A/N: You guys are awesome and I really appreciate the love you've shown for this fic so far.

Warning: This fic is darker than the others I've written. There will be violence, and it will be bloody. I thought I should warn you all ahead in case there's some that don't like those kinds of stories.

Moving on!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters, I only own my Original Characters. No copyright infringement intended.

3 - Scars

"I'm not playing any games!"

"Can you unknot your panties for just a second and think rationally. Shit, I can't believe I'm the one saying this, but we can't act purely off emotion. We have to be smart about this."

"Are you really going to pretend your emotions didn't have anything to do with why you didn't kill her on sight?"

"Who says she's working alone? We have to get some information out of her."

Bonnie was slowly slipping back into consciousness. She was picking up the heated exchange between the two brothers in the front seat of the car. It didn't take her long to realize her hands were bound. She was still in her revealing lingerie, but she was now in a black, leather jacket that covered her. She knew immediately from the scent it was Damon's jacket. Six years later, and his scent was still ingrained into her memory, a fact that was really irritating to her in the moment.

She didn't move, as to not bring attention to herself, and she fully concentrated on the bindings. A small flame erupted on the rope, then quickly petered out. She concentrated even harder and the flame held on for a little longer before vanishing. The toxin Stefan had injected her with had weakened her magic and that shit was pissing her off.

She suddenly sat up. Blue eyes lifted and caught hers in the rearview mirror. Then she was muttering, her voice low and gruff as she uttered a string of nonsensical words in a foreign language.

"What is she doing?" Stefan exclaimed. "What the fuck is she doing?!"

"Hey!" Damon was now turned in his seat, facing her. "Shut up before I make you shut up!" Bonnie's eyes narrowed at him and she started chanting louder. She wasn't really saying anything that even resembled a real spell, but the uneducated vampires had no way of knowing this, so chaos ensued.

"Stop her!" There was panic in Stefan's voice as he feared she was attempting to unleash a spell. Damon was suddenly coming over the seat toward her, hands outreached to grab her. Having no access to her weapons, she reared back and threw her head at him full force, head butting him and instantly breaking his nose. Damon swore loudly and fell back. With the little magic she could muster, she was able to twist the steering wheel out of Stefan's hands, sending the car veering off course. Unable to unlock the door, she immediately kicked her foot up and started smashing it against the window, desperate to escape. Stefan was shouting as he tried to regain control of the car. Damon was making a grab for her again.

She managed to shatter the window and was scrambling out, ignoring the shards of glass cutting her arms and legs. The steering wheel turned in Stefan's hands again but she didn't bother to linger and watch the car head straight for an oak tree.

'The woods, I've got to get to the woods', she thought to herself. Battered and bleeding, Bonnie limped as fast as she could toward the lining of trees. If she could get into the woods she could channel the energy of the earth and the trees and regain her power much quicker.

Damon and Stefan were in bad shape. The car had hit the tree hard. Groaning in pain, Damon opened the door and fell out. He looked up in time to catch Bonnie disappearing into the woods.

She found a small clearing and stood in the center, then deeply breathed in the air. The wind started to rapidly pick up around her as she channeled the energy of the natural world. She felt much better as she could feel the magic coursing through her veins.

Damon stumbled through the woods, impatiently willing his body to heal, following the sound of the mini windstorm. He came upon her, and feeling his presence she opened her eyes and glared at him. She was standing tall now, still wrapped in his favorite jacket, hands free, and he knew she was back to full strength.

"Take another step and I will end you," she threatened, a fire alight in her emerald eyes.

"You're going to regret this," Damon told her. "You're going to regret all the shit you've done over the last six years."

She gave him a little smirk and Damon saw something in her eyes he'd never seen before. Something almost...sinister. "I don't think so," she stated, confidently. "Don't follow me, don't come after me. I don't want to hear or see you again. And that goes for your brother too, or you'll both be the ones with regrets."

