A/N: Hopefully the continuity of this chapter isn't choppy. Different worlds, cities, time periods… just ugh. This chapter was a struggle, I can say that much but I finally figured out some major plotlines and how I'm gonna get there, so there's that. Score one for this tired fanfic writer. Thank you for the reviews, but please always keep in mind this story is a BEAST and it will take a while before I have things configured to where I'm happy and can update. M'kay, happy reading.

Disclaimer: These characters belong to their respective owners. All original characters belong to moi. No copyright infringement is intended.

New Orleans

Elijah settled into a U-shaped black and silver damask chair rolling a coin between his fingers. He watched as Jessup Franklin buried his unshaved face into a plate of pan seared chicken and plantains periodically washing it down with black magic wine. After Bonnie and her contingency left the two made the short trek to Elijah's preferred restaurant and were promptly shown to a private room on the second floor.

Half an hour had passed and not a single word of intelligence was shared between them. Normally Elijah didn't like to tarry and wanted to be updated on happenings right when they were discovered, but he didn't mind the break because his head was too wrapped up in wondering what Bonnie was doing at this exact moment. Already he had been tempted half a dozen times to check his phone to see if he might have missed a call from her, which was ridiculous because she had only been out of his company for two hours. As acute as his senses were there was no way he'd missing hearing or feeling his phone vibrate.

Elijah cleared his throat and stared at the paneled walls.

By the time Jessup was finished he had a happy plate that he pushed aside, and wiped the corners of his mouth. He killed the last drop of wine in his glass, and covered his mouth to prevent his belch from being audible.

"Apologies for my earlier imprudence," Jessup began the dialogue.

Elijah canted his head toward the man, his face—void of emotion. "Are you satisfied?" he motioned to a buffet table in the corner.

Jessup nodded, "I'm sated, thank you. Now," he climbed to his feet and walked over to the seating area and sat down directly across from his employer. "We can talk about the news I've recently uncovered."

"Which is?"

"Something very troubling."

Elijah smiled faintly. "I'm an Original…there'll always be trouble."

"Yes, but not to this magnitude. What's coming not many have seen and if they have they didn't survive. There are those who have and regret they still live. These things…their numbers are immeasurable. They can speak every single language, dialect known and unknown to man. They are the most cunning of wolves that they swoop in even with you staring them right in the eye because they've tricked the world into believing they don't exist."

"What you're describing, Jessup sounds no different from a vampire."

"Vampires are the bastardized children of these beings, Elijah. In the grand scheme of things, vampires, on the totem pole rate extremely low. We have vulnerabilities that of course can be worked around if one of our kind knows or has access to a witch. With two of your brothers dead—their bloodlines wiped out, others gone in endless turf wars, our numbers aren't what they once were. Every vampire is vulnerable, Elijah. Even you."

At that, the Original stood to his feet, slipped a hand in his pocket, and meandered over to the shuttered windows. He flicked a side of the blinds open and overlooked the wandering bodies milling around on the sidewalks and streets. New Orleans was a melting pot of the supernatural and spiritual. A helix of lifeforms who believed in either: the healing power of the Almighty, the benevolence of ghosts, the warnings of psychics or all of the above. He knew where he stood, understood that he may have been an exception to some rules; didn't mean he was exempt from them all.

Elijah turned his head a little, not quite looking over his shoulder, but close enough. "So what exactly are you saying? There's someone or thing hunting me and may have the goods to kill me?"

"Yes and this something has proven its impervious to any spell or incantation. It's unstoppable because it has speed and surprise on its side, Elijah. Someone has marked you."

Turning around, eyes narrowed, Elijah stared Jessup down. "Marked me?"

Jessup nodded solemnly.

"You mean…someone has placed a hex on me?"

"A hex can be broken…this I'm afraid is a bit more complicated than that."

"Then uncomplicated it for me," Elijah bit out feeling his irascibility flaring.

Jessup pulled something from his pocket, a folded document and handed it over to Elijah who unfurled it.

He examined the image on the paper, questions bubbling and frothing over like a pot of boiling water left unattended.

Elijah's irritation flipped on a dime. Side effects in the form of chills clawed its way down his back causing the millennial to wobble, and close his eyes in search of his center of gravity. It felt like he was falling without moving a single muscle to carry out the action.

"Elijah?" Jessup carefully grabbed him by the shoulder and lightly shook him.

"I…" a beat, "I've seen this before."

"You have?"

