I'm Back! And here's the next chapter

"What the hell happened!?" Caroline asked as Elena, Jeremy, Katherine, Kol, Rebekah, Damon and some guy she didn't know came barging into the witch house with the guy who shot Jeremy, and nearly killed her, moaning and spasming in pain.

Kol ignored her and turned directly to Ayana,

"Is there anything you can do to save him?"

"I'll try," Ayana looked at the new guy and scowled, "What is he doing here?" she practically snarled.

"This is Jacob, he says he wants to help," Kol said distractedly, he kept glancing from the hunter to Jeremy, however his tone had a sense of finality to it

Still scowling, Ayana turned to Bonnie

"Will you help me?"

"I,I don't know how to do healing spells," Bonnie said ashamedly as if it was a weakness on her part.

"That is not necessary, all you must do is reach out to the witch spirits here, call to them, and then channel their power into me, I will handle the rest," she turned to Kol, "However, I must say, if the stories are true, then it may be im-"

"DON'T SAY IMPOSSIBLE!" Kol screamed with such ferocity, even Rebekah looked scared. His voice almost seemed to exert a force of gravity, pulling everyone towards it, yet also pushing them away. As he yelled, his eyes glowed red, and then for a spilt second, it looked as if lightning shown in them.

"Kol," Ayana whispered, and for the first time in Rebekah's life, she heard fear in the ancient witch's voice, after a few moments, she steeled herself, "We will have words after this."

"Save him."

Kol turned and left, running off into the woods.

"You should all leave," Ayana said, "The spirits are not likely to come with so many vampires present, and you Jeremy, you should prepare yourself."

"Prepare? Prepare for what?" Jeremy asked,

"Go," Ayana said.

Everyone turned to leave, with Jeremy shooting one last look at the two witches, fear obvious in his eyes.

"What is he supposed to be preparing him for?" Bonnie asked.

Ayana looked like she was about to cry,

"Fate is a cruel thing," she said quietly, she grabbed the hunter's arm, and pointed to the bite marks, "This is not normal poison Bonnie, this comes from the snake Jormungandr, called the Midgard serpent. Summon the spirits, and I will tell you the tale if you wish."

Bonnie nodded, and closed her eyes and began to call out to the witch spirits in the house, praying that would answer.

"There is a species in the world known as familiars, these are rare creatures that bind themselves to witches of great power. The feed off of the power of these witches, and in return, they do the witches' will, and share their knowledge. They are ethereal creatures, but become corporeal when binding themselves to their master. What's more, their life forces are bound together, the familiar can only die if their master does."

"And Loki is immortal."

"Yes, and Jormungandr shared in the fate, what's more, he…changed, he became even deadlier, just like his master, which leads to our predicament, the venom he produces, it's linked to his life force, anyone bitten by it, will die."

Bonnie felt a jolt that signalled the connection.

"It's done, but..if we can't save him, then what's the point of this?"

"Because Kol is holding on by his finger tips, and I fear what will happen if he discovers we did not try everything, and besides, miracles have happened before, let's begin."

Bonnie began channelling the power into Ayana, who began chanting her spell. Through Ayana, Bonnie was connected to the hunter, and she could sense what was truly happening.

The damage was horrible, the venom wasn't just moving toward the heart, it was killing every cell it came into contact with, an immediately Bonnie understood, this was all for show, of being able to say that they tried everything, but he was already dead.

"Ayana, are you, afraid of Kol?"

It took Ayana some time to respond.

"I have suspicions about him, and if I am right, then we all have cause to be afraid of him, but…Kol has had a hard life, in some ways, it has even been harder than Niklaus', I feel sorry for him sometimes, and yes sometimes I am afraid, because, in case you haven't noticed, he's a rather impulsive being, but in truth, no, I do not fear him. Relationships are different when you're immortal, you can rage and hate a being, but the fact of the matter is that they'll be with you for centuries, and living for centuries changes your perspective in and of itself."

"What was he like when he was a child?" Bonnie asked, she had been curious, but she had been afraid to ask.

"It would take a while to answer that," Ayana laughed, "He was always a complicated being. I think curious would be the best term; he was desperate to learn everything about everything, however that had an unfortunate price. He learned of the cruelty of the world long before his time."

Suddenly, the hunter convulsed, and then was quiet.

"What happened?" asked Bonnie frantically, checking for a pulse.

"I've managed to put him in a coma, the venom will be slowed, and he will feel none of the pain. It's the most I was able to do."

"Why is Jeremy turning into a hunter such a bad thing?"

