Author's Note: Finale of this epic battle! Oh... ...I'm really sorry. Eek! Don't kill me!
He'd reappeared at the gates of the courtyard entrance and he was in his primal element. It was the same energy he had the night of the ill-fated Gemini gathering; his depraved nature hovered at the surface, ready to make a loud appearance.
There was an electricity that surrounded him, causing the air to crackle and pop. He moved towards the circle with such fluidity that he seemed to be gliding. A Joker-esque grin marred his usually boyish features as his eyes darkened to pure black.
If the trio had any fear regarding Kai, they didn't show it. In fact, it would almost seem that they were happy to see him, glad to have the help. His appearance gave them reprieve from the attacks, extending the lives of their enchantments just a bit longer. It gave them license to be more on the offensive, further reducing Joseph's numbers.
Speaking of the deceased...as a show of omnipotence, Kai raised his hands and tightly clenched his fists, causing all the dead rebels to burst into flames.
Dozens of small fires peppered the stone grounds of the manor's property. Bonnie's nose wrinkled as the smoke and charred smell assaulted her senses. She also noticed that the force pushing back on her had lightened slightly.
Joseph saw what Kai had done and had dropped his arms to turn to his enemy. The others continued on their task. "You disrespectful piece of fucking shit," he bellowed, the air around him thickening. "You dare to destroy our dead. Burying Gemini witches is a sacred right."
The hybrid merely rolled his eyes and strolled forward a few more yards. "Hypocrite, much, Joseph? I saw you do the same to some of mine."
"They were traitors to our line."
"Funny, I'd say the same thing about you," he replied with a quirk of an eyebrow. "We can talk about it, though, if you want. Just gotta come out of your cocoon and play."
Bonnie knew Joseph wouldn't budge. At the end of the day, the man was a coward unfit to lead. It was a wonder people followed him at all.
Kai was also aware of this fact, so he decided to put some pressure on the situation. Not caring who he was aiming for, he held out his arms and telekinetically dragged two witches towards him. They screamed for their leader, but of course, he didn't come to their rescue. Instead, the older man paced inside the safety of the protection charms, becoming increasingly agitated.
Making sure his enemy was watching, the witch/vampire muttered a curse. The result was instantaneous. The two screamed in absolute agony as he ran a hand over them and flayed their skin. The layers sloughed off to the ground, leaving behind bodies that only remained alive due to the adrenaline in their veins. Caroline heaved loudly at the grotesque display, and even the Salvatore brothers looked a bit queasy.
For his part, Kai found this extremely entertaining. He watched, amused, as their screams became pathetic gurgles and the light left their eyes. Dropping them to the ground without another thought, he picked out a couple more from the crowd and yanked them forward. He had them float on either side of him, terrified expressions frozen onto their faces. The other witches were looking to cast offensive spells, but the vampiric trio had regained their wits and began acting as the hybrid's bodyguards, eliminating anybody preparing an attack.
"Joseph, do we really have to play this game? I've done all this before and I love it, I do, but it's been a long fucking day and we should let the children go to bed. Have ourselves an adult conversation." To punctuate his last sentence, he removed the two witches' heads, literal explosive pops that rained blood on those surrounding them. Crudely, his tongue lapped the side of his mouth at a crimson drop. "Ooh, tasty." Two more bodies were discarded to the ground. "We've reduced you to less than half your fleet, Asshole. Bennett is minutes away from overwhelming your wards and we have a Mikaelson witch keeping the manor in tip-top shape. In other words," Kai leveled his eyes at the other leader, "I win, Joseph."
"Such overconfidence," Joseph sneered, stepping up to the edge closest to Kai. "The fight isn't over yet."
"I'd say it is," Kai said, casually flicking at three who dared to run towards him. They clawed at their chests desperately as water flowed from their mouths. He was drowning them from the inside-out. "You have a lot of followers, I'll give you that. Seems like you poached most of the Gemini coven." Like a choreographed dance, Stefan and Damon snapped the necks of two more witches on either side of him. "But I have three of the most ancient familial lines on my side, with the strongest witches in existence wielding the power. Don't be stupid, Joseph. Think of the lives of your people." He turned to Caroline and smirked. "I mean, not that I care, but, like, noble leaders are supposed to say shit like that, right?"
