Ω 001 ; open } { i got the surprise, surprise of my life -- i had to stop and stare
The first thing he notices is that the sun’s up.
It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if they had actually been driving all night, but Stefan knows for a fact that they haven’t. In fact, the clock on the car radio proves that. The digital read out says just after one AM, but from the looks of things, it was suddenly closer to one PM. That, and they seem to have just magically appeared in Chicago. Needless to say, Stefan is very confused.
“What … just happened?”
For Katherine, all her attention is on Stefan. It’s on Stefan until she realizes the interior of her car has impeccably good lighting for the middle of the night. It’s a hop and a skip to realizing it’s not her car, but the sun above them. Katherine’s good, but keeping Stefan’s eyes on her for four hours? She’s not that good.
She looks front before leaning back.
“The sun came up, Stefan.” She says it, stating the obvious. But, a glance down at the clock proves that she’s really not that good. “Somehow...”
He straightens from where he’s sitting, the frown still written all over his face as he glances around. “This is Chicago,” he states, also indicating the obvious. He’s spent enough time in it to know it when he sees it. “When … did we get to Chicago?”
Katherine, too, glances around. She can’t say she’s expecting a return to this city any time soon. It wasn’t even on her itinerary. Not that she had an itinerary set in stone. It’s just better to flee to cities she hasn’t been spotted in. Chicago? She’s been in before. Several times. Then again, it’s not possible for them to be in Chicago.
“Stefan, we’re miles from Chicago. It’s not --” But, she gives another look around. She smiles to herself. Funny coming out of her mouth. She should know, anything is possible. An original vampire can follow her to the ends of the Earth. Her first thought is that witch Bonnie having something to do with it, but like she’s that powerful. “Apparently, we got to Chicago a few seconds ago.”
Someone honks behind them.
Katherine starts the ignition, trying to decide her next move. Instead, she decides to voice her thought.
“Bonnie?”
It certainly can’t be Klaus. She hasn’t yet convinced Stefan to get revenge on the hybrid. He has no reason to round up a witch to send them to -- Chicago. She’s officially confused.
He shakes his head as he watches the buildings pass. “She doesn’t have this kind of power. Not yet, anyway. The witches cut her off.” Unfortunately for her, but that’s what happens when you try to mess with the laws of nature -- or at least that’s what he’s heard. “And why would she send us to Chicago? If anything, she’d want to bring us back to Mystic Falls.”
“Right. For bringing Gilbert back,” she says, recalling her trip to the cemetery with Jeremy, Anna, and Damon. That was how she had found out about Mikael. She slows the car down, coming to a stop at a traffic light. “How should I know? I’m only included in your plans when you deem me useful.” Bonnie had never seemed to be the smartest witch. “Witches make mistakes don’t they?” she asks, resting an elbow against the door. No, they really don’t. “I’m less interested in how we were brought to Chicago then in how we were brought to Chicago with the sun all ready up.”
It’s not like she’s seen either kind of magic. Transportation or time manipulation. But, one is a little scarier than the other. And a little more helpful if she could get her hands on a time-manipulating witch. Another card to slide into her deck.
“Where to?” Because, she’s at a loss. Her first instinct is to set a course for Stefan’s old apartment but, then she’d be revealing that she knows about it. So, she lets Stefan take the wheel - so-to-speak.
There are too many locations to mention. Stefan spent a fair amount of the twenties in Chicago, and there were so many options. “Gloria’s,” he suggests first. “I know she’s not there, but at least it will give us a point of orientation.” Going back to his old apartment would not be good for his pysche right now. Sorry, Katherine.
“Gloria’s it is,” Katherine says, looking in the rear view and changing lanes. She won’’t say no to a drink when they get there. She wonders who took over after Gloria’s... untimely demise. She hopes he hasn’t forgotten what they were just talking about. But, is now the time to remind him? “I’d say, Klaus. but -- what would he gain in sending my car off to Chicago?” One thing she knows for sure. Stefan will never be ‘free’ no matter what Klaus says.
“Especially considering he probably doesn’t know that I’m with you,” he sighs, watching the buildings as they go. The frown on his face slowly deepens as he realizes that these buildings don’t look exactly the same as he remembers them. He straightens more in the seat, before following one building back as they pass it. “That doesn’t belong there.”
She sighs, sitting up a little more, no longer resting her head against her hand. “What do you mean?” Katherine asks, paying attention to the street sign up ahead. “Did they rename -” But, she passes it because that street is insignificant. Gloria’s is three streets down. “Stefan...”
“Pull over.” Making it all the way to Gloria’s seems pointless at this point, considering none of the landmarks are the same. Something is up in a major way, and he can’t just stay where he is and do nothing about it. His hand fishes into his pocket for his phone, and then thinks better of it, and turns to her instead. “See if you can call Damon again.”
