A/N: Thanks for waiting so patiently guys! ;) I own nothing except my wonderful OCs.

Chapter 33: Do Not Go Gentle

"There she is!" Rebekah's voice boomed from the hallway and I gave her a meek smile as she walked over to me. "Did you have a lot of fun with my brother?" she asked me as I stepped down from the ladder. I rolled my eyes at her remark and hugged her instead. "What on earth were you doing with Kol?" she asked me and I just waved her off.

"I went to Denver to see Jeremy and he was there spying on my brother," I told her briefly.

"Right, Nik had to use the Bennet witch to unlink us," Rebekah said and my eyes widened when I remembered about Finn's death.

"Bekah, I'm so sorry about Finn," I said guiltily and she just bit her lower lip, looking down to her feet before she looked back up at me again.

"It was your sister, not you," she said tightly.

"I'm just glad that you were unlinked," I told her sincerely and she gave me a genuine smile.

"Wait, did Kol do anything to you?" Rebekah asked, worried.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Elena killed Finn. Did he harm you or your brother?" she asked me. At times I always wondered if I cared about Rebekah more than I should, that she actually didn't really give a rat's ass about me. But the genuine concern in her voice and eyes warmed me up.

"He was angry, yes, but..." I didn't know what to say and just shrugged.

"Kol can be out of control and very, very unstable," Rebekah said, frowning. I raised my eyebrow at her and she shook her head. "Kol always gets even. Always. Elena killed his brother, he'll kill hers."

"Well, I'm glad he didn't," I said and Rebekah just stared at me. "What?" I asked.

"I know that look," she said.

"Oh boy," I muttered under my breath, feeling deja vu.

"Are you out of your bloody mind?" she whispered at me angrily. "How can you fall for him?"

"First of all, you above everyone else should know that it's not our choice who we fell in love with. And second, why are you so mad?" I asked her in whisper.

"Because you're my friend and Kol is Kol. As monstrous as Nik is, he longs for someone to love and to be loved but Kol...even when we were humans he never liked the idea of love. He despised it," Rebekah said. What Kol said was true. Maybe it was because of all of his monstrous and grotesque acts that his siblings only saw what he wanted others to see. That even his siblings refused to look deeper into who he really was. I wasn't an idiot, I saw that there was more to him than he would ever let on.

"It doesn't matter," I said.

"I'll shove a dagger into his heart for breaking yours. He's not someone that you should ever be with. Seriously Vanessa, you deserved so much better," Rebekah said seriously and I chuckled at her nagging. "What about Elijah?"

"What about him?" I asked her back, and seeing the look on her face, I chuckled a little. "Don't worry, I'm not turning into Elena," I said, rolling my eyes.

"So you no longer loved him?" Rebekah asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"No," I said firmly, looking right into her eyes before shaking my head. "And it's weird talking to you about this. They are your brothers," I said and she giggled at my discomfort.

"Oh, I've dealt with a lot of things over the centuries. This is nothing," she said. "So you really love Kol? Oh god, Kol and love should never be in the same sentence ever!" Rebekah said, cringing.

"I'm not saying I love him. But we have this...connection. And okay, yes, I do love him," I said, groaning.

"How would? Why would?" Rebekah shook her head, not finishing the sentence.

"I don't even know how!" I groaned and sighed heavily. "But Elijah had a change of heart by the way. Did I tell you about my bitchy doppelganger trying to kill me?"

"That sweet Cassandra?" Rebekah asked, frowning.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. She had me in chains you know, and she was gouging my eyeballs while torturing me mentally," I said with a scoff. Yep, what a normal conversation between besties.

"What happened then?"

"Kol saved me," I said and sighed. I met her cerulean blue eyes that was squinting.

"My brother saved you?" she asked.

"Well he probably didn't want to lose his toy," I said and Rebekah clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"I don't know, Vanessa. Kol is...unpredictable. No one can really get inside his head."

"I know," I said.

"Why don't we do some normal girly things this evening? We watch a movie, eat ice cream, find a dress, talk about boys," she said the last word with a smile and I smirked at her.

"So obviously I'm not the only one who is in love. Who is it?" I asked, grinning.

"Well, Matt has been very nice to me," Rebekah said with a smile. I laughed, although deep down I wanted to warn her not to give all of her heart to Matt blindly. He's a great guy, but Rebekah is an ever greater girl and frankly, he didn't deserve her.

