PROMPT: continuation of chapter 4 and 8. Vampires come to town looking for the cure as Bonnie spirals further into self-loathing and destructive tendencies.

WARNING: CONTAINS SEXUAL AND VIOLENT CONTENT, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

Bonnie slips off her shoes and wrinkles her nose at the pungent stench of lemon detergent and chemical cleaners. She told Damon to hire a cleaning service to help scrub the place of her scent, but she didn't expect the place to smell like this. Job well done, she supposes as she walks into the front sitting room. "Hi."

"Bonnie! Hey!"

"Hi."

"Hey, Bon."

She sits down next to Matt opposite Tyler and Caroline, while Damon circles the room with a glass of bourbon. He doesn't look in her direction for even a second and neither does she, but Tyler seems to be not-so-subtly tracking their glances.

"So, all this furniture is new? That must've cost a fortune," Caroline sniffs, picking at the fabric of the new couch she's sitting on, "I mean, the old stuff was kinda musty and centuries-old, but I didn't think it needed replacing."

"Well, the house needed a makeover, it was time. Give it a fresh look and get in some new drapes," Damon replies, and Tyler's face is pinched.

"Hi! Sorry, we're late," Elena and Jeremy hurry into the room, Elena going around with quick hugs. She hesitates at Damon, settling for giving him a pat on the shoulder and he looks a little like he's been sucker-punched. Bonnie feels a sick urge to laugh hysterically. They settle into thick armchairs and Bonnie can feel Jeremy staring at her. "Um…what's up with the house? New furniture, the smell?"

"It smells like a hospital got soaked with Windex," Jeremy adds snarkily.

"I was doing some remodelling," Damon bites out, "so, are we gonna chit-chat all day, or get down to business about the vamps in town? What do we know?"

"They said they wanted the cure," Caroline starts, "I don't know what for, but they were serious about it. Said they'd rip this town apart until they found it."

"We tried to tell them the cure isn't here anymore and no one really knows where it went, but they wouldn't listen," Tyler adds, "They thought we were lying. We need a way to show them it's the truth."

"Okay, but how do we do that?" Matt asks, "Katherine is gone and it's not like we have any physical proof."

"So, we get rid of them," Damon declares, "they made their intentions clear, we can't give them what they want and if they're gonna hurt people, we may as well kill them."

"I don't know that we should necessarily jump to violence," Elena frowns.

"Why not? The tomb vampires, the Originals, Kol and his sireline, how is this situation any different?" Damon argues, "You clearly don't know our species if you think we can all just sit down and sing 'Kumbaya' together."

"Other people could get caught in the fight, Damon. My mom, Matt, Jeremy, the people in this town, even we aren't invincible, not to mention we basically just got Bonnie back. You wanna walk straight into a fight and risk so many lives, just like that?!" Caroline exclaims heatedly, and he glares at her.

"If we don't act, someone could die anyways and we may not be able to bring them back. We have the upper hand right now, they don't know about all of us. I say we attack and kill them."

"I'm not saying we don't fight, but we should wait it out. What if more vampires come to town or they call some friends? We don't even know their numbers or where they're staying. Maybe they'll find another lead. Just give it a couple days to figure out the situation."

"Caroline's right. We need to think about this situation rationally," Elena says, "We don't want to make a bigger mess of things."

"I agree," Jeremy interjects, and Tyler nods.

"I don't know…" Matt replies hesitantly, drawing surprised looks from everyone, "if those vampires said they're gonna rip this town apart, why should we give them the benefit of doubt?"

"Donovan's siding with me…who would've thought?" Damon muses, drawing eyerolls from almost everyone.

"Bon, what do you think?" Elena asks, drawing everyone's eyes to Bonnie. They're all staring expectantly, waiting for her to swoop in with a reasonable response that will surely draw a solution.

She wishes she cared. God, she really does, but she wants this to be over. "It's a tricky situation, but I think we need a plan of attack if those vampires do start hurting people. Just in case."

This seems to settle things and they all delve into ideas on how to kill the new vampires in town. Bonnie doesn't contribute much other than nods and words of encouragement when they discuss her part in delivering aneurysms and setting bodies on fire. Eventually, they decide to call an end to their "meeting" and say their goodbyes: Jeremy with a soft smile and a promise to call, Elena is affectionate and declares they should make plans, Caroline offers a giant hug with a sunny smile, Matt is warm and so genuinely pure it makes Bonnie ache, while Tyler's eyes have a glint of reproach as he rubs her arm. Bonnie claims she needs to use the washroom before leaving and goes to throw chilly water on her face.

She then finds Damon in the kitchen looking somewhat moody. He stares at her, clearly not surprised by her appearance. "That get-together could've been a fucking email."

"Could've been a text," Bonnie corrects him, hopping up on the counter and crosses her legs. The kitchen smells even worse than the main room. The stench in here is too much."

"I'm the one with the enhanced senses, think about my poor nose," he grumbles, "and you're the one who insisted the house get cleaned. Good news is, it's like you were never even here."

"Mission accomplished. No one found out."

