AN: Here we are at the end!

To avoid confusion, here is a reminder about the fic: When you are reading Elena's perspective, she is most likely to address the goddess in Bonnie as Bonnie. This is because she's trying to convince herself that it's still her best friend there and not someone else. However, everyone else will acknowledge the goddess as a She.

Happy reading!

Previously on The Succulent:

Elena couldn't help but let out a strangled cry as Bonnie tugged on the ropes of her wrists to lift her up from where she seemed to have fallen on her knees. "One soul in exchange for Mystic Falls' safety."

Klaus laughs at this. "I always love a good betrayal." But he pauses, eyeing Elena. "But you're lying, aren't you?"

The Original studies the young women in front of him. "I have been seeing through another's eyes all this time. You don't think I know that you and the doppelganger share a bond of sisterhood?"

Elena feels like her mind is about to explode. Why did they ever think that this plan would work? It was clearly stupid! They were just teenage girls, after all! She felt like wetting her pants. It was not that she was afraid to die, but now she was going to drag in everyone to their deaths! Caroline and Tyler were still unconscious! And what if Klaus finds Stefan all weakened back at the boarding house? Oh, god, Stefan! she cried inside her mind. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Her personal agony was interrupted when Bonnie's deep laughter pierced the thick air of the night. All worry immediately vanished from Elena's brain, replaced easily by that lingering fear that came whenever she realized that Bonnie's natural aura was missing. She must have been trembling violently by now, because Bonnie shoves her to the side. Elena feels her body bruise because of the impact against the ground. Terrified beyond words, she feels her insides twist and for a second she thought she would vomit. She tries to look up at Bonnie, her mind telling her to look at someone familiar to get a little hope, but there was this unexplainable weight on her shoulders. When she tastes the dry, thick and salty taste of dirt in her mouth, Elena feels completely irrelevant to the world. Was this the way she was going to die?

"I always hated playing games," Elena hears Bonnie mutter from above her, her voice laced with impatience. "I was always known for being someone who gets the job done." From the corner of her eye, she sees Bonnie take a step towards Klaus, into the moonlight.

Something in Klaus' expression changed. It was probably because now he could finally see the hue of Bonnie's eyes. He is somewhat terrified, because he looked taken aback. "You're... They warned me about you."

Bonnie is probably smirking when she says the next words, "Here are your choices, vampire. Give me the stones and I might ease the weight of your punishment or... you be a whiny son of a bitch and put up a fight." She takes another step forward. "I suggest you take advantage of my mercy; pick the first option."

"Elena will be fine."

"It's not Elena I'm worried about."

"I knew you it. You have feelings for me."

"It's different now, Damon. I can feel it."

"Fine. Stay here and sulk."

"Damon, no!"

"I don't need your help, Stefan. For once in your life listen to me."

"But, Damon... OW!"

Thud.

Elena sees Klaus' youthful features switch to gameface. For a moment she thought he would attack Bonnie, but her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she realized that the Original was aiming for her. She squeezed her eyes shut in fear, waiting for the pain. When nothing comes, she flutters her eyes open and sees Bonnie's outstretched hand, as if forming a barrier between them and the vampire. Klaus takes some time to regenerate, and pounces again, but this time, towards her best friend. "Bonnie!" As he is about to crush against Bonnie's form, a strong force counters Klaus, sending him far across the clearing.

Elena notices that something was disrupting the smooth shine of moonlight above of her. A peculiar thing was hovering on top of them, as if looming in circles, and she raises her head to see a rather big bird, screeching a familiar name. Did the bird just say...?

"Damon!"

The intrusion distracts Bonnie, however, because she, too, glances to look up, and Klaus speeds in front of her again, when something slams him away from the witch. Klaus falls back down to the ground and sees Damon Salvatore and his bloody mouth. Something spurts on his neck, and Klaus is quick to squeeze the open wound with his hand. "What are you doing, Salvatore? I am doing this for our kind."

"No one fucking touches my little witch," the other vampire growls, his stance ready to fight.

