Chapter 19

Dedication: Everyone who's helped get us to 75 reviews. You guys are amazing. Thank you all so much.

Note: Pretty sure you'll either love this one or hate it. Either way, glad I made you feel something, even if that something is negative. It's been officially confirmed that season 8 of tvd will be it's last :( It's sad, but I think it's best to go out on a high note like they're doing. Obviously Delena will be endgame in the show, but there's still hope for Bonnie and Damon in this fanfiction! Keep reading and review if you love Bamon and Tvd!

Btw. Bonnie has gotten a lot of attention XD sorry about that, but she's been undergoing a lot of changes as you all know so it's kind of hard to keep her out of the spotlight. Anyway, it's 3 AM, so I'm going to stop. Hope you enjoy!

A tall man walked in, the light of Damon's torch in the darkness accentuating his pale features. The man looked like a spirit who had ventured into the living world mistakenly. He had hollows under his eyes, so dark that they cloaked the rest of him. Damon could have sworn he had seen him somewhere, but he couldn't place when and where.

There wasn't even a ghost of a smile on the man's face as he crept into the room, regarding Damon and Bonnie with an ominous stare.

"You shouldn't be here," he said deeply to Bonnie, barely taking much notice of Damon. Damon looked at Bonnie for an explanation but she looked as clueless as he was.

"Bonnie, let's…" Damon began speaking but suddenly fell silent. He tried to speak again but it was useless. The man had done something to him and had been able to control him just like Miranda had. Yet again it had been too easy to control him.

"Damon…" Bonnie said, realisation dawning apon her. "Let him go!"

"He's free to move, just can't talk. If he wants to run, he can, although I don't see the point since all the doors are now locked except this one. I don't take kindly to visitors."

"What do you want with us?"

"Easy. I'll take one of you. Although I'd like Damon to stay here, you're more valuable. A witch, aren't you?"

Damon looked over to Bonnie, hoping that she saw what he was trying to say. "Get him to take me instead."

By the look she returned to him, she knew exactly what he meant, but evidently, wasn't about to pay any attention to it. Of course she wasn't.

"I'm not a witch," Bonnie said truthfully. "Not anymore."

The man laughed; a humorless laugh, more like he found them to be a nuisance rather than a source of amusement. Damon hoped they irritated him so much he had to free them, but that was probably wishful thinking.

"You're a witch."

"No, you don't understand…"

"Yes, I do."

Damon frowned. Was it possible that Bonnie was somehow still a witch despite being turned into a vampire?

"Here's the deal," the man began. "You get all the answers you need as long as I get to keep you.'

"Depends on your answers," Bonnie said, hesitantly. Damon realised he wasn't going to be of much help here. He clearly wasn't the man's main point of interest. He squinted his eyes trying to figure out who the man was.

The man looked at Damon with a smirk. "Still can't quite place me, can you? Interesting."

"Who are you?" Bonnie asked, echoing Damon's thoughts.

"Well, I was Miranda's lieutenant, but now, I believe I'm the one in charge," he answered, looking down at the spot where Miranda's body had been. "Don't worry though. I tend to handle things differently than she did. If I make a promise, I keep it. It might interest you to know that I'm the one who got to your friend Stefan."

"How do we get him back?"

The man sighed. "You don't."

Damon's heart sank.

"What?" Bonnie said.

"He's a doppelgänger, isn't he? If one of them is possessed, it's virtually impossible to get them back."

Bonnie looked horrified. "What do you mean 'virtually'?"

"Well, there is a way. Of course, it's going to involve you making a deal I reckon you don't want to make."

"What is it?" Bonnie spat.

"For starters, you become one of us. Anyone that can wake you up stays far away." He stared at Damon when he said it as if he was trying to intimidate him. It wasn't working. Worse things had happened in the past and they'd always gotten past them. This wouldn't be an exception.

"You expect me to give myself away, just like that?"

"I know you will, Bonnie," he answered, making Bonnie's face tense up upon hearing the finality of his tone. It was almost as if that wasn't just a figure of speech. That he actually knew, with complete certainty what would happen next. Damon tensed along with Bonnie as he stared at the man, observing how he seemed to be watching every nook and corner of the room although he was looking straight at Bonnie. This would be harder than Damon expected. Nevertheless, he would think of something. No matter what he had to do, he would find a way to get them out of this place.