Caroline had been bitching about Rebekah for not turning up as we were finishing the decoration for the dance tonight. I had left her hundreds of voicemail even going as far as calling Klaus. He had told me not to worry, that Rebekah was probably looking for a perfect dress as she had been preoccupied with getting the last white oak stake for the last few days. That evening, I went to the Mikaelson mansion to find it empty. Heading upstairs to Rebekah's room, I found all the vintage flapper dresses from the 20's laid out on her king-sized bed, and there were a couple of boxes containing jewellery and hair accessories on her makeup table. Rebekah had told me to take anything I want for the dance and scolded me many times when I didn't want to.

"I wish Rebekah's here," I groaned, looking at these pretty dresses, my head hurting as I didn't know which one to choose. I would always go with black, since I knew Elena will be wearing something white. But it seemed like Rebekah had chosen a dress for me, she had hanged a perfect and most beautiful dress I had ever seen that made me gasped. It was white and made of satin, decorated with beads and stones that shone when they caught the light in the room. It was beautiful but it wasn't something that I would wear, this dress made me look like an angel and I always prefer to look more like the devil. But I trust Rebekah's judgement, she had also chosen my lavendar dress during Homecoming and it looked beautiful on me.

I called Rebekah once again as I curled my hair and it went straight to voicemail, for the last time. Cursing under my breath at the absence of Rebekah, I googled some hairstyles as I began doing my makeup. I put on dark red lipstick, golden bronze eyeshadow and eyeliner and mascara, light red blusher and put on the dress and Rebekah still didn't show up. I sighed, pulling my hair into a bun, letting a few strands of my curled hair loose and framing my face and put on a simple headchain. I felt a presence of someone in the house, but I wasn't sure if it was Rebekah.

"Klaus?" I called out, opening the bedroom door to come face to face with Esther. "You!" I said in alarmed and she looked at me sternly and there was disgust in her cold blue eyes.

"You are just as worst as my children," she said loathingly, raising her hand and my head started pounding loudly. "Niklaus killed your Aunt Jenna and yet you befriend him. You killed innocents without remorse, just like my children. No matter, your sister will help me undo this evil," she said and I groaned as the pain intensified, sending me to my knees.

"You're not my mother, stop lecturing me," I sneered and growled at her, fangs lowering down, ready to attack .

"Your mother would be very disappointed with you," I heard she said and I felt rage and as I was about to attack her, she used her magic to snap my neck.

The faint sound of my voice being called was getting louder and louder before I finally gained my consciousness. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I frowned as I saw Kol hovering above me and staring at me seriously.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, it came out harsher than I meant it to be. A second passed before he finally replied.

"This is my home, remember?" he asked and I rolled my eyes, getting up. "Why are you dressed like that?" he asked me so casually as if the last time we were together it didn't end with us yelling at each other.

"I'm going to a dance," I replied curtly, before I remembered something important. "Something's wrong, Rebekah's missing," I said as I searched for my phone. "And I can't remember anything."

"You're saying Rebekah compelled you?" he asked and I almost forgot to reply when my blue eyes met his dark eyes. It had been a couple of days since I last saw him, since our confrontation and he still managed to make me feel like this. I looked away instantly, feeling my heart sped up and uncomfortable at the thought of him being able to hear it. I walked to the dressing table and snatched my phone, which had been bombarded with texts and missed calls. 'Evil Hybrid' appeared on my phone screen and I picked it up instantly, alarmed.

"What is it?" I asked, already making my way out of the room, aware of Kol trailing behind me.

"Where have you been? I need you to get over here at once. My mother is at it again. She took your sister and we're trapped here at school," Klaus said demandingly. I wouldn't have obeyed with that tone of his but Esther was dead set at killing her children and destroying all vampires, so there weren't that many choices either.

"I'm on my way. Rebekah's been missing and your brother's here by the way," I said, glancing at Kol.

"Elijah?" Klaus questioned.

"Kol," I said, his name was like poison rolling on my tongue that I was forced to swallow. Now isn't the time for heartache, Vanessa, I scolded myself.

"Get over here too, Kol. Unless you want to end up like Finn," Klaus said harshly and hanged up. There was a silence, it wasn't awkward but it wasn't comfortable too. Kol cleared his throat, probably feeling the tense atmosphere as well.

"We can take my car," he said.

