Yellow Ledbetter

Make me cry

So it's like this.

He's still a vampire, resurrected from his first and final moments as one, death has let him keep that at least. But as well as that, he can't actually feel anything physically. He finds out through trial and error that it's because he's still half tethered to hell. He also can't feel much emotionally and he's definite that it's because he turned his emotions off just before dying. Sure, he had that almost flood of panic when Damon left but he was beheaded before the switch actually made it all the way, leaving it to flop back down to 0 feelings as his head rebounded off the walls.

Which is fine by him. It makes him driven and focused on his one goal. Staying out of Hell. This time, so long as he stays away from a certain witch he should be fine. He's not sure if they'll still have that spark after all this time but he doesn't want to risk it. But how can he get Bonnie to help him without actually having to see her?

Damon is still as easy to manipulate, and he's glad some things never change. The vampire is practically jumping to help him make his stay here on earth more permanent, in exchange for waking Elena. As if he's going to undo the one thing that ensures Bonnie has a fighting chance to live her own life. The one thing he holds over Damon's head. So he decides to string him along until he gets what he wants. He decides. God it feels so good to have choices again. No more torture visions or hellish thoughts and devils to damn him. He can do whatever he wants again and Kai decides what he wants, is to live a better life than before. Maybe be a better person.

Well, a better person to himself.

Being a better person doesn't always mean being a goody-two shoes. Sometimes it's just looking around and appreciating what he has, where he is. Death has made him appreciate life, any kind of life, that he's been given. So even if he's only back for a matter of days before Hell finally sucks him back in, he's going to do as much living as he can and not worry about the consequences. What, is there a uber-evil level of Hell he can get sent back to?

So he convinces Damon to kill people for him, knowing full well that it will never help him in anyway and will just damn Damon further. Then he steals sleeping beauty with every intention of setting her ass on fire- maybe scarring her a little, but not quite killing her. How hilarious would it be for Elena to finally wake after years and years, expecting to resume her happily ever after with Damon, only to realise she looks like the Elephant man. But his plan is interrupted- goddamnit how is he getting outsmarted by the scooby squad again- and he barely gets to light a match. Why are they so fond of shooting him full of tranquilisers? And they're never able to hold him for long, have they not figured that out by now? There's only one person able to trick him and she's nowhere to be seen. Is Bonnie avoiding him right back? Huh. And why does that thought irritate him a little?

Of all the places, they decide to incarcerate him in the armory. Home to so many magical objects he can feel the power in the walls. Feel, siphon, use to snap Caroline's neck. He'll admit he goes a little overboard when he tries to kill the twins. But it's not his fault, is he just meant to walk past the beautiful, vintage, black, hand-crafted steel axe? Turns out they're siphons anyway, and it hits a little too close to home. He'll put them out of their misery, it's what a better person would do. It's only inevitable in all his excitement he gets his own neck snapped and dies again.

This feels nice, familiar. Being on the other side of the void, able to just drift until his body pulls him back. He's back in the cave, in 1994. Moonlight seeping in from the eclipse and he stands in the circle. It could almost be a memory but he's in the clothes he just died in, ginchy jacket and all. Kai's back in a moment of significance with his experience since then to reflect on it.

But in the empty space before him there's suddenly a ripple and-

Bonnie's there.

Bonster.