"Yes, it's…thank you for bringing this to my attention, Jessup."

The intelligencer blinked as he watched Elijah close himself off. He knew what that image was, what it meant and the meaning had to be personal otherwise he would have dispensed with what he knew. Jessup didn't bother trying to press Elijah for more information because it wouldn't be forthcoming. In essence he had done his duty, warned his employer of what was coming, and gave him a window of time to get his affairs in order and prepare a defensive strategy.

Elijah removed his money clip and pulled free every single bill and handed the money over to Jessup.

"My services have already been paid in full," Jessup said and tried not to be insulted.

"Then take this as a tip, Jessup," vampiric veins momentarily showed themselves around Elijah's mahogany orbs.

Jessup reluctantly took the money.

"If I require anything further I'll contact you. Until then…enjoy the city."

Jessup stuck out his hand to which Elijah shook. A gust of wind and the slamming of the door announced the spy had left.

Elijah stared at the image once more, licked his teeth. The bullshit just continued to keep piling up.

Matt heard the unmistakable sound of a needle scratching over a vinyl record, or nails down a chalkboard when two infamous words came rolling out of his ex-girlfriend's mouth.

"Your lover."

He didn't understand if Caroline were trying to be funny or if she were serious. With her it could have been a hybrid of both. Caroline often said controversial things during tension-filled moments. It was part of her vapid charm. However, to utter such a question during this impromptu reunion where the guest of honor remembered very little about her prior life seemed…suicidal.

Of course Matt had to question if Bonnie's memory loss was psychological or the product of a head injury or…had she gotten her powers back, did a spell and it backfired? Damon wouldn't tell them anything substantial, therefore, Matt felt like asking Bonnie about her life would be intrusive. He could, at will, recall any memory from their days of being rugrats on the playground climbing the monkey bars or patching one another up when they scraped an elbow or knee. Bonnie couldn't.

His attention volleyed between Bonnie, Caroline, Damon, Elena, and Jeremy. Bonnie naturally looked confused. Damon weirdly amused. Jeremy and Elena though…as if they could barely keep their asses planted in their seats.

Clearing his throat, Matt slapped a disarming smile on his face, "Hey, Bon are you hungry by any chance? You must be starving."

Bonnie gave him her full attention for a split second before she was grilling Caroline again who had the good sense to look contrite.

"I'll eat in a minute," Bonnie said. "What do you mean by lover?" she directed at Caroline.

"Um," the blonde swallowed. Surely Bonnie couldn't have forgotten everything, at least not the basic principles that drove human and yes, immortal behavior. Caroline backpedaled. "Nothing, I only meant it as a joke. I'm sorry."

Bonnie, however, wasn't satisfied with that answer. She had received a brief tutorial on passion and what it could entail, where it might lead if the conditions were right and the participants were willing. Elijah had been the one to teach her a thing or two, and even now her lips tingled as well as some other places in hindsight. So this girl was prodding to discover if she and Damon had engaged in the activities she partook with Elijah a few hours ago?

Her caramel cheeks burned. "That's inappropriate and quite frankly none of your business!" she exploded.

She couldn't see this naturally, but Bonnie's eyes began to glow and that caused many to shift uneasily in their seats.

"Whoa," Tyler stated. Damon's eyes had done the same thing back at Whitmore.

Yet Bonnie simmered down when Damon lightly gripped her hand.

Caroline's eyebrows arched supremely along her wide forehead. She quickly darted her gaze to the Gilberts. Their jaws were slack. The blonde looked at Damon for an assist but merely stood back and let her hang herself with the proverbial noose. Stefan infinitesimally shook his head silently telling her he couldn't help her with this. Alaric and Tyler simply looked enthralled at the high drama ensuing.

Sucking up the courage, Caroline finally brought her attention back to Bonnie who not once stopped staring at her. "I'm sorry," she mumbled weakly.

"You might know me, but I don't know you. What goes on between any Dominion and its herald stays between them," Bonnie glowered at each occupant in the room. "It's the law," she turned her blazing eyes back to Caroline. "And you are in no position to question me on that," she ended imperiously.

No one said a word because…what was there to say? Caroline averted her gaze mostly to hide the fact her eyes were tearing up with each agonizing second that rolled by. This reunion was an utter disaster. Her best friend didn't remember her and now hated her probably. She had only meant to have a bit of harmless fun because she had never seen Damon and Bonnie this way before. Prior to their deaths, Caroline wouldn't have thought of them as anything more than two people forced to work together to keep Elena's doppelganger ass alive. But now they were finishing each other's sentences, holding hands, appearing on the surface like a couple. What was she supposed to think!