The blonde didn't know how to respond to this man's complete lack of regard for the danger surrounding them, so she remained mum, crushing the heart of another in her way.
"You're absolutely right, Malachai," Joseph shouted over the din of noise. "You have hit us thoroughly...we've lost many." He reached for the sky and released what looked like a beacon. Eyes piercing Kai's, he offered his own vicious smile. "Good thing we've been recruiting."
Bonnie had finally managed to shatter the shield over Joseph, but the triumph was short-lived as his words registered. Fuck, of course he had a contingency plan. Fucking Geminis and their contingency plans.
A huge group appeared in a crack of thunder; there had to have been at least thirty. Their faces all wore the same expressions of determination, having waited in the wings for this very moment. They'd had time to plan, to assess the battle from afar and come up with the best course of action.
A prepared enemy was never good.
Quick reflexes broke her out of her daze as Bonnie aimed at Joseph and his elite. If she could take out a number of them, it would offer a reprieve so she could figure out what to do with the new arrivals.
"Vena Lacero, navitas crepitus," she hollered, immediately shredding the veins of a handful and knocking out another few. The old man had used his people as buffers and was unscathed. He shrank back, knowing he was an open target, and ran into the shadows. Hiding like a fucking cur while his people laid their lives down for him. It was disgusting. He was a waste of magic.
"Fuck the manor, we need you guys out here." The words were for Liv and Freya, who had slunk inches forward past the threshold, anticipating they'd need to help.
"The shield won't hold long." Freya scanned the crowd and placed a well-aimed curse at the new arrivals, who had begun to move methodically towards the center, acting as one. The unit was smart; they knew they'd cause a lot more damage if they used their magic in tandem. "Me ne de qual suurentaa." Several who were leading in the front immediately dropped, necks completely twisted.
But still, they marched on, undeterred, barely noticing that Freya had managed to take out some of them. They were all making their way towards Kai...Bonnie had a sinking feeling that they had been drafted for a single mission. The Gemini leader spun around to face the onslaught of witches, procuring a psychic blast to hold them back. The group was ready and simultaneously threw up their hands, causing the energy to ricochet back at Kai.
The siphon was knocked high off his feet, flying backwards. He managed to regain his bearings and did a backflip mid-air, landing cleanly on his feet. He clearly had been hurt, though, as Bonnie noticed that his movements were a bit clumsy.
The latecomers converged on him once more, this time aiming an immobilization spell. "Corporis impetus." It was eerie, how in sync they were. It was literally like they had melded to form one gigantic super-witch. Kai was stopped dead on his tracks, but he fought hard against the binds that held him and somehow managed a few silent incantations that caused a number of the cult to suffocate to death.
Bonnie faced her two witch friends. "Be careful, okay? Stay behind the blood barriers for as long as you possibly can. Protect yourselves."
Liv knew the danger the darker-haired woman was about to put herself in and gave her a quick embrace. "You, too. Give 'em hell."
A small smile gracing her lips, she swiveled to face the chaos. "See you guys on the other side." With a quick prayer to her ancestors, Bonnie blurred forward, throwing out as many offensive spells as she could while she made her way to Kai.
To her left, Stefan's luck had finally run out and the protection spell she'd provided melted away. A witch took advantage and called out a bloodletting spell, causing wounds to gape open on multiple parts of his body. His chest, arms, and legs looked like they had been riddled with bullets. Sensing his opponent's weakened state, the warlock then attempted a heart extraction spell. The vampire gasped in pain and fell to his knees, blood dribbling from his lips as he clutched at his chest. She was about to redirect and help, but Damon had already severed the man's jugular.
"Run," she shouted to the raven-haired man. "The magical deflection spell is going to break any second and we can't help you." All the witches needed to save their energy for the final fight to come and she sensed that Damon understood that. He nodded and flashed over to pick his brother up.
"What's happening?" Caroline cried out, coming up next to them. "Where are you going?"
