Elena doesn't waste time in leaving her room and rushing down the stairs, out the lobby. Every minute that ticks on by is a minute that Stefan is lost to her. It doesn't help she's been reading entries lately in the network asking for people they haven't seen again, fearing the Rift has taken them. They can take people with the blink of an eye. Something about that is far more terrifying than anything else they have ever faced.
It's not a car crash. It's not even battling a monster. It's not a spell.
It's just someone disappearing into thin air in the blink of an eye.
Elena's shrugging onto her jacket once she steps outside. She looks like she's keeping it together, but she is good at pretending she is okay when she is not. "Doubt it'll be the last one, either," she says smartly once she reaches him. It's obvious her upset is not aimed at him. It's just the way it is. Their lives, be it in Mystic Falls or Chicago, are wildly screwed up.
"Not that I know of?" Elena asks. That may be a strange comment in and of itself, but Elena and Stefan were broken up from their timeline. Stefan wasn't talking to her like they once did. They never reached a resolution when it comes to what happened, even if Damon assures them they got back together.
Now they might never have a chance. "He was fine. Last time I saw him he was fine and now it's like he just vanished into thin air."
Though she looks like she is keeping it together, Damon knows her. He saw her that day that Stephan was dragged to the vampire house in the woods. They were standing in the rain, and she was starting to lose it. They knew where he was then.
Somehow this is worse. There is nowhere to go. There is no plan to hash out. There is no one's clutches to pull him from before it's too late. They have no enemies. Most people that Damon has run into would be no real problem for Stephan to handle.
And he would try his best to stay... alive (oh the misuse of that word) for Elena's sake.
"You never know. We could quit the rescue party business," Damon says smoothly though he is obviously more upset than what is showing too. He has shoved those emotions into a corner, however.
He raises an eyebrow at the comment. "You're not all up in lover boy's business?" Granted, Damon would have normally noticed this but he has been trying to find his way around Chicago, make contacts, figure out what exactly they could be up against at any given time. "Trouble in paradise?"
Damon glances at her as he starts to walk. "It happens... all the time here." It is not a comfort and he knows it, but he thinks choosing between Stephan dying or willingly leaving and Stephan disappearing against his will, the latter would be more preferable to her. It doesn't matter one way or another to Damon. Stephan would not be staying because of him so his choosing to leave is no different than him being forced to.
[...We could keep going like this forever XD]descendentApril 2 2011, 02:55:54 UTC
Maybe that's what made the difference.
She knew where Stefan was and she knew what could happen to him if they didn't get to him as soon as possible. The not knowing keeps her suspended in this rope, a thousand feet off the ground, and one small step where the balance falters and she ends up falling to the ground. Elena was here far longer than either of the men, and she had to learn to accept there might be a life where one of them wasn't there.
She trusts Stefan more than anybody, trusts that he'd always know what he was doing, but he would never, ever let her worry like this. Especially not in this city, where nothing is guaranteed. He'd let her know where he was every step of the way, whether they'd worked out their problems or not.
And those problems seem so distant, now. Elena had wanted to find herself and where she stood without him in that role that often takes over everything else. Now she can't remember why that was. Elena shoots him a sharp look. It's the Let's not do that now, Damon she gives him so often that he'll disregard unless circumstances are absolutely dire. "We didn't get the opportunity to talk about things," is all she says. There wasn't. The day of the carpet ride she was gone all day and since they came back, there hasn't been a peep of him.
"I know," she says with a sigh. Elena falls into step beside him and forces that lump out of her throat. It makes her voice sound way too thick for her comfort. "That's what they've said. There've been these... journal entries of other people asking about their friends, asking if anyone's seen them."
[ROFLMFAO I spelt stefan's name wrong in my last tag :x /fail]idontgethurtApril 2 2011, 03:58:03 UTC
Damon knows as well as she does that there is no way that Stefan left of his own accord. His brother loves her, and he fought for her long before Damon ever loved her. He is not the kind to walk away from someone that he loves like he loves her especially knowing what it would do to her.
It narrows down their choices significantly, but the choices that they are left with aren't very hopeful ones. Wherever Stefan is, he is there against his will likely dead, likely gone from the city leaving no trace behind or way to track him down.
This would be considered near dire circumstances so he notices the look that she sends and decides not to push it. She is worried about Stefan, which is putting it lightly.... and he is too. He just doesn't want to think about it.
"It doesn't mean that he'll become one of those people," Damon says again carefully. "We're looking because we expect to find him."
He doesn't know if that's really too but all his life his brother has been that one constant even when they spent years and years apart. There was always that assurance that he would sneak up to him again and... make his life a living hell.
But he dealt with that issue, and Stefan and he were on...a less torture-filled level when Damon fell through. He didn't really want to lose that completely.
It's why they'll search. They'll search for hours and not find anything, and Damon will finally succumb to frustration. He stops walking in the middle of the sidewalk. "...this is useless. We've been looking too long. We have no idea where to look, and the last place he could have been could be anywhere in this whole city. The rescue party's over."
