Hey guys. Guess what? I'm officially graduated. So, I figured I'd make it my goal this summer to finish this story before I head off to university (there's about four chapters left of it, anyway). Don't worry though, if wanted, there will be a follow up to this story. I'm so sorry it took forever to update, but alas, the last few months of school were extremely busy. But I'm back, and I hope you review and as always, enjoy! :D

"No, I can't be dead," Bonnie rebutted, shaking her head furiously. She tried and tried to convince herself this wasn't happening. But as she shut her eyes and opened them again, she came in contact with her lifeless body that was in the living plane. But she was stuck-her soul was stuck behind an invisible wall, unable to get out.

"I am sorry," Esther said softly. "It must be difficult to do these kinds of spells with good intentions and have yourself rewarded this way."

Bonnie's chest began to ache. "They need me."

"I'm sure they do. I'm sure Caroline will be devastated. Niklaus will be angered. Elijah will be disappointed, and Kol will be heartbroken," Esther elaborated matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry. You should have known that Expression takes great toll on a witch's physical body."

"But… I have to get back. They need my help to stop Garnet."

"Garnet cannot be stopped, Bonnie Bennett," Esther stated. Her tone sounded like the tone of a woman scolding a child for being silly. "She's so close to completing the ritual. So close to fixing my mistake."

"Fixing your mistake?" Bonnie repeated. "They're your children! There are people out there- good people that have had bad things happen to them. Vampires that can't be blamed for being victims!"

"They shouldn't exist," Esther said sharply. Her tone was cold. Her eyes were frozen blue jewels. They held no love. No kindness. It was then that Bonnie realized her mistake in believing there was a witch that could help. Of course witches wouldn't help. Vampires and witches never got along and they were all about balance. But what Bonnie didn't understand was, wouldn't getting rid of the vampires cause an unbalance with nature? Nature had grown accustom to having them exist. If they all died… Wouldn't it tip the balance?

"My children shouldn't exist any longer," Esther said. "It pains me to say that but it's true. They must die. All of them."

"What about your daughter?" Bonnie asked. "She isn't a vampire anymore, Esther. She's human. She's a witch-"

"She's had long enough to live."

Bonnie scoffed. "She was shoved in a box for half her life. That's not living. Same goes for Kol and Elijah."

"Half a life she shouldn't have gotten," Esther said again, her tone stubborn. "I will not help you save them, little witch. You summoned me here for that, didn't you? To see if I could lend you my magic in hope that you would be able to be the hero?"

Bonnie remained silent.

"I beg to differ," the blonde said. "I will use my magic. I will use my summoning to aid Garnet in her ritual."

There was a sharp pain Bonnie's chest again. What the hell? She was dead; she shouldn't be feeling more pain. "You're a monster."

"If caring for my children's souls makes me a monster, then so be it."

The pain intensified and Bonnie gasped, her head whirling to face her lifeless body. She saw Kol frantically trying to revive her with CPR. Her heart seemed to break into a thousand pieces. She noticed his wrist was beginning to heal, and the small trail of blood around the corner of her mouth. So he had tried to heal her with his blood…Suddenly she felt more dismayed—more detached from knowing this fact.

"Don't you do this, Bennett," Kol hissed. He bent to give her more air through the mouth, but her body wasn't responding. "Don't! Dammit, Bonnie. Don't!"

When it seemed like all hope was lost, she watched him scoop up her body. There was a whoosh and a blur and he was gone.

Something tugged in Bonnie's gut and the next thing she knew she was standing in the foyer of Klaus' mansion. How had she done that? Her eyes searched at the commotion in the parlor.

Kol was still trying to revive her as he shouted for anybody in the house.

Seconds later, Klaus blurred in, followed by Caroline's frantic running.

"Bonnie…." Caroline whispered in fear. Bonnie saw her friend's face scrunch slightly as she fought to not cry. "God, no." Caroline edged closer, clutching her own arms tightly.

"What happened?" Klaus asked quickly, his eyes scanning.

"I found her in the woods like this," Kol said abruptly. "I knew I should have followed her. I had a bad feeling in my gut. I was stupid."

Bonnie saw Klaus' hands freeze, his face shifting from concern to realization. He knew it. He knew it before Kol could accept that she was dead. Gone.

