A/N: Okay guys, firstly, I want to thank each and every one of you who reviewed and favourited my story. You are really helping me write this, because without you all, I would succumb to laziness as I usually do, so thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

A/N 2: Secondly, I wanted to say that this is the last chapter that will be just setting up the various plots; after this one the stories will all pick up their pace a bit more. I just really wanted to give each s/l a good starting point, so bear with me!

Matt backed through the door to the kitchen, his arms filled with plates of food. Walking over to one of the booths in his section, he placed three down in front of the customers sitting there, before moving on to the next table. As he placed the last plate down, he became aware that someone was looking at him. Turning around, he saw Tyler standing over by the pool tables. Tyler nodded to him, then tipped his head back, a clear invitation to join him. Matt turned back towards the kitchen, ignoring the guy at the table who was asking for salt. He slammed through the door and leaned against the counter, breathing hard. He so didn't want to deal with his so-called best friend right now. So-called, because matt knew for a fact that Tyler had been hanging around, just waiting for him to screw up enough with Caroline so he could make his move. He had seen them together, driving around town in Caroline's car, not even trying to be sneaky about it. He couldn't decide who he was more angry with; his best friend for moving in on his girlfriend so quickly, or Caroline for moving on almost immediately. He'd only wanted to take a break, give himself a chance to wrap his head around the idea that everyone around him had suddenly become a part of a supernatural world, a world that he wasn't a part of. He didn't even know if he could be a part of it, let alone if he wanted to. His girlfriend was a vampire for God's sake, how was he supposed to just be okay with that? He'd only wanted to take a beat, try to come to terms with all of this stuff. He didn't think it would be permanent. Not that it matters now, he thought to himself bitterly. Tyler had already taken his place.

Hopefully he had spent enough time in the kitchen to have avoided Tyler. He walked back slowly out of the kitchen. His shift was almost up, all he had to do was refill all the salt shakers, and he was out of there. As he swung through the door however, he bumped into someone standing right in front of him. "sorry, man," he began, before looking up and seeing who he had banged into.

"Are you seriously avoiding me?" Tyler said, an amused smirk pulling up one side of his mouth. "Hanging out in the kitchen? Not cool, bro." He grinned.

Matt scowled back at him. "What do you want, Tyler?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Tyler looked surprised. "I just thought... Your shift is over now, right? I thought maybe we could hang out for a while." Tyler put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "It's been ages since we like, just hung out, you know?"

"I don't think so." Matt shrugged off his hand and started walking away from his ex-best friend.

Tyler lunged and grabbed him, turning him back round to face him. "Hey, what is your problem?"

Matt smacked his hand away from him. "The last time you and I spent any time together, you were trying to rip me to shreds as part of your little werewolf trick!"

Tyler's eyes darted around the bar, hoping nobody had heard Matt's outburst. "Dude," he hissed, "would you not shout it out like that?" He leaned closer. "I was going to apologise for that while we, you know, shot some pool or whatever." He leaned back. "Are you seriously this mad at me over this? Matt, it wasn't my fault. I can't control it. Anyway, I got a lot closer to biting Caroline than I did you, and she's forgiven me."

Matt had begun to think that maybe he was being a bit harsh, but at the mention of Caroline, the real reason why he was angry came rushing back. "Yeah. I'll just bet Caroline forgave you."

Tyler was confused, and he was just about to say so when he saw matt's face turn even more hostile. He didn't have to turn around. Even from across the room he could smell her perfume. It did something to his insides, made him feel calmer, like he'd just let go of a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"I gotta go," Matt said, casting a dark look at each of them, before turning and walking towards the staff room.

"Hey, where's he going?" Caroline's voice came from just behind his shoulder.

Tyler turned to face her. "I've got no clue," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess he really doesn't want anything to do with me," Caroline said sadly. "I was really hoping things would at least be not weird between us."

"Trust me, it's not you," Tyler put his hand on her arm and started moving towards the doors. "He's still pissed I tried to bite him. Come on, let's get out of here."

They moved out into the sunlight, Tyler looking down instinctively to make sure Caroline was wearing her ring. Of course she was, she never took it off. He had to check though, for some reason he couldn't quite identify. "So, what are we up to today?"

Caroline opened her bag and rummaged around in it, before bringing out a folder. She opened it up and showed him the contents. "This is what my mom and I printed off of her computer. We found a few leads on where Klaus might have gone." She leafed through the pages, finding one that looked like a full police report. "This one looks good. I'm going to take it over to Elena." She looked up at him. "Do you wanna come with?"