"Yippee. All because a bunch of murderous vampires came to town. You know…we could always deal with them by ourselves."

"Are you serious?"

"Why not? We don't need the others. They're all baby vamps and fragile humans. I can rip out the hearts and you've got the magic touch to burn 'em," Damon wiggles his brows and steps in front of her. Straightens out her left leg and starts massaging her calf muscle, kneading her skin and Bonnie relaxes into his touch. "Think about it. It'll be a piece of cake. Relieve some tension and come kill some vampires with me."

"Maybe. I'll keep it in mind."

Damon hums noncommittally and stares at her as he rubs her leg. "Does that feel good?"

"Mmm. Yeah. It's nice."

"Yeah?" his hands move up to caress her thighs and she uncrosses her legs, shuffling closer.

He tugs her forward, their mouths meeting hungrily and she sinks her nails into his back. His hand drifts up to unbutton her jeans, slipping his hand inside her underwear and she moans into his mouth. The counter groans slightly under their weight as clothes start coming off and thick breaths fill the airy kitchen.

Damon has Bonnie shoved up against the back alley of the Mystic Grill, her hands grasping his shoulders as he thrusts over and over, the scent of garbage and rotting food replaced by the thick scent of Bonnie's sweat and arousal. He can tell she's close by the way her heart gallops and her moans become more taut.

He was having a drink at the bar and she was there with Caroline and Elena, dragged into a "girls' night" where she gave them empty platitudes and flat smiles. They're all gone now, Bonnie wouldn't have given him a second look if they weren't. Even now, they still linger in the shame and loathing in Bonnie's eyes, even as she pulls him closer and her pants quicken.

They come together, groans and sighs mixing together as Damon releases himself and Bonnie tilts her head back against the brick wall. They're silent for a moment as he puts his pants back on and she shimmies down her blue maxi dress, running her hands through her hair.

"Was girls' night everything you hoped it would be?" he teases, not quite malicious but looking to get a rise out of her. Misery loves company, or at least in this case, desperately craves it.

"Everything and more," Bonnie replies in a deadpan voice, adjusting her dress and her expression is vacant. There's always something particularly irritating about that.

"It certainly sounded like it," they both whirl around at another voice, a scruffy man with black eyes and pale skin. Two others stand behind him: a slender woman with sandy hair and a thin nose, an olive-skinned man with curly auburn hair and a hooked nose. Vampires. "I never knew a witch's arousal could smell so sweet."

"Who the fuck are you?" Damon asks harshly.

"Does it matter? We're just here for the cure. Hand it over and we'll leave your hick town."

"Respectfully, fuck off," Damon replies, "we don't have the stupid cure, so you can get out of here and never come back."

"You think we're morons?" the woman snorts, "We know the cure was last seen here, and we're not leaving without it.

"We. Don't. Have. It," Bonnie speaks up, "Leave now, or the next time we meet, we won't be so polite."

"Looking forward to it," the man chirps, "or you can find me when you get tired of lover-boy and want to try out a different ride."

They speed away in a flash into the night, leaving the two of them to contemplate the newest danger to their town.

"Are we ready for this?" Matt asks, loading his shotgun and surveys the rest of them.

"Just waiting on Hero Hair's return, then we'll be all good," Damon replies, watching the incoming road. There's a few minutes of heavy silence as they wait and adjust the weapons they've brought, when a harsh gust of wind announces someone's presence.

"I'm here. Let's get this over with," Stefan says matter-of-factly.

The vampires in town have captured Jeremy and Tyler in an effort to bargain for the cure, leaving them no choice but to go with the "kill them" plan. Stefan is back to help, thanks to a phone call from Caroline, who gives him a quick hug while Elena walks over.

"Thanks for coming," Caroline says, "I-I just needed all the help I could."

"Of course. Let's get Tyler and Jeremy, okay? Everything will be fine, we'll get them back," Stefan says reassuringly, patting Caroline's shoulder as he pulls away. Bonnie watches him share a glance with Elena that seems to say a million things, love the most obvious of them.

Bonnie looks away to Damon, his eyes flat and jaw set. She speaks up. "We all know the drill?"

Stefan and Damon nod before speeding away. The four of them wait, getting into position as Caroline has Matt hold onto her and Elena does the same to Bonnie.

"You might get disoriented and dizzy, so just watch out. I'll be covering you, so don't worry about the vampires, I'll handle them," Elena explains reassuringly. "How do you feel?"

"Ready for a fight, I suppose. Avengers assemble, right?"

Elena chuckles. "Mystic Falls version, vampire style."

The pager beeps - the signal they came up with for going to attack without alerting the vampires. Elena holds Bonnie close, gripping her shoulders and Bonnie shuts her eyes, letting Elena use her enhanced speed. The sudden force makes the wind bite at her back, and several seconds later, Bonnie feels them come to a halt and she opens her eyes, a wave of nausea hitting her head.

They're in a dark warehouse now, the place deserted but it smells awful, like blood and rotting flesh. Bonnie can hear banging and yells nearby, quickly adjusting to her surroundings as three vampires approach. She calls on her magic, pulling her focus on them and delivers aneurysms, watching the vampires cry out in pain and clutch their foreheads. Elena speeds towards them, taking the opportunity to stake them as Bonnie feels a gust of wind behind her.