"Kol," Klaus stated.

Kol ignored him, continuing his movements.

"Stop," Klaus said, his hand reaching out to Kol's, causing the younger brother's movements to cease. Kol's head whipped to Klaus in offense. Bonnie let out a strangled sob. It wasn't anything big or dramatic, just a sound of remorse as Kol's eyes blinked quickly.

"Dammit," Kol whispered, looking down. "Dammit."

Caroline shut her eyes, feeling the tears fall freely down her cheeks anyway. Her small frame began to shake lightly. Suddenly the room grew cold as Bonnie watched three people begin to mourn her death.

"Get some sleep, love," Klaus said, his hand on Caroline's back as he ushered her up the stairs.

Caroline didn't react to his touch. She was too desolate and numb to think of that right now. She had just witnessed Kol try and fail to bring back her best friend. And although the meaning of the loss was different for Kol, it didn't hurt any less. She knew that he cared a lot about Bonnie-he might even have loved her-and that seemed to break Caroline's heart on a different level.

She had cried a lot then, when she realized that they couldn't bring her back. After what had seemed like forever, Klaus had opted to take Bonnie's body to her grandmother. Sheila too had cried and had taken her granddaughter's body away, leaving the Mikaelson mansion more empty than usual. Caroline had sat down on the couch adjacent from where Bonnie's body had been. She had sat there staring at it for hours until Klaus had insisted she not do this to herself.

"This isn't right," Caroline rasped as she covered herself with the covers. Her skin was ice cold. Inside, she didn't feel any warmer.

Klaus gave her a look. She could tell he wanted to say something, but he opted not to. Instead, he just nodded. She knew he wasn't the comforting type. She supposed it came with the mass-murderer territory.

"She didn't deserve this," Caroline added on minutes after. Part of her felt guilty. She had all this power coursing through her and she couldn't bring her own best friend back. She hadn't talked to Elena yet but Sheila had said she'd tell her. Caroline supposed she had.

"No, she didn't deserve that," Klaus said at last. It was low enough that she might've not been able to hear it, had he not been so close to her. Caroline leaned into him, feeling his warmth. Her hand searched for his. He noticed and reached for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. She closed her eyes, feeling his soft lips on her shoulder.

"I wish I could do something to make this better, Caroline," he whispered. A strange feeling crept over her. She knew that Klaus wasn't used to this type of affection-hell, she was certain he hadn't been capable of any affection from the way everyone talked about him. But here he was different. With her she saw something no one else saw. Caroline saw a man redeemable of his sins. He had caused chaos, heartbreak and despair over his thousand years but everyone was capable of some sort of redemption. Caroline held this to be true. Even she, the once self-absorbed cheerleader, had taken hold of something genuine.

Klaus was dreaming. It was a strange thing; him dreaming. It rarely occurred where his thoughts were coherent whilst he slept. He supposed that tonight's dream had something to do with the fact that physically, Caroline was sound asleep in his arms.

But where he should have dreamt of something pleasant, there was a very, very unnerving feeling about this particular dream.

He was standing in front of a stone pyre—the moon shining brightly above him. Behind him crickets chirped endlessly.

"Niklaus, how nice of you to join me this evening."

His eyes widened slightly. "Esther."

"I see you've accomplished in getting Caroline to trust you," she said.

"There's no reason for her to not trust me."

Esther laughed slightly. "Of course there isn't. You tell her all of your secrets?"

She edged forward slightly, his vision blurring slightly as she moved closer. The dream was hazy. "Does she tell you all of hers? Does she offer you comfort? Support?"

"What are you doing?" he deflected, holding his head up high. He wouldn't let her get the best of him, not now. Not ever. "Did you enter my dreams to chastise me about Caroline?"

"I came to bargain with you, as I've always done in times of great distress."

"Of course. Esther the do-gooder. Always making a bargain," his eyes pierced in her direction like a thousand daggers. "After all, isn't that what you did with my father? My real father?"

Esther clenched her teeth. "You haven't the slightest clue about any of that. How could you possibly know?"

"You hear and thing or two over the centuries. People talk, mother. You of all people should know that."

"I didn't come here to be ridiculed by my own son," she snapped. "I came to make a deal."

"Alright, I'm listening. Better make it quick, I have more important matters to attend to."