Bonnie got to her feet, glanced at Damon, "Excuse me but I need a minute," and she promptly got lost behind the first door she found.

Matt rose from his couch, "Guess I'll order that room service."

Elena defrosted and stared at Damon who didn't waste a minute to cross over to the windows where Stefan joined him a moment later.

Caroline stormed out and Tyler grudgingly left to go check on her.

"Go talk to Bonnie," Alaric nudged Elena who had remained seated and undecided on what to do.

"What am I supposed to say?" She didn't want to say the wrong thing and get her feelings hurt like Caroline.

Bonnie's reaction to Caroline's statement could be taken in one of two ways: that she found it deeply insulting anyone would think she and Damon would sleep together for any reason. Two) she felt guilty because they had crossed that line. Elena wanted to get to the bottom of this because Damon certainly hadn't opened up his mouth to debunk that claim. He may have spent more time with Bonnie than the two of them had been together as boyfriend and girlfriend, and he was Damon after all, the notorious womanizer who couldn't go a week without sex. It wasn't that much of a leap to assume he would try his hand with Bonnie. If he did…could Elena look at that as cheating? She hadn't been with anyone since Damon and Bonnie died. Could he say the same?

"You're her best friend," Alaric's voice broke into her musings. "It'll come to you. Just…don't ask her any questions about Damon," he chuckled deeply.

Jeremy visibly scowled.

"Well that went swimmingly," Stefan remarked and studied his brother's profile.

"Yeah," Damon concurred and spied over his shoulder.

He saw Elena nod at whatever Ric said and shortly after got to her feet and tentatively made her way to the door Bonnie hid behind.

Damon knew he wouldn't be able to put off having that inevitable talk with Elena about the status of their relationship. But honestly, he didn't have any capacity on his plate to deal with it at the moment. One of the many things he had said to her before crashing his car into Mystic Grill was picturing having a life with her from the first moment he saw her.

He had a life now, an amazing life and relinquishing it and going back to the man—vampire he used to be, his insides rebelled.

But then a harsh reminder had to smack Damon upside the head. He no longer resided in Hedera, and his duties as a herald would be moot because Bonnie had to go back. She couldn't stay here.

"Damon?"

"Yeah, Stefan?"

"Do you…do you know if anyone from the world you and Bonnie were in…would they be able to find her and take her back?"

Damon regarded his little brother. Stefan, the clever little fox had a talent for reading between the lines and seeing the truth while those around were too busy being dazzled, himself included at times.

"Yes and no. Other Dominions won't be searching for Bonnie because they'll suffer the same fate as her if they were to leave. But…there might be someone else who is capable of moving unchecked between worlds that could be on hunt. Maybe it's the curse of being a Bennett. I don't know," Damon shrugged. "They inevitably land on someone's radar. Even when they aren't a witch."

Hedera

With Titus' deeply troubling vision of a world on its way to being destroyed—which world?—they had no clue, weighing on his mind, Avitus was in dire straits.

A feeling of civil unrest began to spread across the province. Avitus refused to believe the world he had overseen for the last few millennia was slowly starting to unravel due to one girl and one abomination. Yet he couldn't deny the coincidence of the timing.

From the very start they had been a spectacle and the topic of conversation that refused to cease. Bonnie had been determined, willing to play along yet found little ways to rebel against the system. Her rebellion, though, was linked to Damon and as a result allowances were made in order for him to remain here and to keep the peace. No, Avitus never expected Damon to survive. Had actually tallied up the days the vampire would come crawling on his knees asking to be exterminated, and much to Avitus' chagrin it never happened.

As much as he disproved of them both being here he couldn't deny they had been…formidable together. Surpassing the odds and remaining a functioning unit up until the day he separated them, and even then it hadn't been enough.

News caught on to what took place and the populace was beginning to murmur and question his effectiveness as a ruler. Avitus would do what was necessary, sacrifice who or whatever was necessary to make sure Hedera thrived as one of the major realms of the heavens. He would not let anyone, not a damn former human-witch, lamia, or even a world breaker disrupt his home!

Avitus' grip on the balustrade cracked and he sighed in repugnance. Spray from the roaring sea below blew into his face as if sensing his distress and wanted him to cool off. He needed a clear, logical mind to figure out the right course to take.

