Author's Note: Remember, 1 minute on the Other Side = 1.5 hours in the real world. That means about a day and a half has passed since you have last seen the characters in Mystic Falls.
Song: Someone Like You - Adele (1st half), I Get Wicked - Thousand Foot Krutch (2nd half...when Kol's scene starts)
Louis stares into the sink, hands trembling as he holds onto the porcelain.
I hurt her. His eyes find his reflection. I hurt her. His face turns into one of disgust as he stares into his own blue-green eyes, repulsed by the man before him. His fist slams into the glass, pieces flying everywhere, one even slicing into his forearm.
He doesn't feel the pain.
The hurt in his brain is so much worse than anything that could be done to physically harm him.
Never mind him. How does she feel? She was betrayed by her protector, a man who swore to never harm her.
His legs feel like noodles beneath him as he tries to remain on his feet.
"I'm so sorry," he whispers through deep, loud sobs, glancing over at Bonnie's motionless body. "Please...just wake up..." He falls to his knees, no longer able to stand, hands still shaking as they hold onto the sink. He rests the side of his head against the porcelain, unable to look away from her face.
She hasn't breathed since he filled her throat with smoke.
And he can't stand it.
"Just open your eyes," he whispers, the hope in him starting to fade. "Say something...tell me to leave and I will go, I swear it."
He presses his hand against her chest, light skin becoming wet from the fabric. Slowly, he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath in. A faint green light appears beneath his hand. "Please." He presses down harder, the light becoming brighter as he does so. "Wake up...I'll do anything you say...if you just open your eyes...I will be yours to command...I will do anything." His words resemble the pleas of a man who knows that he has lost everything.
He wants to reverse time, let her get away, let her run far away from this place.
It is not safe for her here.
But...
It is safer for Evios if she remains.
And therein lies the greatest dilemma of his long life: Evios and the need within Louis to keep him safe, no matter what.
But he needs to keep her safe, too.
He can't just let her die, not by someone else's hands and definitely not by his own.
His heart rips down the middle as he tries to piece this girl back together, tries to fill her again with the light that became her soul, the determination that ran through her veins, beautiful as a galloping horse.
He can almost here it, the sound of hooves.
The light grows brighter.
Tears pour down his face as if Poseidon, himself, has descended upon him, cursing him for killing this girl.
"Please," he whispers again, voice cracking. "I love you...with everything I have...I love you more than anything," he says the last part almost in a shout, face scrunching in rage. His upper lip twitches when the fact enters his mind that he does indeed love her more than anything but not anyone.
Evios is on an equal footing with her, he knows.
The fact does nothing to heal his breaking heart, his shattered soul.
"Wake up," he repeats, louder this time. "Wake up!"
He opens his eyes just in time to see hers begin to move underneath her caramel-coloured lids.
The light glows at its brightest when a smile graces his lips.
He continues to cry but this time for a different reason; his tears are that of joy.
His soul is being pieced back together.
And he can't help but to take a deep, relieving breath in, knowing that she will be okay.
Elena watches Damon as his whole being turns to stone.
She doesn't like the sight of this, the man she loves being so closed off to her every effort. Sure, he accepts kisses. But he isn't in the mood for anything else, so he tells her when she tries to come on to him. And, for a moment, she sees disgust flash through his eyes.
"Baby Gilbert hasn't found anything yet," he says, more of a statement than a question.
She wants to find Bonnie as much as the next person but Jeremy just needs time. He will find her, she knows he will. It's not her fault that Damon can't see that. They have to live. They are doing all they can to find her.
She has felt too much pain for too long.
She can't afford to feel it again. No, if she lets herself miss Bonnie then she will go mad. She will go just as mad as she did when Jeremy died. And that can't happen.
Doesn't Damon see that?
Her brother, her friends, they need to see her keep moving. They need to see her smile.
Everyone has done so much for her. They have done so much to please her, to make her her again. And he wants her to repay them by sobbing and being sad again? He wants her to stop everything and remember Bonnie, remember the best friend she could never forget, not even if she lived a thousand more years.
She finds herself getting downright pissed off as he blows her off, treats her as if she despicable for having so much faith in Jeremy's abilities.
"We're doing the best we can, Damon."
He scoffs. "You know what's sad?" He points to the door, motioning to what's on the other side of it, down the stairs, sitting in his living room. "That you actually believe that he can do anything." He almost spits his next words out at her, veins in his neck becoming prominent. "He's useless, Elena! He couldn't jack off without help!"
