Title: The Crossroads

Rating: T

Genre: AU/AH

Pairing(s): Bonnie/Klaus

Summary: When he is disinherited after his true paternity comes to light Klaus Mikaelson's only option is to make a deal with a crossroads demon, Bonnie Bennett. He comes out on the other side with everything he ever wanted, eternal damnation included.

Warnings: Language, Mentions of Violence, Non-Canon, etc.

The Crossroads

Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company. -Mark Twain

Niklaus Mikaelson stood in front of the small shop, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 'The Omen' was a small antique store that also specialized in the occult and paranormal.

To most of Mystic Falls the place was trash. A least ditch effort for Sheila Bennett to make money after losing her job as an occult studies professor at Whitmore College due to her alcoholism and her claims of the existence of the supernatural. Her crazed behavior even causing the granddaughter that Sheila had custody of to run away from home.

Prior to her running away from home, Bonnie Bennett had been the subject of Klaus's obsession. Paintings of her stacked against his bedroom wall were proof enough of that. But he had never had the nerve to approach her.

Still he knew from watching Bonnie, how much Sheila loved her. If she could really do some sort of voodoo, Klaus thought that she would use it to bring the girl home. He had been a part of the non-believers up until recently for that reason alone.

To others, the believers, Sheila Bennett was a resource. The voice of the worlds beyond and in between. Both in heaven and hell. She spoke through tarot readings, and late night séances. However, more recently Klaus had heard of something else occurring.

Three months ago his best friend Stefan's screw up of a brother Damon Salvatore had become an overnight success. He was now opening a string of night clubs all over Virginia. It had happened shortly after he had visited Sheila Bennett after losing his job and his car in the same week.

At the opening of the latest club Klaus had managed to get the man drunk and Damon had told him of the means of which his sudden wealth came. Of the demon at the crossroads and a deal that had gotten him everything he had ever wanted. Including the love of Stefan's ex-girlfriend Elena Gilbert.

Damon had warned him that it had come with a price, but Klaus was more than willing to pay it.

Three months ago his life had changed forever. He had been disinherited after his mother's adultery had been discovered and it came to light that her husband Mikael was not his biological father.

Mikael was the richest man in town and as he had the mayor in his back pocket as well, he practically owned it. In Mikael's own words, the only thing he hadn't managed to achieve yet was immortality.

He had always hated Klaus. He had been a disappointment to him for years. He had been mentally and emotionally abusive. Sometimes physically.

He had frowned on Klaus's career choice as well. Without his money Klaus had not only lost his home at the manor but his only means of income as he hadn't managed to sell any of his paintings yet.

Mikael had went on and on about how he was a self-made man and how he wanted to leave his business to his sons. But Klaus had never been interested marketing or accounting or any types of financial services. It didn't matter that Mikael had managed to spread his business all across the country and overseas which was how they had ended up in Virginia to begin with. Klaus's interest had always lied with the arts.

The only reason Mikael had been willing to fund his education was because he had thought that Klaus was his son by blood. As soon as he had discovered otherwise he was all too eager to cut him off.

His siblings had stayed loyal to Mikael in an effort to maintain their positions at his estate and in his will. The only one he still spoke to was Rebekah, but that mostly had to do with the fact that she was dating Stefan and Klaus was now forced to take up residence at the Salvatore boarding house since he had been kicked out.

He wanted his life back. No he wanted a better life than Mikael could ever dream of and he wanted revenge.

With that thought in mind Niklaus opened the door to the shop and walked inside.

He was hit with the smell of incense burning and an array of scents coming from the candles used to light the place. It had to be some sort of fired hazard he was sure.

His eyes roamed the shelves. They were stacked haphazardly with objects, some familiar and some not. There didn't seem to be any order to it all.

He stopped in front of a display of crystals and raised an eyebrow at the supposed properties. He reached out for one that but stopped as he heard the sound of a throat clearing.

Looking up he met the brown curious gaze of the shopkeeper. "May I help you?" Sheila Bennett asked, her hands on her hips.

In spite of the older woman's small stature Klaus found himself intimidated. He straightened his stance and used the words that Damon had told him to. "I was told that you could help me," he said, "That you have ways of getting people what they want."

She smoothed her hands down the color patterned dress she was wearing. The bracelets on her wrists jingled and the sound seemed unusually loud in the quiet of the room.

"I was told that you would come," she said after a moment, "I just assumed that it would be much sooner given your circumstances."