The crack of thunder overhead drew his attention, and when he looked up the clouds were swirling, lightning flashed, and then a Jetstream of fire raced from the northwest.

He paled.

Problems kept stacking up against Avitus and yet another was arriving. The elder stood to his full height on the veranda and waited.

Kirisi joined him a second later. The wind blew her tunic wildly against her legs. She stared at what had her brother so transfixed and sucked in a breath.

"Avitus…the envoys from Yonina are here."

"Tell them to wait, Kirisi. In fact," he turned to her. "I'm going to need you to possibly assume command for a while."

Kirisi didn't waste her time asking questions because she understood perfectly what Avitus was truly saying. "May the sword protect you," she said in farewell and vanished from sight.

That Jetstream of fire barreled closer and landed right on his veranda in a helix of blood-orange flames. The ground trembled, and the flames of fire rippled forward, covering Avitus completely without burning him, and finally puttered out. Out of billowy smoke rose a figure more terrifying to Avitus at this particular moment than anything else.

It was a being without true form or shape but could mimic after a life force dependent on the realm it occupied. To Avitus, it was simply a beam of ethereal light able to absorb and emit energy that if touched could cauterize flesh. He could almost trick himself into thinking he could make out the bare hint of an ocher cloak, a sandaled foot, and the tip of what he suspected to be a very long and heavy sword. Again, that was his mind filling in the blanks, not reality.

The lighted being shifted with the fluidity of water and was only known by one name, but a name no one forgot and everyone remembered. Skylar. What made this being a force of reverence and fear? It was the Prime Creator's herald.

Without hesitation, Avitus lowered himself on bended knee, bowed his head. "Your Grace," he said. "It is an honor for you to be here."

Keeping his eyes planted on the tile beneath his knees, a sign of true reverence, Avitus waited.

"Oh, really?" Skylar's question dripped sarcasm that it made Avitus' jaw tick. "Rise."

Avitus got to his feet and looked where he thought Skylar's eyes might be. It was a feat performed without some difficulty. A visit from the herald of the boss could not always be seen as a good or honorable thing especially if something vitality wrong had occurred. In this moment he rather face off with Gannicus who had been unerringly quiet since Bonnie fell then have to answer to the Herald of Heralds for his misconduct. Even world breakers came to heel in Skylar's presence.

Skylar paused before saying, "There are whispers that one of the heralds has been expelled without full due process, and that a Dominion has gone with him. Do not lie, Avitus for you know whom I represent," the herald deadpanned.

Avitus swallowed and quickly nodded in the affirmative. "The whispers are true," and hastily added, "We're doing what we can to get the Dominion back, but you above all understand the precarious circumstances that prevent such a recovery."

"Save it, Avitus. You should know why I'm here."

"I suspect."

"Then come. Mustn't keep the Prime Creator waiting."

Avitus felt overheated and nauseous. "The…P-prime Cr-reator wants to speak with me?"

"Why of course. Or otherwise I wouldn't be here. You know our Laws. We don't intervene unless it is absolutely necessary."

"And you feel this is absolutely necessary? We've lost Dominions in the past. Heralds as well. What makes this case so special to the Prime Creator?" he may have growled.

In an instant Skylar stood in front of Avitus, peering down on him, draining Avitus of his power who began to groan and feel weak to the point he could barely stand straight. His knees buckled and he nearly collapsed, but Skylar left him with just enough juice to maintain some form of dignity.

"I ask the questions here," Skylar asserted, "you answer them. Is anything about that unclear?"

"No," Avitus rasped.

"Good. Now come!" Skylar gripped Avitus by the back of the neck and then they were airborne.

Uther snickered as much as any purebred could and slithered out of the shadows he had concealed himself in when he sensed that something far greater than those around him had entered the atmosphere. So Avitus was on his way to answer for his crimes? Good, the purebred snorted and padded out of Avitus' chamber. Perhaps now a real effort could be put into motion to bring back his Mistress.

Bonnie wouldn't answer the door. Elena knocked, pleaded. "Bonnie…there's food if you're hungry. Please…could you…come out? I'd love to talk to you if you're up for it."

Silence followed.

"I know all of this has to be overwhelming, but no one here means you any harm or disrespect. Please, will you open the door? Allow me just a few minutes of your time?"

