Chapter 21 – To Kill or Be Killed

It took Caroline all but a few seconds to react. She shrugged off Tyler's hold and immediately lunged towards Esther. With fangs bared, she was ready to attack.

Unfortunately, she forgot all about the invisible force field. As soon as she tried to run out of the room, she was thrown backwards, and landed in Damon's arms.

"Now, now Caroline, we wouldn't want things to get messy, now, would we? There's only one way out of here, and that's if I choose to let you go. No matter what you do, you and your vampire friends are stuck where you are." Bonnie explained, looking pleased with herself.

"Not if I have anything to do with it." Tyler yelled, walking straight towards Bonnie. He looked as if he could tear down a whole city if he had to, and yet the latter didn't even flinch. Something was terribly wrong.

"Noooo" Caroline screamed, although she a part of her knew she was too late. The second Tyler crossed the barrier, he fell to his feet. It was as if he had been knocked out cold. Bonnie looked from Tyler to Caroline. "Ah, young love. It's so…blinding. Of course I knew Tyler could breach the barrier, do you think I'm stupid? He should have never underestimated my power. In fact, he should have never existed."

It was then that Bonnie raised both of her hands in the air, performing another spell. Tyler's eyes immediately opened and he screamed. He covered his ears as if trying to block out the pain and rolled back and forth but it was no use. Caroline could hear his ribs cracking, and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming.

"Stop it! This isn't his fault. He's not Niklaus."

Elena had come forward and was now standing next to Caroline and Damon. She grabbed hold of her friend's hand, attempting to calm her as she was already shaking incessantly. The only way they could save Tyler was to distract Bonnie and not provoke her even more.

The sound of her son's name did the trick. Bonnie slowly lowered her arms and placed both of her hands behind her back. As soon as Tyler had regained control of his senses, he turned to Caroline. She could see that he was still clearly in so much pain, seconds away from blacking out, and could only think of keeping him safe. She banged her fists against the invisible wall, trying to reach out to him.

Elena continued her tirade of diversion. "Niklaus is the one who wants to wreak havoc in the world, to create an army of hybrids. Isn't this the abomination you want to get rid of?"

Bonnie seemed to be lost in thought, and this was the opportunity Tyler had been waiting for. He slowly pulled himself to his feet and despite the pounding in his head, he raised his fist. He was ready to knock Bonnie cold; just enough to buy some time to figure out how they can kill Esther.

He didn't stand a chance. Before his fist could even make contact with her skin, he was thrown like a play thing back into the room where his friends were.

"You insult me yet again, hybrid."

Damon pounded on the invisible wall, just as frustrated as the rest were while Caroline quickly made her way to Tyler's side. She knelt down next to him and cradled his face in her hands.

Bonnie walked forward until she was mere inches away from the barrier. "You're right. I should have never brought Niklaus into this world and neither should I have allowed him to craft such pure evil. But I'm back, and I can finally put an end to this enigma."

She then looked Caroline in the eye.

"And I should probably thank you, Miss Forbes. You may not have realized it yet, but you were the key to all of this."

Caroline snarled in response. "Don't you dare…"

But it was as if Bonnie didn't hear her at all. "At first I really did not know how I was going to pull this off. I had to find some way to get you all in one place, and my son can be quite tricky. But you – Miss Forbes, you have these friends who would kill to keep you safe, and to my delight, you managed to get my son wrapped around your finger. I saw firsthand how he protected you in that coffee shop slaughter. So all I had to do was provoke both sides, and voila, mission accomplished. Niklaus may have fallen in love with you and had let his guard down in the process, but you're lack of trust in each other was, well, remarkably convenient."

Caroline was at a loss for words. She scrambled to find an argument, a reason why all the things coming out of Bonnie's mouth were lies. She should have known that something was going on, something bigger than all of her friends and her romance with Klaus. She forgot about the whole incident in London. Indeed, she had been too blind to see this. When she was warned that Klaus had lied to her, a huge part of her refused to believe it was true, and yet she baited him anyway. This was all her fault.

Caroline looked at her friends apologetically. Elena gave her a comforting smile, while Stefan looked at Bonnie angrily. "If you've seen the change in your son, then why do you want to destroy him? Guilt can cripple a man already, and he has a thousand years worth of it to suffer."

Bonnie's gaze shifted from Caroline to the younger Salvatore. "Oh Mister Salvatore, a few months doesn't make up for centuries of destruction. You may have taken the lives of innocents while you were still the ripper, but my son is multiplying that evil a hundredfold. He is not just living in sin, but crafting more of his kind. You are right about guilt, but how sure are you that his intentions have changed? Niklaus' hatred toward me and towards his family has destroyed every part of him that can be saved. And I must return the balance in this world."

"You're wrong." Caroline grated out.

Bonnie ignored her. She lifted her right arm and it was then that Tyler screamed once more and then convulsed. His left arm was now bent in an impossible angle.

Caroline tried to soothe him with words, but Stefan knew better. Even though she tried to fight him on it, Stefan managed to pull Caroline back and thrust her into Elena's arms. He then stood so that the two women were behind him.