"You spoke to Damon?" Klaus asked. He made a mental note never to speak to Damon of anything again. The idiot's mouth always ran away with him. as far as he knew Stefan already knew his plans by now and would likely try and talk him out of them. With his influence over Klaus, he might just succeed.

"No," she stated, killing his fears, "I have much more reliable resources than that." She made a gesture with her hands and Klaus startled slightly as the candles flickered and objects on the shelves began to rattle. "You're going to need much thicker skin than that if you're coming to me for help," she grinned, "What I am about to instruct you to do, is not for the faint of heart."

Again Klaus straightened. "I'm prepared to do whatever it takes," he told her.

She eyed him skeptically for a moment before she gave a stiff nod. "Wait here," she ordered. Before he could answer she disappeared to the back of the show behind two long brown curtains.

This time Klaus didn't look around as he was left alone. He stared at the curtains and thought about Mikael. His hatred for him. He thought about finally having success with his art. He thought about finally achieving independence and power. He thought about whatever it took for him to move forward with what he was about to do.

When Sheila reappeared she was holding a small black box with a gold latch. There was a serpent painted in gold on the lid.

Sheila walked toward him and stopped a few inches away. "This is what you need," she said. She held out the box to him and he took it without hesitation.

He lifted the latch and opened the box. He looked down at the contents in confusion. "I don't understand."

Sheila pointed at each item. "Graveyard dirt," she said, pointing at small corked vial. Her hand moved toward a sprig of white flower. "Yarrow." The last was probably the most disturbing. "A black cat bone."

Klaus shut the lid and the candles flickered around them again. Sheila didn't react at all that time either and he did his best to remain stoic in turn.

"Take this box the crossroads about five miles east of the shop after sundown," she said, "Add a picture of yourself into the box. Bury it in the dirt at the dead center and wait. When she appears-"

"She?" Klaus asked, cutting her off.

"The demon of the crossroads," Sheila supplied. "You ask her for what you want. Whatever you want and she'll give it too at a price. It's your choice whether or not to accept the bargain. Once you seal the deal, there isn't any going back."

There was a warning in her tone that he ignored. "How much do I owe you for this?" He asked.

Sheila shook her head. "I'm not the one you pay," she smirked, "You seal the deal with her and she'll settle your debt with me. She and I have our own arrangement. I bring her the business and she takes care of the rest."

Klaus nodded. "Thank you," he said.

"You might not want to thank me once the deal is done," she said, "be careful what you ask for Mr. Mikaelson."

Klaus turned to leave and didn't look back.

:::

Under the cover of darkness Klaus stood at the crossroads. He gripped the black box that Sheila Bennett had given him so tightly in his hands that the corners dug into his skin.

With shaking hands he flipped the latch and opened the box. Retrieving the picture of himself that he had in his pocket, he placed it inside. He closed and latched the box and kneeled down in the dirt.

The dirt was surprisingly pliant in his hands as he dug a small hole and placed the box inside. It didn't take long for him to bury it completely. Still he hesitated as he stood upright and waited.

After a few moments of nothing he began to feel foolish. His only solace that at the very least he hadn't had to pay the crazed old woman for her assistance and so he hadn't really lost anything. He turned to leave but jumped as a female figure appeared in front of him.

He watched with wide eyes as she took from in a cloud of black smoke. She was shorter than him in stature but she seemed to radiate power. Her dark brown hair hung down over her shoulders and red dress she was wearing clung to curves of her body making his mouth go dry.

Her green eyes looked amused as she spoke. "A bit skittish aren't we?" she asked, "This your first time?" Her eyes flashed blood red and he fought the urge to take a step back.
He knew her, had seen her before. Had wanted her before she had disappeared a year ago. Or at least that was what Sheila had told the Sheriff Forbes. That the girl, her granddaughter had run away. "Is this your true form?" He asked.

She raised a brow at him. "Do is not appeal to you?" When he shook his head, she studied him a moment. "If that isn't it," she said, "Then do you perhaps…remember me? From before?"

She had been different before. Softer. Gentler in appearance. Less dangerous. "I do," he said.

"You're the first to recognize me in this state," she laughed, "At least immediately. Others guess over time. We never spoke…you and I. I wonder why you remember me?"

His eyes narrowed as he studied her. "Were you always a demon?"

She shook her head. "I died," she said, "I never ran away. I died. My grandmother, sold her soul for the power to bring me back. But you see…the dead are meant to stay dead and if they don't…they come back different. This is what I came back as. The story that she fed the sheriff was one she came up with in case I ever decided to grace the town with my demonly presence on a more permanent basis."