More silence followed. The doppelganger could hear Bonnie moving around, pacing if she had to guess. In a way this was classic Bonnie behavior, isolating herself whenever something traumatic happened or she didn't want anyone to see her in pain. Elena could easily break the lock on the door, waltz inside, but again, she didn't want to anger Bonnie or make her feel she was under attack. Sitting across from her had been like sitting in the presence of something divine if Elena had to label it. She had no idea of the changes Bonnie underwent while she had been away carving out a new life for herself. But this life she crashed into had to lack and pale considerably.

"I'll be out here waiting for you, Bonnie. When you're ready."

Licking her dry lips, Elena nodded once it became clear that Bonnie truly didn't want to be disturbed. Laying a hand on the door in regret she wandered off, her eyes finding Damon's like a radar. She crossed over and sat next to him on the couch.

"Hey," Elena rasped.

"Hey," Damon parroted.

"Can you tell if she's okay in there?"

Damon fingered the scrap of fabric tied around his wrist. "If she wasn't, I'd know about it. Bonnie's fine just needs a bit of space at the moment."

Elena's eyes ducked down to what he was doing. "That's pretty. Where'd you get it?"

Damon eyed Bonnie's favor he won fair and square while he explained. "In an arena after kicking the snot out of these really big dudes and getting my ass kicked a time or two," he could smile now. Wasn't so funny back then.

Elena mirrored his smirk, sank deeper against the sofa cushion, "What was it like there?"

"We weren't going up against T-800's if that's what you're curious about," Damon snickered and turned reflective. "It was like…if Middle Earth, Pandora, Ancient Greece, and Krypton had a love child it would be Hedera."

The door to the room Bonnie sequestered herself inside flew open and she leaned against the doorway. Heads swiveled in her direction.

"I remember something…"

Year Three

Agitated. Despite having to stand erect at full attention without quivering, shaking, moving a single muscle, Bonnie was deeply vexed and agitated. The inside of her mouth stung from where her teeth sank into her cheek after taking a blow to the face. Her lip was cut as well as her right eyebrow, and her nose was swollen but thankfully not broken. Two of her ribs were probably fractured, contusions were springing up here and there around her skull, and the vision in her left eye was shot.

Across from her stood her opponent who was in the same shape as her—Mascada. Her sparring partner who confused their hand-to-hand combat with a real, fight to the death match. Bonnie had no earthly clue on what had gotten into the woman who came at her screaming and wailing like a banshee. Swinging with no coordination other than to inflict the most bodily damage she could do until their instructor intervened.

Bonnie did not view Mascada as a friend or a confidant. Both were kyriotēs, celestial lordships who, through their own reconnaissance enrolled in the Notitia, a rigorous, multi-tiered Dominion training legacy. Once approved and enrolled in the Notitia—the official academy—becoming masters and proficient in the areas of: linguistics, cognition, biomatics, telekinetic aerobatics, and Inter-Cosmo diplomatic and militaristic science. In other words, they were rivals and up until an hour ago Bonnie wouldn't have considered them to be bitter, but they most definitely were now.

The door to the head Councilor's office of the Notitia—opened. Both bruised and battered women were waved inside.

Bonnie came to a sudden stop right on the seal of the Councilor in a direct shaft of light that stung her eyes.

Cold fingers grabbed her chin and twisted her head from side to side. The same inspection was done to Mascada. Neither one of them said a word.

Councilor Nokomis—Madam as she preferred to be addressed, tutted in disapproval and paced in front of her recruits. She was no-nonsense and played by the book. Some considered her fair and deferential while others—mostly those who had been reprimanded by the Councilor found her to be a total bitch. Though her wings were not visible, the shadow of them converged along the walls making Bonnie feel ensnared in a web or trap. She kept her gaze locked forward focusing on nothing a part from maintaining her cool and breathing.

"Do you know what a privilege it is to be in your shoes? The prestige of making it this far into a curriculum that extends far back to the days of the First Beings who walked the heavens with the Prime Creator?"

Bonnie and Mascada did not need to be told those were rhetorical questions. A second couldn't tick off the clock without them being reminded of such.

"Fighting without honor dishonors the one to implement it. The punishment of engaging in unsanctioned physical combat is immediate expulsion from the legacy. Mascada," Nokomis barked her name. "Witnesses say you were the aggressor. True or false?" she was not the type to mince words.

Mascada was quick to answer, "True though…I would say I was provoked," and quick to take the blame off her shoulders and launch it at Bonnie.