Elena's face fills with an equal amount of fury. "What do you want me to do, Damon? Do you want me to fall down? Cry so you know that I feel sad? Break down and be useless to all of you?"
He shakes his head, sighing loudly, frustrated with his girlfriend. "You know what, Elena? I don't want you to do anything." He turns around, heading towards his bathroom.
Taking a shower is the only way he can escape her right now.
Not that she would actually allow that to happen.
"Damon, don't walk away from me!" She speeds over to his retreating figure and grabs him by the shoulder.
He spins around to face her, stepping into her personal space, eyes wild. "Get away from me, Elena," he demands, ice particles practically exploding from his mouth.
Elena doesn't back down. "No, Damon. You're not running away from this. You are going to stand here and you are going to listen to me!"
"I'm not going to do anything," he says, slowly, voice filled with venom. "Just because we fucked doesn't mean you can drag me wherever you want, Elena."
She folds her arms across her chest. "Are you hearing yourself right now, Damon? Do you actually hear what you're saying?"
He drops his arms to his side in defeat at her big, brown eyes. "You know what, Elena?" He shakes his head slowly. "I don't really care."
This time she doesn't stop him.
Slam!
Her nerves jump at the strength of the sound. She looks at the closed door with sad eyes, rage no longer visible.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths.
A weird feeling comes to her then, something foreign, something she hasn't felt in months. For a moment, she can't place it. Instinctively, she reaches for a necklace that isn't there. She looks down at her collarbone, realizing what is missing or, rather, who she misses.
She sighs.
Her and Damon fight all the time. Why should this be any different?
Because Stefan would never look down on her like that. He considers her an equal. Meanwhile, Damon...
She forces herself to leave the room.
Damon sighs in relief on the other side of the door. He falls to his butt, one hand resting on his knee, the other gripping his dark strands. Elena has pissed him off before. She has filled him with rage of the highest kind.
Yet, he must admit, there was something different about this fight, something stronger, more hateful.
He doesn't hate her, he knows that. But in this moment he feels like he truly does with every single fibre of his being.
He growls, slamming his fist into the floor.
Elena glances back at his room, concerned with how angry he is.
Damon in a bad mood is good for no one.
She goes back to his room just as his door flings open and he speeds past her. She tries to follow him down the stairs, attempting to catch him. By the time she reaches the bottom Damon and Jeremy are nowhere to be seen.
Her heart almost stops.
Katherine's vision blurs as she stares up at the clear, blue sky. "Stefan?" she mumbles, voice raspy. "Stefan...where..." She rolls to her stomach, trying to push herself up.
The effort alone is too much.
She presses her hand against her forehead, trying to gather her thoughts.
"You would do anything for me, wouldn't you?"
She almost laughs at the stupidity of the question.
"Do not deny, Katherine...you love Stefan very much."
Katherine feels the strength of her heart increasing. She looks around.
"I think you're confusing me with Elena." She smiles, cheeky. "You don't have to call yourself Stefan. I know who you are."
She glances behind her and sees the edge of a cliff. Her eyes widen.
Slowly, the immortal moves his mouth to her ear, hands running up and down her thighs. "I know love when I see it. You love Stefan," he says, ignoring her words about speaking in third person; though, she is far from correct about who this man really is. "I can see it in your eyes." She inhales loudly as kisses her neck. "But would you go so far as to die for him?" he asks, looking into her eyes.
She frowns, head tilting to the side.
"If Stefan was dying...what would you do to save him?"
Katherine growls, fingers pressing into the dirt. She forces herself to go to her feet. "You were supposed to be dead," she says, angry at the figure who resembles Stefan. He smiles at her and motions towards the lake.
"Stefan has done a lot for you, Katherine. When I told you that I loved you the words were coming from his mouth, not mine." He takes a step toward her, spreading his arms out slightly, fingers stretching until they are straight. "I know more about any of you people than you do, yourselves."
"Then you know that I don't believe you."
He nods. "I do." A smirk graces his lips then, making his face very unlike Stefan's. "Regretfully, you seem to love survival as much as you love him...And...I cannot make you do anything you wish not to do..." He folds his hands together, head tilting to the side as if amused by a joke that only he is in on. "So...the choice is all yours, Katherine." He opens his arms wide. "Do you save Stefan?" He points at her, elbow bent lazily. "Or do you walk away from all of this, still human? Still alone like me?"
She swallows, glancing back at the lake. All concern and doubt disappears when she meets his eyes again. "He's a vampire. He can't die." She shakes her head. "I can." Folding her arms across her chest, she continues, "He kept me locked in a tomb for days. I'm sure he can handle a little water."