He wasn't sure why she was telling him this but now he wanted to know more. "Would you?" he asked, "Stay in town permanently I mean?"

She laughed. "Is that what you came to ask me?" she taunted, "Is that your deepest darkest desire? The return of Bonnie Bennett to Mystic Falls?"

He frowned and shook his head. She was making fun of him, he knew. But in truth were it not for the pressing matters at hand, it might have been. "I…," he cleared his throat, "There are other things that I want."

"Besides me you mean?" He didn't deny it.

She moved forward and reached out a hand. He watched as she placed it on his chest, sure she could feel his heart pounding. He had been interested in her innocence before. Her openness. He was closed off and didn't trust. He had liked the idea of who she was.

This new her. The demon who appeared from the shadows and made deals in the dead of night, was such the opposite. The idea of this being sweet little Bonnie Bennett should have been repellant to him. But instead he was intrigued.

"Let me guess," she said, running her hand down his chest and then back up again, "Talent, fame, and success. Am I close?"
"I have talent," he said distractedly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "But I would like recognition for it. I would like to be known as one of the greatest artists there ever was. I want fame, money, and power. More power than the man that my mother calls husband. And…"

"And?" She asked, her head titling to the side as her eyes returned to their normal hunter green.

"Immortality," he said. The one thing Mikael claimed was the only thing he had never accomplished.

Bonnie let out a low whistle. "Not pulling any punches I see," she grinned, "Handsome and ambitious. I must say I approve. But I will warn you…me being rather diplomatic as far as demons go…that the immortality thing may be a little tricky. Just like the dead are meant to stay dead, those that are meant to die but die. All humans are meant to die."

Klaus swallowed as she traced the outline of his jaw with her index finger. He wondered if all demons were this keen on touching. "Then it's impossible," he stated.

"I didn't say that," she smiled, "I said that all humans are meant to die. In other words…if we seal the deal you're agreeing to no longer be human. I'll also own your soul but that unfortunately can't be avoided. On the bright side you won't be dragged down to hell like the others are when their contracts are up. Since you won't be human and you'll be working for me once you become what I make you, your contract will be a bit different. You'll be damned but as long as I'm allowed to dwell on earth, you will be too."

Klaus digested the information before giving a nod in agreement. "Whatever it takes," he said, "I'll do it."

"Good." Bonnie ran her fingers through the hairs at the nape of his neck. "I suppose we have deal then."

"Do we shake on it?" Klaus asked. He hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Well," Bonnie said, "Ordinarily I seal the deal with a kiss. But…you said you wanted me back in town and really I should be getting something more out of this than your soul since I am going through the trouble of making you immortal. Besides since I own you it wouldn't be out of line if I asked you share my bed now would you?"

"I find that request perfectly reasonable," Klaus smiled.

As he leaned down and kissed her, sealing the deal, Klaus thought that really he had come out on top all the way around.

:::

The phone rang in the office to studio. Normally Klaus would allow his secretary to answer it but he was expecting the call. It had been four months and he had already opened his own studio, purchased a house that rivaled the manor in size, and he was selling paintings faster than he could produce them.

There was also the matter of his girlfriend, though she didn't really like being referred to as such.

"I was just thinking about you," he said, as he answered the phone. He leaned back in his desk chair and waited for the response.

"You're always thinking about me," was Bonnie's response per usual. There was a pause and then. "I have a job for you."

"Straight to business," Klaus frowned. Though, if he were being honest it was more of a pout. "All work and no play?"

"There will be plenty of time to play when you get home," she promised, "There's a contract that's up and I need you to collect. You'll like this one."

Klaus raised a brow. "More so than usual?" Klaus had taken to being an instrument of hell quite well. It was as if he was born for the job. He might have been ashamed of his sudden predisposition to sadism if Bonnie was just as bad.

"Take a look for yourself," Bonnie answered.

Klaus wasn't surprised as a contract appeared on his desk in a puff of black smoke. He had long grown used to Bonnie's antics. His eyes widened at the signature at the bottom, however. "You're kidding," he laughed.

"You didn't really think he came by all of that wealth honestly now did you?"

As Klaus grinned at the amusement in her tone, he was certain he would regret his next words but he said them anyway. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"I'm your master," was the response, "Of course you do."

:::

Mikael had been hearing the sound of barking all day. He had barricaded himself in his study with his hand gun. He hand been in there for hours. The barking and growling taunting him. He couldn't hear his wife begging him to open the door. He could only hear the too loud ticking of the clock on the wall and the faint growling sound.

