Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries / The Originals, or any of the characters, plot-lines, dialogues from the shows or books

However, I do own Catherine Matthews/ my very own Katherine Peirce, her backstory, the storyline, and any additional characters that do not belong to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. Characters in this story may not have the same opinion as you. These characters are all fictional.

As I didn't go to meet Damon the previous night and didn't rile him up like the original Katherine, and so in return, he didn't go to Gilbert's and tried to kill Jeremy.

That's called the "Butterfly effect." A tiny change in initial conditions will create a significantly different outcome. You see, everything is interlinked. And there are going to be a lot more events like this, in the future.

After I left the hospital, training Caroline about compulsion, I went to Salvatore Boarding House. I was outside their home, listening to and watching them through a window, from a reasonable distance. Damon was having a drink, and Stefan arrived after some time.

"Care for one?" Damon asked his ripper brother.

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry, just ate," replied the Ripper.

"Are you worried that one day, all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back? I mean, surely they talk," Damon mused.

"I'm just happy that's a blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner," Stefan said.

"I like this. You, walking on eggshells around me because you think I'm gonna explode. Very suspenseful. Is Elena worried too? I bet I'm your every conversation," said Damon, smugly.

"Have you heard from Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"I think the Lockwood's have a family secret because the Gilbert device affected them, but vervain didn't so they're not vampires, they're something else," said Damon, dodging the question.

"Is this your new obsession?" Stefan asked, understanding his brother will not talk about anything related to me.

"You'd rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant upon our town. Fine, I'll drop it." Damon said.

"We haven't seen the last of Katherine, you do know that, right? We have no idea what she's up to," Stefan reminded his bourbon obsessed brother.

"Sure, we do. Katherine came back to profess her undying, eternal love for you, so I'm gonna let you deal with her because I have more important things to do like explode. Cheers!" he said, walking away, but Stefan stopped him by saying, "She said she loves you, Damon. No need to be jealous that she talked to me. She said she was avoiding you more like she is avoiding your questions."

"As I said, I don't care, Stefan," he said and left, not before hearing "Vampire in denial" by Stefan.

Later, Mason called to meet up, and we set the meeting for the next day. As I have a new-born Vampire on the loose in the carnival tonight.

I went to the school that night and saw Stefan wrestling with Mason upon Damon's request. Mason beats him at the game, raising more of Damon's suspicions.

"What is up with that family? They're not vampires, what the hell are they?" asked Damon, frustrated.

"Ooh, ah, maybe they're, um, ninja turtles!" Stefan said sarcastically.

"You're not funny," said Damon, deadpanned.

"Or no, zombies, werewolves," Stefan said once again, trying to joke.

You don't know how true you are, Stefan.

"No comedic timing at all," Damon said unamused by his brother's humor. He then saw a guy repairing something and walked towards him.

"What? What are you up to?" asked Stefan, questioning Damon's intentions.

"This is the reality, and there's no such thing as werewolves or...combat turtles," Damon said.

"I said ninja turtles, actually," Stefan said, who was ignored by his brother.

"Hey, you!" Damon called out to the unknown guy.

"I have a name," the guy said, pissed.

"Yeah, I don't care," Damon said, holding his shoulders and starts to compel him, "I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood."

"Damon, don't do this," warned Saint Stefan.

"It's just an experiment." he said to his brother and turned towards the human, "Get him mad, don't back down no matter what he does, okay?" said Damon.

"I won't back down," The soon to be dead human said in a stunned tone.

Or maybe not. I mean, Caroline won't eat him, now that she is in control.

"I know you won't," Damon said, impressed by his skills and the guy leaves.

"You do realize someone is going to get hurt, right?" the kind Salvatore tried to remind his brother.

"No, someone is going to get mad, as in rage," Damon explained.

"What's that going to accomplish?" the Ripper asked, confused.

"That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight. Let's see who intervenes; maybe it's the ambiguous, supernatural mystery uncle." The love-struck idiot said and walked away to see how the fight goes.

"Katherine?" someone said from behind me, making me jump.

"Caroline, got out?" I asked, composed, "And how did you know I am Katherine?"

"Because I saw Elena with Bonnie, just before I came here," announced the Forbes girl.

