TVD: Equilibrium

ELENA(POV)

I stood there, frozen, my nails digging so hard into my palms that I half expected to see blood. The sting helped, kept me anchored, kept me from doing something stupid—like stepping in. My chest felt tight, my heart pounding so loud it was all I could hear, drowning out Damon's groans. He lay there, broken and barely moving, and every instinct in me screamed to help him. But I didn't.

I couldn't.

Hunter had made that much clear. This wasn't my fight. If I so much as opened my mouth and said the wrong thing, I'd make it worse. For once, I understood that I had nothing to offer here—not money, not power, not even insight. All I could do was stand there and watch, witness it all unfold, and hate myself for doing nothing.

Stefan's warnings about Damon flashed through my mind. How many times had he told me? Damon is manipulative. He's violent. He thrives on chaos. I used to think Stefan was just being overprotective, that he couldn't see past his own pain to recognize the good in his brother. But watching this? Watching what Damon's actions had brought down on us all? No, this wasn't just Damon being reckless. He was destruction personified, pulling everyone into the wreckage of his life whether they wanted it or not.

And now, that included me.

Is this what it means to be part of their world? To always be caught in the middle of something awful, something dangerous? I glanced at Stefan. His face was pale, his jaw tight, but his eyes never left his brother. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world, and maybe he was. Damon might've been the one suffering, but Stefan was the one shouldering it. Again.

No wonder he resented Damon, even if he wouldn't admit it. How could he not? Damon didn't just destroy himself—he dragged everyone else down with him, especially Stefan.

My gaze shifted to Hunter, and a shiver ran through me. He wasn't the same man I'd seen in town. Around normal people, he was polite, charming even—like Stefan, but with this unshakable confidence. It was easy to think of him as the kind of guy you'd want to have your back. But now? Now he was terrifying. Every move he made, every word he said—it was sharp, deliberate. Dangerous.

Was this who he really was? Or was it Damon who brought this side out of him?

It scared me to think about it—that Damon's presence alone could warp someone like Hunter, someone with real power. Hunter wasn't just punishing Damon. He was dismantling him, piece by piece, and he was doing it with an unsettling calmness, as if it was all part of some lesson Damon desperately needed to learn.

Hunter's voice broke the silence, calm but commanding. "Here's how this is going to go," he said, stepping closer to Stefan. "I'm willing to stop this, for now. But in return, you'll give me a chunk of that Salvatore fortune. Let's say… ten percent to start. And I'm not talking promises or IOUs, Stefan. I want it in tangible assets I can use immediately."

Stefan tensed but didn't argue. He just stood there, his shoulders tight, waiting for the next blow.

"And," Hunter continued, his voice dropping into something darker, "I want your journals. All of them."

I saw Stefan flinch, and my stomach twisted. I knew what those journals meant to him. They weren't just records of the supernatural world—they were pieces of him. His memories. His guilt. His confessions. He'd shared some of them with me, little glimpses here and there, but the idea of handing them over to Hunter? I couldn't imagine how much that would cost him.

Hunter must've noticed Stefan's hesitation because he smirked and stepped closer, his voice dipping into something almost mocking. "Don't worry, Stefan. I'm not completely heartless. As a gesture of goodwill, I'll let you decide which ones I take. Keep the personal ones if you want. I don't care about your family drama—I can get that from reruns of Gossip Girl. But don't get clever. If I think you're holding back, Damon won't be so lucky next time."

Stefan's voice was quiet, steady, but there was no hiding the desperation behind it. "Fine," he said. "You can have them. Just stop hurting him."

I wanted to say something, to comfort him or maybe even argue, but the lump in my throat wouldn't budge. Stefan didn't even hesitate, not really. He would've given Hunter anything to save Damon, even though Damon was the one who put us in this position. I hated it. I hated that Damon could do this to him over and over again, and Stefan would just… let him.

Hunter stepped back, satisfied, but his tone was sharp and unyielding. "Let me make something clear," he said, his eyes flicking between Stefan and Damon. "If either of you pulls something like this again—if you cross me, trick me, or even think about defying me—I'll kill you both. No second chances."

The words landed like a hammer, final and absolute. Stefan didn't flinch, but I could see it in his eyes—he understood.

As Hunter turned and started walking away, I let out a shaky breath, relief flooding through me. But it didn't last

Hunter(POV)

"Wait…"

I stopped, though I didn't turn around right away. I didn't need to; I already knew who it was. Damon. His voice was weak, shaking, barely hanging on, but there was something else there—pride, cracking under the weight of desperation.

"Please…" he rasped, the word thick and strained. I glanced over my shoulder, watching as he struggled to push himself up on one elbow. Pathetic. "I don't have to release all the vampires in the tomb. I just… I just want one."

Now that caught my attention. I turned fully, studying him as he lay there, trembling, broken, and still trying to negotiate. "One?" I repeated, tilting my head as if I didn't already know exactly where this was going.

Damon nodded weakly, his voice barely a whisper. "Just one. Please."

I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips—slow, knowing, almost cruel. "Katherine," I said simply.

His reaction was priceless. His eyes widened, his breath hitched, and for a moment, he looked at me like I was some kind of mind reader. "How do you…?"

I chuckled, low and dark, letting the sound linger just long enough to unnerve him. "Don't worry about that," I said, waving a hand dismissively. "Let's just say I've done my homework."

I stepped closer, just enough to loom over him, to make sure he understood exactly where we stood. "If your brother holds up his end of the deal, the talisman is yours. I've already learned everything I need from it. Katherine, the tomb, all of it—it means nothing to me."

Damon stared up at me, his mind clearly racing to catch up. I could see the questions burning behind his eyes, but I wasn't about to answer them. He didn't deserve that satisfaction.

I straightened, my smirk fading into something colder. "Consider this a lesson in humility, Damon," I said, my voice sharp and final. "You might survive this one… if you're lucky."

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POWER STONES!!!!!!!!

Writers Block

What direction would you like to go for this story/people you want to interact with or any goals you would like for Hunter to archive(say harem and ur banned), perhaps god hood or collecting artifacts before leaving for new worlds ect.