[YOU NEVER FAIL :|]descendentApril 2 2011, 05:01:13 UTC
She keeps thinking of Martha Jones, for some reason. The woman was one of the first to greet her, and one of the first to let her know how things worked in the city. She has, after all, been here the longest. Was it three years or less? Or more? Elena isn't sure, but it isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, except in Chicago, three years is like twenty. Some people don't make it to a year, much less six months. People die or they get taken away.
And a handful of them grow crazy like that bomber. Is that all they have to look forward to in this place? Are those honestly their only options no matter how they go about making sure these things don't happen?
Elena knows, in her heart of hearts, would never doubt that Stefan is gone not by choice. He would never choose that. Not while she's still here. And whether either of them likes to admit it, not while Damon is still here, either. They're brothers and they love each other, as complicated as their history is.
The fact they were all here together made the difference. Now she can't say that. We're looking because we expect to find him. Elena looks over at DAMON, her gaze lingering on him for probably longer than necessary, and then she tears it away to continue looking at the road ahead of them. She doesn't know how far she walks but they walk all around the city.
There might as well not be a corner left in the place to check, but Elena does not want to give up already. She doesn't stop walking even if Damon does.
"If you want to go back to the Tower, Damon, be my guest. I'm going to keep looking for Stefan until I find him. I'm not going back without him or news of him."
Elena doesn't follow orders from Damon. That's always been true. She will stop searching until she decides she wants to stop searching, and she doesn't care if he joins her or not.
[ROFL ty :x]idontgethurtApril 2 2011, 05:36:45 UTC
Damon hasn't really thought that far ahead yet. It may have something to do with the fact that he never met Martha Jones. Even if he did, he hasn't had conversations with people that involved asking them how long they have been around. Pff, normal conversations are not something Damon ever thinks of to have so in a lot of respects, he's going to be less informed than Elena in this city.
Which is disconcerting to say the least. He doesn't believe that everyone has the capacity to become crazy even if the setting is a perfect breeding ground for mass murderers. And he is not exactly Mr. Optimistic and Ray of Hope, but he likes to think there are more options out there.
Damon lets out a long, loud, dramatic sigh when he sees her continue to walk. He catches up with her in no time and reaches for her arm to pull her around though he's gentle about his movements.
"You're not going to go alone."
Stefan apparently disappeared into thin air or was killed. What chance does she have? He is not about to lose her too. There is very little that he cares about in the world, and one of those things-- people are gone.
"Elena, there's putting up a realistic, good fight and then there's complete denial. We would have found something if he was anywhere to be found." It comes out more harshly than he means it, mostly because he's angry, he's not wanting to lose his brother here. He hesitates and speaks softly this time. "He's not here."
What did he expect? Did he expect her to just acquiesce once he decided the search party was over? Elena is just as frustrated as he is, albeit for different reasons, and while she acknowledges reaching out to her is gentle it's still in an attempt to get her to stop and Elena does not want to. Stopping means accepting Stefan is gone and she might never see him again. Stopping means accepting she can never go to sleep again without wondering if Damon or anybody else she knows will be there when she wakes up.
God, how do people live like this? How do they live like this?
... I can't live like this.
And there's plenty Elena can be in denial about. Once the acceptance comes, it's over. But she can't stop. What if he is still here and he's being kept by some madman like that bomber? Damon and Stefan are vampires but there are plenty of species here that can rival their strength and their speed. There are thousands of scenarios running in her head and all she knows is she needs to find him.
"Damon, let go of me."
She's going to continue to walk, or try to, until he says he's not here.
Elena tries not to look as crushed at that as she feels. She stops resisting his hold, and she comes to a stop, but she still repeats what she said.
Damon had been expecting this even when he stopped in the middle of the street. Though he knows she must be tired, he could tell by the way that she walked and by the look on her face that she wasn't willing to throw in the towel yet. It doesn't stop him from trying to be the one that forces her to see reason.
...and isn't that the strange shift of roles here? However, when it comes to her safety, he will put that ahead of irrationalities, ahead of his own desire to pretend like his brother is still out there somewhere, ahead of almost everything else. There's always that almost exception, because he has never been able to put anyone's needs over his own hurt which was evidence in how he snapped her brother's neck, in so many things.
He will put it past his own preference to deny what he knows must be true.
Elena tells him to let go but he shakes his head and tightens his hold on her arm though not enough to be painful still. It's more like a pressure, a reminder to come back to reality. Damon would love for her to remain in denial if it didn't involve trekking all around what is clearly a dangerous city.
Damon looks at her face as she says it. Frustration rising. He cannot understand or put up for denial when it is an immediate danger to her, and Stefan is gone. That's it. There's a long, weighted pause before he lowers his hand from her arm with slow, deliberate movement. "So what then? What are you going to do? Go to every possible hiding spot in the world and poke your head in?"
There's a manhole beneath them, and he reaches down, pulling it off with one easy motion. "Hey, Stefan, you in there?"
The sewers seem to think that this is a sign that Stefan and Elena need a little pull inside. A dark, shadowy force stretches its limbs out, wraps them around their ankles, and yanks them both down the manhole into the sewer below.