Silas watches her, calm and unfazed. "Your heart betrays you." He shrugs. "No matter..." He turns around. "Enjoy the wilderness, Katherine."
He is gone.
The brightness of the setting sun lights up chin-length black hair. Theron rests his hand against his shoulder, the back of his gun pressing against his jacket as he does so. He sees a girl swim out into a lake, swim under, come back up, and go under again. The shadows of the trees protect him from being seen, though, if she did glance back she may see a faint red glow.
That can't be helped.
He watches, patiently waiting for her to find whatever it is that she is looking for.
It is only when she stays down for longer than thirty seconds that he moves, taking a single step forward, free hand pressing against rough bark.
She returns to the surface and takes a deep breath in before going back down. She repeats the act several times before groaning loudly, a sound that doesn't quite reach Theron's ears. This time, she inhales for a longer period of time.
Again she is under.
Theron's thumb rubs against the handle of his gun as he waits, silent as a predator.
Katherine's hands twist around the metal handle of the container. She pulls with all of her strength. It moves just an inch.
She forces herself not to inhale the water as she pulls again.
It doesn't budge.
She almost wants to curse.
I can't do this all night, Stefan. Not for you, not for anyone.
She inhales the remaining air in her closed mouth, gripping the slippery metal tightly.
She pulls upward, trying to see if it will open.
It doesn't.
She swims back to the surface, inhaling loudly when air surrounds her. For a moment she wonders if she actually has the ability to go back down and try again. Then something in the corner of her vision catches her eyes. She turns, seeing something red. A dark, shadowy figure moves in the trees.
Stefan. She needs Stefan.
She goes under, swimming fast.
Stefan.
Stefan.
Kol wakes up with the taste of blood in his mouth, something that would normally please him if it wasn't his own.
He spits the crimson out onto the stained floor.
Has the concrete always been this red?
He rolls onto his back in defeat, disappointed with no one but himself.
Is he so pathetic that he can win against no one?
Fucking pathetic.
He dared to look down on all the people in Mystic Falls. And what happens? Only he and the witch die. And they were the most powerful people there if you could forget about Silas, Niklaus and Rebekah.
How pathetic is that?
He was killed by people not even half his age. And now, here he is, having just got tossed around like a useless ragdoll by some warlock with a superiority complex. Oh, Niklaus would be laughing by now if he could only see him. He would laugh at his brother's incompetence. Rebekah would laugh, too, he is sure of it; though, instead of being alone Matt, of course, would be stuck against her side laughing as well.
And Elijah...
Well, he would just shake his head.
His family is just as pathetic as him.
Their balls - and Rebekah's boobs, though sometimes he doubts that she doesn't have a pair down there - are wrapped in Elena Gilbert and her friend's hands. Whenever they squeeze the Originals obey. If they don't obey? They end up like Finn and Kol.
It's disgusting.
They are Originals, meant to be the strongest things walking the planet, besides Silas. But Silas wasn't the one to destroy them.
It just doesn't make sense.
His mind can't comprehend the consistent failures he makes, the constant incompetence.
More than anything, he is disappointed in himself. He can hate the Gilberts and the witch all he wants but at the end of the day it is he, Kol Mikaelson, that pisses him off the most.
It is a weird thing to hate yourself, a completely foreign feeling for Kol especially, considering he has done nothing but love himself for over a thousand years. So, admittedly, he feels strange when he realizes how much anger he has for himself. It is a revelation that makes him physically sick.
Or is it that?
For whatever reason, he begins to convulse, gagging on his own spit. His eyes widen at the sudden need to throw up.
Slowly, with a lot of effort on his part, he climbs to his feet.
Instantly, he is against the wall, hand clutching the bare skin of his stomach. His back arches forward as a semi-hardened, though still mushy, chunk of blood flies out of his mouth and onto the ground. It is accompanied by a fresher, fluid-like crimson.
He falls to his hands and knees, spitting while simultaneously choking. Losing all strength in his body, he falls to the ground, face slamming against the concrete as blood splatters from the impact.
He drowns in a pool of his own blood.
Raulf's dark eyes study the scene before him, the wheels in his brain beginning to spin. Louis is embracing Bonnie, unwilling to let go as she struggles.
"Let go of me!" she shouts, hands shoving at his chest.
"I missed you so much...I thought you were dead..."
Raulf would laugh if he found it at all comical. But knowing that his witch was almost permanently dead bothers him. His fingers twitch, restless.
