Her ears were ringing and the air felt charged like there was electricity coursing through it. Bonnie pushed up on her hands, supporting the weight of her upper body as she looked around. All around her were the remnants of her home. The only home that she had ever known. Where was Grams? What had happened?
She crawled towards where she heard some soft moaning and weak gasping. What happened? Why had their house exploded? Her thoughts were discombobulated. One thought would rise only to be bullied into submission by another. And when she tried to think back, to remember what had led to her laying in the grass with pieces of the house all around her, her thought drew blank. She could not remember what happened.
Grams would know though. Grams always seemed to know and she would make sure that Bonnie was safe. Bonnie did not even spare a thought to her house and all the things that were once inside of it. It didn't matter, as long as Grams was okay. As long as they were together then they could rebuild. And this was Mystic Falls. Pastor Fell would run a drive to raise funds for them to rebuild their home and then everything would be okay.
People helped people in Mystic Falls.
So she crawled over to where she heard the soft gasps over the ringing in her ears. She gripped the grass and pulled herself towards the sound. It was Grams and she would be able to help. She would explain to Bonnie what had happened and then everything would continue on as though their house didn't just explode.
A mountain of rubble lay before Bonnie and she dug her hands into it and then lifted herself up. Standing on wobbly feet, Bonnie shuffled to the other side of the rubble where she found Grams.
And she cried out.
Laying there on the ground, impaled on a blade of wood laid Grams. Her breathing was in soft gasps and whisper thin wheezes. Bonnie fell to her hands and knees once more. She crawled over to her grandmother and lay on the ground. No, this was not fair. This was not what was supposed to happen.
Grams was supposed to be okay. Her grandmother was going to be there for everything: college graduation, marriage, her first kid. Grams was supposed to see it all. But here she was laying on the ground with a piece of wood sticking out of her chest. Tears blurred her vision as she reached her grandmother, shaking her arm lightly.
"Get up, Grams. You can't leave me," Bonnie whimpered.
Her mom didn't want her and her father was disinterested in her. Who else was she going to turn to now? Who would take Bonnie and care and love for her in the same way that Grams did. Grams wheezed again and then opened her eyes, turning her face to look at Bonnie. At the sight of those familiar brown eyes, Bonnie cried out again. "It's okay Grams. People are coming. Someone is going to help us."
"Bonnie. Bonnie, sweetheart—"
"No, don't say anything. An ambulance is going to come and fix you up. Help! Somebody help me, please!" Bonnie screamed out into the night. Grams grabbed Bonnie's arm and then shook her head. Bonnie looked down at her grandmother and wept.
"Bonnie. Bonnie, sweetie look at me." Bonnie dared to look at her grandmother and felt her heart break. Grams eyes were filled with nothing but warmth; with nothing but the tender love and care that Bonnie had known all her life. It was like she had stored a lifetime's worth of love all in that one look. The tears would not stop. They never would so long as Grams was giving her that look. "You are going to be okay."
"What about you Grams?" Bonnie could not help but ask.
"It's my time to go. It's time for me to be with my Grams and my mother and all of our family," Grams said with a small smile on her face.
"But what about me? You can't leave me all alone." She knew that it was selfish to want to keep her Grams with her, but she was all that Bonnie had. Grams was the only touchstone, the only family, that Bonnie ever had; had ever known. "This isn't fair."
"Now Bonnie I know that I have raised you better than that. You know that this world isn't fair. But know that I will be watching from the Other Side. I will always be with you for as long as you exist in this world. And then when it is your time to join me, I'll be waiting for you with open arms."
Bonnie sobbed into her hands. No, she rather die right this moment and be with her Grams than live a lifetime without her. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. Bonnie pulled her hands away from her face and fisted her hands on her pants. Grams was still smiling at her with that loving smile that made her heart twist.
"Now Bonnie remember this. This is important. There is someone who can take care of you and protect you from the Mikaelsons."