When it comes to her safety, there often is no reasoning with Elena. She will always want to take care and see to the safety of her loved ones over her own. They will always be pitted against each other in that respect, because her safety is not the priority it is for Damon. She hasn't been able to get through to anyone in that sense. They get frustrated with her. They castize her. They go behind her back to ensure her safety.
Even Bonnie enchants her house once they've decided Elena shouldn't leave the house.
She knows where it comes from, and she knows they do it because they love her, but for that very reason, she'd think they would understand. How could they fault her for doing the exact same thing they've done for her so many times in so many ways? How can Elena put her own safety and her own needs above theirs when she loves them so much? That's not how it works for her. That's not and never will be how she's build.
Elena Gilbert looks like Katherine Pierce. Elena Gilbert is not Katherine Pierce.
"He might be hurt, he could be--"
She stands there, her jaw locking as she nearly shakes with the anger once he reaches for the manhole. Elena walks over to him and reaches out to grab his arm, possibly to pull him back, when they are yanked toward the darkness by their ankles. Elena screams and feels the rush of wind hit her back before they plummet to the darkness. The manwhole closes and suddenly they are in sewers.
"Damon, what were you thinking? What have I told you about doing things like that? You're practically egging the Rift on."
Elena's going to jump up to the ladder to try and climb her way out, but the same dark, shadowy force that shoved them inside will throw her back down.
Damon has begun to learn that about her. He understands why it is that she has this issue at the same time that he has absolutely no idea why. It is impossible for him to view anyone else as having more worth than herself and her safety. Certainly not himself, not even Stefan. They already lived and died and then lived for over a hundred years.
Elena has only started her life, and she... deserves to have a good one, a long and healthy one. It is strange for him to think that way about someone. Over a hundred years, he hasn't acted and felt so human-like until he met her.
Damon is too busy having his conversation with the sewers beneath them to respond to her. He knows Stefan could be hurt or taken. He also knows the likelihood of that is small in comparison to the likelihood that he disappeared or is dead. If someone managed to capture Stefan, they certainly wouldn't have to work hard to kill or take her too. He isn't willing to take that chance.
"... in my defense, it wasn't a magical carpet this time. It was a normal part of the scenery," he says, folding his arms across his chest as he watches her try to climb back down.
He reaches a hand out to keep her from falling back when the force pushes her down again. Looks like they're stuck in a sewer with .
"I really have to stop wearing my favorite clothes when I go out with you, Elena. They always end up ruined," Damon says with a look of disgust at his shoes which are starting to pack on the grime. "Also, in my defense, this could be a new lead for our little rescue party. You're welcome."
Note: He does not actually believe that they will get a lead to Stefan's whereabouts in the sewers. He is just... being an ass.
His senses are on high alert, however. With what crawls and slithers around out in the open in the streets of Chicago, he... really has little confidence about what must lie beneath it.
"I am not going to thank you every time you go and do something stupid, Damon."
Elena shoves him away the moment he reaches out and she's got both of her feet on the ground. She could care less about his clothes and that's markedly evident, too. All she'd wanted to do was keep looking for Stefan and now, it seems, an unseeing force won't let them out of here.
She's used to Damon's special brand of wit but that doesn't mean that she likes it or condones it. Especially when he's saying she should be grateful they ended up stuck in the sewers. The same way he implied she should be grateful they ended up in Mexico after a long and torturous magical carpet ride. She honestly looks like she might slap him right now.
Not that she'll have much of a chance to.
Noises filter throughout the sewers. They creak and groan and alert to the fact they are not alone.
Elena turns her head a fraction, and she jumps back, eyes widening at what she sees. She expected maybe rats. She expected, perhaps something not entirely human creeping around here. She did not expect...
Ewoks?
A cluster of them march over to Elena and Damon, each of them carrying their sticks. She closes her eyes and opens them again, wondering if she's seeing correctly. They did not just fall through another Rift and into a movie, did they?
"I really wouldn't call that stupid. It was more of an exaggerated show to express my point."
And the point is that they have absolutely no idea where to look for Stefan at. They could have all the resources available to them in the city, and they wouldn't know where to begin. There are hundreds of buildings, hundreds of spots he could be in Chicago alone if he's even still here at all.
Damon can almost sense her desire to slap him. It would not be the first time, and he moves to prepare for it when the noises distract him. He turns toward the sound of it, and there-- Even Damon has seen Star Wars.
The Ewoks are miniature versions. The tallest only comes up to Damon's hip. They're small, furry, with pig like faces. Damon is unimpressed with them and their sticks, but he will stand in front of Elena in case one of them decides to poke her.
Damon smirks, looking like the jackass that he is at the same time that he's all unimpressed. "I'm Han Solo. This is Lea."
One of them pokes him with its stick. The unsharpened side. "SILENCE." ...and these ones can speak English though they're all muttering in Ewok to each other.
That was... not okay. Damon goes from looking unimpressed to wanting to rip their tiny, furry heads off. Trying to be a better... vampire, trying to be a better vampire. Damon steels himself and then holds up a hand, which seems to silence them for the moment. Jackass expression returns with less rage than would be expected. "The next one of you fur balls that decides to do that? Becomes a rug."
Hey, normally, he would not be doing any warning. He would just rip them to pieces and be done. See? Better.
