A/N: I'm still here! Although TVD is over, I will still be writing fanfic and I hope everyone will still be reading it. Sorry for the delayed update. I'll be honest, I had a block and this chapter was very hard for me to write. Fight scenes can be hard to depict in writing, at least it's a difficulty for me personally, so I'm glad to finally have this chapter out. Regardless of my troubles I hope it's a good read for you all! It would be awesome if you left a review. :) Happy reading!
Song Credit: War by Linkin Park
Disclaimer: I only own my original characters. The Vampire Diaries belongs to The CW. This is for intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.
17 - War
Four Years Earlier...
Victoria had been parked in front of the cozy house in the suburban California neighborhood for a few minutes but Julius had not yet moved. Akira, Anton, and Bryan were in the car behind them waiting impatiently but he didn't care. He wasn't ready to do this yet. Victoria saw the pain etched on his face.
"You know, stalling isn't going to change anything," she told him.
He sighed deeply. "I know, I'm just...not ready yet."
She reached out and placed her hand over his. "This is the best thing for her," she said. "You're extremely dangerous, your bloodlust is going to get worse before you learn to handle it. You're not her father anymore, Julius. Her father died. All she'll see you as now is a monster. Is that what you want?"
These words internally destroyed him. He was a monster. He was the monster who murdered Valeria's mother, and now because of him, she had no parents. She would grow older and wonder about them, she would see all her friends with their mothers and fathers and wish she could have the same. They wouldn't be there for her first day of school, or her high school graduation, or her wedding day. She would forever have a void in her life that could never be filled and it was all his fault.
"No, that's not what I want." Julius replied to Victoria's question somberly.
"Then, let's go," she stated firmly. "It's time." She opened her car door and Julius did the same. He opened the back car door and looked in at Vee who was sleeping soundly. She was extremely precious and fragile, and breathtaking just like her mother. He reached in to unstrap her from the car seat.
"Do you think you should be carrying her?" Victoria asked. "I can do it."
"I've got her," he snapped, then mumbled. "I'm not going to hurt her. I've caused enough tragedy for one day." She stirred as he brought her gently into his arms. As he cradled her she opened her hazel eyes and looked up at him, then smiled. She always smiled when she saw her dad. Akira and the others got out of the second car.
"You guys stay out here," Victoria instructed. "This will only take a minute." They nodded and leaned against the car. For some reason, their presence bugged the shit out of Julius. They could give a shit about how important this moment was to Julius or how heartbreaking it was for him. They just wanted to be done with it so they could hit the road, they didn't care if Vee was left in good hands or not.
Holding Vee and telling her how much he loved her, Julius trailed behind Victoria who headed to the front door and knocked. It only took a few moments before it was opened and his unsuspecting great-aunt was peering out at them. She saw Victoria first. "Hi, what can I do for you?" She asked then she spotted Julius and her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God! Jonathan, is it really you?!"
He smiled and nodded. "Yes Mayma, it's me!"
"Oh, I can't believe it!" She stepped out and threw her arms around him. "I thought you might have been out getting into trouble, you barely call and check in. Your sister and I have been so worried about you!"
"I know, I'm so sorry about that," he said, honestly. She stepped back and looked upon the baby in his arms. "And who's this?"
"She's actually why we're here," Julius told her.
"May we come in?" Victoria spoke up, a hint of annoyance in her tone due to the fact that the older woman hadn't yet invited them in herself.
"My apologies, so rude. Come in, come in!" She went back into the house and opened the door further, waving them inside. She looked past them as they entered. "Are those your friends?"
"Yes, but they're not coming in," Julius told her and she nodded and shut the door.
"We're not staying long," Victoria announced.
"But you just got here," Mayma said with a furrowed brow. "You can't possibly be leaving already? At least let me call Jackie and let her know you're here."
"No!" Julius said in such a demanding, almost panicked tone, that he startled her. He quickly softened his tone. "You can't do that, Aunt Mayma."
"Your sister misses you so much," she told him. "I've missed you so much. What's going on?" He looked to Victoria who nodded, then he gestured his aunt to her living-chair and she sat, then looked to him for an explanation.
"Mayma, this is my girlfriend, Victoria," he started his late introduction. Victoria was silently judging him for still calling his aunt 'Mayma' rather than her actual name. Then he held out Vee. "And this is my daughter, Valeria. I call her Vee for short."
Her eyes widened again as she took her into her arms and cradled her. "I can't believe it," she repeated. "She's an angel." She was already looking upon the child with such love and adoration Julius knew he was making the best choice for his daughter, and possibly his aunt. Mayma looked back up at her nephew and his new girlfriend. The only girl she'd ever known him to be with was April, whom she'd quite liked. There was something cold about this Victoria, something about her that made Mayma uneasy. "You two had a child together?"
"No, she's not the mother," Julius said, quickly. "April is."
This made Mayma feel much better. Victoria was stunningly beautiful but she didn't look like she was capable of loving a small puppy, let alone a child. "April, she's a lovely girl," she said. "And I see so much of her in Valeria. But she has your eyes, your beautiful eyes. How is April anyway?"
Julius kneeled down next to the chair and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "She's dead," he said softly. "April had an accident, and she died."
"An accident? How awful, that poor girl."
