The message came through with a beep. That was all it was a simple blip that alerted them that there was a message waiting for them on the phone. It was innocent and innocuous something they would have never taught twice about in any other situation.

But this was nothing that Bonnie and Grams had done before. They had never killed someone before (well threatened to kill) and they had never kidnapped someone before. Bonnie thought it would be something like the movies. They would kidnap some people then they would negotiate and then everything would be over.

So Bonnie picked up the phone. It was from a number that she did not recognize, but that was something that could be disregarded. She slid her finger across her phone and then played the video. Bonnie let out a scream and then dropped the phone to the ground. She backed up her eyes on the phone as she panted. Grams rushed out the kitchen with her hands up, ready to confront the dastardly foe that had dared to make her granddaughter scream to high heaven.

A shaking finger pointed to the phone as she swallowed down breath after breath. The image was burned into her brain. The blood, the gore, the bloody maw of the woman as she smiled into the camera. The video was still playing, and she could hear them. The council members whimpering and scared.

"They…They captured the council members they are threatening to kill one every thirty minutes if we do not hand over Kol," Bonnie said through deep breaths. Air was not going into her lungs the way that it should. Grams walked over to the phone and picked it up. She watched the video in its entirety but Bonnie shuddered and winces at every sound closing her eyes.

"Bonnie listen to me. We knew that this was a possibility. We captured one of the Originals and the Originals don't play fair—"

"Someone died Grams. Oh my God, I think I knew who it was it looked like Pastor Fell. Oh no April—"

"Bonnie look at me. Look at me. Bonnie. Look at me!" Grams strode over and gripped Bonnie's shoulders shaking her. Bonnie looked into Gram's wisened brown eyes. Those eyes that had given her comfort when she was scared and were always warm and welcoming. There was nothing but cool calculation when she looked into them now. "If we let the vampires get what they want they will be able to walk in the sun. No human will be safe. In the day time we have protection if we lose this battle then it is over. For all of us."

Bonnie nodded her head. She understood what her Grams was saying. She knew in her heart of hearts that she was right but the image of the man with his throat torn out and the blood spraying everywhere. There very thought of it made her stomach churn and bile rise in her throat. This is what they were contending with. Murderous monsters that wore the face of humans and Kol was a part of that family.

"Go into the kitchen and drink some tea. I'll deal with this." Grams pushed her towards the kitchen and Bonnie walked small slow steps. It felt like she was wading through water everything playing in slow motion. Nothing felt real anymore. And it felt like all she could do is sit and watch herself do everything. She watched as she poured tea and watched as she sat at the table to sip it. Kol watched from the living room spying on her from the small gap that connected the two rooms.

"You are out of your depth sweetheart," Kol sang from where her was perched. Bonnie's eyes slowly moved towards him. He was leaning against the fire place, one arm propped on the mantle and the other hand in his pocket. For being their kidnapping victim he was unusually nonchalant and relaxed like he had done this all before and was waiting for the end result to come. "You've never done something like this before."

"Elena. I-I have to save Elena," Bonnie said. That was the mantra that she kept repeating to herself. She had to protect her friend. She had to make sure that Elena made it through tonight and lived a life that was full and great and involved like a million grandchildren. "I won't let you kill Elena."

"Oh, but you'll let us kill old Pastor Fell? Did he deserve to die too? Only one person had to die tonight and it didn't have to be him."

Bonnie closed her eyes. She remembered Pastor Fell. She remembered those days in Sunday school where they would sing songs about Jesus and then head into the main sanctuary to hear him preach. He was not a mean or demanding preacher but some who gently pushed them towards the right path. Someone who wanted to see nothing more than for everyone in Mystic Falls to reach the pinnacle of goodness. Her eyes stung when she opened them again.

Pastor Fell was gone now.

"Will you let other dies all to save one girl?" Kol asked again.

It was a good question. What was so great about Elena that everyone else had to bend over backwards in order to make sure that she stayed alive? It was a thought that she had before. One girl for the rest of humanity. But if you listened to Grams it was one girl that could protect humanity from being the blood bags that vampires wanted.

Only one person had to die tonight.

The words stuck with Bonnie. Only one person had to die tonight. If she was to understand everything about the Original family, they never played fair and if they ensured the life of Elena without ensuring safety for themselves then it was all moot. They could save Elena for a night only for Bonnie and her Grams to be killed without a second thought. And then who would protect Elena?

Not the Salvatore brothers who were too busy fighting over her to remember that there was a human person in front of them. And the council knew nothing about this. Bonnie sighed and turned away from Kol, she opened her eyes to stare into her tea.

"I'm going to be in the garden to grab a couple herbs," Grams said as she walked past, dropping the phone onto the table in front of Bonnie. Grams walked out of the kitchen and out into the back porch.

Bonnie's eyes were glued to the phone and it was then that she made a decision.

Elijah walked through the woods, the branches and brambles crunching under his feet. The witch was ready and there moon was rising higher and higher into the sky. It was almost time for the ritual to begin. But there was still no doppelgänger and there was no sign of Klaus. Elijah frowned as he watched Katerina talk to the witch before making her way over to Elijah.