"Irish goodbye, Blondie." Damon hoisted his brother's underarm over his shoulder. The bloodletting spell had taken its toll on Stefan and he needed to get him out of there so he could heal. He had essentially been drained of his supernatural capabilities. "I think this is above our pay grade."
"What? No way, we can't leave Bonnie." The second she said the words, she noticed the state of her boyfriend and gasped in horror. "Oh God, what's wrong with Stefan?"
"One of the reasons we need to leave." Damon made a dramatic show of tipping his head towards the front gates.
Caroline was clearly torn. She knew that they had to take Stefan to safety, but she couldn't stomach leaving her friend when things were this bad. "I can stay, Bonnie. Damon can take Stefan and I can stay."
The witch knew she had to hurry, that she couldn't stretch this out. Grabbing her friend's hands, she squeezed tightly in reassurance. "Care, I love and so appreciate that I have a friend like you. Your loyalty means the world to me, but this is a magical battle and I can't support you anymore. You guys have taken down so many of them already. You've done enough." She smiled gratefully. "Now, go." Nudging her gently by the waist, she nodded to Damon, silently bidding him to take care of them. She didn't wait for an answer before blurring away towards Kai.
Kai, Freya, and Liv seemed to be working as a cohesive unit. One of them had managed to slash the binds that held the hybrid. While Kai focused on eliminating the rebel fighters, Liv and Freya provided shields and defensive spells to give him room to fight. Using her speed to her advantage, she slithered until she crouched as close to the center of Joseph's original followers as possible. She couldn't infiltrate the newbies; they were woven together too tightly. "Kai," she roared, "jump. Now."
Needing no further warning, he leapt up just as Bonnie placed her palms down. "Phasmatos fulgur." The ground became a conduit as Bonnie fed lightning from her fingertips, sending electrical pulses through the soles of the witches' feet. In an amazing show of power, no less than thirty of them became completely devoid of life. It was a risk; she'd poured an enormous amount of her limited resources into that spell. But it seemed to pay off.
Kai landed approximately twenty feet back and immediately threw psychic blasts at a handful of witches, sending them to join their dead companions.
Bonnie blurred over to him, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they assessed the threat. She could only hope that their odds of winning now that there were less assailants. With Liv and Freya supporting the two, they began to fire off spells simultaneously, breaking into a rhythm so similar to the night of their first date. For the first time since this whole battle began, she felt more steady, more ready to believe that they might be able to finish this once and for all.
Unfortunately, she should have known better. Everything that had happened thus far showed her that shit always went south when she assumed there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
Barely twenty minutes after she'd deigned to have such thoughts, a huge gale whooshed through the area, as though the air was getting pulled back towards the manor. Freya gasped and turned to the home. The blood spell had dissolved. Nothing was protecting her and Liv now.
"Fuck," Freya grunted, turning to her fellow blonde. Freya could handle herself, but she worried for Liv. Powerful, but young, less experienced. "There's four of us and fifty of them. None of us are at 100%. We need to finish this. If you can shield just us, it gives me freedom to help Kai and Bonnie."
"Start moving." Liv harnessed her remaining energy and walked behind Freya, covering them both.
Freya didn't start off light. "Le specto tre colo ves bestia." She immediately tore down a myriad of witches, crushing their hearts in their chests. Reeling back, she fired off another one. "Imperium fluctus malleus." A shock wave shot out from her body, knocking a group unconscious. Twelve more down.
Bonnie was glad to see that Liv and Freya had joined. The magical fatigue was setting in so heavily, she could feel the loss in her bones. Even though she'd tried to siphon the magic from some of Joseph's witches, her core was considerably weakened and less able to absorb. She was going to shut down soon and, glancing at Kai, she saw the same exhaustion. The snark was gone and he was just trying to survive at this point. His spells were considerably less powerful now, as were hers. Even Freya's essence was starting to dwindle, her innate magic fading. They'd all been using their magic non-stop, and at 100%, all day.
The four of them stood in a circle, facing outward, Liv and Bonnie keeping the shield up while Kai and Freya, the less weary duo, lobbed offensive curses and spells.
"Any ideas?" Liv shouted to her companions. "Because this is not exactly working in our favor."