"You're all Vee has now, Aunt Mayma," Julius continued.
"Of course she has me but I'm not all she has," she stated. "She has you. I'm sure you're a wonderful father."
"Mayma, for reasons I can't explain to you, I can't take care of her," he said, his heart heavy. "I want her to be raised by someone who will love her unconditionally and take as good care of her as she did her own children, and my sister and I. That's you, Mayma. You're exactly what she needs." He pulled an envelope of cash out of his back pocket. "I'm leaving you $10,000 right now. I'll be sending you more in a couple days and I'll keep sending you money every month, even after she's an adult and she moves out. I'll send it anonymously of course, you won't know it's coming from me but you are to accept it and make sure you and Vee have everything you need."
"Honey, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense," Mayma replied with a shake of the head.
"Victoria is going to explain things to you in a minute and it will all make sense," Julius said quickly. "I just need to know that this is something you want to do and are willing to do before I leave, because I won't force anything on you."
Mayma smiled at him with watery eyes. "Of course, I'll take care of her and I'll love her like she's my own. I already love her, and every time I look into her eyes, I'll see you. My handsome, joyful, kind nephew, Jonathan, who was always destined to grow up and be a great man and do great things."
His own eyes were watering now. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mayma."
"You're not a disappointment," She reached out and cupped his face lovingly. "My sister would be astounded to see you now, see the man you've grown into. As would your mother. Your mother had those eyes too."
"Julius, we have to go," Victoria, who had been itching to get this over with and was fighting the urge to snap at them to speed up this sappy conversation, spoke up from behind him.
"I'm so lucky to have you, Mayma, and so is Vee," he said. "Which is why it hurts to say this but this is going to be the last time you'll ever see me."
"What?"
"I'm sorry, but it's for the best." Julius had been repeating those words to himself inside his head the whole ride over, 'It's for the best. You're too dangerous. You're a monster. It's for the best'. "I want you to know that I love you very much, and I love Vee very much. I want you to tell her about me and April, and how much we loved her. Please tell her what a beautiful, amazing woman her mother was."
"Of course." She nodded as the tears finally fell. "Are you going to tell me why this is happening?"
"I'm sorry, I can't. I have to go, Mayma." He moved to place a kiss on her forehead. "Goodbye." Then he looked down at his daughter who seemed to be looking at him expectantly, as if waiting for a kiss as well. He gave her one on the cheek, then held up his finger which she quickly grabbed like she always did. "I'm so sorry I'm not going to be here for you. There won't be a day that goes by that I don't think of you." Then he pulled his finger out of his child's grip. turned and started toward the door. His dam of emotions was about to burst and he wanted to get out of the house before it did. He could hear Victoria still in the living-room talking to his great-aunt, compelling her, "As far as you know, Julius and April are dead. When people ask, you will tell them he brought Vee to you to babysit and you learned he and April died in a house fire later that day and you are now going to raise the child." House fire? He was sure she had someone go back to the townhouse and make sure that story would check out.
He didn't hear the rest of what she was compelling his poor, now devastated aunt to believe. He stepped outside and moved quickly to the car as the tears fell and he sobbed. He had never cried like this in his life, not even when his grandmother died, but Victoria had warned him his transition would heighten all of his emotions and being that in one day he'd killed the love of his life, given away his daughter with the vow to never see her again, and had his aunt compelled to believe he was dead which is news that would quickly travel to his little sister, the emotion wracking his body was so overwhelming it nearly hurt him physically.
He ignored Anton saying his name and stumbled into the car, slamming the door so hard the window shattered. He punched the dashboard, wanting desperately for the pain and guilt to go away, wishing he could shut it off, but he couldn't. That's not an ability Victoria would inform him of until much later, so he kept punching the dashboard.
"Hey!" He heard her shout, then she was getting into the driver's seat beside them. "Get it together!" He stopped denting her car but the tears were still streaming. "First you cheat on me, then you lie about it, now you break my car window, you fucker! You think any of this has been easy on me? Huh?!" He didn't respond, which pissed her off even more. "Look at me, Julius." His eyes remained ahead. She grabbed his face and forcefully turned his head toward her. "I said look at me. You have no one to blame but yourself. You and I had something good going, I was good to you. April and Vee were at peace with their lives, then you just had to step in and destroy it. You broke my heart, now April's dead and Valeria has no mother and it's your fault. I'm the only person you have in your life now that loves you, and I'm going to be all you have for as long as you live. So you better pull it together and show me some fucking respect."
Julius nodded. "I know, I'm sorry Vic, I'm sorry." She was sick of his sorries. She released his face then started up the car. "Now we have to go get this window fixed, which puts another delay in our plans. Thanks a lot." She pulled off and Julius remained stony-faced and silent, trying with all of his will to keep his emotions in.
He had learned his lesson. Once Victoria had learned April was back in his life, she had vowed she would make him pay. She promised to herself she would make him suffer until he was a crying a pool at her feet, a former shell of himself. As soon as she laid eyes on him on the tiled floor, bloodied and holding a dead April in his arms and sobbing, she knew she had succeeded. He was a broken man now. She had him right where she wanted him. Although she had taken him back and they were going to move forward together, she was still going to make him work for her complete forgiveness. He had broken her heart and humiliated her. She would never forget that. She still planned to spend the next hundred years and more with him, but for now, she wasn't quite done punishing him.