"Sure," they started walking towards her car parked a few blocks down from The Grill. "So, how are you and your mom now?"

"We're getting there," Caroline unlocked her car and got in, handing her bag over to Tyler's lap as he sat in the passenger seat. "She seems to be doing okay with the whole 'my daughter's a vampire' thing now." She started the car. "She actually asked me if I wanted a blood bag, instead of a cup of coffee this morning."

Tyler barked out a laugh. "Yeah? What did you say to her?"

Elena looked up at the Boarding House as she pulled her Jeep to a stop on the gravel path. She glanced over at the folder Caroline had given her sitting on the passenger seat, underneath her bag. This was a lead, a good one. They had to follow it up. She knew though, that as soon as she handed the information over to Damon, she would have to fight with everything she had to be included in whatever plan he came up with. He would want to go, and he wouldn't want her to go with him. She took a deep breath, and steeled herself for the fight to come, and got out of the car. As she reached the front door, she realised that she was waiting for him to open the door. Damon almost always heard her approach the house, and he was normally waiting just on the other side of the door for her. Was he okay? Suddenly feeling worried, she turned the handle, and in her haste stumbled over the threshold. Her fear ratcheted up a notch when there was no laugh at her less than graceful entrance. "Damon?" She called out, walking through the foyer and into the cavernous hallway. At first she heard nothing, but then sounds drifted down to her from upstairs. Sounds of things breaking. Slipping her hand into her bag, she removed a stake and a vervain dart. She advanced towards the stairs slowly, keeping her ears pricked. As she passed the doorway to the living room, she saw the remains of the coffee table in bits on the floor, and she starting moving more quickly. As she reached the bottom stair, another crash sound floated down to her, followed by a strangled yell. Elena gave up trying to be quiet, and ran up the stairs, following the direction of the sounds. As she rounded the corner to Stefan's room, she saw a lamp fly across the open doorway and smash into the wall. Then she heard Damon cry out again, and this time she could discern the words. "You stupid, self-righteous, fucking..." Something else came hurtling across the room, and Elena had to duck as she peered into the room. The place was trashed; books lying in a heap on the floor, the bookshelves they had been standing on reduced to splinters. Photo frames that had been swept off the desk had smashed into shards, the sharp edges glittering as they lay on the rug. Clothes and bed linen ripped to rags and strewn all over the place. And Damon stood alone in the middle of it all, feathers from the ripped pillows floating down around him, lending an incongruous innocent feel to the scene of devastation.

"Damon?" Elena said tentatively, unsure of what was going on.

At first, Damon didn't react, just stood there amid the carnage, breathing heavily as he looked down at the floor. Then, slowly, he lifted his head and turned to look at her. "Go away 'Lena," he said quietly, running his fingers through his hair.

Elena squared her shoulders at this. "No." She walked forward a few steps, throwing the stake and the dart in the direction of where the bed used to be. "What is going on, Damon?" She picked her way through the debris and stood in front of him. "Tell me," she reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, letting her thumb braze his neck. He flinched, and moved to pull away, but she placed her other hand just above his elbow, making him look at her. "What is going on?"

Damon didn't say anything, just looked at her with such a desolate look on his face that it felt like a piece of her heart was breaking. She stepped closer and slid her arms around him, feeling a deep need to comfort him. After a moment, his arms came up and he hesitantly returned the hug. They stood there like that for a moment, still, silently, surrounded by a sea of broken furniture. Then, so quietly that at first Elena thought she was imagining it, Damon spoke. "I've always known where he was. This is my fault." She tried to make shushing noises, rubbing her hands slowly up and down his back. "Even when we weren't talking and we were avoiding each other, I always knew where he was. This is my fault. Ever since I found him in London a couple of decades after we turned, I made sure to keep tabs on him, never lose him. This is my fault. And now? Now I don't even know if he's alive." His voice broke on the last word, and then he got angry again. He pulled away from Elena, holding her arms as he leaned down over her. "This is my fault! And I can't fix it because I don't know where he is!" He shouted.

Elena slid her arms up to his shoulders and touched her forehead to his. "It's okay. Because I think I do."

Jeremy was helping himself to ice cream straight out of the tub when he heard the doorbell ring. Sucking the back of his spoon, he walked towards the door. As he turned into the hallway, he got that weird feeling in his stomach again, and he glanced instinctively at the stairs. Sitting still on the third step up from the bottom was his mother.

