AN: Confused yet? I hope not! xD But seriously, things are taking an interesting turn. Let's see what unfolds, shall we?

Kai folded Bonnie's hands over her stomach after laying her down in their bed. She had been dried off and her soaked clothing removed, replacing it with the comfortable dresses she often favored. The dark green and black dress with the gardenia pattern had been her second favorite. It was Kai's actual favorite, though he'd never told her that. He'd simply said she looked beautiful all the time, which was the truth. She did.

But now he'd wished he'd told her.

He reached over, grasping her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. For a moment, all he could do was just look at her - seeing the peaceful expression adorning her face. It had taken some years for her to be able to look that way. For her to regularly hold such a face and he would daresay that it was worth it. Every argument. Every struggle. Every single fight they ever had, even leaving the other in bruises and in heaps. Mostly it was him being battered to the ground, but Kai didn't care.

He would take every single hit that was thrown at him if it came from her. He would do it all over again if it meant that she was with him now in that very moment. Kai would've given anything up in the world to have her back with him. Or, at the very least, to be where she was now.

Squeezing her fingers in his hand, Kai heard the door shift slightly but he continued to look at Bonnie.

"Dad?"

"Did you get them?"

Lydia closed the door behind her with a gentle click. "It took me a minute to round them up, but I got them." Kai turned to look at her, seeing the sad expression on her face as she looked at her mother. But when her eyes met his, she saw the sorrow swirling with confusion. He knew she had a million questions, but he could also sense that she was holding herself back. "I, uh...I forgot just how big this place is."

Kai flashed her a boyish grin - one that didn't meet his eyes. "What? You don't remember the three hour long games of hide and seek? I'm hurt, Liddy."

Her brows cinched at hearing her childhood nickname. She knew the face of the man who was speaking to her now as the face she remembered when she was a child. Or at least as close to it. Kai had been a bit more muscular, had a squarer jaw and scruff on his face. That was the father she remembered and not the fresh-faced version that was sitting on the bed. Kai knew this but he tried his best to play it off. Mostly for her sake than his own.

"Those games were completely unfair. Cloaking is your specialty and you always scared the shit out of all of us."

He chuckled. "I know. The looks on your faces were priceless." He watched her for a moment longer before turning his gaze back to Bonnie.

There was a minute of silence before he heard his daughter take a breath. "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Just...just what happened?"

He reached out to brush a sweep of curls from Bonnie's face, tucking it just to the side of her jaw. His fingers lingered there, half tempted to siphon and see if any magic remained. If the magic he had placed was still there. Was there a chance that she was still alive? Everything had been so perfect. Everything had been going so well and Kai knew he had done the spell right. He knew he had.

And yet...

"Go downstairs, Liddy," Kai replied calmly. He still refused to look at her. "I'll be there soon."

~ 1903 Prison World ~

She would never admit it out loud, but Bonnie was almost constantly on edge. Ever since she realized that she and Kai weren't actually alone in 1903, a knot had been growing in her stomach to the point where the slightest shift in shadows would make her jump. It had gotten so bad that she'd blasted Kai with a spell on reflex when he had stopped her from accidentally tumbling down the stairs as soon as she'd realized the sun was setting. Kai had tumbled down in a heap instead.

Two days had passed since then. Each hour felt like a hundred years. Even though Kai never said anything out loud, she knew he was on alert also. Where he would often have the phonograph playing during lazy afternoons they shared together in the main living area, usually reading a few scattered grimoires they'd found, Kai hadn't played a single thing.

They both agreed never to go on supply runs alone anymore. The risk of getting ambushed was too great. Kai hadn't been thrilled at being reminded of what his first encounter with her and Damon had been like, but she had made a very convincing argument. While part of her was relieved that he was being so compliant, another part of her still didn't trust him. She hadn't forgiven him yet, but Bonnie wasn't stupid enough to get on his bad side. Not with an unknown person or persons running around in the Prison World with them.

It didn't occur to her, until the fourth day, that Kai knew something that she didn't know. But she hadn't bothered to ask. It maybe had something basic to do with the Prison World. Something that she probably wouldn't have understood or even wanted to know. After all, it had nothing to do with her magic.

And what was bothering her more was that her magic was still taking too long to replenish and she didn't know why. Bonnie knew that it shouldn't have bothered her as much as it did, but she felt herself inadvertently taking her irritation out on Kai. He didn't seem to mind. In a way, she thought he almost enjoyed being on the receiving end of her ire. But there were moments when she knew she had pushed too far and he would often round on her, chest heaving as he attempted to get a grip on whatever was thundering inside of him.