The front door to 124 Cedar Drive was kicked down with such force the foundation of the house shook. The married couple who had been eating dinner in the dining-room nearly had heart attacks and tried to scramble into hiding. The husband was not quick enough to dodge the furious vampire who was coming at him with the speed of a bullet.
"Where is she?!" Julius was speaking through gritted teeth, his hazel eyes alight with an angry fire as he gripped the young man by the throat.
"Who?" The scared human managed to choke out.
"Bonnie Bennett," he clarified. "The girl Victoria and Raven kidnapped."
"He can't answer you if you choke him to death, Julius!" Caroline warned from the open doorway. She was camped out there with Elena, Stefan, and Damon who especially looked like he was itching to get in the house and get answers. Julius huffed but released his throat and managed to calm himself. He clamped his hand down on the man's shoulder to keep him from running and looked him in the eye.
"Is Bonnie here?" He asked.
"I don't know who that is."
He took another deep breath to remain calm and not beat this guy into being useful. "Where did Victoria take the girl she kidnapped?"
"Do you mean the little girl?" The man asked.
"We're not on vervain so there's no need to compel us," came a voice from the kitchen. Julius looked up to see a woman, about thirty years of age, watching them. She didn't appear as alarmed as most would in the current situation. All of the abuse and compulsion she and her husband, Joshua, had endured from Victoria's group over the past couple months had made her numb to random vampire attacks. She locked her brown eyes on Julius and said, "My name is Eliza, my husband that you were just choking a moment ago is Joshua. We've been expecting you." Julius was taken aback, but released her husband.
"Well, if that's the case, why don't you invite my friends in," he suggested.
She nodded and looked out to the front door. "Sure. Come in, you guys." The three of them all exchanged surprised looks and Caroline started to put her foot through the door.
"Wait!" Stefan cried and she hesitated. "This could be a trap. If they're not on vervain Victoria could have compelled them to lure us in."
"Easy way to find out if they're really not on vervain," Damon stated. Then with a flash he was right in front of Eliza, chomping on her neck.
"Hey!" Josh cried out but Julius held him back.
"Nope, she was telling the truth. No vervain." Damon said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked into her eyes. "Is this a trap?"
"No," she stated firmly, holding her bleeding neck.
"You know that really wasn't necessary," Josh stated with annoyance. Elena, Caroline, and Stefan had wandered over. Caroline approached Eliza.
"Here, let me heal you," she offered, biting into her wrist and holding it out. "You seem pretty knowledgeable about vampires so I'm guessing you know how this works."
Eliza turned her nose up at her bleeding wrist. "No. I'm fine."
"Relax, it was just a surface bite, I didn't drink. She'll be fine," Damon declared. He caught Elena's bothered look. "What?"
"Come on, we have to search the house, make sure everything is all clear and nothing was left behind that might point us in the right direction," Stefan announced. He and Damon and Elena and Caroline paired off, the latter taking the upstairs, while Julius stayed with Eliza and Josh.
"You can have a seat," Eliza gestured toward the sofa. "Want anything to drink?"
"I'm fine," he stated stubbornly. "I just want to know where the hell my daughter and my girlfriend are."
"Wait, Valeria is your daughter?" Josh asked incredulously. "You must be Julius."
"I figured as much when you kicked our door down," Liza said casually as she settled onto the sofa herself. "I'm sorry Vic took your girls. I'm almost certain she's kept them alive thus far. She wants you to find them. She wants the confrontation with you, she's been preparing for it for awhile, but she wants to do it on her terms, her time, her turf. That's the only reason she would've brought them somewhere else."
"She didn't tell us exactly where they were going." Josh took his place beside Liza on the couch. "All we heard was the old, abandoned warehouse by the border."
Julius looked at them warily. "Why are you lot being so nice?"
"Is it really wise to be an asshole to a vampire?" Liza inquired with a raised brow. "Victoria and her people brainwashed us, threatened us, roughed us up, and ran us out of our own home. We just want this ordeal to be over with as quickly as possible so she'll move on and we can have our lives, and our house, back. If that means you get your daughter back and possibly kill Victoria in the process, then we're not going to try to stop you by any means." Julius gazed at her skeptically. "Your excitable friend already confirmed I'm not on vervain so if you still don't trust me you can compel your answers out of me but I promise you they'll be the same."
Julius sighed heavily. "It's just that Victoria has this way with people, they want to be on her good side and devote themselves to her."
"Victoria doesn't have a good side," Josh stated, seriously. If this had been said to him five years ago, he would've opposed it wholeheartedly and passionately. Now, he couldn't find anything but truth in the statement and could not believe he had loved this lunatic so deeply not too long ago.
"All clear down here," Stefan said as he and Damon reconvened in the hall with Elena and Caroline.
"All clear up here," Caroline said. "Except this." She had a stuffed animal in her hand and held it out to Julius. "I found it in one of the bedrooms. I thought it could be Vee's and that she might want it back."
Julius smiled at the sight of Meeko and took him from her. "Yes. She loves this guy," he said. "She'll be so happy to have him back. Thank you."
"No problem," Caroline said with a smile."