"Because," Ayana said slowly, "He will be a predator, and he will feel the compulsion to hunt his prey."

"Vampires," Bonnie said, everything falling into place, "Damon, Rebekah, Stefan Caroline, Elena…Kol. He's going to want to kill them all."

Jeremy walked up to Katherine, even after all this time, it still felt weird when he saw her, she was identical to Elena, yet completely different.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Jeremy asked, doing his best not to sound demanding.

Katherine glanced at him, before turning away again,

"What do you want little Gilbert?"

"I just wanted to ask you about how you know Kol, on the way back you seemed like you knew him."

Katherine sighed,

"Follow me little Gilbert, I'll tell you a story."

Katherine started walking into the forest, and Jeremy followed.

After a little while, she began to speak.

"I was human the first time I met him, he introduced himself by grabbing me and shoving me into a tree," Despite the violence of the act, Katherine smiled, as if remembering a fond memory, "He told me the truth of his brothers, what Klaus and Elijah wanted with me."

"I don't believe you," Katerina said, fear flowing through her voice.

"Yes you do," The demon, Kol, said, smiling, "I know you do, because you are an intelligent person. You can see the details people do not want you to see."

He walked around her, like a predator circling its prey.

"What are you talking about?"

Kol chuckled, "Come now Katerina, I know you have noticed that things are not always…normal, around the lords Elijah and Niklaus. Niklaus walking home with blood all over him far too much, arrogant lords that would challenge the king cower before Elijah. And how can the lady Rebekah afford such clothing and not have any deficit."

"They are a respected family," Katerina said, though there was doubt in her voice, she had indeed been wondering these thing.

Suddenly, Kol was standing right in front of her, his eyes dark red, black veins surrounding his eyes.

"I am part of that family, and they mean you nothing but harm."

"Klaus had done something to spite Kol, and I was Kol's revenge. He told me how vampirism worked; he completely prepared me for everything. He put the idea of letting me go into Trevor's head, and then put the rest in motion. After I turned, he used his blood to brand me with the mark of his bloodline, telling anyone who ultimately owes their immortality to him that I was a friend."

"Momma!" Katerina screamed over the corpse of her mother.

Katerina turned to Kol, who looked sick at what he saw.

"How do I make him suffer for this?" Katerina spoke, venom dripping in every word.

"Survive," Kol said simply.

"What, no, surely there is something-"

"No, Katerina, listen to me. None besides the other Originals have ever thwarted him before, every moment you survive reflects badly on him, it will injure his pride, and Niklaus is pride, almost as much as our dear father."

"He knew what it was like to lose a beloved family member, he helped through that, heightened grief, pain, the want to just end it all."

The two had descended into the caves.

Katerina walked in the shadows through the streets of Paris, making sure none would see her. As she returned to her borrowed home, she heard the haunting notes of a violin song, a song she knew well.

"Kol," she whispered and sure enough, there he was in the living room, the last few notes of the song still echoing through the air.

"Hello Kitten," he said, smiling.

Katerina glanced at the instrument.

"Antonio does know that you have one of his instruments I assume? The family will be most displeased if they discover that one of them is gone."

Kol pulled a look of mock offence

"Of course he knows, I even paid for it."

"We weren't always travelling together, Kol's wander lust is too great, and he ran too fast, but he always found a way to make our reunions special."

"You two sound like you were lovers," Jeremy said, trying and failing to sound casual.

Katherine laughed.

"No, he was just as gay then as he is now, and he made no secret of it, at least not to me, we were friends. That's one of those things about Kol though, he doesn't try being a monster like Klaus, he doesn't put on a mask of ferocity like Rebekah does, and he doesn't keep it all inside like Elijah. He is who he is, the good and the bad, he isn't ashamed, and he doesn't hide behind it."

Jeremy nodded, that was one of the things that drew him to Kol.

"What happened to him in 1901? When he was daggered. I've asked him, but he always…um…diverted my attention."

"Code for he screwed me senseless and I forgot I presume?"

Jeremy reddened deeply.

"I don't know, the family was in New Orleans at the time, with Klaus and Elijah there, I had to steer clear. The only thing I know is that Mikael showed up. However, I did have a hand in freeing him."

"You did?"

"I'm the one who told Stefan to take the coffins, I knew that at best; they'd be smart enough to realize that all of the Originals would want revenge on him, and at worst they free Elijah, and he'd wake them."

"I assume I have you to thank for my freedom from limbo?" Kol asked Katherine, finding her leaning against a tree far out in the woods.

"Yep," Katherine said, going to hug her old friend. "How was the reunion? I wish I could have seen Klaus' face."