Without a word, Damon made his way next to his brother, in between Tyler and the girls.

"What's going on?" Caroline demanded, tears streaming down her face now. "Why aren't you helping him?" She then turned to Bonnie. "I've had enough of this. Leave him alone you stupid old…"

Elena covered her mouth before she could say another word.

Bonnie just smiled.

"Barbie, trust me on this one, you don't want to get involved with him right now."

Tyler growled in response, and as soon as he lifted his head to look at Caroline, his stare was golden. Wolf-like.

Caroline broke free from Elena's hold and said "Oh my. It isn't the full moon tonight- what have you done to him?" Elena looked just as scared and confused as she did.

"Let's test your theory. Tyler isn't the abomination right? Well then, prove it." Bonnie commanded strongly. Esther must have performed a spell that would bring out Tyler's werewolf side.

Caroline felt like her heart had been torn out of her chest. They were trapped. One bite from a werewolf would kill them, but at the same time, this was Tyler and she couldn't let anything bad happen to him.

"Get out of my…way" Tyler growled. His shirt had now been shredded to pieces and he was on all fours on the ground.

Tyler could get out. Caroline knew he would risk it, even if it meant killing himself. She was about to scream that there must be some other way when Bonnie interrupted.

"Oh, before I forget…You can come in now dear."

As if he were compelled, Matt Donovan strode into the room and stood beside Bonnie. There was a large gash above his blackened eye and he looked like he had been beaten up by thugs. He was covered in dirt and even though his fists marked resistance and an attempt to fight back, the odds were obviously not in his favor.

"No." Elena said, her voice coming out as barely a whisper, "You didn't."

"Yes Miss Gilbert, I did." This time it was Elena who attempted to get out of the room and save Matt, but she was just as trapped as earlier. Stefan looked hopelessly over to his lady love and squeezed both fists, attempting to calm himself down.

"This is one hell of a situation we've got on our hands brother. But I've got your back." Damon reassured, still looking over at Tyler, who was now hunched over, breathing heavily and trying to fight back the transition.

Stefan nodded to his brother in acknowledgement.

Matt on the other hand, seemed to be stuck in a daze. He never left Bonnie's side in spite of Elena's cries. "How could you compel him when you're not even a vampire?"

"Do I have to be one to control him Elena? You think you're so special, but the truth is you're simply an abomination. Your mere existence goes against everything nature has provided, and I seek to put an end to that."

Elena shook her head. She was about to respond when Tyler's howl interrupted her.

"Get away…" he said through clenched teeth.

He was seconds away from completely turning, and his instincts told him to bolt – now, before he would hurt any of his friends.

"Step out of the room and he dies." Bonnie proclaimed, wrapping her arms around Matt's neck.

Tyler looked at Damon and Stefan desperately, but he saw that they were just as panicked and confused as he was. They didn't have a choice. If Tyler left the room, his best friend Matt would die. If he stayed, he would have to fight back, or else he could kill Elena, Damon, Stefan and even Caroline.

He didn't have time to weigh out his options. In a matter of seconds, he had fully transformed into a werewolf and he eyed each one of them as if they were his prey.

"He made his choice. Now let's see if you were right Miss Gilbert."

"Elena, get behind me." Stefan instructed, and Elena knew better than to defy him.

Caroline, on the other hand, looked at her friends and couldn't help but feel guilty that this was all her fault. If she hadn't been so rash, they wouldn't be here, and they wouldn't have to be fighting each other. This wasn't how things were supposed to be.

They were her friends.

"Stefan!" Elena screamed.

Caroline snapped out of her thoughts and found that Tyler had pinned Stefan to the ground and his teeth were ready to bite into his skin.

Damon immediately grabbed hold of Tyler and with all the strength he had in him, threw him across the room, nearly missing Elena, who had backed up against the wall. All along, Damon thought that Elena was right behind him, but he only realized his mistake as Tyler picked himself off the ground and was standing a few meters away from Elena.

This was it. The brothers wouldn't be able to get there in time. Caroline could see that Tyler was trying to fight back, he tried to push himself away from Elena, but as soon as he made contact with Elena's eyes, and saw her fangs bared, his werewolf instincts kicked in. He lunged at her, pinning her to the ground.

Caroline screamed.

That was all it took. Tyler turned his face from Elena to her and because of her distraction, Damon was able to push him away and Stefan pulled Elena to safety. He wrapped her arms around her, and Caroline could see that tears were falling from his eyes.

He could have lost the love of his life a second time.

Damon picked himself off the ground and took a few steps backward from Tyler. He was crouched, with a look of rage in his eyes. Nothing could stand in his way now. He had almost hurt Elena.

"Have I proved you wrong? Or are you still up for round two?" Bonnie asked condescendingly.

Tyler roared in response, eyeing his prey once more.

Caroline couldn't handle the idea that her friends might die because of her. She had to do something.

"Tyler, I know you're in there. Baby, it's me."

The wolf lifted his head at the sound of her voice. He looked at her and slowly changed his direction. He was now making his way towards Caroline. As soon as he was close enough, he circled around her, as if marking his territory.

