[Episode 39 - The Last Dance - 2]

"No" Elena gasps, stumbling back "-it's not possible" 

Riklaus takes a step towards us, only to have me step in front of Bonnie and Elena "Just relax, Letta. I'm not here to hurt you or Elena. You're not on my hit list tonight" he smirks at Bonnie "But you are"

He starts rushing with human speed towards our witch but she throws him against the far end of the hallway with a wave of her hand. Crashing down on a display case, Riklaus chuckles "Now, did I mention that I knew a witch? You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that... Now, by all means - fire away!" 

I growl as I bypass Bonnie, but the nemesis just raises a brow "If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy, or Stefan" he shrugs.

"Run" I whisper to them "Run!" I yank Bonnie and Elena out as Bonnie shuts the door with her powers. Damon meets us frantically in the adjacent hallway "What happened?"

"Niklaus is in Alaric's body" I breathe out, already feeling weak from the spell I forced Bonnie to do. It's an everyday gig for us witches - nothing to see there. "He's possessing it or something" Bonnie explains, shrugging panickedly. 

Damon looks at me with a glare and then at my twin "Go find Stefan. Now"

Elena starts rushing out, but I stay by Bonnie, only to have Damon intensify his glare at me "Now"

Seconds later, I run with Stefan and Elena to the hallways when Damon forestalls us "There you are"

"What are you doing? Where's Bonnie?"

"She's doing what she has to do" Damon states, taking either of our arms and nudging us away. Growling, I twist his arm and pin him to the wall "Damnit Damon, where is she!"

"Let her do this!" he snarls, pushing me off. Seething, I speed towards the last hallway where Bonnie fights Niklaus all by herself.

"Bonnie no!" Elena screeches. She rushes towards her, but the witch closes the door on our face, all the while battling the body-parasite. I press myself to the glass, looking at Bonnie and start chanting the spell. Elena and Stefan keep banging at the door, begging for her to stop.

Sparks blow inside the room, glass smashing, things blowing and Bonnie keeps looking weakened. I lick the blood on my lips and chant faster. Cuts appear on Riklaus' arms as he gasps. he glares at Bonnie and rushes towards her, making her give out another surge of power that I can feel in my gut.

Not willing to channel me anymore, Bonnie lets go, her body jerking back in a crack as she falls down - 'dead'. Riklaus looks down at the body in satisfaction and rushes out through the back door.

"Bonnie! No no! Bonnie!" they smash at the door. 

"Get away!" I shout, hand at the door with my remaining power "Dissera portus!"

The door flies open and we all rush to the fallen girl. Elena sobs, taking her head in her lap "No! Oh! Bonnie! Bonnie, Bonnie! Bonnie! Hey, hey! Stefan, she's not breathing! Kat, do something!"

I gulp, shaking my head slowly, tears building in my eyes with the effort of being drained "I'm sorry Elena..."

She shakes, sobbing and holding Bonnie close "No! No. No, no, no, no, no! Bonnie! Bonnie, please, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Get Elena out of here" Damon walks to us with no emotion on his face "I'll deal with the body"

"What do you mean, deal with it?" my sister cries into my shoulder.

"The sheriff can't know about this. Last thing we need's another mysterious death"

"This is Bonnie!" she cries, looking from my eyes to Stefan.

"Get her home. Now" Damon orders "So I can clean this up" Stefan listens to him, grabbing our hands. Her eyes widen in horror "No. Jeremy. Oh, my God, Jeremy. What about Jeremy?!"

" I'll find him, go" I whisper to her, running a soft hand over her shaking head. Crying and screaming, Elena is taken away from Stefan. Just as I hear them go out of the school, Damon pats my back "When did you catch on?"

I roll my eyes "Didn't have to" I take in his look "It was my plan". Taking in the moment, I slap him as hard as I could in my state, which is very weak "That's for what you said this evening, let's go"

I send him off with unconscious Bonnie while I observe the floor. Granting my wishes and efforts, lie several drops of blood on the far end of the hallway - Riklaus' blood. Smearing a drop on my little finger, I chant "sanguis vitae". The blood rises up, right into the vial that I stole from the chemistry lab. Pocketing it, I rush out of there, towards the parking lot to explain to my brother that Bonnie's alright.

▹▹▹

At the witch house

I withdraw from Bonnie's embrace as Jenna, Jeremy and Damon re-enter the room. Jenna is obviously freaked about Alaric and then Klaus, but Jeremy took Bonnie's 'death' better than we thought. Just as Jenna leaves to get her clothes from home, I sigh "I'll-uh, wait outside, take care Bonnie" I rush out, bypassing Damon in silence.

"All okay witchy?" I hear Damon ask Bonnie. 

"You need to take care of Kat..." I hear her say. I sigh, she did notice then. I blink and sit in my car, waiting for Damon.

"And you get to tell me that why?" 

"Just..." she sighs "Take care of her, just for tonight"

"What aren't you telling us?" I can practically hear the frown in Jeremy's voice.

Call me selfish, but I'd actually like for them to know how far I'm willing to go to protect my family. I listen with bated breath. "Kat... I channelled her power tonight, that's why Klaus could be hurt in any way"

"Klaus wasn't hurt Bonnie" Damon states blandly, anger in his undertones. I hear the witch scoff "You didn't see it Damon, but I did. Klaus had a witch put a protection spell on him for tonight. But Kat's power could pierce through that spell" papers ruffle and then she hears Bonnie "See?"