"Hey sweetheart," she said as he unwillingly made eye contact. She smiled a sad sort of smile at him, before nodding in the direction of the door. "aren't you going to get that? It's rude to keep people waiting. I know I taught you that."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, rooted to the spot, unable to move.

She smiled again. "Answer the door, Jeremy."

Jeremy turned and pulled the door open, then turned back to his mother. But she was gone.

"Jeremy?" Bonnie said uncertainly, still standing outside on the porch. "Are you okay?"

Jeremy turned to look at her, and she saw a flash of pure pain and loss across his features, before he pulled himself together. "Yeah. Just, you know, ghost stuff." He pulled the door all the way open and let her inside.

Bonnie reached up on her toes to give him a brief kiss on the cheek. "Actually, that's why I'm here, I think I may have something that might help."

Jeremy followed her into the living room. "You've found a spell to make them go away?"

Bonnie laughed a little, "Well, actually, Elena found it, and– "

"You told Elena?" Jeremy interrupted her. "Bonnie, I told you, I didn't want-"

"I know, Jer," Bonnie put her hand on his arm, trying to calm him. "She didn't know she found it, she just picked the book up off the floor. It was in Latin anyway, she couldn't read it." She sat down on the couch and pulled a large book out of her bag.

"So, what does it do?" Jeremy sat down next to her and eyed the musty tome apprehensively.

"Okay, first, let me tell you what it doesn't do." She started flicking through the pages. "It doesn't get rid of the ghosts."

"Oh great, yeah very useful." Jeremy slumped back in his seat.

Bonnie turned towards him. "Jer, I can't get rid of the ghosts permanently, until I know how or why they're here." She found the page and skimmed her finger over the incantation. "But, I can help make the situation a little more bearable, which, hopefully, this spell will do."

Jeremy let out a breath. "Okay, so how will this spell do that?"

"Well, what it does, is put you back in control." Bonnie looked up at him. "It'll make it so you decide when you want them to become visible to you, and when you don't."

"Sounds good to me," Jeremy said, scooting forward on the couch so they could rest the book on the coffee table and look at it together. "Let's get started."

Night was falling as the taxi travelled through the streets of Montmartre. Stefan remembered reading about the suburb of St Denis and its reputation for being seedy, and Montmartre and its red light district of Pigalle definitely seemed to be living up to it. As darkness fell, strange characters seemed to materialise on the footpaths, people that seemed to be dressed in costume. Some of them looked so bizarre that Stefan started wondering if it was Hallowe'en already.

Klaus guided the driver to a nightclub a little further down the road, then turned to Stefan. "Up for a little partying, my friend?"

Stefan smiled back. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

"What about your little playmate?" Klaus gestured to the girl slumped in Stefan's lap. "Is she up to joining us?"

"No," Stefan shoved the girl off him into the footwell. "She's dead."

"Pity," Klaus broke the neck of the girl he had been drinking from and threw her down on top of her friend, as the taxi pulled to a stop. "Although I'm sure there'll be plenty more inside."

They both climbed out onto the sidewalk, the compelled driver pulling smoothly away to carry out whatever instructions Klaus had given him. Stefan looked up at the sign above the nightclub doors. The name Masquerade blazed out in a soft gold colour, and the occasional jet of smoke blasted out from the sides. Stefan looked over at Klaus with a quizzical expression. "What is this place?"

Klaus grinned at him. "I spent quite some time here a few decades ago," he said, his eyes glazing over as he wandered into his memories. "This place started off as a burlesque bar, long before it ever became something that people knew about. And then, a few years ago, a friend of mine bought it." He turned towards Stefan and started walking backwards to the doors. "I think you'll like this place as it is now, my friend." He opened the door and gestured for Stefan to walk inside. "Welcome to Steampunk."

Stefan walked through the doors slowly, looking around him. Everywhere he looked, people were dressed in outfits from the 1800s. There were women wearing corsets and holding fans, men with goggles on, a couple were even riding life-size Penny Farthings around the cavernous room. Looking up, he saw dozens of small air balloons floating near the ceiling. "What is this place?" he asked Klaus.

"It's where people with a fascination for the inventive Victorian period can come together to appreciate all its glory." A female voice answered from behind him. He turned to see a small dark haired woman standing with her hand on Klaus's shoulder. "Long time, no see." She said now, turning her attention to the original.

