The Queen Slayer | TO {2}

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

CLEVELAND, OHIO

For decades, whenever Stefan Salvatore was struggling mentally, whether that be with grief, guilt, anger or addiction, he would always go to Lexi. Even when he and Buffy were together back during her repeated junior year of High School, while they had opened up about their struggles, Buffy's main point of contact had been Willow before Bonnie had taken over the position. 

Following her transformation into a vampire, Caroline Forbes had taken over Lexi's previous job as sober-sponsor.

Normally, he would have gone to Caroline, but as much as he adored his best friend, this pain in his chest leaving him constantly crippled with anxieties at a moment's notice, unable to breathe, wasn't her area of expertise. He knew that the second she had subtly mentioned this therapeutic technique which involved climbing inside of the safe he had been helplessly trapped in as a twisted way to confront his fears.

If he was ever going to risk doing something like that, something that might push him over the edge he would want Buffy there to ensure he didn't freak out and try and kill someone.

There was one person he knew without a doubt would be able to help him with the twisted wires in his brain that were constantly dragging him down into the familiar terror as water filled his mind, clawing around his lungs as he choked and begged for relief.

Willow Rosenberg.

Willow who had been powerful enough to send him directly into Buffy's subconscious back in Sunnydale after Glory managed to take Elena, ripping her right out of Buffy's arms causing her to completely shut down, entrapped in a catatonic state.

Stefan needed to get his head on straight and Willow's powers were his best shot at finally dealing with the hell that had been his six months sinking under hundreds of pounds of water, nothing but the endless darkness there to keep him company before the nerves in his brain would once again bring him to a brief moment of peaceful death.

His idea was insane!

Willow did not doubt that it was insanity as she moved over to the kitchen table, sliding a hot cup of coffee over to him, brain completely baffled as she replayed his words over and over in her head. Truly and utterly insane. Whatever research he had done on his way here didn't even scratch the surface of how dangerous a spell like this was. A spell that wasn't even guaranteed to work! It was insane, beyond insane, not to mention extremely dangerous.

She could rip through his cerebral cortex and turn his brain into mush!

"It's stupid Stefan."

"It worked when you did it for Buffy." He argued as his fingers wrapped around the mug, eyes filling with desperation as he stared at her conflicted expression.

"We had no choice!" Buffy had been comatose in a way, completely disconnected from her physical form, too trapped in her mind to even blink, unable to feel the strain the spell had been putting on her body physically "You are still walking and talking, and somewhat functioning. When I sent you into Buffy's mind she was trapped in there, her body nothing but a shell."

Stefan's fingers tightened around the mug, jaw rolling as his knee started shaking under the table while he did his best to keep from forming cracks and shattering the mug. A shaky breath echoed from his lips as his chest tightened. He couldn't keep living like this. Unable to control himself while his mind tried to drown him, yanking him back down into the pit of despair. He needed this. Needed to get past this before it drove him past the point of no return risking his humanity switch going off.