Katherine does as she’s asked, if only because Stefan is more familiar with his surroundings here. She pulls up to the curb, putting the car in park. She doesn’t say anything about Stefan not being the one to reach out to his brother. Eventually, it’ll come out that Stefan saved his brother but that’s not either of their problem currently. Katherine fishes her phone out of her bag. Holding it in her hand, she presses a button. Another one.
“I don’t have a signal,” she says, holding her phone out to him.
He takes the phone from her and does the same, trying to get some kind of signal, but there was nothing. Her phone wouldn’t connect. This was not a good thing, but Stefan wasn’t going to let the panic overwhelm him. Not yet. He takes a deep breath, before handing it back to her. “Something’s wrong.”
“You think?” he asks, taking the phone back, pressing send just in case they aren’t really being punked. “Let me guess, this isn’t the Chicago you or I remember...” she says, hands on the steering wheel as she looks around them. She pulls the parking break. “I would say, this is more than... wrong. It’s off.”
Stefan starts to get out of the car when she pulls the parking break, trying to get a better view. Certain things are the same. That’s Grant Park, not too far from them, and he recognizes some of the buildings, but things are … different. Too different for Stefan to just ignore it. “Very off.”
Katherine turns the ignition off, waits for a car to pass and then climbs out, closing the door behind her. She looks behind them. Something is different. Buildings have slightly changed.
“Great,” she says, leaning against the car.
There are so many different ways to play this but Stefan doesn’t even know where to start. Every instinct he has says turn around and head home, but considering they don’t know how they got to Chicago in the first place, he’s not sure that’s the best move to make. Instead he glances down at his watch, and then at the area around them. There are people there. They probably have some kind of information.
“We should split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.” He straightens and makes his way around the car. “We meet back here in an hour?” It seems like a reasonable amount of time.
Katherine, too, is at a loss. But, as far as she’s concerned staying as far away from Mystic Falls and Klaus as she can is her best course of action. So, like Stefan, she has pretty much the same idea. But, she has reservations. Is he going to be all right on his own? With all of these feelings coursing through him? She decides that she doesn’t care. She was going to send him off alone, anyway. So, splitting up. She’s down.
“An hour,” she says, moving around the car. “Back here.”
He nods. “I’ll head through the park, if you’re in the mood for something a little more urban?”
“I’ll head uptown.” Urban or not, she shrugs. Maybe she’ll find a drink. She opens the car door, leans in and grabs her bag before closing it again.
Stefan nods, before pushing away from the car and heading towards the park. “Good luck.”
“You too,” she says, quieter, before heading in the opposite direction.
[You can either grab Stefan or Katherine separately, or meet them both when they're coming back to the car. Just specify who, and we'll tag accordingly.]
It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if they had actually been driving all night, but Stefan knows for a fact that they haven’t. In fact, the clock on the car radio proves that. The digital read out says just after one AM, but from the looks of things, it was suddenly closer to one PM. That, and they seem to have just magically appeared in Chicago. Needless to say, Stefan is very confused.
“What … just happened?”
For Katherine, all her attention is on Stefan. It’s on Stefan until she realizes the interior of her car has impeccably good lighting for the middle of the night. It’s a hop and a skip to realizing it’s not her car, but the sun above them. Katherine’s good, but keeping Stefan’s eyes on her for four hours? She’s not that good.
She looks front before leaning back.
“The sun came up, Stefan.” She says it, stating the obvious. But, a glance down at the clock proves that she’s really not that good. “Somehow...”
He straightens from where he’s sitting, the frown still written all over his face as he glances around. “This is Chicago,” he states, also indicating the obvious. He’s spent enough time in it to know it when he sees it. “When … did we get to Chicago?”
Katherine, too, glances around. She can’t say she’s expecting a return to this city any time soon. It wasn’t even on her itinerary. Not that she had an itinerary set in stone. It’s just better to flee to cities she hasn’t been spotted in. Chicago? She’s been in before. Several times. Then again, it’s not possible for them to be in Chicago.
“Stefan, we’re miles from Chicago. It’s not --” But, she gives another look around. She smiles to herself. Funny coming out of her mouth. She should know, anything is possible. An original vampire can follow her to the ends of the Earth. Her first thought is that witch Bonnie having something to do with it, but like she’s that powerful. “Apparently, we got to Chicago a few seconds ago.”
Someone honks behind them.
Katherine starts the ignition, trying to decide her next move. Instead, she decides to voice her thought.
“Bonnie?”
It certainly can’t be Klaus. She hasn’t yet convinced Stefan to get revenge on the hybrid. He has no reason to round up a witch to send them to -- Chicago. She’s officially confused.
He shakes his head as he watches the buildings pass. “She doesn’t have this kind of power. Not yet, anyway. The witches cut her off.” Unfortunately for her, but that’s what happens when you try to mess with the laws of nature -- or at least that’s what he’s heard. “And why would she send us to Chicago? If anything, she’d want to bring us back to Mystic Falls.”