"Come on you fucking bastard, show yourself," he spat as his eyes darted around the room.

He gripped his gun tighter as moved to take shelter behind his desk. His time was up. He had known that it was coming. But he had been arrogant. He hadn't been prepared. He only took solace in the fact that his children and wife would be taken care of thanks to his will. He had gotten that bastard boy Niklaus cut out of it just in time as well.

The boy's sudden wealth wasn't a mystery to Mikael. He had known from the start where it had come from. He laughed manically at the thought of the boy joining him in hell.

"But I won't be joining you father," a voice said, making him jump, "Not in the way that you think."

Mikael turned and narrowed his eyes at his wife's son. "How did you get in here?" he demanded, "You're not welcome in this house."

Klaus laughed. "That's all you have to say at a time like this?" he asked, "When you hour is up? When your bell is tolling?"

Mikael flinched and pointed his gun at Klaus's chest. "What will you say when your hour is up boy?" he spat, "How long did your demon give you huh? Ten years? Twenty?"

Klaus shook his head and studied his nails. His expression was bored when he spoke. "I got a much better deal than you did father," he said, "Probably a much hotter demon too. Tell me…does mother know about your deal?"

"Shut up!"

"I'll take that as a no," Klaus smirked, "It's a shame I might not be here when she finds your body in mangled pieces. I have busy day you see. Art to sell. An empire to build. A demon mistress to fuck into my mattress. You know how it is. No rest for the wicked and of all that."

"You're dumb enough to lie in bed with one of those creatures," Mikael laughed, "You really are an idiot boy. Those things can drain your life from you little by little. Humans and demons don't mix. She's likely trying to speed things up so that you die before the end of your contract."
"Who says that I'm still human?" Klaus asked. Mikael's eyes widened. "Think father," he continued, "You still don't know how I got in here. I know about your contract. Your time is up today. You must smell the brimstone. I'm rather immune to the smell myself but it must be burning your nose as we speak. Have you guessed father? Why am I here? How am I here? What have I become?"
Mikael's response was the fire the gun. He fired frantically until the chamber was empty. But each shot went right through Klaus and hit the opposite wall.

Mikael finally registered his wife's screaming as it grew louder at the sound of gun going off. "You should be careful with that," Klaus chastised, "You wouldn't want mother to get hit by stray. Then again maybe you would. She could join you in hell."

"If you're here to take my soul then get on with it," Mikael said. He looked resigned as he dropped the gun to the ground.

"As you wish father," Klaus nodded. His eyes morphed from blued to red and Mikael watched as his body morphed and shrank until a black hellhound stood crouched in front of him.

He heard the pounding in the door grow louder as the creatures jaws clenched around his leg and pulled him to the ground. He let out a screams as the door burst open under the weight of his sons Elijah and Finn as they broke it down.

"Leave!" he shouted, "Go now!"

But his wife and sons didn't listen. They stood screaming as he was mauled to death by what to them looked like an invisible force. Klaus got to see the look on his mother's face as her husband died after all.

:::

Klaus walked into his bedroom and wasn't surprise to see Bonnie sitting on the edge of his bed. She was wearing his black robe, but it didn't look as if she had anything on underneath.

"I knew that you had daddy issues," she said, as she looked up at him, "But mutilation and dismemberment? How vile." She made mock tsking sound before it gave way to laughter. "I'm impressed."

Klaus moved across the room and knelt down in front of her. "I thought that you would be," he said.

He practically purred as she ran her fingers through his hair. He was easily pleased, at least when it came to her. "We'll have to make this fast," she said as he wrapped his arms around her and trailed kisses up her neck, "I have deals to make tonight."

"I thought you promised there would time to play," Klaus protested. He was still high on the adrenaline that killing Mikael had gave him. Besides she could make deals any day.

"Would you forgive me if I told I had idea for your next exhibition?" Bonnie asked.

"Depends on what it is," Klaus replied, even know they both knew he would follow her lead no matter the circumstances. It didn't matter if he was disappointed in the end. She owned him after all. Though, Klaus would have followed her lead anyway.

Bonnie gestured toward a plastic bag beside her on the bed that Klaus hadn't noticed before. He kept one arm wrapped around her and used his other hand to open the bag and peek at the contents.

"Body paint?" he grinned, and then, "As much as Damon and your grandmother warned me about this whole selling your soul thing…I'm not really seeing the down side."

Bonnie shrugged. "I told you," she said, "As far as demons go I'm extremely diplomatic."