"Well," Damon held out his arms expectantly. "Get anything out of these guys?"
"Yeah, we have a lead. Let's go." He started toward the door and the gang trailed behind him. He hesitated before stepping out. "One last thing." He sped back over to Eliza, who didn't seem startled by his sudden appearance mere inches from her face. His eyes dilated as he looked her in her eyes and spoke. "Your job here is done. You've fulfilled your duty to Victoria and don't have to do anything else for her. Start drinking vervain daily, get yourself a new home, and do not invite Victoria, Akira, or Raven in." He turned to Josh. "You do whatever you have to to make sure this happens." The couple nodded in compliance. With a whoosh and a blink of the eye, there was no one in the house but the two of them.
Bonnie couldn't remember the last time she'd been this angry, this murderous. This coven of bastards had been a thorn in her side since they came to Mystic Falls and she was ready to kill them all and be done with it, regardless of the repercussions. Being knocked out, thrown into the back of a truck, and unwillingly brought to the very place she was planning to ambush had not been how she'd thought this trip would go. Now, being stuck in a cold basement of an old, dusty, abandoned warehouse in her PJs, tied to a chair in the same fashion they'd tied up Bryan, being taunted by the man himself was the very last thing she needed.
"Wake up, Princess," Bryan was saying in that condescending tone she found so infuriating. Bonnie opened her eyes and gave him a look so severe it should've killed him instantly. "That's right, you're not in Kansas anymore. You're in my house." He suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the throat, his grip tightening as he looked at her with just as much menace in his brown eyes. "You and that asshat Julius want to steal my magic, throw me in a trunk, then lock me in a closet? That's all you've got? I hope you know I have much worse planned for you." His grip tightened even more, completely cutting off her breathing. She was unable to muster up a spell, deducing that she had been injected with something that was weakening her magic. Bryan had such a hold on her he was nearly lifting her out of the chair, as he sneered and spewed hatred and disgusting names at her.
"Bryan!" The sharp female voice came from the doorframe. Bryan turned to see Victoria emerging from the shadows, tall and lean, decked out in all black just like the last time Bonnie had seen her. "Let her go."
He grunted in frustration. "Are you serious?" He whined. "The bitch stole from me, Vic."
"And I promised you it would be taken care of," Victoria responded with her arms crossed. "It won't do us any good if you kill her this quickly. What did I tell you about patience?"
Bryan huffed and released Bonnie. She continued to stare daggers at him. "Keep staring at me like that and I might start to think you want me. Won't be the first time I banged a chick before I offed her."
"Fuck you!" Bonnie spat.
"Bryan, don't be disgusting!" Victoria chastised. She then focused on Bonnie and slowly approached her. The witch had now set her intense gaze on the vampire. "You are a tough little thing aren't you?" She crouched down so she was eye level with her. "I guess I can see the appeal. You're a beautiful girl with an ass that won't quit. Why wouldn't Julius want to get you in the sack, have some momentary fun with you?"
"That's what you like to tell yourself, isn't it?" Bonnie quipped.
"You have a lot of mouth for a girl who's only a mere mortal without her magic," Victoria snapped, her grey eyes blazing. "You have just served as a distraction for Julius. It was only a matter of time before he would realize his mistake and come crawling back to me, just like he always does. Unfortunately for you, I don't have the time to sit around and wait for him to come to his senses."
"What did you do to me?" Bonnie sneered. "Why can't I access my magic?"
"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head too much about that," she instructed. "The serum we injected you with is only temporary, you carry magic inside of you and it's going to burn it off pretty quickly which is why we have to get to the point. Give Bryan his powers back, leave town with your little friends, and stay away from Julius and my family. Sounds simple enough, right?"
"Why would I give him anything back?" Bonnie inquired. "I don't trust him and I don't trust you."
"Don't you know I could've killed you about five times already?" Victoria quipped. "I could kill you right now, rip your heart right out of your chest and not lose any sleep. Then I would have fun hunting down each and every one of your friends and picking them off, one by one. And the little girl…let's just say she would never get to see her father again. And I would save a resentful Julius for last, resentful because you could've prevented all of it if you hadn't been so damn difficult."
"Who's to say Bryan won't kill me as soon as I give him his magic back!" Bonnie exclaimed. She could feel herself slowly strengthening, and Victoria seemed to sense it as well. She stepped back but kept her eyes locked on her. "Bryan! Get the girl!" Bryan immediately disappeared from the room.
"You leave her out of this," Bonnie sneered.
"I tried to do things the easy way, but this is what you chose," Victoria sneered back. "You need to understand something, Bon Bon. It's either trust me, or die. There is no option C." Bryan returned momentarily, guiding Vee by the arm a little too roughly for her liking. There was a flicker of recognition in her hazel eyes when she saw Bonnie.
"Get your hands off of her!" Bonnie snapped at Bryan.
"Hi sweetie." Victoria put on a falsely sweet voice and approached the child. "Do you know her?" She questioned in reference to Bonnie. Vee looked at Bonnie, as if seeking the right answer. "I'm talking to you, hon, don't look at her. Look at me. Do you know her? Did she try to take you away"
"No," Vee spoke softly.
Victoria tsk'ed at her. "Now, now, Valeria, what did I tell you about lying?"