The name brought to mind the image of a boy with tousled brown hair and a rakish smile, but for some reason Bonnie could not put a name to the face. It was like she knew this boy but everything about him from his name to who he was had been stripped from her mind. Who were the Mikaelsons and why did Bonnie need protection from them? She could hear the boys voice in her mind, light and teasing with a hint of danger, but she shook her head and listened to her Grams.
"At Whitmore look for a man named Atticus Shane. I hate that you have to learn magic, but he will be the one who will instruct you in your powers and make sure that you are safe until you can defend yourself," Grams said.
"What? Grams I-I don't understand." She reached over and gripped her hand. Grams coughed and blood speckled her lips.
"You don't understand now but you will in the future my darling girl."Grams coughed again and there was more blood. Bonnie cried out at the sight of it and gripped her hand tighter. "It is time for me to go now, Bonnie. I'll be watching."
"No, Grams. No, don't leave me." But it was like watching steam escape a teapot. The life slowly slipped out of Grams, stretched out like the final notes of a song. And then all Bonnie was left with was the husk that once housed her Gram's soul. Bonnie cried out. It was a long drawn out howl of pain and aguish that could be heard for miles and everyone who heard it knew that someone dear had been lost.
Kol had appeared before their eyes like a ghost. Like a man who had not been kidnapped and they were currently in negotiations for, but Klaus was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He smiled and welcomed his brother and turned to the council members who were looking at him with fear and contempt.
God he could never tire of getting looks like that. Humans were nothing more than ants trying to posture as beasts. Well he would show them what a beast truly looked like. He smiled down at them and clasped an arm around his brother.
"Well as you see we have gotten my brother back which means that we don't need you anymore," Klaus said. The council members all seemed to sigh with release, their shoulders sagging as they felt that they were out of the woods. Klaus's smiled become a razor blade.
"Does that mean you are going to let us go?" someone asked. Klaus shook his head and he could feel all their hackles rising as he felt a laugh rumble out of him. A laugh surged through all the Mikaelsons and Caroline. He went over to his girl and pressed a kiss to her bloody lips. Caroline smiled into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. Once they pulled away he looked into those eyes that he had loved so much.
"How do you want to do this love? Clean and quick or dirty and messy?" Klaus asked.
"The messier the better," Caroline replied with a smile. Klaus turned to the humans, the silly human council that thought they could stand against vampires. Did they think that they could withstand the might of true monsters? That mere humans could withstand the weight of darkness? It was laughable.
All their fangs descended and it was in a matter of moments they descended on the human council. Sheriff Forbes put up the more effort. Grappling and wrestling with them, sending off shots that they danced around, but eventually, inevitably she too died at their hands. With their main line of defense gone the rest of the council members were nothing more than lambs waiting for slaughter.
They were quick with their kills but it was still a mess when they left their basement. The walls were dyed the color red and the bodies lingers around the room. And just like that the council was gone. All the members that thought they could fight off the vampires and the werewolves of the world were extinguished. Klaus smiled as he had his way out of the basement with Caroline wrapped around him. The two were sharing kisses as they rose from the darkness and into the light.
"And now time for the main event," Klaus whispered into Caroline's lips. Caroline giggled and then they sped out of the house. Kol and Rebekah keeping pace with him, they went to the place where they knew the ritual was waiting, where Klaus's freedom was waiting. In a matter of moments, they were there with Elijah and Greta the backup witch that they had chosen.
"Ah, brother you finally decide to arrive," Elijah said. Klaus smiled and he knew that his hair held a tinge of red from the blood from the way that Greta looked queasy even looking at them.
"There was the matter of Kol, but that was something that was quickly dealt with," Klaus said waving a hand at his wayward brother. Kol smiled at the attention and waved a hand.
"Two Bennett witches are nothing compared to other witches that we have dealt with," Kol said with a grin.
"Can we get this over with," Rebekah whined. "I want to take a shower."
"And where is the doppelgänger brother?" Klaus decided to ask.
"Right here."
