The Crossover Strain AU

Based /loosely/ on the show/novel The Strain and general crossover based, this verse takes place 15 years in the future, beginning in July of 2030. It follows our characters as a supernatural virus arrives in New York City, brought about by an unknown immortal known only as the Master, and starts an epidemic which shall expose supernaturals to the world and begin a war not only for humanity but for survival as a whole. v; thecrossoverstrain Please read premise and more section before auditioning.

[thecrossoverstrain]

GENERAL

    Cousin of Logan and Trip Fell and twin sister of Cristian, Meredith was believed born in Mystic Falls to two well-known vampire hunting families the Sulez and the Rodriguez. However, what would later be discovered was that she and her brother were the children of Klaus and a member of the Fell family who did not adhere to the family’s hunting ways. Dying in childbirth, the twins were taken in by the Sulez’ and cared for as their own in order to protect them from Klaus. The child of the Original Hybrid, Meredith was triggered, turning into a new kind of mortal vampire at the age of three when Klaus, with the help of Meredith’s ‘grandfather’ whom was under his control after being attacked himself, attacked her, her grandmother, and her brother seeking to kidnap the children as he believed they should be with him. However, Klaus only succeeded in taking her brother after Meredith bit his finger down to the bone. While not succeeding in taking Meredith as the Sulez family had gained the help of a witch to protect her, he did inform the Sulez' that they would need to provide her with small amounts of blood weekly or she would parish given her triggering. Blood which her parents would feed her in her food, without her knowledge.

    Her family lived in a large house, which included security guards positioned at the gates, with their housekeeper, Janet, and they enjoyed a privileged life. Being a member of the founding families Meredith is best friends with Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett, Caroline Forbes, Tyler Lockwood, and Matt Donovan. She also later becomes very good and close friends with Stefan Salvatore. Meredith also briefly dated the son of local medical examiner Brian Walters before he dumped her on Wickery Bridge on homecoming night, an event which would lead to a life long distaste of him and the bridge which had also claimed the lives of Meredith’s best friends’ parents. Meredith is one of few whom are not in any way affected or influenced by Damon Salvatore’s charm and appears to be one of the few people whom Damon actually fears and finds scary. After Damon begins to kill again, Meredith bluntly tells Stefan that Damon is dangerous, and that he never should have brought his brother back to Mystic Falls. After Klaus’ attack on her family, Meredith’s grandfather was placed in a mental institution in West Virginia which has become a great source of deep shame for the hunting family as mental issues are frowned upon in the hunting world. Meredith has also been trained since a young age to be a vampire hunter, though given most of her friends status as supernatural creatures, she has become far less critical of them and has never made a move to harm either Salvatore brother.

THE AWAKENING

    With the arrival of Alaric Saltzman to Mystic Falls, Meredith’s training took on a new life as she began to train with him and it was later revealed that after the attack on her family, he was the para-psychologist her parents had taken her to, as at the time he had been working as such before becoming a teacher. Spending time together the two become close eventually entering into a secret student/teacher relationship. Meredith would also clash with one of Klaus’ ‘followers’, Cristian, whom she had not realized the true identity of. Eventually Meredith would begin to suspect, correctly, that Alaric was the serial killer in town going as far as to shoot him. After discovering her suspicions were correct she attempted to help Alaric but was seriously injured by him and recovered fully after being given blood by Stefan which seemed to trigger a more intense bloodlust within her. It was at this time she was told the truth about her brother and Klaus’ attack on her family by her parents, learning that she was a new kind of vampire and that Klaus’ Cristian was in fact her brother and Klaus’ her father. 

Later, after Alaric’s ‘death’ when Elena is mortally injured Meredith gave her Damon’s blood, which she had secured in case something like this happened, to heal her not knowing that Elena would be killed and thus turn into a vampire. Following this Meredith and Cristian’s relationship began to take a turn when they started to interact more, the truth now exposed. With the search for the cure in full swing and the rising of Silas’ the twins began to work together as a greater threat would plague everyone. However soon her adoptive parents would die in the explosion that killed the town’s council. Following this, when Klaus left town, Cristian was allowed to stay with his sister but a new understanding had come over them as, while her opinion of Klaus leave something to be desired, he remains the only parent she has left. 