"Something is wrong," Katerina said as she came to stand in front of him.

"Evidently," Elijah said adjusting his cuffs. It was something of a bad habit that he had. Always going to fix his clothes when he felt something amiss. It was a telltale sign that he had but only those closest to him knew about it. Katerina was one of them.

She looked from his hands to his face and she sighed, leaning in closer to cup his face in her warm hands. Elijah sighed and fell into the touch, allowing her hand to cradle his head. Everything felt so much better with Katerina around. And soon they would be like this all the time. Like Klaus and Caroline but less madness.

"Nothing can go wrong tonight Elijah. We have worked too hard to secure my freedom for this to all go to waste," Katerina said, her lips a hairbreadth away from his own. Oh, what he would not give to lean into her kiss, to embrace her openly and fully with all of his might. But he had priorities and getting Katerina her freedom was at the top of his list.

"Everything will go smoothly. I will ensure it," Elijah said pulling away. He adjusted his cuffs once again and slid a hand into his pocket. Pulling out his sleek phone he dialed his brother and prayed that he wasn't in a sour mood.

It rand once before his brother's harsh voice was on the line. "What is it brother?"

"It is almost time for the ritual. What is going on?" Elijah asked.

"Just a minor hiccup. It seems that the Bennett witch started having second thoughts and decided to kidnap Kol."

His blood turned to ice. Kidnap? That was a very foolish thing to do. He could feel the burning anger rising within him, but he kept it from showing on his face. He knew better than to let the anger and vitriol show on his face. He was not as volatile as his brother.

"And the situation is handled?"

"Almost." Klaus answered. "Give a few moments and I will be there. You know that I would not miss this event for the world."

"Of course, see you soon Niklaus." Elijah ended the call and then turned to look at Katerina. Her eyes were wide and then Elijah walked over to her. "They have captured my brother which means there is another chance for you to gain your freedom. Go and help him escape the Bennett house and then you will be free."

Katerina nodded her head. "Do you think that Kol will stick his neck out for him. He and I have barely interacted."

"If Kol is anything it is memories. He will never forget when he owes someone a debt. He will vouch for you. Now go." Elijah leaned close and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. And then was gone like a ghost and leaving Elijah in the dark of the woods.

He walked out of the shadows and saw the vampire and the werewolf already in their circles. He had compelled them to not move from the circles and there was a small ring of flames dissuading them from doing so. Elijah went to stand next to the witch, Greta, who was all smiles.

"Is he coming?" she asked. The girl was always looking at Klaus with that stupid besotted expression. He would had felt sorry for her if it wasn't so pathetic. Klaus was a spoken man and had been with Caroline for half of his existence. It was going to take more than a much up bra in order to convince Klaus to look her way. Elijah nodded his head and Greta's expression brightened.

"There was just a small problem that he needs to deal with before hand and then everything will go smoothly." In reality his heart was pumping. He needed everything to go smoothly in order to ensure that Katerina and him could be together. He needed everything to go off without a hitch. And if it did not then Katerina was doomed.

Klaus could not very well deny two of his brothers if they begged together could him. Yes, Katerina was the doppelgänger that got away but surely he would see the good that she had done by arranging for the ritual to go off with out fault? He had to. He had to.

Elijah sighed and gripped the bridge of his nose. They had planned this carefully everything down to the letter. Making the Salvatore brothers fight amongst themselves and getting Shiela and Stefan roused by the Sun and Moon curse. All it would take would be a little convincing and then they could be together. It would work.

Elijah watched the werewolf and the vampire inside their circles. The vampire was an old enemy, a man that had offended the whole family in one way or another. It was not hard to find him as it seemed that he had not even been trying to hide himself. Katerina was able to snatch him up despite him being a decade or two older than her. And then there was the werewolf someone that no one would miss.

They were lurking in the woods lamenting their state when they had found him. And when they had offered him a chance to end his pain he jumped on it. It was obvious that he had not thought that this would be what they meant. Elijah looked everything over and then peer closer to the book that Greta was holding. The spell was something that they had gone over hundreds of time to the point that Elijah could repeat it in his sleep.

He nodded his head and then looked out at the ritual. Everything was going to work. It had to.

Bonnie and Shiela were going to let him go. That much was obvious. They believed that if they did then the world would end because vampires would be able to walk in the sun and turn humans into their little pets. What they did not know was that it was all a ruse. A farce, a lie, to make others gather the materials for them so that Nik could become the vampire-werewolf hybrid that he was always meant to be.

But he was sure that if Nik knew that all his machinations and his planning would lead to this then he was sure that he would have never come up with such a plan in the first place. Kol closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch. He should have known that Bonnie would not have willingly spoken to him. Not after everything that he had done.

She was furious when she found out that he had been grooming her to be the witch that ended Klaus's curse. Hurt that he had approached her with such horrible intentions. And there was nothing that Kol would not have done in order to cleanse himself of that sin. Bonnie was a pure soul. Someone who loved magic just as he did.

