Damon didn't answer her text.

When she arrived at the Boarding House, she didn't hear anyone on the lower floors, but footsteps overhead let her know Lily and Damon were on the second floor. And it didn't sound like they were happy.

"When I came back to get you?" she heard Lily asking as she tiptoed upstairs.

"Yeah," Damon replied. "1903, you found out we were vampires, you landed in New York Harbor after a forty-year romp in Europe, and you... oh. You weren't coming to get us."

"No, I wasn't, I'm sorry," said Lily softly. "Since I laid my eyes on you and your brother yesterday, I have been trying with all of my heart to connect with the woman who was your mother, to remember what it felt like to mourn you and your brother after I was banished by your father. After I was turned, the only thing more powerful than the longing I felt for you was the fear of what I would do if I ever saw you again. So, I stayed away. I had to find others who could help me find my way back to myself, and... by the time my new family helped me to do that, everything I felt for my old family– for you and your brother– was gone. I hate that I can't make myself feel more. I'm so sorry."

Maribel pressed herself to the wall as Damon stormed out of the room, entering his own and slamming the door shut. Though she didn't want to make it obvious that she had heard everything, she still walked the rest of the way upstairs and knocked on Damon's door.

He opened it only because he knew it was her. "Hey," he muttered.

"I'm so sorry, Damon," she whispered.

"Doesn't matter," he said, as if to convince himself. "You and Stefan are my family. Not her."

"How about I make you something to eat? Or we could go and eat out, get away from the house for a little bit, talk about it..."

"No." He checked his phone. "'Cat's out of the bag, Jo knows.' How the–?"

"My mom brought cookies, your mom saw her, they talked, my mom told Meredith and I guess Meredith told Elena and Caroline..."

"And of course Care Bear knowing means everybody knows," said Damon distastefully. "Should have seen that one coming."

"In better news," offered Maribel, "I gave Meredith the injection for Liz. They'll administer it today and hope to see some tumor reduction. They'll have her undergoing tests every day afterward to assess her cognitive skills. With any luck I didn't fumble the bag. She'll feel much weaker but she'll be cancer-free. And I'll be able to publish a paper about it when we leave and we'll make a bazillion dollars and we can live anywhere we want..."

He moved away from her touch when she tried to massage his shoulders. "This is my fault, I shouldn't have told you about the plan, now Jo will be upset with you."

"Even if she is, it doesn't matter. I told her how I felt very brutally. If she's not okay with it, sucks to be her. She'll be safe, her baby will be safe... that's all that matters to me. Besides, it's better we talked about the plan together. I wouldn't have liked secrecy between us. We work because we communicate, we respect each other... not telling me about the plan when I'm part of it would really mess things up for us. Let's not keep secrets from each other. Surprise parties or engagement rings is one thing, but a plan of this magnitude is something else entirely."

Damon managed a small smile. "Knowing you, I'll be the one receiving the engagement ring and it'll be made out of some metal you invented."

"Hey, if I find out a nucleus can have half a proton, maybe then I can invent a new element. Oh..." she tapped her bag, "Ripper cure is in there, for your mom..."

He shrugged. "Give it to Stefan later, I don't care. So, plan is still a-go, then?"

"Yeah, Jo is obviously upset we went into the prison world but I told her what's going to happen. Kill Kai, get rid of the Gemini Coven and the Heretics. I've stopped caring how fucked-up it makes me sound to say that. It'll help us all even if no one sees it... right?"

"You are probably the least fucked-up person of this whole group, Beli. You're just more reasonable and you know that sometimes, things need to happen a certain way. It could have been different if certain people didn't get ahead of themselves and screw up our plans. You and I sometimes are the only ones with a properly functioning brain cell trying to think ahead and plan for things. If everyone had just been smart and trusted you and Bonnie every time there was a problem, I think we'd be in a much better place."

"Hey, rope yourself in there, too, you have some good ideas. You're smart, too. Don't sell yourself short."