She had decided not to press her luck. Not when something unknown was running around.

As the sun began to set, Bonnie started quickly gathering books and other things she would be up late reading over. Kai had suggested they start eating dinner earlier, before the sun started to sink, so they both could be upstairs and away from the main floor at the same time. Bonnie had agreed and as he finished cleaning the kitchen, Bonnie gathered up her skirts and all but flew up the steps.

However, just as she was about to reach for the doorknob to her own room, a hand roughly grasped hers and dragged her into a darkened room. Bonnie opened her mouth to scream out, but warmth sealed the sound away in the form of another hand as the door whispered closed; barely making a sound. She struggled until she heard a familiar brush of air and skin against her face. "Shhh..."

She was released, staring into a very serious Kai's face as he held up an oil lantern and pressed his a finger to his lips. Bonnie was about to mouth something, but he quickly jerked his head from side to side to stop even those motions. Kai then mouthed a spell, his lips moving too fast for her to read and suddenly everything was silenced around them. The sound they made was completely contained in that room and had no way of being able to filter itself out.

But they could still hear everything outside of the bubble.

"Wait...wait! ...it just stopped."

"What do you mean it just stopped?"

"I don't hear it anymore."

"Are you sure you even heard it at all?"

"Shut-up Malcolm, I know what I heard!"

Even though the room was silenced, Bonnie clasped a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened. There were others there with them! She had believed that Lily was the only one there. Trapped like Kai had been in her own personal prison world. It had never occurred to her that there would have been multiple inmates!

Her eyes looked to Kai, hoping to see something akin to shock smearing across his features. But his expression grew even more serious, verging on the deadlier side of the spectrum and it caused her fear to be directed to him. He knew something. He knew something and he had been keeping it to himself. Or had he just been waiting to determine if what he knew was actually the truth.

The sudden creak of the first step at the stairwell sounded like a whip crack. Bonnie's knees grew weak for a split second. She reached out where Kai had expectantly been waiting for her. His hand gripped her forearm firmly, giving it a reassuring squeeze and she felt the pressure behind her eyes intensifying with the onset of a migraine. She heard his voice whispering again and they were plunged into darkness as the flame from the oil lantern instantly went out.

Heavy footfalls could be heard outside in the hallway and Bonnie fought the urge not to lash out in an all out assault. Her nerves were frazzled and she hated not knowing what she was dealing with. Because if she at least knew what she was dealing with, they could know how to fight against it.

Her heartbeat was so loud it was ringing in her ears, drowning out what little sound she could even hear. Mentally, she would thank Kai for having enough sense to cast the spell. But she would never say it out loud, and her excuse for it later would be because he had already a better idea of the situation than she did. Later she would tell him that it was unfair. That he was an asshole for keeping it from her. Later, she would tell him that his reasons for not spilling wouldn't be good enough.

But for now? She was beside herself knowing that at least one of them had a handle on the situation.

"Nora! They're not here anymore. They must have sensed we were coming."

The footsteps paused just outside of the door and Bonnie could see in the darkness the shifting shadows just beneath the door. She took a step back, her shoulders pressing against Kai's chest and he quietly wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her closer. Her heart was hammering so hard that it was slamming into her shoulder blades now. Or was that his own heart beating?

"Did you finish recharging them?" The voice was mere feet from them - a woman's voice with an English accent.

"No, I was just down here brewin' a fuckin' cup of tea... Of course I finished! Now hurry your arse down here! They could be back at any moment!"

An angry scoff came from the other side, hearing heels click as they made their way back down the hallway. The tell-tale creak of the steps all they needed to hear to know that they had decided to call off the search. The footfalls were further away, but Bonnie's heart didn't slow its rapid pace.

"...Lily left us here to rot after all."

"She would never! She promised us that we would all get out of here together and if she's gone, that means she's trying to find a way to get us out as well!"

Another scoff, but this one barely a whisper from down below.

"It's every man for themselves at this point. Anyway, the points have been recharged. Let's get the bloody hell out of here."

A few minutes later, a door had been slammed shut. The minutes had felt like an eternity for Bonnie and she had released the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. But, true to Bonnie Bennett fashion, she swallowed her own fears and rounded on Kai - staring him straight into the eyes. "What the fuck is going on, Kai?"