"But what about the power of the witches?"

"That power can't be summoned back... But a Guardian's however, can be"

"So..." Damon trails off.

"She saved me tonight, we can win against Klaus" Bonnie states, and for one of the first time in weeks, I feel my chest fill up with hope. We can win. We can survive.

Silence follows as Damon slowly walks towards the car, taking his own sweet time to get behind the wheel "So..." he starts.

I don't say anything. So doesn't he.

Finally, I scoff as I rest my head against the passenger window "I don't expect an apology from you Damon, I just needed you to see for yourself"

A tedious silent journey later, Damon stops in front of his house, or my house I should say. I sigh and get out on wobbly feet, observing for the first time that my necklace was left with Bonnie. "I'm sorry" Damon lets out a whisper.

I scoff "Not as sorry as you'll be when Elena finds out you lied"

"Seriously Kat" he gently holds my elbow "I'm sorry"

"Do you trust me?" I look at his eyes. Without hesitation, he nods. This makes me smile as I hug him as tightly as I can "Jerk"

"Princess" he scoffs over my shoulder.

Getting in, we find Elena sobbing by the fireplace. Stefan rubs soothing circles over her shoulders. Seeing us, she gets up with a glare.

"What did you do with her?"

"Will you please calm her down?" Damon looks to Stefan, but his grip on around my shoulder tightens in annoyance. "Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you!" my sister shouts in our face.

"Elena" I sigh weakly "Please calm down, Bonnie had to die"

You know those moments when you know exactly what to say and when you do, everyone sings kumbaya? This wasn't such a moment for me. "You knew?!" she screeches at me and I resist stepping back, 'cause if I do, I will definitely wobble.

"You knew that if she harnessed all that power, that she would die!?"

"Yes" I sigh, ignoring Damon's protest "Yes, I kne-"

Elena slaps me so hard that my cheek swivels to the side. Gritting my teeth, I stagger backward, and lucky me - wobble right into the arms of both the brothers. I let out a sound between a sound and a scoff, rubbing my eyes. At any other time, I would have slapped her right back to put her in her rightful place, but I don't even have enough calories to pretend that I'm fine.

"You need to listen to me, and prepare for what I'm about to say. Bonnie had to die. Klaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise" Damon glares at my twin.

"We weren't prepared for that" I explain, pressing my hand on the couch for support "And he wasn't going to stop, and we weren't going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to believe it... We cast a spell, Bonnie's okay"

"What?" Elena's eyes widen as she staggers back against the fireplace. Damon gets into the details.

I nod, limping towards the staircase when Stefan comes along, helping me "What's wrong with you?"

Forcing a laugh, I shake my head "Nothing, I'm fine"

I hear Damon set the laptop up for Elena to speak with Bonnie and roll my eyes. I try to climb up the stairs but stagger right and left with a pained chuckle. "Whoa, whoa" Stefan holds me "What did you do Viv?"

Blinking, I extend my fist to him "I wiiin today" I slur, or at least it feels like I slur. 

Stefan's face shifts position before my eyes as he carries me "Hey hey... Where's your charm?"

I snuggle deep into his suit, taking in his musky scent.

He sighs, letting me down on a plush bed, which surprisingly smells warm and green - like his eyes "Hey hey hey... Viv, Vivi look at me" he thumps my cheek.

I pout annoyedly, pulling him beside me "I need slip" Falling onto the sheets, I sigh into a chest as I feel sweet sleep coming my way.

Everything that happened flashes by me, but some steady heart beating against my cheek offers me all I need. Life.

▹▹▹

Stefan's POV 

"Elena left" I hear Damon's whisper, immediately followed by my 'shh'. My brother stops at the threshold of my room with a tilted head "I'll take her" he steps in eagerly.

I shake my head, not really daring to move anything else. Vivi's face is buried in my suit as her every breath blows over my tie. "I'll call Elena later. You know" I start "-you could have told me... Do you even know what you put Elena through?"

"See, that's why I didn't tell you. 'Cause you would have never been able to do it. Don't get me wrong, Stefan. I don't mind being the bad guy" he glares "-I'll make all the life and death decisions while you're busy worrying about collateral damage. I'll even let her hate me for it. But at the end of the day, I'll be the one to keep her alive..." his gaze goes to Vivi "Or she is..."

Without invitation, he slumps on to the edge of the bed with a frown "I said I didn't believe in her strength today... Well" he rolls his eyes "- she showed me"

I scoff, running a hand over the stray lock that blows by her face "She's something"

Damon gets up with a judgy twitch of his eye "But she's not your girl huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They deserve better than this Stefan" he leaves.

I gulp, as that one memory floods in. Sighing at her slumbering figure, I slowly lift her and rest her onto the sheets.

Look how peaceful she could be, something in me whispers, look what you've made her go through. 

Torturing myself for scarring lives, I flip to the page I've read and re-read all these days, reminding myself why everything is happening in the first place.

May 24, 2009

Dear Diary,

I want to stay here, know her, know them. They feel like miracles.

Her jade eyes...