She spots the vampire out of the corner of her eye, sticking out a hand to paralyze them to spot. "Incendia!"

She's not using Expression anymore - she has no need for it, but as she watches the vampire scream and burn, it's as if a switch flips and things get - well, blurry. All she knows is some dam inside her breaks and she takes it out. She's been drowning for so long, now a storm is brewing and she's the fucking messiah delivering it.

Bonnie registers delivering aneurysm after aneurysm, screams echoing off walls, bodies of fire dancing in front of her. She feels slick hearts in her palm, using her magic to twist a couple heads clean off and exhilaration thrums in her veins at the destruction she creates. She fights and fights, putting all her energy into destroying whoever is trying to attack her. I was at peace. I was loved. Now I am in hell.

"BONNIE! BONNIE, STOP! IT'S OVER!"

She blinks, realizing everyone is staring at her with expressions akin to concern and horror. Tyler and Jeremy are in the corner, the latter beat up but otherwise unharmed, also wearing similar gazes. Only Damon holds understanding and something akin to pity in his eyes. Pity. From him. Jesus fucking christ. She looks around at the dead bodies before registering the blood on her clothes. Not your blood, theirs. She did that. And a part of her enjoyed it.

She drags her blood-soaked hands through her hair, feeling disgusted and horrified with herself. How could she be so cruel, so sadistic? She's supposed to be better than this. She is better than this. She's supposed to be good, and kind, and strong, and at Peace, she isn't a-

"Bonnie…" Elena starts tentatively.

"Don't…" Bonnie chokes out, taking a few steps back. She won't accept their compassion or sympathy. She can't take it.

"Bon, it's-"

"I said, DON'T!" Bonnie waves a hand, instinctively using her magic to throw Elena into a metal wall; everyone stares, stunned and she feels even more awful now. She is just as bad as these vampires. She belongs in hell for what she's doing. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

She runs, bursting out the closest door and keeps moving.

Damon walks carefully through the damp and dark cave. It smells of mildew and gas running from nearby pipelines, the faintest scent of sulfur in the air. He finds what he's looking for, a small figure huddled on the ground and he approaches her cautiously.

"Thought I might find you here."

Bonnie doesn't turn to look at him, just staring at the ground. Staring at the exact spot where she died.

"So," Damon says slowly, "the gang is kinda freaked by your little magic massacre back there. Personally, I thought it was super sexy but they're all concerned about you now. Like ripping out a few hearts and cutting off heads with your magic means something's wrong."

"That's all you have to say? Really?"

"Come on, they were vamps who were ready to kill all of us and this whole town! You did a good thing!"

"That's not the point! I was just as bad as them. I went too far, I didn't need to break their bones or use my magic to torture them. It wasn't right!"

"God, you were protecting everyone, like you always do! You didn't do anything wrong, Bonnie!"

"Of course you would say that."

"Right, because I'm a monster? If you're so hell-bent on beating yourself up, then fine, I didn't rip apart ten vampires like they were nothing…if I'm a monster, then so are you, Bonnie."

She whirls around to gaze at him furiously, getting to her feet. "Shut up!"

"Why? It's the truth. You're just like me. We're the same. I bet you enjoyed that fight, the power, the exhilaration, ending life in a split second…didn't you?"

"Shut up!" Bonnie exclaims loudly, "I am nothing like you!"

She swipes a hand through the air, her magic throwing him against the cave wall. Damon hisses at the pain and spits out blood, getting to his feet. "Give me everything you got. I can take it."

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!" the bones in his hands crack, "YOU ATTRACT PAIN AND SUFFERING! YOU CAN'T FEEL ANYTHING! YOU ARE DEAD INSIDE!" a supernova of an aneurysm explodes in Damon's head, making him fall to his knees and clutch his head. Blurry stars and black spots fill his vision. "YOU'RE A GODDAMN MONSTER, I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!"

Damon cries out in pain, more bones in his body beginning to split and crack as the agony in his head grows, taking away his ability to even think. The smell of blood is heavy in the air - his blood, he vaguely realizes, his hands wet and sticky as he presses his forehead to the slick cave ground.

Then it stops. Like a tap that's been shut off. The ache stops, his bones and ligaments magically knitting back together and being pushed into their proper spots. All he can hear is sobbing. He sits up, still somewhat winded and wipes his bloodied hands on his pants, his head feeling like it's been twisted inside-out.

He looks to Bonnie, finding her bent at his body, like a beggar praying at a church altar, rocking back-and-forth as her forehead dips against the ground. Wet tears fall from her cheeks, and awful shuddering breaths escape her mouth like a wounded animal begging for mercy.

Damon isn't so sure that he feels pity or compassion for her, but it does feel like it's hiding somewhere inside at the image before him. He doesn't know what to do with it, or how to make Bonnie better. He's never really tried.

He reaches out a hand.

I'm honestly not sure where to go with these two. Happy or sad/angsty ending? Let me know by dropping a review!