A/N: The story is sort of being set in motion now. This chapter is a little bit longer. I'm writing in a way so that they get progressively longer. And thanks to those who are following. Since this is my first vampire diaries story it's kind of scary. Anyways enjoy!

Foreigner

Considering the difficulties Bonnie had found with contacting Qetsiyah when she had been alive, Bonnie wasn't positive she would even be able to find her. The lack of response on the ancient witch's part was not promising.

After pleading with the witches had proven useless, she had gone off to wander on her own. She was still on the second plane, but there was now a greater distance between her and the other witches. Grams had the sense to realize that her granddaughter needed some time on her own and had left her to her own devices.

Just saying the witch's name aloud wasn't going to get her anywhere. She needed to talk to someone who could bring her to Qetsiyah. Other witches seemed to be the only solution. Since her own ancestors weren't exactly supportive she tried recalling everyone who had ever mentioned Silas. Elena had once brought up Kol's past experiences with witches who had knowledge of Silas, but she instantly squandered that idea. They would probably be just as difficult to find, especially because the difficulty in finding someone was dependent on whether or not you were acquainted with the person. Bonnie knew her search would have to start with someone she was already familiar with and then she would proceed from there.

Finding someone that you've never met on the Other Side wasn't like looking on a map and using the process of elimination. There were numerous planes where one could be isolated and not find anyone for miles, or one could be surrounded by the loved ones on planet earth. It was dependent on the spirit's desires. The way Bonnie understood it, she tried thinking of it as multiple layers that you could transverse on a whim. For witches, they had an easier time switching planes than other supernatural creatures, probably because the Other's Side construction was based on a witch's mind, and reflected their natural intuitions about the world around them. Most ghosts lingered on the plane most resembling earth, where you could still watch those you left behind. The nice part about the second plane was that the surroundings could change depending on the individual's desires. Since her own group of witches were most familiar (and comfortable) with the forests surrounding Mystic Falls, they had chosen to mimic an almost replica of that forest.

Bonnie had made the decision to follow the other witches on this plane where loved ones weren't relevant, or a distraction, as they put it. Although this plane didn't allow any visual connection with the living, it allowed for concentrated channeling to the living witches of the world, hence the reason why witches tended to prefer this plane. When a spirit sensed that a witch was drawing on spirit or dark magic, they could immediately monitor the witch in question and determine what kind of impact it was having on Nature's will.

This explained how the spirits always tried to interfere whenever she was messing with the balance.

Suddenly, the idea came to Bonnie. She knew she wouldn't be welcomed but she also knew it was probably her only shot. She braced herself for the decidedly unwelcome greeting she would get. If she even found her that is.

When she thought of the witch and concentrated on her, she found herself on the earth plane.

Where are you, Aja?

She didn't spot the witch anywhere, meaning she must be close by or else she wouldn't have left the forest and come all this way. Some of the structures looked familiar but only on a superficial level. She found herself on a busy cobblestone street, most likely a large city. She tried to concentrate on the buildings instead of the people and the cars that were manoeuvring in impossibly tiny gaps of space. She vaguely noted the sounds of vehicles honking at a frequent rate.

She spotted a sign and could make out 'Les Chandelles'. Bonnie crossed the street and felt drawn to the building- Aja was in there. She verified that she must be in a French-speaking city, when she spotted another boutique adjacent to the place with a French word she didn't recognize. She had never been great in French in school. She assumed she was in Paris due to the aging architecture, but couldn't be sure since she wasn't an expert in that department, and because she had never even left North America. It could easily have been Montréal or Québec City, as they were older cities as well.

She didn't really want to go inside since this was the first time since the grill that she had been in an enclosed area with a lot of people. Serving only to remind her of her ghostly state. At this point, she figured she was probably over the whole 'people walking through her' bit. Only one way to find out.

Anxious to get the hard part over with, Bonnie went through the small gate and went down some spiral stairs to the entrance.

A gasp escaped her when she spotted what was inside. Women were prancing around in lingerie while men sat at tables watching them. A stripclub- really?! Once Bonnie adjusted to the almost-naked women trying to seduce the somewhat distinguished-looking gentlemen, she took a few more steps inside to get a look around. She felt gross just standing there, but for once, was grateful she wasn't visible to the patrons' eyes. In her jeans and floral blouse, she felt decidedly out of place, even if she wasn't technically there.

She couldn't decipher Aja in the crowded room and advanced further inside. Many people had to phase through her or they would have hit a table or chair. She didn't really feel anything, just the telltale movement of air was the only indication that they had gone through her.

Although Bonnie couldn't be positive, she could feel the connection strengthening and assumed she must be getting closer.

After what seemed like the millionth person passing through her she made it to the back of the club where a closed curtain separated a private room from the rest of the place. Preparing for the enraged glares from Aja, Bonnie stepped into the room.

The sight that greeted her wasn't as shocking as she had been mentally preparing for. The room itself was devoid of any living species and was instead occupied by small group of familiar-looking witches, Aja being one of them. Bonnie recognized all of them as the ones in the group that had been sacrificed for the expression triangle.

All of them looked up when they saw Bonnie.

Inwardly, Bonnie cringed. They did not look happy to see her. She supposed she couldn't blame them, she had played a huge part in their deaths. At the time though, she had thought she would be able to bring them back.

"Hi!" she squeaked. Bonnie wanted to slap herself. Put on your bitch face, girl! She knew she had been a much more powerful witch than these four combined. But that was then, and this was now. Ever since she had died, she had lost confidence in herself. She hadn't realized how much her self-esteem had depended on her strength in magic. Magical abilities had nothing to do with being a ghost. This was one time where she wished ghosts couldn't physically touch each other (or at least project touch- she was still a bit flaky on the details of it) - they were probably going to beat the crap out of her.

