(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Forty-Three

Cassandra pulls on her jacket as she leaves the house, Elena following after her. Cassandra has every intention of finding and helping Bonnie, in whatever way she can. She's not going to leave her friend out there to suffer and hurt and be possessed by a crazy ancient witch.

"Stefan told us to stay here" Elena scolds as she follows Cassandra across the yard towards where her jeep is parked. Cassandra snorts as she reaches the driver's side.

"So what?" Cassandra argues as she opens her jeep door. "You want to just sit here and wait to see what happens? Let some stranger help her?" Elena looks away, thoughtful. "Bonnie is our friend and she needs us. I'm not going to let her go through this alone, are you?" Elena nods and then climbs into the jeep with Cassandra.

...............

Damon finds Bonnie in the ruins of the old Fell's church, setting up a spell. He walks closer to her, slowly, almost as if he is approaching a wounded animal. Trying not to freak her into fleeing.

"Hello, Emily. You look different." He greets, Bonnie/Emily looks at him.

"I won't let you do it" She scolds him, warns him.

"We had a deal." Damon reminds her.

"Things are different now. I need to protect my family" Bonnie/Emily argues.

"I protected your family. You owe me"

"I know. I'm sorry"

"You're about to be a lot more than that" Damon tries to attack her, but Emily uses her powers to throw Damon against a tree, and he's impaled on a branch through his stomach.

...........

Stefan and Elena arrive with Cassandra at the church ruins to find Damon struggling to unimpale himself. Bonnie/Emily is still setting up her spell. Cassandra lets out a small laugh and Damon shoots her a look and then raises an eyebrow at her.

"Is this you staying out of vampire drama?" Damon asks her, she hums and shrugs.

"I got dragged back into it...." She counters and then laughs. "I'm sorry, how did you get up there?" Stefan even smirks a little at her side.

"Get me down from here!" Damon scolds them. Cassandra just smirks back though. "It hurts"

"How am I supposed to get up there?" Stefan argues, Damon then gives Cassandra a look. She snorts and shakes her head.

"He means me," She tells Stefan, he looks at her and she holds up her hands, wiggling her fingers as red mist wrap around them. Cassandra wraps Damon in the mist and bites her lip as she struggles to get him down. She's already expelled a lot of energy fighting against Emily's magic just to get a door open. She drops him the last couple of feet. Leaning slightly on her knees to catch her breath.

"You okay?" Elena asks, Cassandra nods.

"He's heavy" She mumbles and shares an amused look with Elena. Damon touches his shirt as he heals.

"This is why I feed on people" Damon comments as Bonnie/Emily stands from where she had been preparing her spell. Stefan steps closer to her as Elena takes Cassandra's hand in hers.

"Stefan" Bonnie/Emily greets.

"Hello, Emily"

"These people don't deserve this. They should never have to know such evil" Emily tells him, Stefan frowns, confused.

"What do you mean evil?"

"Emily. I swear to God, I'll make you regret this." Damon threatens. Stefan glances at his brother before turning his attention back to the witch.

"I won't let you unleash them into this world" Emily counters.

"Them? What part of the story did you leave out, Damon?" Stefan snaps at his brother.

"What does it matter?"

"Emily, tell me what you did," Stefan asks of the witch.

"To save her, I had to save them" Emily's eyes flicker to look at Cassandra before she looks away again.

"You saved everyone in the church?" Stefan counters.

"With one, comes all" Emily warns.

"I don't care about them. I just want Katherine" Damon admits.

"I knew I shouldn't have believed a single word that comes out of your mouth. This isn't about love, is it?" Stefan asks him. "This is about revenge" He figures out.

"The two aren't mutually exclusive"

"Damon, you can't do this" Stefan argues. Elena clutches to Cassandra's hand and the two sisters share a look.

"Why not? They killed 27 people, and they called it a war battle. They deserve whatever they get" Damon points out.

"27 vampires, Damon. They were vampires. You can't just bring them back"

"This town deserves this" Damon snaps.

"You're blaming innocent people for something that happened 145 years ago"

"There is nothing innocent about these people, and don't think for a second it won't happen again. They already know too much, and they'll burn your little grandwitch and probably whatever she is" Damon motions to Cassandra. "Right next to us when they find out. Trust me"

"Things are different now" Emily argues.

"Don't do this"

"I can't free them. I won't. Incendia!" The pentagram Emily carved into the dirt around her is set ablaze, and flames create a wall between Emily/Bonnie and Stefan, Damon, Cassandra, and Elena.

"No! No please" Damon tries to move closer.

"Bonnie!" Elena begs.

"No!" Damon shouts as Bonnie/Emily throws the necklace into the air, and it explodes above them. Once the spell is complete and the crystal is destroyed, Emily departs from Bonnie's body. Bonnie finally reawakens, and looks around in horror, having no idea what had just occurred. Damon is furious, and since his deal with Emily is off, he races to Bonnie only to run into a red force field as Cassandra throws out her hand. Damon takes a step back to glare at the shield and then looks at Cassandra. She gives him a look back. He turns and touches the force field, testing it before he taps it. he glances at Cassandra and then at Stefan as he makes a move forward to stop him. Damon punches the force field, using only a sliver of strength. But the shield doesn't budge. It's pretty strong. She did manage to stop Vicki with it. He pushes against the shield, pushing more and more of his vampire strength in it. Cassandra's shield holds firm, sort of. It flickers and flashes, but does hold. Her nose starts to bleed with the force of his hits on the shield. She curls her fingers which strengthens the shield.

"Cas!" Elena warns. Cassandra throws out the force field, sending Damon flying backwards. He lands a small distance away and immediately looks at Cassandra who sways on her feet before collapsing, unconscious. Stefan rushes to Cassandra as Elena moves to Bonnie. He kneels next to her and checks her pulse. "Stefan" Elena begs as she helps Bonnie to her feet.

"She's okay..." Stefan assures her as he turns Cassandra slightly to check on her, brushing her hair from her face.

..........

Stefan walks towards where Damon is sitting in the woods near the church ruins. Damon lets out a breath and closes his eyes hearing his brother's approach.

"Katherine compelled away my feelings for Ally" Damon admits. Stefan frowns a little. "It wasn't till after....after we turned that I figured it out. Emily told me that they were sisters. That it was Ally that told...." He sighs and shakes his head.

"Told father that Katherine was a vampire" Stefan finishes. Damon nods.

"Katherine took her away from me, took away what she meant to me" Damon admits. "I wanted her to pay for what she did....." He shrugs. "I'll leave now" He offers, knowing that there is no way for him to get what he wants here. He can't open the tomb. He can't find Katherine. He stands and glances across at where Cassandra stands with Bonnie and Elena. Cassandra glances back across at him. He expected to find hurt, pain, anger, directed at him, but he doesn't. She shrugs a little and gives him a sad smile before turning back to her sister.