"And here I thought I gave it away. I mean, I wore the worst dress with a terrible taste to look like Elena," I said, cringing at myself and asked, "What are you doing here? Ate your boyfriend yet?"

"No, I am full, and I don't feel like ripping anyone's throat out," said the blonde Vampire. "So, what should I do?"

"For the hundredth time, you should let your friends know you are a repulsive bloodsucking control freak monster," I said to her frustrated.

"I am so feeling the love. Thank you, Kat," she told unamused, "and if I get into trouble, I should throw you under the bus, I understand," she said, taking a deep breath. She then went in to confront Damon.

"Hey Blondie, they let you out?" Damon asked, looking at Caroline.

"I remember," Caroline growled.

"What do you remember?" he asked, confused.

"I remember how you manipulated me, you pushed me around, abused me, erased my memories, fed on me," She revealed.

"You're crazy," He declared.

"Memories have been coming back, in pieces," She spoke.

"You can't remember. It's impossible, I mean, unless you're becoming a..." He didn't get to complete the sentence, as Caroline pushed him with her newfound strength. Damon was thrown backward and slid on the floor.

"You suck," She declared and turned to leave, but then she came back again and punched him in the face one more time before walking away, this time without turning back.

I think the last punch was for me. Such a good girl.

"How did I do?" Caroline asked, standing next to me.

"I knew you would make a good vampire," I said to her patting her back in appreciation.

"I kicked his ass, and it felt so good to be strong for once," she said, giggling. "And as a thank you, I didn't want to out you. Which is why I didn't say anything about you."

"Come on now cupcake, let's see what happens next," I said to her.

Damon recovered after a few minutes from the shock, and he went to search for someone. My bet is on Elena, the cow.

I WAS RIGHT... NOT.

"Stefan," Damon called out for his brother when he saw him talking to the guy from earlier. The one who was he sent to pick a fight with Tyler. He did come out alive with a bruise.

"What do you want, Damon?" asked the bunny snacking pacifist.

"We have a problem," Damon stated in a severe tone, "and I need you to come with me right now."

Elena, Stefan, and Damon are in a classroom talking about Caroline.

WHY DID STEFAN INVITE THE COW AGAIN?

"How did this happen?" asked the broody one.

"Well, I fed her blood, and she died," described Damon like it's the most obvious answer.

"But how? She was perfectly alright from what I heard from Bonnie," Elena said, "I bet it's Katherine. She should've killed her out of jealousy towards me."

"Why does she think everything's about her?" whispered Caroline.

"Because she is Elena," I whispered back in a 'duh!' tone.

"Why do you think its Katherine," Stefan asked, confused.

"Because Katherine is a manipulative, nasty, little slut, " The cow said in an evident tone.

"You don't even know Katherine," Damon snapped at her.

"I know enough from what I have heard and saw. Katherine played you two and left you for dead and made you believe she died and caused a rift between you both, and now that you both have feelings for me and love me, she got jealous when she saw me having something she couldn't. So, she killed Caroline to send a message," said Elena. I mean, that explanation is valid for the canon Katherine, but I am not the Original. I am updated and the new version of her.

"When did I say 'I love you'?" Damon asked, profoundly confused.

True, he didn't confess his undying love until she got kidnapped. And he was still holding onto Katherine until she admitted to his face that she fooled him.

"You don't have to say anything. Everyone knows it. You did give up the Gilbert watch because of me, and you did give Caroline your blood upon my approval," said Elena.

"Guys, now is not the time for this. Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she doesn't even know what's happening to her." Stefan said, trying to change the awkward subject of the century.

"Oh, I think she does. All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minute she was in transition," Damon replied.

"We have to find her," said Stefan.

"Yep, and kill her," remarked Damon.

"Is he really going to kill me?" asked a frightened Caroline.

"Don't worry. Stefan's gonna be there. He will help you out," I assured her.

"You're not gonna kill Caroline," said Stefan, just then proving my point.

"She knows who we are. She's officially a liability, and we've got to get rid of her," said Damon.

"Damon is a dick," declared Caroline in a hushed tone.

"He is. But he was a true gentleman when he was human," I said in a low voice faking hurt and sorry for him.

"Don't blame yourself, Kat. Not everything is your fault," said the dumb blonde, feeling pity for me.