"How?" Nokomis narrowed her yellow eyes.

Mascada chanced breaking with protocol and making direct eye contact with Nokomis, which could be taken as a sign of disrespect. Nokomis found it to be so to which Mascada immediately snapped her attention where it should have been from the start. On the far wall.

"She makes it no secret that she is the recipient of preferential treatment."

Bonnie almost laughed out loud.

"And that gives you cause to attack her before your combat session was due to start?" Nokomis questioned. "What business is it of yours on what kind of treatment Bonnie receives?"

"Madam…she has only been here for three cycles…I've been here twice that. She should not be part of this legacy. She is not ready for it."

Nokomis clapped her hands drawing a quizzical brow from Mascada. She swallowed and steeled her spine when the Councilor stood toe-to-toe with her.

"I must lend you my congratulations, Mascada. I had no idea you had been granted a position on the Seniore board."

"I…I haven't."

"Oh, so you mean to enlighten me that you possess no such position to make a decision on who is ready for the Notitia and who is not? Which is it?"

"Madam, I'm afraid…"

"Yes! That's exactly what you are, Mascada. Afraid. And your fear is what has been holding you back all this time. Not another recruit, and certainly not Bonnie. Remember…grace, favor it shines on the just and the unjust, those who deserve it and those who do not. This is your third infarction. You're dismissed from the legacy."

"Madam, please! Please give me another chance. Forgiveness, I will do better."

Nokomis did not waver not even when she saw tears tracking down Mascada's cheeks. She shook her head sadly. "My decision is final. Dominions fight as one. They do not fight each other. And we do not envy. Until you can exhibit more self-control you cannot be among our ranks," with a flick of her hand she teleported a wailing Mascada out of her office.

Bonnie, who had been sweating inside her custom made jerkin waited for whatever sentence would be lobbed on her head. She felt Nokomis hovering.

"You will encounter those who will challenge you, who will envy you for the dispensation you've been granted. Never allow anyone to push you out of your destiny. You belong here as any other. Return to your quarters, kyriotēs."

"Yes, Madam."

Bonnie took two steps backwards, pivoting, and headed for the door…

…"I was in the fourth level of the Notitia…a program of sorts…a grueling one. There was a woman there…another recruit," Bonnie provided. "She had an issue with the treatment I received. She had been in Hedera longer and felt she was entitled to…things, I suppose."

What conversations that had been buzzing around the room quieted as interest in Bonnie's tale grew.

"Those things that I have earned after dying multiple times from what I've been told. She…attacked me one day."

"Did you kick her ass?" Matt inquired eagerly.

Damon remembered and had seen the damage little Bonnie Bennett inflicted with her fists, knees, and feet. He thought of that episode of Martin where Martin entered a celebrity boxing match and was paired up against Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns. Okay, so Mascada's head and eyes didn't swell four times its normal size, but no one had been gunning to ask her out on a date for a few weeks, that was for sure.

"Of course she did," Damon gloated. "She learned everything from me."

The Dominion rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him. He exaggerates."

"We know," Stefan held up his shot glass.

"You were…happy there? Safe?" Jeremy questioned.

Bonnie brought her gaze to him, nodded.

The academic in Alaric was practically salivating. "So you died…was transported to another realm where you endured tests to become what you are now?"

Bonnie had her terrifying moments as a witch. Alaric could only imagine what she was capable of as a Dominion.

Of course he couldn't resist doing some preliminary research, but what Alaric uncovered came from a religious context. He had a feeling Bonnie shared similar characteristics as Dominions from Judeo-Christian lore, but the differences were probably vast.

Bonnie's eyebrows drew together. Pieces were still missing but on the inside she knew that hadn't been her exact purpose.

"It wasn't," Damon revealed, getting up from the couch, crossed over to the dining area, and helped himself to a beignet. "Shelia, your grandmother," he nodded at Bonnie, "made a deal with someone who allowed Bonnie to pass over to Hedera and because she had been holding my hand at the time the Other Side fell apart, guess you can say I hitched a ride right along with her. First was a year of perfect leisure…"

A flash of wadding through sapphire blue water flared in Bonnie's mind.

"Nothing to do but read, get lectured at, eat, get fat, work on our tans, learn the ropes. By then we were pretty stir-crazy because we were used to running for our lives every three to six months. So we got it into our heads that we wanted to do more. Well…Bonnie got it into her head that she wanted to do more. Naturally I couldn't let her show me up," Damon took a bite out of the pastry and winked.