"Caroline, don't." Stefan began, but she lifted a finger to him and he didn't say another word.

Damon still didn't look convinced, but Elena grabbed hold of his hand and held him back before he could try anything.

"Tyler, listen to me. You need to fight back okay. You are not this person. You broke the sire bond with Klaus. You can do it again. You can break free of her hold. All you have to do is try, and I know you can make it through."

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her straight in the eye. She could see a look of extreme anxiety laced with rage in his. But it wasn't directed towards her. He was fighting with himself. He had actually listened to her. Tyler backed away from Caroline even though her fangs were bared and all of his wolf side just wanted to sink his teeth into her skin. He clawed at his own skin, and tried to break his own bones.

It was the most unusual thing, and yet after all that has happened in Mystic Falls, Caroline knew better than to stop believing in the impossible. There was always an exception.

Tyler suddenly crumpled to the ground.

"Enough." Bonnie said. She had loosened her grip on Matt and had performed another spell.

Caroline went to Tyler's side and immediately searched for a pulse. It was barely recognizable, but the faint throbs were enough to convince Caroline that he was still alive. She kissed him on the cheek and tried to pinch him awake, waiting for some sort of response but there was nothing.

Damon walked over to the other side and tried to shake the wolf awake, backing away immediately as a precaution, but there was still no response.

Caroline stood and looked Bonnie straight in the eye. "What have you done to him? You knew it, didn't you? You knew he was more than the abomination you thought he'd be – that he actually had a heart capable of love? He would have fought back, and he would have won."

Bonnie feigned indifference. "To who? Niklaus? You'll know soon enough. No matter what the hybrid showed today, it doesn't change the fact that their existence is against nature. I repeat, this has to end."

"If you can stun him with a single spell, you could have killed us all earlier? Why go through all of this? What made you stop?"

Caroline saw that Bonnie baulked for a second, but then continued anyway "You can't do it, can you? You have seen how your family has changed and you can't bring yourself to kill them. "

Bonnie gave Caroline a disapproving stare. Her friend may be the physical part of the person standing in front of her, but all Caroline could see at the moment is the evil witch. Esther didn't realize she had given away her weakness when she responded. "Well, this stupid body had to keep resisting my plans. It would have been easier if I could have taken a random bystanders' body, but no, in order for me to have this much power, I had to possess a Bennett witch."

Caroline looked at Elena and it was as if the latter could read her mind. Similar to what Caroline had done with Tyler earlier, may be they could convince Bonnie to fight back. If their friend was still in there, which was probably true since she was fighting with Esther, then all Caroline and Elena needed to do was remind her of who she was. Maybe this would give her the strength she needed.

It was worth a shot.

"Trust me" Caroline heard Elena whisper to Stefan. She then squeezed his arm and walked forward. Even though she couldn't cross the barrier, she made sure she was as close to Bonnie as she possibly could. On the other hand, Damon and Caroline stood in front of Tyler's body, as if guarding him from any further harm.

"Bonnie, it's me Elena. I know you're in there. I know my best friend wouldn't want to hurt her friends. Remember when we were trying to take down Klaus for the very first time, and you said that I shouldn't give up so easily. Well I'm not, I'm the strong person I am today because of you. Try to remember, Bonnie, right now it's your turn to fight back."

Esther's expression changes to utter frustration. "Stop it Elena."

Elena knew she was taking a risk but she still wouldn't budge. "Remember Jeremy? I know we sent him away again to protect him but I also know that being away from him hurts you just as much as it hurts me, maybe even more. If he were here, he would tell you to fight back. He'd probably kill me first for putting you in danger, but yes, Jeremy would remind you that you are stronger than this."

Bonnie's hands were now fists at her sides and she screamed. "I said STOP."

Elena stood her ground. She knew she was getting through to her friend, and that their plan was working. She looked back at Stefan for support, and he quickly moved to her side. Caroline nodded to Damon, who remained in front of Tyler, while she took Elena's other side.

Esther was mad. It wasn't hard to tell. Before any of them could say another word, she grabbed hold of Matt's neck once more, and began choking him.

"You better stop before I kill him."

Elena shivered in response. Stefan grabbed hold of her hand, keeping her steady, and Caroline could tell he was trying to figure out a way to get Matt to safety.

"Do it."

Caroline turned to find Damon in his usual arrogant stance, his arms folded across his chest.

"Do it. And then we'll have one less quarterback in the world."

Elena looked at Damon in disbelief. How could he say such a thing when earlier they had convinced Tyler to fight for his life? She could feel the anger brewing, and it wouldn't be long before she would snap his neck and kill him.

Stefan didn't wait for him to say anything else. He let go of Elena and in the briefest of seconds, he was standing in front of him so they were eye-to-eye. "Brother, I swear, you will be the death of me."

Bonnie looked amused, and she let go of Matt.

An applause from behind interrupted everyone, and as soon as they all turned to see who it was, they got an even bigger surprise of their life – Kol Mickaelson was standing in the doorway.

"Hello mother."