Way to make enemies very quickly, Damon. Nicely done. They all start shouting their Ewok shouts, raising their sticks in the air like they're after blood.
"Twisting the words around and dressing them up to be what you want doesn't make what I said any less true," Elena says in return. She isn't about to give into the argument, but then, she realizes neither is he. They could be arguing for hours if left to their own devices. Or until he throws her over his shoulder but he can't do that here, can he? He can be such a hypocrite sometimes, calling her out on her stupid stunts without ever owning up to his own actions. She doesn't know why she's surprised.
Except she'd really like it if for once he could just apologize for doing something he didn't mean to do. Obviously, he didn't want them stuck in the sewers, nor did he want to be cornered by what looks to be... ewoks but the point of the matter is they are.
If he'd just left the manhole alone and let her keep on searching for Stefan, they wouldn't be here. Which isn't to say she isn't grateful for all the times he's helped. She is and she's said so. He can just be so difficult. ... Like you're any better, Elena.
Elena has to grit her teeth to keep from screaming, though the lineface speaks for itself. She glances up at Damon when he introduces them as Han Solo and Lea BEST THING EVER ASDLFKJASDF and looks at him as if asking Seriously? Seriously.
She places an arm on his shoulder once he holds up his hand. As if to say, be the better person, not that the ewoks are ... people, but the point still stands. Elena also knows it will be disregarded, and she steps in front of him as they stalk over to both of them.
"Wait!" she says. They slow down in their tracks and she holds both hands up. "We didn't mean to intrude and we're not here to cause any trouble. We were just looking for someone and something threw us in here. We're sorry if we barged into your...home."
Sewers do look like they'd be the homes of ewoks.
She can't believe that's actually a thought she's contemplating in her head.
The ewok that seems to be the one in charge regards her, before he looks over to the ewok on his left, and once they both nod, he grabs one of the sticks and hands one over to Elena.
Damon has issues with apologizing, and he does have a habit of arguing with Elena, but she can be so frustrating. She has no regard for her own safety, which makes protecting her incredibly difficult, and she has this infuriating belief that he is better than he actually is, that he can be better.
As infuriating as it is, it is also something he needs and he knows it, and he was lost without it when she couldn't forgive him and they had no friendship at all. However, Damon is not thinking about that at the moment.
He is trying to figure out the best way to get out of the sewers before whatever it is that's inside of the sewers tries to eat them, because that is what's important right now. Not how much he would like to continue arguing with her about how if she'd only decided to be sensible for once and go back to the Tower, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Damon is not looking at Elena at all. He is facing all the Ewoks instead, but he can sense the lineface without seeing her face. It was the perfect line, just because she's not into it doesn't mean it wasn't perfect. They just ran into a bunch of Ewoks. Is he supposed to take it seriously?
He almost growls when he feels her hand against his shoulder, but it's also ultimately what keeps him from ripping that small, furry thing's head from it's chubby furry body. She may think it was disregarded, but it wasn't. Just... his version of being better is not the same as hers.
The one Ewok turns to look at her, almost contemplatively (as much as an Ewok can contemplate). "The dark God will not let us leave. It used to be home. Now prison." They talk like Tarzan apparently. "Who you look for? We see many from below."
And... now Elena has a stick and has apparently joined the army of ewoks.
Fine.
He really has no idea how he elicits such responses from everyone they run into.
...that is a lie.
"If that's how it's going to be, I can take all of you on." Kanye shrug! He would obviously not 'take Elena on', but the rest of the furry little bastards can die, sooner rather than later.
One of them poked him. No one pokes him and gets away with it.
It was definitely the perfect line, Damon. Elena may not see that but the narration clearly does. She's simply hit with the surreality of the moment and how every time she thinks Chicago cannot get any weirder, it goes and proves her otherwise. It's almost as if it's a game between them and it's not a game she wants to play. She wants to be out of the sewers. She wants to find Stefan. She wants to go home.
None of which seem remotely feasible at the moment.
Except maybe the former, if Damon stops pissing the ewoks off long enough.
And that doesn't seem too realistic, either.
She expects more from him because she genuinely does think he's capable of it. If she didn't, she wouldn't keep putting her faith on someone that's made terrible decisions and hurt not only her, but the people she loves most. For reasons that escape her, it's not in Elena to believe that there isn't something in him that's worth believing in. And it may infuriate him and he may resent it as much as he needs it at times, but it goes both ways.
As grateful as Elena is that he's come to her rescue, there's also the dichotomy that comes with it. If it turns out someone she loves is in danger too, she does not want to be saved. And she has no idea just how true that is further into the future back in Mystic Falls. She's not there to live it, and she's here instead.
She eyes the ewok cautiously. They're prisoners here. They 'see' many from where they are imprisoned. She doesn't know if she can actually take this seriously, but what does she have to lose? They might have some magic Rift mojo that might let her know if Stefan is still in the city. "His name is Stefan Salvatore," she says, and she cups the side of her neck like she is feeling very uncomfortable and awkward right now. Which she is. She doesn't even risk glancing at Damon to see how he's doing.
If that's how it's going to be, I can take all of you on.
