A/N: Thank you for the reviews! In a lot of ways I liked how the show's finale ended because it gave us lots of inspiration, especially for Bonnie and Kol. This definitely won't be any love-at-first-sight type of romance. When you've got a thousand-year old vampire in the mix, things are bound to be a lot more complicated than some teenage romance.

Anyways the chapter title comes from a song by The Radio Dept. I have a mild obsession with them.

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD.

Against the Tide

Bonnie quickly became aware that she was essentially doing Kol's dirty work. She had thought that he would be the one leading her to Qetsiyah but it appeared things were in reverse. The only thing he provided was his company, which left much to be desired. She supposed he had historical insight, especially since Elena had once mentioned that he had travelled with witches a few centuries back. He might end up knowing a lot more than she did. He was super old.

In some ways, she found the whole situation comical. Imagine what her friends would think now. Working with Kol. Being civil with Kol. She couldn't picture anyone being remotely pleasant with him, let alone her. If someone had told her that she would be plotting to find one of the most powerful witches in history with one of the most erratic vampires, she would have laughed in their face. It was just not a Bonnie Bennett thing to do. She figured that she justified her actions because being ghosts put them on equal footing now. Hating vampires didn't seem so high on her agenda anymore. Not only because they were in the same vote, but there was no longer any race for survival. And no thirst for blood.

Even though she was technically the one getting answers at this point, there was a part of her reassured by not being alone in this. All-in-all, it was just a teensy bit better knowing someone who hated being dead as much as you did and who would (hopefully) be there when she finally met the mysterious witch. It's not as if I actually like the guy. But she didn't dislike him either. At this point, it was sort of on neutral ground. Since she didn't really know him, she tried to be fair by not assuming the best or the worst. Despite all of that, she had no idea if she could even trust him. He might even ditch her as soon as he got an inkling as to where Qetsiyah was.

She was still infinitely curious as to what he wanted with the ancient witch. Did he think she had some way to get him back to the living world? That she could lower the veil? Even Bonnie doubted the possibility of that. You had to be a living witch to bring down the veil. If his source for information was so reliable, why was he relying on Bonnie? She wanted to believe that his intentions were all good and innocent but she still had to put on a guard. Whatever his motivations were, Bonnie was determined to be there when he spoke to her.

Bonnie had intended on meeting him first because she didn't really want to wait around for him. She had spent the last hours with the witches. She pretended that whatever curiosities about Silas were out of her mind for good, when in reality that was all she could think about. She knew that Grams could not be around when she asked them since she could read Bonnie so well.

Bonnie's plan basically consisted of demonstrating interest in her family's heritage. Through that one of them was sure to give away someone who might know where the oldest witches were.

She was on the same plane as the witches and was about to go to put her plan into action when Kol appeared right in front of her.

Bonnie gasped before pushing him. "Don't DO that! Jeez!"

Kol laughed before answering. "Shouldn't you be used to this? After all you're the one who has been following me lady."

"Yeah but I don't pop right in front of you- I actually keep my distance and don't try to scare people."

"I didn't realize witches were so jumpy! I told you I'd find you."

"Yeah but you're not supposed to be up here! What if one of them sees you? I was just going to get their help." She started pushing and patting his back to get rid of him. "So shoo! I'll find you when I'm done."

He allowed himself to be shoved a few steps before he turned around and looked at her. "Well while you were dilly-dallying around here I actually got a few things done."

She crossed her arms. "And what did you get smart-ass?"

He mimicked her posture. "A name."

She waited patiently. He just smirked.

"Well, are you gonna tell me or just stand there?"

"You really need to work on your manners dear. I'll forgive you this time though."

She decided to ignore that and wait for his response. He seemed to thrive on conflict.

"Ask your witch friends about Kazima. I found my friends from South Africa. They mentioned that she would lead us to Qetsiyah."

"How would they know that?"

"Well they're the type to keep this sort of information. I did them a few favors back in the day and they owed me. Once you're done meet me at that bar, the Mystic Grill, is it? I fancy-"

"No!" She battered down her response. "I mean, we could meet anywhere. How about New York or San Diego?" She didn't want him to see how emotional she would be if they went there.

He stared intently at her. "What an interesting reaction." He smiled. "Very well. San Diego it is. Don't be too long."

With that he disappeared.

...

Bonnie decided that bringing up her heritage had to be done smoothly.

The trick was- the question had to be relevant.

