A/N: Not wanting to leave you hanging over the figurative cliff, here is the next chapter in the saga. Enjoy!

"Bonnie" Caroline hurled herself towards the girl. Within seconds Klaus was in her way and stopped her. "Let me go!" She yelled at him. He shook his head and kept a firm grip on her upper arm. His head turned towards Bonnie who had not moved since stepping out of the shadow. He gave her a suspicious once over. Bonnie was war withstanding calm. A tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth but the rest of her body was standing still. Caroline was working against his grip but he was indefinitely stronger than she. "Klaus, let me go." She repeated in a less angry voice. She recalled having more effect on him when she was being polite. He shook his head but took a couple of steps towards Bonnie drawing Caroline with him. Both kept their eyes on Bonnie though while Caroline was desperate to get closer to her best friend Klaus was weary of the girl's sudden appearing. She had hid herself from them for so long. Why was she out in the open now? The deep timber of Andoria's voice shook them out of their focus on Bonnie: "I assume you would like to exchange the recent news with your friend. We will now leave you alone."

"No," Klaus intercepted her. Her left eyebrow flew up as she glared at Klaus. He added: "Stay. This concerns you just as much as us." The eyebrow seemed to rise another inch. "What have you not told us?" Andoria asked him with a sharp undertone in her voice.

Klaus' gaze was continuously fixed on Bonnie's face. But his words were clearly meant for Andoria and her companions when he said: "It is true that our overall goal is to restore Caroline's memory. But while traveling we have discovered something that would have a far more severe impact on the livelihood of all supernatural beings than just on Caroline and I." Caroline had finally stopped fighting against his grip to free herself. She was confused for a second. What was he talking about. But she quickly recalled the story he had told Andoria earlier. She realized that he indeed had only mentioned their journey to rediscover her memories. Neither the threat that Silas posed nor the witches warnings nor the role Bonnie had played in the grand scheme of things.

"We have discovered no cure for Caroline's memory loss though recently her some of her memories have been resurfacing under pressure. But what we have discovered is far more unsettling than her memory loss. This young witch," he pointed at Bonnie "and her companion are trying to raise the immortal Silas from the dead." Silence followed his words. Caroline had swung her head to glare at him. He had never accused Bonnie this openly. She had always operated under the assumption that Bonnie was threatened to help Silas. At the same time she had thought he would think the same way. She was obviously mistaken. How could he accuse her friend of doing such a horrible thing? But thinking back she understood that he had never explicitly said that he trusted Bonnie as much as she did. On the other hand she could quite understand his disposition since Bonnie's involvement in his down fall in Mystic Falls had been a major one.

Andoria and her counselors had not moved during the ongoing exchange. Their eyes were continuously fixed on Klaus. Wonder and disbelieve were showing. But within seconds of Klaus finishing his explanation Yamanhas face morphed form astonishment to barely hidden contempt. Klaus was fixated on Bonnie. She was still smiling. Her lips had not moved at all. At the same time, the look in her eyes mocked the smile on her face. The outer edges of her eyes were slightly pressed together. She looked as if she doubted his words but for the sake of peace kept her thoughts to herself. Her hands were behind her back but her shoulders were clasped tightly as if she was grasping her hands tightly together. She did not look comfortable in her position.

After moments of silence Andoria finally raised her voice. "I am not sure I can believe what you are saying, hybrid. Bonnie Bennet has been living with us for a fortnight. She has not spoken any lies towards us. We would know." She added noticing the disbelieving look in Klaus eyes. "She is our guest just as much as you are. So we encourage you to behave towards her like a guest otherwise there will be consequences." He words left no doubt about the nature of those consequences. Caroline had finally found her voice again and addressed Andoria: "Bonnie is my friend. Klaus did not mean to insinuate that there will be any problems between us." Klaus made an unbelieving grunt. "But it is true you should be present when we tell you about Silas. You are all in danger as well." Andoria looked at her for a discouraging long time. Caroline was tempted to deepen her explanations. But something inside her told her she had to wait for the witch to consciously make the decision to trust them. At last, the witch nodded. "I believe you more than him, Caroline. You are an honest person." Her words left no question that she was not asking but simply deciding. "Age has not rusted your judgement yet." Klaus glared at her but stayed silent. "We shall take this conversation to my private quarters." Without further ado she turned around to where she had emerged from.

Caroline turned around to finally address Bonnie properly but the young witch had already turned her back on her close friend and was following Andoria. Klaus was still clasping her arm but she shook his hand off. "I can walk on my own. Thank you!" She said sharper than planned. Wanting to make her remark look less sharp she turned around to smile at him but he had already followed Andoria without sparing her another glance. Caroline was the last one left standing in the hall so she quickly followed the rest of the group.