Bonnie smiled and shifted on her feet to better see the only person in the room she really trusted.

Jeremy pondered, "How long were you guys…in Hedera?"

"By my count…five years," Damon replied nonchalantly.

A chorus of "Five years!" rent the air.

Caroline had crept back into the room and maintained her distance. Her breath hitched when Bonnie looked right at her, but then her unnecessary breath expelled when her old friend offered her a tentative smile, one Caroline returned shakily.

Maybe everything wasn't damaged beyond recognition.

"Now this is a story I have to hear," Alaric proclaimed.

The suite as a whole was quiet with the occasional groan of a floorboard or a snore or two. Rolling out of bed, Bonnie trailed over to the French doors, opened one, and stepped out on a tiny wrought iron balcony.

Her head pounded with the litany of information Damon had expunged, but really he had only scratched the surface of what they experienced and endured together and individually. It sounded like the work of fiction and Bonnie still grappled with the notion that had been her life. It seemed so distant and far like trying to reach up and touch the sky with your bare hand from the ground.

Wrapping her arms around herself Bonnie looked at the moon—a pale, white quarter full rock hanging in the sky. Did the people who called this place home talk to this moon, make wishes on it? Did it serve any purpose other than lighting the dark streets below and dissecting time into quadrants?

The longer she stared at it unknowingly Bonnie began drawing energy from it. Her eyes became half-lidded and when she inhaled she swore she could smell electricity. Bonnie's wings burst from their hidden confines. She studied them and their luminescent glow. Fondled one and noted its softness. They rustled as if responding to another powerful presence and it was at that moment she glanced down.

Bonnie frowned. There was someone looking up at her perched on the sidewalk right under her balcony. Damn! She was exposed. She threw herself up against the wall and concentrated on making her wings disappear. They shrunk back into hiding and she, too, was prepared to slink inside the hotel but didn't. Squinting, Bonnie leaned forward a bit trying to make out the features of the man who peered up at her.

The light of the moon caught the sheen of his dark brown hair and highlighted the sharp angle of his cheeks. It also surrounded his shoulders and deepened the color of his…suit. Her face split apart in joy.

"Elijah."

One minute he stood on the pavement, and the next he was on the balcony with her having used his vampire abilities to propel him up three stories from the ground.

Bonnie didn't wait for him to say anything. She threw her arms around his neck drawing him into her warmth. In unison they exhaled as if an internal pressure valve released making it easier to breathe for the both of them.

The simple act of winding his arms around Bonnie made it hard for Elijah to keep his eyes open. They closed and he buried his nose in her hair. Her scent was thick like cake batter, swathing his olfactory senses mercilessly. Yet Elijah could detect hints of multiple scents comingling with Bonnie's natural fragrance. It made his lips shrink back to his teeth in annoyance that he could barely smell himself on her. Nevertheless, he ran his fingers through her locks, kissed her cheek, nibbled the corner of her jaw before sliding his hands down her arms and forcing them gently apart.

Bonnie cupped his cheek, the pads of her fingers brushed along his whiskers. "I don't remember picking up a phone and calling you."

Elijah smiled ruefully. "No, you didn't but that doesn't mean you didn't call to me in other ways."

Her eyes glittered, "What other ways could I have called you?"

"Hmm," Elijah's eyes traveled south over her person, the action causing Bonnie to flush slightly. "The scent of your skin…it grows stronger or weaker when you're thinking…certain thoughts and becomes little bread crumbs for me to find. Your aura alone is like a beacon. Once you've touched and tasted it as I have, you're equipped with finding it. Blindfolded."

Shyly, Bonnie looked away, but Elijah drew her face back toward his.

"Plus a second ago you were shining as brightly as the moon. You have to control that, Bonnie especially in this city," Elijah admonished.

"I know. I'm…trying. I don't have full control over everything yet. Honestly, what are you doing here?"

"Simple, I had to see you," the meeting with Jessup was still fresh on his mind. "You consider me a weak man for my inability to stay away from you?"

"I don't. It takes an…ambitious, right?" she laughed uncertain if that were the correct terminology.

"Yes, that's right."

"It takes an ambitious man to go after what he wants," Bonnie held his hands but her euphoria dampened. "Why me, Elijah? Why pursue? You could have stopped at your hospitality unless you make it a habit to be this way to anyone in need. I'm out of your…what's the saying?"