Damon stepped toward her. "Don't you-" But she was gone. Vanished into thin air. Damon cursed loudly, looking around but seeing hide nor hair of her. Her cloaking spell was immaculate. "You've made a mistake, Bon Bon!" He screamed into the air. He twisted around at vampire speed at the sound of twigs snapping, but it was just Stefan coming up behind him. The wound on his forehead he'd acquired from the crash had healed but his face was still spattered in dried blood.

"You let her go?" He asked, accusingly.

"No." Damon's tone was calm but angry. "No, I didn't."

"Then where the hell is she?"

"She's more powerful than she's ever been," Damon revealed. "She's going to be a problem, brother."

Bonnie strutted purposefully toward the Hyatt Regency Hotel. She knew she was quite a sight, in nothing but Damon's jacket, blood painting her skin. She made eye contact with no one as she entered the building. She always tried to stay lowkey when she was on a mission, so she was even more peeved at the Salvatores for causing her to be a stand-out.

Once she was in her hotel room she quickly began to gather her things. She had to get out of town as quickly as possible, leaving no trace behind. When she opened one of the pockets of her suitcase she paused at the sight of a photo. She pulled it out and gazed at it a moment. She was in the picture, a bright smile on her face, posing next to a beautiful brown-skinned woman that shared her emerald eyes. Dawn Bennett, one of the most powerful witches Bonnie had ever met, and a long, lost relative of hers.

Bonnie sat on the bed and studied the picture a moment, feeling a surge of melancholia. Dawn was also smiling bright, showcasing two rows of pearly white, perfectly aligned teeth, deep-set dimples in her cheeks, a mass of curly, dark brown hair that flowed down her back, and a small sprinkling of dark freckles that decorated her nose and cheeks. She was simply gorgeous, about five years older than Bonnie, and just a bit physically reminiscent of her younger cousin.

The two discovered each other while Bonnie was in Louisiana four years earlier. Bonnie was in need of a certain kind of magical herb that she couldn't get anywhere in Virginia, and had tracked down her cousin, Lucy, for help. Lucy directed her to a small shop in New Orleans, and the moment Bonnie brushed against Dawn she knew. They both knew. They were family.

The girls had an instant connection. They had both suffered tragic loss in their life, dealt with absentee parents growing up, and had their lives turned upside down by vampires. Bonnie had always been able to stand alone but she latched onto Dawn. Their bond strengthened over time despite their distance. Many phone calls, text messages, video calls, and trips to visit each other, they started to feel more like sisters and Bonnie was grateful for it. After dropping her high school boyfriend, Jeremy, like a hot potato after returning from death from the umpteenth time, the tragic loss of Elena, then Damon leaving her so selfishly, and Caroline and Alaric barely having time for her as they raised their family together, Bonnie needed the companionship. A short-lived romance with Enzo St. John had ended horribly to say the least, and she had no one. Absolutely no one. And the person she missed most every single day, was willingly desiccating away in a coffin.

"You can never trust a vampire," Dawn had told her in disgust after learning of Bonnie's past. "They're nasty, cruel, vile creatures. They are never to be trusted or loved. They're not human, Bonnie. They're a danger to the entire human race and the world would be better off without them."

Bonnie found these to be harsh words but the more she was around Dawn the more she learned how deep her hatred for vampires ran. She knew there was a reason, but Dawn was tight-lipped about it, and she wouldn't learn why for some time. She had sensed a darkness in Dawn early on, could see flashes of it in her eyes, but she ignored it. The magic she practiced was much different than anything Bonnie had ever dabbled in. Magic so dark it would bring the most evil monstrosity to it's knees. Sometimes Dawn would disappear, for days at a time on occasion, and Bonnie wouldn't be able to reach her. Then she would return home and call Bonnie back with a vague explanation of "taking care of business outside of town". Bonnie didn't pry too much, but found it odd seeing as her shop didn't seem to bring in too much business in town.

During one of her visits to Louisiana, Bonnie, as she usually did, entered Dawn's home without knocking. She was going to announce her presence when she heard what sounded like voices coming from the living-room. Sure she was hearing a man's voice, she followed the sounds.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you are today?"