"There's just too fucking many," Bonnie panted, magic further waning. "I've depleted everything: there's no magic left for the moment in the Bennett line."
"Can't you siphon?" Freya shouted, throwing out a fireball that simply bounced off of a barrier spell.
"I don't think I'm absorbing at full capacity," she shook her head. "It never lasts long enough to be fully effective. My core's fucked up." She turned to Kai. "What about you? Maybe you can try to harness the magic that Liv's shield is absorbing?"
"My core is damaged," Kai said bitterly, barely looking at her. "I've been drained back-to-back-to-back. I can't take in anything right now. Even my vampire magic is becoming impossible to harness."
Bonnie pursed her lips in guilt, knowing his tone was aimed at her. He was partly right to feel that way; she had been the person to drain him the last several days. As she tried to come up with an alternative plan, some way to get them all out of this alive, Joseph interrupted her thoughts.
The greasy snake slid out from his hiding place and stepped forward until he could press a palm against Liv's enchantment. "I told you, Malachai. You're overconfident. That's your downfall."
"We're just getting started," Kai said with a cheeky grin. He threw out a spell for good measure, a young witch's heart sailing into his waiting hand. He seemed sure, almost cocky, but Bonnie could feel from the way his magic pulsed that he was running on empty.
"No, we're not," Joseph replied, shortly, already tasting the victory on his tongue. "I knew you two would assume you could destroy us. All powerful king and queen, unstoppable. And with your Original witch. Omnipotent." He chuckled at their hubris. "I just had to wear you down. And it looks like I executed this perfectly." He gestured around him. "We outnumber you and you are trapped." The hatred multiplied when he met Bonnie's gaze. "You should've run when I told you to, Miss Bennett. Your ancestors must be sickened by you."
"The Bennett line was feeding me what I needed to trounce your ass, so I'd shut your fucking mouth," Bonnie snapped, hands never dropping. No matter what, this shield spell was going to fucking hold. "They let me pull from them today because they knew you were on the wrong side of this, Joseph."
"My brothers and sister will hunt you to the ends of the earth if you hurt me." Freya wasn't threatening Joseph, she was merely explaining the circumstance. "They don't take kindly to anybody messing with their family."
"Miss Mikaelson, of course I'd gladly let you go, but I fear you will attack us and I just can't take that risk." Joseph paced around them, hands behind his back, his followers silent and awaiting orders. Based on what Bonnie could see, they needed to recover as well. "You will all be tried separately. I'm sure your lineage will be taken into consideration."
"If you think for one second I'd ever let you execute me, you're dumber than my father was, old man," Kai said, seething.
"You don't seem to have much of a choice." He chuckled again. "There's no way for you to escape this."
Bonnie could feel the tendrils of Kai's magic wrap itself around him, his anger fueling him for a final stand. His internal base was working overtime, trying to absorb whatever magic it possibly could. This wasn't going to end well.
"Kai," she said softly, but with a firm warning. Don't do it; whatever you're thinking, don't do it.
He chose to ignore her and focused on Joseph. "You're right, Joseph. I can't. But I can fucking take you down with me." With a quick motion, he zapped both Bonnie and Liv. His sister fell unconscious immediately and his fellow hybrid went crashing to the ground, effectively taking down the shield. Her temper flared at his continued reckless behavior. He'd just put a bullseye on their backs and left them with zero defense. All because he didn't want them to try and stop him.
"Get Liv out of here, Freya," Bonnie gasped, shaking off the effects of his spell and hopping to her feet.
"I'll be back." Freya lifted the younger woman telekinetically and quickly teleported out, leaving nothing but empty space.
It was just the two of them now and Kai had decided to go kamikaze. Excellent.
The man in question used his super speed and strength to uppercut his enemy as hard as he could. The grey-haired warlock crashed backwards into a group of his followers, causing them to slam into the ground. Kai immediately pushed forward three fireballs, aiming directly for the rebel leader, but he missed his mark. Joseph had used multiple followers as shields and those bodies were now added to the rising count.
"Fucking trash," Bonnie shouted, throwing out a sonic boom that hit its intended target. However, due to her depleted state, she only managed to confound him.
