Author's Note: Oooooh, we're almost at the climax and resolution of this story. Just a few more chapters to go, all! I'm definitely excited to share the conclusion with all of you :) Also, I'm already done planning out my next piece, which will be my own take on the BonKai High School trope. After immersing myself in such darkness for this story, I wanted to write something more teen dramedy-esque lol. To all readers here, a note that I will be posting all my future BonKai work exclusively at AO3. Hope to see you there!
"Fancy digs like this, you guys must have good bourbon." It was the first thing Damon said when he crossed the threshold of the Mikaelson manor. The second noise out of his mouth was a grunt as Bonnie swung a left hook into his jaw. She straightened up and tugged her sleeves back down, eyeing the other vampire as he snapped his joints back into place.
"That's for opening your big fucking mouth and getting us into this whole mess," she explained simply, already feeling mildly better.
Wiping the speck of blood from the corner of his lip, Damon scowled at the hybrid, but made no move to attack. "I'll let you have that one, Witchy, since you brought back mini-Gilbert." He squinted at her before shifting his gaze to the bar area in the dining room. Quickly making his way over, he'd poured and drank almost half of a glass by the time Bonnie was back in his face, with a bemused Stefan following close behind. "Furthermore," he said between sips, "difficult as it might be for you to believe, I didn't do it on purpose. How was I supposed to know that he was going to fly into the room at that moment?"
Regarding him carefully, it was Bonnie's turn to narrow her eyes. Pursing her lips in consideration, she remained silent for several moments. Finally, she nodded, accepting his response. "I know that...but punching you makes me feel better. You're still an ass."
Damon merely raised an eyebrow before shrugging as though to say fair enough. He offered her a glass before filling it up for her. "If it makes your sensitive soul feel better, I promise not to try to flay Psycho-killer while he's in his weakened state." He made a big show of looking benevolent, which made Stefan smack him hard in the back of his head. Frowning at his brother, his expression normalized. "I'm only here because you're putting Baby Bro on the path to potential death and he begged me to come and save the day."
"That's Damon-speak for 'I'm here to help'," Stefan chimed in, shooting a look at his brother. "He's not going to be a problem for you or Kai."
"That's literally what I just said."
Annoyed as she was by Damon, at the moment, she appreciated the snark. Whether or not he was trying to, he was lightening the heavy mood that had fallen over the group ever since Kai had turned his humanity off. It was a welcome respite, no matter how small.
Stefan nodded at her, Caroline, and Freya before leading Damon to the courtyard, no doubt to fill him in on the current situation.
"Any luck with Kai?" Freya asked when the two men were out of sight. "You went down there again this morning, right? First time since your argument four days ago?"
"Just to siphon the magic he's gained back," Bonnie said with a shrug, "but I magicked him unconscious first. I couldn't face him after our conversation. He's really good at pressing my buttons..." A lamenting sigh escaping her lips, she fiddled with the rim of her glass before taking a sip. "Whatever Stefan's doing isn't working. I know we've cloaked this place, but there's a ton of coven members collectively trying to find their leader and it's only a matter of time before they know where he is."
"Not to mention cult leader Joseph lurking out there somewhere," Caroline chimed in, smiling abashedly when she realized she wasn't exactly helping. "Sorry."
"Any other ideas?" Freya asked as she leafed through one of the many books that had taken permanent residence on the dining room table.
Shaking her head in disappointment, Bonnie took another swig. "I've been looking through every book in your library and all the books I took from Kai. Nothing. We can't just build a spell from scratch, you know? If we could, evil vampires would be a much smaller issue. There has to be a backbone...a spine to start with."
Freya nodded in agreement. "Maybe it's time to start thinking about a plan B."
"If you're going to tell me I have to kill him…" Bonnie began, already on the defensive, but the older witch held out a hand, bidding her to stop.
"That's not what I'm saying," Freya said firmly, glancing over at Caroline. "I've been talking to Liv and Caroline. I know the toll this is taking on you...and I think I might have a temporary solution."