She was sitting in a circle with the entire group. She was sitting next to a witch, Ayana, whom she knew to be a Bennett, and an old one at that. If anyone knew of this Kazima, it would be her.

After channeling their powers with Nature, they were now explaining the strength a group of spirits had when focusing on a living witch. The areas had to be compatible, in other words, some of the spirits in the group had to have died in the area where the living witch was located. Bonnie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew all this but was willing to comply with their need to go over every single detail.

One of the witches was speaking, "The bond is even stronger if it is a bloodline, though that is not a requirement. "

Ayana spoke. "You were lucky Bonnie, as a Bennett witch, you had a wealth of spirit power to draw upon, but you still tended to use it irresponsibly."

My opening. "Well what about you? Who did you draw upon?"

Ayana smiled. "Well there were not as many witches back when I was alive, so that was not really an option."

"Did your mother tell you about the spirits?"

"Oh most definitely. It was much easier to be a witch back then. No overcrowding, and not so many distractions. But many witches tended to cluster in certain areas, such as Greece and Italy, or Africa. It was still dangerous being a witch, even with less people."

"Were you reunited with your mom when you died?" Bonnie asked. Keep prodding.

"Yes, she found me right away." Ayana now had a black look on her face, as if recalling those memories brought back only pain and anger.

"What's wrong?"

"When I first died Bonnie, I took up with a group of witches. But they were not like us. They tended to be wrathful and volatile. Certainly powerful, but I was never sure where I stood with them. I ended up leaving them not long after, and leaving my mother at the same time." For a moment, an expression of sadness crossed Ayana's face before her face hardened.

"My mother was a different person on the Other Side, and easily influenced by these other witches."

"Were they related? I mean, were they Bennetts?"

"Oh yes. I didn't want to part from my lineage but I knew I would never be like them."

Bonnie treaded carefully and tried to appear nonchalant. "I only know a small fraction of my family history. I'd be really interested to know if I've heard of any of them."

Ayana stared closely at her. "You don't want to associate with these witches Bonnie. They are corrupt and have a negative relationship with Nature."

Bonnie wondered how that was even possible. Witches were the servants of Nature, so unless they directly tried to piss with the balance, how could it be negative?

"Well where are they? I mean, how have you not been around them in such a long time?" Bonnie thought she was finally on to something.

"They are on the next plane Bonnie."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh."

Well that sucks. The next plane was the farthest that one could part from the living world. The witches had barely even mentioned what went on up there and Bonnie hadn't really been all that curious about it, until now. Supposedly, it didn't even closely resemble earth. It was just a vast empty space where witches' senses were heightened to the fullest extent. She supposed it was great if you wanted a more acute relationship with the essence of Nature and all that, but still. She just pictured it as an isolated area that you could be trapped in for eternity. It could also be tricky to get out of, since accessing it in the first place required a great deal of concentration that she had yet to demonstrate.

"Was Kazima one of them?" Bonnie was hoping to get a reaction out of Ayana.

It paid off. Ayana's eyes narrowed into slits. "How do you know of her?"

Bonnie's expression appeared unconcerned. Inwardly, however, she was hyperventilating. "I think I must have come across her name in a book or something. Like an ancient witch you know?"

Ayana's face eased some of its tension. She responded slowly. "Yes, she was part of the group. Very powerful. I can only hope she has lost some of her incensed nature."

Yes! Finally Bonnie had gotten an answer. She was now debating whether it was worth it to risk going to the next plane. Maybe there was another way to learn about Silas. Like in books? Or some ancient scroll that gives another way to kill him. This plan didn't even guarantee her getting to Qetsiyah. But this was the closest she had gotten.

Ayana interrupted her thoughts. "I don't want you even thinking about going there Bonnie. You could get trapped there. And I shudder to think how those witches might treat you."

Bonnie did her best to placate Ayana. "Oh no of course not! I was just curious is all. I'm home here." Bonnie felt guilty for lying to her but quickly ignored it. This was for the good of everyone.

After this information was brought to light, Bonnie immediately wanted to leave to find Kol. She ultimately decided against it as she didn't want to draw any suspicion by leaving right away.

Bonnie's thoughts were more jumbled than ever. Not only would she have to find Qetsiyah, but now it looks like she was about to greet a group of zealous witches. Not exactly a comforting thought. Bonnie was debating whether or not to disclose this new information to Kol, but chose instead to keep it to herself. They may have changed since in the last few hundred years since Ayana's death.