Her opponent stood quickly and Bonnie was certain he was going to attack her. However, he turned and squeezed his fists until Kai dropped down in agony. Several others stepped forward to strengthen the hold.
Magic lacking, she hoped that she still had some of her super speed left and tried to rush the group of witches holding her fellow hybrid. However, she found her limbs frozen in place, with multiple people having hexed her with immobilization spells.
"Now," Joseph growled. All the witches and warlocks locked arms and chanted loudly, the start of an energy blast forming like a bright flare that surrounded Kai.
Bonnie looked on in absolute terror, devastated that she couldn't help him. Usually he'd be able to absorb a good portion of a spell this powerful, but in his current state, there was no way. The full brunt would kill him.
And it was all her fault. "Kai, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She was fighting with everything she had, trying to scrape even a speck of the borrowed ancestral magic within her to break the binds. But she didn't have anything left and it felt like the bridge between her vampirism and core was malfunctioning. She was barely a witchling.
Kai couldn't even respond, his healing abilities shot and the pain decimating him.
"Don't worry, Miss Bennett. You'll join him soon enough." Joseph's voice was cheerful, vibrant. Bonnie wanted nothing more than to melt his eyeballs out of his sockets. "I was hoping to have a trial since we'd set ourselves up to have one, but an impromptu execution works, too." It was amazing how similar he was to Kai. Bonnie wondered if Joseph's people would ever realize that they'd traded one sociopath for another.
"After today, the Gemini will be restored to our original greatness and will be able to shine again," he continued, grand and dramatic. "Ready…" The energy was coiling, building its peak and ready to overflow. "Aim…"
A crack to her left alerted Bonnie that Freya had returned. Her friend uttered a spell, thrusting her palms outward. The witches holding her down were now decapitated, freeing her. Without thinking twice, she bolted forward right as Joseph bid them to fire and stood in front of Kai, sheltering him with what little magic she had left. Even if it was diminished, she still had some ability to absorb. She had a better chance of safely ingesting enough of the power to give them all a fighting chance.
The energy that hit her burned and nicked at her skin, causing millions of tiny wounds. But she was prepared and had prepped her body to siphon. The magic fed her and at first, it felt glorious, like she was being made whole once more.
But the joy was short-lived. Milliseconds in, Bonnie felt something crack within her and she knew, immediately, that it was her core. She'd over-estimated how much she could handle and her center was overwhelmed. Pain began to radiate out from her abdomen and she cried out in anguish. No, no, no.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Panic set in and Bonnie threw out her arms to expel some of the magic. If she could relinquish some of it, it'd give her the ability to move away. But she was rooted in place. In her haze, she could make out Joseph's look of satisfaction. He was keeping the magic embedded within her, trapping it.
Bonnie hadn't felt fear like this since she was a small child and learned that monsters were real.
No, no, no.
The pain hit a crescendo and she could feel her magical core completely shatter, little shards that shot outward and broke her into pieces.
She'd died before...many times. But it never felt like this.
No, no, no.
Freya was trying to get to Bonnie, her demeanor frantic and desperate. She was quickly overtaken by the enemy warlocks. The woman continued to shout Bonnie's name, screaming words that made no sense, had no meaning. Her brain was so foggy…
No, no, no.
It felt like she was experiencing a lifetime torture, but only mere seconds had passed. A tear fell from her eye, a boiling rivulet that burned a path on her cheek. Was this really the end?
No, no, no.
Would she see her mother and father? Emily? Or would there be nothingness?
No, no, no.
Would she ever see Kai again? Her friends?
No, no, no.
Was Kai okay? Had she been able to protect him in the end?
No, no, no.
The last thing Bonnie heard before her soul was forcefully sucked from her husk of a body was the man she loved calling to her.
No, no, no.
Okay, Okay Okay! I know, I know! It was a hard chapter to write on so many levels, and I'm sure a number of you are a lil mad at me. And I know, of course, how frustrating it is that even my Bonnie Bennett can play the role of the sacrificing hero. But the story is not over friends, so please trust my process! 4 more chapters and an epilogue to go! Thank you for everyone who stuck with me. The next story will not be so heart-wrenching, I promise!