped her shoulders, his tone and face serious, "you can't die"
a part of Damon didn't want her to die for his own selfish reasons. he wanted his best friend back, at least one of them. she's been back in Mystic Falls for months and they've barely been able to bond like they used to. he wanted that back.
the other part of him, the majority of him, didn't want her to die because of Stefan. he's been heartbroken over her for too long, and they just got back together. Stefan would be destroyed if he found out she was dead for good. he wouldn't be the same. and Damon doesn't think he'd be able to bring his brother back from it.
"it won't work Damon," Alex told him as she tore his hands away, "I have to help Bonnie out the veil back up tonight. if I don't talk to Stefan now I won't be able to again"
"you just said we have until tonight. we can figure something out until then"
Alex understood why Damon was so stubborn about this. she didn't want to imagine what Stefan would say or do when he finds out that she's dead. she just got him back, and he's all in.
Damon leans in again but doesn't touch her, "look, he doesn't know that dagger actually killed you. if you talk to him now he'll think you're still alive. be subtle and make him happy. we'll figure out a plan after"
Alex sighed but nodded. this was the best plan right now. if Damon and she can actually find a way to bring her back then there's no need to actually say goodbye to Stefan. but if it doesn't work, then at least she'll be able to see him one last time.