"Sure," I replied hastily, quickening my pace. Kol drove the car silently with me giving him directions to the school but the tense air was palpable. I jumped out of the car even before the car was stopped properly, eager to get out from the confined space.

"Vanessa, stop." I heard he called me. Ignoring him, I quickened my pace. "Vanessa!"

"What?" I snapped back, still stomping on the ground angrily.

"We need to talk," he said, somewhat demandingly and I turned around, throwing my hands out in the air, frustrated.

"What could be more important than stopping your psychotic mother from killing you and your siblings?" I asked him and he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, loss at words. I scoffed and turned around only to bump into Kol, his dark eyes were hard on my blue ones.

"Can you please hear me out?" he asked pleadingly. He was dead serious, no smirks or that twinkle in his eyes at all. It was just for a second, but whenever I got lost in his eyes, it felt forever.

"No," I said, shaking my head, almost fearful. "I'm done talking to you," I said, shoving past him and I heard him sighed exasperatedly.

"Darling, please!" He groaned and I spun around, jabbing my index finger on his hard chest.

"Don't call me that! Ever! Do you think we can go back to what we were after what you said to me? That I will simply throw myself to you and you can flirt around with me only to mock me for falling for you? What we have-what we had was different. But apparently it meant nothing to you," I hissed and Kol took a deep breath, probably restraining himself from ripping my throat out. "You seem to forget that friendship works both ways. I've let you in too, Kol. If I didn't, you won't be able to hurt me this much," I said and wiped the tears harshly that had fallen without me realizing. Kol seemed to be in pain, struggling with himself and when he didn't say anything, I turned around and made my way to the school compound.

I felt him grabbed my upper arm and I turned to him, seething. "Don't touch me!" Kol rolled his eyes and pulled me towards him and nodded at the ground.

"Salt. It's an ingredient for boundary spells," Kol said expertly. He looked up and called for his brother. "What's mother planning now?" Kol asked, annoyed.

"No doubt to finish what she started. It would have something to do with your History teacher's alter ego," Klaus said, turning to look at me.

"Then why did she need Elena?" I asked him quizzically.

"Mother is turning him into one of us," Kol said quietly. I frowned, looking at Kol to see he was being serious. He raised his eyebrow at his brother when Klaus's face mirrored mine. "Why else would she need the doppelganger?" Kol asked smartly.

"Did you find out where they are?" I asked.

"Yes, they are at the spot where I killed her," Klaus said. Kol and I were about to make some smart remarks when Klaus opened his mouth again. "Your brother and the human have already gone there."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" I literally lunged at Klaus but was held back by Kol's quick flex and Original strength. "Are you sending my brother to his death?" I growled and Klaus looked unamused.

"I'm sorry, love. I can't rip my mother's heart by my own hands since I am trapped here," he said sarcastically and I let out a snarl.

"You're not helping, Nik!" Kol scowled before he turned me around so that I faced him. "You stay here. I'll make sure your brother is alright," he said and I was stunned.

"Don't be stupid, Kol. You are on mother's hitlist," Klaus said.

"Sending the humans is stupid, Nik," Kol said, already running back towards his car. I glanced at Klaus before using my vampire speed to catch up with Kol. "What are you doing?" Kol asked when I entered his car.

"My brother is in danger," I said and he glared at me.

"Get out," he ordered and I stared at him disbelievingly.

"Drive! We're running out of time!" I shouted and he exhaled loudly, knowing that I was right. Once we reached the cemetery, Kol got out of the car using his vampire speed and locked the car. "HEY!" I yelled, slamming the window.

"Stay in the car," he ordered and I rolled my eyes.

"You don't want me to break another one of your cars, Kol," I said warningly and when he continued walking, I rolled my eyes, breaking the door. "That was a very nice car," I commented, now walking side by side with him.

"Look, darling, you can be as stubborn as you want but this is my mother we're talking about."

"I know. And your brother sent my brother to stop her. Who in the right mind does that?" I asked.

"I'll handle my mother and I'll make sure your brother is safe," he said fiercely, silencing me from arguing. Well, for two seconds.

"Your mother is trying to kill you, not me."

"My mother would kill anyone that tries to stop her," Kol countered.

"Ie. my brother," I retorted. I yelped when Kol pushed me against a tree, his dark eyes were so dark like the night sky itself and they stared right through my soul.

"Is it still not obvious that I care for you?" he asked me darkly and harshly and I felt my heart skipped a beat, surprised and speechless at what he had just said.