~ 1903 Prison World - The Next Day ~

The Heretics.

Kai had only believed that they were simply fairy tales that The Gemini spun to keep other Gemini witches in line. To make sure that they didn't stray from their archaic ways. Another reason to keep siphoners like him in check - to further isolate them from the rest of the world. Another nail on the coffin, so to speak. He hadn't taken much stock in it, seeing as the Parkers were of the ones who had been so vehemently against siphoners and of spreading the poisonous idea of heretics to begin with. Even their name, the bane in which they had been labeled, was something so close to the verge of the Clergy that it had set his teeth on edge.

So, as a rebellious and isolated siphoner, Kai had researched anything and everything he could about The Heretics. So it had not come as a surprise at all that he had learned of their imprisonment in one of the various prison worlds that had been created at Gemini hands. There had been whispers of Gemini possibly being in 1903, but nothing solidified in any sort of documentation. Just theories. Nothing concrete.

But as Kai's fingers curled around a device that had the Gemini symbol emblazoned on the wooden surface beneath the various metallic cogs, he knew for certain the reason why there had been very little mention of them in the annals of Gemini history. "Fuck..."

He didn't want to hear any arguments from Bonnie. Not that night. He told her to stay in that room with him and she must have seen just how serious he was, noting the lack of sexual innuendos spilling from his mouth, because this was not a joke. This was nothing to laugh about and he knew that he couldn't keep her safe unless he had his eyes on her. Kai had reassured her that he wasn't going to sleep - that he wouldn't leave her alone in the middle of the night. Until the dawn broke the skyline, he was going to stay up and keep watch. His magic was weak, but not nearly as weak as Bonnie's. He could keep a cloaking spell up for a full day if need be.

Kai could have kicked himself in the head for not realizing it sooner. The fact that Bonnie's magic was so slow to replenish should have been what tipped him off. But he had attributed it to her blocking herself from the idea of being in another prison world. Or being within close proximity of the person she despised so openly. Or, at least, used to despise. Now there was some mutual...thing going on between them? He didn't fucking know.

However, he also knew that between the both of them, they didn't have enough magic to work the spell to get them back home. He may have been stronger, but jumping through without her magic would have nearly killed him. Jumping with her at her current level would have definitely killed her. Kai wasn't about to tell her that either. He wasn't sure if Bonnie had changed to the point that her martyrdom days were done. He sure as hell wasn't about to start testing that theory just yet.

Gray-blue eyes narrowed as he stared at the device, feeling the magic pulsating from within. A sharp sting licked at his fingers and palm and he winced, stuffing his hand into the snow to ease the burn. As a siphoner, he knew when another siphoner's magic was at work. Because it held a heat and bite to it that could not be explained with words other than "excruciating" and "merciless." Because that was what his father and others like him had branded him to be. And, as a result, he had become the very monster that they had feared and abhorred. The very thing that they had been fighting so hard to contain had burst forth like a coiled cobra and striking without prejudice.

His siblings had been on the receiving end. There was no justifying what he did. There was nothing there for him to warrant what he had done, and yet it would be the brand on his back for the rest of his days.

The crunch of snow didn't startle him. He'd sensed her magic moving. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Bonnie was approaching, clad in a dark blue dress with white trimmings - the deep burgundy cloak swept over her shoulders as the hood fell along the crown of her head. Kai had to force himself not to avert his gaze, still shocked by just how pretty she looked, even in period clothing. He noticed the deep, black velvet bag that was clutched in her hands and he rose to his feet.

"What's the deal with these things, Kai?" She held the bag out to him and he took it from her, gesturing for her to follow him. "And just how long have those been around the house?"

"My guess? About two weeks now. Maybe longer." His brow creased with his mounting anger. If, in fact, his coven had something to do with this, then there was definitely going to be hell to pay when he returned. "Did you get them all?"

"All the ones I could find."

He gave a swift nod, dumping the contents of the bag out onto the snow. They were all similar to the device in his hand, to which he also dropped in the snow. Kai then got down on his haunches and Bonnie followed suit without even having to be asked. "I'll do another sweep of the house later."

Bonnie held up her gloved hand, flexing her fingers at him. "So, you gonna spill or what?"

He flashed her his typical, boyish smile. "I'll do one better. I'll show you."

Grabbing her hand, he yanked the glove off and pressed her palm against the device. It glowed red almost immediately and she winced, sucking in a sharp breath between her clenched teeth as her eyes squeezed shut. He only kept it there for a few seconds before releasing her hand and she fell back in the snow.