Andoria's quarters were close to the great hall. Quarter had always sounded like a private living room to Caroline but all she saw was a big triangle table surrounded by twelve chairs. But there were two doors on the far side of the room which maybe led to more private chambers. Andoria gestured towards the table. "Please, take a seat. Yamanha, would you be so kind to order tea?"

Andoria took her seat on one of the middle chairs at the side that was farthest away from the door. Klaus walked towards the left side and Caroline automatically followed him. To her surprise, the other two witches of her coven and Bonnie did not take seat at the empty right side of the triangle but seated themselves around Andoria. Yamanha stayed to her right, closest to Klaus and Caroline. Gregora sat to her left with Bonnie on her other side. As soon as they all had settled Andoria glanced over to Klaus and her and chuckled lightly. "That was a quick decision for a side. I had halve assumed you were going to sit at the top of the triangle." Klaus laugh was short and dry. "I might be a hybrid but I have lived most of my life as a vampire. Call it habit."

"So, no natural association with werewolves?"

Klaus smirked. "I never felt much like one of them. I am above them."

Yamanha rolled her eyes. Caroline finally had time to take a closer look at the table. The table was massive wood but on the contrary to what she had assumed first there were some carvings in the wood which looked different on all three sides. The one in front of them showed an open landscape with a half-moon hanging above them. The vacant side's carvings showed a forest with a full moon showing above the tops of the trees. She took a quick glance towards the witches' side. It showed a river within wavy hills and only stars on the sky.

"Now, that that's settled tell us what the big threat is to us." Gregora had spoken for the first time. After the deep timber of Andoria's voice and Klaus witty British accent her voice stood out. It was high-pitched and screechy. The sound was distinctively unpleasant and Caroline's first impulse was to cover her ears. She knew that Klaus hearing was a lot more refined than hers so to him the sound must have been even more unpleasant.

Now, that she had spoken Klaus looked at her closely for the first time. She had blended in with the other two so well that he had not gave her more than a quick glance. Even now that he was looking more closely he could not really see her. She was clearly sitting opposite them and he could make out her brownish hair, pale skin and brown eyes but there was nothing distinctive about that he was able to call out. It was as if she was being erased from his memory every time he blinked. But then he let his gaze wander back to Andoria and all thoughts of Gregora disappeared. Andoria was looking at him invitingly so he shared the rest of his story with them.

"Already when we were still living in São Paulo I noticed strange things happening. Back in Caroline's home town in the US twelve humans were murdered. It was ruled as suicide by the human community but I had my doubts. Humans are strange creatures without a doubt but they usually don't blow themselves up like that. I myself had an unfortunate incident with twelve of my hybrids. It was not my proudest moment but sometimes you need to take action even against your followers." The strain in his voice was perfectly audible for Caroline who remembered the tortured look on his face when he discovered his followers' betrayal. She found herself feeling more for Klaus than for the dead hybrids but she could not concern herself with the implications of this revelation right now. "I did not concern myself much with any of this until I heard that werewolves were attacking each other all over the country. I flew back to consult with one of my witches who after further inquiry admitted that she had heard a rumor. She was afraid to tell me but I insisted. A rumor that somebody was performing a ritual that asked for the blood sacrifice of the four great races. She had no clue to what it was being used for but this much blood is never a good sign in the witch community."

Andoria interrupted him. "You are right. Blood sacrifice is not something we perform at all independent of the amount of blood. So tell me, hybrid, why should this concern us?"

Klaus continued speaking decidedly ignoring her remark. "Now, I don't know whether they considered the hybrids a fifth race or if they were just trying to finish off two checkpoints on their list at the same time but I am convinced somebody is trying to start a ritual. I have shed my fair share of blood in the past one thousand years and I am by an innocent man but this has gone too far. Traveling, Caroline and I found more evidence in Berlin that somebody was trying to revive Silas. We finally found a witch underneath the catacombs of Rome who had traveled in different bodies for centuries and thus travelled from Babylon to Jerusalem to finally Rome. She way imprisoned by her coven. Yet still she showed an unrelenting will to survive with pride that impressed even me. We could not help her and neither could she help us. Oh, but she wishes to send you greetings, Bonnie." He gave Bonnie who had flinched for a second when her name was being mentioned a short glance. "If you ever feel like , you should go and visit her. In the end, Rome was a decisively dead end so we went back to the States. Here we finally found a witch who could tell us the information we needed to now. This young witch in training, "he gestured towards Bonnie again "has fallen in love with some rather dark magic. We then located her here in Budapest with the help of another witch in New York. And voilá, here we are!" He had stretched out his hands in theatrical gesture.