"How?" Bonnie asked, intrigued. "How would you know how I feel when you've just met me?"

"It's true. I have just met you." The man stepped towards Bonnie regarding her with a curious look, a hint of amusement hidden on his otherwise plain face. "But that doesn't mean I do not know you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Some men like books. Some men like films. I for one, like people. I like to read them. I like to watch them." He stared intently at Bonnie, and Damon felt his fists clench against his will. The man looked at Damon with a slight smile, noticing his discomfort.

"That's precisely what I did with your little friend over here." Damon's eyes widened.

"The fantasy he experienced was quite unique. Usually most people experience it one of three ways. Either they see the one they love and immediately find themselves returning, or they see no one because they've never loved. Most often, however, they see the one they love, but find themselves slipping slowly into the dream world, where love is never unrequited and it never ceases unless you will it to. Damon, though… oh, he was very different. See, he had days where he wanted to stay and days when he wanted to leave and even days when he just wanted you to disappear and be rid of it all. But in the end, when you were gone; when you stopped appearing… that was when he realised that he needed you there whether or not he was in the dream world. Whether or not you were real or fake. It could have gone either way, which is very strange. I would consider some therapy, if I were you, Mr. Salvatore." He said all of this with an ever-so small dose of passion in his voice. How could someone with no emotions, have even an ounce of passion in them. Damon would be speechless if he wasn't already. Someone had been watching him that whole time. Observing and enjoying his dream/nightmare world.

Bonnie looked at Damon for a moment as if evaluating something.

"How did you watch?"

"I'm a warlock…" The man said. Then he rushed over to Damon at a super fast speed and then back to Bonnie. "…And a vampire."

Bonnie stared in astonishement, unable to say a word.

"Here's the best part. Join me, and you can be both."

Bonnie tried her best to act nonchalant but she wasn't doing very well.

"My name is Petyr, by the way. But names don't really matter at this point, do they?"

"No. I think when you've lost what makes you yourself, you've lost your identity altogether," Bonnie says, although she looked like she was still pondering what Petyr had said about being both a vampire and a warlock.

"The deal is simple," Petyr said. "I will tell Damon how to get Stefan back and set him free, you will get your powers back and exchange, you'll be one of us. Permanently." Damon felt rage bubble up inside him. He shook his head disapprovingly at Bonnie and shot Petyr a look. She turned back to look at Petyr.

She hesitated before saying, "Why do you want me so bad?"

"You're a Bennett, witch, aren't you? I – well, Petyr, always held a fascination with the Bennett witches. Understandably, too. Your kind of power is mysterious. Something that I have never gotten the chance to explore."

"How can I trust you'll keep your word?"

"You can't," Petyr said truthfully. "But if you don't, I'll just kill you both."

"Why do you even need my cooperation? Can't you just take me against my will?" This was not safe territory to venture into.

"I cannot," Petyr said gritting his teeth. "I need your word that you won't make any attempt to fight against it. If you do, this will be a lot harder than it needs to be."

Bonnie sighed and Damon immediately knew what she was about to do. "Done," she said. "Can I just have a minute alone with Damon, please?" Petyr nodded, satisfied and walked out of the room without a word. Damon felt words rising in his throat again.

"Bonnie…" Damon began, frustratedly but Bonnie interrupted.

"You don't get to make this choice for me, Damon. You don't even get to have a say. I never had one in your decisions."

Damon felt a familiar rush of guilt. "I know," he managed. "I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry about everything, really." He grabbed hold of her hand and a pained look entered her eyes.

"I forgive you."

"No, you don't."

"No, Damon. I mean it. I forgive you. I don't want to, believe me. I wish I could hate you and let go everything, but I can't. So I forgive you because I don't have any other option. I forgive you because you're… my best friend." She smiled at him, a sad, almost regretful stared at each other for a moment before Damon broke the silence with words so soft he could barely hear them himself. "It's going to be hard, but you're going to come back. I know you are."

"Until I do… I guess this is goodbye."

Bonnie went to let Petyr in, but felt herself stop halfway to the door. She turned around and saw Damon staring after her. He walked toward her.

"I'm gonna miss you, Bon-Bon," He said, making her laugh a little, although it wasn't a happy laugh. He smiled slightly at her and before she knew it, he leaned down and kissed her. She wasn't expecting that, but it had happened. She wasn't sure whether to run before she broke down or kiss him back. She chose the latter. She hadn't gotten anywhere from running in the past.