Klaus smiled down at her. "Stefan, I would like you to meet my friend, Laverna."

Stefan took her proffered hand and lightly kissed her knuckles. "You're a vampire?" he asked her.

She smiled at him and nodded. "I was turned in 1832. Hence my love for this time period." She gestured around the club, looking around fondly.

Klaus looked over at Stefan. "She's also a very powerful witch."

"Do you need something from me, my love?" Laverna asked, fluttering her eyelashes at her friend.

"All in good time, my dear." He took her hand and twirled her around to the beat of the music, letting her lead them further into the club. "Let's all have a drink first, shall we?"

Jeremy and Bonnie were still sitting on the couch when Alaric returned home. He watched them laughing and joking for a moment, glad to see that whatever problems they had been having seemed to be over. The Gilbert family could use as many upbeat moments that they could get, especially these days. His eyes drifted to the picture of Jenna standing on the hallway table. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, not yet ready to deal with those emotions. He wasn't sure he would ever be ready. He walked into the living room, and the two teenagers stopped chatting and glanced up at him. "Hey guys, how was your day today?" He settled himself in the armchair, resting his bag against his feet.

Jeremy looked at Bonnie. "It was pretty good, actually."

Bonnie smiled shyly then stood up. "I think it's probably time I went home." She picked up her bag that seemed to be bulging with books and hefted it over her shoulder. "Text you later?" she said to Jeremy.

"Sure," Jeremy replied, standing up too. "Here, I'll walk you out."

"Thanks. Night, Ric." Bonnie waved at Alaric before turning towards the hallway, Jeremy close behind her.

Just as Alaric was trying to decide between a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey, his cell phone buzzed. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw that he had received a text from Damon. He opened it up and read, Lead on where Klaus is. Can you help? Alaric sighed and then got up. What the hell, he thought. Damon had better whiskey anyway. He grabbed his car keys and moved to the front door, yelling up the stairs to tell Jeremy where he was going.

Jeremy was in his bathroom washing up when he heard Alaric's shout. Guess it'll be dinner for one. Again. He thought, but not bitterly. He was glad to get a chance for some alone time. The spell that Bonnie had done was supposed to make it possible for him to decide whether or not he wanted to see any ghosts, but he hadn't yet tried it out. He had been feeling that weird thing in his stomach for about an hour, and he guessed that meant that there was a ghost around, he just hadn't decided to see them. Well, now he was going to. He walked into his bedroom and sat down on the end of his bed. He looked around the room once, and then closed his eyes. "Mom?" He called out softly. Almost immediately, he felt a presence sitting next to him. He opened his eyes slowly, and saw her there, sitting with one leg folded under her. The image was so familiar it was painful; he remembered crawling onto her lap and snuggling into the little triangle between her knees as a child.

"Hey there, sweetheart," she said, that same sad smile on her face. "I thought you'd started avoiding me."

"What are you doing here?" He asked again. "Why can I see you?"

"Don't you want to see me?" she asked, a playful edge creeping into her smile.

Jeremy knew that look, it was the one she used whenever she wanted to change the subject. "Of course I do. But, you're dead.." he stopped suddenly. She did know she was dead, right?

Her smile grew, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. "I know that, Jer, don't worry, you didn't upset me." She moved her arm as if to take his hand, but stopped, then linked her fingers and laid them in her lap.

"Mom please, I don't understand what's going on. You have to tell me."

Miranda sighed, then nodded slowly, as if resigning herself to something unpleasant. "Consequences," she said simply, her eyes roaming over his face. "You can't get something for nothing, especially in the supernatural world. Bonnie really should have known that."

"So, this is her consequence for bringing me back?"

"Not hers. Yours." Miranda sighed again, then leaned a bit closer to her son. "Humans can't just jump from one plane of existence to another, it just can't be done. And you didn't." She looked sadly at him. "You're caught between worlds at the moment, one foot in reality, and the other in the afterlife. The spell that Bonnie used tethers you to her world so you can't let go." Tears started falling from her eyes. "The spell can't last forever; a balance has to be made. When the magic breaks, you'll be pulled into the side that you belong. This side. I'm so sorry, baby." Miranda tried to touch him again, but her hand passed through his arm.

Jeremy swallowed hard. "What about the spell Bonnie did today?" He asked.

Miranda shook her head slightly. "She just put a mask on you, to blind you to the spirit world, unless you choose to see it. It won't help in the end."

Jeremy nodded. "How long?"