NEW BEGINNINGS

    Graduating high school, Meredith decided to turn down Harvard University to study at Whitmore College with her brother and friends, feeling a sense of duty in protecting the town from the supernatural. However, not long into her education at Whitmore, Meredith, along with Damon went missing after Professor Wes Maxfield discovered her status as a mortal vampire and his as a vampire. Seeking to learn something from her by experimenting on her, Meredith was subjected to various tests and eventually was turned into a full vampire against her will, Maxfield injecting her with Damon's blood before both were able to escape with the help of her brother. Struggling with this new found extreme bloodlust and unwilling to burden her friends with the knowledge of what she had become-- yet, Meredith solely confided in Damon to help her learn control and deal with what she had become. She then continued to help her friends against new dangers which seemed to lurk behind every corner, including the Travelers. 

    As this transpired, over time, Meredith and Damon also began to develop conusing and conflicting feelings toward each other, both fighting seeing sides of the other they didn't want to acknowledge. However, eventually, as further life and death dangers plagued them, they admitted their feelings and she, what she had become, surprising most of their friends in the process. A beautiful, honest, protective and loyal friend, Meredith is a strong young woman and has proven to be calm, collected, and capable of standing up against tough odds. An aspiring lawyer, as the new school year began shared a dorm with her friends while helping them against new enemies like Kai. Following this, Meredith made the decision to transfer to Harvard where she shared an apartment with Damon and while she focused on her studies they also found themselves dealing with the occasional supernatural threat or two. 

CHAOS & ORDER

    Discovering the existence of a younger sister, Hope, in New Orleans, Meredith, Damon, and Cristian were called to the city for a time to help protect her from those whom would seek to harm her, which caused conflicting emotions within Meredith as she worked to reconcile the person she had made Klaus out to be with the man she saw with young Hope. With a newer understanding of each other Meredith went back to school and worked toward her law degree however tensions with Damon began to mount as she began to take on internships with Law Firms which took up the majority of Meredith's time. While Damon pointed out that as a vampire she would need to move on eventually anyway, Meredith proved determined to seek out an opportunity to progress in her desired job for as long as she would be able and that she could still use her training even under a new name if and when they would need to move on. However, damage had proved to be done as after a terrible ight between them, the two broke up shortly after Meredith's graduation as she took on the next chapter toward her carreer choice. 

    Relocating to New York City, Meredith was able to secure a position at the District Attorney's Office. Placing all her focus on her job, with the occasional visits to her friends and family, Meredith was eventually offered the position of Assistant District Attorney working with one of the best Prosecutors in the country. However, after a few years apart from Damon, she had encountered him while her office investigated a case which involved a killing spree which seemed-- to humans-- to be the work of a serial killer but was really the work of a vampire. With an innocent man framed for the killings, Meredith enlisted Damon's help to track the actual killer which eventually led to the redevelopment of old feelings between them. Together again, things seemed to finally settle down in Meredith's life as with Elena also in New York, everything began to take shape in their lives. 

NOW

     However, with reports of a virus epidemic beginning to rage around the city, Meredith placed in a complicated position as her best friend has been named a fugitive. Working to maintain her position while still aiding her innocent friend, Meredith soon discovers that virus is worse than even Elena initially believed when her brother, having come to visit her and who has become infected attacks her, nearly infecting and her forcing her to kill him in self-defense. Reeling from this, she and others are forced to determine if they should expose the supernatural world as a whole in order to attempt to protect any form of the world they’ve come to know. 

STATS

Title: A.D.A. Name: Meredith Sulez Birth Name: Meredith Fell-Mikaelson Nicknames: Mere Occupation: Assistant District Attorney Age (at beginning of verse): 19/35 Species: Vampire Notable Relatives: Klaus Mikaelson, Hope Mikaelson, Cristian Sulez †, Other Mikaelsons, Fell Family †, Sulez Family †. Former Love Interests: Brian Walters † , Alaric Saltzman † . Present/Future Love Interest: Damon Salvatore.

[thecrossoverstrain]

PREFACE

Sydney Katherine Sage was born as the middle child to Jared and Deborah Sage, and has two sisters - Carly and Zoe. Since she was born into an Alchemist family, it was her destiny to follow in her father’s legacy and become one herself. Since Carly gave up her spot as the family alchemist, and Sydney was determined to protect Zoe from it, she decided to work hard and become one herself.

Growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sydney was homeschooled by her father to become a brilliant student of the sciences. Although she wanted to go to college and study history and architecture, she knew her father would never allow it. By the time she was a teenager, she had already been subject to college level education at home, and started her training to become an Alchemist. When she was seventeen, she took the tattoo and started going on assignments with her father, determined to impress him. Despite her father’s emotionally abusive nature, she wanted him to entrust her with the responsibilities of an Alchemist instead of turning to her younger sister.

When she was eighteen, she was sent on her first assignment without her father, to New Orleans. Later that same year, she was sent to Russia for her first solo assignment as a field alchemist. While there, she found herself constantly cleaning up after a certain careless dhampir that was leaving behind many vampire bodies. Upon confrontation, she found out that this dhampir was the infamous Rose Hathaway - the daughter of the mortal vampire Abe Mazur, whom Sydney owed many favors to. Deciding to help her, against her better judgement, Sydney helped Rose get where she wanted. After she and Rose split paths, Sydney found herself to be extremely confused since she’d always believed all vampires - even the mortal ones - were creatures of darkness. To find one so utterly humane baffled her, and made her think she was a bad person for trusting one.

Despite this, a few months later, she still helped Rose escape from a high rank prison, believing her innocence even though she was convicted of treason and regicide. Helping Rose on the run, she was ultimately found guilty of fraternizing with vampires and her superiors put her on house arrest. In order to redeem herself and avoid going to re-education, she agreed to go to Palm Springs on a covert mission to help protect the identity of the Queen’s half sister, Jillian Mastrano-Dragomir, from vampire rebels that didn’t want her sister on the throne.

THE FALL

While in Palm Springs, she found herself growing closer to the dhampirs and Moroi around her, forging bonds with them that she didn’t share with other humans. It was only a matter of time before she found herself growing fond of them and realizing that most of what she’d been fed her whole life had been a lie. It was also during her time in Palm Springs that one of her teachers - at the school she was pretending to be a student at - took her in as an apprentice, secretly training her in witchcraft. Before Sydney even realized she was being trained, she was already practicing magic and realized that she was, in fact, one of the rare humans capable of becoming witches.

Further confused by her conditioned hate for the supernatural, and being a part of the world herself, she started questioning everything the Alchemists had ever told her. It certainly didn’t help that she was starting to fall in love with a vampire herself, the infamous yet kind hearted royal, Adrian Ivashkov. Desperate to get answers, she learnt that the tattoo that bound her to her duties also contained compulsion of its own, forcing loyalty from anyone who bore it. With the help of a rogue Alchemist - and his rebellion members who wanted a change in the stringest Alchemist ways - Marcus Finch, she broke free from the compulsion of the tattoo.

She lived in constant fear that the Alchemists would find out she had broken her tattoo, and that she had started a relationship with a Moroi - so to avoid getting caught, she decided it would be better to try and bring them down. On one hand she worked on her magical abilities and sealing the tattoo in order to protect herself. On the other hand, she dedicated all the time she could to the spirit-magic research to help find a vaccine against Strigoi. Her only hope was to win the favor of Lissa, so that if ever they managed to bring down the Alchemists or she got caught, then by extension of Adrian she would qualify for protection from the royal court.

However, none of that happened. Before they managed to find how the natural immunity against Strigoi worked, Sydney was caught up to by the Alchemists. Succeeding in getting away from them - with the help of her friend Eddie Castile - she returned to Adrian and Marcus and decided it would be best for their own safety if they left Palm Springs. However, since it was apparent that they would forever be on the run for their lives - and since Jill was bonded to Adrian - Sydney broke up with him so he could stay behind with her. It wasn’t an easy decision on her part - and not one he took to easily - but she’d already made up her mind. With the help of Marcus, she left Adrian in the dead of the night, never hearing from him or her friends again.

THE ASCEND

Sydney and Marcus spent a few months criss crossing through Southern America, eventually regrouping with some of his rebels in Venezuela. Meanwhile, news trickled that the court had ruled in favor of all those on Lissa’s side, and Jill could return safely without any threat to her life. Even though this meant that Adrian could join her, and they could be together, Sydney still didn’t contact him knowing she’d broken his heart. But that didn’t mean she wanted to spend the rest of her life running. Marcus, understanding this, put her in touch with one of the ex-Alchemists he’d helped escape re-education a few years back: one Duncan Mortimer. Although he was no rebel, he was still in debt to Marcus, and had agreed to help furnish fake documents when required.