Elena lets her hand drop to her side. She's still holding on to the stick, mind you, but she had no plans to use it against him. If anything, she'd keep it just in case they'd need something to swat the army of ewoks away.
"Excuse me?" she asks in disbelief.
Some of the ewoks tilt their heads, as if not knowing whether they should get popcorn or attack Damon like he's a mountain they all have to climb to get to the top.
"Spat between Han and Leia!" one of them chants. "Spat between Han and Leia!"
Damon is glad that someone appreciates his lines. They deserve appreciation, okay? He has a feeling that's a game only Elena and the Rift plays. It seems like in whatever universe they're in, she will always have trouble of some kind.
Maybe. He's being paranoid, but he has a feeling about this.
It must be why he was brought here too to ensure her safety. Otherwise, he really couldn't handle being torn away from his own Elena in his own universe. If she hadn't been here, he would have been fighting tooth and nail to get back like she has been. Acceptance that he couldn't get back would mean...
It would mean turning off the emotions becoming worse than he was when he ended up in Mystic Falls, hoping to break Katherine free from the tomb. Ha. It would be like his purpose for existence had once again been ripped from him. Basically. Without anyone around to believe in him like she did.
Damon shoots Elena a sideways glance filled with wtf? when she actually gives the fur balls his name. He half wonders if she believes they know something. Damon thinks they're all filled with furry b/s, and he doesn't really want to take any of them for their word. ...if they're prisoners here, does that mean that Damon and Elena are stuck now too? It would be just their luck. The two forces combined seem... terrible.
Well. It... couldn't hurt except the Ewoks chat among themselves for some time. The chatting is what distracts them until Elena says Excuse me then their little beady eyed attention is back on the two outsiders.
"...well, I obviously wasn't going to take you on."
...and he shoots the whole army of Ewoks a glare at their chanting. They seem oblivious. It is disconcerting when his glares are ineffective. Maybe he's losing his touch. Maybe he should start killing some of them, and then they'll--
"Spat! Spat! Spat!" They keep chanting. Damon keeps glaring and moving toward them like he's going to kick one of them.
"I know they recruited you to their army, but I don't think this is a good time to argue."
It's not a car crash. It's not even battling a monster. It's not a spell.
It's just someone disappearing into thin air in the blink of an eye.
Elena's shrugging onto her jacket once she steps outside. She looks like she's keeping it together, but she is good at pretending she is okay when she is not. "Doubt it'll be the last one, either," she says smartly once she reaches him. It's obvious her upset is not aimed at him. It's just the way it is. Their lives, be it in Mystic Falls or Chicago, are wildly screwed up.
"Not that I know of?" Elena asks. That may be a strange comment in and of itself, but Elena and Stefan were broken up from their timeline. Stefan wasn't talking to her like they once did. They never reached a resolution when it comes to what happened, even if Damon assures them they got back together.
Now they might never have a chance. "He was fine. Last time I saw him he was fine and now it's like he just vanished into thin air."
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Somehow this is worse. There is nowhere to go. There is no plan to hash out. There is no one's clutches to pull him from before it's too late. They have no enemies. Most people that Damon has run into would be no real problem for Stephan to handle.
And he would try his best to stay... alive (oh the misuse of that word) for Elena's sake.
"You never know. We could quit the rescue party business," Damon says smoothly though he is obviously more upset than what is showing too. He has shoved those emotions into a corner, however.
He raises an eyebrow at the comment. "You're not all up in lover boy's business?" Granted, Damon would have normally noticed this but he has been trying to find his way around Chicago, make contacts, figure out what exactly they could be up against at any given time. "Trouble in paradise?"
Damon glances at her as he starts to walk. "It happens... all the time here." It is not a comfort and he knows it, but he thinks choosing between Stephan dying or willingly leaving and Stephan disappearing against his will, the latter would be more preferable to her. It doesn't matter one way or another to Damon. Stephan would not be staying because of him so his choosing to leave is no different than him being forced to.
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She knew where Stefan was and she knew what could happen to him if they didn't get to him as soon as possible. The not knowing keeps her suspended in this rope, a thousand feet off the ground, and one small step where the balance falters and she ends up falling to the ground. Elena was here far longer than either of the men, and she had to learn to accept there might be a life where one of them wasn't there.
She trusts Stefan more than anybody, trusts that he'd always know what he was doing, but he would never, ever let her worry like this. Especially not in this city, where nothing is guaranteed. He'd let her know where he was every step of the way, whether they'd worked out their problems or not.
And those problems seem so distant, now. Elena had wanted to find herself and where she stood without him in that role that often takes over everything else. Now she can't remember why that was. Elena shoots him a sharp look. It's the Let's not do that now, Damon she gives him so often that he'll disregard unless circumstances are absolutely dire. "We didn't get the opportunity to talk about things," is all she says. There wasn't. The day of the carpet ride she was gone all day and since they came back, there hasn't been a peep of him.
"I know," she says with a sigh. Elena falls into step beside him and forces that lump out of her throat. It makes her voice sound way too thick for her comfort. "That's what they've said. There've been these... journal entries of other people asking about their friends, asking if anyone's seen them."