"Why do you even have her down here?" Bonnie spoke up. "She's just a child, Victoria. Whatever is going on between me, you, and Julius, leave it between us."
Victoria sighed and kneeled down in front of Vee, taking her small head in her hands. "You're so precious," she said, and that compliment stated in that sugary sweet tone still managed to sound like the most menacing of threats. "How about we tell Aunt Bonnie her options, hm? How would you like a nap? A nice long nap that you never wake up from? Or maybe you would like to play with Aunt Raven, she's been thirsting to get close to you."
"Hurt her, you bitch, and I swear-"
"Raven!" Vic shouted, then there was a blur before Raven's figure appeared in the entryway. Staring Bonnie straight in the eyes, she declared, "You can have the girl." Raven's eyes instantly turned black.
"Gladly." And she was headed toward Vee who was screaming at the top of her little lungs.
"No! Stop!" Bonnie shouted. Raven stopped just short of the child, still leering at her. "Stop it, okay, don't hurt her. I'll do it. I'll do what you asked, just please don't hurt her."
There was suddenly shouting from up above. Victoria smiled. "Oh goody, our friends have arrived. And just in time, too. Bryan, Raven, don't let Bonnie out of your sight. I'm bringing Vee up to Chris." And with a blur, she had Vee in her arms then she was gone.
...
Julius was red with anger as he rushed through the bottom level of the abandoned building, his gun loaded with vervain pellets drawn, both Salvatore brothers flanking his sides. "Victoria!" He shouted. "Come down here, bitch! This is what you wanted!"
"On your left!" Stefan shouted. A man was running out toward them, blasting his weapon just as Stefan yelled out his warning. He missed and Julius quickly fired back. Within a split second, Damon was in front of him, snatching the gun from his hand. The guy looked at him with eyes full of fear and before he could whimper out a plea for his life, Damon had snapped his neck.
"Damon, don't…" Julius' scolding went unfinished as the three vampires took in all of the men slowly converging in around them.
"The fuck is this?" Damon sneered, inching back toward Stefan and Julius.
"My guess is a whole lot of compelled humans," Julius observed. "Victoria knows how averse I am to spilling human blood, so she's going to try to make me spill as much of it as possible before I even get near Bonnie."
"Well, Victoria does not know me very well," Damon said, sneering as the men moved in closer, poised to attack.
"If only you hadn't dragged your feet getting here." Victoria stood at the foot of the stairwell, arms crossed and looking at surrounded vampires. "Maybe I wouldn't have had time to compel so many humans to kill you and your hot friends. Or, severely slow you down and all the while, as your tearing out their innocent hearts, you're thinking of what I could be doing to Bonnie…or that precious little girl of yours. You're on the clock, Caesar, better hope it's not too late by the time the three of you make it out of the pit."
Julius spoke through gritted teeth. "I swear to God, I'll – "
"Have at 'em boys," Victoria cut off Julius' threat. Then she was gone and her small army attacked.
...
The moment Victoria was out of sight, Bonnie used the little bit of strength she had and used her magic to forcefully push Bryan back, causing him to hit the floor. He chuckled as he slowly sat up. "See, now this is more fun," he said. He stood up. "Raven, leave us."
Raven hesitated to do as he requested. "Are you sure. Victoria said-"
"I'm saying to leave us!" He snapped. "I can handle her all by myself. Go find Akira, she may need you." Raven nodded then she was gone. Bryan looked at Bonnie. "It's fair now, baby. If you want to fight we can fight, but I should warn you…I get a little rough."
He started toward her but Bonnie shouted and he found himself being thrown against the wall. Bonnie's bindings fell from her body. She attempted to stand tall and staggered. "Glad to know I'm not the only one who likes it rough. Looks like someone isn't strong enough for such powerful spells yet," Bryan taunted as he struggled to his feet, blood dripping from an open wound on his head.
Bonnie glared at him and threw her hands up to direct another spell at him but he was quicker. With a cry of pain she dropped to the ground holding her head, then he was above her, pinning her to the ground.
...
Elena crept stealthily along the second floor, hoping to come across Bonnie or Valeria. She wasn't having much luck thus far, as each open room she passed was empty. Then she heard it. What sounded like sobs, the sobs of a little girl. She pushed her hair from her ear to listen better and she heard a male voice ask, "Come on. You've been crying non-stop since we got here. What do I gotta do to get you to stop?" The voices were coming from the end of the corridor. Before Elena could take another step, her path was being blocked by a vengeful vampire.
"Oh, it's you," she spoke. "How disappointing. I was hoping to see your boyfriend again, show him exactly how much I didn't appreciate how our last meeting ended."
"Akira," acknowledged a crestfallen Elena. She knew the vampire wasn't going to forget Damon punching a hole in her chest and nearly killing her anytime soon.
"This isn't your fight, Elena," Akira said, her arms crossed. "If you knew what was best for you, you'd just turn around. Go home."
"Not without Vee and not without Bonnie," Elena stood firmly.
Akira's dark brown eyes narrowed and her next words were spoken with venom. "You have three seconds to get out of my sight before I get pissed off and tear your pretty little head from your body."
"Let the girl go."
"One."