Aja was the one who spoke. "Get out of here Bennett. You are not welcome here." Aja's face twisted into an ugly frown.

Another witch with long wavy dark hair and olive-toned skin stood up. "You made a huge mistake coming here." This one was pissed. Had this witch been alive, saliva would have been pouring out of her mouth after every word uttered. Oh yeah, she had definitely been a spitter in her living days.

Bonnie took two steps forward. "Listen I know I don't deserve your-"

She was cut off by the spitting witch's next words, "you don't deserve anything! Raising Silas was the worst thing a witch could have done! You don't even merit the word! You are an abominable-"

Aja interrupted, "Alright Kali, calm down." Aja's voice seemed to resonate in the entire room. Her eyes met Kali's. Aja brought her gaze around to Bonnie's. "Now, I don't want this witch-" she seemed to say this word with a pained expression, "- remaining any longer than you do but-", she paused to ensure everyone was focused on her next words, "-she is a Bennett and I myself am curious to hear what she has to say."

Bonnie took a quick look at the other witches' expressions and was relieved to see the mirrored expressions of consent. They all briefly nodded, including Kali, who grudgingly gave a swift motion of her head. Aja's supremacy in this coven was clear as day.

Bonnie cleared her throat. She decided some groveling was necessary if she was going to get any help from them. She was lucky enough they even agreed to hear her out. "You have no idea how much I regret how things went down. I know I screwed up and I never meant for things to turn out this way." She took a breath and took a glance at the witches' expressions. No deathly glares yet. "I naively thought that Silas could be raised without any consequences and obviously, that was a huge mistake on my part."

She continued, "I truly am sorry for the loss of everyone involved-," Bonnie was interrupted by Kali's harsh laugh.

"You're sorry?! Sorry isn't going to put Silas back in the cave now is it? You were warned multiple times and you didn't listen. Did you think it was just some boogeyman story to entertain children by the fire? The worst part is that you still don't even realize what you've done."

Bonnie spoke softly. "Silas can still be killed if he takes the cure."

Aja laughed. "You still don't know? Well you've missed out on a lot, haven't you?"

Bonnie frowned at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Aja's direct gaze almost frightened her. She knew she wasn't going to like her next words.

"The cure has already been taken-", another pause, "-by a doppelgänger".

Bonnie's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. Elena had taken it? The last time she recalled, Elena had vehemently refused to take it, as she had gradually accepted her vampire position. Why would she take it now? She must have changed her mind.

"You saw her take it? How? Why?" She should have known that Elena would give in to the Salvatores' demands. They had their hearts in the right place, but now things were royally screwed up. Like always.

"I wouldn't exactly call it of her own volition. She was, shall we say, forced to take it."

Bonnie felt enraged and affronted. "You mean they forced it down her throat?! It was her choice to make! I can't believe this!" If Bonnie were alive right now, she would be giving them a tongue lashing. Followed by some serious blood vessel bursting. Bonnie almost grinned at the thought.

"Yes, well, she had it coming didn't she? Personally, I think she might learn a thing or two by being a human again." Aja had a reflective expression on her face and then sighed. "It is a pity it wasn't used on Silas, but it's too late for regrets now."

"What are you talking about? Elena hasn't even been a vampire that long. She still had a lot to learn and...", she broke off at the looks the other witches gave each other. Something was wrong.

They glanced back up at her. Aja was the one who spoke. "Who do you think we're talking about child?"

Bonnie stared. "Elena of course! Who else would we be...?" Oh no...the silent answer hung in the air. Their comments made a lot more sense now.

"Katherine..." Bonnie murmured softly.

"Unfortunately yes," Aja replied.

Kali barked out another laugh. "Life does have a sense of humor, doesn't it? The one person who loathed being a human more than anyone else. Everyone else wanted it, but she was the one forced to take it."

Bonnie needed more details. "Are you sure it was Katherine and not Elena? Who forced her to take it?"

"Well we didn't see it ourselves. Someone informed us that it was Elena who shoved it down dear Katherine's throat." Kali looked positively gleeful.

"So you can't be sure then? You may not even have a reliable source." She was still wrapping her head around this chain of events. Why Elena would waste the cure on Katherine was beyond her. Especially when there were so many others who had wanted it. Mainly the evil bad guy who actually wants to be dead.

Her thoughts halted when Aja responded to her last comment. She had a mirthful look on her face. "Oh, this source is very reliable. In fact, he's been following Elena for quite some time. He's been fixated on her- well her demise per sé, since he bit the big one."

Bonnie felt a slight shiver a long her spine. Elena had racked up a few enemies over the years that would be on the Other Side. If these witches were in some kind of alliance with one of her enemies, then she wasn't even sure if she could trust them. The thing was, they were only ones she knew of who could lead her to Qetsiyah. She really had no choice.

Bonnie was brought out of her reverie by Aja's exclamation.

"Oh here he is now! You can get all the juicy details yourself my dear." Aja's gaze was drawn to a spot behind her.

Bonnie could feel eyes on the back of her neck. A feeling of dread overcame her from head to toe, a sort of rippling that only ended when she took a calming breath and turned around to face the unknown visitor.

A look of astonishment crossed her face before she quickly masked it with a hardened glare. He had seen it though. Shit. Bonnie groaned internally. She really didn't need this right now. He grinned as if he could read her thoughts. He can't hurt me, I'm already dead.

"Hello little witch."

"Kol."