Summary: Set in S8. What if Katherine came back to life after escaping a hellish prison world, and finds out what has happened to Damon and Enzo? Will she help save them? Can she save them due to Damon’s hatred towards her and because she hasn’t seen Enzo in centuries? How will Stefan and Caroline react to her being alive once more?413Please respect copyright.PENANAOUVGPfMBdp
It was a nebulous night as Katherine, human, walked through the streets, ascendant in hand. She’d just come from a prison world and looked like hell with blood on one side of her head and nearly looking like the night she’d come to Damon for help. She didn’t know how long she’d been gone, but the population of humans had dwindled since the last time she’d been alive. It looked pretty vacant.413Please respect copyright.PENANAXCZWYPjeqI
When she was about to walk past a warehouse, even human, she could smell the familiar scent of death. She could tell that it was more than a few deaths. Nearby she could also hear Damon and an old friend of hers,’ Enzo, talking.413Please respect copyright.PENANA7oJrhr2klI
As she entered the warehouse, curious of what was going on, and once she was close enough, she heard what they were saying more easily.413Please respect copyright.PENANALBXtwe5fFf
“How much control do you have left?” Enzo questioned. “I’m down to like two percent.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAlJg2PCQfu5
“None. I turned it off. You should try it. If she sees nothing, she knows you don’t care about anything,” Damon replied.413Please respect copyright.PENANAk1EbKD0f44
“We don’t even know what it is,” Enzo stated.413Please respect copyright.PENANAXLEO7si8d7
Katherine stayed hidden, figuring that it probably wasn’t best to let herself be known. She knew how he was when he had it turned off. She also knew that if something was controlling them; getting inside their heads; it was best to stay away from that thing, whatever it was.413Please respect copyright.PENANASsD5D4F31i
She quietly left and headed for the boarding house. Maybe the others would like to share with her what all she’d missed.413Please respect copyright.PENANA0oTd3dR9EH
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Thirty minutes later, she entered the boarding house, heading for the living room, assuming someone would be there. If she was lucky, someone that didn’t hate her very much would be there. She didn’t feel like dying again.413Please respect copyright.PENANAjvvzKnrD0F
As she entered the living room, she saw that Caroline was the only one there, but it sounded like she was talking to Stefan over her phone.413Please respect copyright.PENANATG0pqO8Yxn
Caroline hung up after she told him to keep her updated, and then turned around, smelling blood and human, only to see a looking like hell human Katherine.413Please respect copyright.PENANAyULwel9fS5
“Katherine?” she questioned, shocked that she was alive. What the hell? she thought to herself.413Please respect copyright.PENANApzA0HYuVWE
Katherine gave her a smile.413Please respect copyright.PENANArA42YPUG3R
“Hello, Blondie.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAnv7UnnJhGs
“What are you doing here? Stefan killed you,” Caroline inquired.413Please respect copyright.PENANAMvhygqPF36
“I was sent to a prison world when I died. Now what did I miss? I just overheard Damon say that he turned it off and it sounds like something’s controlling them; getting inside their heads. Not to mention, there’s a warehouse full of brutally murdered people hanging from hooks,” she replied to the vampiress.413Please respect copyright.PENANAW4xDWJzhy4
“We opened a vault months ago that released something. We didn’t listen to someone that said not to open it. When we went in after Damon and Enzo, they were gone. Then numbers started piling up of missing people. We didn’t have any clues until tonight where they might be. You just answered our question where they are,” Caroline explained.413Please respect copyright.PENANArVQEc7ssn9
Katherine set the ascendant on the drinking table and poured herself a shot glass of Bourbon. She took a sip from it.413Please respect copyright.PENANAyC1QSMYNiu
“I’m glad I could be of help. You guys need to find out what’s controlling them. While you guys do that, I’m going to figure out a way to get Damon to turn it back on. It’ll be easier though once he’s separated from that thing.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAgtIasyY5tX
“Why would you want to help Damon or us?” Caroline quizzed.413Please respect copyright.PENANA3XbZ01Vzuk
“Because I know I was a bad person as a vampire and I shouldn’t have body jumped, but I turned him and taught him everything he knows. You could say I feel responsible for him, whether he hates me or not. Besides, I loved Damon the most. As for the rest of you, you’re my vampire family and if there’s something evil in town, I’m going to help kick its ass.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAKO4iiBblJE