She held her hand to him, palm facing up. Her cold blue eyes urged him to take her hand, and when he did, the scene shifted harshly. Suddenly they weren't alone and the night wasn't so dark. Fire surrounded the area and Klaus could make out Garnet and Caroline standing on the stone platform. Garnet was saying something he couldn't quite make out, but as his eyes focused on Caroline's, he saw her fear.

"What are you doing?" he questioned Esther.

She merely shook her head. "I'm showing you the future."

There was a piercing scream and he whipped his head in the direction of origin. Caroline's eyes were wide as she clutched the dagger that protruded from her abdomen. Blood trickled as if from a faucet and Klaus saw the life drain out of her eyes.

"Stop this," he demanded, seething. "If you're trying to force my hand into something by showing me some sick and twisted fantasy of yours-"

"It's the inevitable future," Esther interrupted. Suddenly the scene shifted again and they were once more alone. "But I can help you, Niklaus. Let me help you. The last thing I want is for another witch to perish."

"What could you possibly want? You're dead."

"I want peace. Peace that can only be achieved by your death."

"I feel so loved. Thank you."

"You and your siblings must die once and for all. You cannot keep living. It isn't right. The vampire species must be eradicated."

Klaus stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. "And you want to do what, exactly, with Caroline?"

"I can assure you that she will live if she's under my protection. Garnet will not succeed in killing her if I watch over her."

He looked at his mother, the woman who had once been the only person to nurture him aside from Rebekah. He didn't know just exactly when that had all shifted—sometime before he was turned, he was certain of that. It seemed like Mikael had gotten to her after all. "In exchange you want me to deliver myself to my death."

"Yes."

"How can I be certain you won't just wait until I'm a corpse and then have Caroline die?"

"Because like it or not she is a witch. A powerful witch. One that cannot be compromised."

"And Bonnie?"

Esther stared as if he'd just said the punch line to a joke. "What about her?"

He waited for her response.

Finally, she sighed, clasping her hands together. "She was, unfortunately, expendable."

"I disagree. She can be quite…Useful."

"Matters of the past," Esther finalized. "Now, do we have a deal or not?"

Klaus held up a finger. "Just wait one moment. What about Rebekah, Elijah, and Kol? You're willing to let the golden children die as well?"

"They have lived long enough."

"What of Rebekah? She's not a vampire anymore—she's a witch. Are you going to tell me that your own daughter is expendable?"

Esther remained silent, her eyes darkening into a lapis lazuli shade. "No. I'm not saying that."

"And what of Elijah? He's noble."

"He's had his fair share of kills. He has lived. As has Kol. They are ready." She shifted her weight. "As for Rebekah—she will die for a noble cause."

"Yes, a noble cause," Klaus assessed. He eyed Esther thoughtfully. He thought of all the terrible things he had done prior to this and of those he had killed. Would they rejoice in happiness at the thought of Klaus dying so swiftly after proclaiming to be invincible? He hadn't had a proper chance to reign as the original hybrid—something he'd strived to achieve for so long, and all because of this one girl and everything she had sparked. He supposed that if he were to die soon, people would talk about how the almighty Klaus had fallen off his throne so suddenly.

"A noble cause and still, I can't trust that you'll keep your word, mother."

"Would you do it for your father?" she questioned.

Klaus swallowed thickly, his smug smile dropping quickly. "What? Mikael?"

"No, Klaus. Your father. Your real father."

He glared at her, edging closer, the urge to rip her heart out becoming stronger the longer she spoke. "He's dead. Mikael killed him a long time ago."

"Yes, he did die. Your father. But he had a sister. A sister who was also a strong witch. One who has regained life."

Klaus shook his head. "Whatever kind of game you're playing-"

"I assure you that this is no game, Klaus. This is very much real. His sister is Garnet."

"Devin. You're telling me my father is Devin?" he said humorlessly despite his laughter.

"I didn't believe he would return to life. I assumed he'd be here on the Otherside until he found peace. I suppose he never did."

Klaus shook his head. "This isn't real. You're lying."

Esther didn't move. "It's the truth. I believe that once you die and Garnet dies as well, he will have fulfilled his purpose of watching out for her. He will find peace; he will move on."

"Why should I care?" Klaus snapped, his hands grabbing a hold of Esther's neck. It was a dream and he knew it wouldn't hurt her—but in the moment it felt very, very real.