"Well, I'm smart, but not witch-geneticist-researcher that cures cancer, Rippers, and can basically make a person do anything kind of smart. Look, from the moment you became a researcher, you chose the path where you were going to encounter impossible, controversial problems and you were going to have to think outside the box and make sacrifices in intense settings to try and find a fix. Something not many people can do. And after everything we went through, the way your life ended up going, you learned to solve problems differently. You take leaps and risks no matter how hard, no matter how messed-up, and you've saved our asses several times. Nobody complained before when you were gonna make Kai not be a siphoner so Jo could directly kill him in the Merge. I like you the way you are. So don't say you're a fucked-up person. Don't criticize yourself like that."

She leaned onto his chest, not hugging him, but still remaining close to him. He placed his head on top of hers, and laced their fingers together. "I learned something else today."

"Let me guess," said Maribel, "my mom is already planning our wedding. Shocker."

He snorted. "You know, I'd let her if she really wanted to. This one is about my mother. She turned Enzo."

"No fucking way. Why does everyone in our lives have to be interconnected with each other? It's weirdly convenient but still weird."

"Yeah. Turns out he was a passenger on that boat where my mother and her Rippers killed everybody. She gave him vampire blood and he woke up consumption-free and needing to feed."

"In a way Enzo is like a brother to you."

He grimaced. "Yeah. Except Matt told me he thinks Enzo has a crush on my mom."

"You believe him?"

"This is one of the rare times I don't think Matt is lying or being completely idiotic..."

"Ew. See, I get being into MILFs and all that but that's uh, a little weird."

"Hold up. Did you say you get being into MILFs?"

"Damon, you've known that I like women and men all the same up to a certain age."

"Considering I am almost two hundred years old, that concerns me. Oh, look here..." Bonnie had messaged them in a new group chat, "Seems Bon-Bon has a lead on the unlinking and she thinks it can get done by the end of the week. In return, she says she wants us to destroy the 1903 Ascendant to ensure no one goes back in the prison world. Pfft, easiest favor ever. I'll do it tonight."

"Why not right now?"

"Because right now, I want to take my girl to dinner. You're right. Let's get out of the house for a bit."

Damon selected a steakhouse in Charlottesville to get their minds off of everything. They ended the night with a round of celebratory drinks when Meredith informed them that even with just a few hours since the administering of the injection, Liz's tumor was already starting to shrink.

"I think I know a perfect way to end the night," said Damon, wiggling his eyebrows as they entered Mystic Falls again. "If you're in the mood."

"I am," promised Maribel, "however, I want to stop by and set the record straight for my mom about Lily and all that. It'll be really quick, now that she likes you I think she'll just accept it and move on. Can you drop me off, please?"

"Sure." He drove them to her mother's house, stopping right in front of the driveway. "I can wait out here so you don't walk back."

"Thanks," she said, leaning over to peck his cheek. "Be right back."

As she walked up to the doorstep, her phone started to buzz, but she was quick to silence it, figuring whoever it was could call her in just a few minutes if it was urgent. She knocked on the door, and after a brief pause, her mother came to answer. "Maribel," she said, surprised. "Hello, sweetheart."

"I just wanted to talk about today," she said. "I won't stay long, but Meredith told me that you went by the house and–"

"Oh, darling, I know, I'm sorry, she told me I apparently revealed a secret I wasn't supposed to? I had no idea. It won't happen again. I spoke with Lily and she told me everything–"

"You spoke with her? When?"

Marina suddenly didn't know how to answer. Maribel knew something was wrong. "Mom, when did she come by?" When the woman still couldn't answer, she checked her phone.

The missed call was from her mother.

"Why did you call me just before I arrived?" asked Maribel.

Another question she didn't seem to know the answer to. "Mom," asked Maribel more urgently, "did you take vervain today?"

"I always take it at dinner because I don't eat breakfast..."

"It was just dinner time. But you don't know when Lily came, just that you spoke to her, and you don't know why you were calling me just now... she was here less than an hour ago, wasn't she? Oh, god, you're compelled, you have no idea–"

The door burst open behind her, hitting her in the back and knocking her into her mother, both stumbling away from the entrance hall. She raised her hand to retaliate, but hesitated too much when she saw Lily. She still knew her as Damon's mother, her response was not to hurt her.