"I love you," he whispered softly. She couldn't say anything back, but she could tell that he knew what she was thinking.

She opened the door. Petyr stood in the hallway, playing with a knife. She felt herself go pale.

He set a fire in the fireplace within seconds.

"This is going to hurt," he said. "But it's the last thing that will ever hurt you." His voice was anything but reassuring. He spoke like a snake, every last word bouncing off his tongue like a hiss. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him. Right now, though, if anyone was going to throw anyone anywhere, it looked like it would be him.

Damon stood as close at Petyr would allow him. He kept his eyes firmly planted on Bonnie, ready to break Petyr's neck if she so much as nodded at him. Bonnie sat in a chair by the fire. Petyr twisted a dagger sadistically in his hand. The dagger had a gold hilt with silver writing that seemed to be a spell of some sort. Bonnie stared at the fire, the flames dancing in her eyes. She looked scared, but didn't flinch.

Petyr stuck the dagger into the fire, prompting Bonnie to gasp a little and Damon to clench his fists. He mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen and grit his teeth. Bonnie looked at him as if to say, "It's okay." But it wasn't okay. He would just have to bear with it until he could make it okay again.

Bonnie yelled out miserably when the dagger was pressed to her forearm. Damon felt fire in his lungs. He struggled to keep himself from jumping at Petyr and ripping his guts out. Petyr kept it pressed for an unbearable amount of time, whilst saying an incantation over and over again. Then he put it in the fire once more before pressing it to her skin for a second time. She yelled again, louder this time because she was only expecting it to happen once. Tears fell as if they were being forced out of her eyes.

"The box in the drawer on the left will help with Stefan. I promise," Petyr said absentmindedly, as he stuck the knife in the fire again.

Damon retrieved the box whilst keeping one eye on Bonnie.

"What does this fire thing do?" Damon asked, stressfully.

"It will give her powers back. This is the painful part. I'll make what happens next completely painless."

Damon opened the box, trying to block Bonnie's terrified screams out of his ears. A bubbling blue liquid in a vial. It reminded Damon of the cure, except blue. He wasn't sure of what it would do, but right now, it was his only hope.

Bonnie had been branded with three simple interlinked lines on her forearm. She looked weakened, but still strong as she regarded Damon, her eyes telling him once again that it was all okay.

"The hard part's over, Bonnie," Petyr said, in a sickly soft voice. It sounded almost like he cared about her, although Damon could sense the mocking undertones in his words.

With a flourish of his hands, he touched a part of Bonnie's neck, making her eyes roll back into her head immediately and the marks on her arm fade to scars.

Damon rushed toward her in horror. "What did you do?"

"Possessed her," Petyr answered casually.

When Bonnie's eyes opened, she looked disorientated. For a moment, she looked like she didn't know where she was or who she was at all. Then her expression turned ice cold, just like Petyr's. Damon felt his stomach sink. Petyr smiled, satisfied.

Damon looked at Bonnie's empty eyes and couldn't resist the urge any longer. He grabbed the dagger quickly and pushed Petyr to the ground, nearly slicing his neck open. Petyr pushed Damon off him, amusedly.

"You're quite strong for a mere vampire. Not strong enough, though. Say your goodbyes if you must, then get out of here. We've got work to do."

Petyr walked towards the door, still looking at Bonnie and Damon.

Damon leaned toward her, hugging her. He wasn't shocked when she didn't return the embrace. She was gone.

"It didn't work," she whispered in his ear so softly he could barely hear it. Petyr certainly hadn't heard it. Damon felt happiness flood through him, but he kept his expression sad, so he didn't give anything away. He pulled away and shot her a look that said, "I'll be back." She smiled ever-so slightly indicating that she knew he would.

"Okay, Bonnie, do something witchy," Petyr said. Bonnie smiled slightly, pulling off the emotionless expression strangely well, even though she was 100% still Bonnie Bennett.

With one wave of her hand the fire was extinguished. Petyr laughed, dryly. "Fantastic." Damon was out the door before Petyr could finish the word. With the box in his hand, he sprinted down the stairs and out of the house. He would help Stefan and set Bonnie free.

He would.

He didn't know how or why Bonnie was still Bonnie, but he knew that he would make sure she stayed that way.