"Hair?" Elijah filled in. He didn't understand why he was drawn to Bonnie, and though he had lots of reasons not to get any closer to her, Elijah's weakness was his ability to think he could handle and juggle ten thousand responsibilities at once and remain unflappable.

His thumb followed the curve of Bonnie's jaw to her chin where he angled her head right where he wanted it to be. "I am a man at war with his limitations, and I strive for the best," Elijah lowered his head.

Her lips parted and didn't have long to wait for the invasion as a thousand years of experience possessed her mouth. Elijah slipped his tongue inside massaging Bonnie's with teasing flicks that made her restless and urgent to feel more of him. Their mouths moved hungrily and impatiently over one another with a bare drop of control that could come apart if Bonnie were to press any closer, feeling every corded and hardened muscle of Elijah's anatomy. Which she did and mewled accordingly at the feel of him.

The blood oscillating inside the Original began to flow straight for his…

Elijah regrettably ended the kiss, pulling away. A thin line of saliva still connected their lips then splintered when Bonnie leaned back.

He had made a bargain with himself once the idea got into his head to track down Bonnie's whereabouts. He would tell her everything that needed to be said and after purging his system, he'd irrevocably cut ties so that Bonnie could find her place in this world and among those who knew and loved her. But his role in her life would have to diminish, shrink back to what it had been before. Something was after him and he wouldn't allow that to taint her or use her as leverage to get to him. Elijah wasn't a stranger to going around the block. He knew how this system worked. Every woman he'd ever given a damn about had met a fatal end.

Bonnie could see something was wrong. His eyes were giving him away. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Everything is wrong," Elijah's grip on her hips inadvertently tightened. "To live as long as I have and still be an enemy of time," he kissed Bonnie's forehead because she was totally lost. "I know I'm making little sense at the moment, but I'm afraid…"

"Are you about to tell me that this will be the last time we'll see each other?"

He didn't speak for a moment and pinned Bonnie with an unrelenting stare. The timbre of his voice became grave. "If you were the girl you used to be you wouldn't want to have anything to do with me."

"But I'm not that girl anymore, Elijah," Bonnie almost shouted. "I just spent the last few hours stuck in a room with a bunch of people staring at me like a weird anomaly because I was dead," Bonnie ticked off with a finger, "lost my memory," another finger went up, "and the person they remember…she didn't come back and they expect something to click in my brain and for the old Bonnie to show up. I don't want to be who I once was because I'm not her, now. So stop holding on to excuses from the past as a reason in why we can't get to know the people we are today."

The Original smirked. He should have known Bonnie wouldn't accept his words as gospel and move on without fighting. However, Elijah couldn't risk her getting caught up in the middle of his various dealings.

"The man I am today, Bonnie is a man that a lot of people would love to see fall. You're getting your bearings and I don't want our…association to…to negatively impact that."

Bonnie opened her mouth to object and was promptly silenced with another scorching kiss that was much too brief for her liking.

"We will have our moment…it just can't be right now," Elijah concluded.

"I don't get a say?"

"You do, but I'm sure others would voice their opinions and they would probably side with mine."

Bonnie pursed her lips, threaded her fingers through Elijah's blunt hair. "Something tells me you're right."

"I was human once and being around you reminds me…that not everything has to have an ulterior motive for some auspicious gain. You remind me that life is precious and should be enjoyed, celebrated. I see you and I think of…hope."

Bonnie couldn't stop from grinning even if you bribed her. "I…um…I inspire that kind of thinking in just a few short days?"

Elijah framed her heart shaped face with his hands, "I believe, Bonnie you have the wherewithal to inspire men to go to war for the chance to receive the favor of your smile."

Most would expect their arrival into the city to be marked with rolling fog, skulking shadows, feet moving over rain dampened pavement, but it was a quiet, average night in a heavily populated city. The soft wails of jazz and house music floated from venue to venue, rooftop to rooftop. Adapting to the culture was the first rule of thumb before little by little extracting its roots and claiming it for oneself.

One of them whistled a happy tune and twirled two distinct coins between elongated fingers, smirking before oblong shaped eyes lifted up toward a second floor room.

To infiltrate a populace always go after the strong or the easily gullible.

Chapter end.

A/N: What did Elijah see on that document Jessup gave him? Is Avitus in hot water or is he in HOT WATER? The hardest part for me to write was Bonnie and the gang scene 'cause well, you know, lol. Thanks for reading, until next time.