"Because-" she choked out. "With Garnet and Devin gone, and you gone, the world will be balanced again. Caroline will be safe. Isn't that what you want?"

Klaus shook his head, increasing his hold on her neck.

"Klaus!"

He tuned her voice out, never blinking and watching as his vision began to blur from the lack of.

"Klaus!"

He was going to kill her—right here, right now—

"Klaus!"

Suddenly Klaus' eyes shot open. He was in bed, Caroline's eyes wide with worry as his chest heaved from the aftermath of the dream.

"Are you okay?" she asked hurriedly, her hand reaching out and grabbing his shoulder. It was only now that he noticed that she hadn't been in bed next to him—she was standing at his side. He blinked rapidly. His eyes settled on a red blotch on her arm.

"You're hurt," he assessed breathlessly, his eyes rapidly searching for any other injury.

"It's fine," she said.

Klaus shook his head. "Did I do that to you?"

"You grabbed me for a second but I'm fine—you were having a nightmare, weren't you?" she deflected, squeezing his shoulder.

"Esther. Devin. He's my father," his eyes looked up to her, incredibly lost, a sight that Caroline had never seen before in Klaus. He was usually so sure of himself. So put together and lethal. Now he seemed to be incredibly vulnerable and caught off-guard.

She bit her lip. "We'll figure this out, okay?"

Esther watched silently as Caroline tried to calm down Klaus' anger. It seemed like the only person capable of reasoning with her son was Caroline.

So he has a more vulnerable weakness, Esther thought on. She stepped into the darkness and suddenly she was with Garnet.

"Did you do what you said you were going to do?" Garnet questioned, her back facing Esther. Beside them the fire crackled and the crickets chirped. "Did you get the information? Did you reason with him?"

"You know Niklaus, Garnet. He's impossible to reason with."

Silence. "So you failed."

"Not necessarily. I have a better plan in getting Niklaus right where we want him. He knows we can't force him to do the ritual just by using his siblings—without the lot of them we can't kill even one. The ritual forbids it. It's all or nothing."

"So how do you suppose we convince him otherwise?" Garnet asked, turning to face Esther.

"The witch hybrid—Caroline. She's mortal and he seems to be very taken with her. He'd do anything for her, even if that meant putting his own life in danger."

"But she's a witch. Doesn't that go against your code?"

"When a witch dies her power is consecrated within the earth. Her powers will fuel other witches. She will still aide her people once she dies."

Garnet smiled. "You've really thought this through, haven't you?"

Esther sighed, crossing her arms. "I've had a lot of time. Some might find it cruel of me to kill my own children after what I originally did was to save them. But this is right. The ancestors have guided me and shown me that they are an…An abomination. Their species should have never existed to begin with. With this ritual, the entire vampire species will be eradicated. Balance shall be restored."

"Then it's settled," Garnet finalized. "Let's catch ourselves an angel."

Rebekah sighed again, dropping her hand. The ice in her soda glass swirled in the fizzy liquid, and she cursed herself for being so tired. She was mentally and physically exhausted from the countless hours of practicing magic. Sheila had told her to take it easy, but after Bonnie had died, Rebekah knew that there was no chance in hell that she'd take it easy.

"Working hard?"

Rebekah smirked. "I'll have you know that it's none of yours business, Matthew."

Matt winced. "I prefer to be called Matt. Matthew seems too formal for me."

She rolled her eyes and let out a strangled breath. The atmosphere was a bit awkward with just the two of them all alone on the far end of the bar, but she figured she needed to get over it.

"How are you?" she asked suddenly, her tone somber.

Matt swallowed and nodded. "I've been better. One of my best friends just died three days ago. There's not much of anything else to process but that."

Rebekah pursed her lips. "I really am sorry," she said, looking absentmindedly at her drink.

"There wasn't anything you could've done. None of us knew."

"But I could have known—someone could have known, Matt. Me. My brothers. Caroline. We should have realized that she was using dark magic-"

"And done what? She made her choice because she thought she was helping. No one could've known that it would kill her."

"There has to be a way to bring her back," Rebekah stated firmly. She looked up to Matt's blue eyes—they were so blue—and there was a strange certainty within them.