"Damon, absolutely not," Stefan said to his brother.

"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys come on, we all know how this story's gonna end, just flip to the last chapter and..." Damon trailed off.

"It's not an option, Damon," Elena said.

"Oh! She can talk," Caroline said, sarcastically, hurt that sweet innocent Elena took so much time to speak those words.

"No? Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Wait, wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? I never had a town where history repeats itself. You know I'm right," Damon said, trying to remind them of all the worst-case scenarios.

"We're not gonna kill her," Stefan told for one last time and left, followed by Elena.

"It's the only way," shouted Damon from behind.

"They killed Vicki?" Caroline said out loud.

"Do you know her?" I asked, even though I know the answer.

"Yeah, she is Matt's sister. We thought she died from overuse of drugs. I was the one who found the body," Caroline replied.

"Stop thinking about the dead, you will die now if Damon sees you first," I told her hastily when I saw all of them depart.

"What should I do now?" she asked me, confused.

"You find Saint Stefan first, and he will help you," I said to her, asking her to follow me.

"Now sit here and start crying," I said to her showing a place on ground "When Stefan or your dear friend Elena finds you, say that you are crying because you are hungry and wanted to kill your boyfriend, so you had to fight and get away from him," she nodded her head. I went and hid again.

God! eavesdropping sucks.

"Stefan! She is here," Elena shouted, and they both came to a crying Caroline.

"Get away from me," Caroline shouted at Elena, trying to get away from her. "Don't come near me."

"No, no, no, Caroline. That wasn't me. You know that. It was Katherine," Elena said to her

"Who Katherine? What are you talking about? Just stay away from me," said Caroline, confused and frustrated.

She is getting good at acting. My protege.

"It's okay, Caroline, come with me. I know what's happening to you. I will help you," Stefan said calmly to her.

"You do?" she asked, scared.

"Yes. Now come," Stefan said, holding out a hand to her.

"She will die; it's only a matter of time," Damon said, coming from behind with a stake.

"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight," Stefan specified, knowing what his bother is planning.

"Oh yeah, it is," Damon said.

He picked up the stake and rushed over them, but Elena put herself in front of Caroline.

God! Typical heroine move.

"Damon, she is my friend," said Elena.

Damon hesitated for a second and threw the stake.

"Whatever happens, it's on you," declared Damon.

"What's happening here?" asked Bonnie coming towards them.

"Caroline?" she asked, confused, "When did you get out of the hospital?"

"It's okay, come on," Stefan said, trying to get away from the situation.

Bonnie touches Caroline's arm in a friendly manner to check her why she was crying and figured out she is a Vampire. Shocking!

"Oh god!" she said, freaking out.

Dramatic.

"Bonnie...," Caroline started to say, but she leaves without listening to the blonde pleas.

Stefan took Caroline to an empty classroom and made her sit down.

"She hates me! Bonnie hates me," Caroline says, depressed.

"No, no, she's just in shock, we all are," Stefan said, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

"And what about Matt? I just fought with him to get away from him. I just wanted to rip his throat out," Caroline said with tears in her eyes.

"Shh. One thing at a time. Now first tell me what happened?" Stefan asked the blonde girl in front of him.

"I don't know, I got up today feeling hungry, and I got this craving for blood and nearly killed my nurse. I asked her to forget about it, and she did. I then drank a blood bag in the hospital. And now when I got near Matt, All I wanted to do was drink his blood," She said, trying to convince him.

"Do you know how you died?" he asked her softly.

"Died? I didn't die, don't say it," She shouted at him, repeating the same words, over and over again.

"Caroline, you are now a Vampire. You somehow died with Damon blood in your system, and when you drank blood in the morning, you completed transition," he explained to her like she was a small child and that eating candies are terrible for her teeth.

"I am a monster, now," she said, now full-on crying.

"Look at me, your emotions are heightened right now. It's part of the transformation and completely normal. I promise you. Okay?"

Caroline sees her face changing in the mirror and starts to panic. Shit! I forgot to explain to her that. The girl must be starving.

"Why is this happening to my face?!" She asks him panicked.