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It narrows down their choices significantly, but the choices that they are left with aren't very hopeful ones. Wherever Stefan is, he is there against his will likely dead, likely gone from the city leaving no trace behind or way to track him down.
This would be considered near dire circumstances so he notices the look that she sends and decides not to push it. She is worried about Stefan, which is putting it lightly.... and he is too. He just doesn't want to think about it.
"It doesn't mean that he'll become one of those people," Damon says again carefully. "We're looking because we expect to find him."
He doesn't know if that's really too but all his life his brother has been that one constant even when they spent years and years apart. There was always that assurance that he would sneak up to him again and... make his life a living hell.
But he dealt with that issue, and Stefan and he were on...a less torture-filled level when Damon fell through. He didn't really want to lose that completely.
It's why they'll search. They'll search for hours and not find anything, and Damon will finally succumb to frustration. He stops walking in the middle of the sidewalk. "...this is useless. We've been looking too long. We have no idea where to look, and the last place he could have been could be anywhere in this whole city. The rescue party's over."
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And a handful of them grow crazy like that bomber. Is that all they have to look forward to in this place? Are those honestly their only options no matter how they go about making sure these things don't happen?
Elena knows, in her heart of hearts, would never doubt that Stefan is gone not by choice. He would never choose that. Not while she's still here. And whether either of them likes to admit it, not while Damon is still here, either. They're brothers and they love each other, as complicated as their history is.
The fact they were all here together made the difference. Now she can't say that. We're looking because we expect to find him. Elena looks over at DAMON, her gaze lingering on him for probably longer than necessary, and then she tears it away to continue looking at the road ahead of them. She doesn't know how far she walks but they walk all around the city.
There might as well not be a corner left in the place to check, but Elena does not want to give up already. She doesn't stop walking even if Damon does.
"If you want to go back to the Tower, Damon, be my guest. I'm going to keep looking for Stefan until I find him. I'm not going back without him or news of him."
Elena doesn't follow orders from Damon. That's always been true. She will stop searching until she decides she wants to stop searching, and she doesn't care if he joins her or not.
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Which is disconcerting to say the least. He doesn't believe that everyone has the capacity to become crazy even if the setting is a perfect breeding ground for mass murderers. And he is not exactly Mr. Optimistic and Ray of Hope, but he likes to think there are more options out there.
Damon lets out a long, loud, dramatic sigh when he sees her continue to walk. He catches up with her in no time and reaches for her arm to pull her around though he's gentle about his movements.
"You're not going to go alone."
Stefan apparently disappeared into thin air or was killed. What chance does she have? He is not about to lose her too. There is very little that he cares about in the world, and one of those things-- people are gone.
"Elena, there's putting up a realistic, good fight and then there's complete denial. We would have found something if he was anywhere to be found." It comes out more harshly than he means it, mostly because he's angry, he's not wanting to lose his brother here. He hesitates and speaks softly this time. "He's not here."
Whatever that means.
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God, how do people live like this? How do they live like this?
... I can't live like this.
And there's plenty Elena can be in denial about. Once the acceptance comes, it's over. But she can't stop. What if he is still here and he's being kept by some madman like that bomber? Damon and Stefan are vampires but there are plenty of species here that can rival their strength and their speed. There are thousands of scenarios running in her head and all she knows is she needs to find him.
"Damon, let go of me."
She's going to continue to walk, or try to, until he says he's not here.
Elena tries not to look as crushed at that as she feels. She stops resisting his hold, and she comes to a stop, but she still repeats what she said.
"Let go of me. Please."
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...and isn't that the strange shift of roles here? However, when it comes to her safety, he will put that ahead of irrationalities, ahead of his own desire to pretend like his brother is still out there somewhere, ahead of almost everything else. There's always that almost exception, because he has never been able to put anyone's needs over his own hurt which was evidence in how he snapped her brother's neck, in so many things.
He will put it past his own preference to deny what he knows must be true.
Elena tells him to let go but he shakes his head and tightens his hold on her arm though not enough to be painful still. It's more like a pressure, a reminder to come back to reality. Damon would love for her to remain in denial if it didn't involve trekking all around what is clearly a dangerous city.
Damon looks at her face as she says it. Frustration rising. He cannot understand or put up for denial when it is an immediate danger to her, and Stefan is gone. That's it. There's a long, weighted pause before he lowers his hand from her arm with slow, deliberate movement. "So what then? What are you going to do? Go to every possible hiding spot in the world and poke your head in?"
There's a manhole beneath them, and he reaches down, pulling it off with one easy motion. "Hey, Stefan, you in there?"
The sewers seem to think that this is a sign that Stefan and Elena need a little pull inside. A dark, shadowy force stretches its limbs out, wraps them around their ankles, and yanks them both down the manhole into the sewer below.
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Even Bonnie enchants her house once they've decided Elena shouldn't leave the house.
She knows where it comes from, and she knows they do it because they love her, but for that very reason, she'd think they would understand. How could they fault her for doing the exact same thing they've done for her so many times in so many ways? How can Elena put her own safety and her own needs above theirs when she loves them so much? That's not how it works for her. That's not and never will be how she's build.