"Fascinating story" Yamanha said sarcastically. "But once again, why should we care?"

Klaus was on the verge of rolling his eyes. They were dafter than he had imagined. "Like I said they need the blood of a sacrifice of twelve of every species. They have sacrificed twelve hybrids, my bad, and twelve humans, not my fault. Now what is still missing?" He paused for effect. "Right the three major supernatural forces." His arms performed a including circle. "Since Bonnie and her companion are in Budapest we assume they are going to attack you. I am rather certain they have not attacked any of the other species or I would know. I am part vampire part werewolf after all. So we came here to warn you and to ask for your support in destroying them. Sorry, Bonnie!"

Before Caroline or anybody else could say something Gregora began to laugh. Within seconds Bonnie's weirdly fixated smile had turned into a full blown menacing laugh as well. Everybody's head snatch towards them. Even Andoria's calm face was clearly irritated. "Would you care to explain to me what is so funny?"

Gregora was the first to stop laughing. In between little snorts of laughter she managed to utter: "I am just amused by how sure the hybrid is of his abilities."

Klaus jumped up and his chair crashed behind him. "What is that supposed to mean? You speak in riddles. Tell the truth!" Bonnie winced at the sudden outburst and her laugh died as quick as it had started. The unbelievable smile was gone from her face. She was now staring at the table her eyes not moving from the tabletop in front of her. Gregora on the other hand was shook by laughter again. Klaus was tempted to simply jump across the table and rip out her throat but he had to know what she was talking about. When she finally caught herself she said: "Have you never wondered why Caroline's memory was taken? Why would somebody ever erase a memory? Caroline, you seem like a smart girl. What do you think?"

Caroline was stunned that she had been addressed. She closed her eyes and shook her head for a second to clear her mind. The closer she was looking at Gregora the less she seemed to see her. On her left side, Klaus was taking deep breaths which she knew was a clear sign of him losing his patience with the situation. Finally, she said: "We assumed it was to hurt Klaus. Somehow someone had caught a whiff of what was going on between us. I mean," She added in a second thought "maybe they were looking for a diversion. But a diversion form what?" She frowned. Gregora was nodding along with her last words and giving her a big disturbing smile. "Good girl. Smarter than the hybrid! You were just a distraction until we were finished here."

"We?" Andoria voiced what they were all thinking. Caroline got the fleeing thought that they should quickly call somebody. But who were they supposed to call? Everybody they knew in Budapest was here. She wanted to move but something kept her focus on Gregora who continued to talk. "We. Hybrid, you are so clueless it is nearly comical. But only nearly." She grinned again. "I might just explain what you all have so tragically missed here. There is nothing that can stop us now. The only thing we still need is the death of the witches. And that is nearly done."

"So the hybrids were your version of slaying vampires and werewolves at the same time?" Klaus was the first who had caught himself after the revelation. He was shivering with barely controlled anger.

Gregora laughed again. "Oh no, we had hoped that would be true but we realized it wasn't going to work that simply. But don't be sad you still got your chance to do our dirty work." A shiver went through Caroline. It was as if there was something in the back of her mind that she could not quite grasp. She threw a quick glance at Bonnie. She was now gazing at Gregora who leaned back in her chair with a self-satisfactory grin. Bonnie had seen that look on Bonnie's face only when she was in her early relationship with Jeremy. The girl's complete adoration made her stomach twirl. Something was completely off. "You are lying. I have never done anybody's bidding and I never will." Klaus bellowed at Gregora. His muscles were clenched as if he was going to jump but something held him back. He told himself it was simply because he had to know what Gregora was going to reveal. There was no force in existence that could really hold him back when he was sincerely angry.

"Yes, I know. You prefer to leave the dirty deeds to others. Not that you don't enjoy the occasional killing spree but you prefer letting other people do the guilt tripping murders. Well, hybrid, you better get used to the thought of being somebody's puppy. After all you did kill twelve werewolves for us." Klaus shook his head. "Oh, yes I can imagine that you don't want to admit it. But you did go looking for me, didn't you?" Klaus hesitated for a second. There was something in his mind. A distant memory of a fight as if he had fought it when he was still a human. Vampires were not prone to forget this easily. "I have never looked for you, why would I? You are nothing more than a fly that swirls around my head. Annoying, yes! And after a while I might have to deal with you but in the long run of time you are nothing!" Gregora kept smirking which simply infuriated Klaus even more. "When should I have had the time to kill twelve werewolves? I haven't killed any werewolves since my sired hybrids went rogue. If I killed all of them there would be no raw material left to work with anymore."