"It was wonderful, we laughed, fed, and broke every bone in the bastard's body, however, there has been a bit of a snag."

"What snag?"

"You remember the story of my mother's death?"

"Yes."

"Well, I never believed that Mikael had killed her, his lover for her was the only thing greater than his pride, but I never would have imagined…Niklaus killed her. And Ayana preserved her body, and hid it in the last coffin, she's back Kitten." Kol said, looking the closest to vulnerable she'd ever seen him.

"Where are we going?" Jeremy asked, he'd never seen these parts of the cave system before.

"Relax munchkin, I'm taking you somewhere far away to kill you, I want to show you something."

They walked a little bit further, until they came to a dead end room, covered in drawings.

"I found this place the first time I came to Mystic Falls, this is one of the cave rooms the people hid in when the wolves turned," Katherine said, "But that isn't why we're here," She pointed at the far end of the cave "That is."

Jeremy looked and saw it, it was a body, lying at the far end of the cave. He walked up and nearly stumbled back in shock; it was Elena…but, not.

Her clothing was of Nordic style, but not that of the women, but men. She held a sword in her arms. Her muscles were more pronounced that either Katherine's or Elena's, and she had an air of dominance and ferocity that neither of the others had. The strangest thing was that she hadn't decayed at all.

And then it all came back.

"Sleeping Beauty encased in stone."

"Exactly," Katherine said, staring at the body of her progenitor, "Kol did this Jeremy, he shouldn't have been able to, but he did, he broke the laws of magic, all because he lost control."

"What are you saying?" Jeremy asked, having a bad feeling.

"You wanted to know what you're supposed to prepare for, well, no one has ever survived a bite from the midgard serpent, that hunter will die, and you will take his place. With the hunter's mark will come the compulsion to hunt and kill vampires, to kill him."

"I wouldn't," Jeremy said, horrified at the thought, "I would never-"

"Saying you won't hunt them is like saying a vampire would feed on blood, and unlike with vampires, there is no substitute for your compulsion. And, not to mention, Kol hates hunters will an extreme vengeance. I think he's projected his hatred for his father onto all of the hunters."

"I…I"

"You should go to him, with any luck the witch duo will have slowed the venom's spread, and you may have a day or two with him before you two become enemies."

Jeremy ran away, crying the whole way.

Meanwhile

Elena walked into her house and looked around, she wanted to talk to Jeremy, but he had just disappeared, she turned around to find Damon right behind her, causing her to stagger back.

"We need to talk."

"Can it wait, I'm busy."

"No it can't," Stefan said, appearing behind his brother.

"What the hell made you think you could just run off to New York with Kol and Barbie Klaus?" Damon asked, his tone even more condescending than usual.

"Excuse me?" Elena said, rage boiling up inside of her, "Since when to I have to report my every action to the two of you?"

"Since you tried to go get yourself killed," Damon said, "A phase you apparently haven't gotten over if you're running away with two Originals."

"I went with them to learn how to be a vampire."

"And we couldn't do that because…" Stefan said.

"Because you would try to get me to eat wildlife, Damon would insist I live the wild life and feed on people to my heart's content, and then the two of you would start trying to kill each other, because that is how it always happens! One of you tries to pull me in one direction, the other tries to make me go in the other one, and then the two of you start beating the crap out of each other. It's getting so annoying! And I'm starting to think that you two view me as a piece of property, since you think you can control every aspect of my life!"

The two of them just stared; the hint of apology in their eyes, but Elena wasn't having it.

"You two keep making the exact same mistakes, you fight, you bicker, then you make up, but you keep doing it over and over and over again. You two both meet a girl and fall for her, then you try to take her from each other, you can't let go. But I'm not making the same mistakes, not anymore. I keep looking for someone to hide behind, and that has only lead to people getting hurt, and I can't do it anymore, I can't be responsible for anything else just because I wasn't brave enough to not hide."

"Elena," Stefan whispered, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we're done. No more Delena, or Stelena, just Damon, Stefan, and Elena. We all need to figure out who we are, and to stop repeating this cycle over and over. Because, at the rate we're going, I'm going to wind up just like Katherine, and the two of you will be trying to kill each other until doomsday, I want us to be able to live without all of this.

"So, Stefan, Damon, I rescind your invitation."

The two of them looked at her for a moment, before it dawned on them exactly what she meant. Damon moved to say something, but Stefan grabbed him, and shook his head. The two then walked to the door.

"Oh and Stefan,"

Stefan turned around, no hope in his eyes.

