Chapter 17

I don't own TVD

A/N: Sorry about the long wait, I got sick for a bit. Anyway, thanks so much for all the love.

-4GMK

The thing about vampire healing, was that even though you were guaranteed to heal, you were also guaranteed a boatload of pain until the injury you sustained had subsided.

Damon was learning that fact again, now.

His chest rose and fell as dark, swirling clouds hung low overhead, bringing with them the promise of rain. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, and he could see his breath coming out in great, heaving puffs as he stared at the hole in the bottom of the ravine wall.

For so long he had hoped, for so long he had held on. And, just when it seemed like his life was finally getting better, when he finally had everything he'd ever wanted, it was all gone.

At first, Damon couldn't think of a bigger enemy to his new life than the man he now called 'Father-in-law' but even he had come running to them looking for help.

Bonnie was a priestess, that much he had known, and had had the aneurysms to prove it. What he didn't know was the extensive and interwoven history that the different factions had with each other. It was these differences that had even created vampires in the first place.

In the Priesthood, there were those that served the Light, and those who lived in Darkness. Originally, all had lived in service of God, the One Who Gave Light, but more recently, there had been defectors.

As Klaus launched into a story of eons past with a sense of authority that only someone who had lived through the affair could, Damon tried to gather as much information as he could without losing track of the importance of each nuance and detail.

"Of course, there had always been defectors, the so-called Brethren of the Dark Circle, but since a few years ago, the struggle between those who still followed the Way, and those who made their own, had intensified."

At this Klaus gave a knowing look at his wife, who nodded, before he continued on.

"Back in 1904 your mother, Lily Salvatore, fell in with a crowd of these nefarious turncoats, and they wreaked havoc all across Western Europe, paving a trail in blood through the countryside, until they eventually set their sights on America's Eastern seaboard.

"They called themselves Heretics, and they were defectors from a less popular family called the Gemini. Ring any bells? That's where our friend Kai comes from. Anyhow, not many of the Way associated with them because of their practice of selecting a leader by merging a set of twins.

"You see, a long time ago, two priests from that line, twin brothers, fought over whether or not the family should utilize the darkness to save one of their villages. It seemed like a good idea at the time, so the older brother decided to try it, while the younger, was most decidedly against it. Their argument grew to the point where it could only be settled by a fight to the death.

"Although I wasn't there at the time, I'm told that it was a fight for the ages. Brother against brother, light against dark, all truly medieval stuff, but hey, when in Rome… As fate would have it, the priest aligned with the Light, happened to be stronger than the dark priest, but that only spurred the older brother on. Not to be deterred the elder brother began to fight harder, more desperate now than ever not only to save his life, but to forever scar his brother, whom had always surpassed him."

"What's your point?" Damon had asked, his Father-in-law had a bad habit of being verbose when the time called for the abridged version.

"My point, dearest son, is that this sibling rivalry is the reason that the Heretics are even around. Because as the dark priest began to sense his imminent defeat, he began to weave his soul into the holy rites they were reciting, thus changing the course of history.

"When the two priests clasped hands during a struggle, the weaker brother united their spirits, linking both to one another to ensure that no matter what, whomever survived would be forever attached to the other, bound right down to the very fibers of their souls.

"From that day to this, that family has been a tainted bloodline. Since then, the Gemini have always carried a rather large chip on their shoulders, and the Gemini Heretics are even worse. They seek out abominations like Lillian Salvatore and their own Kai Parker, to add to their own destruction.

"And now, my boy, they were coming for you, your wife, and especially your daughter."

"Yeah, I got that the first time, so why the history lesson gramps?"

"The lesson," Elijah interjected "is so that you know that the enemies who now seek to obtain both your daughter and Niklaus' daughter, will stop at nothing to get what they want. They will bend all sorts of rules and natural laws, and they will stop at nothing. They are of deceitful, underhanded, unpredictable sort, and they cannot be trusted."

"Funny, that sounds a lot like you."

"Yes but where a lot less candid about it don't you think?" Rebekah cooed from beside her husband Marcel. Her façade of aloof condescension was cracking, she loved Hope nearly as much as her parents, and as she and Marcel had always wanted to start a family of their own, keeping all three of the Bennett-Salvatore's alive was most certainly in their best interest. In short, she was just about as invested in their survival as they were themselves.

From behind her closed eyelids, a tear slipped down Bonnie's cheek.