Elena Gilbert looks like Katherine Pierce. Elena Gilbert is not Katherine Pierce.
"He might be hurt, he could be--"
She stands there, her jaw locking as she nearly shakes with the anger once he reaches for the manhole. Elena walks over to him and reaches out to grab his arm, possibly to pull him back, when they are yanked toward the darkness by their ankles. Elena screams and feels the rush of wind hit her back before they plummet to the darkness. The manwhole closes and suddenly they are in sewers.
"Damon, what were you thinking? What have I told you about doing things like that? You're practically egging the Rift on."
Elena's going to jump up to the ladder to try and climb her way out, but the same dark, shadowy force that shoved them inside will throw her back down.
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Elena has only started her life, and she... deserves to have a good one, a long and healthy one. It is strange for him to think that way about someone. Over a hundred years, he hasn't acted and felt so human-like until he met her.
Damon is too busy having his conversation with the sewers beneath them to respond to her. He knows Stefan could be hurt or taken. He also knows the likelihood of that is small in comparison to the likelihood that he disappeared or is dead. If someone managed to capture Stefan, they certainly wouldn't have to work hard to kill or take her too. He isn't willing to take that chance.
"... in my defense, it wasn't a magical carpet this time. It was a normal part of the scenery," he says, folding his arms across his chest as he watches her try to climb back down.
He reaches a hand out to keep her from falling back when the force pushes her down again. Looks like they're stuck in a sewer with .
"I really have to stop wearing my favorite clothes when I go out with you, Elena. They always end up ruined," Damon says with a look of disgust at his shoes which are starting to pack on the grime. "Also, in my defense, this could be a new lead for our little rescue party. You're welcome."
Note: He does not actually believe that they will get a lead to Stefan's whereabouts in the sewers. He is just... being an ass.
His senses are on high alert, however. With what crawls and slithers around out in the open in the streets of Chicago, he... really has little confidence about what must lie beneath it.
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Elena shoves him away the moment he reaches out and she's got both of her feet on the ground. She could care less about his clothes and that's markedly evident, too. All she'd wanted to do was keep looking for Stefan and now, it seems, an unseeing force won't let them out of here.
She's used to Damon's special brand of wit but that doesn't mean that she likes it or condones it. Especially when he's saying she should be grateful they ended up stuck in the sewers. The same way he implied she should be grateful they ended up in Mexico after a long and torturous magical carpet ride. She honestly looks like she might slap him right now.
Not that she'll have much of a chance to.
Noises filter throughout the sewers. They creak and groan and alert to the fact they are not alone.
Elena turns her head a fraction, and she jumps back, eyes widening at what she sees. She expected maybe rats. She expected, perhaps something not entirely human creeping around here. She did not expect...
Ewoks?
A cluster of them march over to Elena and Damon, each of them carrying their sticks. She closes her eyes and opens them again, wondering if she's seeing correctly. They did not just fall through another Rift and into a movie, did they?
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And the point is that they have absolutely no idea where to look for Stefan at. They could have all the resources available to them in the city, and they wouldn't know where to begin. There are hundreds of buildings, hundreds of spots he could be in Chicago alone if he's even still here at all.
Damon can almost sense her desire to slap him. It would not be the first time, and he moves to prepare for it when the noises distract him. He turns toward the sound of it, and there-- Even Damon has seen Star Wars.
The Ewoks are miniature versions. The tallest only comes up to Damon's hip. They're small, furry, with pig like faces. Damon is unimpressed with them and their sticks, but he will stand in front of Elena in case one of them decides to poke her.
Damon smirks, looking like the jackass that he is at the same time that he's all unimpressed. "I'm Han Solo. This is Lea."
One of them pokes him with its stick. The unsharpened side. "SILENCE." ...and these ones can speak English though they're all muttering in Ewok to each other.
That was... not okay. Damon goes from looking unimpressed to wanting to rip their tiny, furry heads off. Trying to be a better... vampire, trying to be a better vampire. Damon steels himself and then holds up a hand, which seems to silence them for the moment. Jackass expression returns with less rage than would be expected. "The next one of you fur balls that decides to do that? Becomes a rug."
Hey, normally, he would not be doing any warning. He would just rip them to pieces and be done. See? Better.
Way to make enemies very quickly, Damon. Nicely done. They all start shouting their Ewok shouts, raising their sticks in the air like they're after blood.
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Except she'd really like it if for once he could just apologize for doing something he didn't mean to do. Obviously, he didn't want them stuck in the sewers, nor did he want to be cornered by what looks to be... ewoks but the point of the matter is they are.
If he'd just left the manhole alone and let her keep on searching for Stefan, they wouldn't be here. Which isn't to say she isn't grateful for all the times he's helped. She is and she's said so. He can just be so difficult. ... Like you're any better, Elena.
Elena has to grit her teeth to keep from screaming, though the lineface speaks for itself. She glances up at Damon when he introduces them as Han Solo and Lea BEST THING EVER ASDLFKJASDF and looks at him as if asking Seriously? Seriously.
She places an arm on his shoulder once he holds up his hand. As if to say, be the better person, not that the ewoks are ... people, but the point still stands. Elena also knows it will be disregarded, and she steps in front of him as they stalk over to both of them.