Sydney and Marcus parted ways, with her traveling to Georgia to find Duncan. As it turned out, he was working at a bar on the University of Georgia campus. She decided to stay with him for a little while, laying low, and growing increasingly jealous of the fact that she was staying on a college campus but not attending. During this time, she was contacted by her sister, Carly, who informed her that both their parents had died in a car accident.

Shocked by this sudden turn of events - for Sydney knew that her manhunt was headed by her father, and that her betrayal had been kept secret to avoid defamation to the Sage family - she suddenly had nobody to run from. Heartbroken from the loss of her family, and knowing she could never return, she decided to stay in Georgia and apply to Medical School. Although she still kept in touch with Jackie, and still kept up with her magic practice to avoid losing touch with it, she was mostly focused on getting her degree.

For the next few years, Sydney worked hard on her studies and continued staying with Duncan, whom she’d become best of friends with. The two of them dated on and off, but it was something neither of them chose to address, both of them being terrified of commitment. After Sydney got her degree, she signed up as a research assistant at CDC. When they transferred her to New York, she bid farewell to Duncan - on good terms - promising to keep in touch.

HAVOC

Within a year as a research assistant in the biomedical field, Sydney earned the respect of her co-workers and superiors. Encouraged to apply for a higher post, she was promoted to epidemiologist and got accepted into Project Canary. There she became friends with many of her colleagues, including Dr. Elena Gilbert.

Always working together, the two of them were also the ones who were called when there was threat of a biological attack after the plane in JFK went dark. Upon further investigation, they realized that the virus was of a supernatural variety - turning its victims into a rabid vampire-like state. Desperate to avoid a cover up, Sydney wholeheartedly supported Elena’s decision to hold a press conference, telling the world that the virus had not been contained. Unfortunately, soon after, they were both framed for murder when they had to kill one of the infected patients in self defense.

Finding history repeating itself, Sydney is once again on the run from the authorities and her superior for a crime she didn’t commit. At the same time, her and Elena - and some surprising allies on the way - are wondering whether the time has come for the world to know of existence of the supernatural in order to save themselves.

STATS

Name: Sydney Sage Birth Name: Sydney Katherine Sage Nicknames: Sage, Syd Occupation: Epidemiologist Birthday: February 5th Age (at the beginning of the verse): 32 Species: Witch Notable Relatives: Jared Sage †, Deborah Sage †, Carly Sage , Zoe Sage Former Love Interests: Brayden Cartwright, Adrian Ivashkov, Duncan Mortimer Present/Future Love Interests: None as of now.

[thecrossoverstrain]

Familial Origins

In the 1500s, the daughter of Tatia, the human who’s blood was used to create the first ‘magic vampires’ nearly 500 years previously, and who became an angel upon her death, Elizabeth, defected, choosing to live among the mortals, and having a child with a noble Baron in Bulgaria, Katerina Petrova. However, after faking her death and leaving the child in the hands of Katerina’s father, whom later remarried, Katerina’s path would cross with that of Niklaus and his family, her escaping the ritual of which could unlock his hybrid powers, and resulting in Katerina’s transition into a vampire. Centuries later this same Guardian would bore another three children, Elena Gilbert, whose destiny, it was foretold would be the first part mortal Guardian, followed by Jeremy and Margaret Gilbert. Except when their parents refused to give Elena up later in her life actions were taken, the girl’s death intended, though her parents taken when she would spot a flying machine in the sky, distracting her father and causing the crash.

Queen Bee of Mystic Falls High

Following her parents deaths, Elena and her siblings would fall into the care of her Aunt Jenna— whom had always believed that Elizabeth was her sister as the Guardians implanted those memories into her mind— and as the new school year began she would meet Stefan Salvatore. Feeling an intense and almost indescribable pull toward Stefan, Elena would not rest until the two of them were together vowing; “She’d have him, even if it killed her. If it killed both of them, she’d have him.” and after quite the dramatic courtship, she did. At first she was also repulsed by his brother Damon’s advances toward her. Always in control, no boy that she has seen or dated has ever stirred her innermost feelings, passions and desires like Stefan had. Eventually discovering that her boyfriend was a vampire and that Elena had a very close resemblance to his forever love, Katherine-- who Elena would discover is her half-sister, Elena would support Stefan through and through as they both faced many trials together including the return of Katherine and the arrival of the Originals. As all this transpired, Elena worked to maintain her Queen Bee status within Mystic Falls High School, balancing the supernatural with school dances and coursework. 