"She's just a kid," a determined Elena continued. "You should be ashamed of yourself for bringing an innocent child into this!"
"Two."
"I'm not going to let you hurt her! Let her go or you'll regret it."
Akira suddenly flew at Elena and shoved her with such force that Elena felt like her chest had caved in and she couldn't breathe. She went flying back and hit the wall, her head making an indentation as it banged against it, then she crumpled to the floor. "You really insist on learning the hard way, don't you?" Akira seethed and started toward her again to finish her off.
She didn't make it, as she was now the one being pushed away by another vampire that had sped up the stairs at the sound of the struggle. Caroline's timing was unfortunate for Akira, as she had been passing a window, and now the blonde's force was sending her flying through it, shattering the glass and sending her a long way down.
"Are you okay?" Care asked Elena, holding her hand out to help her up. Elena groaned as she took her hand and got up. The back of her head was pounding in pain.
"I'm fine."
"Come on, let's find Bonnie," she advised. "Akira won't be down for too long."
"Wait, what about Valeria?"
"She's heavily guarded by compelled humans," she informed. "The only way to her is through them. Maybe Bonnie can do a spell that will keep anyone from being killed." Elena nodded in agreement and the two women headed down the stairs. The sounds of a struggle could be heard down below and they knew Julius, Damon, and Stefan must have ran into Victoria's army themselves.
...
"Get off of me!" Bonnie screeched as she wrestled with Bryan on the ground. He had a needle in his hand he was determined to stick her with to weaken her magic even further, but she was putting up a hell of a fight. "Mo-"
Bryan quickly clapped his hand over her mouth. "No, there won't be any spells out of you," he said. "You're too weak for that one anyway, might knock yourself out. To be honest, your feistiness is turning me on. Maybe I can see for myself what's got Julius so whipped." Bonnie screeched into his hand as his other started to travel. She had never attempted to give a human an aneurysm before, as they could not heal like vampires, but she was going to do what she needed to get this disgusting human being off of her
Just as she was narrowing her eyes with focus to deliver the silent killer, there was a loud cracking sound. Bryan crumpled to the floor beside her, his brown eyes devoid of life, his snapped neck at a very peculiar angle. Bonnie looked up at an angry Caroline, her expression full of gratitude.
"Pig!" Caroline spat down at the dead warlock.
"Care! You found me!"
"Of course. We all did." She held out her hand and Bonnie took it, allowing her to lift her to her feet.
"Julius?"
"He's with Stefan and Damon," Elena reported from the doorway. "Victoria has guys all over the building ready to attack and guarding his daughter. If we're going to make a move we have to do it now."
Bonnie nodded. "Take me to Valeria."
The ladies hustled off, quickly making their way back up toward the third floor. A commotion distracted them from their trek and they came upon a disheartening scene in one of the empty rooms. Julius surrounded by dead bodies, blood dripping from his mouth. The sight shocked Bonnie.
"Oh my God!" She gasped.
He looked up and his black veins slowly vanished at the sight of her. "Baby, you're okay," he said, taking a step toward her. "Thank God you're okay." She looked at him with wide, distraught eyes.
"I had no choice, Bon," he defended himself. "Victoria compelled these people into robots. They would not stop coming after me until I killed them or they killed me."
"I'm impressed, amateur." Akira had appeared behind him, looking smug. "Now let's see if you have an easy enough time getting past me."
"And me." Raven stepped out too, looking thirsty for a fight.
"You bitches stay away from him!" Bonnie threatened. Akira laughed.
"You're cute when you're trying to be scary." She looked to Caroline. "I'm not through with you either, Blondie. Don't think you're getting out of here in one piece."
"I can take you," Caroline stated confidently.
"I have almost a hundred years on you, stupid bitch."
"That didn't really matter when I made you eat dirt a few minutes ago, did it?" Caroline taunted. Akira glared at her but didn't move from her spot. Julius was suddenly speeding away, but just as quickly Raven moved and had him pinned against the wall, her arm to his throat.
"Nice try," she sneered. "I ran track before I was turned. You're not outrunning me."
"Hey!" Bonnie started toward her but in a flash Akira was before her, blocking her path. "I will kill the both of you." Caroline and Elena sped over as well, flanking Bonnie's sides.
"Do you really want to try all three of us?" Elena asked in a threatening tone.
Akira looked worried for split second, then her smirk returned. "You know, while you're so busy trying to play Superwoman for a grown man, the clock is ticking on the little girl."
"What are you talking about?" Bonnie asked with a furrowed brow.
"Victoria is growing bored of this fight and has already told Chris to have the girl removed," Akira revealed. "Next location isn't going to be an easy find like this one. Who knows if you'll ever see her again once she leaves this building."
"Girls, don't worry about me, go find Vee!" Julius instructed in a panicked tone.
"I'm not leaving you with them!" She disputed.
"Bonnie!" He cried. "I need you to to do this! I'll be fine." They still hadn't moved. "Now!" Caroline and Elena nodded and Care grabbed ahold of Bonnie's arm.
Care's eyes narrowed at Akira. "Next time I see you, I will kill you." Then she and Bonnie were gone, Elena right behind them. Akira turned back toward Julius, who Raven still had backed against the wall, and slowly stepped toward him.
"Now, what to do with you?" She wondered aloud.