"Wait!" she says. They slow down in their tracks and she holds both hands up. "We didn't mean to intrude and we're not here to cause any trouble. We were just looking for someone and something threw us in here. We're sorry if we barged into your...home."
Sewers do look like they'd be the homes of ewoks.
She can't believe that's actually a thought she's contemplating in her head.
The ewok that seems to be the one in charge regards her, before he looks over to the ewok on his left, and once they both nod, he grabs one of the sticks and hands one over to Elena.
Well then.
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As infuriating as it is, it is also something he needs and he knows it, and he was lost without it when she couldn't forgive him and they had no friendship at all. However, Damon is not thinking about that at the moment.
He is trying to figure out the best way to get out of the sewers before whatever it is that's inside of the sewers tries to eat them, because that is what's important right now. Not how much he would like to continue arguing with her about how if she'd only decided to be sensible for once and go back to the Tower, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Damon is not looking at Elena at all. He is facing all the Ewoks instead, but he can sense the lineface without seeing her face. It was the perfect line, just because she's not into it doesn't mean it wasn't perfect. They just ran into a bunch of Ewoks. Is he supposed to take it seriously?
He almost growls when he feels her hand against his shoulder, but it's also ultimately what keeps him from ripping that small, furry thing's head from it's chubby furry body. She may think it was disregarded, but it wasn't. Just... his version of being better is not the same as hers.
The one Ewok turns to look at her, almost contemplatively (as much as an Ewok can contemplate). "The dark God will not let us leave. It used to be home. Now prison." They talk like Tarzan apparently. "Who you look for? We see many from below."
And... now Elena has a stick and has apparently joined the army of ewoks.
Fine.
He really has no idea how he elicits such responses from everyone they run into.
...that is a lie.
"If that's how it's going to be, I can take all of you on." Kanye shrug! He would obviously not 'take Elena on', but the rest of the furry little bastards can die, sooner rather than later.
One of them poked him. No one pokes him and gets away with it.
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None of which seem remotely feasible at the moment.
Except maybe the former, if Damon stops pissing the ewoks off long enough.
And that doesn't seem too realistic, either.
She expects more from him because she genuinely does think he's capable of it. If she didn't, she wouldn't keep putting her faith on someone that's made terrible decisions and hurt not only her, but the people she loves most. For reasons that escape her, it's not in Elena to believe that there isn't something in him that's worth believing in. And it may infuriate him and he may resent it as much as he needs it at times, but it goes both ways.
As grateful as Elena is that he's come to her rescue, there's also the dichotomy that comes with it. If it turns out someone she loves is in danger too, she does not want to be saved. And she has no idea just how true that is further into the future back in Mystic Falls. She's not there to live it, and she's here instead.
She eyes the ewok cautiously. They're prisoners here. They 'see' many from where they are imprisoned. She doesn't know if she can actually take this seriously, but what does she have to lose? They might have some magic Rift mojo that might let her know if Stefan is still in the city. "His name is Stefan Salvatore," she says, and she cups the side of her neck like she is feeling very uncomfortable and awkward right now. Which she is. She doesn't even risk glancing at Damon to see how he's doing.
If that's how it's going to be, I can take all of you on.
Elena lets her hand drop to her side. She's still holding on to the stick, mind you, but she had no plans to use it against him. If anything, she'd keep it just in case they'd need something to swat the army of ewoks away.
"Excuse me?" she asks in disbelief.
Some of the ewoks tilt their heads, as if not knowing whether they should get popcorn or attack Damon like he's a mountain they all have to climb to get to the top.
"Spat between Han and Leia!" one of them chants. "Spat between Han and Leia!"
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Maybe. He's being paranoid, but he has a feeling about this.
It must be why he was brought here too to ensure her safety. Otherwise, he really couldn't handle being torn away from his own Elena in his own universe. If she hadn't been here, he would have been fighting tooth and nail to get back like she has been. Acceptance that he couldn't get back would mean...
It would mean turning off the emotions becoming worse than he was when he ended up in Mystic Falls, hoping to break Katherine free from the tomb. Ha. It would be like his purpose for existence had once again been ripped from him. Basically. Without anyone around to believe in him like she did.
Damon shoots Elena a sideways glance filled with wtf? when she actually gives the fur balls his name. He half wonders if she believes they know something. Damon thinks they're all filled with furry b/s, and he doesn't really want to take any of them for their word. ...if they're prisoners here, does that mean that Damon and Elena are stuck now too? It would be just their luck. The two forces combined seem... terrible.
Well. It... couldn't hurt except the Ewoks chat among themselves for some time. The chatting is what distracts them until Elena says Excuse me then their little beady eyed attention is back on the two outsiders.
"...well, I obviously wasn't going to take you on."
...and he shoots the whole army of Ewoks a glare at their chanting. They seem oblivious. It is disconcerting when his glares are ineffective. Maybe he's losing his touch. Maybe he should start killing some of them, and then they'll--
"Spat! Spat! Spat!" They keep chanting. Damon keeps glaring and moving toward them like he's going to kick one of them.
"I know they recruited you to their army, but I don't think this is a good time to argue."
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