Caroline could tell that she was telling the truth this time around.413Please respect copyright.PENANAfZISD1tFpu
Katherine set the empty shot glass down.413Please respect copyright.PENANATOVKAuIi2b
“I’m going to take a shower.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAlEtncAg5Pt
Caroline watched, as she left to go do just that, before calling Stefan.413Please respect copyright.PENANAASo0avl49F
“Hey,” Stefan greeted.413Please respect copyright.PENANAj3YEtkRnfC
“You won’t believe who just showed up. Katherine’s alive and human and has a lead on Damon and Enzo. She overheard them talking in a warehouse. Damon turned it off and she said it sounds like something’s controlling them. The missing bodies are there. Be careful,” Caroline informed him.413Please respect copyright.PENANAFKq0v8wVAD
“How is she alive?” he inquired.413Please respect copyright.PENANATks9HYKBLU
“She said she came from a prison world and she looks like hell. I believe her. We can talk about this later. We have to figure out what’s controlling them.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAtNe48yeqpn
“I’ll see you in a little while then,” Stefan replied.413Please respect copyright.PENANAfWCxjV1cpu
They hung up and Caroline went back to looking at the map, pondering which warehouse it could be and how to save them both. She hated to admit it, but Katherine was right.413Please respect copyright.PENANAvnu9iKRaTc
After her shower and putting on clothes of hers from last time she’d been human, she went downstairs to rejoin Caroline.413Please respect copyright.PENANAklf3cRgBnu
“If you want to know where they are, just ask me. I care about Damon and Enzo. I’m not going to lie about their exact location.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAdNb2Q70lL7
Caroline looked at her.413Please respect copyright.PENANAhUi4pIbZFr
“Then tell me where they are.”413Please respect copyright.PENANA0frP4Ozzvq
“Fine,” she said, before telling her their exact location.413Please respect copyright.PENANA3bbzi9hk59
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A few nights later, while the others destroyed the siren, Sybil, Bonnie helping magically, Katherine found them on a desolate road, talking.413Please respect copyright.PENANArQcH3GYoQi
Katherine revealed herself by coming out from the tree line.413Please respect copyright.PENANANBog6NWWLA
“Hello, Damon,” she greeted with a smile.413Please respect copyright.PENANAWo73GI826Z
As she anticipated he would do upon seeing her, he went for her. He vamp-sped over to her and pinned her against a tree.413Please respect copyright.PENANA2B2Tqob3nB
“In what universe do you get to be alive!?” he growled at her.413Please respect copyright.PENANATW4hLceA4A
She gasped from his hold around her throat, but smiled. This was one step towards his humanity coming back. As long as he felt some kind of emotion, it was progress; even hate.413Please respect copyright.PENANATsyyuG5zdv
“I’m glad you still feel something with my presence. At least you feel something; anything.”413Please respect copyright.PENANA9bLo7wBDi2
He let go of her.413Please respect copyright.PENANAXn1mBQvoC3
Enzo stood by, watching, ready to stop Damon if he tried to kill her.413Please respect copyright.PENANANcUjz7E8LX
“Look, Damon, I know what happened, okay? Caroline told me. You need to turn it back on. I know you’ve been through hell, but you have people that care about you.” She began to step towards him. “Elena wouldn’t want you to be like this and neither does Stefan.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAzLZzqhITcI
Damon knew she was right, as he stood there, looking at her.413Please respect copyright.PENANAze0WxqVyr9
“It’s not that simple,” he informed her.413Please respect copyright.PENANAryjgDjivKB
“I know,” she replied. She knew him too well. “They need you, though.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAZExW5sZKXN
After some consideration, he closed his eyes, concentrating on turning it back on. Then, when he opened them, he had it back on.413Please respect copyright.PENANAewQSeXGyZW
He looked at her.413Please respect copyright.PENANAiVa454Bmpk
“I never thought I’d say this, but thank you, Katherine.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAtUGt1sOdHT
She smiled.413Please respect copyright.PENANAT0OYsUYA00
“You’re welcome.”413Please respect copyright.PENANAvd7P8nHRGJ
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A month later, Katherine and Damon, after settling things and forgiving each other, were together once again.413Please respect copyright.PENANAvpM9xjF2V9