"Look at me, look at me, look at me! Caroline, Caroline! Look at me! Look at my face, look at my face!" he says, showing his vampire-face. "You see that? When you feel the blood rushing, you tell yourself that you're going to get through it, that you're strong enough. Yes, yes, no matter how good it feels to give yourself over to it, you fight it off, you bury it. Watch me, watch me," He shows, turning his face normal, "It's the only way you're gonna survive this thing. Try."

Caroline takes deep breaths and changes her face to normal.

I underestimated her acting skills. She is going to be a good journalist in the future. I still don't understand why she chooses that field. She even asked Logan Fell for advice.

"That's good," said Stefan giving an encouraging smile.

"Why did this happen to me?" asked Caroline.

"I don't know, I wish I did. Hey, hey, I promise you, I will not let anything happen to you. Come here. Come here." He said and hugged her.

Steroline moment to fans. I like Klaroline more, though. Sure they had a slow burn and all that stuff. But Klaus and Caroline's relationship was different. It's a passionate, love, and hate relationship. That's the kind of genre I am into.

Stefan took her home afterward. The sheriff invited them both inside without much thinking. That night I went to Salvatore Boarding House instead of Jeremy.

Damon and Stefan were near the fireplace drinking.

"Did she say who killed her?" Damon asked Stefan

"Nope," said the younger brother.

"Do you think its Katherine?" he questioned after a moment of hesitation.

"What about me?" I asked, entering the house and pouring myself a drink.

"Finally decided to show your face," asked Damon, quickly covering his shock by my sudden appearance.

"I wanted to say goodbye," I said to them.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, surprised, and did I sense disappointment?

"I know where I'm not wanted," I said to him, pouting.

"Don't pout. It's not attractive on a woman your age," Damon said, acting uninterested and sarcastic.

"Ouch," I said, faking hurt.

"Are you the one that killed Caroline?" Stefan asked, getting straight to the point.

"Caroline, the best friend?" I asked ignorantly, "Why would you think that. I am an evil, manipulative bitch, remember? I would make it a show if I killed someone."

"Someone turned her into a Vampire," said Stefan. I clearly don't understand why they are talking to me. Don't they want me to leave? Maybe they just want some answers by playing good cop and bad cop.

"Oh! Is that what he was talking about?" I said like I remembered something.

"Who?" asked Damon.

"One of the tomb Vampires, who escaped," I explained.

"What did he say?" asked Stefan tiered of my cryptic messages.

"About a tiny revenge against the founding families who tried to kill them," I said nonchalantly.

It is convincing, right?

"Where is he now?" Stefan asked.

Oh! They bought it. Looks like they sure expected me to make a scene, if I was the one that did it.

"Skipped the town, I think. I am not their keeper, Stef," I said to him. "Bye then. See you in a few centuries, if we are alive," I told them, downing my drink and slamming it.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked.

"Saying goodbye," I said as a matter of fact.

"What are you doing in Mystic Falls," he asked once again.

"Nostalgia, curiosity, et cetera," I trailed off.

"I'm better at the enigmatic one-liners, Katherine. What are you up to?" said Damon.

"Trust me, Damon, when I'm up to something, you'll know it," I said, trying to leave, but he caught my arm and tugged me back.

"I just need the truth, just once." He said, "I have a right to... for waiting for you for over a century."

"Stop. I already know your question and its answer. The truth is what I stated. I left to protect you. We being together would have resulted in your deaths. I had a very huge list of enemies before I even met you, Damon. Some, very powerful than others," I said to the blue-eyed Salvatore, and with that, I tried to leave.

"Then why are you here? Why now, after all these years? Why show your face now? If you are really protecting us, then why did you reveal yourself now?" he asked me, frustrated.

"Because whatever I was trying to protect you both from, all these years ago... you unknowingly walked right into it, wasting all these years of my sacrifice." I said, staring into his blue eyes, "So, when I knew you were in danger, I had to come back again to protect you. I knew you'd resent me, but I didn't care. I thought I can handle it. But seeing the hatred and betrayal in your eyes every time you look at me now...I don't think I can take it anymore. That's why I decided to leave town. Spare us some pain." I kissed him just near the mouth and looked one last time at the two brothers, a tear slipping my eye.

Then I left without turning back.

Pewfh! Now I messed up with their minds again, and I truly enjoyed it.