Note: Do you trust me?
"Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying"
-Martin Luther, German Priest & Scholar
A gruelling forty-eight hours of training passed without the note. Amelia and Lucy cast spells to help keep everyone's energy up, even their human constitutions. Vampires drank blood that Damon and Enzo had stolen from Blaauwberg Hospital, about a twenty minute drive from Imran's house. Thirteen if you were Damon Salvatore. Bonnie hadn't said a word about Elena leaving, not to anyone. Instead she focused on everything Fahada taught her; about katanas, falchions, naginatas (her favourite), sovnya's, archery, hand-to-hand combat…
"I kind of feel like we're in that scene from Eclipse, you know, Twilight," Caroline said as she plonked down onto the floor next to Bonnie who was inspecting the golden engravings on the katana in her hand, "Where the vampires train and trade all their fighter-tactics with the wolves." Bonnie tilted her head to the side, letting the light bounce off of the golden colour of the words. Setting down the almost eighty centimetre long blade Bonnie sighed softly.
"That makes you Rosalie, right?" Bonnie said with a here and gone smile. Caroline grinned as she sat back a little, resting her weight on her hands as she watched Stefan and Damon 'fight' one another, Lucy and Enzo watching them intently, but smirking every now and then when it seemed the vampire they'd bet on had the upper-hand.
"Maybe, but I have to be honest, I'm not that into the whole Emmett look." Bonnie snorted, sitting upright as she watched Damon make a 'finger gun' at his younger brother, letting off a pulse of power that sent Stefan flying – but landing in a graceful crouch as he chuckled.
"Of course not," Bonnie said, looking to Caroline with a wink, "You like 'em lanky and brooding." Caroline 'pfft'd' and 'whatever'd' but Bonnie knew better; she just didn't know if it was a Stefan type of brooding or an Enzo type of brooding that had Caroline blushing. Just then something occurred to her "…Care, I know you've been through a lot…I'm here for you, you know that…" The blonde grew quiet as she chewed on her bottom lip.
"I always thought there was a limit," Caroline said suddenly, turning her body to fully face Bonnie, "To how much we could lose, how much pain we would all go through before the Universe kind of took a step back with its hands raised and went 'Okay, maybe I've been a little harsh on you guys' you know?" She looked down at her shaking hands then before she looked up to Bonnie, "Before you died again…Stefan died and it broke something in me. It was like; who wasn't going to die you know? Everyone but Elena…But then… you died again Bonnie, you and Damon, but you made sure everyone else was fine, even Alaric for shit's sake! But when you died again…that last sane part of me…it died with you. Every time I lost you it hurt, almost worse than the time before…because you weren't supposed to keep dying…like you had to pay the price each time for everyone else's mistakes and fuck-ups. The only reason you had to end up being the Anchor was because Katherine killed Jeremy and Elena couldn't go on without him, so you let her go on without you…you, you let me go on –" she dug the hells of her hands to her eyes in frustration, wiping the tears away afterward, "I don't want you to die again Bonnie, I wouldn't survive it this time…I barely made it through the last time no matter what it looked like on the outside, here, inside, you matter so much to me…and even when I was the worst version of myself; shallow and snooty, you loved me and you put me first. I'll never be able to make that up to you," she waved a hand, "not that that's what friendship is about but Bon…What's been bothering me is feeling like I'm always on borrowed time with you…and how you've been baring the burden of all of our choices and it makes me sick that I was a part of that…"
"Care –"
"No," The blonde said sharply, "You're a hybrid now, you have a chance at forever, and I'm going to make damn sure we spend it as best friends, do you hear me?" Bonnie's smile was watery when she cleared her throat.
"I hear you loud and clear Captain Forbes." Bonnie said and laughed as Caroline pulled her into a tight hug that would have surely broken a few bones had she still been human. "We're going to be fine." Bonnie said when they pulled away from one another.
"Come on Bon-Bon," Enzo called out to her and Bonnie's head snapped up to meet his dangerous smirk, "We're up." Bonnie nodded and jumped to her feet. Caroline lifted the katana with two fingers and tossed it up evenly, grinning when Bonnie's hand closed around the handle easily as she winked at Enzo. Lucy laughed as she sauntered past her cousin, kissing her cheek before sitting down next to Caroline.
"You okay?" Lucy whispered and Caroline turned and smiled, nodding her head.
"Now, yes." She said, her eyes flitting back to Bonnie who was circling Enzo slowly, the katana still in her hand, twirling between her fingers. Fahada chuckled and held out a hand for the sword, which Bonnie relinquished with a pout. Stefan and Damon stood shoulder to shoulder, cheering the girl on. Bonnie slipped into a crouch, her hands splayed on either side of her, her heterochromic eyes trained on Enzo.
"Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are?" Enzo goaded, trying to distract her, Bonnie smiled, stood upright suddenly and took a casual stance, even inspecting her nails for added effect before returning her gaze to Enzo.
"Damon does, every morning." She replied smoothly, "Jealous?" Taking a step to the left, Enzo launched himself at her and she rolled out of the way, quick to her feet as he came for her again. Bonnie let his hand close around her throat, eyes twinkling with mischief. She watched, in admitted glee, as Enzo's face went from smug to alarmed as his hand caught alight. Using his distraction to her advantage she flipped over and caught his head between her legs before pulling him down onto the ground with enough force to crack several human bones. He landed awkwardly, his neck and shoulders taking the brunt of the fall but she was on top of him, each of her knees pressed into his biceps to pin him down. She had a hand at his throat and another raised up above her own head, formed into a fist.
"Bonnie takes the first round!" Fahada called and Damon couldn't hide his pride if he tried.
"That's my girl!" He and Lucy called at the same time, rolling their eyes as they looked at one another. Bonnie flashed to her feet and held out a hand to Enzo. He looked at it sceptically but took it anyway, flipping her onto her back with a sudden cackle at his advantage. Bonnie huffed a little and lifted her knees up to her chest, wiggling one leg with lightning agility up until the heel dug into his shoulder. Before he knew what had happened she'd sent him flying up to the ceiling, but before he could smack into a beam she'd jumped up and gripped the back of his shirt from underneath him and threw him back down onto the ground. Bonnie watched as Enzo smacked down onto the gleaming wood, face first and thanked her lucky stars that Amelia had thought to use a resilience spell on the floorboards to withstand this very behaviour. She landed an arm's reach from him, in a perfect crouch.
"Two to Bonnie, zero to Enzo." Fahada called out, "Come on Enzo, she didn't even use her magic in that round." Enzo rolled onto his back with a small wheeze and Bonnie winced awkwardly as she saw the smears of blood and bruising down the one side of his face…had she broken his nose too?
"…Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are?" Bonnie asked her voice a little higher than normal as she hoped in vain that Enzo wouldn't flip out when he saw what she'd done to his face…she was also doing her utmost best not to just burst out into loud peals of laughter.
"Jeremy?" Elena called out as she stepped into Alaric's apartment. She'd texted them both to say that she was coming back. "Jer, Alaric, I'm back." Elena smiled as her brother stepped into the living room; looking somewhat haggard but no less pleased to see her. They hugged quickly before he pulled away and looked over her shoulder. "It's just me." Elena said, reminding him for the umpteenth time. Jeremy nodded as he turned to settle onto a couch. After a second or two Elena joined him, crossing her legs over and staring at her hands while she waited for Jeremy's questions to start.
"So what happened?" The boy asked. Elena frowned thoughtfully as she looked up at him.
"A lot," she admitted, "Some weird stuff, some good, some bad…for me it was mostly bad."
"Being less vague would be a good place to start." Jeremy quipped tiredly as he pushed his messy hair out of his face. Elena tried to smile but settled for a nod instead.
"Well, first things first; Damon and Bonnie are Hybrids now –"
"Wait what; did Klaus – but, what?" Elena waved her hand impatiently.
"No shut up," the vampire girl said, "Witch-vampires. First of their kind actually." Elena said echoing the same flourishing lilt in her voice that Stefan had used when he'd told her…even then Stefan had seemed at his happiest. They were all happiest without her involved, so she'd made it easier for them all and left and suddenly she was selfish? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Elena went on, "And then some people attacked, they want to kill Bonnie and –"
"And you left?!" Jeremy exclaimed, his brown eyes wide and incredulous, "Elena, why would you leave?"
"They don't need me." Elena muttered, somewhat petulantly.
"It doesn't matter," Jeremy said, his sneer reminding her fleetingly of Damon…weird, "Just because people don't need you doesn't mean that you stop making yourself available to them."
"Oh yeah," Elena snapped, "Let me just write down that super-sage advice from a blubbering child who threw away the best thing that ever happened to him!" Jeremy's eyes grew even wider.
"Are you kidding me?!" He barked, "This coming from someone who took an hallucinogenic to imagine her dead boyfriend and then used her fairy godfather to erase all her memories of him anyway and then…when he comes back, avoid him like the goddamn plague – don't," Jeremy huffed his face flushed with rage, "Think for one second that I'm the idiot between the two of us. You've had a knack of nailing that role for years now." Elena scoffed as her mouth fell open.
"Excuse me?" She spat.
