The Reset

Chapter Twenty: Shake The World

AN: I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. We are going to stick around in the past a bit more before we get Kai and his family in the present back to Mystic Falls. I'm pretty sure you all would agree that that is a bit of a turning point in the story and something I want to juxtapose matching the turning point in the past. Also, please don't hate me too much. Just know that I love you.

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~ 2013 - Mystic Falls, Virginia - Bennett Home ~

After combing over texts for two and a half days (as well as a much-needed catch-up day for the Bennett witches), Kai could confidently say that they had enough power between the three of them to destroy the 1903 Ascendant (talismans and other magical items from the Bennett side of the equation included). He began setting up candles in the appropriate manner throughout the living room. They would need the entirety of the space in order to pull the spell off properly. Lucy stood in the middle of the living room, drawing magical circles and runes while Bonnie was out back gathering all of the herbs in the garden that would benefit in augmenting the spell. The more aid they had, the better chances of success they would have.

It was interesting studying with a witch who was technically the same age as him but still had more real-world experience. Lucy had done an excellent job of keeping as far off the grid as she could manage while maintaining a sense of normalcy to her life. And with constantly moving all over, she was able to travel and make connections where she could with other covens and covenless witches alike. Despite always being on the move, Lucy Bennett created a decent foothold for herself and extended those same benefits to Bonnie should she ever have need of them. The same had been offered to Kai - her way of thanking him for saving her life. Kai certainly wasn't about to turn down an offer like that.

While there was a part of him that felt obligated to keep the magical device from being destroyed because he was, in fact, the Gemini leader, he knew that it was better off being completely eradicated from this world. He had never been a fan of prison worlds in general. Not even when he'd first read about them in the Archives when he was younger. But he could understand the purpose behind them. Witches ordinarily weren't super-powered killing machines. Their magic was supposed to be used to protect and heal the world around them. Putting supernatural criminals and liabilities away, in general, was just part of the territory. A way to maintain order in their world and to keep humanity safe.

Somewhere along the way, The Gemini had lost touch with this form of ideology. The Bennett witches clearly had not.

Yet Kai wasn't envious. Not completely anyway. Because this same mentality is what nearly wiped the Bennett witches out. They had been willing to martyr themselves, believing that they were helping at the cost of their own existence. While Kai may have never understood that sort of thinking until he nearly died trying to save Bonnie, it still didn't mean that he was inclined to that way of thinking. He didn't believe he ever would. Self-preservation had become the core trait of his entire personality and while he may have been more likely to have a few selfless moments here and there, that didn't mean he extended that courtesy to others. In fact, if he could recall, Bonnie was the only person he actually helped without any real benefit to himself.

In a way, the thought actually freaked him out.

As he placed the last of the candles along the mantle of the fireplace, Kai caught Lucy looking up at him from the floor out the corner of his eye. His fingers lingered on the stone mantle for a moment longer before he smiled while turning to rest his back along the stone. "Finished already?" He eyed all the markings on the floor, as well as the strategically placed circles of salt.