He blinked. "I thought that wasn't possible because witches had to preserve balance or whatever?"

"It's not normal, no, but it's not impossible. Everything always has a loophole."

"You want to bring Bonnie back from the dead?"

"If there's a will, there's a way, Matt. I just need…I need my mother's grimoire."

"You're going to try to find it?"

Rebekah nodded. "Oh, I intend to."

"I need to see my mom," Caroline said as she opened her car door.

Klaus sighed. It was against his better judgment to let her roam around Mystic Falls by herself when the ritual was upon them. But he also understood that Caroline cared for her mother despite their disagreements. It was a mortal thing to do; love. He knew that he couldn't control her. It was a new concept he needed to understand.

"Look, I'll be back right after I talk to her," Caroline amended. She saw his passive face and pursed her lips. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she kissed him firmly before pulling away, smiling small. "It'll be fine. If anything bad happens, I can keep up now."

He licked his lips. "Fine. But just so you know, if anything bad happens to you, I won't hesitate to rip their hearts out."

"Dully noted," she responded, climbing into the driver's seat. Klaus shut the door and watched as she backed out of the driveway. Within seconds, she was gone and he was left alone with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

What his mother had told him was unnerving and it put him on edge, more so than the sight of seeing Caroline die in the ritual. But for the moment, another presiding piece of information kept him uneasy. The revelation that Devin could, in fact, be his biological father meant that he was also connected to Garnet. It seemed like being a psychopathic murderer ran in the family both ways.

But what's Devin's role in this? Klaus thought as he retreated inside the mansion. He knew what Garnet wanted, but what was Devin's purpose?

What the hell did he want out of all this?

"Mom?" Caroline called out as she shut the front door to her house. There was no noise inside of the residence aside from her own footsteps as the floorboards creaked. Her eyes drifted to the picture frames that lined the hallway walls. There were some when she was a baby-her chubby face peeking out from an adornment of frilly pink clothes. She saw some of when she did little pageants. There were some of her father and mother as well; dated back when their marriage was full of happiness instead of regret.

She stopped in front of a frame of her and her dad at the park. It was the first time she'd flown a kite. Her lips turned up slightly as she remembered being so happy that the bright green kite—the same color of her eyes, her dad had said—flew so high, almost toppling the trees. She remembered thinking how wonderful it would be to soar that high; to touch the clouds and have nothing else to worry about other than when you'd fall back down.

"It's coming down," her dad had said, pointing as the kite descended.

"Never!" she had exclaimed brightly, releasing more string so it would go higher.

"Reminiscing old memories?" a voice said from behind Caroline.

Caroline's smile melted and she turned quickly, seeing nothing. Her heart paced faster, her eyes searching the darkening house. It wasn't her mother's voice, that much she knew.

"I bet you wish he hadn't died like that," the voice said again.

Caroline's breathing became harsher. Don't let them get to you, she repeated in her head.

"You're afraid."

"I'm not afraid."

There was a chuckle. "Of course you are. I can feel your heart beating. I can see your fear."

"I'm not scared of you," Caroline said again, backtracking. Maybe if she could just reach the door, she could get away…

"You do realize you won't survive this."

Caroline estimated the distance she had left to reach the front door. She was halfway there.

"You can't save everyone, no matter how much you want to or how much you try. No angel, no witch is powerful enough to save them. Not now."

Her back bumped up against another body and she gasped, turning to face the body. Garnet's eyes were almost black and her skin a pale white. Caroline took a step back.

"So much potential, Caroline. So much power coursing through your veins and you haven't the slightest clue on how to use it."

"How would you know?" Caroline rasped. "You don't know me."

"No, I do not. But I know Niklaus. I know he will come for you—he would do anything to keep you alive, even if that meant him dying."

"He'd never risk the lives of his siblings," Caroline said stoutly.

"You give him too much credit," Garnet said. "You foolish girl."

Her vision began to blur slightly and Caroline blinked repeatedly, shaking her head. Her mind was beginning to get fuzzy and the harder she fought, the worse it seemed to get.

"You may be his light, but his darkness tarnishes you. That will bring you pain. It will bring you death."

Caroline attempted to muster a response when the dizziness increased and suddenly, the world toppled over and she was lost in the shadows.

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-Fanatic4Fiction (thinking of changing my username...Should I?)