The voice came from the darkness and from it emerged too familiar faces. They were exact copies for each other and if he did not know any better he would have thought that they were twins. But the edge on Katherine's face was unmistakable as a vampire. Elena was dragging her feet behind her. Every steps she fought against Katherine's hold, but the vampire was leagues stronger than her and forced her every step of the way.
"Here's your doppelgänger," Katherine said tossing her descendant into one of the circles. The moment the girl was inside the flames rose up and trapped her inside.
"Katherine and to what do I owe the displeasure of seeing you," Klaus said with his hands behind his back. Caroline was stiff as a board by his side. Her friend from so long ago that she had traveled with was in front of them, but Klaus could not spare her a thought when someone who had thwarted him so long ago was in front of him. Katherine stood in front of him as though she did not fear him and smirked.
"Who do you think made sure that all the ingredients to this ritual were gathered? Who do you think told them about the Sun and Moon curse," Katherine said. "I ensured that everything happened without a hitch."
"What Katerina means to say, is that she was making sure that nothing went wrong with your plan. It was her careful manipulation of the Salvatore brothers and the Bennetts that ensured that tonight could even happen," Elijah said.
Klaus flicked his eyes to his brother. So he was in on this was he? Ha, what could he have expected. His brother had always been led by his love for Tatia's face. He could not see pass that appearance to see the dark heart within.
"And what do you want for making sure that nothing happened, in your words?" Klaus said. He slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his feet. Caroline wrapped an arm around his arm. He knew she wanted nothing more than her friend to be forgiven so they could go back to gallivanting around as they did when they were humans. But something in Klaus could not allow that. He held grudges and she had wronged him in ways that he could not described.
"I want your forgiveness Klaus," Katherine bit out. She said it like the words hurt her, which they probably did given her pride. She sighed and her shoulders sagged. "I want to be off your hit list so that I can finally live my life in peace. So that I can be free."
Klaus tilted his head and looked to his brother. He could see on both of their faces how much that they wanted this. They had panned behind his back in order to make this happen. He smiled.
"No."
His hand struck out first. The dagger embedding itself in Elijah's chest. His family screamed out with Elijah crumpling to the ground. He turned and saw Katherine's face. Her face was devoid of any emotion and he knew that she knew without Elijah that there would be nothing stopping him from killing her. She was gone, leaving the man that she supposed loved to his clutches.
Klaus took a moment to look down at his brother. He deserved this for working with that trollop. And maybe when he came out he would see the error in his ways. Rebekah was screaming, c calling him all sorts of names and Kol was just as angry too shouting something about family, but it was Caroline who caught his attention.
She had withdrawn from him and was looking at where Katherine once was. It was her face that was sad and quiet that caught his heart.
"Why?" Is all she asked when she looked at him. Why couldn't he forgive her? Why could he not give her this? Something in Klaus wrinkled at the very thought of showing Katherine even an ounce of forgiveness. Not after everything that she had done. Not after he was so close to becoming what he truly was and she ruined it.
"Because she is an enemy," Klaus said. And then he walked over and took his place in the circles. Greta started the spell without prompting and he watched the night sky and ascended as the moon did.
Klaus always got what he wanted. It was something that Caroline knew. She knew that he was ruthless when it came to getting what he desired. He took everything for himself and left nothing behind. If he wanted it he got it and it was that fact that drew Caroline to him. She liked power and she liked Klaus so it just made sense that the two of joined together.
But that night. The night that she saw her friend again with Klaus after so long of just sneaking around and sending coded messages to one another to warn of danger, Caroline had to ask herself if she had made the right choice. She loved Klaus. She loved the life that they had built together and all the fun that they had.
Caroline could be herself around him. She was uninhibited in a way that was just so pleasing and fun and Klaus loved that about her. He liked that she was powerful and that she took what she wanted. He liked that she was positive and happy and cheerful. But he did not know that there were hidden depths to her. That there were places that even he had not seen or known about. And one of those places was where her love for Katherine was housed.