Elena is more than surprised to see him here. She has always secretly seen Damon as heroic, but never around Bonnie (who wins the hero contest hands down). And clearly, he was not there for her, but for Bonnie. She loses the will to contemplate the sudden burst of information in her head. Damon's presence gave her a semblance of hope, however. She had two powerful supernatural beings on her side, so that must be a good thing, right?

To her surprise, a firm hand grasps her arm and her mouth. She almost screams out, but she knew this touch and she immediately felt safe. She looks up to meet Stefan's gaze. I'm sorry.

Stefan nods and puts a finger against his lips, and tears her bound hands.

Elena feels relieved that he's finally here and she knows she could finally rest, but seeing the clash of the two powerful supernatural beings in front of her, she knew it was a make or break situation. She was supposed to support Bonnie's side in this, but she was starting to feel like Bonnie was not fighting for their sake at all. Who cares anymore, she thinks, as she finds comfort in her boyfriend's arms as he carried her to anywhere but here.

"You imbecile! She's going to kill all of us!" Klaus hollers, mistaking the possessiveness of the other vampire as another petty romantic fling. He wastes no time and aims for Damon, but before he could reach him, it was the witch-goddess who flicks her hand, and sends Damon far away with her powers, burying him somewhere in the bushes.

"Hard-headed, meddling vampire," She mutters furiously as they hear Damon land on a pile of leaves and branches somewhere, and as she looks up, the Original lunges on her with much force that she falls down on the ground. When the Original covers her body with his, her nostrils flare in recognition as his blood dripped all over her. "I see you have managed to get some Power in you."

"I'm always ready," Klaus gurgles, and the puncture on his neck heals complexly. He pushes her harder against the ground. "You will break the spell for me. I refuse to waste another lifetime waiting."

"Or you will what?" After the Original stays quiet, She laughs. "What can you offer me, vampire? You have nothing."

Klaus grits his teeth and aims to bite down her neck but She emits her power towards him, effectively dislodging the Original from her person. The numbing pain inside his head was making it difficult for him to open his eyes, and as he does, she appears in front of him, her skin bright as fire, her eyes a clear vision of the sun. She lifts her hand in front of him, and he screams in pain.

"You and your kind. The lot of you are egoists," She remarks as she holds him in place. "Do you want in on a secret?"

Klaus struggles to look away, but the burning sensation, the warmth, feeds his curiosity. It was almost too addictive for someone who has spent centuries getting that wonderful heat in exchange for the lives of others. Now it was right in front of him and he wants to reach out and take it... all of it. He wants to take her right there under the moonlight, but he cannot move a muscle.

"The curse you want to break is an attempt to mess The Order," She informs him. "And I am here to make sure that the you will be reminded of your place here on Earth."

"I've used the Power I have to send the stones somewhere else," Klaus tells her. Seeing the sudden flash of wrath in her eyes, he feels terrified, the alarm in his system coming out in the form of laughter. His knees feel weakened, just like the softening tail of his spine. He knows he should have fallen down the ground if it weren't for her hold on him. He wants to linger on the surprise he managed to evoke from this supernatural in front of him (those fucking Bennett witches, he always knew they were hiding something), but he notices that she looked almost expecting. She knew that he was going not going to give her the stones and she was fine with it. His hairs stand on end when she continues to talk in a calm, yet threatening tone.

"You fiends have disrupted the natural way of things for as long as I can remember and I am one of the few who have had enough," She says. "I am no longer entertained watching the likes of you think that I will stand by while you suck the life out of this world. I am so sick of your dramas, your selfish needs. The curse was a blessing to humans just as the curse is another chore to my children's children."

"Time will come when other vampires would seek to break it," Klaus mutters, completely immobile against the tree. "The time will come... all vampires will walk the earth freely...!"

"Yes, but you will be a warning," She says with a smile. "As one of the guardians of this earth, I shall cleanse you of your filth." She leans closer and wraps her fingers around his neck. "Your punishment is here and now, vampire," She announces, her eyes now blazing white, her hair flying about her, seemingly longer and thicker –almost akin to big black wings behind her back. Her whole being started to glow and levitate from the ground. "You will be denied the Power you so moronically abused." She started to whisper something, and she starts to squeeze, and Klaus screams.