During this time Elena would also become engaged to Stefan however, in an effort to escape Mystic Falls, Rebekah, Klaus’ sister ran Elena and Matt off the road resulting in Matt’s car crashing off the bridge her parents died at, causing her death and transition as she had both Salvatore brother’s blood within her system. Following her transition, Elena decided to break up with Stefan as she became conflicted with her feelings, not wanting to be like Katherine, choosing to refrain from being involved with either Salvatore brother as more than friends and needing to focus on dealing with the aftermath of becoming a vampire. Elena also, was against the notion of bringing the immortal Silas back believing it would alter the balance in a negative fashion. In this matter, and this matter alone, Elena and Klaus, and to a lesser extent Kol held the same goal, seeking to prevent this. As such, Elena did /not/ follow the others to the island or take part in finding the cure, nor did she take part in killing Kol, knowing that his death would result in countless people dying, even if they were vampires. When her brother died rising Silas, Elena was devastated, turning off her emotions, unable to cope. It was not until Matt’s life was threatened that Elena would turn them back on and begin to deal with the fallout. Soon after, her brother was returned to her.

Off to College

Starting college, Elena was fairly happy to be with her friends and ready to face her next challenge. However, with the arrival of Travelers into town and the discovery of Damon’s friend Enzo, tensions began to mount. It was soon revealed that the Travelers curse could be broken, through the blood of Silas’ doppelganger, Stefan, who was also Elena’s soul mate and of Amara’s last living direct descendant, Elena. In the wake of Stefan’s death and unwilling to allow them to kill her siblings to make her the last descendant Elena and her friends hatch a plan to stop them, killing the Travelers in an explosion and killing herself in the process along with Damon. However she did not appear on the Other Side with the others in her death, instead she appeared in another, much older dimension where she encountered the Celestial Court. Existing as a spirit for a few months, Elena was eventually returned to life, Elena’s angel half triggered through her death and resurrection. 

Devastated by Damon and Bonnie’s loss, Elena spent the next few weeks in a semi-state of denial, researching anything she could find on other dimensions with Alaric. However, later she was reunited with both. Learning to control her angelic abilities, Elena decided to study medicine like her father before her. With most supernatural conflicts at bay for the time being, Elena was able to focus on her studies, excelling in her courses and becoming one of the top of her class by her Whitmore graduation.

Medical School & Project Canary

Accepted into a top medical school in New York City, Elena would make the move to the big city, balancing her coursework, internships, and the occasional supernatural conflict which might arise. From a relationship standpoint, aside from a few flings and short-term relationships, Elena seemed to focus more on school and work rather than relationships. Eventually graduating medical school and completing her programs with various hospitals, Elena declared her chosen fields as virology and epidemiology respectively. Later hired by the Centers for Disease Control, Elena was selected to work on Project Canary along with a follow colleague and friend Sydney Sage. 

Called out to the scene of a possible biological attack, on a plane which had gone dark upon landing JFK Airport, Elena and Sydney began to investigate a strange virus with unusual properties. Disagreeing with her bosses, Elena held a press conference stating that she did not believe the virus was contained. still continuing to investigate the virus’ source and working to prevent an epidemic, Elena worked along with Sydney as they uncovered a seemingly supernatural origin-- the virus turning those infected into something akin to a rabid vampire-- and conspiracy to go with it. Forced to kill one of the infected in self-defense, Elena and Sydney were found to be framed for the murder after surveillance tapes were doctored. However, Elena would soon be aided by an unlikely ally from her past whom had just as much reason to contain this virus as she did-- to protect their families, Klaus Mikaelson, who helped her escape from the authorities. 

Now....

Regrouping with Sydney Sage as the epidemic begins to rage around every turn, a vital turning point looms over the horizon as Elena and the others must determine if they should expose the supernatural world as a whole in order to attempt to protect any form of the world they’ve come to know.... All while on the run from the authorities for a crime they didn’t commit-- at least not in the way they believe. 

Stats:

Title: Doctor Name: Elena Gilbert Birth Name: Elena Morrow-Gilbert Nicknames: Lena Occupation: Epidemiologist for the CDC Age (at beginning of verse): 35 Species: Nephilim (Earth Guardian) Immediate/Notable Living Relatives: Jenna Sommers, Alaric Saltzman, Jeremy Gilbert, Margaret Gilbert. Former Love Interests: Matt Donovan, Stefan Salvatore, Damon Salvatore. Present/Future Love Interest: Klaus Mikaelson.