...
"She's up here!" Caroline told Bonnie as they all headed down the hall of the third floor. Breaking a left they came upon six compelled humans, all standing stock still, guns in hands. Right in the center of them was a young man trying to coerce a small girl into leaving with him.
"I want my Mayma!" She was crying.
"I know, we're going to go see her!" Chris lied almost desperately.
"Vee!" Bonnie cried. Vee and Chris both looked at she and the two vampires by her side. Immediately, every single soldier pointed their guns at the three of them.
"Yep, same problem I ran into earlier," Care said with a sigh of frustration.
Chris stood in front of Vee so they couldn't see each other. "You're not getting her."
"We are, and you are not getting in my way!" Bonnie seethed through clenched teeth, moving toward him.
"Take another step and I'll blow your head off!" One of the guards warned.
"Like I said," Chris smirked, crossing his arms defiantly. "You're not getting her."
Bonnie looked around at the guards, taking in the severity of the threat, calculating a plan to get past them in her head. Then she knew what to do. "Guys, what I'm about to do is going to take a lot out of me," she warned Elena and Caroline. "No matter what happens to me, make sure you get Vee out of here. Even if it means leaving me." They nodded but gave each other a silent look, indicating they were going to do everything in their power to not leave their friend behind. "Vee, honey?" She spoke up.
"Yes." The little girl's head popped out behind Chris' legs.
"These are my friends, Elena and Caroline," she said sweetly. "They're good people. They're friends with your daddy."
"My daddy?"
"Yes, and we want to get you back to him." she continued. "He's waiting for you. So when they say, I need you to go to them okay?"
"Hey, whatever you're trying to pull-" Chris started.
"Shut up!" Care snapped.
"Everything is going to be okay honey," Elena spoke to Vee. "We just want to get you out of here safely, and away from these bad people."
"Are you going to take me to Mayma?" She questioned. The girls gave each other another look. Bonnie and Julius had already decided not to bring her back there right away, as it could be dangerous for his great-aunt if Victoria went there a second time to retrieve Vee. Bonnie didn't want to make any false promises, but she need her to be cooperative.
"We're going to see what we can do about that," Care stated.
"Ok." Vee replied with a sadness in her tone. The little girl was smarter than anyone gave her credit for, she knew what those words meant.
Bonnie focused back on the guards, then she started reciting a spell out loud.
"What are you doing?" Chris asked worriedly. His question was soon answered as all the guards dropped their guns. all holding their heads in screaming pain as a loud ringing sound pierced their eardrums. Mustering up all the magic stirring inside of her that she could, she threw her hands up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Motis!" The blast of power immediately took it's toll on Bonnie. The spell was difficult enough to achieve on just one body, but six was another level, even with the assisted magic. The bodies went flying back as Bonnie staggered, blood pouring from her nose. There was a loud ringing in her own ears. She could hear her name being called but couldn't quite answer as she tried to steady herself. She failed and toppled to the ground. She heard Vee screaming before blacking out.
As she slowly came to some time later she realized she was moving. She was being cradled and was pressed against a hard chest. She looked up and saw it was Stefan that was carrying her, and he was looking very concerned at the moment. Then he stopped walking.
"Stefan," she said as she was regaining strength in her legs. "What's going on?"
She looked around and saw they were just feet from the exit, but it was being blocked by two of their enemies, along with four armed guards. There seemed to be a never ending supply of them. "Put me down, Stefan," she ordered firmly.
"Are you sure you're all right to stand?" He questioned.
"I"m fine. Put me down." She demanded and he quickly did as he was told. The two of them stood in the center of the room and surveyed the scene. Armed guards everywhere, Victoria and Raven blocking the exit, Damon in one corner with guns to his head, Caroline, Elena, and Vee in another in the same predicament. Julius was toward the back by the stairs, being held by Akira who had clearly shot him up with vervain as he looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Let them go," Bonnie said simply.
"Why would I do that?" Victoria asked. "So they can come back and try to kill me again? Your friends have already killed two of my friends and most of my guards. There's no way in hell they're walking. Especially not with the wooden bullets loaded in these guns."
"Let the little girl go," Stefan spoke up. "Would you really hurt a child over your jealousy?"
"If you're trying to appeal to my humanity you're wasting your time," she declared. "I stopped bothering with humanity ages ago, and I didn't even have to flip a switch to accomplish it. At the end of the day, all I wanted was Bonnie and Julius and I had made that clear! If you idiots hadn't intervened in our business it would've never came to this. You assholes brought this on yourselves!"
"Bonnie is our business!" Damon sneered. "And if you touch her I will rip you and your minions limb for limb." Out of the corner of her eye, Bonnie saw Caroline whispering something to Vee.
"You talk a big game for someone with three guns pointed to their head," Raven piped up. "How are you going to make good on those threats with wooden bullets lodged in your thick skull." Bonnie caught the look Damon gave Stefan and the warning look his brother seemed to give back as if to say, 'don't do it'. Damon seemed to make the decision to ignore that look.
"Like this." With undetectable speed, Damon had ducked down, rammed his fists through two of the guards stomachs, up their ribcages, and extracted their hearts. Before the shock of his actions could settle in he was on the move, and the last man holding a gun to his head was falling to the ground with a snapped neck, then the guards by the exit very quickly found themselves without heads. It was unlike anything Bonnie had ever seen before. She was almost amazed.