His vampire countenance was exaggerated, extremely evil, and as each second that She was whispering the cleansing of his being, the veins began to decrease and withdraw, the extended fangs retracting, the blood spilling from his crevices. The pain was too much. He loved and loathed it. "No! No! NO!" Klaus screams as hard as he could. He feels suffocating. The Power he earned from centuries of practice with warlocks and witches was burnt into a crisp inside his soul. He looks at this goddess before him and he screams louder. He can feel everything flash before his eyes. He yells and claws against her arm, but the strength of his fingers and nails were useless. He wants to disappear with the agony, but all he could hear now is the loud beating of his heart.

She lifts her hand, lifting Klaus' form with it, and she suddenly waves it hard across to her right, and the Original's old, frail body flings to that direction, almost lifeless, the heartbeats faint and steady. "You still have Time. But I took your control over Death for good."

She then turns around, feeling an intruder behind her. She sees the empty spots where Elena, Caroline and Tyler used to lay. She then sees Stefan, creeping towards where she had flung Damon. "You again!" she screams, appearing before Stefan. "You dare take him from me?" Stefan falls on his behind, completely forgetting his intent of saving Damon. He is reduced to a staring spectacle. "Haven't I already granted you the gift of humanity? How about I cleanse you again... completely?" She took a step forward, her eyes bright. She was beyond furious. She was going to go for the kill. "And then I can send you to the pits of hell with the doppelganger for good measure…!"

Stefan was almost blinded with light, the pain starting to sear against his chest, when suddenly, the Quiet had returned, and he opened his eyes to see Damon had latched on Bonnie's throat, the dark of his suit clashing with the light of her aura. The thick blood started to drip down her neck and clearly, both of them were in pain. She tried to pull him away with her goddess strength, but now Stefan could see it: Damon was overflowing with Power as well, and before he could do anything else –they disappeared.

They end up on their prairie, pressed against daisies and grass. Damon cradles her head with his arm, making sure she wouldn't get dirt on her. He swallows the thick, sweet blood on his lips and he pants tiredly, drained of his energies. He glances down at Bonnie's thick hair, almost coating both of them like a blanket, and noticed how the fierce glow of her skin was slowly starting to dissipate. "Bonnie?" he tried, hoping to get her attention. He wanted to touch her and wake her if she was asleep, but he was too exhausted. He felt like dying again, felt like pulling a wooden stake from his heart, but he couldn't succumb to sleep just now. But she was still breathing, so it meant that everything was going to be ok. Well, he hoped so. As he closes his eyes, he then feels her move against him, and feels her soft, warm hands on his neck. He almost had the faintest fear that she was going to strangle and behead him in the process, but what brought the most feeling in his heart was when he felt the swell of her lips matting against his own. He moaned in delight, in thankfulness –there was his girl.

Bonnie licks his lips and he feels it, too. She was grateful as well, that he had broken her again, just like he was supposed to. Her tongue darts to clean his blood from his lips, and her hands drift downward, along with her soft kisses, and she rips apart his shirt, sending buttons flying either way, and starts molding her lips down the contours of his body. He takes a sharp intake of breath as she blows a soft breath just below his bellybutton, and he wants to jolt his hips upwards for more, but he was too weak. The purifying spell had taken much from him, and he almost felt human just now –but he can feel his lack of a heartbeat inside his chest. He exhales loudly as he feels her cool fingers wrap around his length, taking it from its cradle, and giving it just a gentle squeeze. "Bonnie…" He feels her shift, her hems lifted, and she does all the adjusting, and she sinks herself onto him, taking everything inside her, and sits there, her breath slow and heavy.

Damon refuses to open his eyes just yet. He loses himself in this pleasure that only they could create –something which only Bonnie can give him. And there was this wonderful rush of peace. Moments like these, he was glad to be alive, and he is willing to forget everything he lost, and keep his attention only to her, because it was her claim on him. Her hands guide his against her breasts, and she presses hard, lets him feel how hard her nipples were, how fast her heart was beating. But his fingers are weakened, and the way she was rolling her hips… She then places his hands on either side of her thighs, and she continues to move and move.