Eyes flitting between the two women, she was too scared to feel hopeful. The last couple of weeks had been unbearably draining. Every time she'd dared to think she might have won one, life had a way of crushing her. "Okay...so what is it?"
"I don't know how much you know about Mikaelson history, but there are these daggers -"
"White oak daggers, right?" Bonnie interrupted, the lore coming to her. "You can dip it in the ash of white oak to temporarily dessicate an Original."
Freya nodded and pulled out an athame from her back pocket, thin and similar in appearance to the ones they were talking about. "We have a backbone with this. I think I can rework the spell to work on Kai. With everything coming at us, having him asleep will give us one less problem to be concerned about. Once everything dies down, we can put more focus on getting him to flip his switch back on."
"How is that different from what Joseph was trying to do?" Bonnie hissed. "You can't be serious."
"It won't be painful for him. And we plan on bringing him out of it," Freya explained simply, never one for pleading or theatrics.
"The guy is refusing to turn it back on, Bon," Caroline said beseechingly, decidedly more empathetic. "Stefan has thrown his entire arsenal at Kai. He's not budging. You said it yourself; you can't keep siphoning him."
Bonnie had to gather her thoughts. As far as "Plan B's" went, she saw the value in what they were saying. But the ever-present guilt in her brain continued to gnaw at her conscience. She sighed heavily. This whole fucking thing was a mess.
She didn't vocalize her thoughts, however. She chose, instead, to offer a small nod. "Worst-case scenario, okay. We can go with that…"
Before the conversation could continue, Liv burst through the door, slamming it behind her. "How long will these wards hold?" Her eyes were wide and hair wild from hands that pulled roughly at the strands. When nobody responded right away, her tone took a higher pitch. "How long?" She was clearly rattled and nervous.
"Liv, calm down," Freya replied coolly. "Hold against what?"
"Against more than a hundred Gemini witches." The younger woman turned and peered out the window. Bonnie came up behind her friend and gasped at the scene before her. There were dozens of witches and warlocks standing at the gates of the manor, hands joined and heads raised up to the sky.
Now that she was paying closer attention, she could make out the chanting. They were trying to break through the protections of the home. Spinning Liv roughly around, Bonnie had to remember her strength and softened her hold. "Liv, what the fuck happened?"
"They found me when I was picking up more spell supplies. I had the alerting spell cast on me, but they must have been tailing me with some kind of cover." Her lip trembled as she became even more distraught.
It was Caroline who stepped in to soothe her, dutifully playing the role of pacifier. "Liv, what did they do?"
"They read my mind." A tear escaped the blonde's lid as she recalled how brutally they'd prodded into her thoughts. "I'd managed to teleport out of there, but...it was too late. They were able to get our location." A shaky sigh escaped her lips. "Bonnie, they know."
Dread pooled in Bonnie's abdomen. She willed herself to remain calm. "What do they know?"
"That you severed the ties."
The bomb dropped on them felt atomic. If they knew, there was nothing to stop Joseph and his people now. They didn't need to develop alternative solutions. They were free to kill Kai. Frantically, she met Freya's eyes. "How long?"
Taking in the many witches outside, concern cracked through Freya's usually stoic demeanor. "Mikaelson magic is strong, but against that many people, we have a couple hours, tops." The witch spun on her heel and rushed to the books. "I think I can rework the spell quickly. Once Kai is under, we can hide him in the Mikaelson tombs deep underground. Only Mikaelson blood can enter. It'll allow us to focus on the fight."
"No." Bonnie's retort was sharp. "Just worry about gathering as many weapons and spells as you can." Without further explanation she hurried towards the cellar door. Passing a confused Stefan and Damon, she merely pointed behind her. "They'll fill you in."
She threw open the door and barreled down the steps at super speed. Uttering the incantation to unlock Kai's cell, she entered without preamble. Squatting down on her haunches, Bonnie called to him to see if he was conscious.