"About a dozen times already, Steven. Give me that." That was definitely Dawn's voice.

Bonnie stopped in the entryway of the living-room. Dawn was on the couch, her focus completely on the TV. On the screen was a very handsome, young African-American man, a smile on his face as he gazed at the woman behind the camera, who Bonnie found it safe to assume was Dawn. A small boy of about three suddenly came bounding up to the man.

"Tell your mother how beautiful she is today, Steve," the man instructed the boy who looked like a miniature version of him.

The little boy smiled an adorable, toothy smile toward the camera. "Mommy, you are soooo-"

Bonnie took a small step in the room, causing the floorboard to creak and Dawn to jump and hit the stop button on the tape. She whirled around, eyes wide, but relaxed at the sight of Bonnie. "What the hell, Bon," she exhaled, standing up.

"I'm so sorry," Bonnie replied, sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Next time, just let me know you're here before you start creeping around."

"Of course. My bad." Dawn turned her head but Bonnie caught her wiping her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Dawn said in a sturdy voice that came off more aggressive than she intended. Her watery eyes contradicted her words. "Let me grab my purse from upstairs, then we can head to Cooper's for lunch." She started past Bonnie.

"What were you watching?" Bonnie questioned. Dawn stopped in her tracks, pausing for a moment before looking back at Bonnie, the look of pain back in her eyes. "I saw the little boy...he called you Mommy."

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Bonnie."

"Okay, but I hope you know you can trust me," she replied. "You can talk to me. If you have a family, if I have another little cousin, I don't understand why you wouldn't share that with me."

"I had a family," Dawn responded coldly. "A husband, our son. If you hadn't noticed, I'm alone now."

"Where's your husband?"

"Another woman took him from me," she revealed. Now Bonnie could understand the hurt on her face, and she wanted to comfort her cousin.

"And your son?"

"He's with his father," she stated. "And that's all you need to know for now." And she turned and disappeared up the stairs.

Bonnie decided to leave the issue alone for awhile. Although she found it incredible that Dawn had an entire family she'd never even mentioned in passing, she could see how much it pained her to talk about them. Then one night, about a month after learning about Steven and Steve Jr, Bonnie flew from Virginia to Louisiana unexpectedly, wanting to surprise her cousin. There was a surprise waiting for her instead.

Using her magic to enter the shop, Bonnie found it to be unusually dark. Calling out Dawn's name, she wandered the upper floor but the elder Bennett witch was nowhere to be found. Then she neared the basement door and felt a slight tingle. She stopped and stepped closer to the door. There was a heat coming from the wood, one only a witch would sense. She placed her hand upon it and could feel the magic. A spell had been placed there, and she could bet it was a silencing spell, to block all noise coming from the basement.

With the utterance of a single word, the lock popped open. Bonnie opened the door and she instantly heard screams of agony coming from below. She quickly shut the door behind her and headed down the stairs. The screams grew louder and more agonizing, sending chills down her spine. Then she heard Dawn's angry voice over the screams. "Shut up! Shut up, you filthy demon!"

The scene Bonnie came upon was a horrific one. Strapped to a table, vervain ropes burning into their cold flesh, was a helpless vampire, a sight rarely seen. Horrible black scars riddled his face and body, tears of blood stained his cheeks, he looked horribly deprived of blood, as if he'd been starved for months.

"Dawn!" Bonnie shouted in horror. Dawn's head snapped up, her own tears pouring from her eyes. In her hands, she held a stake of her own creation. One Bonnie would later learn she'd deemed The Humanity Stake. When stabbed into any part of a vampire's body, it would cause them excruciating pain, when stabbed into the heart, the vampire would suffer a slow, tortuous death, even if pulled out.

"He knows her," she sobbed. "She's his sire!"

Bonnie cautiously stepped toward her cousin, who was like a ticking time bomb.

"Knows who?" She asked in what she hoped was a calming tone. "What's going on, Dawn?"