He watched her growl, her green eyes narrowing hotly before her hand flung out at him. "Motus!"

Kai scooped up one of the devices and held it up in front of him, ignoring the burning sensation in his palm and watched as it glowed a bright red - feeling the cogs moving inside as it ate up the spell before growing silent. Bonnie's anger dissolved and she blinked in surprise, leaning forward on her hands and knees as she crawled toward him. Her face was too close and he felt a lump growing in his throat as knots twisted in his chest.

"What...what the hell?!"

Bonnie was already reaching for it when Kai held it up and away from her, thrusting her glove back at her instead. "Don't touch it, dummy."

She huffed, pouting slightly as she snatched her glove from him and slipped it back onto her hand. "So, it's a device that sucks out magic?"

"Yup. A Gemini specialty, no less."

"Are you serious?"

"One hundred percent," he said, flipping it over so she could see the Gemini crest emblazoned along the wooden surface. "This is the mark of the Gemini."

Green eyes cut to him suspiciously and he rolled his eyes in response. He already knew what the next set of questions were going to be. He'd bet his left nut sack on it. "So why the hell are devices by your coven doing here? Isn't this supposed to be Lily Salvatore's own personal prison world?" She picked up one of the siphoning devices and held it out to him. "What is the damn point of these?"

"To suck out magic, duh." He grinned as she cuffed him on the shoulder. "It's clear we're not alone, Bonster. Whoever these people are, they know that we have magic and have been planning to pull it out of us since they found out we have been holing up here."

Her expression grew worried. "What?"

Kai shook his head, hoping to ease back her concerns. "It hasn't been a lot. But we've been using magic and, as you know, magic just doesn't disappear into thin air. It seeps into everything. Even a basic heating spell, like the one you have constantly cast around the house, has been getting sucked into these things. I noticed it last night when I was cloaking and silencing us from them."

He reached his hands into the snow to cool them before taking both of them and grabbing onto two of the siphoning devices. It was weird, siphoning from a mechanism meant to siphon, but Kai knew he had to completely suck out all the magic from inside of these things so that their fellow inmates wouldn't be able to use it against them later. His hands glowed a bright red in time with the machines, the cogs whirring and spinning to life as they fought against him. But he was stronger.

One by one, he sucked every ounce of magic from the devices until there was nothing left. Once he'd finished, he put all them back into the bag and handed it to Bonnie. She canted her head slightly, looking puzzled. "Now what?"

"Now? We need to leave and find somewhere else to camp out at. But not before I siphon all the magic from the house first." Kai noticed the frown on her face and rolled his eyes. "Stop, okay? If anything, I'm going to have to bleed some of it back into you. If I siphon too much magic, I lose control of it. Gemini Leader or not, I'm not a bottomless pit."

She held the bag up. "You're not going to destroy these?"

He shook his head. "No. We don't need to even let on that we know. They need to think they still have some kind of advantage." He took the bag from her. "Show me where you found all of these and we'll put them back. Make sure you keep your gloves on. I'll go and get mine."

"Kai? What the fuck is going on?" He could hear her growing frustration. "Who the hell are these people?"

He sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Bon, we don't have time-"

She stepped up to him and, for once, she was crowding into his personal space. His heart rate sped up as he looked down at her, brows raised in both question and surprise. Honestly? He wasn't going to start complaining.

"Then make the time, Kai!"

Internally he groaned. "Look," he said, raising his hands up in surrender. "Let's just set these back and relocate and I promise you, Bon, I'll tell you everything."

For a moment, there was silence between them - her studying him to see if there were any lies. There were none. He was done lying to her. Especially when it came to their safety. But he didn't want to jump the gun until he was sure.

"Fine." He breathed a sigh of relief, grunting when she poked him in hard in the chest. "But as soon as we're settled, you better tell me everything."

He grinned. "Cross my heart, Bonnie. And hope to die."

AN: Oh boy. I feel like I left you guys on a bit of a cliffhanger in so many different story lines! I wanted to give a little more insight to the Gemini, as well as build up some suspense with the arrival of The Heretics. But I promise, I'll be able to explain and branch out a few more things as I go along. I didn't want to go into too much in the Present time without explaining more things in the past. But there will be snippets of "Present Kai" ever constant, no worries. But thank you, everyone, so much for the reviews! You guys are so awesome! Please continue with the feedback! It helps me a ton!