One eye opened slowly, red from starvation. He chuckled when he noticed her form. "Back again for seconds, Bonster? Aren't I lucky?"
"Shut up," she snapped. "I don't have time for your bullshit, Kai. I need you to listen to me."
Intrigued by her desperate and blunt tone, he remained silent so she could continue.
"In approximately two hours, Joseph's followers are going to break through the protection spells of this manor. And once those are down, your presence will no longer be hidden and your own people will know exactly where you are. We need your help."
Kai's laugh quickly became a choked cough as a drop of blood dribbled from his lip. "Based on what you're telling me...this is perfect. Either way, I get out from under you. Why should I help?"
"Because Joseph knows the ties have been severed." Her declaration gave him pause. "They're not going to take you hostage or try to put you to sleep, Kai. They're going to kill you."
His lips cracked as he pursed them together tightly, working through what she'd just told him. "Then I'll finally get to relax, hm?"
Bonnie's nostrils flared with anger as she moved to shake him by his shoulders. In his weakened state, he practically fell over, unable to steady himself as his hands were bound. "Where the fuck is your sense of self-preservation?" She was screaming, needing to break through to him. "Do you really not care if you die?"
"I care," Kai said serenely, "but knowing that my death would fuck you over makes me giggle."
She was growing desperate. She had to appeal to another side of him. The narcissistic side that craved power. And the subconscious part of him that still begged for love. "You said you covet power, yes? That you want obedience from your coven."
Kai seemed to ponder where she was going with this line of thinking. He nodded slowly, bidding her to continue.
"The second your group is able to locate you, they will descend on this manor to save their leader. All of them," Bonnie continued. "And they're going to walk to their deaths, Kai. Because Joseph is going to slaughter them. Your people are younger, less experienced." She felt a bit of relief as it seemed he was absorbing her words. "And my friends and I are going to have to defend ourselves if those witches come at us, Kai. We'll try not to kill them, but there's going to be dozens of people going at each other. There are bound to be some casualties."
"Get to your point, Bennett. My brain's not as quick these days."
"If you swooped in, helped us against Joseph and his league of assholes, you'd be a hero." She leaned in to further capture his attention. "The loyalty would be unconditional. You'd be their Savior." She lowered her tone considerably to punctuate the final word.
The last bit definitely interested him. Still, he seemed to hesitate. He held up his hands and waved the shackles he wore at her. "Not much I can do here, Bonster. You turned me into a neutered puppy."
This was the riskiest part and Bonnie was making a hell of a bet. "I'll give you back your power. If you agree to help us."
Kai laughed again, but this time it was incredulous. "And what's to stop me from offing you once this is over?"
"Nothing," Bonnie said simply. "But there's about to be a lot of innocent people showing up here, Kai, and I can't let them die. I need you."
"Why? You have my magic. You could take out half of them without blinking."
She let out a breath. "We need bodies, Kai. I can't be everywhere at once. And if your followers see that we're on the same side, we can avoid hurting them."
His features were schooled in thought, contemplative. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. "You make a good point, Bennett. But this needs further negotiation." Taking a deep breath to offset the coughing fit he felt coming, he cleared his throat before speaking again. "I'll even give some concessions."
She stiffened at his words. She had a feeling she wouldn't like where this was going. "Go on."
"I promise, even with my magic back, I won't kill you...or your precious little friendship circle."
"And in exchange…"
"You stop trying to get me to turn it back on." His request was simple, succinct. And it twisted her insides.
"Kai…" There was no way she could agree to this.
"Look, being in here gave me a lot of time to think." Another deep breath. "And between thinking of increasingly creative ways to pull off your limbs, I started to realize something."
"And what's that?" She was on the defensive, annoyed.
"You'll never give up. Unless I kill you...and even though that'd be super fun, the last thing I need is Bennett ancestral magic chasing me for the rest of my days." He spoke with such rationality that, for a moment, she forgot that he was gravely injured and weak. "So, that's the compromise. After this is over, go back to Mystic Falls. Forget about me and the Gemini. You don't get in my way and I don't get in yours."