"Oh Bonnie,"

Abby's motherly voice cut tenderly through the silence.

She was so tired, she was so worn, and all she wanted to do was have all safe night in with her husband and daughter. All she desired was peace, all she cared for was to establish an order to the day that did not entail running for her life.

She had spent seven years believing that there was no way back. Seven years in peace, and relative tranquility hoping to live out the rest of her natural life with her husband and then her daughter.

But no.

She would not.

From what her parents told her, the Heretics had a way of collecting extraordinary things. According to them rare anomalies such as a power siphoning priest and a needlessly brutal vampire were amongst their finest treasures. A baby born of a priestess and a vampire?

Simply priceless.

They were coming for Mina. They wanted her blood.

It was the realization of this fact that had even alerted her parents to the existence their granddaughter.

Before he had married Abby, Niklaus had had a run in with a werewolf from the Crescent family. Her blood, like Bonnie's, was powerful enough to temporarily undo the rites that kept Niklaus from reproducing, thus their daughter Hope was born.

Having seen enough of what a baby from their union had brought them in terms of danger, Abby, Klaus, Jackson and Hailey decided to leave their daughter in the hands of Dahlia, an ancient priestess who had awakened just at the power in Hopes blood.

As a sworn Protector, Dahlia would be able to keep Hope safely hidden away from prying eyes until she was old enough to defend herself. It was her special ability to sense danger and avoid it that led to their impromptu reunion.

Abby had told how Dahlia had been able to sense Mina's power even from New Orleans, and if she was right, the Heretics would sense her too.

So now they arrived at a crossroads.

One child of untold power could be concealed by the ancient priestess, but two? She was much less equipped for that.

Bonnie had suggested the prison world, but Dahlia's advice had prevented it. If they had been released from their prison by Kai, then they could easily find the other prison with Kai if they needed to

Kai had spent nearly a hundred years in that prison, there was so much of the world's power embedded into his body, he could easily find it like a compass finds true north.

He had made that hole, a hole the size of a man, with his fists.

Blood soaked the earth beneath his feet, tears stained his face and his shirt clung to his body. Sweating, shaking and blinking, Damon tried to clear his head.

He hadn't meant to leave her, he hadn't meant to storm out blind to the storm and deaf to the world, but the news that his new in-laws had come to deliver, shocked him more than anything he and Bonnie could have ever dreamed.

Stefan sighed gingerly, watching the scene that played out before him. It wasn't long ago that Damon at showed up at one of Stefan's apartments looking for all the world like he had lost his very reason for living. Staring across the room from himself at the people who had once made his life miserable, he wondered at the circumstances of their sudden and genuine interest in the wellbeing of his brother and sister-in-law.

Suddenly, he had gone from mourning his humanity-less state, to wishing for the lack of control. On the one hand, he was ecstatic for the pair. They had already gone against all the odds, survived the unbelievable and came out better for it. But to come back, to fight so hard for their family and being denied happiness and peace while they were on the very cusp of it; it was like fate had been cheated and was now exacting her own sweet revenge.

"So what do we do?" Bonnie asked, fists clenching tightly.

This had to be a first, she was at a loss as far as plans were concerned.

He had been observing the pair all evening. They seemed, distant, not only from the rest of the group but from each other as well. Even when they were standing physically close to each other, one could tell that they were a million miles apart, and probably further. He had seen the broken looks on their tired faces as they brought little Mina out just before bed, to meet her grandparents, aunts and uncles, all those who would be protecting her, who would give their lives for hers.

"What are they doing here, Bonnie?"

Matt, Caroline, Tyler, and Sarah had all asked Bonnie the same question when they saw the elder vampires waltz into the room behind their best friend. Bonnie had asked them all to come to the Boarding House after Stefan had returned with Damon earlier in the day. After last nights news, the Original's had retreated to one of their various homes on the Northern end of town, perhaps the older houses on that side of town suited them better. Bonnie had spent the night holding Mina and the next morning texting Caroline, who dropped everything to come and see her one true friend.

Together, the two women had consoled each other, made promises and held each other while they both cried, discussing possibilities and last wills. Caroline had sworn to protect Mina with her life, should Bonnie fail in battle, and the young priestess had bequeathed her a bit more vitality and the ability to call herself Mina's Godmother.