Oh, it had been so long since he had thought of his years as a warlock, as a person with magic and nature just at his fingertips. If he closed his eyes he could feel it now. The magic that lingered in his veins stored up from when that witch hit him with magic. His body though dead, soaked up the magic as though it was a sponge. He could feel in lingering through him. It ignited his veins and made him shiver.

It sat down low in his stomach, a pool of power that he had no idea how to access. He had been to Haiti and to Martinique trying to figure out how he could use this power. Some small part of him thought that this was his chance to become a warlock once more. But very endeavor that he tried revealed nothing but barren fruit. The power stayed unmoving within him and he could find nothing to stir it and make it bend to his will.

Sitting there in the living room of the Bennetts, he knew that he had to do something. Nik would be furious that the Bennetts thought that they could capture him and use him as a bargaining chip. His family would be incensed and then what would happen to Bonnie? No. The girl did not have to pay for the sins of her grandmother. He had to find a way out of this and make sure that he got a handle on his family.

He thought of Bonnie's face, the way that she screamed when she saw the carnage that his family could wrought. There was no way that she had thought of this plan all on her own. No, this is something that her grandmother must have put her up to. Fuck, he needed to find a way out of this room.

He opened his eyes and rose from the couch. There had to be something that he could do. He walked over to the mantle and the fireplace where a fire burned low in the hearth. What could he do? What could he do? He turned his eyes to Bonnie who held a phone in her hands. Her hands shook around the phone as she pressed a button on the screen. His sensitive ears picking up the beeps with each button that she pressed.

What was she doing? Bonnie pressed each button on the screen and then raised the phone to her ear and Kol could hear the dial tone begin to ring? Who was she calling? The dial tone rand for the third time before someone picked up.

"Well it seemed that worked better than we thought. Are you ready to give us our brother back?" Rebekah's snarky tone spoke down to Bonnie. Something inside of Kol unfurled. Oh, thank the heavens, Bonnie had come to her senses and she was going to let him go.

Then, quick as lightning the phone was snatched from Bonnie's hand and the call was ended. Shiela stood in front of Bonnie with her brow furrowed and her lips turned down in a frown.

"You were thinking of letting him go?" Shiela said, her voice dangerously low.

"They-they have the council members. They are going to kill them if we don't let them go," Bonnie said. It was obvious that her mind was still frazzled. She ran her hands over her arms like she was cold and her eyes darted around the room, looking for some boogeyman that was not there. "We can't just let some people die—"

"Bonnie this is for the greater good—"

"If good is being on the side that will allow a bunch of innocent people die then I don't want to be on that side. It's wrong and the fact that you—"

"I am trying to save humanity as a whole here! And I will not allow you to get in the way of that!"

"What is the point of saving humanity if this is the way that we do it! I don't want to be a part of this. I can't do it!" Bonnie broke down in tears then and the very sound and sight of her tears made Kol clench. He wanted to reach out and wrap his around around her. But it was only her grandmother that could touch and she was looking at her with eyes colder than steel.

"I knew you couldn't handle this. I knew that you could not handle everything that came with being a witch. This world is too dangerous for you." Shiela sighed and then stepped back from Bonnie. "I'll fix this."

She raised her hands and then began to chant. The words were first mumbled and then grew strength with each utterance. Kol listened to the words and his heart seized in his chest and his blood ran cold. It was a memory wiping spell. She was going to lock all of Bonnie's memories away.

A part of Kol wanted to let her do it. Let Bonnie forget everything about them and allow them to start all over again. But then he thought of the joy on Bonnie's face when she master a spell or the genuine excitement she got when he told her about magic. It was cruel to take something away from her like this. Something that she loved.

Kol zoomed over to the side of the barrier closest to them and screamed out. "Stop! Stop!"

Bonnie clenched her head as the memories one by one were locked away. Kol screamed out and fought against the barrier that was keeping him in the room. He fought with everything that he had. Then like a match to tinder, her felt something. It was like a line that was leading him home. He felt the power inside of him surge.

It grew inside of him and he urged the power up. He needed to stop this. He needed to get to Bonnie. He could feel whatever was igniting the power grow and grow with each attempt to break the barrier. He pressed against it, putting all his weight against it.

Bonnie cried out again and Kol screamed. The power rushed out of him all at once. It was like the whole house was pushed away from him. Everything exploded outwards and he watched as the only fixed point in the room.

Shiela and Bonnie were blown away and Kol was left standing in the untouched living room. His blood froze in his veins as he looked top and saw the night sky. "Bonnie?" he called out.

Lights were beginning to turn on and people were making there way out of their houses to find out what was the source of that big explosion. Kol warred within himself, but knew he could not stay.

He took one look where the Bennett house used to be and prayed Bonnie was okay before he raced off into the night.

Author's Note: I hope y'all are ready for some quick turn around with these chapters because I'm focusing on this story until it is finished!