"No more working with Klaus, whatever it was for, it's not important enough to risk getting killed, and working with Klaus gets everyone killed."

"It was a cure," Stefan said quietly, "Immortal's Bane is a cure for vampirism, so that you could be human again, like you wanted."

Elena looked at him for a moment, unwanted longing appearing in her soul, but she steeled herself.

"It would just be another thing to hide behind Stefan, and besides, from what I here, it's locked up with a guy that makes Klaus look like an ill tempered girl scout, so, I think it's best to just to leave it where it is."

He nodded and left, leaving Elena alone in her home.

"So you're Tyler, funny, you look different than Hayley described." Jacob said, an easy grin on his face.

"Who are you, and how do you know Hayley?" Tyler asked.

"He's one of the people that came back from New York." Caroline said.

"Yes, well, I have a score to settle with the cult of Silas, or Loki depending on who you're talking to, and Kol seems to be leading the charge against him. As for how I know Hayley, we met each other in New York, she's annoyed at you by the way, you told her you lived in a trailer park, and then she finds out that you live in a mansion."

"Who's Hayley?" Caroline asked

"I knew I'd find you here." Rebekah said, walking up to her brother.

Kol had run to a spot in the trees overlooking the waterfall, it had been his favourite spot as a human."

"Do you remember all the time we spent here?" Kol asked

"Of course, this is where you taught Tatia and I how to swordfight, I can still see the look on the faces of the village boys when two girls bested them." Rebekah chuckled.

She leaned against the tree, and the two stared at the waterfall in a comfortable silence, before Kol finally asked.

"Do you hate me?"

After a few moments, Rebekah responded.

"I did, when I realized that you were the reason that we had become vampires, I hated you, but, then I recognized that in your mind, this was a gift, you honestly thought that you were helping us."

"I was,"

Rebekah actually laughed

"See what I mean?"

There were a few more moments of quiet.

"What's going to happen? When the hunter dies."

"He's not going to die."

"Don't kid yourself Kol, you no as well as I that the venom is untreatable, the best Ayana will be able to do is slow it down, even with Bonnie's aid."

"Well, then, I suppose the same thing that happened to Alexander," Kol said savagely.

Rebekah looked like she'd just been stake.

"I'm sorry," Kol immediately said, "I, I don't why I said that. Actually, yes I do, I'm angry, and I took it out on you," Kol jumped down from the tree and hugged his little sister, "I'm sorry." He repeated.

Rebekah hugged him back, understanding completely.

"To answer your question, he'll feel the urge to kill vampires, that will control his actions, but not his heart, just like…"

"Alexander," Rebekah filled in, "He loved me, yet he still put a dagger through my heart. But the White Oak stake is gone, surely even his hunter instincts will recognize a pointless endeavour."

"The Tree is never truly gone, it is eternal, once destroyed it grows back, again and again, it will return in time. Any way, with every kill he makes, he'll take part of that vampire's power, becoming stronger, faster. And the mark will grow. And his compulsion will only grow stronger, until it consumes every part of his life, until there's nothing left." Kol barely choked out the last words.

"Then go to him, my biggest regret with Alexander is that I never got to say goodbye before he turned, don't cost yourself that."

Kol looked at her, and nodded before running off.

Rebekah thought she saw a tear fly through the air, but that couldn't have been possible, Kol never cried.

Kol found Jeremy on the edge of the woods, and immediately rushed up to him and hugged him. No words were spoken, they could both tell that the other knew of the change that was going to occur soon.

They went to Kol's place, and in messy web of movement, removed each other's clothes, again there were no words, what they wanted to convey went beyond verbal communication.

They stayed together constantly, never leaving each other's side, wanting to be together until the end.

Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah met inside Klaus' mansion.

"Are you absolutely certain that he will lose control?" Elijah asked, stoic as always, but the others could see the tension in their oldest brother.

"He's hanging on by the fingertips, I can feel it, he won't make it through this in tact." Rebekah said, trying to be as outwardly calm as Elijah.

"Then we need to make preparations immediately," Klaus said, "We don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

Luc walked up behind Katherine, who was still staring at Tatia's body.

"It will happen soon won't it, like in the stories?" Katherine said

"Yes, I fear it will."

"How much longer must we wait?" Perenelle raged

"Do not worry milady, the serpent may have returned to its stone state, but its job is done, the hunter will die, it will just take time."

"I love you," Jeremy said to Kol, looking right into his dark eyes, getting lost in them, one last time.

"I love you too, always and forever,"

"Ayana," Bonnie said, looking at the body of the hunter.

Ayana checked his pulse and shook her head.

"He's dead."