After meeting the blonde vampire for the first time, Mina was sure that she would like her and her husband, the man with the sad green eyes that mimicked her Daddies cool blue ones. Mina's gift was that she was, what the old ones would call a seer, more modernly, a prophet. She could see ties between things, things that could only be seen from the Spiritual realm. She could see things in the future on the people in the present.

Like with her Godmother Caro, Mina could see the future hanging about people like phantom jewelry. When she saw her mother, she saw someone who looked sad, but still strong, and somehow she knew she wouldn't be seeing her again for a long time. This in turn made Mina sad, but since she was unable to express herself articulately at the time, she just kept quiet and tried to be happy and cheer up the people who would be coming to meet her today. She also tried to memorize their faces, so that she could see them again when she went for her long sleep.

Gathered around the Salvatore's foyer table sat the entire Mystic Falls - New Orleans gang. Enemies had become family, and foes had become friends. Stefan felt, in a way, like how the Capulets and the Montagues must have felt after Romeo and Juliet died. Only, Mina and Hope hadn't died. The combined forces of the individual heads of the supernatural communities had formed an uneasy alliance solely for the purpose of keeping it that way.

In the light of certain unequivocal circumstances, and with the uncertainty of the unknown future looming about them, Stefan had decided to bite the bullet and take the plunge. Sure, Caroline was a hundred years and some change younger than him, but that didn't really matter in the face of a danger so great it had the oldest vampires ever looking over their shoulders.

Stefan had married Caroline.

It was a small, short ceremony, and Bonnie had made sure to gift them each the title of Godparent, as well as a boost to their predation and protection skills. It was officiated by the priestess herself, and followed by a light lunch which they ordered from a nearby blood bank. Bonnie and Mina being the only members of the party needing human food, they had settled on pizza, as the others from their newly formed team would be arriving shortly.

A lot had happened in the past few days, and even more seemed to be packed into the past few hours, but with two fearsome priestesses blessing them all for the battle ahead, and his incredible new wife at his side, Stefan felt he could breathe just the tiniest bit easier.

Mentally, he went over the credentials for each of the persons gathered here tonight.

Niklaus, the hybrid Original vampire and werewolf king; Abby, the formidable former priestess and vampire queen; Elijah, the Original vampire who's taste for carefully crafted violence and revenge was only matched by his need for diplomacy; his wife Celeste, the ancient high priestess of the Dubois clan. They were joined by Rebekah, an Original vampire with a penchant for elaborate and heinous brutality matched only by her husband, Marcel, the adopted son of her brother Niklaus.

The New Orleans half of their gang alone seemed formidable enough to ward off any danger. But the Heretics weren't just any danger. Stefan reminded himself of what Damon had told him. That they were members of the dark priesthood who had voluntarily become vampires and used their newfound prowess to wreak havoc. Finally awakened by Kai and his impromptu trip into the second prison world, they had a score to settle with those of the Way who had locked them there and a world at their fingertips that had been too long at rest.

The rest of the gang; Matt Donovan and Sarah Salvatore, both of them most notably human and most obviously the easiest targets (most expendable, as Niklaus would say); Caroline and himself, both powerful vampires with emotional issues; Tyler, the lone wolf for all intents and purposes, standing at the ready for orders from his former sire; and Bonnie and Damon Salvatore, whom all eyes now turned to.

Bonnie had voiced the obvious question, standing off to the side with Damon whose arms were folded and whose darkened eyes were averted. The tension in the room was already high, but the one question on everyone's mind as eyes ghosted around the large, dimly lit room, had not yet come to the surface.

For most of their collective lives, one person had been the center. She had always been the key, had always been the one in mortal danger. But now, with the focus shifted to protecting Damon and Bonnie's daughter as well as any children the members of their group might have in the future, it was in the back of everyone's mind to see how she would handle the change.

Would she accept that she had been demoted to just another player in the game? Would she step quietly from the throne, relinquishing it to the new center of everyone's attention? Or would she be a sore loser now that she was no longer Damon's favorite color or the Salvatore favorite pastime?

These and other questions of the sort ran through the thoughts of those joined in this Supernatural Justice League of sorts. It was the wolf king who voiced it though, and the ears everyone assembled perked up to hear the answer to the question they had all been waiting for…

"Where's Elena, love?"

A/N: Okay, so that was freakishly long, but I hope it was worth it. More to come.

-4GMK