"You came much sooner than expected," said Lily. "Come quietly, and your mother needn't be harmed."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," said Maribel shakily. "Damon!"

"He's taking a nap behind the wheel. Stefan told me that is very irresponsible."

Maribel decided it didn't matter that she was Damon's mother. She thrust out her hand, concentrating on trying to cause her pain so she could run out and get her mother to safety. Lily cried out, holding her head and sinking to her knees as Maribel yanked her mother up and out of the house, where Damon was, in fact, laying his head on the steering wheel, his neck probably snapped.

"Get in the passenger's seat!" she told her mother, opening the driver's door and pulling Damon out, using her magic to carefully levitate him into the back seat. Before she could climb into the car, a strong arm wrapped around her, yanking her away.

"Get off of me!" she cried out, clawing and hitting anywhere she could reach.

"Can't have you doing that, Mari-belly," said Kai, covering her mouth and siphoning, which weakened her enough to stop her from hitting him. "Shh, go to sleep, go to sleep..."

She tried to fight it, looking at her mother, who was now staring up at Lily as she compelled her to go back into her house and forget what had happened. "Why are you doing this?" she attempted to say against Kai's hand. "Please–"

"You stab me in the back," whispered Kai in her ear, "and I'll stab you in yours."

She felt a sharp sting in her side and unwillingly closed her eyes.

She pretended she was still asleep even when she felt herself regaining consciousness. She was seated on the floor, and her hands were bound in front of her. Judging by the numb feeling in her mouth, she was gagged. She heard Kai and Lily talking, and it took several times swallowing to pop her ears and hear what they were saying.

"And you're sure this will work?" asked Lily. "You'll be able to free my family?"

"Yeah," said Kai. "I'll need you to make sure they don't kill me, and I'll need them to help me with the spell to get us back. As soon as they're in this world, my death won't affect them. It's only if they're still in the prison world that it'll collapse with them inside. If I die here to turn, they will still live. Their link to the Coven broke the minute they all turned."

"Good," said Lily. "I'll hold onto the Ascendant, when we receive it. You understand, of course. I want my family back. That's all I've ever wanted, to have my family back, with me, where they belong. When the time comes, I will give it to you, and we will free them. And you will have my blood to become a Heretic. To ensure you return even if they kill you."

"And boy, do I appreciate you telling me about that. Your sons are sneaky."

"And so is she. I know you're awake, Maribel."

Maribel opened her eyes, staring ahead at Lily and Kai. From the looks of it, they were inside of a storage container. Some spell ingredients lingered on the side, herbs littered around the floor and a square of salt waiting by the edge, where the doors could open and act as a receiving dock.

Kai came closer, removing the gag to allow her to speak. "Naughty, naughty Mari-belly," he said, clicking his tongue. "Lying, going behind my back."

"You didn't stab me," Maribel noticed, twisting her torso. "I wouldn't be alive if you had."

"No, the sting you felt was probably the medicine I used to knock you out. Karma, you know, for putting me in a coma when I was practicing magic on you in the school."

"You mean when you kidnapped me. That's wonderful. Well, they found me then, they'll find me now. Besides..." she held up her hands, "this isn't going to hold me. I may be better at science than magic, but I know these don't hold witches. And I think I know a little more Latin now than when I first started with this."

"Yeah, that would be epic and all," said Kai, "with you making a big escape... but that's not necessary. We're letting you go in ten minutes."

"Letting me go?"

"Yeah, we don't need you anymore. We just needed a hostage to get our hands on the Ascendant. Turns out your boyfriend was a lot better behaved this time. He's on his way with the Ascendant and he knows that if he doesn't come alone, all Lily needs to do is make a phone call and your sweet little mom won't be able to resist that compulsory urge to slit her own throat."

Maribel felt like she might throw up. "My mother did nothing to either of you."