“Right. For bringing Gilbert back,” she says, recalling her trip to the cemetery with Jeremy, Anna, and Damon. That was how she had found out about Mikael. She slows the car down, coming to a stop at a traffic light. “How should I know? I’m only included in your plans when you deem me useful.” Bonnie had never seemed to be the smartest witch. “Witches make mistakes don’t they?” she asks, resting an elbow against the door. No, they really don’t. “I’m less interested in how we were brought to Chicago then in how we were brought to Chicago with the sun all ready up.”
It’s not like she’s seen either kind of magic. Transportation or time manipulation. But, one is a little scarier than the other. And a little more helpful if she could get her hands on a time-manipulating witch. Another card to slide into her deck.
“Where to?” Because, she’s at a loss. Her first instinct is to set a course for Stefan’s old apartment but, then she’d be revealing that she knows about it. So, she lets Stefan take the wheel - so-to-speak.
There are too many locations to mention. Stefan spent a fair amount of the twenties in Chicago, and there were so many options. “Gloria’s,” he suggests first. “I know she’s not there, but at least it will give us a point of orientation.” Going back to his old apartment would not be good for his pysche right now. Sorry, Katherine.
“Gloria’s it is,” Katherine says, looking in the rear view and changing lanes. She won’’t say no to a drink when they get there. She wonders who took over after Gloria’s... untimely demise. She hopes he hasn’t forgotten what they were just talking about. But, is now the time to remind him? “I’d say, Klaus. but -- what would he gain in sending my car off to Chicago?” One thing she knows for sure. Stefan will never be ‘free’ no matter what Klaus says.
“Especially considering he probably doesn’t know that I’m with you,” he sighs, watching the buildings as they go. The frown on his face slowly deepens as he realizes that these buildings don’t look exactly the same as he remembers them. He straightens more in the seat, before following one building back as they pass it. “That doesn’t belong there.”
She sighs, sitting up a little more, no longer resting her head against her hand. “What do you mean?” Katherine asks, paying attention to the street sign up ahead. “Did they rename -” But, she passes it because that street is insignificant. Gloria’s is three streets down. “Stefan...”
“Pull over.” Making it all the way to Gloria’s seems pointless at this point, considering none of the landmarks are the same. Something is up in a major way, and he can’t just stay where he is and do nothing about it. His hand fishes into his pocket for his phone, and then thinks better of it, and turns to her instead. “See if you can call Damon again.”
Katherine does as she’s asked, if only because Stefan is more familiar with his surroundings here. She pulls up to the curb, putting the car in park. She doesn’t say anything about Stefan not being the one to reach out to his brother. Eventually, it’ll come out that Stefan saved his brother but that’s not either of their problem currently. Katherine fishes her phone out of her bag. Holding it in her hand, she presses a button. Another one.
“I don’t have a signal,” she says, holding her phone out to him.
He takes the phone from her and does the same, trying to get some kind of signal, but there was nothing. Her phone wouldn’t connect. This was not a good thing, but Stefan wasn’t going to let the panic overwhelm him. Not yet. He takes a deep breath, before handing it back to her. “Something’s wrong.”
“You think?” he asks, taking the phone back, pressing send just in case they aren’t really being punked. “Let me guess, this isn’t the Chicago you or I remember...” she says, hands on the steering wheel as she looks around them. She pulls the parking break. “I would say, this is more than... wrong. It’s off.”
Stefan starts to get out of the car when she pulls the parking break, trying to get a better view. Certain things are the same. That’s Grant Park, not too far from them, and he recognizes some of the buildings, but things are … different. Too different for Stefan to just ignore it. “Very off.”
Katherine turns the ignition off, waits for a car to pass and then climbs out, closing the door behind her. She looks behind them. Something is different. Buildings have slightly changed.
“Great,” she says, leaning against the car.
There are so many different ways to play this but Stefan doesn’t even know where to start. Every instinct he has says turn around and head home, but considering they don’t know how they got to Chicago in the first place, he’s not sure that’s the best move to make. Instead he glances down at his watch, and then at the area around them. There are people there. They probably have some kind of information.
“We should split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.” He straightens and makes his way around the car. “We meet back here in an hour?” It seems like a reasonable amount of time.
Katherine, too, is at a loss. But, as far as she’s concerned staying as far away from Mystic Falls and Klaus as she can is her best course of action. So, like Stefan, she has pretty much the same idea. But, she has reservations. Is he going to be all right on his own? With all of these feelings coursing through him? She decides that she doesn’t care. She was going to send him off alone, anyway. So, splitting up. She’s down.
“An hour,” she says, moving around the car. “Back here.”
He nods. “I’ll head through the park, if you’re in the mood for something a little more urban?”
“I’ll head uptown.” Urban or not, she shrugs. Maybe she’ll find a drink. She opens the car door, leans in and grabs her bag before closing it again.
Stefan nods, before pushing away from the car and heading towards the park. “Good luck.”
“You too,” she says, quieter, before heading in the opposite direction.
[You can either grab Stefan or Katherine separately, or meet them both when they're coming back to the car. Just specify who, and we'll tag accordingly.]