Angels Change (TVD/The Originals FANFIC) 2/3-2

23: Splitting Up

Her worry had completely diminished, a little shock filling her eyes over how much faith and hope I'd placed into her. Maybe now she finally realized her true potential, the magnitude in which she could develop if only she strengthened her confidence. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and laying her hand across the hunter's chest positioned in front of her. Her brow crumpled, doubt stomping down her true ability--

"You need to remain calm Bonnie," Shane encouraged. "Remember it's you that's in control of your magic. Focus on what you can do. Don't be afraid of what you can't." Silence took over when the witches' focus grew-- "That's it." Came Shane's soothing tone, "That's it. It's just like drawing breath. Just imagine pulling the power from the tattoo--the symbols, into you."

Connor twitched as Bonnie continued, the tattoo that coated his skin dissipating. A low rumble struck the Earth, rocks, and dust falling to the ground. I felt winded when a tight grip whooshed me from the debris' firing line. Blood rushed past my ears, muffling the crumbling structure for mere minutes before silence replaced the final few shards of falling stone. "Thanks," my breath was shaky when I found Nik's gaze.

"Anytime, love." His smile just made my stomach tighten, how close our faces were only hitting me when his exhale stroked my chin. I was lost in his gaze, blaming the adrenaline for why I wanted nothing more than to grab the back of his neck and connect our lips--

A shocked gasp forced us apart, unsteady legs lifting me to my full height as I scanned the destruction. They stopped on Bonnie and Damon's embrace, the brunette turned into the vampire's chest, shaking in what I could only decipher as fear. I was confused, my face crumpling into a frown when I stumbled forward. My stomach rolling after I reached their side and saw the crushed corpse of Connor Jordan was the cause of her horror.

"I managed to move her out the way," Damon motioned toward the witch, "But I couldn't get to him in time." The movement of my head nodding felt instinctual rather than a reaction to his words, my brain still trying to process the gore in front of me-- "Don't look at it," Damon's concerned gaze consumed my vision, "We're here. We've done it," he tried to strengthen my focus. "Leave the regrets for when we've finished this."

I wanted to argue, part my lips with the perfect response of why we at least owed Connor a few minutes of mourning considering he wouldn't be here if I hadn't dragged him along. He was clueless about his origins, about his abilities, about his purpose. Just because he was killing vampires doesn't make him a bad guy-- "He's right, Angel." My bottom lip was caught between my teeth with Bonnie's quiet confidence, "We've made it this far. Look," she motioned toward a gaping hole. "It worked."

"Yeah," I sucked in a harsh breath, clenching my jaw to push back a threatening tidal wave of guilt and worry. "Let's finish this then--"

"Uhh..." A groan caught my attention, another clump of stone shielding Shane's position from our group. "Hey, guys c--." We rounded on his position, "I need a hand. My leg's broken."

"Well," I sighed, sight flickering between him and the path to Silas. "I suppose this is where we tie up some loose ends. Damon, you mind helping me?"

The vampire smirked, "With pleasure."

I gripped his arm before he could pass me, his glance of confusion just making me roll my eyes. "I don't want you to kill him, you psychopath," he merely grinned at the nickname. My eyes found Bonnie, "How much would you hate me if I asked you and Klaus to start searching the tunnels while we help Shane?"

She glanced back at the Hybrid trying his hardest to act like he wasn't actively listening to the conversation, her internal debate clear as day across her face. He could still revert to being a danger any second, but the fact he'd not only behaved as much as possible during this small trip, but he was also the reason we were even here...A flicker of her gaze between him and me seemed to cement her opinion of the immortal, "I'm taking him down if he steps out of line."

I grinned at Klaus' narrowing eyes, "I couldn't hope for anything better, Bon."

Our quartet dispersed, Bonnie reluctantly taking the lead of her pairing before they shrank with distance. Damon's arms folded across his chest as he stared Shane down, the human's gaze a mixture of caution and pain, white knuckles dug into his knee--desperate to distract himself from his broken leg. "What's the plan?"

I shrugged, "Let him bleed out a bit more--make sure there's no vervain in his system, then compel him a new life."

Damon raised a brow, "A new life?"

"He's consumed by all of this, Damon. He's delusional beyond sense and he genuinely believes Silas will do good once he wakes up. We've got no choice but to make him forget about that." He nodded his agreement, a relaxing silence settling over us until Shane's quiet mutterings forced me to focus, "He thinks he can see his wife." I explained to Damon's frown, "Silas has the ability to get into people's heads, make them see things that aren't there, or morph something completely."

"How come he hasn't tried anything on us?"

"He's not strong enough." I motioned to Shane's open wound, "The blood's feeding him, making him stronger, or at least strong enough that he can only reach out to the food source directly."

"Freaky."

"That's certainly one way to describe the fossil..."

After convincing Shane the past year had been a pretty intense fever dream, dumping his unconscious body at the bottom of a cliff and scattering climbing gear around his feet, we finally began our descent into the belly of the beast. I hated how quiet it was. The multiple avenues a person could easily become lost in making me chew on the skin of my lip. My mind spun with all the possible ways I could find the cure first, gut dropping with the most obvious choice.

I knew it was a stupid idea, but I hoped it would find us Silas before Bonnie and Klaus managed to in this maze of tunnels. "What are you--?" Damon's wide eyes stared at my bleeding palm, a quick swipe of his machete breaking the skin-- "Are you insane?!"

"We need to find Silas," I explained in a hiss as he tried a gentle grip on my wrist. "Doing this will save time, Damon, you know that."

His jaw clenched, "Fine," escaped him in a huff. "Just don't do anything else so stupid."

I winked, nudging his side before we continued our walk, "No promises, vamp-boy."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTwj7PhpY9M... (Painkiller by Ruel)

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