After a few more hours the group finally parted and she said her goodbyes to everyone, including Grams, who was frowning in suspicion at her hasty departure. She would have to deal with her later.

At the moment, Bonnie had far more important concerns.

...

Bonnie found him at some beach front bar that was most definitely California. The sun was setting and he was lounging in a deck chair facing the ocean.

"Took you long enough little witch."

She wasn't even in his field of vision. She stood beside his chair and was about to speak when he decided to murmur something else.

"That's one of the things I miss you know. The colour is all wrong. We only get a shadow of the real thing."

It took her a moment to realize what he was referring to. His eyes were drawn to the sky. The sunset. He was right. Since the Other Side was so bright, the true vivid colours that normally cascaded across the sky during a sunset had a loss of pigments, and were reduced practically to shades of grey.

"You'd think she would have tried to make an enjoyable afterlife, rather than this farce."

Bonnie wanted to laugh. "She probably didn't have a choice. Magic has its limits you know."

"She didn't have to make this purgatory in the first place! She must be one sadistic motherfu-"

"-I wouldn't finish that if I were you. You never know who could be listening. If we're gonna meet her-"

"You found her then?" He stood up. Bonnie was dazed at his change in mood. "Brilliant. I knew you weren't as daft as my brother said-"

"Excuse me! I was the only one who seemed to have any intelligence a lot of the time. Don't even get me started on Damon and Stefan's harebrained plots. Half of the time they seemed to end in disaster."

He laughed. "I'll grant you that then. You've proven more than adept in comparison to those salvatores."

Bonnie made a sour face. "Gee thanks. You're such an ego booster."

"That's what I'm known for darling. Among other skills I've acquired over the years."

Bonnie grimaced. "I think I'll pass on what else a thousand year old vampire is good at thanks."

He smiled broadly. "Who knows? Maybe I'll give you a demonstration one day."

To his surprise and her consternation, her cheeks went bright red. She looked away. The suggestive remark was definitely not lost on her.

She cleared her throat. "I didn't exactly find her. But I know where Kazima is."

He went along with the change in topic, although one side of his mouth was still tugged up in a smile. "Where?"

She gazed up at him. "You're not gonna like it."

...

"So basically you want me to go into a place even more isolated and risk the wrath of some of the oldest witches around, where I may just end up for eternity. Does that sound about right?" if she was being honest, she thought he was taking it better than expected.

"Have you even been up there witch?"

Bonnie paused. "Well no, but it just requires a bit of concentration, that's all."

"Concentration? Oh well that's a relief! I'm glad our fate is being decided upon your brain power." His sarcasm is not getting us anywhere.

"Oh do you want me to hold your hand?" She put on her best pouty face. "It's okay to be scared-"

"I'm not scared." He took a breath and lowered his voice. "I'm concerned. I value my existence, however intangible it may be at this point."

"What? And you think I don't?"

"Well not really. You haven't really shown many instances of self-preservation darling."

Oh shit I guess he has a point. It's not that she didn't care about her own hide, it was just that by acquiring so much power, she had felt invincible most of the time, especially because there hadn't been repercussions for the most part- at least until Grams' suffering at the spirits' hands. When expression came along, it was even worse because there was no wrath of the spirits and the power had felt infinite. Now she looked back on it with a palm to her face. How stupid she had been.

Kol was partly right, she grudgingly admitted. She had spent the last few years being concerned about everyone's welfare but her own that it had become habit. Although it might seem to like a nice trait to have in fairytales and whatnot, in reality, it was more foolish than brave, at least according to Kol.

He would just have to deal. "Well you're going to have to trust me then. Unless you don't want to do this that's fine-"

"No we have to. " He ran a hand through his scalp. "It's the only way-" he cut off before he finished.

She looked closely at his expression. He looked desperate.

"You haven't even told me what it is you want from her. I mean come on, I'm dead and unless your goal is to kill all my friends then I really don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to me."

He gazed directly into her eyes. Then he sighed. "I really don't even think this will get me anywhere but I have to try."

She waited patiently for his answer.

"I heard that Qetsiyah may know of a way to return to the living world."

Bonnie gaped. And promptly burst out a laugh. I knew it.

He glared at her. "I knew you wouldn't take it seriously."

She stared at him in disbelief. He actually thought...

"Well yeah! Don't you think if Qetsiyah had a way she would have used it on herself? Or better yet, anyone would have used it in the last two thousand years."