She would never forget the girl that she had met when she was young. That girl who had lose her baby and held out hope that the father of her child would love her back. She could never forget the fun that they had when they first ran away together, two young girls out in the world and with nothing but once another. Katherine was not a mean unless she had to be.
There were times when Caroline had thought herself to soft where Katherine was hard and too week where Katherine was strong. The two girls had always looked out for one another. They had raised one another in those mean streets of Paris. It was only a matter of time before one or the other was hurt and the other had to step up in order to protect them. And they did.
They fought for one another. They protected one another with all the strength of a mother bear. And it was that love, that fierce protectiveness over one another, that made Caroline question if what she was doing was right.
She loved Klaus and she loved Katherine and now here she was pitted against the two people who she loved the most in the world. Klaus gave her all the long and recognition that she could want in the world but had Katherine not done the same? Had Katherine not told her that she was important and told her that she could do anything?
In all her years of life she could never once remember Klaus talking down to her. She could never imagine Katherine making her choose between Klaus and herself. It was a choice that would have been unfathomable. But here Klaus was forcing her to make that same choice.
Something inside of her ached. It ached with the knowledge that she had chosen her love life over the friendship that she had first. And she remembered those moments when she was first in the home with Katherine as a freshly turned vampire. She was jealous of all the attention that Katherine was getting and wanted nothing more than to have that attention turned to her. But was that it? She threw her friend away all for the attentions of a man?
What value was there to her life now? All she had was Klaus. Kol could hardly look at her some days and Rebekah wanted to be the only woman in Klaus's life. She could not even think about Elijah and what he probably thought of now that he was daggered and put to sleep. She had given everything up for Klaus and she had nothing to show for it.
She needed to do something. She needed to get away and be something else. Caroline found herself in their shared closet. She looked around and began to pack. Looking over all the clothes, she could only find clothes that Klaus had chosen for her. There were a lot of blues as that was his favorite color on her and Caroline felt disgusted. She was nothing more than a doll, a thing for him to fuck and dress up.
Grabbing a bag, Caroline began to stuff clothing away and put it all in the bag. It was time for her to find herself. After 500 years she needed to discover who she was without Klaus. She had been with him her whole immortal life and Caroline was not going to stay his doll forever. She heard the thumping of his footsteps as he walked into the room but she ignored it shoving clothing into her bag.
"Caroline love what are you doing?" Klaus said leaning against the door frame.
"I'm leaving," Caroline said with determination. She needed to do this for her.
"What do you mean by that?" Klaus said his voice dropping.
"Klaus I love you, but I just… I cannot do this anymore. I cannot be your doll to dress up and wonder who I would be without you."
"Who you would be without me?"
"I have never been without you. My whole immortal life I have been by your side supporting your dreams and never once have you asked me about my life and my dreams." The words hurt now that she had said them outlaid but it was true. Even if he asked her now she could not name one dream that she had for herself. Everything about her was so wrapped up in Klaus that it confused her.
"Well we can focus on that now and—"
"Now. I need time. I need space. I need to figure out what I want for myself. I need to find out who I am without you," Caroline said with conviction. "I'll come back. I would never leave you, but I… I need to learn who Caroline is. Not your toy."
Klaus walked close and a had slid to cup her cheek. She sighed into the touch allowing her head to rest in his hands.
"I never thought of you as a toy," Klaus whispered to her. "You have been nothing more than my closest companion this whole time."
Caroline smiled at him. At least that part of her could be put at rest. "Then you understand why I have to do this."
Klaus nodded his head and Caroline finished packing. She put all her things into the car that Klaus had gotten her and she could not leave him without tears. Everything she knew. Everything she loved was being upended all in one night. She sighed and got in the car.
Maybe she made the right choice or maybe she didn't but she would found out while she was alone as she would be just Caroline for the first time in a long time.
Author's Note: And that is the end of Part 2! I would like to thank Lilou who always reviews this story! Merci! Now we move onto the final stage of the story. Part three! I'm hoping that this fic will be finished in the summer so I hope that you all stick around. Well back to writing for me!