"Oh… or are we still guarding you from the truth? Elena for years all of us have died, hell, you did once too when you turned, but even that's not the same…it's not the same as when Caroline died, or when Tyler had that whole repeated out-of-body experience, or when I died, or Bonnie – god, Bonnie most of all. And you spat in the face of everything; of Matt playing your doggy bag, Damon and Stefan almost killing each other over you…you threw it all away because once again you'd rather hide behind all the bullshit and chaos than actually admit to what you and I both know has been coming for a long time; that bone-deep knowledge that you and Katherine share more than the same face…"
"Take that back." Elena hissed. Jeremy chuckled dryly as he looked at her, his brown eyes flat and lifeless. Had he been drinking again? Had he ever stopped drinking after Bonnie died? Why hadn't she paid any of it any attention…she used to be so good with that.
"Why? It's the truth… I think my sister, my Elena, she died that night with mom and dad and you're just some apparition here to haunt me and remind me how alone I am in all of this." Elena felt her dead heart twist painfully at his words, every bone in her body freezing until she sat there, weighed down with a cold sadness that gripped her fiercely – numbing and killing off all her senses and her will to move. "Think about that…" Jeremy sneered as he stood to his feet, "I'm going to bed, you do whatever you want." Elena didn't nod, she didn't speak or move, she just let the harsh words of her brother fall repeatedly through her mind…she let the pain come and come, glad she could still feel that at least.
Meanwhile
The Superior's smile was feral; the rows of his teeth glistening in the shaky candlelight as his army of Summoned stood before him. They snarled and growled as his eyes moved over them; each apparition ready for battle. They were like his children; because like him, they were the embodiment of Dark Magic. The Superior was what happened when a Warlock (or Witch) fully gave themselves to the power of Voodoo, Expression and the like…and survived. It was said that the host was then deemed worthy of the magic and he became this Superior being. A Witch Ascendant he liked to call it. He'd been the first of his kind and had been slowly taking over the world of the witches; bringing them under his command – easing their way up the supernatural food chain. As an Ascendant he was the purest form of Magic – which is why the Seekers had fallen to his feet when they were discovered by him – he was a God to them…as he rightfully should be.
It was time for his presence to be known further out of South Africa and Africa; he fully intended to rule the Supernatural world and thus the world itself. Witches needn't hide anymore; vampires had hardly bothered to be discreet with their existence and werewolves never lived long enough to even deem themselves useful. Anyone one that stood in his way on his territory would pay the price. He couldn't afford his powers to be questioned when he was on the cusp of world domination. So these two Witch-Vampires would have to die. They'd have to die so that he could be the strongest creature to ever walk the Earth. Because then; he would make it his personal mission to be-head every King Pin in the supernatural realm; starting with the snivelling Klaus Mikaelson…and his child.
But first, he raised his vein-riddled grey fist and the creatures before him roared in excitement, he'd ready his army and then he'd make an example of the two creatures who thought they'd stood a chance when they melded their powers.
Meanwhile
"Okay, I'm calling it," Fahada exclaimed, "You all have the next five hours to yourselves, within reason of course, no leaving the house and no flashing the neighbours Enzo!" The vampire in question raised his hands in defeat.
"Won't happen again milady." He said with a sly wink which had Fahada shaking her head in disapproval. Caroline let out a small roar as she jumped onto his back and he chuckled, holding her steady by the sides of her thighs and flashing to the stairs that led out of the training floor. Imran and Amelia were sitting in a faraway corner, heads turned in toward one another, looking equal parts enamoured and exhausted after the day's events. Lucy muttered something about a shower as she slumped out of the doorway, leaving Damon and Stefan hovering over Bonnie as they spoke about how she manhandled Enzo like a seasoned vampire-fighter which she beamed gratefully at in return. Stefan was smiling down at Bonnie when he spotted Fahada packing up a few things in his periphery. Excusing himself he flashed to her and helped her along. After they had done most of the work she looked up to find they were the only ones on the floor before returning her eyes to the task at hand.
"Thank you." She said softly once they finished. Stefan stuck his hands in his pockets (he'd opted to wear tight straight cut denim jeans and a white wife beater with one of Damon's black button downs over it, leaving the buttons all undone) and nodded.
"Sure…look I know I keep saying this –"
"You're welcome…again" Fahada cut him off with a smile, "It hasn't been easy for Imran you know, he feels that he's let everyone down but these Seekers would have found them sooner or later and I'm just glad you have us to help." Stefan smiled then, astounded by her once more, "And besides, I know how much you mean to Imran…I've seen how stressed you've had him over the last year when you stopped calling…we know why now, but it had him worried all the same… Stefan I think it's long overdue that you look past your brother and the Petrova doppelgänger and live a life of your own. Damon has Bonnie now – who's going to change the course of your destiny?" She looked up at him but without waiting to see if he could formulate an answer, broke out into a brilliant smile and flashed out of sight.
"Who indeed?" Stefan mumbled a moment later.
Lots of important stuff in this one.
Thoughts?