"I promise to never hurt you again," Louis swears, blue-green eyes sparkling with liquid.
"Just let go." She slaps his back hard. "Let go!" Out of the corner of her eye she sees Raulf as he watches them with a face that displays a palpable rage. Her arms go limp.
Louis glances at the spot where Bonnie's eyes linger. He stands immediately, blocking her body with his. "I will not let you harm her again, Raulf. Leave."
Raulf's frown deepens. "You are in no position to threaten me." He takes a step forward, tongue wetting his cracked lips as his eyes meet Bonnie's. "I will return your powers, Bonnie...little by little." Her eyes narrow in suspicion. "You want to feel the magic running through your veins again." He continues walking, slowly, as if approaching a deer, trying not to scare it. "You want to be able to protect yourself from someone like him...You want to feel in control." He smiles, bending down so that they are eye level. "I can give it to you, Bonnie. All you have to do-"
"Do not listen to him," Louis warns. Bonnie's eyes remain focussed on Raulf. He is getting to her...
"Tell Louis to leave and he will obey."
Louis' eyes widen as he looks at Raulf. No, he can't leave. He can't leave Bonnie alone with him. It wouldn't be safe.
No, no, no. "Bonnie, do not listen to his words...he is a liar."
Bonnie looks at Louis, suspicious as to why he looks so nervous. Maybe Raulf is right? She swallows, hoping that it would be so easy to get rid of him. She told him to leave before. Why would he now?
Still.
Are two psychos really better than one?
If she could rid herself of at least one, would she?
Does she want to risk being alone with the man who took her powers away?
She is almost uncertain until Louis tries to grab her. "Leave!" she shouts, not thinking twice. He hesitates, taking a step back. Then he looks at Raulf, eyes narrowing in anger.
The feeling of a force pulling him begins. "You turned her against me!"
"You did it yourself, my friend...I suppose it is difficult for you to leave since you consider me a threat." He smiles. "Need an extra push?"
Louis shakes his head, knowing what comes next. "No, do not-"
"Evios is in need of your help," Raulf says. "He is laying on his floor, covered in blood. One of his lovers attacked him."
Louis knows it is a lie, without a doubt. But that is the rational part of his brain.
The rational part never wins, not since the day he devoted his life to Evios.
The need to leave strengthens.
Evios needs him and she does not, she implied as such by telling him to leave.
His eyes are wild as he begins to back away from them. Slowly, they become nothing in his vision as he turns to the door and begins to walk. Once he checks on Evios he can return.
He just needs to make sure Evios is okay.
Raulf's smile slowly fades as he continues to stare into Bonnie's green eyes. "As I said before I was interrupted...I need something from you before I can give you back anything."
She frowns.
"I need you to come with me."
"Common, Baby Gilbert, we don't have all day. Do your...ghost thingy."
"I'm trying. I can't help it if they don't want to come." Jeremy glances back at Damon just in time to see the strange restlessness of his body. He paces back and forth, all the while glaring at the younger Gilbert. "I just need time to convince them to help us..."
Damon has no time for bullshit.
He looks around the room, standing tall, menacing. "You witches, all high and mighty yet so damn useless. Let's be honest," he says, folding his arms across his chest. "We all know you're powerless now that you're dead. You can't even manifest to this dickhead over here." He shakes his head, frowning. "Pathetic."
"Dickhead?"
Damon slaps the back of Jeremy's head then continues speaking. "You want to know what I think? I think that there's a magical stick stuck so far up your asses that-"
He falls to his knees, the veins in his head bursting open. Yet, he smiles, victorious. The witch notices and strengthen the pain. He growls and looks over at Jeremy. "Hurry up, Gilbert."
Jeremy glances at the dark witch who stands above Damon. "What he meant to say was that we need your help..." Slowly, she looks over at him, eyes cold. "Our friend Bonnie-"
The witch raises her hand, silencing Jeremy with just her will. "We will speak." She glances back at Damon. "As soon as he leaves this house."
"She wants you to leave," Jeremy says, reciting the message to Damon.
The vampire growls. "Much easier said than done." As soon as the words are spoken the spell is dropped. He sighs in relief, eyes widening and closing again, face scrunching. "Well, that was unpleasant," he says. "I'm just..." He smiles. "I'm gonna go now." He leaves.
The witch changes her focus to Jeremy, eyes still blank, emotionless. "You are trying to save Bonnie," she says. "Why?"
Jeremy frowns. "She's your family. You should understand why we'd want her back."
