CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

"None of you are even referring to her as a person anymore."

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

EVERYONE SAT AROUND THE LIVING ROOM, brainstorming how they were going to stop Cassandra or more importantly the divine. It wasn't Cassandra who wanted to terrorize them. Who wanted to kill her own baby. It was the divine. Because she didn't want a small baby to be more powerful. What kind of person wants to kill a baby. But it wasn't a person. It was a darkness. Pure darkness. And it was taking over Cassandra.

They had to stop it. They had to get her back. But most of them knew it was an almost impossible task. They couldn't even get near her without her knowing about it. If they tried to stop her, who knows how much bloodshed would rain? But Nathan didn't believe that Cassandra was gone. If she was, he wouldn't be able to look at her and still see the girl he had met centuries ago. The girl who loved chocolate in her popcorn and flower crowns. The girl who was always there for him.

"I um.. I found a potion." Bonnie speaks up, not even wanting to break the silence because everyone was so focused on Cassandra. Everyone looks at her, her eyes staring down at the page in her hand. "It will capture the essence of the darkness inside of Cassandra and trap it forever." She tells them as she fiddles with her fingers. Everyone wasn't so optimistic but at least it was something.

"Can we get it out?" Katherine asks as if it's trapped, maybe they can extract it from her body. Bonnie sighs, shaking her head. Even if they did trap it for good, if they tried to extract it, they risked releasing it to the world.

"No. But it won't be able to escape." Bonnie says making Damon scoff as he shakes his head. He wasn't going to trust some fancy potion to keep the darkness contained.

"Yeah, we thought that before." He sneers as he finishes his drink before standing up from his seat and walking across the room. Bonnie rolls her eyes as she follows Damon with her eyes.

"This is actual magic, not her just pushing it away." Bonnie explains to Damon who nods his head but he still isn't fully convinced. None of them are.

"Are we sure it'll work." Kol pipes up from next to her and she knew he wanted it to work but she couldn't give them a definite answer.

"No." Bonnie states causing everyone to deflate as that wasn't really a vote of confidence. "But it's our only shot." She adds as she couldn't find anything remotely close to getting rid of the divine.

"She's still in there." Nathan says as he stands up, his hands clenched together. "We can't give up." He states making Octavia look at him, reaching out for his arm as she didn't want him spiraling.

"We're not giving up, Nathan." She tries to assure him but he only snaps his arm away from her causing her to flinch back.

"All of you are so convinced that shes gone. None of you are even referring to her as a person anymore." Nathan scoffs as he stares at them and everyone was confused where this anger was coming from.

"We're just being careful." Bonnie tries to explain but he didn't seem to like her trying to calm him down.

"She's our friend!" Nathan snaps at them making Damon rub his head as he walks over to the man who needed to calm down before he did something stupid.

"She's not our friend." He tells the man who only scoffs, shaking her head. "She's darkness." Damon states but Nathan didn't want to let that enter his head. He couldn't even think of that for a moment.

"No, I don't believe that." Nathan immediately denies making Damon roll his eyes. Elijah stands up, moving in between them so they didn't start a fight.

"Look, fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to do this." Elijah says as he looks over at Bonnie who was holding onto Kol. "How long will it take to make?" He asks the girl who only sighs with a shrug of her shoulders. The book didn't have a set time but she was hoping it wasn't long.

"I'm not sure." She says honestly with a frown on her lips making Katherine groan as they didn't have all the time in the world.

"She doesn't have much time left, you better be quick." Katherine tells her as she knew the divine could completely take Cassandra over at any minute. They just was hoping it wasn't too soon.

"I'll get started right now." Bonnie says with a nod before heading off to have some privacy in order to get the potion made.

"Nathan, this could work." Octavia says in a hopeful tone as she looks at her brother who only glares back at her.

"And if it doesn't you all are just going to give up on her." Nathan points out in a snappy tone making her furrow her eyebrows a little bit.

"No one said they were giving up." She states, she wasn't going to give up on Cassandra until she was consumed because that was the only time they would truly know that they couldn't get her back.

"You practically did." Nathan snaps at her, his eyes cold making her flinch a little bit "Well I'm not." He mumbled before heading towards the door making Octavia follow him, not wanting him to do anything stupid.