"Shit," she heard Stefan mutter. Elena and Caroline used the distraction to their advantage and the guards flanking their sides quickly dropped to the ground dead. The one in front of them started firing his gun but Caroline tackled him, causing the bullets to fly in the air. Victoria let out a scream of rage and was going after Damon, and on instinct Stefan went after her in an effort to protect his brother. And suddenly, it was an all out brawl. Bonnie dropped to the ground and crawled to a semi-safe space behind and overturned desk to avoid the hail of gun fire. The screams of the guards being murdered was piercing, as well as the sounds of the supernaturals fully battling it out. Vee's terrified shriek is what made Bonnie's heart race. She chanced a peek out and saw the girl running toward the opposite corner, behind an overturned table. Caroline was in front of the table, fighting off Raven who was attempting to get to her. Bonnie then looked toward the back where a weakened Julius was furiously trying to loosen his bindings.
She had to get to him. Even if he got his hands untied, he wasn't strong enough to fight. She knew she was hardly strong enough hersel at the moment to perform an effective enough spell, but she could do enough to get him out of there. Akira was momentarily distracted from watching him as she was attempting to aid Victoria who was taking on both Salvatore brothers. She moved from behind her hiding place and started running toward Julius, dodging the remaining guards and fights going on around her. Julius spotted her coming and started furiously shaking his head no. She ignored this and continued toward him.
Then there was Akira, blocking her path, "Going somewhere?" She inquired rhetorically, then her veins were protruding from her gums as she readied to attack the little witch. Then with a loud snap, her body crumpled to the ground and Damon was looking at Bonnie with wide eyes, having once again saved her life.
"You need to go now!" He demanded in a no-questions-asked manner.
"I have to get Julius!" Bonnie cried.
"I'll do that! Go!" With no patience for an argument, Damon forcefully grabbed her and sped her toward the exit, pushing her out of the door. She fell on her bottom but quickly collected herself and jumped up, running back toward the door. "Bonnie, get out of here!" Damon yelled, quickly ripping out the hearts of two men who'd lost their weapons and running at him from each side. Bonnie then saw Victoria grab Julius and throw him against the wall.
"Wait!" Bonnie screamed but it was too late. The vampire had punched a hole in his chest, causing him to howl in pain, and her hand was wrapped around his heart. Bonnie started screaming frantically trying to get past Damon who was now blocking her view.
Then she heard Caroline shout, "Valeria, run!" Damon was suddenly yanked back by another attacker but now Valeria was running toward Bonnie as fast as her little legs could carry her. Caroline was right behind her as well as Elena. Bonnie opened her arms and Vee jumped into them, wrapping herself tightly around Bonnie, her little body trembling in fear. Stefan was now in the doorframe, his eyes locked on Bonnie although Care was right beside her. "Go back to Mystic Falls, do not turn back no matter what!" He instructed firmly.
"Let's go Bonnie!" Care cried.
"Wait! What about Julius!" Bonnie yelled but the door was slammed shut in her face. She turned and ran after Caroline, holding onto the child for dear life. Care brought her to one of the cars they'd used to get to the warehouse.
"Give her to me," she instructed and Bonnie obeyed, handing Vee over to her. Care tossed Bonnie the keys as she opened the back car door and Bonnie rounded around to the drivers seat. "You got a car seat?" Bonnie asked incredulously as she saw Care strapping Vee into one.
"Yeah, we got it from the house on Cedar," Care replied.
Bonnie was grateful for this as she climbed into the car. "Where's Elena? She was right behind you."
"I know. She got stopped on the way out." Care closed Vee's door and a second later was leaning down in front of Bonnie's open window to speak to her. "Don't worry, I'm going back in for her. You just focus on getting out of town as quickly as possible."
"You're not coming with me?"
"I can't while Elena is still in there," she said. "We're going to be fine. So will Stefan and Damon...and Julius." Bonnie was most worried about the latter because when she'd last seen him he had a hole in his chest, and she knew at that point Victoria was ready to rip his heart out and end his life for good. He was probably already dead. "Hey, don't look like that, okay. It's going to be fine. Get back to town, we will call you when we're on the way. You can go to the boardinghouse, or maybe you can stay with Matt if you want to be somewhere that's owned by a human on vervain. But I will make sure no one is able to go after you." A teary-eyed Bonnie nodded reluctantly. "I know how hard it is for you to do nothing but you have a young life in your hands now. The best thing for you to do is nothing."
"Okay, Caroline, I love you," Bonnie said. "Please be careful."
"I love you too," she quickly embraced her then pulled away. "Now go!" Bonnie started up the car and pulled off, Vee safe and secure in the backseat, her tears now dry and stained on her cheeks but she did not appear as distressed now that they were out in the open.
"It's okay now, sweetie," Bonnie looked upon her through the rearview mirror. "You're with your Aunt Bonnie, no one is going to hurt you." She looked up and saw Care nod then turn on her heel and run back toward the building, to the fight. All Bonnie could do as the sight fell further and further away until she could no longer see the warehouse is hope that all of her friends made it out in one piece, and Vee could have her father again.