"The woman who made him a vampire is the same woman who took my family from me," she explained. "My husband...my son...my sister. She killed them. She killed them all."

"I swear...I swear I don't know anything about that!" The vampire cried.

"Liar!" Dawn screamed, then jammed the stake right into his abdomen. His scream was so bloodcurdling it brought tears to Bonnie's eyes. In an instinctive move, she leapt toward him to yank the stake out.

"Don't touch him!" Dawn shrieked and Bonnie felt a strong force throw her backward. She hit the floor hard and looked up at her cousin with new eyes as she hovered over her. "You don't understand, Bonnie. He deserves this. I searched his mind to find out where she stays, and to get her name. Her face will forever be burned into my memory, haunting my dreams, but I never knew her name. I got flashes of some things, the people they've killed together, but I couldn't get a clear reading."

"That's because you're acting on emotion," Bonnie told her. "All this anger and dark magic, you have to let it go so you can do the spell with a clear head."

"I can't let my anger go," Dawn said through gritted teeth. "You can't understand what I've been through."

"I get it," Bonnie said, getting up from the floor. "A vampire killed my father. I had to watch it happen and couldn't do a damn thing about it. I asked my Grams to help out vampires, and the cost was her life. A vampire turned my mother against her will. I can't count the number of vampires that have tried to kill me, threatened to kill me, or fucked me over in some way. There's some I would love to see gone, but not all of them. You can't blame all vampires for what some of them of have done."

"Some?" She gave a humorless laugh. "Vampires kill, they suck the life out of humans, it's their nature. It's what they were created to do. They're an abomination, dangerous, and they will eventually be the death of us all. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not."

"You have a bias because all of your so-called friends are vampires, but where are any of those friends now?"

"They're good people," Bonnie debated with a shake of the head, though without much conviction. "My friend, Caroline, she's one of the sweetest, most caring people I know."

"Oh, you mean the one who switched off her humanity and started killing for fun?" Dawn asked haughtily. "Did she kill anyone before she turned off her humanity, which she made the decision to do knowing how dangerous it would be for everyone." Bonnie couldn't answer. "That's what I thought. She deserves to die, just like the rest of them. Your friends deserve to die." Then she lifted the stake above her head.

"No! Please don't!" The tortured vampire pleaded.

"Wait!" Bonnie cried, throwing an arm over him in a protective stance. "I agree with you about his sire. If she's the one responsible for you losing everyone you love, then you're right. She deserves to die. But if you kill him you won't get the information you need to track her down."

Dawn slowly lowered the stake. "Fine. Won't you give it a shot," she suggested. "I want to know where they stay, her name. I want to know who turned her. Who was the monster responsible for unleashing her in this world untamed?"

"She never told me that, I swear!" He cried.

"Just shut. Up," Bonnie told him warningly, then placed her hands to his temples. Memories started hitting her all at once. She got his name, Trevor. And there she was. His sire, as well as his lover. About Bonnie's size, very pretty, tan skin, hazel eyes, a look of severity. Bonnie got the name almost immediately. Angel. There was a group of them, all vampires. The Shadows. They killed so much, always feeding. The flashes of all the murders, the enjoyment they took in harming humans, shook Bonnie to her core. She wanted to pull away, then an old conversation unwillingly floated into Trevor's head.

"Who was this guy?" He asked Angel. "The one who turned you?" The memory was hazy, as if he couldn't remember everything about that night, and drugs seemed to play a part of that. He recalled part of her response.

She had a hard look on her face when she answered him. Bonnie tried to concentrate really hard but she could only get the last name. "...Salvatore."

Bonnie jumped back.

"What?!" Dawn exclaimed. "What is it? What did you see?"

"I saw her," she said. "Her name is Angel. There's a whole group of them. They're known as The Shadows."

"Shit," Dawn said under her breath. "I've heard of them. They're one of the most dangerous groups of vampires in existence, almost all of them have shut off their humanity. I didn't know he was one of them." She looked fearful for a moment, then her face hardened again. "Which makes him even more deserving of this stake."