"If you think that I'll just…"
"No, I don't think you'll "just"," Kai said abruptly, letting out a shuddering sigh. "But I also know your friends' hero complex has rubbed off on you. You've severed my link, Bennett. What happens to me no longer affects them. And you know they serve me better alive than dead. Take the deal."
"I'm not an idiot, Kai. Soulless Kai has zero morality. I stop and you get pissy one day and then I hear on the news that dozens of people were massacred overnight."
"Okay, then added compromise. After this is over, if you don't leave, I'll kill them." Still so calm, despite the cruel, evil words spewing from his lips. "All of them."
"You just said they were more valuable alive than dead," Bonnie exclaimed, practically dizzy from his constant change of direction.
"They are, but I'm immortal, I can rebuild."
It was ludicrous, the amount of pain this man could cause her. "Anything to get rid of me, right?"
The retort was sarcastic, but he nodded in agreement, nonetheless. "Exactly. There's this tickle in the back of my brain, Bonnie. It's always there, that part of me that loves you. It gets just a little stronger when I see you. It wants me to turn my humanity back on. And I won't. Never again." He met her eyes, then, embers crackling, the fire muted. "Whatever it takes to get you to leave me alone. It's worth it."
She'd begun to lose count of the number of times Kai had torched her these last few weeks. The knock in her chest was almost starting to feel normal. Had they ever been happy? It was hard to remember.
He started to hum the Jeopardy theme, pulling her away from her thoughts. "Clock's ticking, Baby. Dozens of lives are in your hands."
"Fine," she finally replied, tone clipped.
"You'll leave?"
Everything in her fought to say no, but for the time being, she had to play by his rules. "Yes."
"Excellent." He made a grabbing motion with both hands. "Gimme, gimme."
Bonnie closed her eyes for a moment, hoping with all her might that she wouldn't regret this decision. She shuffled until she was hovering over him, her hands laid gently against the metal. Reciting a quick Latin phrase, the cuffs fell from his hands.
Kai seemed surprised at how carefully she was treating him. He didn't fight when she intertwined her fingers with his. She pulled from the internal part of her that stored his magic.
The connection was painfully familiar and she wanted to slow this down, let it caress her, comfort her. Appraising Kai's closed eyes, it seemed like he was being affected as well. But she dared not hope. The last several weeks showed her that hope only caused her to fuck up. Instead, she continued to feed him, allowing the tendrils to reach out and find their home.
His hands moved, their clasped digits shifting to press against Bonnie's back. Kai was embracing her, lulled by their link. The awkward position caused her to topple into him, her legs straddling one of his. Head dropping forward, he seemed to nuzzle into her chest, taking in her scent with a loud inhale.
For a moment, Bonnie let herself give in, her cheek finding its way to rest against the top of his head. She let the rest of the magic go back to its owner.
Kai shuddered blissfully when the transfer was complete. Though he was still sallow and grey, the magic had healed his wounds and he seemed almost back to normal. His eyes snapped open and she gasped at what she found there. His orbs seemed soft, a shininess that she hadn't seen in so long.
But it disappeared quickly when he noticed their entangled state. She was met once more with the same indifference she'd become accustomed to. He shoved at her until she stood, backing away from him. Standing slowly, Kai wiggled his limbs and cracked his neck. The dangerous, fearsome smile was back in place.
"I'll need a blood bag," he said cheerfully, strengthened but not yet a hundred percent. Grin becoming even more sinister, he gazed at her, predatorial. "Unless you'd like to offer yourself up. I do so love the taste of you in my mouth."
"Fuck you," Bonnie sneered, lashing out from the hurt she felt. If she didn't actually need him, she'd spell him back unconscious.
Kai merely laughed and made his way towards the stairs. "Come on, Bonster. Let's go turn some people inside-out."
Bonnie followed behind, once again wondering if this was the right move.