"Don't move!" I heard Matt's voice from afar and heard Jeremy's voice the next second. My head snapped towards the direction of their voices and my eyes met Kol's and without another word, we followed the voices quickly.

"How foolish of you, to risk your lives in defense of those who will kill you," Esther said. I saw Jeremy pointing a crossbow at the Original witch and Matt pointing a hunting rifle at her. Elena seemed unharmed and I watched this nervously as Kol didn't let us announce our presence yet. "But if that is your choice," Esther said with a smirk and I gasped in horror when she used her magic to control Jeremy and Matt, pointing their weapons at each other.

"Matt! Matt, drop your gun!" Jeremy yelled in panic.

"I can't! I'm not controlling it!" Matt screamed back, terrified.

Jeremy used to say he would take a bullet for me. When he asked me if I would do the same, I would tell him no. But that was when we were humans. When the only danger in our life would be drunk drivers or people breaking into our house or getting mugged. I used to say if there was enough time for me to jump in front of Jeremy, there would be enough time for him to move out of the way as well. Jeremy would roll his eyes at my smartass reply. But in the real world, sometimes there wasn't enough time.

I flashed in front of Matt in a second and slapped the hunting rifle out of the way, before he could fire a shot to my brother. "Vanessa!" A couple of voices screamed my name and I turned around, seeing the crossbow on Jeremy's hand and the wooden stake zooming towards me...towards my heart. I glanced at Jeremy's horrified face and the stake was coming closer towards me. Why I didn't move baffled me, perhaps there wasn't really much time. Then I came in contact with someone's hard chest and I looked up to meet Kol's dark eyes. He was looking down at me, making sure I was alright. His grips on my upper arms were secured, to protect me from the upcoming danger. I had said this countless of times, when I was with him, times seemed to pass much much slower, like there was just the two of us in this universe. I somehow snapped out of it and pulled him towards me, and reached out for the stake deep in his back and tug it out. He groaned and turned to his surprised mother, taking the bloodied stake from my hand and threw it at Esther. She stopped the arrow with magic at the last minute before she groaned in pain, Alaric stabbing her from behind. Alaric stabbed Esther deeper before he released her and she fell to the ground, dead.

I turned to look at Kol but he just nodded at me, telling me he was all right. With that I ran to Jeremy, making sure he was unharmed. Elena told us what happened, Esther's plan on turning Alaric into an Original vampire hunter using her blood and without spoken, we also knew Alaric wouldn't complete the transition. Kol had called Klaus and they dealt with their mother's body but before he left, I felt his eyes on me and we just looked at each other, before he looked away and followed Klaus into the darkness.

Jeremy and Elena went into the tomb to say goodbye to Alaric while I composed myself just outside of the tomb. Being a vampire meant everything was heightened, your emotions, your feelings and your grief. Dealing with losing someone I cared about had always been harder once I became a vampire. You felt everything more strongly. I could hear Jeremy's sad and heartbroken voice as they wished their farewell, and I deeply knew how much this would hurt him. And it hurt me more knowing I could do nothing to ease his pain. Jeremy left abruptly and Elena followed suit after a couple of minutes and I took a deep breath, as I entered the tomb.

"Hey," I said with a small, sad smile and Alaric tried his best to smile back. I bit my lower lip, holding back the tears and he cooed, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Whatever differences you have with Elena, you need to remember that at the end of the day you are family. So try to play nice, okay?" Alaric asked and I managed to laugh. I would have argued right then and there about how annoying Elena was but at this moment, she was my sister. We were all losing someone we cared about.

"Thank you for taking care of us, Ric. Thank you for sticking by our side even when Jenna was gone. After everything that has happened, thank you so much," I said, feeling the hot tears welled up in my eyes. He kissed my forehead and stroked my back gently.

"I know you'll take care of Jeremy. But look out for your sister too. And yourself," Alaric reminded and I nodded, wiping the tears that fell. He gave me a grim smile before following me out of the tomb. I walked towards Jeremy and he hugged me, offering his warmth and support when it should be me providing it to him. Alaric stood there, and at the moment I couldn't imagine what he was feeling. Knowing that you were going to die and this would be the last time you see all of this people. He nodded at us and put on a smile, before entering the tomb.

A sob escaped my lips and I pulled Jeremy into a tight hug, needing my brother so, so much. All I know is that I can't lose anyone else.