His mother shrugged helplessly. "You'll know when the time has come, you'll feel it."

"So... what do I do now?" He sounded like such a lost little boy that Miranda physically felt her heart breaking for him.

"You help your sister," she said, trying to be strong for him. "She needs all the help she can get right now." She sighed. "I never wanted either of you mixed up in this life."

Jeremy snorted. "Yeah, well, then you probably shouldn't have married into a vampire hunting family and then adopted a doppelganger."

Miranda gave a small laugh. "Yes, I guess you didn't have much choice in it really, either of you." She wiped her face, then looked at him. "I can stay here as long as you need me, you know."

Jeremy nodded. "Thanks, but I'll be okay." He didn't think the truth had sunk in yet. Soon, he would be dead. Actually dead, and there wasn't a thing that anyone could do about it. He had a sudden thought. "Why is it just you here? Where's Dad?" He was suddenly very afraid. "You are together, right?"

"Oh yes," Miranda smiled. "Your Dad's just busy." As his questioning look, she continued, "There're things to do on this side too, you know." She looked at him. "You'll find us, when you get here. All the people we loved are here. You won't be alone."

Jeremy smiled at her. "Will you just sit with me for a while?"

Miranda tucked her hair behind her ear and settled herself more comfortably on the bed. "Anything for you, baby."

"So, we have a plan?" Elena looked over at Damon and Alaric, both hunched over the desk in the study as they sifted through Isobel's research material.

Damon looked over at her. "We do," he said warily, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He knew where this conversation was headed, and he already didn't like it. He sighed, and decided to just dive in. The sooner it started, the sooner it could be over. "Elena, you are not coming with us."

"Yes I am, Damon." Elena crossed her arms over her chest.

Here we go, thought Damon, heroically resisting the urge to roll his eyes. The bloody woman could teach lessons in stubbornness. "It's too dangerous. This is Klaus we're talking about." He moved out from behind the desk. "Right now, he still thinks you're dead. This is a good thing. How about we don't clue him in to the fact that he's wrong?"

Elena opened her mouth to retort, but Alaric beat her to it.

"Elena, why don't you call the others. We need to fill them in." He gestured for Elena to leave the room. "Damon, a word?"

She scowled, but went to find her bag to get her phone. "This conversation isn't over!" She flung at Damon over her shoulder.

"Yes it is!" He called back. He turned to Ric. "What?"

"You are planning on going, right?"

"Of course," Damon scoffed, surprised that his friend would even ask.

"So, who are you going to trust to look after her while you're gone?" Ric asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Damon opened his mouth to respond, but then realised the teacher had a point. He stood still for a minute, thinking it through, before frowning and heading out of the study to find Elena. He found her in the living room, putting her phone back in her bag. "They're on their way," she said, turning to him with a determined expression.

He raised his hands in defeat. "Fine. You can come." When her eyes opened wide with surprise, then narrowed with suspicion, he continued, "You're to do what I say, when I say, okay?" He advanced on her until there was barely an inch between them, pointing his finger at her chest. "I'm serious, Elena. No stupid heroic stuff this time, do you hear me?"

Elena closed her hand around his and nodded. "I hear you. No heroic stuff."

"No stupid heroic stuff." He ground the words out between his teeth.

She smiled. "No stupid heroic stuff." She agreed.

Damon nodded. "Good."

Just then, he heard the front door open, and the smell of Blondie's perfume wafted through the house. Reluctantly, he slid his hand out of Elena's grasp and turned to watch as Caroline, Jeremy, the witch and the werewolf all filed into his home. Alaric came in from the study, and before long everyone was seated as they had been a couple of nights before.

Damon walked to the fireplace, his usual place, as Elena cleared her throat. "We've found Klaus. He's in France." She looked around the group, before settling her eyes on Damon. "We're going to go after him, and see if he can lead us to Stefan."

Katherine sighed as she sank into her first class seat on the plane to Paris, waiting for it to take off. She had had to compel lots of people just to get through the airport and onto the plane, not to mention the four security guards at the check in desk as they scanned her luggage. One item in particular had raised all kinds of red flags. So now she was tired. And hungry. Beckoning the waitress over to her secluded corner seat, she smiled. Flying first class was the only way to travel.

So that's it! Next chapter will be quite DE heavy because, you know, DE road trip! Also, it's gonna be a flashback chapter. Everyone loves a flashback, right? So anyway, I hope you enjoyed this installment, and please review!