"Well it may not have been possible until now- afterall, it may have to do with Silas rising. I'm not giving up on this. Until I know it leads to nothing. I can't stand this place."

Whatever floats your boat man. She just didn't want him to feel that crushing disappointment when this was all for nothing. Her own goal was a lot more realistic.

"Alright then. But don't go all psycho on me when you realize this was all a waste of time."

He smirked. "Oh don't worry. My 'psycho' behaviour is reserved exclusively for your mates and my siblings."

She groaned. "Well that's comforting."

"It should be. It pretty much means I'll never be psycho again."

She couldn't help it. She laughed. It wasn't even funny, but ghosts could still joke about their own demise.

By not really believing that this would lead him anywhere, he wasn't setting himself up for a hopeless cause. She was, however, worried about how he would interact with Qetsiyah, if they ever found her that is. She was quickly discovering that Kol put up a lot of barriers from others, and that concerned her. He presented himself as aloof, cheeky and suspicious. At the same time, he could be honest and straight-forward, with a pessimism that seemed to know no bounds. She imagined that, being a thousand year vampire had its faults, which included seeing humans in their worst capacity. Hell, after what she had seen in only a couple years, she didn't really have much faith in supernaturals and humans alike. She could only wonder how he saw the world. Maybe he was completely indifferent? His family members had betrayed him multiple times and he didn't seem to trust anyone. How much value could the world have for him? Unless he indulged in some kind of hedonistic lifestyle, what was back there waiting for him?

Just then she realized, anything is better than this place. If that were the case, maybe he thought he would do things differently, live a different life. Yeah right, she mentally rejected this idea. Kol wasn't about to change his lifestyle after a thousand years. Or maybe all his desperation came down to was that he had goals to be achieved as a vampire. The first thing that popped into her head was Elena. She sincerely hoped he was over that by now. Or else, when the time came, there would be no question on her course of action. It would be Elena every time.

When she reflected back on Kol's death, the entire thing just seemed so ridiculous now. She wouldn't call Elena exactly dumb, but she definitely lacked the foresight to examine the consequences of that plan. Although Bonnie wasn't the biggest fan of vampires, she had still met ones who were worth saving. Who knows how many vampires had died when Kol was staked? A lot of them might have led a somewhat positive existence. To top it all off, the plan had led to Jeremy's death anyways, and Silas' release. This whole cure business had been nothing but a headache and had ended up being for nothing, since Elena hadn't taken it, not even Rebekah (which would have made all that effort somewhat worthwhile). She couldn't believe Katherine was human. Maybe she had turned back into a vampire since Bonnie had heard the news. She seriously doubted it though; Katherine didn't exactly have a huge fanbase at this point. Vampires weren't just going to give her blood with the snap of her fingers. Bonnie could just imagine what was going on in Mystic Falls.

Her train of thought was brought to a halt at his next words.

"-Has a vampire ever been up there? How do you even know it's a possibility?"

She gazed thoughtfully at him. "Well technically, I don't. But we won't know if we don't try right? Plus, I'm more worried that they won't give us the time of day than getting there in the first place." Pausing, she added, "Shifting planes is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I just never bothered going to the third one because there was no point before." She was also going to add that he was obviously wasn't that bad at it, as he had demonstrated by popping in on her not much earlier, but she then decided to stay silent.

"Well then, what are we waiting for then?"

...

They had ultimately decided to go to the second plane and then transfer to the third one so less exertion was applied.

The one benefit of having lessened physical senses was the increase in her spiritual abilities. She was able to recognize spirits' energy over others. This enabled her to sense the power looming on the plane she was trying to access.

She could feel herself attempting to breach the plane. Kol was beside her, for once remaining silent. There was some kind of barrier preventing her from actually transporting there. It was requiring all of her mental energy to make contact.

The witches knew.

She could feel their energy coiling with her own. If she was to have any chance of accessing the plane, they would have to ascertain that she was not going to be a source of conflict or trouble.

She brought down her mental barriers and allowed them to see her motivations and emotions. Come on, trust me. She had no doubt they would recognize her as a Bennett witch. Hopefully that worked in her favor.

She waited. And waited. Then she sensed it.

It took only a moment. But she grasped its meaning. An opening.

In the instant that Bonnie had to make a decision, she reacted swiftly. Before Kol had even registered what was happening, she had grasped his hand and they were gone.