But Caroline suddenly remembered her run-in with the werewolves in São Paulo. They had kidnapped her and put her in a vervain laced cellar. The werewolf that had tried to interrogate her had spoken about Klaus asking for Shane and killing half of the pack. He had never said how many were killed that day but Caroline was now nearly one hundred percent sure that if she had asked he would have said twelve. She lightly touched Klaus arm. At first he didn't even register her touch. Then he turned his head towards her. Had she not seen his face exactly like this before she would have shrieked. He was in the middle of his hybrid transformation with glowing eyes and sharp teeth. But as soon as he saw her twitch his face calmed down so the only thing left were his yellow glowing eyes. "Do you remember the werewolves in São Paulo? Why did they abduct me?" Klaus frowned for a second. "Well, I assumed they had some kind of issues with me being a hybrid or they simply didn't like vampires. I never really cared." She shook her head. "They said that you had killed some of them and asked for Shane." Klaus looked at her questioningly. "That is not true. I don't remember that. It is impossible." In unison they turned their heads towards the witches who had witnessed their conversation. Gregora had a sly grin on her lips. "Oh, but we don't only have to thank you. We absolutely appreciate your work as well, my dearest Miss Forbes. Thanks to you we did not have to care about killing twelve vampires." Caroline was speechless. "You don't remember, do you? The group of German students in São Paulo. The ones that you killed in a blood rage? I mean, to be honest that was definitely our doing and not yours. It is so helpful to have a talented Bennet witch working with one. So, don't hang yourself up on it." Caroline shook her head. She finally found her voice again. "I have never killed twelve vampires. I have hardly ever killed one vampire or people or anything."

"So" Gregora countered. "What do you think these vampires in the museum in Berlin were after then? Do you really believe I would have employed vampires to do my bidding? I have witches. Why would I need brute force when a little magic can do the trick just as well but quicker and without bloodshed? No, they wanted revenge for their friends. The friend you killed." Caroline squeezed her eyes shut. This was not possible. She turned to Klaus silently asking him for an answer to the million questions in her mind. Gregora added with a devilish grin: "Oh, don't look at him. We obviously picked a time when he wasn't in São Paulo. And then when he came back, your memories were simply gone." Next to her Klaus finally said: "I don't believe you. I had never looked for you before Caroline lost her memories. Why would I have? We just met you."

Gregora laughed again her high-pitched snarky laugh. "Oh, of course you have never met Gregora. But Bonnie here was in São Paulo and with the help of some darker magic she made you forget what you had done. Obviously we could not erase six months from your mind so we simply wanted to erase the particular events of those two nights. Caroline's memory loss concerning you was just a personal touch. I guess Bonnie went a little overboard. She was never really happy with the way in which your relationship was going. Who could blame her? You corrupted the sunshine of Mystic Falls!" She spewed another shrieking laugh.

Everybody was now staring at Bonnie who had not said a word since entering the room. Even after all those revelations she was still silently staring at the tabletop again. "Bonnie?" Caroline tried but there was no reaction. "Please, tell me this isn't true." She was still not moving. There had not even been a reaction to Caroline addressing her.

"Oh, don't try." Gregora interrupted her. "She is gone. To be honest, I am not even sure she can still interact with anybody but me. I might have had to use some stronger herbs to contain her will." Had Klaus not caught her shirt Caroline would have sprung over the table to snap her neck. This way the only thing she could do was growl at the woman across the table the veins in her face clearly visible.

"So, who are you?" Klaus exclaimed. "I assume you are not really Andoria's counselor Gregora?"

The witch shook her head. "No, Gregora is dead. She has been dead for nearly two weeks. Bonnie put a cloaking spell on me that gives me the capabilities to appear as any person of whom I have a personal artefact. But since there is nothing you can do anymore to stop us I might just as well tell you who I am. Bonnie would you be so kind." Bonnie finally showed her first reaction of the night and lifted her arm. She muttered a few words and the glamour fell off Gregora. All of the sudden, Shane was standing in front of them. "Surprise!" He claimed and showed a wicked grin.

A/N: I hope I was still able to surprise you with this chapter. I am anxiously awaiting comments on whether you expected this or not. Next chapter update will probably be at the beginning of next week. Love, Santavica