"Nathan, where are you going?" She calls out but he continues walking, ignoring her question. Octavia glances back to the group who all knew that he really shouldn't be out and about.

"We shouldn't let him be alone." Rebekah says as they all knew if he went to see Cassandra, it could end very very badly.

"Octavia go with him. Text us if anything is wrong." Elijah tells the girl who only nods before rushing out after her brother. Caroline glances at Klaus who was staring blankly at the ground.

"She's going to be okay." Caroline assures him, hopeful that they will be able to get her back. Klaus only stares at his hands, not willing to accept that until he actually gets her back in his arms.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." Klaus mumbles as he sniffles, shaking his head as he bites the inside of his cheek. "Why didn't I see it?" He asks as he glances at the blonde who only sighs, rubbing his back as she knew the man was blaming himself for something that he couldn't control.

"Klaus, it's not your fault." Caroline assures him but he only shakes his head, dropping it towards his hands as he felt tears slip out. Caroline frowns as she wraps her arms around him and allows him to cry in her arms.

It was his fault though. If he had made her keep her powers contained, maybe it wouldn't have took her over. He didn't even notice that she didn't have her soul. Klaus felt like he had failed her. If they couldn't get her back, he didn't know if he could live with himself. He didn't know if he could live without her.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

OCTAVIA WAS CHASING AFTER NATHAN WHO DIDN'T SEEM TO SLOW DOWN HIS PACE ONE BIT AS SHE CALLED OUT AFTER HIM. Groaning she speeds in front of him but he only rolls his eyes before pushing past her. Octavia didn't understand what she did wrong and why he was so angry. Maybe he was letting everything affect his judgement. But either way he wasn't stopping for anything. "Nathan?" She asks but he only keeps walking, not even bothering to look back at her. "Nathan, will you talk to me?" Octavia asks as she tries to grab a hold of his arm. Luckily Nathan did slow down a little bit but only so she could see the anger in his eyes.

"About what?" He asks but she could hear the hostility in his voice. Octavia sighs before grabbing him so he would stop and face her. Nathan only glares down at her, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Look, we all care about Cassandra and want her back. You can't just lash out like that." Octavia scold him but Nathan only scoffs, not understanding how he was the one getting the lecture when he was the only one trying to do anything.

"I'm the only one trying!" Nathan responds as he looked at octavia who only takes a deep breath. She knew her brother could be difficult at times but this was something new.

"Bonnie's making a potion." Octavia states making him shake his head as he turns to walk away again but she grabs a hold of his arm again keeping him in his place.

"That isn't going to work." Nathan tells her making Octavia clench her jaw. He cant shoot down their ideas and then say they aren't doing anything to help Cassandra.

"Then what do you want to do?" She asks as she crosses her arms, raising her eyebrows wanting to hear his brilliant idea of getting Cassandra back.

"If I can just talk to her--" he suggests and as soon as those words come out of his mouth, Octavia is shooting down the idiotic idea.

"Absolutely not." Octavia dismisses, not even wanting to hear the rest of his sentence. That doesn't stop Nathan from trying to convince her that it was the only way.

"I can get through to her." Nathan says with a groan as he knew she was going to shoot down the idea.

"Nathan! She isnt Cassandra, she will just mess with you." Octavia explains to him, Cassandra would just end up messing with his brain or attacking him.

"No, I believe I can reach her." He tries to reason with her but she couldn't even believe he was suggesting walking into the lion's den.

"Nathan, you're not talking to her." Octavia denies as she shakes her head at him. Nathan only stares back at her before sighing, giving her a expression full of regret.

"I'm sorry." Nathan tells her before snapping her neck and speeding off. He couldn't have them stop him, especially since this was one of the only times that he could maybe get through to her.

When Octavia finally gains consiousnous, she immediately calls Caroline not even letting the girl get a word in as soon as she answered the phone. "Caroline, you need to get everyone to the warehouse on park Street." Octavia says after tracking Nathan's phone to see where he is. It said he hadnt moved in ten minutes so she was worried.

"What, why?" Caroline asks concerned as she looks at the group who were all glancing at her curiously.