"Collateral damage, it seems," said Lily. "What you and Damon were willing to let my family be to serve your own malicious needs. Now, there is no room for you to ruin this for us. You two can return to the house like dogs with your tails between your legs to tell everyone that now, Malachai will not care about unlinking his sisters from the Coven. After the full moon, my family will be free, and Malachai will become a Heretic... joining us. The Gemini Coven, those awful people who tormented my family and I, will all die. Including those you wanted to save. I don't think anyone will forgive you for it."

Kai pulled her to her feet once they heard a car pulling up outside. Lily opened the door to the storage container, giving Damon a cold look as he handed over the Ascendant. She beckoned Kai over, and he put Maribel out beside him before slamming the door in her face.

"Are you okay?" asked Damon, cupping her face immediately. "Beli, what happened?"

"Everything is ruined," she whispered. "We fucked up, we really fucked up, Damon. And I don't think we can fix it."

They drove back to the Boarding House in silence. Maribel had her head laid down in her knees, trying to think, trying to find some way that they could undo all this damage before it was too late. If Jo and Liv died, not only would Alaric and Tyler and probably the rest of the friend group hate them forever, but Kai would continue to torment them, and Maribel and Damon would probably lose everything, consumed in their own guilt. Maribel didn't think she was strong enough to handle it.

"Wait," she said, sitting up suddenly. "Okay. They said after the full moon, Lily's family would be free and Kai would be a Heretic. But they don't need a full moon. We went yesterday without a celestial event. So why wait until then? They could do it right now. Unless... unless Kai is trying to screw Lily over. He could be trying to drag it out, to get her blood beforehand, 'cause why the hell would he want the Heretics out as competition? No, he wants to be the most powerful. Which means we still have time. And I think... I think... I think I may have a fix. But for once, the solution is purelymagic. Not science. This isn't my strong suit, it's completely unfamiliar territory, and I-I don't know if it's gonna work."

"Well, what is the idea?" asked Damon urgently. "We have to at least try it."

"Kai said that as long as the Heretics are in this world, they won't die when he does. Their link to the Coven broke the minute they turned. AKA, the minute they died. All we need to break the link to the Gemini Coven is for Jo and Liv to die."

"That would be brilliant if it didn't defeat the purpose of our plan. Saving their lives, letting them live, all that good stuff..."

"That's the thing, I think I may have a way for them not to die permanently. I mean, Jo's pregnancy makes us hit a bit of a snag but I have a work around for it. I think the safest way would be to transfer it into a surrogate right now that the fetus is still really really tiny. Someone safe, someone resistant, preferably a vampire. And then... we link Jo and Liv to me. We'll go with what we intended, of me turning into a Heretic so I am strong enough to defeat Kai. I'll die but I'll come back, and so will they, without having to become vampires. Jo, Liv, and the baby all stay alive and lose their link to the Coven. I become a Heretic and I go after Kai before the full moon in what, two days? It's not much time but it's the only idea I have. If it works. God, it has to work, I don't know if it will, this isn't my strong suit, but if it does..."

"If it does," said Damon, "then I will buy you ten full-size laboratories."

Bonnie looked at them like they were insane when they arrived at her home to blurt out the entire plan. However, she didn't exactly say it was impossible. That was enough for Maribel.

They gathered the group at Whitmore Hospital, inside Maribel's laboratory. Nobody was excited to give it a try, but it didn't seem anyone else had any ideas to unlink Jo and Liv and to keep the Heretics from escaping. Even Stefan offered no solutions, resigning instead to stare at his feet. Maribel wondered if he felt guilty for placing so much trust in Lily.

"I can be the surrogate," offered Caroline. "If it needs to be someone resistant, like, a vampire, I could do it. It's not like I'm working anywhere and I really just go to school... and besides, you might be able to transfer it back to Jo once it's safe, right?"

"Not sure about that one," said Maribel. "But that's a problem for another time. Just... somebody, tell me if we go through with this or if we do something else."

Elena was the first to agree. "I'll give you my blood to turn."

"I'll help you link Jo and Liv to you," offered Bonnie.

"I'll prepare Caroline to receive the baby," said Meredith. "I don't know anything about magic but I think I may be able to figure out if it worked or not once you do it."