"How did you know?" Bonnie whispered. "How did you know how to bring me back?"

Damon could hear the tears in her voice –it was enough to bring the same to his eyes. His soul was crying as well, he felt, afraid to lose her, afraid that she might never see him again. He wants to tell her he didn't know, wants to take the lead and pound her into the ground like he was supposed to, but all he could do was close his eyes and lay back.

He loved her. It was the problem and the solution to everything, he thinks. He loves her, plain and simple.

It was then that he realizes why Emily chose him instead of someone else. Though he may have made that deal with her, it was as if he fell into her plans all along. She needed someone as stubborn as him to understand what life was really about. Life was about life being a cruel, merciless bitch (Katherine, among other things). There was too much greed and lust –too many sins for one to count. She (Emily, the goddess, and even Bonnie) needed someone who loved that darkness, and yet, someone who was willing –not to leave it, but to live with it and make a difference. Blind devotion excludes Stefan from this list. They wanted someone conscious, someone who knew exactly what he was doing, although at times he appeared like he did not. Katherine was and always will be the selfish one, and there was a possibility that even though she would embrace Bonnie as her consort, she would lack compassion and Bonnie was, if anything, a woman who was so full of life and energy. Bonnie needed someone who was able to give it back to her when she has released and emptied herself to the world. Someone to want to bring her back, someone to remind her she still belonged, someone who can stroke her fires just right, someone to praise her at the same time demand it from her, someone just as powerful, someone who can, as simple as this: someone who can surprise her.

Damon touches her hand, let's her read all these thoughts and feelings into one breath, and she bursts into tears as she comes. She milks him dry as well, and Bonnie collapses on top of him, her tears moistening his skin.

"I need you to choose me, Bonnie. Choose me again."

"I will always choose you, Damon. My first Sin, my equal, My Adam. Do you love me, Damon?" Can you distinguish the love from the bond and Power?

Yes. Damon opens his eyes and wills his hands to touch her face, loving to see those striking green eyes once again. "More than you will ever know."

They were still intact, but she pulls him in a sitting position. "Do you trust me?" Bonnie asked, taking his hand in hers.

Damon takes a deep breath and nods. "Yes." He feels it. The goddess was still there, but Bonnie had somehow managed to infuse her original Power with that greatness inside her. They had managed to do it together… for now. It was dormant for the time being. They had much to practice, much to learn regarding the ultimate usage and control of that entity that was strong inside her. It would not be easy, but they had Time in their hands. They had forever, they had each other.

The sun was starting to shine.

"My gift... only to you, Damon." Bonnie took his hand in hers, kissed his palm and slipped the lapis lazuli ring from his finger.

Damon looks at the horizon, his first true sunrise.

Months pass, and no one hears of Damon and Bonnie. Stefan and Elena had gone to other witches to do a summoning and locating spell for both the supernaturals, but all the witches had turned down their request. They were either too weak or too scared.

"They do not desire to be found," the last one had said, quite hesitantly.

As the lovers turned away with defeat, the witch tells them with hope, "But they promise a return... in due time."

Months later, two figures stood in front of a familiar entrance. Their casual clothing made them blend in, but the rate of their attractiveness would tell you otherwise. And there was this peculiar serenity, that weird, good vibe any ordinary person would feel when they were around, when in all honesty, they were concealing the Power in their bodies.

"I can't do this." Bonnie clutches his hand with a steel grip it makes him flinch a little. "Let's head home. I'll do anything you want." The ring on Damon's finger is no longer the one he used to wear for decades, instead matched the golden one on her hand.

"The offer is tempting but no," Damon refuses, and tugs her to take one more step. "Come on, baby. The public awaits."

"But…" He silences her with a kiss and she still blushes.

"Just breathe," Damon tells her, and pulls her inside the Grill to face the world.

AN: And that concludes The Succulent, folks. :) Thank you all for reading and being such a wonderful audience. I hope you liked the ending. I would have wanted to write more for this, but I've got too much going on in my hands and I would rather finish this than leave it on hiatus. Anyway, THANK YOU again! You guys know who you are! You all have been awesome! Tell me what you think! ;D

Love,

Jacal