"I think Nathan is there trying to talk to Cassandra." Octavia says as she starts walking, not wanting to waste any time with her brothers life on the line.

"Why the hell would he do that?" She asks, her tone angry as she couldn't believe he could do something so reckless.

"I don't know. But I tracked his phone and he's there." Octavia replies as she sighs, her blood pumping as she was worried that she would get there and he would be hurt.

"Okay, we'll meet you there." Caroline says as she didn't even need to explain to anyone since they could hear the conversation.

"Hurry. I think somethings wrong because he's not answering me." Octavia states before hanging up and heading off to the address she got off the tracking app. She shouldn't have let her guard down around him because now something could happen and it would be her fault.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

CASSANDRA SHOWS UP TO THE ADDRESS THAT NATHAN HAD TEXTED HER TO COME TO. She wanted to know what the hell he wanted and if he wasted her time, he wasn't going to leave. Rolling her eyes, she walks over to the man who was waiting outside of the building. Nathan lights up a little bit, clearing his throat. "Cassandra." He says and she only glares at him a little bit, not liking that he was still referring to her as the girl who was barely in this body anymore.

"Nathan." She responds bluntly before holding out her hands. "You bellowed?" The divine says as she sighs, stopping in front of him, noticing the way he held his breath a little.

"I know Cassandra is still in there." Nathan says, not wasting any time as it was a second longer that she could take over Cassandra's body. The woman only raises an eyebrow at the man curiously.

"Really?" She asks and he only nods his head, staring into her eyes and not backing down. "And what makes you say that?" The divine asks, squinting her eyes a little bit.

"You haven't taken full form yet." Nathan points out and she only nods, licking her bottom lip. He was being truthful but that didn't mean she was going to tell him that his friend was still inside.

"That's true." She answers before glancing around to see if he was actually alone. "So, what do you want." The divine crosses her arms as she raises her eyebrows at the man who takes a deep breath.

"I want to talk to Cassandra." He admits making her laugh loudly at his request. Was he that dumb to ask her that question especially since he was the one who called her here.

"No can do. She is gone." The divine answers as he noticed the pain in Nathan's eyes, not wanting to believe her one bit because she was a calculated liar.

"No, she isn't." He replied making her glare lightly as she takes one more step closer to her.

"Nathan, if you value your life. You will leave now." The divine states, giving him one more chance to walk away. Nathan didnt seem to want to though.

"Not until I see her." Nathan denies as he stands his ground, not budging from his spot. She glares darkly at him, standing right in front of him as she meets his eyes.

"Well you never will." She answers him causing Nathan to clench his jaw as he shakes his head.

"I'm not leaving." He replies making her laugh darkly, she couldn't believe that he was really trying to stand up to her.

"You aren't? Then that's incredibly stupid of you." The divine tells him but he only keeps their eye contact. She notices the new presence rushing towards them.

"Nathan!" Octavia screams, catching his attention as he looks over to see everyone making their way over to him.

"Nathan." The divine catches his attention again as he turns his head back to her. "I have a little message to you. From Cassandra." She says slowly making Nathan's ears perk up as he furrows his eyebrows. "She says see you in hell." She whispers to him with a smirk before reaching into his chest and ripping his heart out. Octavia screams in agony as she stops in her place, watching Nathan's body drop to the ground, his heart in Cassandra's hand. Her hands cover her mouth, shaking as she stares eyed wide at the scene. Cassandra only smirks at them before making her way into the building behind her.

"Nathan!" Octavia yells as she speeds over to him, kneeling next to his body. "No! No!" She cries as she shakes him, hoping this was just a trick and that he was going to wake up. Everyone was in shock that Nathan was just killed right in front of them. "Please, Nathan!" She screams as she feels the pain build up in her body. "Nathan, please wake up!" she pleads as she shakes him, her body trembling. "Wake up!" She screams in agony as she grips a hold of her brother's body. Klaus had caught Caroline when she nearly fell to the ground, tears flowing out of her eyes as she stared at the dead man. Octavia cries as she holds onto him tightly, not believing that he was gone. He was taken away from her.

Nathan Hart was dead.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

please don't kill me.