Maribel ingested Elena's blood before they began working on the procedure. Alaric was trying to keep Jo calm while Tyler spoke with Liv, the two attempting to reconcile in case the plan went poorly. Enzo, despite what Matt clearly perceived to be a crush, agreed to watch Kai and Lily from a distance to make sure they didn't leave for the prison world prematurely and to keep Kai from drinking any vampire blood.

"I think we got it," said Bonnie, holding up a thick rope. "This will be the representation of the link. If the rope knots when I perform the spell, it worked. It's the exact same spell I used when John Gilbert gave his life for Elena, but now it incorporates two people, so a visual will help confirm it. Let's give it a try. Here, blood in this bowl."

Maribel cut her palm first, then Jo, then Liv. Bonnie dipped the center of the rope into the bowl, allowing it to be coated in blood. "Liv, Maribel, chant with me," she guided. "Phasmatos Tribum Melan Veras, Raddiam Onu Pavadus Ponemus."

They joined her, watching as the rope slowly lifted itself into the air. It began to knot, until at last, it turned into a tight coil and balled up, lowering itself into the bowl, where it fit perfectly inside.

"And now, the transfer spell," said Maribel. "Caroline, are you sure about this? If the baby can't be transferred back to Jo afterward for whatever reason, like, this death affecting her organs permanently, you'd have to carry to term."

"It's okay," promised Caroline. "I'll be the best surrogate ever. And it's not like we have other options. It'll be riskier with someone who is mortal."

Maribel nodded. "Yes, it will be. And the spell–?"

"I got it," said Liv. "The Gemini Surrogate Spell, a fail safe to transfer a baby from a dying mother into a suitable surrogate. It'll cloak the baby after implantation, so we'll need to wait a day or two before removing that, but it shouldwork. Many covens have spells like this for emergency situations. The Gemini Coven perfected this one because twins are the life force of the Coven and they couldn't risk anything happening to twins in utero. It'll work."

They laid Jo and Caroline side by side. Maribel and Bonnie stood together, each placing their hands on the stomach of the woman closest to them, forming a bridge. "Sanguinem Filio, Sanguinem Effugarex Perpetuum. Phasmatos Filio, Phasmatos Effugarex Perpetuum."

Both women looked the same when the spell started and when it finished. But Meredith, who'd taken a blood sample from Caroline prior to the spell, confirmed that her blood sample had changed after the spell, showing a significant rise in hormones to accomodate a fetus.

"Then, it's time," said Maribel, wringing her hands together. "One trial, and no room for errors. Who wants to do the honors?"

"Are you really asking who wants to kill you?" asked Meredith. "Maybe when we were little, but not anymore, Mar."

"I can do it," said Damon. "If you really are sure about this."

"I am," promised Maribel. "I'll see you soon. Just make it quick, I don't want to feel–"

He broke her neck, catching her body against his. Behind her, Jo and Liv both started to cough, holding their chests as if they were beginning to experience heart attacks.

"This is definitely the most fucked-up thing we've ever done," muttered Jeremy to Bonnie.

Bonnie grimaced. "But if it works, we'll all breathe a little easier."

Maribel awoke hours later, cringing at the brightness of the lights overhead. Damon offered her a bag of blood, which she drank immediately. Meredith and Elena began chest compressions on Jo and Liv, restarting their hearts. A minute after Maribel completed her transition, they began to regain consciousness.

Damon and Maribel left to confront Kai and Lily together.

Maribel didn't bother with incantations. She flicked her hand, throwing open the door of the container and startling them. From the looks of it, they were still working out the details of their plan. She coiled her wrist, snapping Lily's neck and incinerating the Ascendant in her hand.

With a curl of her fingers, Kai flew toward her. She caught him, beginning to siphon right from his mouth.

"You give what you get," she said triumphantly before breaking his neck. "Just as I was meant to end up in that prison world and meet you to discover what I was, you were meant to die by my hand. Call it kismet."

-

kismet (noun): destiny, fate

-

A/N: Keep reading for the Final Author's Note!