"No, I never shut off my humanity," he cried. "I love Angel, I couldn't take the thought of not knowing what it was like to love her."

"So you did all of that with a conscience?" Bonnie asked in disbelief.

"Of course he did, he loved every minute of it," Dawn responded for him. "And she...Angel...how ironic. That bitch murdered my entire family and she had no remorse. She thinks she's gotten away with it."

"Killing me is just going to piss off the Shadows, they will come after you," Trevor warned. "The last thing you want is them after you. You won't win."

"If they have no emotions why would they be pissed?" Dawn questioned with a raised brow.

"It's the principality," he said. "Taking out one of their members they'll see as a personal disrespect, and they tolerate disrespect from no one. Especially a witch. They hate witches almost more than they hate werewolves."

"Killing your girlfriend is all that matters to me," she stated. "They can take it how they want, I won't stop until she's dead. Hopefully, losing you will be the start of her suffering." She raised the stake again.

"Wait, let's think about this for a moment," Bonnie started.

"What else did you see, Bon."

"They move around a lot, but it looks like Angel has been staying at a club with some of them on Bourbon Street," Bonnie said.

"What about her maker?" Dawn questioned. "Did you get anything about them?" Bonnie thought hard about what her response to that question should be before giving one.

"No," she lied. "She never told him who turned her." Trevor gave Bonnie a bewildered look.

"That's all right, I'll torture that information out of her. There's no reason to keep him alive any longer."

"Dawn, wait!" Bonnie cried, but it was too late. She watched her cousin plunge the Humanity Stake into Trevor's heart and the effects were instantaneous and awful. The screams of pain that emitted from him made the silencer spell necessary. He shook uncontrollably on the table, his veins very slowly graying, more blood pouring from his eyes. Bonnie almost had to close her eyes, but Dawn's were glued to him. Her face was stony as she watched, her aura so dark it scared Bonnie. This woman was not who she thought she was.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually Trevor lay on the table, cold and dead.

Salvatore.

Bonnie suddenly felt cold herself.

The memory of that night still sent chills down her spine. As Bonnie looked at the picture, she suddenly gasped and dropped it. It lay face down on the pile of clothes she'd hastily stuffed into her suitcase, and she found for a moment she was afraid to pick it back up. "Ok, I'm officially losing it," she said to herself, as her heart rate returned to normal. She had to get out of there, ASAP. Old allies turned enemies were after her, and now she was seeing things. As she'd studied that picture, looking into Dawn's eyes and thinking of everything her cousin had taught her, told her, she suddenly thought she saw a flicker of something. Something flashed in the eyes. It happened so quickly if Bonnie had blinked at that moment she would've missed it. She was realizing now that was crazy. It was just a regular photo, no magic attached to it. Dawn was dead and gone, and with the destruction of the Other Side, she had no hold onto the world of the living. Obviously her bloody reunion with Damon Salvatore had fucked with her head, and she needed to get it back on straight immediately.

In her haste, she managed a mediocre healing spell for the cuts on her arms and legs. After removing Damon's jacket, she peeled off her bloody lingerie and threw on a white t-shirt and a pair of Levi's. She would definitely be destroying the ruined Vera clothes, but after a moment of contemplation, she placed the jacket in her suitcase. Then she was out of the door.

Valerie had never been a patient woman. Especially when she had murder on the brain. She was pacing her room, waiting for her phone to ring. It had been hours since she'd last talked to Stefan. She was almost beginning to worry something bad had happened to him. Finally, not being able to take the suspense any longer, she snatched up her cell phone and dialed her boyfriend's number. Six rings in she was about to give up when the line clicked.

"Hello?"

"Dammit, Stefan, you're supposed to call if you're alive!" She hissed in frustration.

"I'm sorry, hon, I'm fine," he said but she could detect frustration in his voice.

"Well, what's the news?" She questioned. "Did you find her?" Stefan hesitated a moment.

"We're on her trail," he finally responded. "Don't worry, she'll get what's coming to her for what she did to you."