She scoffs. "That girl is no blood of mine. Not anymore."
"You can't just turn your back on her!"
Her eyes narrow. "She turned her back on us, boy. An eye for an eye."
"Makes the whole world blind," Jeremy finishes. The witch's frown deepens, though a glint of something other than anger flashes through her eyes. "Just..." He takes a step toward her. "Please...help me. I love her...she sacrificed her life for me..."
Her tongue clicks against the roof of her mouth as she studies this boy.
Jeremy takes the opportunity to continue. "All I need to know is how I can get to her...how I can save her."
She looks him up and down before smiling, pleased with what she is about to say. "You cannot save the girl, human. You would go straight to The Creator."
The word piques his interest. "Is that where Bonnie is? With The Creator?"
After taking a moment to debate her answer she speaks. "The Creator would make it known if he had her in his possession. If it was so...the balance would change in favour of him and Qetsiyah would fall."
"But Qetsiyah created the Other Side...how could someone-"
"Do you not understand, boy?" she questions, frowning. "The Other Side is a product of creation." She shakes her head. "The Creator was given his name for a reason."
Jeremy swallows.
"There was only one person who could match Qetsiyah's power; that was The Protector. The Creator changed the balance. Now, he matches her in every sense of the word. He will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And your friend, Bonnie, is his only chance at achieving his dream, his true mission."
Jeremy folds his arms across his chest, not prepared to hear the answer she will give to the question he is about to ask. "What does he want?"
The witch's face becomes cold again, detached. She pauses, not sure as to why she continues to waste her breath on this kid.
There is nothing anyone can do to stop The Creator once he has begun.
Yet, she chooses to speak for the lone reason that she still has remnants of hope. A part of her still believes that he can be stopped.
A stronger part of her knows that it would be impossible.
"The one thing he wants..." She shakes her head. "Eternal suffering."
Theron's hand twitches on the trigger when he sees the girl surface with a man in her arms. He lowers his hand and glances at the sudden brightness of the red on his skin. Quickly, he looks back up at the two people, who are now swimming to land. He recognizes the man's face.
Silas.
Without even thinking about it he is heading towards them, gun raising in their direction.
He sees the girl look nervously at Theron and back at the man beside her. She starts to speak at a rapid pace, as if trying to warn of impending death.
Does she not realize that there is nothing she can do?
He pulls the trigger. It hits her friend right between the eyes.
He aims the gun at the wide-eyed girl. Like the other one, it hits her between the eyes.
She goes limp immediately, disappearing underneath the water.
Theron's legs move quick as a zombie-like version of the girl's friend keeps swimming. He is on land for only a second before Theron grabs him by the shirt and throws him to the ground, a bullet instantly flying into his chest, straight into his heart.
The man twitches, gasping as his skin turns grey.
Theron's eyes narrow.
This is not how he is supposed to look. This is how a vampire would die...a true immortal cannot...
He growls and looks at his still glowing hand, though its colour is less vibrant.
Silas knew he was coming, he realizes. And he has played right into his hands.
Now, three of the Eight have died.
He steps down hard on The Replica's face, smashing his skull until it is just mush.
Silas will turn to stone. It is Theron's job to make sure of it.
And he will not fail.
Author's Note: Poor, poor Stefan. Gets rescued only to be killed a minute later. I hope I answered some of your questions...while also giving you more questions ahaha ;P I made this chapter a little longer originally...almost six-thousand words, I think. But it ruined the feng shui of everything. A lot happened in this chapter...I didn't want to overpower you readers with information soooo next chapter will probably be a little longer, though not extensively...that I know of...
Pepprie: A young Brad Pitt could do...Much hotter than Tom Felton LOL :P Tom is the one I picture as Louis
boomkarakaraka05: (nice name btw. It made me laugh a little) Bonnie is not one of Evios' past lovers. She is not a reincarnation, just simply Bonnie Bennett. I think I answered almost every other question you asked in this chapter, if I'm not mistaken. By all means, correct me if I'm wrong :) As for my OCs...I'd say Louis = Tom Felton, Raulf = Jared Padalecki, Evios = a dark-haired Evan Peters, Theron = Marilyn Manson (as the way he appears in his music video Born Evil) Why Marilyn Manson? Because I can :D
mrs. anitra: Hmmmm will Bamon have a scene? Now, now...I wouldn't want to give anything away...Let's just say that they might have a scene. What I can say is that there may be quite a few Kennett scenes...Unless Kol stays dead...LOL. We'll just have to wait and see ;)