"I want that bitch dead," Valerie spat angrily. "I need her to suffer first, and for a long time. Then I want to kill her myself."

"Valerie, I know-"

"You don't know," she snapped. "You don't know what it's like to dread looking in the mirror everyday, to carry this hatred for someone who's face you've never even seen. And she's walking around completely unharmed. It eats me up, Stefan."

Stefan sighed heavily. "I love you, okay, no matter what I love you, and you're still beautiful to me." This brought a small smile to her face but it wasn't enough. Valerie still craved retribution. When she ended the call she picked up the small mirror nearest her. She slowly lifted it, wanting to face herself without the usual dread and devastation that had come with this action lately. She couldn't. Laying eyes on her face in that reflective glass still destroyed her. Three large, horrific black scars lined the right side of her face, scars no amount of magic had been able to remove. Sometimes they would start to burn and she could do nothing but wait for it pass.

The slayer who had done this to her was also a witch of incredible power that carried a darkness that consumed her. Valerie would not be able to rest easy until she held her heart in her hands.

After quickly acquiring a car, Bonnie was burning rubber out of town. She would get to the nearest airport, and take the first flight out of state. Her original plan had been to leave for Ohio once she was done hunting in her current spot, there was a small town there that had become a nesting spot for vampires because of it's inconspicuousness. They could pretty much rule the town without being bothered. That was all going to change once Bonnie got there, and some undead heads would roll. Now, she was miffed she had to put that plan on hold. Just in case Damon and Stefan, in some miraculous way, had a lead on her course of action, she had to throw them off course and go somewhere different.

She was over an hour out of town when her phone rang. It was Sun from Vera's "workplace". Bonnie had a bad feeling as she answered the phone. "What is it, Sun?" She asked.

"You left something here, Vera," the young lady told her in her distinctive voice. Bonnie normally would've argued that, she'd gotten leaving a job without a trace down to a science, but she hadn't left on normal terms. She'd been snatched by the Salvatores and she was positive they wouldn't have bothered to clean up after themselves.

"What is it?" She questioned nervously.

"It's wooden, has some words carved into it, they're foreign though, so I can't read it," she explained. Bonnie's heart dropped into her stomach. How could she have forgotten that? The night's events had screwed her up so much she hadn't even realized her most important possession wasn't with her when she left the hotel? Sun was still going on with her description. "Oh, and it's darkened at the bottom. Looks like a pretty bad-ass weapon to me."

Then Bonnie heard a painfully familiar voice in the background. "I'll take that, thank you."

"Oh no," Bonnie said in a deadpan tone.

"Oh no is correct." Damon's snide voice was on the phone, and she heard Sun scream in the background.

"Don't you fucking hurt her!" Bonnie cried.

"Oh, that's not me that has her, it's Stefan," Damon replied coolly. "If you don't cooperate, little witch, I will hurt her. And every other little hooker here."

"Damon, I swear-"

"Shut up," he hissed. "You had your fun with that little stunt you pulled earlier but you're not running the show anymore. I am. So you better listen, or I promise I will find out where you stay and have her pretty little head delivered straight to your door." Bonnie was seething, but she remained silent. "That's better. Meet us just outside of town, at 245 West Borough Road. I'm giving you an hour to get there."

"But I-"

"One hour!" He raised his voice over hers. "Come alone, come unarmed. You try anything, the girl is dead and so are you. Do. Not. Test me, Bon Bon." She heard Sun cry out again.

"Say you'll let her go," she said. "Say you'll let her go if come back."

"I'll let her go," Damon promised, casually. "As long as you're at the meeting spot within the hour and willingly turn yourself over, the girl goes free." Bonnie's car skidded to stop, and in a very illegal move, she whipped it around and hit 100 mph on the road back. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Her teeth were grinding together she was so angry.

"Great. See you soon, bestie." She could hear the smile in his voice which pissed her off even further. Then he ended the call. After all the slaying, Bonnie still managed to feel more murderous than she had in years.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review! This is going to be a wild ride.